November 18th, True Martial Era 395.
It had been over three months since Chen Zong became a martial artist and officially joined the Clan Hall.
Exiting the Martial Repository, Chen Zong glanced at the sky before heading to the Dining Hall.
By now, he had thoroughly reviewed all the miscellaneous notes and manuscripts within the Martial Repository. This had significantly enriched his understanding of martial arts and broadened his perspective. Yet, he remained utterly clueless about the True Secret Realm.
When he thought about it, even the Li Clan, with its six- or seven-hundred-year history, had never produced anyone who had cultivated their sword technique to the True Secret Realm. In fact, within all of Wind Martial City, the True Secret Realm remained nothing more than a legend. This realization calmed his impatience.
"The more you rush, the more you'll lose your composure," Chen Zong said to himself with a deep breath.
His tense mind relaxed as he accepted this truth. Reaching the True Secret Realm would indeed be a tremendous achievement, but forcing the issue would only disrupt his mental state. Slow, steady accumulation was the key; pushing too hard would only lead to problems.
Upon reaching a corner of the Martial Training Ground, Chen Zong didn't draw his sword. Instead, he warmed up with several sets of the Tiger Force Fist Technique.
As Chen Zong practiced, it felt as if a thunderous tiger roar echoed through the mountain forests, and his understanding and mastery of the Tiger Force Fist Technique surged.
"I've actually broken through," Chen Zong marveled.
Among all the Foundation Establishment Martial Arts he had cultivated, this was the first to reach the Perfection Realm. However, due to his focus on swordsmanship, he had rarely used it recently. Yet today, it had broken through to the Subtlety Realm, granting Chen Zong a fresh insight into this realm of mastery.
Sword and fist, fist and sword—each had its differences, yet they shared common principles.
"When will I finally reach the Subtlety Realm with the True Sword Eight Forms?" Chen Zong wondered inwardly as he drew his sword and began to dance.
He continued his daily practice regimen: ten repetitions of each of the three Foundation Establishment Sword Techniques that had already reached the Subtlety Realm, followed by fifty repetitions of the True Sword Eight Forms and fifty repetitions of the Basic Eighteen Forms. Lacking the ideal conditions to refine his mastery of the Four Essentials of Swordsmanship, this was the best he could manage for now.
As for his arm guards, during his months at the Forging Hall, Chen Zong had become adept at forging both common and refined iron ingots. He then attempted to forge a pair of Heavy Iron arm guards. After seven or eight failed attempts, he finally succeeded in creating a set that met his standards.
It must be said that Heavy Iron is notoriously difficult to forge. Each failure wasn't due to Chen Zong's lack of skill, but rather the material's inherent brittleness.
The final success was also due in no small part to Elder Lie's assistance, who added other materials to enhance the bracer's toughness.
The bracer was thin yet incredibly heavy, each one weighing a hundred pounds. When strapped to Chen Zong's forearm and concealed beneath his sleeve, it was completely undetectable.
Switching from a fifty-pound Heavy Iron plate to a hundred-pound Heavy Iron bracer took some getting used to, but Chen Zong quickly adapted.
After a brief rest, Chen Zong drew his sword again.
The Precious Iron Sword's blade glimmered with a faint azure light, its edge razor-sharp. The sword tip emitted a cold gleam like a sliver of frosty starlight in the night sky, staring at it for too long would make his eyes ache.
He struck!
The first level of the Dividing Light Sword Technique: Dividing Light Shadowing.
A single strike sent four streaks of sword light crisscrossing through the air.
Another strike arranged the four streaks in sequential formation, each slicing toward the same target, leaving clear trails in the air.
Peak of Small City - Shadow Splitting Flash. Not far from the Great Mastery Realm, Chen Zong thought to himself.
Even contemporaries like Chen Guzhan and Chen Fenghua remained at the introductory stage of the first level of low-grade Human-Rank Martial Arts, demonstrating the arduous nature of cultivating Human-Rank techniques.
Ranked Martial Arts are difficult to cultivate because each practice session requires mobilizing Qi Blood, and each session consumes Qi Blood Power. This means that practicing Ranked Martial Arts can never last as long as practicing Foundation Establishment Martial Arts.
After all, Qi Blood Power is far more limited than physical strength. It can generally only be circulated through cultivation techniques or allowed to recover naturally. Even young gang leaders from prominent families dare not excessively consume pills to replenish it, as this would be harmful without any benefit.
External aids are always just that—external. Consuming a moderate amount can provide assistance, and the body will naturally eliminate the side effects, which are mostly impurities. However, if too much is consumed at once, the impurities cannot be eliminated quickly enough and will gradually accumulate, eventually affecting the body's own functions.
The higher the realm of the Ranked Martial Art, the greater its power, and the more Qi Blood Power it consumes. After consecutively performing the Peak of Small City - Shadow Splitting Flash thirteen times, Chen Zong felt his Qi Blood Power nearly depleted, his face paling.
"My limit is probably around fifteen times. If I reach the Great Mastery Realm, it will likely be even fewer."
After performing the maneuver twice more, Chen Zong's Qi Blood Power was completely depleted. His face turned pale, his body felt hollow and weak, yet he could still hold his sword and continue practicing.
Only his Qi Blood Power had been exhausted; most of his physical strength remained intact.
Sheathing his sword, Chen Zong focused his mind and used the Fierce Tiger Art to circulate his Qi Blood Power, accelerating its recovery. The efficiency of different cultivation techniques varied greatly in this regard.
For instance, the Fierce Tiger Art, a mid-grade Human-Rank technique, could enhance recovery speed by ten percent, or double the normal rate. A low-grade Human-Rank technique would only provide a five percent boost, while a high-grade Human-Rank technique could achieve a fifteen percent enhancement.
Chen Zong discovered that each time he depleted his Qi Blood Power through sword practice and then recovered it using the Fierce Tiger Art, it significantly advanced his cultivation of the art. He could sense that he was now close to mastering the first level of the Fierce Tiger Art.
This secluded spot had long since become Chen Zong's dedicated sword practice ground, free from any disturbances. Even Chen He, though still harboring resentment, wouldn't dare cause trouble now. After all, Chen Zong was one of the Wind Martial Four Young Heroes, known as the True Sword. Chen He couldn't personally confront him, and even a fellow Qi Blood Realm fourth-layer cultivator might not be a match for him.
"Chen Zong, instead of forging refined iron ingots today, why not try your hand at forging a sword?" Elder Lie said as Chen Zong entered the Forging Chamber.
"Sword forging?" Chen Zong replied, a mix of surprise and intrigue in his voice.
"Yes! Don't you want to forge your own sword?" Elder Lie's voice dripped with temptation. "Imagine wielding a blade you forged yourself as you face off against the world's greatest masters, suppressing all comers. Wouldn't that be truly magnificent?"
Seeing Chen Zong's interest piqued, Elder Lie secretly chuckled. He had long wanted to take Chen Zong as an apprentice to teach him forging techniques, but the young man had shown no interest. After much contemplation, he'd abandoned the direct approach and adopted a more indirect strategy. Instead of openly recruiting him, he occasionally offered guidance, slowly trying to spark Chen Zong's interest in forging.
Now, after months of observation, reflection, and discreet inquiries, he had devised a new plan: to have Chen Zong learn sword forging. Sword practitioners, he reasoned, naturally covet fine blades. If Chen Zong could be persuaded to forge his own sword, Elder Lie could gradually impart his forging knowledge. In time, even without the formal master-disciple relationship, the practical mentorship would take root.
The mere thought of it made Elder Lie want to weep with self-admiration.
"Sword forging..." Chen Zong pondered deeply.
"During my recent research in the Martial Repository, I flipped through hundreds of miscellaneous notes and manuscripts. One fragment caught my eye: 'To forge a sword is to understand the sword.' There was no explanation, and at the time, I was solely focused on finding traces of the True Secret Realm, so I paid it little mind..."
"Perhaps... I should give it a try?"
The thought stirred Chen Zong's heart, making it race with newfound excitement.
He practiced the sword for two reasons: personal passion and the desire for greater strength. His love for the sword naturally deepened his connection to it. The idea of forging his own sword—watching a masterpiece take shape under his hands, envisioning himself wielding this painstakingly crafted weapon in duels against peers and elders—was intoxicating.
His heart pounded like a war drum as he imagined the glory of forging a Legendary Sword that would echo through the ages.
"Think about it," Elder Lie's voice rang out again. "What prestige would come from forging a Legendary Sword!"
"A Legendary Sword?" Chen Zong asked, puzzled.
Seeing Chen Zong's confusion, Elder Lie seized the opportunity to pique his interest further. "It seems you're unaware. Very well, let me enlighten you. Weapons are classified by grade. The lowest is Common Iron Grade, followed by Fine Iron Grade. Above that is Precious Iron Grade, but that's not the end. There are three more grades beyond that."
Chen Zong was indeed intrigued and leaned in to listen intently.
"Beyond the Precious Iron Grade lies the Precious Iron Grade," Elder Lie explained with a deliberate air of importance. "The difference between a Precious Iron Grade weapon and a Precious Iron Grade weapon is akin to the gap between the Qi Blood Realm and the realms beyond it. To forge a Precious Iron Grade weapon requires not only rare ores but also exceptional craftsmanship. If we consider the Common Iron Grade, Fine Iron Grade, and Precious Iron Grade to each be ten times more valuable than the previous, then a Precious Iron Grade weapon is over a hundred times more valuable than a Precious Iron Grade weapon."
Chen Zong's heart raced. If a Precious Iron Grade sword was already so sharp, how much sharper could a Precious Iron Grade sword be, being a hundred times more valuable?
"And above the Precious Iron Grade..." Elder Lie paused dramatically before continuing, "lies the Divine Iron Grade. Its value surpasses that of the Precious Iron Grade by more than a hundredfold."
"Divine Iron Grade!" Chen Zong's mouth went dry. If he remembered correctly, Elder Lie had implied there was yet another level above the Divine Iron Grade.
"Beyond the Divine Iron Grade lies the Legendary Grade. These artifacts are also called Legendary Artifacts, and swords, naturally, are known as Legendary Swords."
"Every Legendary Artifact not only surpasses Divine Iron Grade in quality, but also carries a remarkable story. Their value transcends monetary measure." Elder Lie's voice carried an infinite yearning. "If I could just lay eyes on a Legendary Artifact in this lifetime, I'd consider myself content."
"Legendary Artifact... Legendary Sword..." Chen Zong repeated softly.
What kind of grandeur would such a sword possess?
"The blacksmith profession has its own hierarchy," Elder Lie continued. "One who can forge Mortal Iron Artifacts is considered a Blacksmith Apprentice. Those capable of refining Refined Iron Artifacts are Ordinary Blacksmiths. Forging Treasured Iron Artifacts marks one as an Elite Blacksmith, or Refined Blacksmith. I, myself, am a Refined Blacksmith." Elder Lie's final remark was a self-promotion. In truth, his ability to forge Treasured Iron Artifacts depended on luck, barely qualifying him as a Refined Blacksmith.
"And forging Precious Iron Artifacts?" Chen Zong couldn't help but ask.
"Grandmaster Blacksmith," Elder Lie answered swiftly. "Enough chatter now. Listen carefully—I'm going to teach you how to forge swords."
Without giving Chen Zong time to ponder, he immediately began his explanation.