Wait, no.
What about the quenching?
What about the raw lacquer?
Didn't he say it would take three months? How was it finished in just half a month?
And besides, as his little junior brother, I'm only a minor first-gate martial practitioner—can I really take hold of something fresh out of the furnace?
Liang Qu stood utterly baffled, having no idea why a spear that was supposed to take three months had been completed in a mere half month. He probed cautiously, "Senior Brother, did you forget something?"
Lu Gang paused, glanced at the spear, and looked enlightened. "Indeed."
Liang Qu relaxed. *See, I told you you forgot.*
Then he watched Lu Gang reach over to a nearby table for a red tassel, tie it securely beneath the spearhead, and offer the weapon once more. "There, all set. Strictly speaking, yours isn't quite a spear. The head is too long, so it should probably be considered a shuo. Still, there's no strict divide between the two, and tying this on does no harm. It helps block blood."
"That's not what I meant," Liang Qu said helplessly, coming clean. "Senior Brother Lu, didn't you say before that it needed another two months to apply lacquer? What kind of lacquer was it again?"
"That's the standard smithing process. I never expected to forge a spiritual weapon, so I hadn't planned on using shadow beast hide. With the shadow beast hide acting as the lacquer layer, raw lacquer is no longer necessary. The two have grown completely into one, just like bark growing on a tree. That's why it's already done."
"And what about quenching and all that? None of that is needed either?"
"Spiritual weapons don't require quenching. Since it can repair itself, it can self-adjust its flexibility, hardness, and even its center of balance."
Lu Gang gripped the spear and twirled it with a flick of his wrist. "This spear of yours is brimming with spirituality, virtually flawless. A tungsten-gold head, an ivory white wood shaft, the Scarlet Flame feather bringing it to life, and shadow beast hide serving as lacquer. It's safe to say this is the finest finished piece I've ever forged. Holding it, I can almost feel a living presence dwelling within. Take a look."
Hearing this, Liang Qu could only marvel at the wonders of the world.
To make this spear, Senior Brother Lu had surely poured in plenty of his own materials out of pocket. He owed him an enormous favor!
There were many precious metals in Zeye Marsh that Senior Brother Lu would likely appreciate; he would have to set Ah Fei and the others to look for some later.
He extended both hands, solemnly stepping forward to receive the great spear.
As Lu Gang let go, Liang Qu's arms sank slightly.
So heavy!
It had to weigh nearly a hundred jin!
An ordinary spear weighed only around two to five jin, and only a handful of fierce generals ever wielded spears weighing twenty or thirty jin.
Though the weapon of Lord Guan in historical romances was said to weigh eighty jin, converted to the actual weights of that era, it was merely around thirty jin.
The great spear before him was heavier and heftier than those used by famous generals of antiquity!
Liang Qu gazed intently at the spear, a wondrous sense of resonance stirring in his heart.
The spearhead alone measured a full twelve cun!
The blade of a normal single-handed sword was merely twenty-one or twenty-two cun; this spearhead was practically half a sword on its own.
Its design was truly distinctive, closer to a shuo than a spear.
Yet spears, shuo, and pikes had never been strictly distinguished anyway, having never received rigid definitions.
Notions of flexible shafts, rigid shafts, and spearheads were all later summaries, every one of which could be refuted by ancient texts.
Beneath the midday sunlight, a faint sheen of dark gold gleamed along the blade.
A coiled chihu tiger wound once around the neck of the spear, its feline torso dissolving into flowing clouds, its claws gripping the shaft tight, and its maw open to spit forth the blade. Those two tiger eyes genuinely seemed to flicker with cold glint.
This was by no means craftsmanship achievable by human skill alone; perhaps only the shadow beast hide could produce such an effect.
Liang Qu drew a deep breath and gently caressed the shaft. Ivory white wood was supposed to be fine-grained and milky white, but after being cloaked in a layer of beast hide, its color had shifted to a dark, sandalwood purple. The feel had transformed drastically as well, taking on a thick, rubbery texture that made it hard to slip from one's grasp.
"The entire spear measures seven chi five cun. The head is exactly twelve cun, and including the metal section extending downward, it comes to two chi two cun. Its total weight is ninety-six jin. Given your current strength, Junior Brother, it's a bit long and heavy, but not unusable."
Every material had passed through Lu Gang's hands; he knew the exact figures without needing to weigh it. This weight and length took into account that Liang Qu would still grow taller.
Liang Qu nodded. A weight of nearly a hundred jin was not something he couldn't lift—in fact, simply carrying it wasn't even tiring—but as a weapon, it was an entirely different matter.
For an ordinary adult, being able to wield a two-jin single-handed sword effectively was already remarkable.
Fortunately, a spear did not rely solely on arm strength, and holding a spiritual spear attuned to him felt like an extension of his own body. As a first-gate martial practitioner, the marsh spirit's reinforcement granted Liang Qu far more strength than average practitioners possessed, and bolstered further by the Bow Jin Method, he could just barely manage it.
"I've got a few wooden stakes in the back courtyard. Want to give it a try?"
"Sure!"
As a boy, Liang Qu had gleefully beaten down wild weeds whenever he found a stick, let alone now, having received such a divine weapon. He agreed at once.
Arriving in the back courtyard, they found several thick wooden posts wrapped in straw standing upright, surrounded by fallen pieces of chopped wood. Clearly, this area was dedicated to testing weapons.
Liang Qu took a deep breath, circulated his jin, swung the two-and-a-half-meter spear, and cleaved toward a wooden post.
Cleaving, covering, intercepting, parrying, lifting, swirling, leading, thrusting, smashing, stabbing, picking—with this weapon's design, none posed the slightest issue.
Half the wooden post tumbled off, landing on the grass with a dull thud.
Holy crap!
Liang Qu nearly cursed aloud.
As he swung down just now, he hadn't felt the slightest resistance, as though cutting through thin air!
Unbelievable! Third Senior Brother, you absolute god!
A single downward strike could probably split a man in two on the spot!
If he had possessed this spear yesterday facing the mountain ghost, even without aiming for its weak point, a simple chop would likely have cleaved its head right off!
When the blood sacrifice came around, he would lead the charge!
Unaware of what Liang Qu was thinking, Lu Gang silently pulled up three wooden posts, bundled them together, and pressed them a third of the way into the ground with the strength of his bare hands alone.
"Try again."
Hearing this, Liang Qu swept the spear across once more. There was a faint drag, yet no sticking whatsoever, and all three wooden posts were shorn shorter in unison.
Lu Gang then retrieved an iron rod as thick as a forearm from who knew where and drove it into the ground. "Try again."
"This..." Liang Qu felt a pang of reluctance.
"What are you afraid of? As long as there are materials, notches in a spiritual weapon heal on their own. Come on!"
Liang Qu considered it and realized he was right; his mindset still hadn't fully shifted.
Immediately swinging the great spear, he slashed down at the iron rod. This time it didn't shear through completely, severing only two-thirds of the way.
Fortunately, with a slight exertion of force, the iron rod snapped clean through. Looking back at the spearhead, it remained entirely unscathed.
If even cleaving and slashing were so formidable, what would a thrust be like?
Back then, the steel-like carapace of that crab monster would have been punctured right through, wouldn't it?
Under these results, both Liang Qu and Lu Gang were thoroughly pleased.
One was delighted with his weapon, the other with his masterpiece.
Returning inside, Lu Gang brought out a long wooden case meant for the spear and a small leather box.
Inside the small leather box lay a small piece of tungsten gold, a small block of ivory white wood, a bottle of golden grease, and a smooth piece of silk.
"The shadow beast hide can mend itself by absorbing blood, but repairing the other two components requires materials of matching properties. I've prepared two spare pieces for you. In addition, whenever it touches blood, remember to maintain and wipe it down with sword oil to prevent defilement. Everything is inside."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu! Born of humble origins, I have little with which to repay your kindness. If you ever have need of me in the future, Senior Brother, I will obey without hesitation!"
Liang Qu knew well that his Scarlet Flame Mourning Feather had cost Senior Brother Lu a fortune; many precious materials had been added extra for the sake of making it a spiritual weapon, easily tripling or quadrupling the cost.
Yet now that he had taken the weapon, all he could do was hold on to the debt of gratitude.
Lu Gang chuckled, not believing there was anything Liang Qu could actually help him with, though he didn't dismiss the gesture. "All right. If I ever need anything down the road, I won't be shy."
Liang Qu clasped his hands and bowed deeply. Then, gingerly placing the treasure into the long wooden case, he cradled both boxes and took his leave.
"Good. After toiling for half a month, I could use some rest too. Go on ahead."
Chapter 75