NOVPUB
Chapter 174: There Is No One Worthy of This Sword Than You and Me
Clang! Clang!
In his sight, it seemed he was brought to a single point in time, hammering away at a blade that was exactly like the Origin sword. He kept hammering diligently when suddenly he caught another glimpse of a vision, and the scene changed as he found himself swinging the sword.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye and did not truly affect Aldrian, who was focused on hammering at that moment. However, it still gave him a sensation reminiscent of that time when he had done the same thing. He kept hammering as he sensed the divine iron and the blade beginning to meld together. Aldrian then returned the blade and the divine iron to the furnace to repeat the process once more.
Heated, hammering, heated, and hammering—he didn’t know how many times he had repeated this process, but finally, he could feel the mixture of the divine iron and the sword blade beginning to balance each other. The divine iron no longer displayed its devouring properties. They resembled yin and yang, complementing each other’s weaknesses. The blade was now able to receive all kinds of elements, while the divine iron had become less ferocious in devouring energy.
Aldrian did not stop there; he was now injecting a large quantity of his golden energy to perfect the mixture of the blade and the divine iron. His energy acted as a catalyst, allowing the materials to balance each other without destroying their characteristics. If he had forged this sword outside of his domain, he would have depleted his energy long ago. To create this sword, Aldrian had to inject his golden energy continuously, without even a moment’s pause.
Even Aldrian doubted that an emperor-stage cultivator could forge this sword, considering the amount of energy he injected and how this sword resembled a devouring abyss. He is the only person on this continent who can complete its forging!
After an unknown amount of time had passed, he finally felt that the mixture of the blade and the divine iron was perfect. He swiftly lifted the blade from the furnace and, with precise control, dipped it into a special oil called Northern Mountain Oil—an oil of the highest quality for the quenching process.
After that, he was ready for the final process: creating the sword’s pattern. He reheated the blade to prepare it for the engraving. In his mind, armed with the full knowledge from the symbol, he understood the intricacies of the pattern like the back of his hand. Yet, despite comprehending the pattern, he was still shocked by its profound complexity.
"As expected from the pattern of the first sword, the origin of all swords," he thought.
After the blade had reached the right temperature, he lifted it and began to engrave the pattern. He engraved the sword with such care and precision that even the amount of energy he used to strike was meticulously measured; there was no room for even the slightest imperfection. At that moment, he completely shut himself off from his surroundings, focusing entirely on engraving the pattern. He entered a state of enlightenment, fully absorbed in his work and undisturbed by anything else in the process.
Tik, tik, tik, tik
The sound of him engraving the sword, with the gentle movements of the hammer, resembled the ticking of a clock with a fast tempo. His hands moved in various styles to ensure that the lines of the pattern remained unbroken. This was also the most difficult part of the process; unlike other swords, where a blacksmith simply engraved the correct lines to ensure the pattern functioned properly, this pattern required a much greater level of skill and precision.
In this case, Aldrian had to ensure that he never broke the lines. Once he began engraving the pattern, he couldn’t stop the process until he had finished engraving the entire design. He could not afford to fail; he only had one chance. If he broke even a single line, the sword’s grade would instantly drop, or worse, it would reduce the entire sword to nothing more than a sturdy blade without any grade. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
His golden energy flowed continuously into the blade, making the entire process feel like double the work for him. In fact, the process of creating this sword, which began from nothing, would have been more perfect if this technique had been used from the start. However, now that the sword was mostly shaped, he could perfect it with the help of his Eyes of the Heaven. They guided him on where he needed to make adjustments and how much golden energy he needed to inject.
Regarding the amount of energy he needed to inject into the blade, the Eyes of the Heaven indicated a significantly larger quantity than he had expected based on his knowledge. He understood the reason: during the previous process, the dwarves had ignored the golden energy because they couldn’t identify what kind of energy it was. As a result, the blade now demanded a greater supply of his energy.
In the midst of his enlightened state, his body moved with seamless fluidity, his eyes never leaving the pattern. He resembled a man entranced by the sword itself. Unbeknownst to him, as he completed each line of the pattern, the energies of heaven and earth also reacted. It was as if a natural response occurred because what he was creating was something beyond divine grade, prompting the forces of heaven and earth to acknowledge its nearing completion. Yes, based on his knowledge, the actual grade of the pattern could not be defined, but it was already beyond divine grade.
The special aspect of this pattern is that it can only be engraved on this sword, using these specific materials. In other words, this pattern is unique to this sword and cannot be engraved on other swords made from different materials! This is the distinctive pattern that the person who created this sword designed exclusively for it.
Tik, tik, tik, tik
The surrounding energies of heaven and earth began to tremble as the lines of the pattern neared completion. When the last line connected, finally shaping the complete pattern, the surrounding energy surged into the blade, drawn in alongside his golden energy. The space within the secret realm also seemed affected, becoming unstable as a result. However, Aldrian, having finally finished the pattern, ignored all of this and dipped the blade into the special oil one last time.
As he lifted the blade from the oil, it suddenly shone with a bright light, transforming its color from obsidian to a brilliant golden hue. The blinding light illuminated the entire secret realm, causing even the portal gate to the secret realm to radiate with the golden glow.
Aldrian’s eyes, however, never left the blade, even as the golden light blinded him. He seemed unconcerned, frozen like a statue, because at that moment, he received another vision. In the midst of the blinding light, he saw a figure he recognized from not long ago—the same figure he had seen when he touched the symbol. Just as before, the figure’s face appeared blurry, with only his smiling mouth clearly visible.
"You have already reached this point, I guess the Origin Sword is no more, at least at this point in time. Although it is gone, you possess its successor. You can wield it, treasure it, for it will help you. Once this sword attracts the heavenly tribulation, that will be the sign that you are ready to leave this world. Many will be drawn to this sword and will try to snatch it from you, but fret not. This sword is special to both of us, there is no one more worthy of this sword than you and me," the figure said with a smile before his form became increasingly blurry.
"Wait!" Aldrian shouted, wanting to ask who he was and whether he was the one behind everything that had happened. However, his vision was engulfed in blinding white light before he could get the answers he sought. When the light faded, he found the blade back in his grasp. He was stunned as he noticed a symbol already engraved on the blade, the same symbol that adorned the inside of the box.
He then realized that he was back in the secret realm. As he looked around, he saw only Mardred and King Douwin, their faces revealing shock as they still didn’t know what had just happened.
"How much time has passed since I tried to complete the sword?" Aldrian asked them.
"You... you’ve been in this place for more than a month," Mardred replied.
"A month has already passed?" He was stunned, he truly couldn’t feel the difference in time while focusing on the sword. He looked at the blade in his hand, now golden, and though it still lacked one final step, it was already exuding a pressuring might. Even while holding this sword, he could feel a powerful boost to his strength.
Mardred and King Douwin also gazed at the sword, mesmerized by its transformation. After a few moments, King Douwin looked at Aldrian and sighed.
"Do you have any suggestions for the sword’s name?"
