Chapter 53: The Appearance of the Imperial Army! (1/2)
“Relay my command, fetch the best sword in the clan and deliver it to the Bluebottle Pavilion. Let everyone witness the caliber of the best sword!”
Hearing the news, the Cheng Clan Elder Cheng Youqing passed down the order immediately.
“But elder, it’s 1200 gold taels…”
The stakes involved in the duel was extremely high. A member of the Cheng Clan tried to warn him, but he was interrupted before he could finish his words.
“Hmph, do you think that we’ll lose?”
Cheng Youqing glared at him in displeasure.
“I dare not to!”
The Cheng Clan member immediately lowered his head in fright.
“Regardless of the background of that attention seeking nobody, this is a good chance for our Cheng Clan. Using 1200 gold taels to rise above the other clans and vie for the position for the ‘Number One Sword in the World’, where else can we find such a good opportunity? In comparison to that, what does 1200 gold taels mean?”
Cheng Youqing said.
Regardless of whether it was the Cheng Clan, Zhang Clan, Lu Clan, or the Huang Clan, no one would dare to organize such an event. Otherwise, the other clans would alliance together against them.
But now that the Bluebottle Pavilion had stepped forward, the nature of the event had changed and it was a hard-to-come-by opportunity!
In the past, the Cheng Clan would inform the other clans whenever they received any news. But this time, the Cheng Clan didn’t say anything about the matter. They silently sent their best sword to the Bluebottle Pavilion to have it displayed.
The same situation also occurred with the capital’s Lu Clan, Huang Clan, Li Clan, and the other prestigious swordsmithing clans. All of them secretly sent their best swords over to the Bluebottle Pavilion!
Everyone ‘operated secretly’ against each other, but this time, no one said anything.
“Hehe, our Impenetrable Metal Sword Workshop only sells elite swords for 600 to 700 gold taels each. What rights does that fellow have to be selling swords at the price of 4000 to 5000 gold taels in the capital? Even we don’t dare to commit such an act!”
“If that fellow didn’t set such a rule, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go challenging him. But now… He is looking for it himself!”
Not only the prestigious clans, the large weapon shops and workshops had been accumulating a lot of dissatisfaction in the past few days.
Wang Chong had been causing a huge commotion with his sword, and the one who took the brunt of the impact of his actions were, in fact, not the swordsmithing clans, but the huge weapon shops. The sudden appearance of this uninvited guest in the capital had incurred their ire.
“Go! Bring out the best sword of our Impenetrable Metal Sword Workshop. Even if we fail to get the title of first in the world, we should at least teach that fellow a lesson!”
As though agreeing on the matter,all of the weapon shops and workshops all took out their best swords and sabers and sent it over to Bluebottle Pavilion.
If anyone of them were to win the duel gamble, the other party would have to pay more than 4000 gold taels; if ten of them were to win, that would add up to 40000 gold taels. This was more than enough to strike a heavy blow to any influence!
Regardless of what everyone was thinking of, as more and more swordsmiths of the Central Plains joined this duel gamble, the scale and prestige of the duel gamble gradually rose higher and higher.
“Let’s go! Let’s show those Han of the Central Plains the might of the sabers of our Abbasid Caliphate and Charax Spasinu! Just because this is the Central Plains doesn’t mean that we can be underestimated!”
More and more weapon merchants of the Western Regions started to join in the affair as well.
The event snowballed, and there were signs that it was getting out of control! In fact, some of the powers outside of those swordsmithing clans and weapon shops were pulled into the matter as well.
“Hmph! Do you all really think that any one of your swords is worthy of the title of the number one weapon in the world?”
As the event continued to develop, no one noticed a brawny man with a full beard standing within the crowd, sneering in contempt as he stared at the swords and sabers displayed on the pavilion.
The Bluebottle Pavilion wasn’t some remote alley which few people passed by. On the contrary, due to its proximity to the royal palace, it was often filled with crowds. Those who traverse here were either very wealthy or powerful experts.
Such a major incident by the Bluebottle Pavilion had attracted the attention of many.
The full-bearded man was one of them.
“I have immersed myself in forging for many years, just to awe the world with my sword. When I finally craft the ultimate sword, I will show you all what the number one sword in the world is!”
The eyes of the full-bearded man were filled with indignance. Eventually, after staring deeply at the sword hanging on the pavilion, he retracted his glance and silently left silently. His appearance and departure didn’t catch anyone’s attention.
Leaving through the city gates, he walked on the paved roads, traveled across the mountains, traversed through the forest, and eventually, reached the remote depths of a mountain.
There was a clearing at the peak of the mountain, and even from afar, one could smell the heavy scent of a forge.
As one approached the peak, one could see broken swords scattered everywhere. At the center of the dense congregation of broken swords, a sword workshop towered.
Beside the sword workshop, a tall metal forge was still alit, and thick smoke was rolling from within.
The full-bearded brawny man walked over, crouched down, and removed a red glowing sword cast from within using tongs, placing it onto a metal board. Ding ding dang dang! He started to hammer it forcefully.
The sword cast was around four fingers thick and five chi long. Even though it was still a semi-complete product, it felt exceptionally strong.
(a chi = 33.3cm)
“Bronze, chromium, and tin… The secret formula that I’ve been researching for ten years! Finally, I am about to create the world’s strongest and sharpest sword! This time, I will show all of the swordsmithing clans in the world what a true master swordsmith is!”
As the thought flashed across his mind, the metal hammer in his hands started swinging faster with greater force. Countless sparks were emitted under his hammering.
Deep in the remote mountain, no one could have imagined that there would be an unknown master swordsmith here.
As a descendant from a lineage of hermit swordsmiths, the full-bearded brawny man possessed the bloodline of an ancient swordsmithing tribe, the Rouran Tribe. Coincidentally, this was also the ancient tribe that first created metal weapons in the world.
Even though it had disappeared along with the passing of time, the full-bearded brawny man inherited an ancient Rouran secret manual!
The greatest wish of the full-bearded brawny man was to inherit his ancestor’s will and forge the world’s sharpest and toughest sword. Regardless of how powerful the other party could be, it would be impossible to break this sword. Through such, he would cleanse his ancestors’ of their shame!