After Fu Zhu had used up his entire backpack of [Kugutsu] swords, turning them all into Proud Soul Fragments, he finally stopped. The thought that he would have to grind kill counts if he wanted to continue upgrading his SlashBlades in the future gave him a headache.
Back when he played the SlashBlade MOD, the kill count was one of the most troublesome phases. Even with a mob spawner, it would still take some time, not to mention that some SlashBlades required him to constantly monitor their durability.
However, he didn't need to worry about the kill count just yet. The Ōdachi he wanted to make today didn't require a kill count in its crafting recipe.
All it required was its prerequisite SlashBlade, the Sharp Blade [White Sheath].
The recipe for the Sharp Blade [White Sheath] was also very simple. In fact, Fu Zhu could have crafted it right when he first bought the SlashBlade MOD. Two iron ingots, one Unnamed Sword [Kugutsu], plus a gold ingot, made a Sharp Blade [White Sheath]. It was just that he had opted to craft the simplest Unnamed Sword [Kugutsu] at the time to save trouble.
Fu Zhu placed down his Crafting Table and Furnace. He first gradually synthesized the Proud Soul Fragments into Proud Soul Ingots and then put them into the Furnace to smelt. This would grant him one of the most crucial materials in the SlashBlade MOD, the Proud Soul Jewel.
This was also one of the materials needed to craft the Ōdachi.
As Fu Zhu was preparing the materials for the Ōdachi, a Cloud Knight walked into the training grounds and found Yanqing, who was practicing his swordsmanship with a Proud Soul Fragment. He whispered a few words in his ear, after which Yanqing called out to Fu Zhu.
"Master Fu Zhu, I'm stepping out for a bit. Someone is looking for me."
Fu Zhu waved his hand without turning his head, gesturing for him to go as he pleased.
Yanqing then left with the Cloud Knight. A short while later, Yanqing returned with another person. However, Fu Zhu didn't pay any attention to the two, instead continuing to busy himself with crafting the Ōdachi.
March 7th and Xing, however, noticed the middle-aged man who walked in beside Yanqing. Xing moved to block Fu Zhu from view and asked the middle-aged man.
"Who are you?"
Yanqing introduced the middle-aged man beside him to the two of them.
"Shigu, Shiniang, this is Master Gongsun Lei, a renowned blacksmith on the Luofu. When Master and I first met on the Luofu, he asked me to take him to find a craftsman to forge a weapon. The one we looked for was this very Master Gongsun Lei. It's just that, for some reason, we parted on bad terms."
Xing keenly picked up on the "parted on bad terms" in Yanqing's words, and she shielded Fu Zhu behind her even more tightly, her willow-like eyebrows furrowing together.
"Then what instruction does Master Gongsun have for us today?"
Gongsun Lei first bowed to Xing with a clasped fist, then gestured towards Fu Zhu behind her.
"This young lady misunderstands. The reason I parted on bad terms with Mr. Fu Zhu was simply because I felt his request was too outrageous for me to forge. But since that day, I have tossed and turned, lost in thought. The sword Mr. Fu Zhu proposed has become a nightmare in my heart these past few days. I feel I must try to forge it, no matter what! I came to find Mr. Fu Zhu today to ask about the specific details. I am staking my name, Gongsun Lei, on this. I must forge that sword!"
Yanqing nodded on the side. "That's right. Shigu, Shiniang, could you let Master Gongsun see Master for a moment?"
March 7th tugged on Xing's sleeve and whispered, "Xing, since he's here to help Fu Zhu forge a weapon, let's just let him see him. Besides, Fu Zhu is right behind you, don't block him."
Seeing that Gongsun Lei really wasn't here to cause trouble, Xing didn't continue to block him. She stepped aside, but not without leaning close to March 7th's ear and saying with a wicked grin.
"We'll listen to sister-in-law then?"
March 7th shot her an annoyed glare but didn't know why she didn't refute the title. Perhaps it was because she felt that even if she did, with Xing's personality, she would just forget her warning in a second. So, she simply didn't bother.
After getting the three's permission, Gongsun Lei finally walked to Fu Zhu's side, positioning himself so that he was in Fu Zhu's peripheral vision, to avoid startling him with a sudden voice.
After all, seeing Fu Zhu hunched over, busying himself with a wooden block and a furnace-like block, it wouldn't be good to suddenly speak out.
"Hm? Who are you?"
Fu Zhu had just finished crafting the Sharp Blade [White Sheath]. He looked up and saw Gongsun Lei standing beside him. After a few glances, a vague memory surfaced.
"Oh, I remember now. Sun something Lei, was it? Sun Honglei?"
Gongsun Lei, who had already prepared what he wanted to ask, immediately felt a dark line appear on his forehead.
"It's Gongsun Lei! You previously sought me out to forge a sword that could cut through space!"
"Oh."
Fu Zhu said "oh" and then paid him no more mind, instead switching to the Sharp Blade [White Sheath] and playing with it in his hands.
After all, this was the real world. Holding a Sharp Blade [White Sheath] in reality felt completely different from holding one in MC.
[Achievement Unlocked: Sharp Blade [White Sheath] ]
[Achievement Points Awarded: 2]
Gongsun Lei saw the sword in Fu Zhu's hand and couldn't help but reveal a look of astonishment, asking, "Is this a sword you forged yourself?"
Although the Sharp Blade [White Sheath] looked like it was simply a blade attached to a wooden handle, the cold glint reflecting off the blade was enough for a master craftsman like Gongsun Lei to recognize at a glance that this sword was exceptionally sharp!
"Of course. I can't buy the weapons I want, so naturally, I have to make them myself. But this is just a material. The one I'll actually use is another sword upgraded from this one."
Fu Zhu explained casually, then took the already smelted Proud Soul Jewel from the furnace and held it in his hand.
Yanqing saw the Proud Soul Jewel and subconsciously compared it with the Proud Soul Fragment in his hand. If the Proud Soul Fragment was a wisp of a "remnant soul," then the Proud Soul Jewel was a complete "soul."
"Master, what is that in your hand?"
"A Proud Soul Jewel, the material above the Proud Soul Fragment. It's also used with the Sharp Blade [White Sheath] to synthesize another brand-new Ōdachi."
After explaining, Fu Zhu turned and handed it to Yanqing, asking with a smile, "How about it? Want to try and see what it can show you?"
Fu Zhu was also very curious what kind of illusion the Proud Soul Jewel could pull Yanqing into. Since he couldn't use the soul materials to enter the illusion himself, he could only rely on Yanqing.
A hint of desire flashed in Yanqing's eyes, but he still shook his head and refused Fu Zhu's offer.
"No, thank you, Master. I haven't even fully comprehended the Proud Soul Fragment. Let alone this much more complete-looking Proud Soul Jewel."
"Alright then."
Fu Zhu was a little disappointed but didn't say anything more.
But Yanqing still had a question, and he pressed on, "Master, you just said you were going to use the Proud Soul Jewel to craft a new weapon?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"But isn't this Proud Soul Jewel filled with your martial arts techniques? Can this be used to forge a weapon?"
Before Fu Zhu could answer, Gongsun Lei, who was standing to the side, couldn't listen anymore. His eyes were wide and round as he stared at the Proud Soul Jewel in Fu Zhu's hand in disbelief.
"What?! Martial arts techniques can be used to forge a sword?!"
He had been a blacksmith for nearly two hundred years, but he had never seen anyone use martial arts techniques in forging. Such a thing only ever appeared in the plots of some novels and picture books!
Gongsun Lei stared at the Proud Soul Jewel in Fu Zhu's hand and couldn't help but swallow. His eyes were a little bloodshot, and his hands subconsciously rose, but the thought that this item had an owner made him immediately slap himself to calm down.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, may I have a look at this… Proud Soul Jewel?"
The desire in Gongsun Lei's eyes was so tangible that anyone could see it at a glance.
Fu Zhu wasn't a petty person. Even if the other party wanted to take it and hide it away, he would have to consider whether he could become one of the kill counts for his SlashBlade.
"Sure."
"Thank you so much!"
Gongsun Lei took the Proud Soul Jewel from Fu Zhu's hand. He only glanced at it, and the scene before his eyes instantly changed.
In the illusion, he seemed to have become another person, endlessly swinging an Ōdachi day after day, year after year. Every swing, every application of force, every bit of precision was exactly the same.
It was hard to imagine what kind of resolute will and concentration the person swinging the sword possessed to achieve such a feat.
Gongsun Lei didn't know how long he had been watching the person swing the sword in the illusion before he exited it. For a long while, he didn't even react to the fact that he was already out, until Fu Zhu waved a hand in front of his eyes, and he finally snapped back to his senses.
Gongsun Lei couldn't help but swallow. He didn't dare to look down at the Proud Soul Jewel in his hand and quickly returned it to Fu Zhu.
After returning the Proud Soul Jewel, he couldn't help but exclaim.
"Truly a miraculous treasure… Even I, who knows nothing of martial arts, feel as if I have learned a move and a half after watching it…"
After speaking, Gongsun Lei bowed respectfully to Fu Zhu and guaranteed.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, please rest assured. I, Gongsun Lei, will definitely keep the secret of this jewel and will take it to my grave!"
Fu Zhu felt it was no big deal, but to outsiders, he couldn't show such an indifferent attitude.
"As long as you know."
Gongsun Lei then couldn't help but shamelessly request of Fu Zhu, "Mr. Fu Zhu, may I be allowed to watch your forging process from the side? I have never heard of anyone being able to use martial arts techniques as a forging material. I promise I will not spread it to others!"
Fu Zhu glanced at him and nodded without refusing.
His process of synthesizing the Ōdachi took only a few seconds. If he could see anything of value in that, Fu Zhu would have to go and recommend Gongsun Lei to Nous.
Even Nous wouldn't be able to see anything of value.
"Then watch closely."
Fu Zhu stuffed all the materials into the Crafting Table at once. A second later, he pulled out an Ōdachi from inside.
[Achievement Unlocked: Ōdachi「」]
[Achievement Points Awarded: 2]
Fu Zhu held the two-meter-long Ōdachi in his hand and showed it to the crowd.
"Done."
Gongsun Lei blinked blankly, asking in disbelief, "That's… done?"
"Done."
"...By the Reignbow Arbiter, this isn't scientific!!!!"