Chapter Forty-One: Forging Swords in Batches

In the courtyard, Yun Yufeng was practicing his newly learned technique, Cold Dew of Rain, on an injured Gulu Beast. A hazy mist gathered between his palms, as the energy in the air was swiftly drawn in, merging with the life force flowing from his body, shrouding his hands in an ethereal fog. The Gulu Beast thrashed uneasily, but Yun Yufeng held it firmly, rendering its struggles futile.

As the martial art flowed, the mist soon condensed into droplets of liquid. With a wave of his hand, the droplets landed on the long gash across the beast’s belly. The wound, as if nourished, sprouted fresh flesh that wriggled and closed up swiftly, leaving only a terrifying scar. The Gulu Beast grunted twice, then quieted, no longer resisting.

Yun Yufeng exhaled softly. This life attribute martial art was indeed formidable; a wound so severe healed in mere breaths. His eyes sparkled with delight. No wonder those with dual affinities were highly sought after; with sufficient resources, they could serve as both support and possess formidable combat prowess, or even be an unpredictable force in the right moment.

A smile bloomed on Yun Yufeng’s face. The spatial pouch had proven its worth, giving him the best safeguard for his upcoming venture into the encircling mountains, not to mention the stock of pills provided by Ji Nanshan. As for the fire attribute martial art, Blazing Prairie, Yun Yufeng had no time for it now; offensive techniques held little appeal for him at present. He’d study it later when he had leisure.

It had been three or four days since he started cultivating Cold Dew of Rain. Yun Yufeng glanced at the Gulu Beast on the ground; he’d reached proficiency in the technique, and the materials he’d asked the clan to prepare should be ready by now. It was time to check.

No sooner had the thought arisen than he acted. He was just about to leave with Cui Nong when a clamor erupted outside the courtyard. A familiar voice called, “Yun Yufeng, open up! We’ve brought your things!”

Recognizing the voice, Yun Yufeng opened the door to find the steward who served the clan chief. He hurried out to greet him. “Uncle Yun, you came in person? You could have sent a servant.”

“Yufeng, the clan chief thinks highly of you. He instructed me to deliver these myself. Hurry and clear some space so I can set everything down and return to report.”

“My thanks, Uncle Yun.”

“This chest contains the blackstone you requested. Normally it wouldn’t come so quickly, but someone happened to have some and lent it to you for now.”

Yun Yufeng opened the chest, pinched a bit of the blackstone between his fingers, examined it, and nodded in satisfaction.

“Uncle Yun, you’ve worked hard. Everything is excellent. Please thank the clan chief for me,” Yun Yufeng said with a smile.

“I’ll take my leave then. If you need anything, come to me directly. The clan chief has ordered that all your requests be fulfilled.”

“Oh? That’s wonderful. Safe journey, Uncle Yun.” Yun Yufeng smiled, realizing how much the clan chief valued him.

“Cai Die, go to the smithy and invite Master He over. And have them bring a furnace,” Yun Yufeng instructed.

“Yes, young master.”

Surveying the pile of materials, Yun Yufeng felt a headache coming on. He picked up several iron rods, measured them, and conjured a flame that instantly fused the iron together into a frame for support.

Some iron rods were sheathed in ceramic tubes, others formed pure iron racks. Laying out the design schematic, he assembled the components one by one, quickly creating a small-scale smelting device. Satisfied, he rolled up the plans and smiled.

“Young Master Yun, Master He is here. Do you need my help today?” a hearty voice called from the gate as a group of brawny men pushed in a cart loaded with a furnace.

Once everything was unloaded, Master He waved his hand. “You can leave now. No more need for you here.” The men eyed the strange contraption curiously, nodded, and wheeled the cart away.

“Master He, I hope I didn’t disturb you by calling you here on short notice?” Yun Yufeng asked with a smile, accepting a cup of tea from Cui Nong and handing it to Master He.

Seeing Yun Yufeng offer tea personally, Master He shuddered and quickly replied, “Young master, you honor me. If you summon me, of course there is business. No disturbance at all.”

Yun Yufeng nodded. “Good. I invited you today to join me in an experiment. Have a look at this device—can you guess what it’s for?”

Master He examined it closely, touching it here and there. After a while, he shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know. Please enlighten me.”

“It’s for smelting iron—what you might call a steel furnace.”

“A steel furnace?” Master He gaped. “This little thing?”

Amused by his disbelief, Yun Yufeng didn’t explain further. He moved the heavy furnace beneath the specially made refractory crucible. The crucible was small, just large enough to be fully enveloped by the furnace below. Once lit, it would heat the crucible efficiently.

After making sure all was ready, Yun Yufeng instructed Master He to light the furnace.

The bellows roared, and bright red flames danced inside, fueled by blackstone. The acrid smell filled the courtyard.

Despite the discomfort, Master He worked the bellows diligently, eyes glued to the crucible, eager to observe any change.

Nearby, a ball of dantian fire hovered at Yun Yufeng’s side, burning a section of gourd-shaped ceramic tube filled with charcoal, which now glowed bright red. Occasionally, water vapor hissed upon it, sending up bursts of crackling sound.

Yun Yufeng’s formidable spiritual power penetrated the crucible, monitoring the subtle changes in the molten iron. Time ticked by, and even Yun Yufeng struggled to maintain such focused effort for so long.

The crucible glowed crimson, molten iron churning within as impurities gradually sank to the bottom and some of the carbon content was burned away by the deliberately introduced air.

When the carbon ratio reached the desired level, Yun Yufeng opened a control valve, channeling the gas from the burning charcoal into the molten iron through a refractory ceramic tube. Tiny bubbles appeared throughout the iron.

Master He, lacking spiritual power, relied on his own observational methods, noting each step and its timing. He understood why Yun Yufeng had summoned him; perhaps his opportunity began now.

Beads of sweat formed on Yun Yufeng’s brow, which Cui Nong gently wiped away with a towel. He felt a faint discomfort in his mind; hours of continuous exertion had left him drained.

Watching the persistent dantian fire, Master He felt a surge of emotion. He’d lived most of his life and had seen martial artists use dantian fire, but none could compare to Yun Yufeng.

In the realm of spiritual power, the molten iron took on a different form. Sensing the iron had reached the desired state, Yun Yufeng withdrew the flame. With a wave of his right hand, a row of sand molds appeared on the ground beside the crucible—all sword molds. He lined them up in clusters, shifted the frame, and carefully tilted the crucible, pouring the molten iron into the molds. The small crucible held only a few hundred pounds, but in one go, over a hundred sword molds were filled.

Once the metal had set slightly, Yun Yufeng pulled out a mold, inspected the blade, then plunged it into a prepared well. Steam hissed as the blade met the cold water.

Following his lead, Master He quenched nearly a hundred swords, piling them together in an impressive sight.

“Young master, are these swords ready to use after sharpening with whetstone?” Master He asked curiously.

“You could say that. After sharpening, they’re finished swords. But they should also undergo a tempering step—heating the blade to two or three hundred degrees, then letting it cool naturally in the air. This increases both toughness and strength. I’ve noticed your smiths skip this step; it could be an improvement.”

Master He was astonished. “Why is that?”

“Rapid quenching makes the blade hard but also brittle, and not strong enough. Tempering fixes that.”

Master He nodded, not questioning where Yun Yufeng’s theory came from. He understood this was a secret. Such knowledge and devices were unheard of.

“Master He, choose a sword and sharpen the edge. This is just a trial; let’s see how effective it is. If it works, the clan will have a new source of wealth.”

“If it works, I foresee the end of our clan’s smiths. They’ll have to abandon generations of tradition and seek other trades. So many tears, so much bitterness.” Master He’s expression was grim. The sight of a hundred swords brought him no joy; he worried for his colleagues in the smithy.

Yun Yufeng smiled softly. “You’re overthinking, Master He. That won’t happen.”

“Why do you say that, young master? If this succeeds, the smithy will have no purpose.”

“Our clan sells only forged weapons. That’s all you need to understand.” Yun Yufeng shook his head helplessly. He thought, you worry here, but who will ever know or be grateful?

“I understand, young master. I was being rash.”

“No matter. Keep this to yourself for now. Later, you may be responsible for operating this device. If you have questions, come to me. For now, I’ll be staying in the clan for some time.”

“Are you leaving, young master?”

“In a sense. What I seek is battle.”

“I’ll do my best,” Master He replied, admiration in his eyes. So talented yet humble, young yet steady.

“I’ll return to the smithy to sharpen the swords. I’ll report the results as soon as I’m done.” Master He bowed and left.

Yun Yufeng sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to recover from the exhaustion. His head spun, but there was no help for it; to obtain firsthand data, he had to do it himself. The equipment was incomplete, too, so he could only use dantian fire to heat the charcoal.

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