Chapter 362 — The Might of the Test Cannon

Shen Mu arrived at the blacksmith's shop. Xu Shenghua wore an apron over his front to keep stray sparks from burning his clothes; his garments, once fine and bright, had by now come to resemble a dishrag.

He was forging a hairpin, rolling the dark gold through a thousand pressings, each time flattening it into the thinnest possible leaf of gold, then folding it, and finally hammering it into shape. Hairpins made this way had the finest grain, and were the favorite of noble ladies.

In fact, over the past month Xu Shenghua had made quite a name for himself in the blacksmith circles of the capital. Not a few cultivators of the Liuhe realm came seeking him to forge yuan weapons, and many among the nobility sought him out for curious weapons such as hairpins and bracelets.

Cultivators of the Liuhe realm gestate yuan weapons within their divine treasury, and only a master forger can draw them out; the skill of the smith matters greatly. Xu Shenghua was clever, and excellent at forging all manner of yuan weapons. His arts and divine powers were endlessly transformable, and he could always forge a yuan weapon that pleased a Liuhe cultivator.

"Human Sovereign Shen, go sit in the back room of the shop for a while. I'll come as soon as I finish this hairpin."

Seeing him arrive, Xu Shenghua called into the shop: "Yanzi, the Human Sovereign is here. Entertain him for me!"

Shen Mu walked into the back room and said with a smile, "Just call me Sect Master. Calling me Human Sovereign always reminds me that you and I are enemies."

Jing Yan came out dressed as a village girl, a far cry from the splendid, elegant attire she had worn when she came from Shangcang, and carrying a pot of tea, she invited Shen Mu to sit.

The tea was coarse. When Xu Shenghua and Shen Mu first met, he had served Shen Mu the finest tea in Shangcang, the best tea Shen Mu had ever tasted to this day, called Qingming tea. Now, however, the tea brewed was ordinary leaves.

"There's no good tea left. Please forgive me, Sect Master Shen."

Jing Yan blushed, poured him tea, and said in a low voice, "The Qingming tea ran out last month."

Shen Mu took a sip and said, "I'm used to coarse tea too. How did you come to take over this shop?"

"The young master originally bought a house in the capital. He sold the house and bought this shop."

Jing Yan said, "Sister Yuliu couldn't stomach the hardship. She found an excuse and left, returning to Shangcang. Only I remain here to keep the young master company."

Shen Mu invited her to sit as well and said with a smile, "You're a good girl."

Xu Shenghua lifted the curtain and came in, a towel in his hand. He had just washed his hands. He hung the towel behind the curtain, came to the table and sat down, first poured himself a cup of tea and gulped it down with his head tilted back, then poured another.

Jing Yan was about to rise, but Xu Shenghua waved his hand: "No need for so many formalities. You're the mistress of our blacksmith shop. Just sit."

Jing Yan had no choice but to sit back down.

Shen Mu's eyes flickered, and he smiled: "Brother Xu, how have you been these days?"

Xu Shenghua sighed and shook his head: "Not too well, but very full. I never knew before that money could be so hard to earn. In Shangcang I never gave money a thought. But now I know just how much a single Dafeng coin is worth! Brother Shen, you paid one Dafeng coin for ten bowls of noodles. What a waste! It would have been more than enough for a hundred bowls!"

Shen Mu looked blank: "I'm not really sure exactly how much a Dafeng coin is worth. I've rarely lacked money. When I eat out, I usually settle the bill with a single Dafeng coin."

"You've never lived in poverty."

Xu Shenghua gulped down a few more mouthfuls of tea and let out a turbid breath: "The money I've saved these days isn't enough to repay you. Give me a little more time. Two years should about do it."

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."