Chapter 134

He sent a frosty glance in the direction Wi Je-ho had disappeared, then looked briefly at the sword fragments laid out in front of Cheong-ra.

"Let's go, Beauty."

"Where...?"

Dang Ran-yeong grabbed the cloth on which the sword fragments were placed and swiftly gathered them up. Cheong-ra, feeling as if his precious possession had been snatched away, stood up abruptly with wide eyes, exclaiming, "Oh!"

"How long are you going to keep embracing broken sword pieces and mourning? We need to get you a new sword. Get up. We're going to the blacksmith."

Dang Ran-yeong was right. Although it was sad that the sword he had used for so long was broken, he couldn't keep regretting it forever. He would often have to fight the Blood Cult in the future, and he couldn't defend himself barehanded. Dang Ran-yeong examined one of the sword fragments, tapping it, and said,

"The material doesn't seem too bad. It would be fine to melt this down and reforge it into a new sword."

"That would be great for me."

"But how did you break the sword? This isn't just a simple break. Did it get damaged while cutting the centipede?"

"Yes. It's embarrassing, but I think I lost my composure for a moment and infused too much inner energy into it."

It was indeed embarrassing, as breaking a sword by infusing sword energy meant a lack of control over one's inner energy. However, Dang Ran-yeong smiled meaningfully.

"Because your sword energy was immature? Is that really all?"

Cheong-ra also felt it wasn't simply due to immature sword energy. But not wanting to speak about something he wasn't sure of, he just replied, "Well, that's all." After all, there were quite a few martial artists who displayed abilities beyond their usual level in desperate situations.

They traveled by carriage. In the street where blacksmiths and workshops were gathered, martial artists were walking around, scanning with hawk-like eyes. The carriage stopped in front of an ordinary-looking blacksmith shop. The only thing that stood out was the proudly displayed sign that read "Tang Clan of Sichuan" fluttering in front.

"Um... Young Master Dang, is it okay to come here?"

Didn't you leave your clan of your own accord? Is it alright to use a blacksmith shop flying your clan's flag? When Cheong-ra gave him a look conveying this, Dang Ran-yeong replied nonchalantly,

"What could be wrong with me using it?"

Well, judging by the expression on that blacksmith's face, it didn't seem okay at all...

Cheong-ra had accompanied a Tang Clan member before. One of the Tang Clan's main weapons was hidden weapons, which were usually consumables. Because of this, there was a Tang Clan blacksmith or weapon shop in each major city of the Central Plains to replenish hidden weapons.

He had thought that Dang Ran-yeong mainly used whips because he couldn't receive support from his clan, but that didn't seem to be the case. Dang Ran-yeong just enjoyed whipping people... The young blacksmith greeted Dang Ran-yeong with great tension.

"Yo-Young Master. Welcome."

"Since when did I become a young master of the Yo family?"

To Cheong-ra, it seemed like Dang Ran-yeong was joking about being a Tang Clan member, but the blacksmith's face turned even paler.

"I-I'm sorry, Young Master. What can I do for you?"

"Do you have any dark iron?"

"Yes, we have some in stock."

Dark iron was a black metal, and weapons made with it were incredibly hard. Naturally, it was an extremely expensive material, but this blacksmith answered casually that they had it in stock.

"Then one lump of dark iron and one seat."

"Yes, Young Master! I'll prepare it right away."

Suddenly, Cheong-ra's heart started pounding rapidly. Being a martial artist himself, he was very excited at the thought of getting a dark iron weapon. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, hoping it wasn't the case,

"Are you going to mix dark iron to make my sword?"

"I can't just give Beauty any old thing to carry around, can I?"

Dang Ran-yeong said casually as he sat down in the place the blacksmith had vacated. Cheong-ra, bewildered, asked with a sense of disbelief,

"Young Master Dang, are you going to forge the sword yourself?"

"Yes."

Dang Ran-yeong answered indifferently as he examined the hammer, tapping it here and there, and checked the anvil, bellows, and furnace. He looked quite skilled, as if he had done this many times before, but Cheong-ra couldn't believe it and asked again,

"Did you learn blacksmithing skills?"

"What's there that can't be learned? If you bear the Tang surname, you should at least know how to make weapons."

All the martial artists of the Tang Clan of Sichuan know how to forge their own weapons!

Cheong-ra reflexively looked at the Tang Clan blacksmith, whose expression clearly said that wasn't the case at all. He had believed it because Dang Ran-yeong spoke so confidently. Well, if all martial artists knew how to make their own weapons, blacksmiths would have starved to death long ago. When he looked back at Dang Ran-yeong, he finally gave the real reason.

"I learned because I didn't want others to handle my weapons."

It was remarkable in many ways that he had learned blacksmithing skills just for that reason. Soon, the blacksmith brought and set down a lump of dark iron, which made a heavy sound. Dang Ran-yeong casually took off his robe and threw it aside, then rolled up his sleeves.

"Go back and rest. This will take quite a while."

Then he immediately started working the bellows in earnest. Instead of going back, Cheong-ra picked up Dang Ran-yeong's robe and stepped back to watch.

Dang Ran-yeong soon focused intensely, as if he had forgotten everything around him. As time passed, the temperature of the furnace rose so high that Cheong-ra wondered if it was really okay. It was so hot that an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to look at it properly. The blacksmith standing nearby explained,

"It needs to be this hot for dark iron to just start melting. That's how difficult this metal is to work with. That's why all Tang Clan craftsmen are required to learn martial arts as a basic skill. Even then, only a few can handle dark iron."

Even Cheong-ra, who was protecting himself with inner energy, felt hot, but Dang Ran-yeong, right in front of the furnace, had barely broken a sweat.

Soon, the dark iron went into the furnace. Despite the furnace being so hot, it took a long time for the dark iron to finally turn bright red. Even to the eyes of a layman, it was clear that this was truly a difficult material to work with.

When Dang Ran-yeong carefully watched the bright red metal lump and then put the broken sword pieces together into it, Cheong-ra reflexively flinched and clenched his fist. He couldn't help it as the form of the sword he had used for so long was disappearing. The sword fragments heated up faster than the dark iron. Dang Ran-yeong took out the dark iron and the broken sword pieces and began forging in earnest.

Clang! Clang! Clang! He had to strike so hard that the veins in his forearms stood out blue before the dark iron's shape changed. He hammered, folded, and hammered again, combining the sword fragments and dark iron, until he finally made them into one piece, then put it back in the furnace to heat. And then he hammered again. Brilliant sparks flew in all directions.

As Dang Ran-yeong had said, it took quite a long time to make the sword. Since he was making his own weapon, Cheong-ra didn't leave and steadfastly kept his place. Dang Ran-yeong seemed to have completely forgotten that Cheong-ra was nearby. He only fixed his gaze on the bright red metal.

'This... isn't something an ordinary blacksmith can do.'

He could understand why Dang Ran-yeong was doing it himself, as it required inner energy to withstand the heat, as well as stamina and strength - three things combined.

It took a full four days to complete the sword. Dang Ran-yeong hammered the metal continuously without rest or sleep. Cheong-ra, whose body wasn't completely back to normal yet, kept watching but occasionally dozed off to the sound of metal being struck.

Then, startled awake by a hot sensation spreading on his cheek, he opened his eyes to find Dang Ran-yeong touching his cheek with a hand still hot from the furnace. When their eyes met, Dang Ran-yeong's eyes smiling finely under his sweat-beaded forehead, Cheong-ra's heart fluttered strangely.

"Here, use this from now on."

"This is..."

Cheong-ra was at a loss for words and couldn't finish his sentence. The completed sword's appearance was more perfect than he had expected.

Thanks to the dark iron, the sword blade had a beautiful, straight form with a glossy black sheen that was indescribably beautiful. He carefully grasped the sword handle. Moreover, his weapon wasn't just one.

"And this too."

What he handed over with those words was a dagger. With the amount of dark iron used, there was enough left over to make an additional dagger.

"Young Master Dang, this..."

Once again unable to finish his sentence, Cheong-ra just sighed in admiration. He couldn't believe that a sword any martial artist would covet had come into his hands. He had never even imagined that he would receive a sword personally made by Dang Ran-yeong.

He had once thought it would be nice if he could keep even a single shoe that Dang Ran-yeong had bought for him. But now, what was placed in his hand was a famous sword that wouldn't be a waste even if given for a thousand gold pieces. The well-sharpened blade shone with a chilling aura. When he lightly touched his finger to the blade, blood immediately beaded up.

"I don't know what to say."

"Just give it a name."

Even the incredibly fit Dang Ran-yeong seemed unable to hide his fatigue after hammering metal for three days and nights. However, far from being disheveled, his eyes were still clear.

"So that you'll become attached to it and not be distracted by other things."

As he said this while staring intently at Cheong-ra's face, for some reason it sounded like he was talking about Cheong-ra himself rather than the sword.