Those who often forge weapons know that blacksmithing is a skill that anyone can learn. Wang Jixuan felt a bit embarrassed. He was just a beginner cultivator, unable to melt materials in his palm or use a suitable furnace. Even if he had a furnace, he didn't have enough spiritual energy to operate it, so he had to rely on more primitive methods. But this was already much better than when he made the bone-piercing nails before… back then, he used his hands.
One advantage of blacksmithing is that during the forging process, he could continuously infuse the blade with spiritual energy, slightly improving its quality. The blade gradually took shape; since the material wasn't too much, it was just a small knife to test the feasibility of this kind of magical tool.
Soon, Wang Jixuan heated the blade again, bringing it close to him. In front of Uncle Tai, he pointed his sword finger and quickly carved out two simple seals on both sides. Uncle Tai was stunned, “What kind of ruthless iron hand is this!”
Wang Jixuan smiled without saying a word, fully focused on the blade. The most crucial step had arrived. He puffed up his cheeks and blew out a burst of energy from his dantian. The seals on the blade lit up in an instant, creating a pathway inside the blade according to the shape of the seals! Streams of spiritual energy gathered towards the blade.
Wang Jixuan moved quickly, quenching, re-forging, and striking the blade again, then sharpening it. Overall, it was quite easy. Uncle Tai's throat moved slightly. Although he couldn't see what was happening, his intuition told him… a spiritual energy user was forging a weapon using spiritual energy methods.
Could he really choose between a spicy iron anvil and a garlic-flavored hammer? ‘Good thing I didn’t say that out loud, just thought about it.’
…
Ling Tong returned to the supply station around four in the morning. Even the battle sister, who was like an iron person, looked a bit tired. When she walked into the main workshop, she noticed everyone was still awake, so she forced herself to perk up, her pretty face tense, holding a pile of paper materials.
Hmm? Ling Tong doubted if she had seen something wrong. By the operation table, Wang Jixuan had his feet up on the table, leaning back in a swivel chair. On his left was Wan Xiaoqi, fanning him vigorously, and on his right was Uncle Tai, holding tea and nodding respectfully.
Ling Tong frowned and asked, “What are you guys playing, some role-playing game?”
“Hey!” Uncle Tai looked up at Ling Tong, speaking seriously, “Commander Ling, please don’t speak so harshly, you might scare our future special-grade, no, human treasure-level mechanic! That wouldn’t be good!”
“Hahaha!” Wan Xiaoqi laughed out loud, while Wan Jie on the second floor, holding a cup of industrial coffee, looked a bit embarrassed.
“Hmm?” Ling Tong tilted her head, observing. Wang Jixuan smiled and asked, “How did it go on your side?”
“Some gains.” Ling Tong stepped forward, and Wan Xiaoqi quickly moved aside to bring over a chair. Ling Tong handed the materials to Wang Jixuan, who placed a ‘fruit knife’ on the table. Under Uncle Tai's gaze, Ling Tong picked up the small knife to examine it closely.
Oh? Energy reaction? Though the energy response was very faint, it was indeed similar to spiritual energy!
“Can you explain what this is about?” Wang Jixuan returned the materials to Ling Tong, asking, “There are many technical terms here that I don’t understand, especially some of the data.”
“We found a pseudo-B grade defective spiritual energy user in the laboratory of the spiritual energy house,” Ling Tong said quickly. “This user was supposed to be a rare B grade, but during the energy infusion process, an error occurred, causing his body to deteriorate rapidly, and he can only rely on a nutrient pod to stay alive.
“His specific abilities haven’t been identified yet, but the power at the level of the spiritual energy city has already intervened. However, I can assure you that the only anomaly in the spiritual energy house is him. His life is likely to last less than six months. He has already contributed dozens of papers to several well-known scholars, and Qin Qin brought him here for research.”
Wang Jixuan asked, “What’s his name?”
“Meng Caiyuan.” Ling Tong rubbed her neck, and Wang Jixuan quickly stood up and began to massage her shoulders from behind. Ling Tong continued, “The frontline command sent intelligence about Meng Caiyuan. He has acted three times, helping other battle zones with some operations. His ability should be to simulate commands from higher-level blade beasts to lower-level blade beasts.
“The pigeon-like sounds you heard were likely emitted by him, amplified through a special device and spread to the blade beasts far away.”
Wang Jixuan frowned and said, “Can’t we just eliminate them directly with this?”
“There’s no substantial evidence. The information above was left by Meng Caiyuan during his previous operations in other battle zones,” Ling Tong explained. “His short life is nearing its end; he is a failure. Otherwise, Qin Qin, as just a researcher, wouldn’t have been able to obtain him for study.”
Wang Jixuan sighed, “It’s pretty tragic to be studied when you’re about to die… Can we confirm what signal he sent out last night?”
“My movements, most likely! Qin Qin probably wants revenge for me killing Lü Dongjie, but these are just guesses without evidence.” Ling Tong's tone became more eager, “Now, both a young king worm and a pseudo-B grade special spiritual energy user are after me. But don’t worry. Reinforcements from the frontline will arrive in the morning. I will act as bait to lure the beast horde into a terrain advantageous to us.
“The spiritual energy house has already been sealed off. If blade beasts appear near our fortress next, although it’s more likely due to the young king worm, we can treat it as evidence of their collusion against humanity. Our real enemy is only the blade beasts; these spiritual energy users are just decaying flesh, not worth worrying about.”
Wang Jixuan’s gaze flickered slightly as he asked, “Can I join you in action?”
“Going to dig for crystal cores again?”
“A part of it.”
“Better not.” Ling Tong said, “The situation is likely to escalate into a localized war, not just the minor conflict in the mine last time. The battle may be very intense, and C-grade or lower spiritual energy users will struggle to be effective.
“Later, the frontline spiritual energy special forces will also arrive; they are important combatants, and it’s best if you don’t expose yourself to them.”
Wang Jixuan didn’t press further. He didn’t like to force others to change their minds. He then asked, “Can the black storm be exposed?”
“That’s fine; they were already investigating the black storm, just try not to let Wang Zheng get involved with it.”
“Okay,” Wang Jixuan nodded in agreement. Uncle Tai raised his hand excitedly, shouting, “Ling Tong, you should try that small knife! Just don’t stab yourself!”
“Hmm? Is this a powerful weapon?”
“Look over here!” Uncle Tai rushed to the corner, bringing back a piece of alloy plate, saying quickly, “The hardness of this composite material is equivalent to the active front armor hardness of a basic blade beast! You should try it! Get close to it! Be careful, wait until a light blue glow appears on the blade edge—yes! Now! Stab it!”
Swish! The dagger pierced through the alloy plate completely. Uncle Tai howled with excitement, “That’s amazing!”
Ling Tong was also stunned. Wang Jixuan reminded her, “After one use, you’ll need to wait about twelve seconds for the blue light to recharge. This is just a prototype; I’ll continue to improve the process.”
Ling Tong looked up at him, her bright eyes showing some fluctuation, “You made this?”
“Yeah, it’s a sample.”
“Can it be mass-produced?”
“It's a bit difficult for now, but I’ll keep exploring.”
Ling Tong calmly nodded and quietly asked, “Can I take it to make a report?”
Wang Jixuan replied, “It’s better to wait until I make a version that can be mass-produced because I still don’t know if I can improve it successfully. If it’s only a small quantity, it won’t be very meaningful, and my energy is limited… Later, I’ll donate the forging technique for this weapon to the forces of Zhou Zhengde’s grandfather.”
Uncle Tai said seriously, “And I will be Wang Laoshi’s exclusive assistant, shamelessly riding on this honor that will be remembered in history!”
“Okay,” Ling Tong slowly nodded, “It’s a pity it’s a melee weapon; on the battlefield, it can only be used as a last resort by soldiers. If we could make a ranged weapon like this…”
“The ore might not be enough,” Wang Jixuan said, “The ores I used, Uncle Tai checked, and the current output is limited.”
“You mechanics are professionals in this area; if you need anything, feel free to find me anytime.” Ling Tong carefully placed the dagger on the table beside her, staring at it for a while, a clear smile crossing her lips, “Let’s give it a name.”
Wang Jixuan casually said, “Demon-Breaking Dagger.”
“That’s so ordinary,” Wan Xiaoqi muttered quietly, “How about calling it ‘Three Thousand Lives’?”
Uncle Tai pondered for a moment, “Let’s use a code name for now to avoid leaks! We can use the formal name later… How about calling it the ‘Ling Tong Project 071’? What do you think?”
“No need to use my name,” Ling Tong said somewhat helplessly.
“You’re the team leader! This is a chance to be remembered in history! After we finish off the blade beasts and write the family tree, this could take up a whole page!” Uncle Tai insisted.
Wan Jie brought over a steaming bowl of noodle soup, softly saying, “Ling Tong, you should take a break, eat something, and then catch up on sleep. Let them mess around by themselves.”
“Okay,” Ling Tong indeed felt a bit sleepy. She took a couple of steps, then turned back to Wang Jixuan and said, “Thank you.”
Wang Jixuan had a few question marks on his forehead.
“For my fallen comrades,” Ling Tong said. Wang Jixuan smiled kindly.
…
After eating, Ling Tong quickly fell asleep, and Wang Jixuan continued to ponder the methods of forging weapons. The supply station finally quieted down at dawn. A hint of peace lingered in the silence. In contrast, the spiritual energy house on the third floor of the fortress was filled with tension, with armed patrol soldiers everywhere.
Qin Qin sat behind her desk, gently rubbing her forehead. She couldn’t understand how she had been discovered! The technology related to spiritual energy was all in the hands of the spiritual energy city; the military shouldn’t have been able to detect the signals sent out by Meng Caiyuan!
Yet now, the military had detected it!
Ling Tong had suddenly barged in, firmly stating that they had violated a series of laws and military regulations, sealing their laboratory and controlling her hard-earned research samples. Her paper was almost finished!
Qin Qin took a deep breath to calm her thoughts. She began to understand why that guy Kong Nu had met a terrible end in Fortress 76… This place was different from others; the spiritual energy users who should have been the guardians of the fortress had become the villains. Other places still relied on spiritual energy users to deal with small groups of blade beasts, countering the threats posed by mimetic blade beasts.
It was very strange. The atmosphere here felt very strange to her. Qin Qin certainly knew what she had made Meng Caiyuan do. Meng Caiyuan’s ability was to communicate with blade beasts, simulating signals from higher-level blade beasts. He had already misled blade beast groups several times in coordination with military actions in other battle zones.
What she had made Meng Caiyuan do tonight was to send out signals to nearby blade beasts, letting them carry information to higher-level blade beasts, spreading the false message that “Ling Tong is here and has been severely injured and is on the brink of death.”
One of Qin Qin’s three research specialties was the social structure analysis of blade beasts; she fully understood their activity patterns. This misleading information could easily lead to Ling Tong being besieged, prompting the blade beast horde to attack and expand into Zone C. Then she could play the role of the savior, using her connections to call powerful spiritual energy users from the spiritual energy city in advance to wipe out the incoming blade beasts!
She could reshape the glorious image of their thirteen in this industrial fortress! But now, something had already gone wrong at the very beginning…
She had been discovered for no reason! Ling Tong had firmly asserted that Meng Caiyuan was summoning blade beasts. If blade beasts really appeared in Fortress 76 and its vicinity in the following days…
Qin Qin felt she was just a step away from disaster. ‘How did Ling Tong find out? Has the military broken through the related technology?’
‘Forget it, thinking about this is useless; I can only seek powerful intervention for help.’ Qin Qin looked at the communicator beside her. She knew that the military had deliberately left her communicator to involve the spiritual energy city, turning this matter into a handle to attack the spiritual energy city.
This was an open scheme, but for her own safety, she could only step into it. “How did they find out?”
Qin Qin flipped through the chat list, muttering in confusion about the ‘Old Pervert’ group.
Meanwhile, deep in the Sarir Desert, facing the dawn, the young king worm buried its body in the gravel, slowly opening its mouthparts to absorb the spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Its still-bloodied vertical pupil stared in the direction of Fortress 76.
In its vertical pupil, three figures were reflected.
The blurred figure in the corner of the spiritual energy house laboratory;
Ling Tong, who was catching up on sleep and recovering her energy;
And Wang Jixuan, who was already bare-chested, starting to hammer iron with the second batch of ores.
[Multiple threats… Confirmed…]
(End of Chapter)