Chapter 161 - Has He Ever Made Any Mistakes in the Path of the Forging Dao?
Chapter 161 Has He Ever Made Any Mistakes in the Path of the Forging Dao?
Eight-Sided Han Swords costing five hundred taels was actually not the most expensive standard weapon Zhou Shu had ever sold.
Back then, he had sold the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber to Cheng Wanli for one thousand taels.
But that was an exception. It didn’t mean that it was common.
Generally, there weren’t many standard weapons that cost more than a hundred taels of silver.
Five hundred taels was a sky-high price.
Zhou Shu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Big Brother, you don’t have to do this just to take care of me…”
He didn’t care about money. What he cared about were the Forging Division’s channels.
If he lost these channels of distributing his weapons for a little money, the loss would be immense.
Zhou Shu naturally wouldn’t take the risk to do something like that.
If he wanted to earn money, he could easily earn thousands of taels of gold from a ranked weapon!
With the Legendary Armament Canon, Zhou Shu wasn’t worried that there would be weapons that he couldn’t forge!
“You think I’m playing favorites?” Mi Ziwen shook his head with a smile. “You’re wrong.
“You may be my second brother, but I wouldn’t joke about the military expenses of the Imperial Court. The Eight-Sided Han Sword is worth this price.”
Zhou Shu didn’t know much about the situation of the Country Protector Army, but since Mi Ziwen had already said so, Zhou Shu would be a fool if he still refused.
Although he didn’t care about money, he wouldn’t mind if he could earn more.
Previously, he had already used up most of the forging materials given to him by the Mi family. He would have to buy some forging materials. If he relied on the materials provided by the Forging Division, his progress would be greatly delayed.
But then again, Mi Ziwen had offered to contribute a lot of money to fund the construction of the Huaxia Pavilion, so he owed him a big favor. He hadn’t even returned the favor from before.
“Big Brother, may I ask a question?” Zhou Shu asked, “What is your current cultivation level?”
Actually, Zhou Shu could tell Mi Ziwen’s cultivation level. But on the surface, his cultivation level was only at the seventh rank of the Martial Dao, so he naturally couldn’t show that he could see through Mi Ziwen’s cultivation level.
“It’s no secret.” Mi Ziwen smiled. Besides his brother, only his teacher was present. There was no need to keep it a secret.
“I’m now a fourth-rank martial artist, a step away from the third rank. If nothing goes wrong, I should be able to break through to the third rank within half a year.”
Mi Ziwen was full of confidence. Although his Martial Dai talent couldn’t compare to that of the monstrous Lu Wenshuang from Qingzhou, he was still very outstanding.
A Martial Dao grandmaster who was not even thirty years old would be able to make a name for themselves anywhere.
In history, there were only a few Martial Dao grandmasters who were younger than him.
Generally speaking, a third-rank grandmaster in his forties or fifties was considered very young. Most martial artists would never be able to become a grandmaster. “So that’s how it is,” Zhou Shu said. “Then, when will you be able to break through to the first rank, Big Brother?”
Mi Ziwen looked embarrassed and almost choked on his tea.
Is that a question? Or are you mocking me? But judging from Zhou Shu’s serious expression, he didn’t seem to be mocking him.
He smiled bitterly. “I may not be able to reach the first rank in my lifetime.”
In order to become a first-rank martial artist, talent and opportunities were indispensable. Even a monster like Lu Wenshuang couldn’t guarantee that she would be able to become a first-rank martial artist.
Let alone him, Mi Ziwen.
He was not confident that he could even reach the second rank of the Martial Dao, let alone the first rank.
Zhou Shu was deep in thought.
Mi Ziwen could break through to the third rank by himself, so it would be a waste to give him the Breakthrough Pill now.
When he broke through to the third rank, he would be able to reach the second rank immediately.
But it would still be a waste.
Mi Ziwen himself did not have the confidence to break through to the first rank, so logically speaking, waiting for him to break through to the second rank before taking the Breakthrough Pill was the most suitable.
But he himself might not be able to break through to the second rank of the Martial Dao. Even if he could, he didn’t know how many years of bitter cultivation he would need.
It was a difficult choice.
Zhou Shu thought about it and still did not tell Mi Zi about the Breakthrough Pill.
He was about to break through to the third rank. If he told him about the Breakthrough Pill now, it would only mess up his mental state.
It was better to wait until he had truly broken through to the third rank before telling him. At that time, he would let him choose when to take the Breakthrough Pill.
This way, he should be able to repay the favor.
“Second Brother, when we came, the steward said that you were in seclusion forging. Did you prepare some divine weapons for tomorrow’s military parade?” Mi Ziwen smiled and changed the topic. “How about letting us take a look first?
“The weapon you used to advance to become a Forging Master, the Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword, ranks eleventh in the Yellow-grade Armament Manual. This time, it should rank in the top ten, right?”
“Top ten?” Zhou Shu said noncommittally. “I haven’t finished fixing the stars for the weapon for the military parade, so I can’t tell. However, I have just forged a ranked weapon. Big Brother and Great General, would you like to help me evaluate it?”
Zhou Shu got up, returned to the forging room, and took the newly forged Flaming Sunset Saber to the front hall.
“This is?” Meng Bai saw the long saber in Zhou Shu’s hand and was slightly surprised. “Flaming Sunset Saber?”
“Great General, you know about this saber?” Zhou Shu smiled. “It is indeed the Flaming Sunset Saber.”
“It really is the Flaming Sunset Saber.” Meng Bai revealed an emotional expression. He reached out his hand, wanting to take the Flaming Sunset Saber. But his arm sank, and the Flaming Sunset Saber fell.
Meng Bai’s face flashed with astonishment, and then a deep sorrow flashed in his eyes.
He sighed.
Zhou Shu reached out and caught the Flaming Sunset Saber. He looked at Meng Bai with some sympathy.
Is General Meng unable to raise the saber?
“Since ancient times, famous generals, just like beauties, did not allow the world to see their white hair,” Zhou Shu couldn’t help whispering
Meng Bai was stunned, the expression on his face indescribably complex.
“Since ancient times, famous generals, just like beauties, did not allow the world to see their white hair,” Meng Bai repeated and then sighed.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little gloomy, Mi Ziwen hurriedly took the Flaming Sunset Saber and said, “What is it about this Flaming Sunset Saber?”
Meng Bai knew this saber, but Mi Ziwen did not.
After all, the Flaming Sunset Saber hadn’t appeared for many years.
“The Flaming Sunset Saber was General Tong Wen’s saber,” Meng Bai said.
“Ever since General Tong died in battle and the Flaming Sunset Saber was destroyed, although Great Xia has its secret forging formula, no Forging Master has been able to forge this saber for many years.
“I didn’t expect to see this saber again in my life.”
Meng Bai sighed with indescribable emotions.
Tong Wen was once a famous general of Great Xia. When Meng Bai was young, Tong Wen was in the limelight, and Meng Bai was lucky enough to see Tong Wen wielding the Flaming Sunset Saber.
Later on, when his reputation rose, Tong Wen had already died, and the Flaming Sunset Saber had also disappeared in the long river of history.
Now that he was in his twilight years, he was able to see the Flaming Sunset Saber again. This was truly the cycle of life. “General Tong Wen?” Mi Ziwen nodded. He knew that Tong Wen was indeed a famous general, but he couldn’t compare to Meng Bai.
Even Mi Ziwen was stronger than Tong Wen back then.
He was not such an impressive figure.
Thinking about it, it made sense. If he was really a big shot, his saber wouldn’t just be a yellow-grade weapon, even though the might of the Flaming Sunset Saber was extraordinary.
“This saber is quite powerful. Back then, it once ranked in the top ten of the Yellow-grade Armament Manual,” Meng Bai said.
The fact that Zhou Shu was able to forge the Flaming Sunset Saber meant that his weapon forging skills had already reached a high level.
The Flaming Sunset Saber was not easy to forge. Otherwise, its forging formula wouldn’t have been stored away for so many years.
“Second Brother, does this saber have a master?” Mi Ziwen brandished the Flaming Sunset Saber twice and smiled with appreciation.
He himself did not lack ranked weapons, but he had many generals under him. Some of them didn’t have a suitable weapon.
If he could buy the Flaming Sunset Saber, it would be pretty good. “I’m sorry, Big Brother. This Flaming Sunset Saber already belongs to someone,” Zhou Shu apologized.
He planned to sell this saber to Yin Chengshan. He had taken Yin Chengshan’s Black Iron Gold Crystal back then, and he had to return the favor.
Furthermore, the Flaming Sunset Saber would be quite useful in Yin Chengshan’s hands. There were many opportunities for the Demon Executing Army to kill enemies, and he would receive a lot of feedback from them.
Zhou Shu wouldn’t let go of such a good worker.
“Big Brother, if you need a ranked weapon, you can just go to the Forging Division to make an order. With your status, the Forging Masters will definitely fight to fulfill the order,” Zhou Shu said with a smile.
The Mi family was extremely wealthy, and Mi Ziwen was generous. How could he be lacking in ranked weapons?
“Since it already has an owner, forget it.” Mi Ziwen shook his head.
The three of them chatted for a while longer. Zhou Shu also heard quite a few interesting stories about the southern barbarians from Meng Bai and Mi Ziwen.
As night gradually fell, Meng Bai’s face was already revealing fatigue. His condition was a bit inferior to ordinary elders, and he was unable to stay up too late anymore.
When Mi Ziwen noticed this, there was a wave of sadness in his heart. He stood up and took his leave, supporting Meng Bai as they left the marquis’s mansion.
As he watched Meng Bai and Mi Ziwen get onto a carriage, Zhou Shu rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Meng Bai lost all of his cultivation because he was injured.
Theoretically, his cultivation was still at the second rank of the Martial Dao.
The Breakthrough Pill could ignore all external conditions and raise the cultivation of martial artists below the first rank by one rank. Then if Meng Bai ate the Breakthrough Pill, what effect would it have?
If he directly broke through to the first rank, would his cultivation recover and his injuries heal?
It seemed to be a possibility.
But he didn’t seem to have such a deep friendship with Meng Bai. The Breakthrough Pill wasn’t something that he wanted to let too many people know about. Otherwise, he would never have a peaceful day in the future.
I’ll think about it again in the future. Zhou Shu shook his head. Meng Bai is Big Brother’s teacher. If he can fully recover, it will count as saving my own people, right? I’ll think about whether I should let Mi Ziwen be a good person.
Zhou Shu still had several Breakthrough Pills in his possession, and in the future, as long as the Autumn Anatidae Plume Sabers completed more kills, he would be able to continue receiving more Breakthrough Pills. Therefore, the Breakthrough Pills were not that precious to him.
While Zhou Shu was thinking, the steward came up to him and said, “Marquis, Eunuch Zhao is here again.”
Again? Why use the word again?
“Santa Claus is here again?” Zhou Shu said casually. “Santa Claus?” The steward didn’t understand.
Of course, Zhou Shu wouldn’t explain it to him. But what did Eunuch Zhao come with again this time?
He was a bit embarrassed by the frequent visits and rewards.
Instead of just receiving benefits, should I do something to express my gratitude? Zhou Shu walked out and said, “Eunuch Zhao, pardon me for not being able to welcome you.”
He had yet to put away the Flaming Sunset Saber that Mi Ziwen and Meng Bai had evaluated earlier, so he simply held it in his hand.
“You’re too kind, Marquis.” Eunuch Zhao smiled. His gaze naturally fell on the weapon in Zhou Shu’s hand.
The Flaming Sunset Saber was a large saber with a long handle. It was almost as tall as a person. It was difficult for him not to notice such a large saber.
“Eunuch Zhao, you’ve worked hard. It’s already so late,” Zhou Shu said. “I wonder if you have any instructions from His Majesty this time?”
He was also a little puzzled. He hadn’t even gone out recently and hadn’t made any contributions.
Is it because I forged the Flaming Sunset Saber?
They’re quite well-informed. I just forged it, and they already prepared a reward? But that isn’t right either. Isn’t forging weapons the duty of the Forging Division’s Forging Masters?
There is a reward for it?
Are the benefits of the Forging Division so good? I have never heard of it before.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “I have things to do, so I’ll take my leave, Marquis.” Eunuch Zhao suddenly cupped his hands and left before Zhou Shu could respond.
He disappeared so quickly that Zhou Shu couldn’t stop him in time.
Zhou Shu: “…”
What is the meaning of this?
As the head eunuch, how can you arrive in high spirits and depart after enjoying yourself to your heart’s content?
You came here just to have a look?
If there’s anything you want to talk about, why don’t you leave after you’ve finished?
Eunuch Zhao was like a frightened rabbit as he quickly disappeared from Zhou Shu’s sight.
Within the imperial palace, Emperor Yuan Feng listened to Eunuch Zhao’s report and remained silent for a long time.
After some time, he finally spoke. “Ignore him. Have you prepared for the military parade tomorrow?”
“It’s already prepared.” Eunuch Zhao said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, if Marquis Zhou’s Three Swords of Yin Tianzi is unable to obtain the first position, what should we do…”
The name ‘Yin Tianzi’ was too sensitive. If the sword forged by Marquis Zhou was good enough, it would be fine. But if it wasn’t, wouldn’t it be a disgrace to Great Xia’s emperor[1]?
According to Eunuch Zhao’s intentions, he should have hinted to Zhou Shu in advance that he shouldn’t have randomly named his sword the Three Swords of Yin Tianzi. The sword he forged had to be worthy of this name.
“Have you ever seen that kid make any mistakes in the path of the Forging Dao?”
Emperor Yuan Feng grunted unhappily. Even though he disliked this kid, he had to admit that he was indeed a genius that appeared once every 10,000 years in the path of the Forging Dao!
Emperor Yuan Feng had never doubted his forging skills. The reason he was unhappy with Zhou Shu was purely because of a personal grudge…
[1] The emperor is also referred to as Tianzi.