Chapter 116: Chapter 23: Qi-Forged Divine Weapon Part 2
Su Zhou, Li Daoran, and Grandmaster Han stood at the very front, more than fifty meters away from the center of the forge. A wave of heat washed over them, and Su Zhou instinctively raised a hand to block the hot wind. A stray spark must have been mixed in with it, because his sleeve immediately caught fire.
"This heat... a Spiritual Object of the Extraordinary Tier is truly something else."
Su Zhou extinguished the small flame with a thought. The heat wasn’t enough to make him uncomfortable, but even so, it was a testament to how extraordinary the Spiritual Object was.
If not for things like the True Qi Furnace that amplified Inner Strength, and the clever mechanical arms built with Mechanical Secret Techniques that allowed one to forge from over ten meters away, forging a Divine Soldier like the Blade of Annihilation would be absolutely impossible.
"Now for the exciting part."
In response to Su Zhou’s sentiment, Li Daoran reached up to stroke his beard, only to touch the protective pouch it was in. After all, not everyone was like Su Zhou, whose very hair had undergone Transcendent Transformation and could resist high temperatures. Most people wore special hats and masks to avoid having their appearances singed while they watched the show.
Su Zhou smiled and continued to focus his attention on the center of the forge. ’The Grand Master’s Qi Condensation and Object Manipulation Technique is on full display, showing all its key points and its very essence. If I don’t learn now, when will I? I ate that Wisdom Fruit, so I should be learning from everyone I meet, wherever I go!’
The rough form of the Divine Soldier’s blade was complete. Next came the refinement process.
Su Zhou saw the Grand Master take control of the other Spiritual Objects placed by the iron pool—things like Western Star Gang Sand and various types of Spirit Iron and Spirit Stones—and cast them all into the pool, increasing the heat of the flames.
Within the great pool of molten iron, Cloud Pattern Talismans flickered. The Spiritual Objects submerged within it quickly melted and broke down in the extreme heat, transforming into clouds of mist. Then, bit by bit, the mist drifted toward the blade floating in mid-air and began to crystallize upon it.
How to describe it? It was like stalactites growing naturally in a cave, or crystals forming in clusters within a cavern underground. The mist, a mixture of numerous Spiritual Materials, swirled around the blade, spontaneously condensing into individual Runes that merged into it, altering its very properties.
"The most perilous step is complete."
Beside them, Grandmaster Han nodded with a solemn expression. He let out a long breath and then explained to a somewhat confused Su Zhou, "This is the Qi Forging technique. It is only recorded in the Supreme Secret Technique of the former Five Weapons Sect, the Five Elements Five Forging Technique. Gold Forging and Fire Forging are the most common; they’re essentially enhanced versions of the methods used by ordinary blacksmiths. You’ve probably also seen the Water Forging Technique, which is often used for special materials, like Spiritual Energy Crystals, that tend to easily lose their Primordial Qi. As for Earth Forging and Wood Forging... one is more like planting vegetables, suitable for forging Wood Attribute Spiritual Weapons, while the other is like a form of parasitism, using a Spirit Wood Heart to nurture a Spiritual Weapon..."
"As for this Qi Forging, you must understand now, right? It’s a ’Divine Soldier art’ that condenses matter from thin air to forge a weapon from qi!"
"Amazing! It truly lives up to its name as a Supreme Secret Technique!" Su Zhou nodded repeatedly, completely convinced. But he also raised a question. "But isn’t this the sixth type? Qi Forging isn’t one of the Five Elements—and if it’s such a secret technique, why does everyone seem to know about it so clearly?"
"Who would reveal their ultimate trump card right in the name?"
The elderly Grandmaster Han chuckled. "It’s like the fundamental Cultivation Method of the Daoist School’s Celestial Extreme Four Symbols Sect. Besides the Cyan Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, there’s also the Celestial Thunder Qilin Technique, which is passed down through the line of Sect Leaders and never shown to outsiders. The same goes for the Legalist School’s Five Punishment Sin Sword. Apart from the five publicly known Punishment Swords, there are also two core Secret Techniques, ’Heavenly Punishment’ and ’Earth Punishment,’ which are only passed down to the Sect Master."
"As for why we all know..." At this, Grandmaster Han’s smile faded into a sigh. "Because if we continued to jealously guard our own secrets, the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army would have been smashed to pieces by the Demon Dynasty, who are united by their Divine Wood Bloodline."
"I see. That makes sense." Upon hearing this, Su Zhou couldn’t help but nod with a heavy expression. The Demon Dynasty had been overwhelmingly powerful at the start, shattering all the pride and selfishness of the Hundred Schools and forcing these sects and factions to unite into the massive, diverse-yet-orderly organization they were today.
’The Hundred Schools of Zhengguo back on Earth must have united for similar reasons in the past.’
The forging of the Divine Soldier was now on track. The Qi Forging technique depended heavily on the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the location. Out in the normal world, it would likely take forty-nine days. But because this was a volcano, where the scorching qi from the Earth Veins was unbelievably rich, and the mountaintop could gather the wind essence from the High Heavens, the time required could be cut down to a quarter of that.
Of course, the giant hand-cranked generator was also quite important. The generator Su Zhou had brought from Earth had given the Grand Master and the Skilled Craftsman Mo Ganxiu a great deal of inspiration. The two had worked together to modify a True Qi Furnace specifically for generating electricity.
Of the fire and lightning powers required for the Divine Soldier, lightning had always been the most troublesome. The power of a natural Celestial Thunder was too great to be easily harnessed, and you had to rely on the heavens to be in your favor. This meant that Thunderstruck Wood needed to be gently nurtured for a long time before it could be properly integrated with the blade. But now, that was no longer necessary. All it took was a Master Artisan to control the True Qi Furnace and continuously generate electricity, which greatly accelerated the nurturing process for the Thunderstruck Wood.
"In about ten days, the Divine Soldier, the Blade of Annihilation, will finish condensing!"
Li Daoran’s voice was filled with a mixture of irrepressible joy and tension. "But the two Demon Generals, Hunting Life and Beast Taming, will definitely choose a time before then to attack the mountain. They have nearly five hundred men, a world of difference from the last assault!"
"At that time, we’ll have to divert some of our people to maintain the True Qi Furnaces, while the enemy’s combat strength will be several times greater than before... This must be the mortal tribulation that comes with forging a Divine Soldier."
That being said, the previous resounding victory had given everyone a tremendous boost of faith.
Besides, the enemy had reinforcements, but didn’t the Hundred Schools have them too? Through messages sent by Spirit Doves, everyone knew that reinforcements from the Hundred Schools were on their way: a total of five Grandmasters and two hundred and twelve Postnatal Martial Artists, who would arrive soon aboard a True Qi Flying Airship.
Although they seemed to be fewer in number than the Demon Dynasty’s forces, they actually had the upper hand when it came to high-level combatants. If a real battle broke out, the Hundred Schools would definitely have the advantage.
The part worth observing was over. Su Zhou left the forging grounds along with the other Martial Artists.
However, just as he was about to head back to reflect on the details of today’s battle and optimize his own combat rhythm and techniques, Zhou Buyi and Grandmaster Han approached him at the same time.
The former had brought him a small celadon vial containing a Spirit Pill—the reward for the mission the Hundred Schools had promised him.
The latter, however, presented him with a Secret Technique.
An Innate Secret Technique.
