Chapter 362 — The Might of the Test Cannon
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Shen Mu smiled: "It's a trifling sum. I'm not in a hurry. Ling'er remembers it more clearly than I do. I came this time to have you attend the ceremony. The Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon has been completed."
Xu Shenghua was stunned for a moment, then sighed: "You spent a little over two months designing and forging a giant divine cannon, while I can only forge yuan weapons for cultivators in this blacksmith shop. Fifteen days ago, I sensed that you fired up the furnace twice more. You must have been testing the carriage, right?"
"Correct."
Shen Mu drained his cup and said, "I forged the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon with the strength of an entire nation. In truth, I'm not taking payment. I don't lack money, and if I did charge, even the emperor couldn't afford it. Let's go take a look."
Xu Shenghua stood up as well, took off his apron, and said to Jing Yan, "You come with me too."
Jing Yan assented. The three of them left the blacksmith shop and headed out of the city.
When they reached the outskirts of the city, they saw from afar a giant yuan weapon a thousand mu in circumference, a massive gun carriage. The eyeball at the center of the carriage had also been forged, floating at the center of the light-gathering forks. Hundreds of cultivators were busily testing something on the carriage.
When the three of them drew near, Xu Shenghua and Jing Yan were even more shaken. Gazing up at this colossal thing, it was hard to imagine that Shen Mu had forged such a terrifying yuan weapon in only a little over two months!
Of course, this was not Shen Mu's achievement alone, but the crystallized collective wisdom of nearly every master of arts and calculation and every master forger in Jingping. Among them, Shen Mu's contribution was the greatest.
Without Shen Mu's designs and improvements to the forging craft, Jingping's level of forging could never have produced such a heaven-defying treasure!
Shen Mu had advanced Jingping's forging craft by a hundred years or so!
The emperor and all the civil and military officials had arrived, along with the capital's dignitaries, nobles, and common folk, gathered here to watch the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon's furnaces be lit. Even the village head, the Hermit of Qingyou, and others had hurried here, waiting for the great cannon to fire.
"Furnace inspection normal! No cracks detected!" a Ministry of Works official shouted.
"Array patterns normal! No breaks detected!"
"Runes normal!"
"Cannon carriage normal!"
"Light-gathering forks normal!"
"Sacred Pupil normal!"
...
One voice after another rang out. Shan Youxin looked toward Shen Mu, and Shen Mu nodded. Shan Youxin called out loudly: "Furnace Number One, ignite! Strength test, full power!"
After a moment, an alchemist beside the furnace called out: "Furnace Number One at full power, inspection normal!"
"Furnace Number Two, ignite and test!"
"Furnace Number Two at full power, inspection normal!"
...
Watching these testing methods, Xu Shenghua was awed. He murmured, "Sect Master Shen, when will I ever reach your level in the forging craft? My little smithy is truly too shabby..."
Shen Mu consoled him: "Don't worry. Everyone climbs up step by step. I've had my days of poverty too."
"Really?" Xu Shenghua said doubtfully.
Shen Mu thought for a moment, then shook his head: "False. Not long after I walked out of my village, I was already renowned throughout the world."
Xu Shenghua fell silent, then after a moment said, "Sect Master Shen, comforting people like that, sooner or later you'll get beaten to death."
"But when I was in the village, I started swinging a hammer at five, learning to draw diagrams from Deaf Grandpa."
Shen Mu's expression was calm: "You've only just picked up a hammer, and you don't know how much sweat I've poured out over these ten years."
Xu Shenghua nodded: "Even a Tyrant Body can't achieve anything without effort. I've learned something."