“Don’t worry!” Amanda’s eyes radiated reassurance. “It’s not for making love potions.”
“Then what is it for?” Yang Hao looked suspiciously at the huge, smoke-belching, red-hot apparatus nearby, resembling a mountain. “You’re not expecting me to stand in there and cultivate to become an immortal, are you?”
“If you dare to go in, you’ll certainly burn to death.”
“That’s not necessarily true.” Yang Hao felt Amanda underestimated him. “I’m already a Grand Swordmaster now.”
“A Grand Swordmaster?” Amanda stared at Yang Hao in disbelief. She still couldn’t wrap her head around how Yang Hao, who was bullied at school half a year ago, had suddenly become a Grand Swordmaster. Even now, Grand Swordmasters were rare in the Empire, mostly heads of families and leaders of sword guilds. Still, she insisted, “Even if you were a Sword Sage, you’d still burn to death inside my cauldron, because…”
“Because there’s Primordial Flame inside!” Hun Yuanzi bluntly revealed the answer. “Primordial Flame is the origin of all fire and the best energy for forging items. With this, not only people, but there’s probably nothing in the world that can’t be burned to ashes.”
“Exactly.” Amanda smiled as she raised her hand. “Without the high-temperature-resistant alloy shell I found, the cauldron itself would have melted first.”
“Then what exactly are you trying to do?” Yang Hao was confused. If the cauldron wasn’t for making pills, then what else could it be for?
“I want to help you forge a sword.”
“Forge a sword?”
“Yes.” Amanda stretched out her hand. “Where are your swords?”
Trusting Amanda instinctively, Yang Hao handed over his four flying swords. Except for Sword Heart, which was still with Maya, the other four—Flame Sword, Ice Blade, Wind Splitter, and another white sword that had rarely seen use—were Yang Hao’s most comfortable weapons and the reason he had survived until today.
But Amanda treated them with complete nonchalance and handed them directly to a master craftsman.
Yang Hao had no idea what Amanda was thinking. As he followed her toward the giant pill cauldron furnace, she explained the difficulties she encountered while making this ugly contraption.
Amanda wasn’t just playing around. Her family was one of the original seven master craftsmen clans, specializing in forging techniques. Although the later generations, like Steve, had entered politics, the family still had a strong foundation. Ever since Yang Hao had Amanda forge the first pill cauldron, this woman had memorized its appearance and, upon returning home, desperately searched through ancestral heirlooms, eventually finding an ancient book.
This ancient book was called “The Chronicles of the Sword Furnace,” the author unknown. It was believed to be left behind by a master swordsmith from ancient times, documenting various sword-forging methods and biographies of previous sword-forging masters.
Using the methods in “The Chronicles of the Sword Furnace,” Amanda constructed an enormous sword-forging furnace. Legend had it that this furnace was originally created by the ancient sword-forging couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. Gan Jiang once tried to forge a sword for King Wu of Wu but couldn’t melt the celestial black iron until Mo Ye sacrificed herself by jumping into the furnace, finally allowing the sword to be forged.
Although Amanda followed the ancient methods precisely, Yang Hao remained skeptical. Could people today really recreate those legendary swords of old? After all, in this cosmic age, forging technology, while advanced, was mostly applied to large-scale construction and spacecraft. Cold weapon forging had become extremely rare.
Although the Ten Sword Sects remained the backbone of the Imperial Army, the swords used by their disciples were quite ordinary, not much different from the swords worn by Imperial officers. These common alloy swords could cut through iron like mud, but if too much primal energy was injected, they would easily break.
But if a sword couldn’t channel energy, what power could it possibly have? The reason cold weapons could rival modern firearms was precisely because of the energy within the swords. Thus, the issue of sword quality had always been a headache for the Ten Sword Sects. However, as the military force of the Senate, the direct disciples could still receive precious swords bestowed by the Senate.
These swords were crafted by senators specialized in forging. Not only were the materials rare, but each sword also carried unique attributes, allowing the direct disciples to easily execute their sect’s sword techniques.
Receiving a sword from the Senate was a symbol of recognition for noble heirs, and their martial prowess would skyrocket as a result.
In such a short time, Yang Hao had repeatedly defeated powerful enemies, not only because of his growing strength but also because of the five flying swords he had acquired by chance. Without those swords, which rivaled the Senate’s best, Yang Hao probably wouldn’t have survived even once.
Amanda had invested heavily just to compete with Ling Ziyun. Not only had she spent billions constructing this enormous sword-forging furnace, but she had also mobilized the Seven Master Craftsmen clans. Furthermore, she had transported massive amounts of ore from Bear Star, combining these minerals with the local resources of the Three Crystal Sea to gather all the materials necessary for forging a sword.
The only thing missing was the raw materials.
“Why are you doing all this for me?” Understanding everything, Yang Hao felt truly moved but also guilty. He couldn’t offer Amanda any promises. For one, he had already acknowledged Shi Ming’ai as his wife. For another, Ling Ziyan was now pregnant with his child.
“That’s why I want to forge you a sword.” Amanda seemed to read Yang Hao’s mind. “I can’t do anything else, but I must forge an unparalleled treasure sword for you. That way, you won’t forget me.”
“Huh?” Yang Hao’s scalp prickled. That was so typical of Amanda.
“Mo Ye gave her life to forge a sword,” Amanda, surprisingly, took the ancient swordswoman as her idol. “I want to imprint my soul into the sword just like her. Ling Ziyun might have your child, but you’ll still carry my sword with you at all times.”
By this point, Amanda had already made up her mind, and the sword-forging furnace was already built. What else could Yang Hao say? He just found it strange—forging a sword was one thing, but why take away his favorite flying swords?
When Yang Hao asked Amanda this, she treated it as the most natural thing in the world.
“The ancient book says that forging a treasure sword requires celestial black iron. Where am I supposed to find celestial black iron? Alloys probably won’t work either, so I’ll just use your swords as raw materials.” Amanda said casually, “Throw them into the furnace, melt them down, and cast a new sword.”
“What?!”
“What?!”
Yang Hao and Hun Yuanzi both roared in shock—melt the swords?
She was going to melt all of Yang Hao’s flying swords? The Flame Sword, which could spew flames several meters long and unleash the Flame Dragon Sword technique?
She was going to destroy the Ice Blade and even the world-renowned invisible sword?
Amanda still looked perfectly reasonable, as if everything she did was for Yang Hao.
Yang Hao stood frozen for a few seconds, then sighed bitterly from the bottom of his heart. Without saying anything else, he rushed to retrieve his flying swords. Poor things—they had already been taken by the craftsman to the very top of the sword-forging furnace. Before Yang Hao could shout “Spare my swords!” the craftsman simply let go, tossing the swords into the furnace like garbage.
The mental connection between Yang Hao and his swords was instantly severed.
“Crazy! Absolutely crazy!!” Yang Hao flew into a rage. This wasn’t forging a sword for him—it was clearly Amanda taking the opportunity to retaliate against him for being unfaithful.
Amanda stood there, stunned, watching Yang Hao shoot up toward the top of the furnace like a wisp of smoke. He didn’t even bother with the iron staircase that spiraled upward—he just flew straight to the top. Amanda had no idea why he was so upset. After all, it was just a few swords, and better ones would soon be forged.
But how could she know how important those flying swords were to Yang Hao? The two greatest encounters of his life were meeting Hun Yuanzi and discovering those five swords. Those flying swords not only resonated with his thoughts but also perfectly matched the techniques he had learned. If they were destroyed, where else could he find such a perfectly suited weapon?
Yang Hao rushed up, but it was already too late. He looked down into the furnace’s opening at the top and saw—there was no sign of the flying swords. All that remained was a pool of molten red metal.
With the Primordial Flame and two hundred nuclear flame jet guns, the heat was so intense that the swords had melted in an instant. Not only Yang Hao’s flying swords, but even the Senate’s finest swords would melt in this furnace. Under the heat of the source of all flames, practically nothing could resist melting. If something could go in and come out unscathed, it would probably have to be a divine artifact.
Amanda followed him up. Yang Hao stood there, gazing at the molten metal at the bottom of the furnace, heartbroken and on the verge of tears. But Amanda, on the contrary, was quite satisfied with what had happened. She waved at her subordinates and said, “Throw in the materials.”
Immediately, the cranes got to work, dumping tons of minerals, medicinal herbs, and liquids into the furnace. Yet the flames at the bottom of the cauldron didn’t weaken in the slightest. No matter how much was thrown in, it just became a bubbling, red-hot stew.
At that moment, Yang Hao witnessed a scene that made his heart shatter.
Amanda actually started flipping through the book. Like an apprentice who couldn’t remember the forging method, she began searching through her ancient tome, muttering to herself, “It should be like this… Right, this is correct… But why isn’t it working…”
Try again? What flying swords were left for her to try again?
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage