Martial Cultivator

However, faced with the old blacksmith's expectant inquiry, Chen Chao could only give him a disappointing answer. "When I found this saber, it was already broken. But later, this junior found the other half."

By saying this, the meaning was clear.

The old blacksmith jeered, "I'm a swordsmith, don't you know that?"

Chen Chao smiled bitterly. Of course he knew that, but he just wanted to try his luck.

"You're an interesting kid. Looks like you're planning to head to Sword Qi Mountain to find a solution."

The old blacksmith tossed the broken saber back to Chen Chao, then got up and went to inspect the sword embryo he had been quenching earlier.

Unwilling to give up, Chen Chao asked, "Senior, is there really no way?"

Without lifting his head, the old blacksmith replied, "Setting aside the fact that this old man is a swordsmith, the material of your saber is peculiar. There aren't many people in the world who has the confidence to reforge it successfully."

Chen Chao asked curiously, "Is reforging a broken saber that complicated?"

The old blacksmith lifted his head, furrowed his brows, and then raised an eyebrow as he asked, "You're Chen Chao?"

Chen Chao was surprised. "How did you know, Senior?"

The old blacksmith laughed coldly, "Black clothes and a broken saber - could there be anyone more recognizable in the world?"

Chen Chao chuckled and nodded. "Indeed, this junior is."

The old blacksmith put down the sword embryo in his hand, thought for a moment, and then slowly said, "Swordsmiths in this world would rather forge a new sword than repair those famous swords whose fame had long already rocked the world. Do you know why?"

Chen Chao shook his head. He was completely clueless about sword forging and saber forging.

The old blacksmith sighed. "When a flying sword gets damaged, if it's just minor nicks, it can be repaired with the original material of the sword. But if it's broken, the sword's heart qi is also broken. Reforging it isn't just about reconnecting the two ends; it's about restoring that heart qi. This process is far more complicated than forging a new sword. No swordsmith with less than decades of experience would dare to attempt it. If the heart qi can't be restored, then even if the sword is reforged, it's still just a piece of scrap metal. So, do you understand now how troublesome it is?"

“Heart qi?” Chen Chao was very curious about this term.

The old blacksmith furrowed his brows. “It's just a term used by swordsmiths. To explain it properly, you can think of it as meridians under the surface of the flying sword. It's like a severed arm; it's not just as simple as stitching the skin back together. The broken bones, blood vessels, and nerves inside all need to be reconnected carefully. Compared to a severed arm, repairing a broken flying sword is much more complex and requires far more effort. If any segment is done incorrectly, all previous efforts will be in vain.”

Chen Chao asked, “Since it's that complicated for a flying sword, is my broken saber just as troublesome?”

The old blacksmith laughed, “You've used this saber for so long, have you not sensed this saber's spirituality?"

Chen Chao was speechless. He naturally knew his broken saber was not ordinary, it definitely had spirituality.

The old blacksmith smiled, “Whether is it magic artifacts or flying swords, they are all said to have spirituality. But why don't we hear the same about other weapons like sabers or spears? It's not that they lack spirituality, but there are fewer users and even fewer high-quality ones, so they're not mentioned as often. Your broken saber, just in terms of resilience, is already comparable to the Hundred Year Swords from Sword Qi Mountain. Its previous owner must have been a remarkable figure. Otherwise, they would not have expended so much effort to forge this saber.”

Chen Chao was silent.

"It's precisely because of this that repairing this broken saber is exceptionally difficult. I don't have the ability, and while there might be someone on Sword Qi Mountain who can, they might not be willing to help. After all, those folks up there only forge swords."

The old blacksmith looked at Chen Chao with a smile. "Did you bring something that can move Sword Qi Mountain on this trip?"

Chen Chao shook his head, smiling bitterly as he said. "I have some things, but I can't guarantee anything. I can only try my luck."

The old blacksmith sighed emotionally, then spoke his mind. "Those guys are all a bunch of lunatics, always thinking about how to forge a peerless sword. But in this old man's view, they've lost their original intention. A swordsmith should just focus on forging swords, why would they need to think so much? However, there are a few old folks up in the mountains who have real skills. It's up to you whether you can impress them. But when the time comes, don't mention that you've met this old man. Once you bring me up, even if you bring them a mountain of gold, those fellows will all ignore you."

Chen Chao asked curiously, "Does Senior have a grudge against Sword Qi Mountain?"

The old blacksmith shook his head. "It's our own dirty laundry, so I won't talk about it to avoid incurring ridicule."

Chen Chao nodded and did not press further.

After a moment of silence, Chen Chao suddenly said, "Would it be presumptuous of this junior to ask Senior for a flying sword?"

The old blacksmith looked puzzled. "You're a mere martial artist, why do you need a sword?"

Chen Chao smiled bitterly and recounted the previous incident, how he had broken Xu Bai's flying sword. Reflecting on it now, he felt somewhat sorry for him.

"Xu Bai? This old man has heard his name before. He's a passable sword cultivator. Except, he married some trash."

The old blacksmith rolled his eyes, somewhat displeased.

Chen Chao smiled bitterly.

"This old man forge swords not for wealth but out of fate. If he happens to come here and has a connection with one of this old man's flying swords, what harm would it do to give him one? Stop worrying about it, kid"

Chen Chao nodded and did not press further, just thinking that if he encountered Xu Bai again, he would inform him of this matter.

Suddenly, the old blacksmith asked, "I heard that the girl from the academy took away nine flying swords from Sword Qi Mountain?"

Chen Chao nodded, "There's indeed such a thing."

The old blacksmith sighed, "Looks like there's going to be a remarkable female sword immortal in the world."

There was a smile on Chen Chao's face.

The old blacksmith gave him a disdainful glance and then said, "One more tip for you: if you encounter someone surnamed Chou up there in the mountains, try to get on their good side. That old guy has a strange temper; maybe he can help you out."

Chen Chao thanked him with a smile, "Thank you, Senior."

The old blacksmith did not say anything more, just took another big gulp of his drink before waving his hand, indicating that he was chasing Chen Chao away.

Walking out of the swordsmith workshop, Chen Chao bowed earnestly from a distance. The old blacksmith paid him no mind and just continued to focus on his sword forging.

Chen Chao went out of the town and soon arrived at a commandery city, which was Sword Proximity Commandery.

Arriving here, he was already not far from that so-called Sword Qi Mountain.

Upon entering the city gates, the guards took a few more looks at Chen Chao. Nearing Sword Qi Mountain, there were many swordsmith workshops, and plenty of sword cultivators came seeking swords. The people coming and going were all carrying swords, but the young man in front of them was carrying a saber, this naturally attracted more attention. Chen Chao paid no mind to these gazes. But after entering the city, he could see that the streets were lined with swordsmith workshops, and the clang of metalworking filled the air. Despite this, there were still many sword cultivators coming and going.

Chen Chao went around them and found an inn. After asking for a room at the front desk, he noticed that the entire inn was filled with sword cultivators. This piqued his curiosity, so he decided to ask the innkeeper. The innkeeper was a frail middle-aged man. Upon hearing Chen Chao's inquiry and noticing that he carried a saber but not a sword, he chuckled and said, "Guest, you're not a sword cultivator, so I reckon that you don't know. The most renowned swordsmith in the commandery city has just completed a new sword. All these people are here to request for the sword. The new sword will be unveiled tonight. If Guest has nothing else to do, you can also go take a look."

Everyone in the world knew that the flying swords from Sword Qi Mountain were the best. However, not all sword cultivators could obtain a flying sword from Sword Qi Mountain. Now that there was a good flying sword available here, there were naturally many people who wanted to try their luck.

After nodding his head, Chen Chao did not ask further. After all, he was not very interested in flying swords. Instead, he asked the innkeeper about the whereabouts of Xu Bai.

Xu Bai was well-known in Yellow Dragon Prefecture, and he often traveled with his wife, making him easy to recognize. Chen Chao was not worried that the innkeeper would not know him.

The innkeeper glanced strangely at Chen Chao before saying, "I saw him a few days ago. He stayed at the inn for a night, but then he left. Now, I'm not sure if he's still in the commandery city."

After thanking the innkeeper, Chen Chao did not say any more. He turned and went upstairs. After entering his room, Chen Chao closed the doors and windows, sat on the edge of the bed, and took some time to regulate his breathing. As the sky gradually darkened, the noise outside grew louder. Chen Chao pushed open the window to see a group of sword cultivators heading towards the center of the commandery city in the distance.

Initially, Chen Chao had not planned to join the fun, but thinking that he might see Xu Bai and his wife, he decided to leave the guest room and follow the sword cultivators towards the city center.

……

……

Actually, although Sword Qi Mountain had been forging swords year after year, most of the flying swords were taken away by the sword cultivators from major sects. Very few itinerant cultivators with low cultivation realms and status had the opportunity to go up the mountain and bring away a flying sword. Therefore, many itinerant cultivators who knew they had no chance turned their attention to the swordsmith workshops at the foot of the mountain. Although the flying swords there were of mixed quality, if one was lucky, they could indeed find a decent flying sword.

The swordsmith master of Sword Proximity Commandery, Zuo Lei, was respectfully called Master Zuo. He studied the art of swordsmithing on Sword Qi Mountain when he was young. Later, for reasons unknown, he left Sword Qi Mountain and established his own workshop at the foot of the mountain. Over the years, he forged many swords and gradually gained some reputation, especially in recent years, his swordsmithing skills have reached an extremely high level. Therefore, ten years later, after Master Zuo started forging swords in Sword Proximity Commandery, many itinerant cultivators flocked to him like ducks rushing into water; all hoping to obtain a flying sword from him. Some time ago, Master Zuo spread the word that he had a flying sword, forged over ten years, to be completed tonight. Upon hearing this news, most of the sword cultivators from Yellow Dragon Prefecture came here early in anticipation of this day, making it an unprecedented event.

When Chen Chao arrived at the city center, it was already packed with people. Knowing he would not see much, Chen Chao turned his head and surveyed the nearby tall buildings. Soon, he spotted a brothel called "Myriad Spring Brothel" which had an excellent vantage point. Squeezing past a crowd of sword cultivators, Chen Chao finally made it to the entrance of the brothel. Immediately, a group of elaborately dressed young women came out to greet him. Before Chen Chao could say anything, he was pushed inside by the group of girls.

However, after entering the brothel, Chen Chao did not see any sword cultivators, which surprised him. It seemed these itinerant cultivators valued a single skygold coin more than life itself, as none of them thought to come to the brothel to watch.

A more extravagantly dressed madam approached with a smile from afar. Before she could speak, Chen Chao explained his intentions with a smile. The madam's enthusiasm diminished considerably, and she complained somewhat resentfully, "I don't understand what's so appealing about those pieces of junk metal. Where else can you find girls with such supple waists as in this brothel?"

Chen Chao replied, "Whatever the cost, I'll pay it. In the future, when people ask, I can say I've visited a brothel at least once."

The madam asked in surprise, "Young master, are you still a cherry boy?"

Chen Chao's expression turned unpleasant. Why does this old hag's words sound so unpleasant?!