"Good saber!"
Zhou Mountain couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. Although he lacked the skill to forge such a level of long saber, his discerning eyes recognized that this blade undoubtedly surpassed the Ten-Refined standard.
"Su Mu actually succeeded, truly remarkable!"
Inside the forging room, all the blacksmith masters momentarily halted their work, visibly moved.
"Quick, go call the shopkeeper to take a look!"
Someone shouted, and an excited apprentice responded by rushing out of the forging room. All the blacksmith masters gathered around, with Zhou Mountain standing the closest.
"Su Mu, can you let me see this saber?"
"Master Zhou, please."
Seeing Su Mu hand over the long saber with both hands, all the blacksmith masters cast envious glances toward Zhou Mountain. This Zhou Mountain truly had a good apprentice, one who now surpassed even his master!
Zhou Mountain gently stroked the blade, his face filled with fascination. Forging men spent their days in a furnace-like forging room, especially in the height of summer, so their tempers tended to be fiery.
Suddenly, a master became impatient, "Old Zhou, why are you dawdling? You've been touching it for a while already, hurry up, you're driving me mad."
Zhou Mountain laughed heartily, reluctantly passing the long saber to other masters after a while. This one saber passed from hand to hand among ten strong men, and every master looked captivated when touching the blade.
Not long after, Shopkeeper Li Tie arrived upon hearing the news.
As soon as Li Tie saw the long saber, his eyes lit up. Just at first glance, Li Tie knew this definitely reached the level of a Thirty-Refined Long Saber, perhaps even exceeded it.
Everyone gathered Li Tie and Su Mu in the center, holding their breath as they watched the shopkeeper slowly caress the saber.
"Shopkeeper, how is it?"
Li Tie, interrupted by an eager-for-action blacksmith master, snapped out of his reverie and didn't answer directly but instead took a deep breath, looking at Su Mu and asked a question.
"Su Mu, did you truly forge this saber?"
"Yes."
Li Tie feared everything before him was mere illusion, so he could only exhale softly upon hearing Su Mu's answer, then spoke with excitement.
"From my standpoint, there isn't a single flaw in the craftsmanship of this saber. It surely holds the level of a Thirty-Refined Weapon!"
A cheer erupted within the forging room, Zhou Mountain beside Su Mu seemed even more delighted than Su Mu himself.
Amidst the cheers, Li Tie continued gently stroking the long saber in his hand. In truth, he had a half-sentence unspoken: the saber was limited by materials, potentially not even pushing Su Mu to the limit!
Yet because Su Mu went from apprentice to forging within just over a year, successfully creating a genuine Thirty-Refined Weapon, it was staggering.
Li Tie worried that sharing this half-sentence might make Su Mu, due to his age, swell with pride, negatively affecting his future.
But Li Tie's peripheral vision noticed the youth beside him only showed joy and exhaled softly upon hearing he achieved the Thirty-Refined Weapon level, exhibiting no arrogance.
This calm demeanor, surpassing peers, made Li Tie even more impressed, realizing he had not misjudged him—a wise sponsorship with his letter!
Such talent as Su Mu's would certainly make him a Master Blacksmith someday; staying at his small iron shop was truly burying his talent.
"It's time to tell Su Mu about the Forging Workshop affair..."
Just as Li Tie decided to inform Su Mu, a commotion echoed from outside the courtyard.
Bang bang bang!
It sounded like doors being kicked in forcefully, followed by a shout.
"Where is he? Make your boss come out!"
The shout made everyone in the forging room frown, their expressions angry. Zhou Mountain spat, "Damn, is it those bastards from the Black Tiger Gang again?"
"Damn it, they dare come again. Everyone, grab your tools."
Someone called out, and all hastily picked up forging hammers. Li Tie was equally indignant, curious about what excuse the opponents had this time.
Sching.
Amid a low hum, the long saber sheathed, its sharpness restrained. Li Tie returned the saber to Su Mu, the sheath as ordinary as could be; once sheathed, no one could discern its extraordinariness.
"Everyone stay calm, don't act yet; let's go out and see first."
Li Xiaohu glanced around the forging room, then grabbed an iron shovel used for holding coal, "Su Mu, let's go see too, last time we should have been tougher!"
"If things come to blows, stick close to me; I'll try to protect you."
Su Mu paused, watching figures leave the forging room, his gaze lingered on the backs of Zhou Mountain, Li Tie, Li Xiaohu, and others, feeling a sense of emotion.
Being the last to step out of the forging room, Su Mu's power began to flow within, as his gaze outside flickered with chilling intent.
Outside the forging room, Wu Heng led about twenty men to flood into the iron shop's backyard, all carrying blade soldiers, clearly hostile. Yet the iron shop's blacksmith masters holding iron hammers showed no weakness, ready to fight at the slightest discord.
"Master Wu, what are your intentions?" Li Tie stepped forward, asking.
Hmph!
Wu Heng snorted coldly, pulled a long saber from his waist, and thrust it into the ground with a thud. Everyone's eyes focused, pupils constricting, seeing a glaring notch on the saber, with several fine cracks across its blade.
"Shopkeeper Zhao, is this the Ten-Refined Long Saber your iron shop forged? Our Black Tiger Gang graciously supports your shop's business, spending genuine silver, and you deceive Master Wu with inferior goods?"
"Recently our Black Tiger Gang and the town's government office joined forces to eliminate the bandits of Little Crow Mountain; if not for Master Wu's superior martial arts, we nearly lost our lives due to your iron shop."
"This trash couldn't fight bandits, it's even hard to chop wood with. Who forged this saber? Step out!"
"Today, if you don't give Master Wu and the Black Tiger Gang an explanation, don't blame our Black Tiger Gang for smashing your Li's Iron Shop!"
Behind Wu Heng, a Black Tiger Gang member loudly challenged, then all gang members spread their stance, encircling the iron shop's people.
For a moment, the iron shop's surrounded folks seemed apprehensive, glancing at Su Mu instinctively, recognizing the saber was his creation.
Yet with Su Mu's ability to forge a Thirty-Refined Weapon, how could such an inferior piece occur?
Perhaps seeking forging efficiency led to a careless mistake; Su Mu was still too young, as these veteran masters too had made such errors earlier.
Everyone closely inspected, noting the blade's cracks didn't seem from fighting but likely resulted from wrong quenching and tempering processes—internal blade cracks.
Su Mu furrowed his brows; the saber was indeed his creation, but he was confident there were no errors during forging.
Besides, weapon transactions were always done face-to-face, examined for quality before sold.
"Dark Force... most likely Wu Heng caused this with Dark Force."
Now a month passed, and those responsible for distributing the antidote remained silent, so Su Mu knew he was abandoned, time to leave Qingshui Town.
His eyes narrowed slightly, fixed on Wu Heng. Previously hesitant, killing intent surged, as Su Mu internally made a decision.
"Since so, before leaving, let's make something happen..."