142: Chapter 142 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Chapter 90)

Start with daggers. Only when you can forge a dagger with a perfect center of gravity and straight, aligned structure will you move on to longswords and long sabers.

Remember, I do not want them to look good; I want them to be functional."

After speaking, Elder Jin turned and walked back into the inner room.

Chu Shi held the sword blank, repeatedly feeling its center of gravity and curvature.

After a long while, he took a deep breath and threw a piece of refined iron into the furnace fire.

His first shaped work was a dagger.

The first one had a center of gravity too far forward, making it prone to slipping from his hand during chopping.

The second one had a center of gravity too far back, lacking power when thrusting.

The third one had uneven blade thickness, sharp on one side and dull on the other.

...

Chu Shi hammered again and again.

The discarded daggers slowly piled up into a small hill in the corner.

His arms grew heavier, and the web of his thumbs ached from the vibration, but his eyes grew brighter.

Each time he ruined a piece, he could identify one of his own flaws and feel a tiny bit of progress.

He no longer simply used strength to hammer; instead, like Elder Jin, he used his heart to guide the flow of the iron.

His Blazing Sun Body allowed him to clearly perceive every change in stress within the iron blank.

Wherever stress was concentrated, that was where he needed to hammer a few more times to release it.

Five days later.

When Chu Shi handed a newly forged dagger to Elder Jin, the old man took it, weighed it in his hand, and swung it twice.

"This will do."

A faint smile finally appeared on Elder Jin's face.

"Next, try forging longswords.

When you can forge ten longsword blanks with a consistent center of gravity and uniform thickness, I will teach you how to inscribe runes."

Chu Shi bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Elder."

He turned back to the forging table and threw another piece of refined iron into the furnace fire.

The furnace fire reflected on his youthful face in this lifetime, his eyes firm and focused.

The pile of scrap metal in the corner grew higher, and the sword blanks he forged became better one after another.

Gradually, Chu Shi slowly forgot the time, and he even forgot himself...

Chu Shi spent a full ten days practicing the forging of longsword blanks.

After all, a longsword is not a dagger.

A dagger is short and small, making its center of gravity easy to control, but a longsword is over three feet long; a difference of a hair's breadth leads to an error of a thousand miles.

If the spine of the sword is crooked by a fraction, it will deflect when chopping; if the blade thickness differs by a thread, the stress will be uneven, making it extremely prone to chipping.

On the first day, he ruined seventeen sword blanks.

Either the spine was bent or the center of gravity was off; the most ridiculous one had a difference of half a finger's width between the left and right edges.

Shi Tie and the others silently helped him clear the scrap iron every day, throwing the ruined sword blanks back into the furnace to be re-smelted.

Looking at the mountain of scrap metal piling up in the corner, they felt nothing but awe and envy.

If it were an ordinary disciple, let alone ruining over a hundred sword blanks in ten days,

even for just ten, they would have been scolded severely by the steward.

Only Senior Brother Chu could practice without any such worries.

Elder Jin never asked how much material he used, as if that mountain of refined iron were merely worthless stones.

However, Chu Shi never took this for granted.

He carved every failure into his heart.

He no longer pursued speed, but instead settled his mind to feel every deformation of the iron blank under his hammer.

When the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method was in operation, his fingertips could clearly perceive the distribution of stress within the iron blank.

Wherever stress was concentrated, he would hammer a few more times, letting the grain of the iron grow along the direction of the sword spine.

On the seventh day, he forged his first qualified longsword blank.

The sword spine was as straight as a line, the blade thickness was uniform, and the center of gravity fell precisely three inches in front of the handguard.

Elder Jin came to check once, picked up the sword blank, and flicked it with his finger.

With a "hum," a clear, resonant sword chime lingered for three breaths before dissipating.

"Passable." The old man said only one word before turning and leaving.

Chu Shi did not stop.

He did not want an occasional success; he wanted absolute certainty.

Three more days passed.

When the tenth longsword blank was neatly placed on the anvil, Elder Jin walked out again.

He picked up one sword blank, weighed it, then picked up the second, the third...

All ten sword blanks were identical in weight, with completely consistent centers of gravity.

Even the thickness of the sword spines and the angles of the blades were as if measured with a ruler.

"Not bad." Quietly, Elder Jin's originally flat tone carried a hint more warmth than before.

Subsequently, Elder Jin turned and walked into the forging room, taking out a jet-black carving knife from a wooden box.

The carving knife was only a palm long, the handle made of an unknown hardwood, and the blade shimmered with a faint cold light.

"This is a Diamond Carving Knife specially used for inscribing runes. It is incomparably hard and cuts through iron like mud." Elder Jin handed the carving knife to Chu Shi.

"From today on, I will teach you how to inscribe runes."

Chu Shi took the carving knife with both hands; it felt heavy.

"Many people think that runes are just simple patterns drawn on iron.

They are greatly mistaken." Elder Jin picked up a piece of scrap iron and lightly drew with the carving knife.

A line as thin as a hair instantly appeared on the iron surface.

"The essence of a rune is the trajectory of vital energy flow; it is the rule of the world.

You are not carving lines; you are carving channels that allow the vital energy of heaven and earth to flow smoothly.

If the channel is too shallow, the vital energy cannot be retained.

If the channel is too deep, it will sever the iron's structural integrity.

If the channel is crooked, the vital energy will flow in chaos, not only rendering it ineffective but also causing the magical artifact to destroy itself."

Elder Jin paused, then continued:

"In my Blazing Sun lineage, there are thirty-six basic runes. Each one corresponds to a way for vital energy to flow.

Three mutually compatible basic runes form a stable rune group, which can then produce a passive effect.

This is a low-grade magical artifact.

Six runes, with two rune groups working together, double the effect, creating a mid-grade magical artifact.

Nine runes, with three rune groups forming a linkage, double the effect again, creating a high-grade magical artifact.

Eighteen runes, with six rune groups forming a preliminary circulation of vital energy, can slowly absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth to maintain its own operation; this is a top-grade magical artifact.

However, these are only the basic thresholds.

The precision, compatibility, and reasonable combination of the runes are far more important than the quantity.

No matter how many you carve, if the vital energy flow is blocked, it is still just scrap iron."

Afterward, Elder Jin threw a piece of beast skin to Chu Shi, on which a simplest Sharpness Rune was drawn.

"This is the Sharpness Rune, which is also the most commonly used rune on weapons.

Practice this first. When you can carve three perfect Sharpness Runes on an iron blank and make them form a stable rune group, you will learn the next step.

Remember, when carving, you must hold your breath and have a mind free of distractions.

Your hand, your heart, and your knife must merge into one."

After speaking, Elder Jin said no more and turned back to the inner room.

Chu Shi took the beast skin with both hands and looked at it quietly.

The rune was simple, consisting of only a few strokes, yet it seemed to carry a blinding sensation.

He did not rush to start, but instead simulated the pattern of the Sharpness Rune in his mind over and over again, feeling the flow direction of the vital energy at every turn.