Only now did Jiang Wang understand. Even someone with a family background as powerful as Chongxuan Sheng would be envious that Lian Que was helping him forge a sword.
Just from this sword furnace alone, the product would definitely not be ordinary!
Inside the sword forest, there was only this one furnace.
And outside the sword furnace, there wasn't even a shed, probably because it didn't fear wind and rain.
At this moment, besides Lian Que and Jiang Wang, there was no one else.
The furnace had been reserved by Lian Que today.
Lian Que performed an elaborate ancient ritual to the sword furnace, kneeling and prostrating, murmuring something in his mouth, very devout.
It was probably an inherent ritual before the Lian clan forged swords, not required of others.
But Jiang Wang also seriously bowed three times.
The seed of fire in this furnace had never been extinguished even when his homeland was destroyed and he was forced to leave his country.
This sense of heaviness that spanned the river of time was worth his respect.
After the ritual, Lian Que stood up and asked, "Have you decided what kind of sword you want?"
Jiang Wang was caught off guard.
Wasn't this something the weaponsmith should consider?
Lian Que saw his expression and knew he hadn't decided.
He shook his head and said, "This is your sword. It will grow into your heart, your will, your hand. You first need to understand your hand, your will, your heart."
"First meditate here for a while, empty your body and mind." Lian Que walked behind the sword furnace. "I'll just organize the materials again."
My hand, my will... my heart?
Jiang Wang had come all the way asking his heart, and was very clear about what he wanted. He had always been firm in moving forward.
But he had never thought about what kind of sword he wanted.
It seemed, the stronger the better.
Sharp? Sturdy?
Engraved with extraordinary Dao arts?自带威能无穷?
He respected Lian Que's authority as a weaponsmith, and regardless of whether the ground was clean, he immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began to meditate, emptying his body and mind.
Lian Que was touching the ores at the sword furnace, and when he turned back to see that Jiang Wang had already entered a meditative state, he couldn't help but nod.
No matter what reason the version of himself in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm had for handing over the life token, at least now it seemed that he hadn't misjudged the person in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm.
This person's talent and temperament were both top-notch.
After Jiang Wang entered a meditative state, he lost his concept of time, his mind emptying.
It was a subtle feeling, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, his thoughts ethereal. But it didn't mean he had lost his vigilance.
The sound of chatting and laughing suddenly reached his ears. It was a group of people who had walked out of the sword array and arrived in front of the sword furnace.
Jiang Wang opened his eyes and saw the leading young man greeting Lian Que, his tone ambiguous: "Yo, Brother Lian Que, why are you here too?"
Lian Que didn't seem like a good-tempered person, but for some reason, he wasn't angry with this person, just saying, "The sword furnace will be sealed off for the next few days until I finish forging the sword. Lian Shao, if you want to view the sword furnace, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while."
Lian Shao had the typical appearance of a Nanyao City person, with darker skin, tall and sturdy. His face was square and broad, his features could be considered regular.
Of course, just having regular features was already much better than Lian Que.
"Forging weapons in an ancient furnace, even for you, is only three opportunities in a lifetime. And you've given it away just like that?"
Lian Shao pretended to be surprised, turning his head to look at Jiang Wang who was sitting cross-legged on the ground: "Who is this distinguished person?"
He was asking knowingly.
Lian Que had participated in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm with great fanfare, but came out empty-handed in the end. The matter had long spread throughout Nanyao. Now many people were saying that he had knelt and begged for mercy in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, and even offered his life token, in order to save his life.
The reason he was so dedicated to forging weapons for Jiang Wang was because this was a deal made in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm.
These words, no one knew who had spread them, and there was no way to refute them. After all, no one remembered what had happened in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, and it was a fact that Lian Que had nothing to show for it and had handed over his life token.
Lian Que wasn't angry, and Jiang Wang didn't need to stick his neck out. He just sat cross-legged and said, "I'm Jiang Wang, not some distinguished person. Just a friend of Brother Lian Que."
"So it's Brother Jiang, I've heard a lot about you." Lian Shao cupped his hands in greeting, then smiled: "Thank you for returning my Brother Lian Que's life token. What great moral character!"
Since the end of the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, Jiang Wang was no longer unknown in the Kingdom of Qi. First, he had reserved a divine skill at the Inner Palace realm, and second, he was Chongxuan Sheng's friend.
Just these two points. As long as Lian Shao wasn't stupid to a certain degree, he wouldn't provoke him for no reason. The hostility was mostly directed at Lian Que.
Jiang Wang shook his head: "You may not be familiar with me now, but you will get to know me later. I'm not someone who likes to threaten others. If there are grievances, we usually only see life and death. The life token should just be a token that Brother Lian Que gave me. Of course, I wouldn't be so shameless as to use it against him."
From Lian Shao's words, he realized the public relations dilemma that Lian Que was currently facing, and had to explain a bit.
No matter what had happened in the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, Lian Que was now doing his best to forge a sword for him, and this was what he should be doing.
Moreover, he would be staying in the Kingdom of Qi for a while, and it was very necessary for the people of Qi to have some understanding of him.
These words were both to testify for Lian Que and to show his attitude and strength.
But Lian Que himself seemed not to care. He simply issued a dismissal order: "Alright Lian Shao, you can stay here before the sword forging begins. Now I'm about to start forging the sword, according to the rules, you have to leave."
Mockery was useless, provocation was not met.
Having brought up the family rules, Lian Shao had no excuse to stay any longer, and could only leave angrily with his people.
Jiang Wang watched him walk back to the sword array, thoughtful.
"You seem confused, why my temper is so good?" Lian Que walked over and asked.
Jiang Wang smiled embarrassedly: "I am a bit curious."
"Lian Shao is actually not a bad person." Lian Que came over, formed a seal formula, and sealed the sword array.
Then he said casually, "He's just a pitiful person."
Jiang Wang looked at him, questioning.
"Only ten people in each generation of the Lian clan can control their own life tokens. I am one of them. He is not."
Lian Que only said this sentence, and didn't explain further.
Long before hearing about the life token matter outside the Celestial Residence Secret Realm, Jiang Wang had felt疑惑.
No matter where it was, having life and death controlled by others was a very sad thing. The Lian clan was famous, why would they establish such a system?
But Lian Que didn't seem to want to say more, and he didn't want to ask in detail.
"Come here, sit on the cushion on the left side of the sword furnace." Lian Que instructed, handing over a crimson round stone the size of a baby's fist: "Cover it with both hands and input Dao essence."
Jiang Wang naturally did as he was told.
Lian Que explained, "This is the firestone corresponding to the sword furnace. The sword furnace itself has enough fire power. The reason for you to input Dao essence is to let your sword become more familiar with you during the forging process, better suited to your will."
"While inputting Dao essence, you'd better empty your mind and enter a meditative state. This way the input Dao essence will be purer, better representing your heart. Stop when your Dao essence is exhausted, no need to force it. It won't affect my sword forging."
Finally, he added, "Of course, it would be better if you could persist a bit longer."
Lian Que didn't bring over a pile of Dao Essence Stones for Jiang Wang to replenish at any time.
Because generally, Dao Essence Stones couldn't extract Dao essence instantly, but had to go through a breathing adjustment process. This process itself would interrupt the Dao essence input.
Every profession has its own expertise.
In the matter of sword forging, Jiang Wang unconditionally trusted Lian Que, and didn't make any self-righteous suggestions or ideas.
He wasn't arrogant enough to challenge the Lian clan's thousands of years of weaponsmithing history with his own shallow knowledge.
Whatever Lian Que said, he would do.
He immediately sat cross-legged on the cushion on the left side of the sword furnace, closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. And his Dao essence continuously flowed towards the crimson round stone in his palm.
Thump thump! Thump thump! Thump thump!
For a moment, it seemed as if the whole world was quiet, only the sound of the furnace fire jumping.
It was hard to say which side was attached to which side.
Anyway, it slowly overlapped with his heartbeat.