CHAPTER 133: CHAPTER 113 SWORD TEMPLATE

The Academic Palace Forging Workshop was divided into three areas. The largest could accommodate the construction of colossal ships fifty feet in length without seeming crowded.

Li Ang and the others attended their workshop at the southern end of Chuiyun Lake, near the back hills.

Since a Saint was coming to supervise their studies, the place had been specially cleaned up last night—hammers, chisels, axes, saws, and all kinds of materials were neatly stacked on the shelves, the surfaces of the Iron and Steel Refining Furnaces shone, and there were no wood chips or metal filings on the floor.

Master Cui Yixian, who was in charge of the Sword Study class, spoke briefly. He essentially told the students that they had five hours to use the workshop’s materials and tools to forge swords, and those who excelled would receive credits.

Although the instructors had already told the freshmen not to be nervous, with Emperor Yu, the court’s senior officials, and the Masters and Doctors (the Mountain Master was absent on business) all sitting in the pavilion watching, not many students could truly remain calm.

"Risheng, what should we do?" Yang Yu whispered.

"Um..." Li Ang looked around. Time was limited, and the students quickly finished forming teams and assigning tasks—whether it was designing blueprints, taking materials from the shelves, or hurriedly firing up the forges.

"Let’s not rush. Let me look through this book." Li Ang sat down gracefully on a stool and pulled out a booklet titled "Fangjin Secret Scroll" from his bosom.

This was one of the fundamental textbooks for Natural Science and Sword Study, sharing insights and experiences of swordsmiths from the Former Sui and Yu Chu. A portion of Sword Cultivators, after prolonged exploration, believed that a good Flying Sword didn’t necessarily have to use only one type of metal. They found that mixing various metals or embedding special materials into the sword body could aid the flow and circulation of Spiritual Energy.

This book described how to add different materials in various positions on the sword body during the forging process to achieve optimal efficiency in Spiritual Energy flow.

"Gasp... Risheng, you want to forge a sword according to the blueprints in the ’Fangjin Secret Scroll’?" Yang Yu exclaimed in shock. "But the content requires the use of a Golden Vault Forging Furnace, right? Only a Cloud Patrol Realm cultivator would have the practical means to operate it."

The Golden Vault Forging Furnace was the square iron box Cheng Juxiu carried, capable of melting steel. One had to reach the Cloud Patrol Realm to possess enough Spiritual Power to use it.

"I’m not planning to forge a sword according to the Sword Manual," Li Ang said without looking up. "After all, according to Master Cui Yixian’s requirements, we just need to make a Flying Sword that can fly high, fly for a long time, and has excellent maneuverability, right?"

"Right," Li Wei nodded and whispered, "Risheng, the Cloud Banner General is also sitting behind His Majesty. My father used to be under his command, and my recommendation letter for the Exam Palace was written by him. This time..."

"I get it, I get it. I won’t let them think you’re wasting food and resources at the Academic Palace." Li Ang closed the book, jumped off the stool, and smiled casually. "Want to earn some extra credits?"

Under the pavilion, Pei Su, the Minister of the Left of Yu Country, was whispering with Emperor Yu and his colleagues about Nanzhou’s movements.

The Emperor of Nanzhou was old and frail. Recently, he had experienced the grief of outliving his Crown Prince; overwhelmed by sorrow and pain, he had fallen ill and become bedridden, unable to handle state affairs.

The Princes of Nanzhou each had their own agendas and colluded with factions, causing instability in the court. It was even said that the border army stationed at the frontiers had gone without pay for some time.

The generals from Yu Country under the pavilion, listening to Emperor Yu’s lighthearted tone, were each eager to volunteer for battle.

Pei Su listened to his colleagues’ conversation, maintaining a calm smile, but his eyes betrayed no emotion—as Minister of the Left, he naturally knew of Jun Qianzi’s message. War would not come so quickly. Even though Yu Country was at the height of its power and Nanzhou was in turmoil, Yu Country’s forces would not encroach on Nanzhou territory before the true identity and purpose of that high-ranking Candle Cloud Realm Talisman Master were clarified.

One sword had once equaled a million soldiers; such was the power of a Cultivator.

A strange glint flashed in Pei Su’s eyes as he covertly glanced toward the Forging Workshop. There, the tall and handsome Pei Jing was suavely commanding his team members, melting metal and forging swords. His spirited, confident demeanor bore no trace of the despondency he’d felt after recently failing to become the top scorer.

My son is excellent in many ways, Pei Su sighed silently. Intelligent, eager to learn, well-mannered... but he’s just too proud at heart. He had told Pei Jing to be friendly with his classmates. While Pei Jing had agreed on the surface, in reality, he still didn’t speak with Li Ang or He Fanshuang. Instead, he was pouring all his energy into studying, determined to reclaim his lost pride. He still needs some discipline. Unnoticeably, Pei Su shook his head. Pei Jing was born to be a superior. The most important quality for a superior isn’t being smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else, but rather the ability to recognize and utilize talent...

BANG!

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground interrupted Pei Su’s musings.

In the workshop, Yang Yu and Li Wei were hoisting a pile of long wooden planks from the floor. They offered awkward but polite smiles as they passed between their puzzled classmates.

"Risheng, here’s the lightweight wood you asked for." Yang Yu and Li Wei placed the wood on the table and whispered, "What next?"

"Next, you two take a saw and cut these wooden planks into thin boards and slender strips." Li Ang picked up a sheet of paper covered in notes from the table. "According to these dimensions."

"These wooden strips are so thin, like toothpicks! What are they for?" Yang Yu took the diagram and glanced at it, confused. "Even if you’re making a peach wood sword, shouldn’t you use a solid piece of wood?"

"You don’t need to worry about that," Li Ang said with a smile. "I’m going to find some strong swim bladder glue and some hide."

"Hide?" Yang Yu and Li Wei were even more bewildered, but it was too late to question. The other groups had already entered the forging and hammering stage for their sword prototypes. The two exchanged a look, shook their heads helplessly, and, trusting Li Ang, began sawing the wood.

"Swim bladder glue, swim bladder glue..." Li Ang strolled leisurely among the groups, scrutinizing the shelves carefully and choosing the materials he needed.

Precious metal materials like Fine Gold and Mountain Copper were on the shelves on the opposite side of the workshop. Li Ang resisted the urge to look that way, releasing Spiritual Power to suppress the restless Mo Si. He walked back to his original spot with a steady gait and placed the materials on the table.

Yang Yu and Li Wei weren’t inept with their hands. Cooperating well, they quickly cut relatively neat, thin boards and slender wooden strips.

Li Ang trimmed some of the boards into curved shapes, cut out mortise and tenon joints, and handed them to Yang Yu and Li Wei to smooth the wood splinters from their surfaces using the hide. After they were polished, the pieces were returned to Li Ang, who assembled the slender wooden strips.

The entire process was tedious and meticulous. Yang Yu looked at the surrounding classmates. Many had already forged sword shapes and were quenching and cooling them. Some had even begun sensing the Sword Spirit—the core metal in the sword responsible for directing Spiritual Energy—and were slowly levitating their Flying Swords.

Finally, Yang Yu couldn’t help but ask, "Risheng, when are we going to forge the Sword Spirit?"

"Anytime is fine." Li Ang looked up. "Mr. Li, please fetch two of the thinnest Fine Gold wires from the shelf over there."

Li Wei brought back two slender Fine Gold wires. Following Li Ang’s instructions, he tied the Fine Gold threads to both ends of the wooden frame, connecting them to the tail of the frame.

Then, Li Wei and Yang Yu watched as Li Ang took out a piece of silk, sprayed it with water, and draped it over the frame’s surface.

Yang Yu stared, dumbfounded, at the strangely shaped wooden sword model taking form. "Risheng," he finally managed to ask, "what on earth is this?"

"This is the Flying Sword we’re going to present," Li Ang said, completely composed, silently adding to himself, Or rather, a flyable model of the Bo-2 Biplane Trainer, designed by Soviet airplane designer Nikolai Polikarpov.