Martial Cultivator

The old man, who originally had ambitions to forge an unparalleled flying sword, expended more energy in re-forging this broken saber than he had in his entire life. Before he sealed his furnace, he had forged dozens of flying swords, and even Sword Qi Mountain's previous generation's Hundred Year Sword bore his influence. Speaking purely in terms of swordsmithing skills, he was already unparalleled in the world today. However, for some reason, he felt that this re-forged broken saber was better than all the flying swords he had forged before.

Even more surprisingly, he felt that even if he were to use the remaining Thousand Year Glacial Stone to forge another flying sword in the future, it would probably not surpass this broken saber he had just re-forged.

The old man sighed, "By some twist of fate, in this old man's lifetime of swordsmithing, what ranks number one in the end is actually a saber?"

Chen Chao remained silent. He just placed his palm on the saber's hilt. Although the broken saber was reforged, in reality, it resembled more of a new sword inside and out. When he gripped the hilt, his perception was indeed different from before.

Just as the old man said, now this Cloud Mud was more closely connected to him, just like a sword cultivator and their lifeblood sword. But to be honest, while it was common for sword cultivators to have a lifeblood sword, it's rare for a martial artist to refine something into their own lifeblood item.

Even if Chen Chao was not the first, he was still a rare existence.

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"Go find a piece of green bamboo. This old man will make you a new scabbard for your saber. The one you have now is too shabby, looking at it bothers my eyes."

The old man said wearily as he sat down on the chair, waving his hand.

Chen Chao expressed his gratitude once again, "Thanks for the trouble, senior."

The old man added, "Once the scabbard is done, you should scram down the mountain, kid. This old man needs some rest before I start forging swords."

Chen Chao asked with a smile, "Why don't this junior stay and assist you, senior?"

The old man sneered, "Just because you've watched others forge swords for a few days, you dare to point fingers in front of this old man?"

Chen Chao was surprised, "Turns out that senior knew all along?"

"How could there be something on this mountain that this old man doesn't know?. Knowing is one thing, meddling is another. I'm old now, I can't worry about everything." The old man glanced at Chen Chao. If it had not been for that Thousand Year Glacial Stone, he would not have taken action this time. In fact, after sealing his furnace originally, he had not planned to reopen it.

"Also, when you go down the mountain, remember to bring away that guy who came later. How much trouble have you caused since coming up the mountain?"

The old man expressed some dissatisfaction. Ever since Chen Chao arrived, Sword Qi Mountain which forged swords in peace, had become full of troubles. If it were not for the sentiment tied to that Thousand Year Glacial Stone, he would have sent this youngster packing long ago. Yang Furen dared not offend the Great Liang Emperor, but he did not have much misgivings.

Chen Chao sighed helplessly, "This junior can't beat Eunuch Li. I have no right to order him around either."

The old man glanced at Chen Chao, moved his lips, but ultimately just waved his hand, swallowing his words.

Chen Chao smiled and said, "This junior will go find the bamboo."

……

……

During this period, Yang Furen had been frequenting the bamboo pavilion, not out of choice but necessity. No matter what was said afterward, Li Heng's position remained unchanged. No matter how many times the conversation circled back, it always returned to the same few words.

But today, Yang Furen tactfully did not go to the bamboo pavilion. Instead, Li Heng had risen early, sitting on the bamboo chair in front of the pavilion, waiting for Chen Chao.

Chen Chao soon appeared, dressed as usual in black attire with a saber at his waist.

Li Heng glanced at Chen Chao's waist and smiled, "Is it done?"

Chen Chao nodded slightly and replied softly, "It wasn't easy."

As they spoke, a gust of wind passed by, causing the bamboo pavilion to rustle faintly. It sounded as though someone was playing the zither nearby, though the melody was slightly chaotic, creating a different sense of beauty.

"These green bamboos, instead of making sword sheaths, would be excellent for constructing a bamboo pavilion. I happen to be taking some green bamboo to the capital to build a bamboo pavilion for His Majesty. Would you like some too?"

Li Heng smiled gently as he spoke.

Chen Chao originally wanted to refuse, but after a moment's consideration, he nodded and said, "Then I'll thank you, Eunuch Li."

Li Heng saw through Chen Chao's thoughts at a glance, "A martial artist like you, why worry about such things? It seems you're thinking for that girl again."

Chen Chao whose thoughts were seen through nodded his head, admitting it straightforwardly.

"True, the one you fancy is no ordinary girl. Whatever rare treasures and delicacies from land and sea, she's seen more than you have. Hence, you've had to take unconventional approaches and put in extra effort on these matters."

Li Heng smiled as he spoke. When bringing up that girl, he incidentally recalled the Empress Consort.

Chen Chao joked, "Eunuch Li seems quite knowledgeable about matters of love."

Li Heng's expression turned serious. "Don't tease."

Chen Chao smiled apologetically.

Li Heng quickly brushed it off with a smile. He naturally had quite a favorable impression of this young man, given the Emperor and Empress's admiration for him.

Li Heng then continued with a smile, "Nothing is ever easy in this world. Accomplishing something is already a good thing. Don't overthink it. Come, sit down. There are some things I need to discuss with you."

Chen Chao did not hesitate and quickly sat down beside Li Heng. He did not show much fear towards this chief eunuch of the imperial city.

Li Heng took a few looks at Chen Chao before smiling and saying, "I heard that before you left, His Majesty gave you a secret letter asking you to do something."

This was true. Chen Chao had been pondering how to complete the task, but recent developments had made it seem less troublesome. However, he spoke honestly to this Eunuch Li, "This lowly official was still thinking about how to accomplish it, but now that you’re here, I presume His Majesty already has a plan, so it seems I’m no longer needed."

Li Heng shook his head. "These past few days, that Mountain Lord kept coming to my place, but we haven't been able to come to an agreement, at least not yet. However, we never expected to succeed immediately. The task still falls on you. I'm just here to lend you a hand, to give you some cover."

Chen Chao was somewhat surprised and asked probingly, "What did Eunuch Li and the Mountain Lord discuss?"

Li Heng got straight to the point, "How do you think the Ministry of Works' forging skills compare to those of Sword Qi Mountain?"

Chen Chao shook his head. This was something everyone knew. Although the Ministry of Works was the best manufacturing department in the Great Liang Dynasty, when it came to forging equipment, it still could not compare to Sword Qi Mountain. Sword Qi Mountain specialized in forging swords, but that did not mean they could only forge swords. In all other aspects of forging, Sword Qi Mountain was undoubtedly the best in the world.

When it came to reforging the broken saber, the Ministry of Works could not do anything to help, only Sword Qi Mountain had the capability.

"The frontier army in the North fights against the demon race on the city walls. If their weapons were better, fewer people would die, and more demons would be killed."

Li Heng said with a gentle smile. "This matter seems simple on the surface - all for the sake of humanity. Why can't the swordsmiths of Sword Qi Mountain contribute to resisting the demon race?" "Such reasoning seems sound, but it just doesn't work. That's why in over two hundred years, the Great Liang Dynasty has never used a single weapon forged by Sword Qi Mountain. And even before the Great Liang Dynasty, this was the case for many years."

Chen Chao said, "So His Majesty wants to set a precedent, but it's very difficult."

Li Heng laughed, "Why else would His Majesty hand over the remaining Thousand Year Glacial Stone without a second thought?"

Chen Chao said self-deprecatingly, "I thought His Majesty valued this lowly official."

Li Heng did not respond to this, he just said, "I've been discussing with the Mountain Lord for several days, asking them to forge military equipment for the Great Liang Dynasty, but the Mountain Lord has yet to agree."

Chen Chao asked, "Is this being done openly?"

Li Heng smiled and looked at Chen Chao.

Chen Chao thought for a moment and then softly said, "Yang Furen not only has to consider the opinions of the other swordsmiths within Sword Qi Mountain, but he is also restrained by the foreign cultivators. This matter probably can't be decided overnight."

"But His Majesty is in a hurry," Li Heng said, looking into Chen Chao's eyes. "You must understand this, the sooner we can achieve this, the fewer people will die. Our soldiers of Great Liang can die, but they shouldn't have to die unnecessarily, we must try to minimize their deaths."

Hearing this, Chen Chao suddenly recalled how, when he first climbed up the mountain, when he mentioned the Great General's name, no one on the mountain knew who he was.

"What should be done then?" Chen Chao looked at Li Heng, though he regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth.

Sure enough, Li Heng smiled and said, "His Majesty said you can handle it however you see fit. He believes you can do a great job. After all, those scholars can't match your skill in words. There's no one better at negotiating in the Great Liang Dynasty than you."

Chen Chao smiled bitterly, "Please don't mock this lowly official, Eunuch Li."

Li Heng shook his head, "You're not my subordinate, so why keep addressing yourself as lowly official?"

Chen Chao asked awkwardly, "Then how should I address myself?"

Li Heng smiled, "Outside the palace, I don't refer to myself with formal titles, so you don't need to either. But it's up to you, there's no problem whatsoever. Either way, I'm about to head down the mountain."

Chen Chao was surprised, "You're not waiting for the outcome, Eunuch Li?"

Li Heng looked at Chen Chao, his smile unwavering, "Aren't you here?"

Chen Chao was somewhat speechless.

"Why don't you take a stroll around for a bit? Before I go down the mountain, I need to have a word with the Mountain Lord. By the way, are you afraid? If so, I can wait for you at the foot of the mountain."

Outside the palace and in the imperial city, Li Heng seemed like the same person, yet he had many differences. At least outside the palace, he spoke to Chen Chao with a bit more warmth, unlike the more distant manner he had in the imperial city.

Chen Chao shook his head, "That piece of Thousand Year Glacial Stone isn't in my hands, what is there to fear? As long as it isn't someone in the Nepenthe Realm, with this saber in my hand, I'll kill a thousand if a thousand come!"

Li Heng smiled, "Excellent, with that arrogance of yours, it's only a matter of time before you suffer some hardship."

Chen Chao was speechless.

Li Heng did not say anything more this time, just gave Chen Chao a meaningful look.

After that, Chen Chao got up and went to the bamboo grove to select green bamboo, and only then did Yang Furen arrive belatedly.

Li Heng was still as direct as ever as he said with a smile, "Mountain Lord, I've troubled you for a long time. Now I'm heading down the mountain. Would you see me off?"

Yang Furen had a complicated expression but still nodded.

Then the two got up and walked towards the mountain path. Li Heng walked slowly, smiling as he said, "Mountain Lord, don't forget, I need some green bamboo to take back to the Divine Capital."

Yang Furen nodded. This matter had already been handled. Other things might not be okay, but this trivial matter seemed insignificant.