Chapter 639: Dragon Sparrow Has Grown Up

Chapter 639: The Dragon Sparrow Has Grown Up

Extracting materials from a finished product—this should have been an extremely complex process. Modern industry requires multiple troublesome treatments to achieve this; a single forge cannot solve it.

But in a fantasy world, this is not a problem. The only issue is whether you can find flames hot enough to smelt a divine-level trident.

And the Southern Bright Lihuo Flame here just meets that standard. Watching the trident slowly melt, Zhao Changhe grew increasingly certain: this fire is truly stronger than the Vermilion Bird’s. And this is from a very distant source of flame; what it must be like at its core, who knows... The key to breaking the Vermilion Bird’s defense can probably be found here.

With the blessing of the Black Tortoise’s forging techniques, as long as you can melt the metal, the materials will separate automatically.

But Zhao Changhe found that he still couldn’t do without his Rear Eye.

At the very least, even if you could use mystical smelting methods to make the molten iron separate into different materials on its own, how do you identify them—knowing which part is which material? It’s impossible to distinguish clearly with the naked eye.

Now, with the Qi-Viewing Art, he could roughly see that different areas had different energy reactions, but for greater precision, he had to use the Rear Eye.

The Rear Eye was a divine demon’s eye; its basic level was far above that of a human eye, equivalent to upgrading the skill of using eyes by several levels. With the Rear Eye’s enhancement, using the Qi-Viewing Art, he could finally see every detail within the red-hot molten iron. If he pushed harder, he might even discern elemental compositions—truly reducing all things in the world to their essence.

Zhao Changhe suddenly thought: if a divine demon like Blind Girl sees the world reduced to basic particles, then it’s normal for such an existence to lack emotions. In her eyes, are humans just various cells?

Since everything is reduced to essential components, then the face-wash I gave you wasn’t bad either—why get angry?

“Swoosh!” Zhao Changhe channeled his true qi into the molten iron, precisely separating the different parts and setting them aside. Before long, they became metal blocks of varying colors and lusters.

Fantasy forging is really interesting... Zhao Changhe found himself enjoying it. It felt like playing a game, very unreal. No wonder Old Xia treated this world like a game—in many ways, it was similar, especially with the system-wide announcements from the sky.

And also... a sword that talks to you.

“Dragon Sparrow, be good, don’t be afraid of pain—I’m going to refine you...”

“I don’t need refining, I don’t, hear me?”

“Say ‘small fry.’”

“Small fry, all small fry—what’s the point of refining!”

Zhao Changhe was satisfied.

Then he gently stroked the patterns: “Old Xia’s Dragon Sparrow patterns are very ordinary. I at least learned a bit of painting from Wan Zhuang; my redraw will definitely look better than his.”

Dragon Sparrow: “...Oh, that’s acceptable.”

Zhao Changhe carefully began to stuff Dragon Sparrow into the furnace fire. Seeing his cautious manner, Dragon Sparrow was both exasperated and amused: “I have no sense of pain—I’m a blade. You never hesitated when I clashed with other swords and blades, but now you’re hesitating? How did I get such a foolish master?”

“The psychology of melting in fire is different... Foolish as I am, I’m still your master.”

“...” Dragon Sparrow snorted: “This fire can’t even melt me—just shove me in, you’re wasting time!”

You could say I’m also a small fry...

Zhao Changhe thrust the blade into the furnace, watching the flames. The Dragon Sparrow, which had accompanied him through life and death for two years, gradually began to glow red. Suddenly, his heart tightened.

In the end, he could never truly treat it as a game.

Looking closely, he noticed that the Dragon Sparrow’s edge already had some tiny nicks. They weren’t visible without careful inspection, but thinking back, after so many battles—including against the Sea Emperor’s Trident—how could it remain unblemished? In other words, it was already time for a reforging, at least to reforge the blade edge.

Fortunately, it didn’t need to be completely melted into molten iron—just softened enough to be hammered. The materials to be added needed to be melted into liquid and poured in, allowing the Dragon Sparrow to fully absorb and integrate.

And... some of the leftover materials Old Xia used to forge the Firmament might also be usable, like Night Drift Sand.

Setting aside the significance of Night Drift Sand for the night sky, when used on weapons, it carried a special imagery of “not here, not now, in constant motion and flow.” Infusing this property would surely be divine for his surprise-attack blade techniques like “Hell Is Thus” and “Listening to Spring Rain All Night in the Small Tower.”

When the Dragon Sparrow was fully red and slightly soft, and the materials to be infused began to absorb, Zhao Changhe clamped it out. As soon as it left the furnace, Dragon Sparrow said with hands on hips: “I told you, you can’t melt me!”

Somehow, he imagined her with hands on her hips... Zhao Changhe felt like a pervert. He picked up the forging hammer by the furnace and, without a word, struck.

Can’t melt you? You’re so soft now—one hammer blow and you’ll deform... Stubborn little brat deserves a beating.

But then she actually said: “That crappy hammer can’t possibly move me!”

“Clang!”

Dragon Sparrow trembled.

Not from pain—it had no sense of pain. It was more like pleasure.

Because what was being infused into it were genuine enhancements, similar to a human feeling the joy of a breakthrough in cultivation. This kind of pleasure was often stronger and more lasting than sexual pleasure, which was why many strong people lost interest in women and spent their time meditating—the pleasure outweighed everything else.

Dragon Sparrow had no pain, so naturally no pleasure, but psychologically, it seemed to feel the satisfaction.

Zhao Changhe could tell and deliberately teased it: “Why aren’t you talking? Did the hammer hurt?”

Dragon Sparrow was furious: “How could that crappy hammer hurt me? Small fry!”

Learning the word “small fry” was really satisfying...

“Clang,” Zhao Changhe struck again: “The hammer is a small fry, but I’m not. Call me master.”

“...No.”

“Clang!”

“No!”

Zhao Changhe stopped hammering.

Dragon Sparrow: “...Master.”

“Clang! Say it again, and I’ll hammer harder.”

“Master.”

Blind Girl stood by with her arms crossed, watching him train a blade, utterly speechless.

She thought: You call Xia Longyuan childish and like a brat, but aren’t you just as childish? A big kid, and a pervert at that.

But then again, this pervert’s talent was truly outrageous...

Fantasy-style forging and smelting, though not as complex and precise as modern technology, seemed simplified on the surface. Yet the precision required was no less than modern science—perhaps even greater. Take separating materials: if your control was even slightly off, the separated material would contain impurities. But Zhao Changhe, doing it for the first time, was more precise than any laser cutting.

The subsequent hammering and fusing were the same. New materials had to be fully integrated into the blade without any deviation; otherwise, uneven thickness or material distribution would weaken it. Yet in Zhao Changhe’s hands, there was absolutely no deviation.

This was due to his martial control and mental focus reaching a sublime level, as well as his talent. Many people, even knowing how to solve a problem, would make a careless mistake. But such things rarely happened to Zhao Changhe—if he knew how to do it, he could do it perfectly, especially since this was his first attempt. That was talent, specifically in physical activities—and forging clearly fell into that category.

Hmm... was sex also a category?

As for painting, it was technically a craft, but he was only average at it. Who knew how he had studied with Tang Wanzhuang—calligraphy, painting, music, chess? Probably only to get into the master’s bed, practicing his craft on her body...

Still, he had learned something, and he was better than Xia Longyuan. His aesthetic sense was also better, so the patterns he recarved were indeed more beautiful than Xia Longyuan’s.

Dragon-headed, bird-bodied, fierce and clawing patterns gradually spread across both sides of the blade, well-proportioned and ferocious in expression.

After cooling, the blade was pitch black. It seemed black pigment was stronger than other colors—adding a bit of Night Drift Sand had turned the blade this black... In the blackness, faint traces of dark red shimmered. That wasn’t a material, but Zhao Changhe’s unique blade intent fused into the forging—the aura of blood and slaughter.

Once, the Dragon Sparrow was Xia Longyuan’s blade, its intent being conquest and imperial dominance. Now, that intent remained, but with the addition of blood and night.

This was Zhao Changhe’s own blade now. Throughout the forging, the blade spirit had called “master, master” incessantly. Now, as if brainwashed, it was reborn from body to soul.

Zhao Changhe waited for it to cool, then reached out and grasped the hilt, sending his consciousness into it.

A girl with a ponytail stood there, hands on hips, glaring at the “intruding” master: “Even if you are my master, you can’t just barge into my home!”

Zhao Changhe blinked.

This was the first time he saw the Dragon Sparrow’s blade spirit manifest as an image.

So it was true—a little girl. Before, she must have been a loli, and now she had grown up...

According to the Forging Sutra, weapons with spirits were divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Man. Originally, it was at most mid-grade Man—a mere consciousness without form.

And now it's mostly Earth Grade, and should be high Earth Grade at that.

Why not Heaven Grade?

Clearly it's related to the master's own intent—your blade intent might not even reach the Human Grade level; it's only been elevated to Earth Grade because the material is so extraordinary. What right does it have to ascend to Heaven?

If you want Heaven Grade in the future, it's no longer a matter of material. You need to nurture the spirit with your own blade intent—the stronger the person, the stronger the blade.

Besides... this girl doesn't look like Xia Longyuan at all. I thought I'd see a sister version of Chichi, since Longque is in a sense also Old Xia's child.

But looking at her now... her features instead carry a shadow of Zhao Changhe himself...

Zhao Changhe is very handsome—even with a scar marring his face, he's still widely recognized as good-looking. That kind of look isn't something just anyone can pull off. If the child inherited his facial genes, then a boy would be a handsome man, and a girl would be a valiant beauty—that's fine.

The problem is: who is your mother?