Forging Weapons

As a new student, Su Yu was extremely busy. Especially after becoming class monitor, he was so busy he barely had time to rest. Even so, on August 8, Su Yu squeezed out some time to visit the Weapon Forging College. In truth, they were on the same campus; it was just a bit far. *** "Finally decided to show up?" When Su Yu found Zhao Li, the old man was tinkering with something in his lab. He had previously stated that Su Yu could come see him on the 8th, 18th, and 28th of every month. Su Yu had kept the dates in mind and rushed over. Feeling somewhat awkward, Su Yu said in a low voice, "Instructor Zhao, I..." "No need to explain!" Zhao Li waved his hand dismissively. "You just enrolled; it's normal to be busy! That's why I said a minor is just for picking up a handy skill—don't even think about doing in-depth research, it wastes too much time!" With that, he chuckled. "You came at just the right time today. You don't have any foundation yet, and I can't be bothered to teach you the basics. Go listen to lectures when you have time. I won't teach you the basics, and learning anything right now would be useless anyway. Just come watch the big spectacle and enjoy the excitement!" Saying this, he gestured for Su Yu to follow and walked toward the interior of the lab. Su Yu hurried after him! *** After walking for a while, they entered the underground level. Ahead was a spacious, cavernous hall. At the moment, Su Yu wasn't the only one there; quite a few people were present. Both old and young. Seeing Su Yu behind Zhao Li, some recognized him while others didn't. After inquiring in whispers and learning he was a minor student from the Divine Character College, they didn't say much. They knew the academy had opened up a minor system. However, none of them expected anyone to achieve anything significant through a minor. "Elder Zhao!" "Instructor Zhao!" "..." Everyone greeted him one after another. Zhao Li nodded slightly without saying much. Walking to the center of the hall, Zhao Li finally spoke, "Today, I will forge a low-tier Profound-rank civilization weapon! Profound-rank civilization weapons are suitable for the Tengkong and Lingyun Realms, while Yellow rank is suitable for Qianjun and Wanshi. Of course, Civilization Masters usually don't use Yellow-rank civilization weapons until Character Cultivation..." "Needless to say, Earth rank is used by Shanhai Realm experts!" "As for Heaven-rank civilization weapons... they might exist in the Quest Realm; in any case, I haven't heard of them anywhere else." These basic facts were obviously directed at Su Yu. Su Yu listened attentively, standing in a corner without making a sound. He didn't know anyone present, and even if he had questions, he wouldn't ask them right now. He hadn't expected that today would be when Zhao Li forged a civilization weapon; no wonder so many people had gathered. "Some might wonder: are weapons really divided into civil and martial?" "And where lies the difference between a civilization weapon and a martial weapon?" "..." In the hall, the crowd was speechless, glancing curiously at Su Yu one after another. This was clearly a lecture meant for Su Yu! How could they possibly not know such basics? Among these people, some were researchers from the Forging faction, some were instructors, and a few were prodigies of the Weapon Forging College. How could they fail to understand this? Su Yu was the only one who didn't, so when Zhao Li spoke, everyone knew his intention: it was entirely for this minor student's benefit. Ignoring them, Zhao Li continued, "The biggest difference between a civilization weapon and a martial weapon lies in their construction!" "Martial weapons are sufficiently sturdy and capable of holding yuanqi. The more yuanqi they can hold and the sturdier they are, the higher their rank!" Zhao Li said slowly, "When warriors fight, it often involves close combat—slashing, breaking defenses, piercing... At times like that, the sturdier and sharper the weapon, the better. Ideally, it should hold a hundred percent of their yuanqi to unleash even stronger explosive power!" "Civilization weapons... couldn't care less about that!" Zhao Li said indifferently, "What attaches to a civilization weapon isn't yuanqi, but divine characters!" "It's willpower!" "We don't care whether it's sturdy or not. The property of sturdiness depends on your divine characters, on your willpower." "Forging a civilization weapon comes down to several key points: facilitating the integration of divine characters, aiding the manifestation of their traits, and matching the right materials to the right divine characters..." "Or to put it another way, a civilization weapon is meant only for oneself!" "Martial weapons are for the masses!" Zhao Li let out a breath and continued, "That is the difference between civil and martial weapons. Our civilization weapons are custom-tailored, which makes them expensive and made of specialized materials. They are forged primarily based on your own divine characters and willpower; there is no such thing as standard-issue." "And civilization weapons are divided into many kinds. What we usually refer to as forging civilization weapons actually comes in two forms: weapon embryos and finished products!" "Finished products speak for themselves: the Civilization Master provides the materials or merit points, and the forgemaster tailors a civilization weapon to their requirements—a one-and-done deal!" "A civilization weapon embryo is different. We forgemasters give you a basic weapon embryo without adding special materials. You must integrate it, nurture it, take it into your sea of will, nurture it with divine characters and blood essence, and add precious materials yourself..." "This isn't a one-and-done deal, because it can be upgraded later. Once you gather enough materials, you can come back to us to upgrade the embryo, because it isn't considered a finished product." "..." Zhao Li explained for about ten minutes, and some people in the crowd were visibly growing impatient. These were platitudes! They hadn't come today to listen to these basics; they had come to watch Zhao Li forge a Profound-rank civilization weapon. Zhao Li clearly sensed it as well, saying indifferently, "Reviewing the old allows one to understand the new. A forgemaster's greatest taboo is restlessness! If you can't even overcome that... why bother being a forgemaster? You're doomed to have no future your whole life!" Among the crowd, an elderly man cleared his throat and chuckled, "Old Zhao, don't get angry. But everyone is gathered here, and some have things to attend to later. How about... you forge the civilization weapon first?" Zhao Li snorted. "If you've got things to do, scram! I feel like talking; what can you do about it?" "..." The old man had nothing to say, caught between tears and laughter. Zhao Li had an eccentric temper; this had been recorded in the Great Xia Cultural Academy's freshman handbook. Su Yu hadn't experienced it before, but he was certainly experiencing it now. He also felt a bit embarrassed, knowing Zhao Li was holding up everyone's time on his account. He wanted to speak up, but didn't know what to say. Ignoring them, Zhao Li continued, "Forging civilization weapons also requires divine characters. In fact, forgemasters can be considered part of the divine character faction. Or rather, in this era, divine characters are the foundation, and almost all Civilization Masters grasp them to some degree!" "Bring the materials!" Zhao Li called out, and several young men quickly brought out a large pile of materials, almost none of which Su Yu recognized. They were colorful, some pitch-black, appearing to be certain types of metals. "Different materials require different divine characters to dissolve..." "But what if mastering so many divine characters causes repulsion?" "Therefore, forgemasters generally possess a specific divine character!" With those words, a wisp of flame appeared in Zhao Li's hand. "This divine character of mine is from the Flame Demon Race: the character 'Fire'! Among forgemasters, it's considered top-tier, capable of dissolving over ninety percent of materials. If other materials can't be dissolved with fire, you either have to cultivate other divine characters or collaborate with others!" As he spoke, various materials rapidly melted in his hands! Those materials melted into liquids, floating before him. "A forgemaster must know the exact proportions of each material!" "The person who asked me to forge this civilization weapon is a Tengkong Realm teaching assistant. He's relatively well known for mastering a 'Pierce' character. I won't go into its specific traits, but he specializes in assassination!" "Therefore, this civilization weapon must be sufficiently concealed. Restraining aura is the hardest part of this weapon, but fortunately, he provided a demon-restraining stone, which can conceal most of the weapon's aura..." As Zhao Li spoke, he measured and proportioned the various liquids. Soon, several liquids began blending together. "Merging these materials also requires a specific divine character. The best would be the Earth Fire Race's 'Melt' character. Some divine character traits are fixed, but you might not be able to learn them. I don't know that one, but I know the Flame Demon Race's 'Combine' character!" As the word "Combine" left his mouth, Su Yu witnessed an astonishing sight in the very next instant. The distinct, vividly colored liquids suddenly blended together completely, gradually turning transparent. While merging them, Zhao Li spoke rapidly, "When merging, you must be extremely careful. One slight misstep leads to chaotic fusion and failure to liquefy. If it can't liquefy, it can't be stored in the sea of will, rendering this civilization weapon practically half-ruined. Unable to enter the sea of will, it can't be continuously nurtured, and it won't achieve optimal synergy with divine characters..." As Zhao Li forged and talked at the same time, several researchers beside him grew nervous on his behalf. Don't ruin it! Even though it was only low-tier Profound rank, Profound-rank civilization weapons were inherently difficult to forge. If he ruined it, he would have to compensate the owner for the losses. A low-tier Profound-rank civilization weapon was worth over a thousand—in merit points! For a Tengkong Realm cultivator, accumulating a thousand merit points often meant their entire life savings. Forging a civilization weapon could easily bankrupt them. The various liquids gradually merged! Becoming transparent! At this moment, Zhao Li suddenly said, "If a forgemaster wanted to leave a backdoor in a weapon, the merging phase is the most suitable time. When you receive a weapon, you must inspect it thoroughly..." "Cough, cough!" A chorus of coughs echoed around the room! Zhao Li couldn't be bothered with them, continuing as before, "In fact, when forging a weapon, it's best to watch from the side yourself. After merging, it's best to inspect it. For instance, right now, if I left something inside, or placed a secret trap with a divine character, I could easily counter them instantly or even destroy the weapon the moment they drew it against me!" "It's best not to buy civilization weapons on the market. Using an embryo is actually best—nurture it yourself!" "..." "Old Zhao!" Someone couldn't hold back, clearing his throat and saying, "We forgemasters have our professional ethics. None of us would do such things!" "Better safe than sorry. Who knows which bastard might pull something like that!" Zhao Li carried on, his expression turning solemn. "After the merging phase comes the hardest part: the shaping phase. At this stage, you must be extremely cautious. Whether you can forge the weapon someone needs, one suited to them, depends entirely on the shaping!" "And right now, it also depends on the forgemaster's skill and attitude. Some unscrupulous fellows might only give it a rough shape during this phase, when in reality it could easily fall apart..." "You wouldn't notice it normally, but once in battle, after a few hundred exchanges, the weapon could explode or shatter—anything is possible!" As his words fell, the air suddenly froze! In the next moment, Su Yu saw it—with his naked eyes, he saw countless hammers materialize in midair, slamming down with a roar toward that blob of transparent liquid. Boom! Boom! "This is shaping the forged weapon. A low-tier Profound-rank civilization weapon requires at least thirty-seven rounds of forging, and up to forty rounds at most. Some people lack the strength and cut corners, often stopping after a dozen-odd rounds. That's a pseudo-Profound rank, extremely prone to mishaps, and such people are a disgrace to forgemasters..." Rumble! Roar after roar sounded, and Su Yu could already see the liquid taking shape—it was a dagger! Now, as Zhao Li forged continuously, a golden pattern gradually appeared on the dagger. "This is the mark of one round of forging. A low-tier Profound rank has at least thirty-seven marks, though they can be faked; you outsiders wouldn't be able to tell..." Zhao Li continued exposing the dark secrets of the forging world! The other forgemasters' faces darkened. Stop making veiled accusations; they hadn't done any of that! Once, twice, three times, four times... Sweat gradually beaded on Zhao Li's forehead, and he stopped talking. Clearly, forging weapons wasn't as effortless as it looked. Su Yu could tell that Zhao Li was using willpower and divine characters to forge the weapon, which was likely the trait of another divine character, meaning Zhao Li possessed at least three divine characters. A single round of forging lasted nearly ten minutes. At least thirty-seven rounds—obviously, this was not something that could be completed quickly. It would take over six hours! Su Yu felt slightly shaken inside. He began to realize that weapon forging was actually a method of cultivation for forgemasters! A contest and depletion of willpower! Lasting over six hours just to forge the lowest-grade Profound-rank civilization weapon! He thought of himself in the fragment chamber. He could now hold out for about forty minutes, but if he were up there forging weapons and activating divine characters, he might only last twenty minutes. Because using divine characters consumed far more! Everyone else remained utterly silent, though their faces showed varying degrees of envy and admiration. Forgemasters were by no means weaklings! In the entire academy, only a handful could sustain thirty-seven consecutive rounds of forging like this. Sweat dripped from Zhao Li's forehead, yet he spoke up once again: "Forgemasters are not weak. Because we forge weapons year-round, our willpower is far more resilient and formidable than that of our peers. Fighting against opponents in the same realm... forgemasters fear no one, and more often than not, we are the ones who win!" "That's why, when someone's willpower isn't particularly strong but exceptionally resilient... I like such students very much!" He said those words once again! He was talking about Su Yu! Why had he wanted to take Su Yu as a disciple the first time he saw him? Because Su Yu's willpower had not been strong, yet it had been incredibly tenacious; he had unleashed his divine character multiple times back when his willpower was still puny. Ever since that day, Zhao Li had constantly wanted to take Su Yu under his wing. To his great regret, Su Yu had chosen the divine character faction! "A genius should temper willpower that is more resilient than their peers! In the same realm, you can sweep through your peers. When others can only sustain combat for five minutes, you hold out for ten, and they are the one who dies!" "A genius should have no fear of being besieged. When they think your willpower will be spent in five minutes and you're doomed, you stubbornly last ten minutes and turn the tables to slaughter them all!" "You can even fight across realms—dragging them out until they die!" Zhao Li's body was trembling, yet he still chuckled. "I am at the seventh layer of Lingyun! But if I encounter a divine character faction Civilization Master of the same cultivation, as long as he's in the same realm, his willpower cannot exceed mine. His burst of power is utterly frail in my eyes!" "Without willpower as resilient as mine, even an eruption of willpower can hardly harm me. I can simply wait until his willpower is exhausted, then counterkill him in an instant!" "I can last for ten hours; can he?" "Those fellows from the divine character faction might wilt after an hour... or their willpower's intensity will drastically plummet after just a few minutes. Then I'll be stronger than him, and killing him will be child's play!" "Your Multiple Divine Characters Faction actually shares some similarities with us. Having many divine characters creates a heavy burden, making you more durable than others, but compared to us forgemasters, you still fall short... Of course, with many divine characters come many traits, and divine characters are complex things. In an actual fight, it's hard to say who would win!" "Bai Feng can insta-kill the ninth-layer Tengkong Hu Wensheng, but as for me... even if Zheng Yuming came, as long as he can't kill me in a single strike, I can drag him to death!" At this moment, Zhao Li was exceedingly proud! It was the pride of a master forgemaster! Zheng Yuming, student of Zhou Mingren, was a Shanhai Realm expert, even if only newly entered. Zhao Li was merely at the seventh layer of Lingyun! Naturally, there was an element of boasting. At that moment, Su Yu clearly saw several Civilization Masters turn their heads away, refusing to look at Zhao Li. If Zhao Li claimed he could contend with a ninth-layer Lingyun, they would believe it. But Shanhai was an entirely different realm. Saying Zheng Yuming couldn't kill him in one blow was far from certain. If a single strike critically wounded him, no matter how durable he was, he wouldn't be able to keep fighting while grievously injured. Facing a Shanhai, Zhao Li was certain to die. Though, he was probably considerably harder to kill than an ordinary seventh-layer Lingyun. Zhao Li couldn't care less about their reactions, panting as he said, "For a forgemaster, what matters most is how to obtain matching divine characters and how to develop your sea of will to make your willpower firmer and more enduring... This is a secret; minor students aren't taught it at all!" "..." Su Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If you're not going to teach it, why have you been lecturing me about it all this time? The old man still hadn't given up; he wanted Su Yu to switch factions. He understood, and everyone else understood too. Once more, they all looked at Su Yu. Was this kid... really that remarkable? Worth Zhao Li valuing him so highly? By now, Zhao Li truly had no energy left to talk. The hammers danced continuously in midair, pounding against the shaped dagger, and soon, a few more golden patterns appeared. Just as the hall grew deathly quiet, Zhao Li blurted out another remark: "Focus on the essentials. Look at where each strike lands. Different striking points yield different results. Whether the golden pattern is crisp and brilliant indicates whether this round of forging succeeded or not!" "Trash forgemasters often forge golden patterns that are all crooked..." Clang! Just as he finished speaking, a pattern formed! It was crooked! Dead silence filled the hall! Even if Su Yu didn't understand the craft, he could tell right now that a newly formed golden pattern on the dagger was visibly crooked! Considering what Zhao Li had just said... Su Yu lowered his head. I heard nothing! Zhao Li's face clearly turned awkward as he said in a low voice, "Talking just now caused me to get a bit distracted. This is a negative example. I wanted to show you that when forging a civilization weapon, you must concentrate and never let your mind wander. I deliberately gave you a demonstration..." "No matter. A trash forgemaster wouldn't be able to correct it at this point, but I'm different. I can reforge it once and reverse that previous strike!" "..." When those words came out, the faces of several old men present turned utterly black! Right, we're all trash! Because none of us can pull off reforging! Zhao Li, you ruthless bastard! Just to save face in front of a newcomer, you cursed every single one of us! In the next instant, Su Yu saw Zhao Li let out a low roar and erupt with yet another divine character. Nobody knew what this divine character was; when a Civilization Master didn't wish to reveal it, it was impossible to see. Boom! A loud crash sounded again. The hammers swung frantically once more, but this time, instead of forging a golden pattern, they were gradually fading out the crooked line from before. It took even more time! Nearly twenty full minutes passed before Zhao Li, his face pale, finally managed to erase the crooked line. "All right, that is the basic skill of a powerful forgemaster!" "It's also my, Zhao Li's, signature expertise. Some fellows want to learn it... but I won't teach them. Too useless; learning it would only embarrass me!" "..." The scene fell into dead silence once more. Getting no response, Zhao Li was probably tired as well. He didn't dare get distracted again, quickly focusing all his concentration on forging the civilization weapon. One hour, two hours... Su Yu had to admit that these people were exceptionally patient. Everyone watched without blinking! It took nearly seven full hours! Su Yu had arrived toward evening, just before five in the afternoon, and by now, it was late into the night! As for Zhao Li, he was completely drenched in sweat. The next moment, the final golden pattern formed, covering the entire dagger. The dagger shifted from transparent to golden. "Congeal!" With a ferocious shout, Zhao Li's willpower erupted, and the dagger instantly vanished from everyone's sight. In the next instant, a boom rang out! Beside him, an old man's willpower surged as he turned pale, staring at the dark-black dagger that materialized right before his eyes. He couldn't help cursing, "Old Zhao, have you gone mad? Are you trying to kill me?" "You're at the third layer of Lingyun after all; you won't die!" Zhao Li panted. "It doesn't match my divine characters, so I was testing its effect. Looks pretty good—thirty-nine patterns forged, which counts as top-grade among low-tier Profound rank. Good thing I reforged it earlier, or it would've been ruined." Su Yu, meanwhile, had been dumbfounded throughout. He hadn't reacted at all, nor had he seen how the dagger vanished or how it appeared in front of that old man. If that dagger had been aimed at him... Su Yu wouldn't even know how he died! Was this a civilization weapon? Zhao Li reached out with a beckoning motion, and the dagger flew back, vanishing into his hand the next moment. He chuckled, "It can now be stored in the sea of will to be nurtured. Of course, its master isn't here; otherwise, he should take his divine character into it right now to nurture them together and deepen the affinity between the divine character and the civilization weapon." With that, Zhao Li exhaled and looked at the others. "You're still not leaving? Waiting for me to treat you to dinner?" The older men were speechless and didn't linger, taking their leave one after another. Several young students looked at Su Yu, their expressions a mix of curiosity and jealousy. Su Yu was also preparing to leave, but Zhao Li waved for him to wait. Was he going to give him private coaching? *** Su Yu was curious about Zhao Li's intention in having him stay behind. However, Zhao Li had no intention of giving him private lessons. He casually tossed over a pitch-black small knife. It was tiny, like a toy, as he said offhandedly, "Didn't I tell you last time? I'm giving you an embryo. Go throw it into that pool in your filtration chamber. You don't need it yet; take it out when the time comes." "This is... a civilization weapon embryo?" Su Yu fiddled with the small knife and gave it a squeeze—it was like dough, softening under his touch! Su Yu was stunned! This was a weapon? "Civilization weapons aren't martial weapons; didn't you hear what I said earlier?" Zhao Li said crossly, "This is a top-tier Yellow-rank civilization weapon embryo. It isn't worth much. I originally thought about getting you a Profound-rank one, but realized you have no use for it yet, so use a Yellow-rank one. Once you reach Character Cultivation, you can use it. When you're ready to integrate a divine character, come find me again, and I'll help you get some matching materials..." Saying that, he added, "That illusion divine character of yours isn't easy to forge around on my end; that stuff is very difficult. Aside from that, you seem to have grasped a lightning-element divine character?" "Yes, I've also mastered a 'Thunder' character. And besides illusions, my 'Blood' character can also absorb blood..." Su Yu answered quickly! Zhao Li pondered for a moment, then spoke, "I see. Blood absorption, thunder... those are all offensive traits. You use a saber, right? Then I recommend that once you reach the Character Cultivation stage, you'd better outline a 'Saber' character, or a 'Weapon' character. If not those, a 'Break' character or 'Shatter' would also do..." Zhao Li continued, "It's mainly to complement your blood absorption trait—make it sharper, cut wounds into enemies, and unleash the potential of that blood-absorbing capability..." Su Yu hurriedly asked, "Instructor, can someone deliberately study and outline those divine characters?" "Of course!" Zhao Li chuckled. "The prerequisite is... your family has money! For instance, if a willpower text contains a certain character, and you can't learn it after reading it once, you can read it multiple times—ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times... there's still hope of learning it!" "Naturally, reading it that many times would ruin at least dozens of willpower texts. If you aren't short on money, you can give it a try!" "..." Su Yu smiled wryly. I am short on money! Never mind dozens of books; he currently only had two complete Qianjun Realm originals on hand. Where on earth could he get so many? "None of that is my concern; go ask Bai Feng!" Zhao Li grumbled. "If you were my major student, I would certainly find a way to get those willpower texts for you to learn. But you aren't, so I won't waste too much energy on you!" "I'm already very satisfied. Thank you for the gift, Instructor, and thank you for your guidance!" Su Yu hurried to express his thanks. Zhao Li was truly very good to him. Nearly making a mistake in forging today had actually been because of him; if Su Yu hadn't been there, Zhao Li probably wouldn't have bothered to say a word. "Let's leave it at that, then. Head back early and get some rest!" Zhao Li said. Just as Su Yu was about to leave, he suddenly added, "If you ever want to forge weapons yourself one day and have outlined divine characters suitable for weapon forging... I can teach you the method to stimulate willpower and become as enduring as I am!" "..." Su Yu turned to Zhao Li and bowed in gratitude once more. "Thank you, Instructor. I will work hard!" "Scram!" Waving his hand, he impatiently dismissed Su Yu. Once Su Yu was gone, Zhao Li let out a breath. Feeling somewhat weary, he muttered, "What a pity. Clearly a prime talent for weapon forging, yet he insisted on running off to the divine character faction. His willpower was so weak, yet he erupted his divine character so many times. He has the potential to forge an Earth-rank civilization weapon with over seventy-three golden patterns..." Turning his gaze toward the depths of the laboratory, Zhao Li felt a pang of regret. Hidden there was a semi-finished Earth-rank civilization weapon! Seventy-two golden patterns, with the seventy-third on the verge of forming, but alas... he couldn't keep forging! "Unless I reach Shanhai, or cultivate the Spirit Expansion Art to a deeper level. What a shame..." Zhao Li sighed. As for anyone else, there was no hope! This year's new students, let alone erupting their divine character multiple times—even those few top-tier geniuses looked like they were dying after erupting just once. Practicing the Spirit Expansion Art would only be a waste of time for them, completely useless.