Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Why are you here?” Yin Wuyou asked gently while handing Zhou Shu a water kettle.
Zhou Shu looked at her strangely. Didn’t you ask me to come?
Women, humph!
He felt that Yin Wuyou was acting a little strange today. She seemed to be harboring evil intentions from the way she was looking at him.
She had never spoken like this in the past!
Although she was pretty and had a nice voice, she had always spoken coldly. She was not as gentle as today!
Yes, gentle!
Zhou Shu shuddered. Is Yin Wuyou plotting something?
One who is unaccountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions.
Why is she being so gentle to me?
Does she want a share in my ten thousand taels of gold?
Or is that she hasn’t given up on getting me to be in charge of Great Xia and Great Wei’s bet?
Wariness instantly surfaced in Zhou Shu’s eyes, and he silently moved away from Yin Wuyou. “Grand Minister, you ordered me to come. How could I not come?”
Yin Wuyou felt a sharp pain in her heart. Is he sad?
Did I hurt him by forcing him to come?
That’s right. He has already sacrificed so much for Great Xia, for me. What right do I have to force him?
Tears welled up in Yin Wuyou’s eyes as she stared straight at Zhou Shu, looking as though she was about to cry.
Zhou Shu was shocked. Is she taking a different approach since her previous approach didn’t work?
What’s going on today?
Not only is Yin Wuyou acting strange, but Shen Yue is also acting strange.
Why do I feel that he’s looking at me with killing intent?
Zhou Shu had cultivated the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form and had even begun to condense his divine sense. He believed in what he felt.
Shen Yue really has killing intent toward me!
Why?
Zhou Shu was very sure that this was the first time he had met Shen Yue.
Could he want to get rid of me because I’m from Great Xia?
This wasn’t impossible. After all, Great Wei had created the assassination list previously.
Zhou Shu still remembered that his name was on it.
If this was the reason, then it was normal for Shen Yue to harbor killing intent toward him.
However, he was a deputy envoy. Why would he care about assassinations?
Most importantly, why did he feel that besides killing intent, there was also hatred in his eyes?
Have I offended him before? Zhou Shu was confused.
He hadn’t planned to come today. After all, Shen Yue had a reputation. If his five sabers couldn’t defeat him, wouldn’t it be embarrassing?
Zhou Shu was not interested in being a stepping stone for others.
The reason he came was naturally that he had changed his mind. The reason he changed his mind was very simple. The next weapon had appeared in the Legendary Armament Canon.
Since he was 100% confident, Zhou Shu naturally had to come.
In any case, it was just a matter of time before he forged the weapon. If he could take this opportunity to obtain some benefits, wouldn’t it be killing two birds with one stone?
“Are you going to start?” Yin Wuyou was like an obedient little girl as she gently poured tea for Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shu felt his hair stand on end. He didn’t dare to delay any longer.
“Grand Minister, please,” Zhou Shu said. Then he went to a furnace not far away from Shen Yue.
Shen Yue no longer looked at Zhou Shu. He closed his eyes to rest for a moment before opening them.
He was composed.
He was completely focused on the forging.
Even if it was just forging a standard weapon, he had to use 120% of his strength.
A connoisseur’s hand could tell the difference.
Zhou Shu could naturally see the change in Shen Yue.
He sighed in his heart. This pretty boy surnamed Shen really has some ability.
Great Xia’s Forging Apprentices were only skilled workers. Only people like them could be called craftsmen.
Even though Shen Yue was from Great Wei, he wasn’t an ordinary person.
The reason he had not advanced to Forging Master was that he was deliberately suppressing himself. It was not because he couldn’t become a Forging Master!
Shen Yue’s performance made Zhou Shu take this match seriously.
Although he was completely confident, he still had to have the attitude he needed.
In his previous life, it was called the pride of an artisan…
“Minister Meng!” Zhou Shu suddenly said. “Help me bring some iron over. These are not enough.”
Minister Meng’s face turned black. I’m your superior’s superior, and you’re ordering me around?
However, now was not the time to be calculative. Minister Meng waved his hand, and his subordinate immediately went to make arrangements.
Only ordinary iron could be used to forge standard weapons. As for how much was used, it didn’t matter. As long as they didn’t use other rare materials, it wasn’t against the rules.
Zhou Shu constantly got people to get more iron. The area around his furnace was soon piled up with 50 kilograms of iron.
Even Shen Yue, who was immersed in the process of forging, couldn’t help but raise his head and glance in Zhou Shu’s direction.
Why does he need so much iron?
Forging a standard weapon shouldn’t require that much iron.
Is he worried that the forging won’t succeed?
Shen Yue was slightly puzzled. He almost tilted the hammer in his hand. He didn’t dare to think too much and focused only on his weapon.
Zhou Shu urged the people around him several times until he was surrounded by 150 kilograms of iron. Only then did he stop talking.
Everyone felt puzzled as they looked at the towering masses of iron around him.
Although Yin Wuyou, Meng Jinguang, and the others weren’t forgers, they were the higher-ups of the Forging Division, so they had some understanding of forging.
For the same weapon, the more metal used during forging, the heavier it would be. Correspondingly, the more powerful it would be.
Imagine, who would be more likely to win if a 5-kilogram saber clashed with a 50-kilogram saber?
But the size of the weapon was obvious. Forging a saber that weighed 50 kilograms was completely different from forging a saber that weighed 5 kilograms.
The skill of filling more iron into a fixed volume was a weapon-forging technique in itself.
The Great Xia’s Forging Division was indeed capable of forging weapons that weighed 50 kilograms. However, weapons that weighed 150 kilograms were truly unheard of.
“Grand Minister, did Zhou Shu develop a new weapon?” Meng Jinguang asked softly.
Yin Wuyou shook her head and looked nervously at Zhou Shu.
Originally, she had been very calm. But now that Zhou Shu was involved, her heart was in a mess.
She didn’t know what was wrong herself, and she didn’t dare to think too deeply about it.
I’m afraid that he will embarrass the Forging Division! Yin Wuyou thought.
While everyone was guessing, Zhou Shu had already begun to move.
His every move was completely different from that of an ordinary Forging Apprentice. Every movement was precise. Too much or too little strength would be wrong.
Moreover, his actions exuded a sense of beauty.
It made people feel that Zhou Shu was not forging a weapon but dancing…
Little stars appeared in Yin Wuyou’s eyes. He knows how to forge and can write poems. He’s also good-looking. Other than being slightly inferior in martial arts, he simply doesn’t have any flaws.
This competition was conducted within the Forging Division.
In other words, other than the people from Great Xia’s Forging Division and Shen Yue, there were no outsiders present.
Even among Great Xia’s Forging Division, only Grand Minister Yin Wuyou and the four ministers were present. Not a single Grand Craftsman or Forging Master was present.
It was just a match between two Forging Apprentices. It really didn’t interest them.
On the other hand, the ranking of the Standard Armament Manual directly impacted the ownership of the two prefectures. They paid more attention to it than in previous years.
These people didn’t come, resulting in this result.
Other than Zhou Shu and Shen Yue, the rest of the people present were amateurs…
Even the dozen or so carefully selected Forging Apprentices were confused. They couldn’t understand what Zhou Shu and Shen Yue were doing.
Shen Yue buried his head in his weapon, not daring to divert his attention to look at Zhou Shu. Thus, no one could tell what Zhou Shu was doing.
They now saw this as a performance. After all, Zhou Shu’s movements were too beautiful and made people feel that he was very powerful!
“Shen Yue was boasting so loudly just now. It seems he’s losing to Zhou Shu now,” a minister whispered.
Meng Jinguang didn’t want to admit it, but he agreed in his heart. Zhou Shu was indeed impressive.
“Say, which weapon do you think will be ranked first in the Standard Armament Manual this time? Do you think our Great Xia’s Horse Slaying Saber will be ranked first?”
The waiting process was full of anxiety, and the ministers started discussing in hushed voices.
“In previous years, I think there would be a high chance of the Horse Slaying Saber ranking first. However, Great Wei is not a fool. They must have some kind of trump card for them to dare to do this.”
The Horse Slaying Saber had already displayed its might on the battlefield in the southern borders. It was impossible for Great Wei not to have received the news.
Although they couldn’t obtain the Horse Slaying Saber, they could definitely understand its might.
Under such circumstances, they still dared to bet with Great Xia. It was impossible that they didn’t have any trump cards.
Of course, the imperial family and officials of Great Xia weren’t fools. They had definitely thought of this. Since they were willing to agree to the bet, they didn’t place all their bets on the Horse Slaying Saber or Zhou Shu.
Great Xia also had its own trump cards.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what new weapon Zhou Shu will forge this time,” a minister said. “It’s always refreshing every time he forges a weapon. Who knows. He might be able to forge a weapon even stronger than the Horse Slaying Saber.”
“If it’s stronger than the Horse Slaying Saber, then his chances of winning are even higher.”
Yin Wuyou remained silent as she listened to the discussions of the ministers. She was thinking that after this matter was over, she would definitely enter the palace to find her imperial father and seek justice for Zhou Shu.
He had made so many contributions, so shouldn’t he deserve more?
This wasn’t the way to do things!
Yin Wuyou felt wronged for Zhou Shu.
Did Zhou Shu feel wronged?
Not at all!
Thinking about how he was going to win 10,000 taels of gold from Shen Yue this time, he felt very happy.
What could be happier than earning money?
Money! The kind that didn’t need to be returned!
When he thought about the description of this weapon in the Legendary Armament Canon, Zhou Shu couldn’t help laughing.
I’m not targeting anyone. I just want to say that all other standard weapons are trash!
Zhou Shu’s actions seemed slow, but they were actually not slow at all.
The 150 kilograms of iron was decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
No one paid any attention to it. Otherwise, they would definitely be puzzled. Where did all this iron go?
What they didn’t notice was that under Zhou Shu’s hammering, a foot-long block of metal seemed to have undergone a strange change. In the end, only a fist-sized chunk remained.
An entire 150 kilograms of iron was hammered by Zhou Shu, leaving behind only iron the size of an adult’s fist!
Such an abnormal thing happened in front of everyone.
“What technique is this?” a minister asked in surprise. “Minister Meng, you are experienced and knowledgeable. Has Zhou Shu already advanced to Forging Master? Why do I feel that this seems to be the technique of a Forging Master?”
“It’s not a forging technique belonging to a Forging Master.” Meng Jinguang shook his head. He didn’t understand what technique it was either. “The biggest characteristic of a Forging Master is that they don’t use ordinary fire to forge weapons.
“There are many ranked materials that can’t be melted by ordinary fire. I think this might be like the hundred refinements steel he proposed before, a technique he created himself.
“Although I don’t really understand it, it seems like he hammered out all the impurities in the iron, leaving only the essence within. Using only the essence from a piece of iron, such a weapon forged with the essence…”
As Meng Jinguang spoke, he couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
Typically, a standard weapon only required a few kilograms of iron.
Right now, the weapon Zhou Shu was forging hadn’t even taken shape yet, but he had already used up 150 kilograms of iron. Not to mention anything else, just the cost of forging this weapon was dozens of times that of ordinary standard weapons.
Meng Jinguang was knowledgeable, but he couldn’t imagine what a weapon forged like this would look like.
Meanwhile, after Zhou Shu finished processing the metal, he finally officially began forging.
At this time, Shen Yue had already almost finished forging.
What he forged was also a saber!
It looked like he wanted to defeat Zhou Shu in the domain that he was most skilled in!
The saber forged by Shen Yue was extremely broad, almost two palms wide and about five feet long. The back of the saber was thick, and the blade was thin. One could feel its biting cold killing intent just by looking at it.
The expressions of Yin Wuyou and the others became solemn. This saber’s destructive power didn’t seem to be inferior to the Horse Slaying Saber’s.
It was no wonder that Great Wei was so confident. The saber in front of them might not even be their true trump card, but it was already comparable to the Horse Slaying Saber.
One could imagine how much effort Great Wei had put into making standard weapons!
After Shen Yue finished forging, he didn’t leave the furnace, nor did he speak. Instead, he cast his gaze towards Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shu’s forging had also entered the later stages. Under his hands, the shape of the weapon was already gradually appearing.
Shen Yue could roughly tell that this was another saber that was different from the five standard sabers he had forged previously.
He had indeed developed a new weapon.
Shen Yue’s expression was also a little solemn. Not mentioning the might of Zhou Shu’s saber, his ability to develop new weapons was already shocking enough. It was no wonder that Great Wei’s spies had reported that Zhou Shu should be killed immediately!
Sizzle—
With an ear-piercing sound, Zhou Shu completed the final step of the forging. The saber was soaked in cold oil for a long time. He looked at Shen Yue.
“You’re done? That was fast,” Zhou Shu said.
“This is your saber?
“I heard that you’ve developed the Horse Slaying Saber, which maximizes lethality. Look at my Dragon Slaying Saber. How is it compared to the Horse Slaying Saber?” Shen Yue said proudly.
Pfft! Zhou Shu couldn’t help laughing.
