Chapter 1128 — Forging Iron Paints a Beauty's Portrait

The crowd poured out of the workshop in a rush, and the blind old man said with a smile, "Village Head, there is still one small flaw in this sword. Bring it here, and I will show it to you.

" The others caught on at once; only the Village Head suspected nothing and handed over the divine sword, scabbard and all.

The blind old man closed his grip on the sword and bellowed, "All together, now!

" The Butcher flung his arms around the Village Head, Granny Zhu drove a fist into his face, and the Lame Elder, the Deaf Elder, the Silent Smith, the Blind Elder, and all the rest swarmed in, fists and feet flying, to give this old man who would not stop trying to draw the sword a thorough beating. Shen Mu and the Alchemist squeezed into the press as well, sneaking in two kicks apiece to vent their spite. Only when the Village Head had been beaten into begging for mercy did the crowd's anger cool; they tossed the bruised and swollen old fellow aside, and the Silent Smith said, "Come, let us go forge the other treasures.

" The Village Head scrambled to his feet and said furiously, "Alchemist, did you just kick me? " "No!

" The Alchemist said with utter sincerity, "We are the best of friends.

Back in the day we drank tea together at the village gate.

How could I kick you? Absolutely not! Just now I was even holding the others back, telling them not to hit you.

It was little Shen who kicked you! " Shen Mu hastily shot into the air, meaning to flee, but the Village Head gave a cold laugh and suddenly drew the sword; a streak of blade-light flashed past, and Shen Mu tumbled out of the sky and landed in the dust, where for a long while he did not get up.

The Village Head sheathed the sword and praised it: "A truly fine sword. From now on I shall call you Evil-Slayer, and turn you against the unworthy and the wicked.

Come, let us go on forging treasures. " Shen Mu got up and limped into the Supervisory Forge, where he went on watching them forge treasures and studying their mysteries with all his heart.

More than ten days passed, and the Silent Smith and the Blind Elder joined hands to forge Granny Zhu's treasure, the Dao Wheel.

Granny Zhu's hands itched, and she wanted to test the Dao Wheel's might. Everyone's faces changed at once.

Without a word, Shen Mu pointed a finger; his teleportation art erupted, and the only woman in all of Hidden Remnant Village was sent no one knew where. "Little Shen, when I get back I will beat you to death!

" Granny Zhu's voice came from the lingering glow of the teleportation art, trailing away into faint echoes. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and went on forging weapons.

Shen Mu, though, could not sit still, and said, "Village Head, Master Huo, when Granny comes back you two must put in a good word for me.

" "It is fine, it is fine.

" The Lame Elder patted his shoulder and comforted him: "Guaranteed, guaranteed.

" Yet Shen Mu was still uneasy; he could not shake the feeling that the elders of Hidden Remnant Village all wore the look of people up to no good. Sure enough, when Granny Zhu returned from testing her treasure and pressed Shen Mu to the ground to beat him, not one person stepped forward to speak for him; instead they all sat about drinking tea and gossiping over everyday trifles.

Only when Granny Zhu had worn herself out with beating him did the crowd disperse and go on forging the next divine weapon.

Shen Mu crawled up, nose swollen and face bruised, and looked at Dragon Qilin, who had hidden himself in a corner and pretended to be asleep, while Yan'er had likewise transformed into a little green sparrow and perched on his head dozing. "You two are utterly useless.

At New Year I will put you two on the table together!

" Shen Mu said viciously. The little green sparrow trembled.

Dragon Qilin lifted his tail, coiled it around her, drew her into his bosom, and gently patted the sparrow's head, coaxing her to sleep. In the Supervisory Forge, Shen Mu came to Granny's side and quietly told her about Gongsun Yan, saying, "I would trouble Granny to go and instruct her.

" Granny Zhu laughed: "I know that girl. A silly thing, and not much fond of cultivation.

What realm is she at now?

" "She has cultivated to True God. " Shen Mu hesitated a moment, then said, "But her fighting strength should be at the level of a top-tier Emperor Throne.

Her mana is deep and mighty; she may well rank first among Emperor Throne powerhouses. " Granny Zhu was startled and blurted out, "She has reached the True God realm, and her cultivation already stands at the Emperor Throne level?

There are five realms between them! " Shen Mu laughed: "She is a demigod, a daughter of the Earth Mother.

The realms themselves were merely opened up by the Nine Heavenly Venerables of Longhan; they have little to do with true strength. " Granny Zhu felt a headache coming on and murmured, "Teaching her to master her own power will be hard indeed.

A True God realm wielding the strength of a top Emperor Throne.

. .

this challenge has no small difficulty to it.

. . " She rose and hurried off.

Shen Mu went on studying the Blind Elder's and the Silent Smith's arts of casting and of formations, and by the time the two elders had finished forging the Alchemist's pill furnace, he had more or less grasped the fruits of their years of labor. "In casting, you still have much to learn. " The Silent Smith instructed him: "Your precision in casting has reached its utmost. But as for the spirit in which you cast, you are still greatly lacking.

First of all, you must understand why it is that Heaven's Craft Brings Forth All Things! " The Silent Smith lifted the great hammer; flame from the great furnace filled the air, as though ten thousand suns were hidden within the furnace, and he said in a deep voice: "Mortals do not have the mighty power of the ancient gods, nor the means of creation, nor the grandeur of the creative force!

But mortals have tools, have minds, have perseverance, have hot blood, have dreams! Heaven's Craft Brings Forth All Things means this: with your own two hands you forge your own dreams, you create instruments that possess power, and you yourself become the creator wielding the power of creation!

" Shen Mu savored this deeply. After a long while he finally smiled, and at once began choosing treasures from the Ancestral Court, intending to forge his own divine weapon.

The Blind Elder stepped forward, looked at Shen Mu's toiling figure, and asked, "Silent Smith, microscopic forging needs at least three people.

Can he manage alone? " "Naturally he can. " The Silent Smith went on preparing to help the Butcher forge a saber, and said, "Five years ago it was he who told us of microscopic forging and divine-consciousness forging.

Now this brat comes running back to sponge off us; if he cannot learn it, we may as well beat him to death and dig a pit to bury him! " The Blind Elder nodded again and again: "The boy's cultivation is already above ours, but when it comes to our own distinctive skills, he is still far behind.

This brat, even his sponging is done with a clear conscience! " The Silent Smith said, "If we do not let him try for himself and temper himself, and rely only on us to teach him, he will never reach our level. Still, we too must push harder, lest the day come when we have nothing left to teach him.

" The Blind Elder, full of drive, laughed: "The stinking boy comes back to see us only once in a few years, and every time it is to learn something. If we had nothing to teach him, the boy would most likely want nothing more to do with us!