Martial Cultivator

Since the old man suggested that Chen Chao forge the sword, and Chen Chao happened to be curious to experience it, he did not refuse. However, the old man's way of sword forging was peculiar, and after Chen Chao agreed, he insisted on silence. Throughout the night, under a sky filled with stars, the old man and Chen Chao just watched quietly.

After the night passed, a red sun gradually rose over the distant mountains, casting its light upon the cliff. The old man slowly opened his eyes and smiled, "Take off your clothes."

Chen Chao was taken aback when he heard that, but quickly removed his black robe, revealing a torso covered in scars.

The old man took a glance and praised, "No wonder, turns out that you've also endured great hardships and struggled to survive."

Chen Chao did not say anything.

The old man tossed a hammer to Chen Chao to hold, then personally poured out the molten metal from the sword forge. Soon, the sword mold beside them was filled with molten metal. Then, using a pair of iron tongs, the old man lifted up the glowing red metal block and placed it in front of Chen Chao.

Without needing further instructions, Chen Chao brought the hammer down simultaneously on the metal block. Sparks flew everywhere, instantly burning holes in the old man's clothing, while the shirtless Chen Chao was left with a bright white mark on his skin where the sparks landed.

But it vanished in an instant.

To Chen Chao, this bit of pain was nothing. Having fought countless battles with the demons in the mountains and forests for years, his body was already covered in numerous scars.

The old man picked up a brilliant small hammer and gently guided it, striking the front of the metal block. Understanding the signal, Chen Chao continued hammering. Under the relentless blows of his hammer, the metal block continuously transformed and took shape.

The old man remained silent, merely adjusting the position of the metal block as needed.

As Chen Chao hammered the metal block, he could even hear the sound of a mountain spring flowing. Threads of sword qi climbed slowly up his arm along the hammer, then continued upward through his meridians.

Throughout history, when facing off against a sword cultivator, if one's meridians were invaded by sword qi, it spelled significant trouble. Sword qi could wreak havoc as it roamed through the meridians, causing immense agony. However, this time the sword qi was not aggressive even though it already entered his meridians. Instead, it felt calm, as if it originated from his own body.

As Chen Chao swung the hammer, he felt the soothing flow of sword qi in his meridians. Perhaps this was his only chance to observe sword qi so closely.

Suddenly, Chen Chao had an idea: he would use the white mist within his body to interact with the sword qi, slowly unraveling it as if peeling away wisp by wisp.

This was a meticulous process, requiring Chen Chao to focus on two things at once. While continuously hammering the metal block, he also needed to gradually separate the sword qi within his body, analyzing its essence.

If Chen Chao could truly accomplish this, sword cultivators across the world would no longer be so terrifying to him. The renowned killing power of sword cultivators would apply to others, but not to Chen Chao.

Chen Chao suddenly noticed a problem, but before he could speak, the old man said, "You want to know if we swordsmiths, dealing with flying swords every day, have a better sense and familiarity with sword qi than sword cultivators, right?"

Chen Chao nodded and asked, "How would you answer, senior?"

The old man replied, "Sensing sword qi, controlling sword qi, and generating sword qi within oneself are three different things. Sword cultivators excel at the latter two, while swordsmiths are only good at the first. However, if a swordsmith trains in the sword, they might be more familiar with flying swords than the average sword cultivator. But beyond that, there's nothing else. You, on the other hand, are an anomaly. Your body seems to have a stream of qi that can accommodate everything. Is this one of the secret techniques of you martial artists?" Let me guess, did the Great Liang Emperor pass it on to you? This old man heard that when His Majesty returned south, he once wielded a sword against his enemies. Are you martial artists not as crude as commonly thought, but rather possess some secret techniques known only to a select few?"

The old man's question left Chen Chao unsure of how to respond. Although the truth was different, the matter involved the Great Liang Emperor, and Chen Chao was reluctant to say anything.

The old man understood and said, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, this old man won't press you. After all, I only know how to forge swords. The rights and wrongs of your world are not something this old man will get involved in."

Chen Chao asked, "What kind of place is Sword Qi Mountain exactly?"

The old man seemed a bit confused by the question and looked at Chen Chao.

Chen Chao struck down with the hammer heavily and said softly, "Since Sword Qi Mountain is the best place in the world for forging flying swords, could it also try forging other weapons like sabers and spears? If the soldiers in the Northern Frontier had weapons forged by Sword Qi Mountain, they might kill even more demons."

The old man laughed and said, "You can only say something like that to this old man. To others, including the Mountain Lord, they'd probably think you're a fool talking nonsense. Sword Qi Mountain is renowned throughout the world for its flying swords. All the swordsmiths here regard forging flying swords as their top priority. Who would care about forging other weapons to help Great Liang?"

Chen Chao frowned and said, "Not Great Liang, it's about all of humanity."

The old man lamented, "Until it reaches a critical point, no one will view Great Liang as the representative of humanity."

Chen Chao remained silent. This understanding reflected the prevailing views of the foreign lands. Even if some people thought differently, an individual's will could not change the overall situation.

The old man continued, "But nothing is set in stone. Look now, didn't Sword Qi Mountain have to bow its head when your Emperor made a move?"

Chen Chao smiled, "Either your fist is big enough, or both sides are satisfied with the mutual benefits."

"Don't think about the former. Do you think you can defeat Sword Qi Mountain and the entire foreign lands? That Emperor of yours doesn't have that capability, and you might not necessarily have this capability in the future either."

The old man laughed and said, "But if that day ever comes, this old man will definitely give my all to forge swords and spears for you."

Chen Chao asked in puzzlement, "Why?"

The old man replied indifferently, "I've been forging flying swords my whole life, I'd like to try something different."

Chen Chao smiled and nodded, then continued to hammer, alternating between light and heavy blows for no reason.

At first, the old man frowned and wanted to say something, but then he sensed the sword qi flowing within the already formed sword bar and kept silent.

From then on, no matter how Chen Chao hammered, the old man remained quiet.

Until later, when the sword intent and sword qi in the sword bar grew increasingly thicker, the old man asked uncertainly, "How are you controlling the force of your blows?"

Chen Chao did not speak up. As he focused on both tasks, the white mist within his body gradually unraveled the source of the sword qi little by little, presenting it clearly before him. He was both shocked by his ability to discern the flow and source of the sword qi so clearly while hammering based on the things he saw.

He was unsure how long it took, but he eventually came to realize another remarkable use of the white mist. It could completely reveal the essence of the other party. However, he suspected this might currently be limited to flying swords that were not under a sword cultivator's control. Other usage would likely require further exploration.

Was it just seeing through the essence?

Chen Chao was not quite satisfied.

He tried to replicate the sword qi's flow and essence in his mind, using the white mist to copy it.

Then, he discovered to his astonishment that a trace of white sword qi appeared at his fingertips, though it vanished almost immediately.

Even so, Chen Chao was left speechless with amazement.

Could his body now generate sword qi?

Could this mean that, given time, he might even become a sword cultivator?

Even without cultivating the techniques of sword cultivators, might he still be able to unleash sword qi?

Thinking about this, Chen Chao grew increasingly astonished by the origin of the white mist. Rongshan Sect was not recorded in any contemporary historical records; it was an ancient ruin beyond common knowledge. If cultivators of that time cultivated this secret method and had such myriad applications, how powerful must the original cultivators of the Rongshan Sect have been?

But how could such a powerful Rongshan Sect have been destroyed?

Chen Chao even recalled what the immortal medicine had said: that martial artists could also cultivate magic spells.

Perhaps that was not false.

Perhaps martial artists could indeed cultivate magic spells, but the techniques suitable for martial artists were never passed down.

In other words, perhaps the current path of martial artists' cultivation was a deviation, not the true way for martial artists.

Could the current cultivation methods be wrong?

This thought suddenly emerged in Chen Chao's mind.

Was it deliberate by someone, or was it that a long time ago, the path for martial artists was severed, and later people themselves rediscovered it, but only created this incomplete path?

Chen Chao had no answers to all these questions. The only ones who might know the truth, apart from the white mist on his body, were probably the girl in the coffin who had consumed her immortal medicine, with no trace of her now.

But she had at least let Chen Chao know that beyond the Nepenthe Realm, there should be more realms.

Moreover, there were people who had actually reached such cultivation realms.

Perhaps all these questions would only be answered when he found that girl or when his own realm became even stronger, unlocking the secrets of the white mist.

Chen Chao furrowed his brows, because he remembered the page he possessed.

It should also be some kind of insight from a powerhouse. If he just read the words on it, he might gain something too.

Chen Chao was very interested in the unknown ancient and hidden secrets, especially the prospect of redefining what it meant to be a martial artist, making him increasingly fascinated by these unknowns.

Just as Chen Chao was lost in thought, the old man suddenly exclaimed with joy, "It's done!"

Chen Chao snapped back to reality and saw that the sword blade in front of him had taken shape, with sword qi continuously flowing along its body, resembling a gently flowing stream.

Disregarding everything else, the old man picked up the blade with both hands and threw it off the cliff. Then, the old man jumped down after it.

After frowning for a moment, Chen Chao jumped down as well.

The two of them landed at the bottom of the cliff, where there was a cold pool. Even with Chen Chao's sharp eyesight, he could not tell how deep it was.

Standing by the pool, the old man smiled and said, "We still need to wait forty-nine days, but I can already tell that this sword will be just slightly inferior to a Hundred Year Sword!"