Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Preparation
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Just because a policy had been decided didn't mean a sword could be immediately forged and imbued with spirit energy.
Procuring materials would take time, and the method of finely handling spirit energy needed to be researched as well.
Above all, time was needed to regain the senses as a blacksmith handling iron.
"...You want me to let you work in our forge for a while?"
For those reasons, the place So-hyang visited was the Forge Hall inside the Murim Alliance headquarters.
Weapons supplied to the Murim Alliance warriors were often procured externally, but a significant portion was self-produced.
The quality was quite excellent. Unless one wanted an exceptionally expensive weapon, many warriors were satisfied with the issued gear.
Even if the blacksmiths there weren't famous enough to be called master craftsmen, they were first-rate in their own right.
"This isn't work for a child like you. Go home."
Their response was naturally refusal.
She had shown up out of nowhere asking to work, and her appearance looked exactly like a girl who hadn't done a lick of hard labor.
So-hyang ignored the blacksmiths' grim rejection and peered over their shoulders at their workspace.
Vermilion flames roaring, scorching air, flying metal shavings, and the smell of sweat.
It was a scene she quite missed.
So-hyang smiled brightly and showed them the documents she had obtained by asking Lee Se-min.
"...Official appointment?"
It was an official permit from the Alliance—not as an apprentice or novice, but with a special clause requesting treatment at the level of a full craftsman.
"Despite appearances, I have quite a bit of experience handling fire and iron. Please trust me."
The Forge Hall blacksmiths eyed dubiously the girl who rolled up her sleeves with an innocent smile to flex her biceps.
Thanks to muscle fibers compressed to the extreme and skin at a singularity point, her physical prowess showed no sign at all—only fair, soft forearms were visible.
"You're hiding your true identity from others?"
Lee Se-min stared at So-hyang with incredulous eyes. Was someone who'd lived at least a hundred years suddenly wanting to act young?
"...It's not that. Explaining every time is just bothersome."
Even if her soul and mind were aged, So-hyang's body showed none of the obvious signs of rejuvenation—no white hair or translucent nails.
It was unmistakably the body of an early teen.
This was why the Blood Chase Squad Leader she'd met before, Wind Path Beggar's group, and even Lee Se-min hadn't immediately thought of rejuvenation.
To be treated according to her age, she'd have to explain her circumstances every single time.
Unless she demonstrated her strength or had others vouch for her each time, a fresh-faced kid speaking like an elder was all anyone would see.
"I don't like the hassle every time."
Using the speech patterns ingrained in So-hyang's original body would feel natural in everyday situations anyway.
It was a roughly convincing explanation, but the Alliance Leader tossed in a playful jab with a grin.
"You just want to act young, right?"
"...That's not..."
So-hyang's original soul had clearly met death, but the memories and thought patterns it left behind influenced the old man's mind to some degree.
The old man's mental fortitude could have shaken it off, but he saw no reason to erase the child's traces entirely.
It felt like honoring a kind of last will.
As a result, So-hyang ended up with thought patterns somewhat fitting her body.
Those who knew her situation and were acquaintances could treat her like an elder without issue, but random passersby showing elder-respect made her uncomfortable.
Especially if Third Imperial Princess Zhu Yeonhwa, whom she considered a friend, used honorifics and treated her like an old fogey—it would be mortifying.
"Heh heh, so the wrinkly-minded geezer wants to look young, huh?"
The Alliance Leader said that but understood So-hyang's complex feelings.
In the first place, she wasn't exactly reincarnated or possessed—she had awakened to her past life.
Properly speaking, she should have only realized the old man's memories, with the child's side holding the ego's reins.
But under extreme mental pain and spiritual strain, the child's soul crumbled, and the old man—with his resilient mind—took over.
Some identity confusion was natural.
Even so, given So-hyang's abnormal mental strength, it wouldn't cause more than minor issues, so there was little worry.
"...Don't tease me so much."
But that was that.
"What, didn't you plan to hang with the kids, pretend to be young, and creepily enjoy it?"
The Alliance Leader thoroughly teased So-hyang, who glared at him like she wanted to devour him whole, her face beet red.
When else would he get the chance?
"...Grrr."
With slender arms unleashing unbelievable power to hammer away, unflinching in the pouring heat.
Rhythmic, clear ringing of the hammer and seasoned movements.
Finished products flawless from balance to temper—no faults to pick.
The blacksmiths' suspicions quickly faded before skills utterly at odds with her appearance.
"Huh, you don't smell a bit like iron at first glance. Amazing."
No scorch marks on her skin, not even calluses on her hands—their doubt was justified.
Even more, the metallic ring grew clearer, head-refreshingly pure, and her metalworking improved by the minute.
As if a craftsman long out of practice was regaining his touch.
"...Are we the ones who should be learning from her?"
"Nah, we're all learning from each other."
This wasn't empty flattery.
Just as So-hyang observed the blacksmiths calmly, she was under their watchful eyes too.
Inferior to factory products from advanced modern infrastructure, but this forge had its own aesthetics.
The blacksmiths all practiced the Forge Art, delivering hammer strikes rivaling machines.
Infusing internal energy into the furnace for firepower impossible in pre-modern eras.
This alone made it no mere outdated smithy.
Most impressive was their secret art of imbuing weapons with qi.
Internal energy dwelling in metal to reinforce rigidity and maximize inherent sharpness.
Items that should pale against cheap factory kitchen knives by So-hyang's knowledge became quality that impressed even her.
So-hyang realized the Central Plains' blacksmiths had developed along a path entirely separate from her past life.
"I knew it, but it's still amazing."
"You're the amazing one. How do you make stuff like this without internal energy?"
Put inversely, it meant So-hyang possessed monstrous skill purely in technique, churning out factory-level products.
"Qi, internal energy..."
During the past month holed up in the library studying martial arts, So-hyang hadn't neglected the Forge Art either.
Not practicing it herself didn't stop her from absorbing its history, abilities, and principles completely.
Experiencing with her body what she'd understood in her head, refining it into usable techniques—this was why she mingled with the blacksmiths.
So-hyang's eyes gleamed, reflecting light with bone-deep focus as she watched the blacksmiths.
"Suddenly... feel cold?"
"...We're at the furnace?"
They shivered, sensing an inexplicable chill.
While learning the blacksmiths' techniques and regaining her metalworking senses, she also tackled smelting.
Representatively, carbon steel.
Iron alloyed with optimal carbon ratios for peak performance.
Central Plains blacksmiths knew adding charcoal or ash improved quality.
But compared to ratios and processes perfected by modern scholars, the gap remained.
"...This is incredible."
"No special alloys mixed in, yet it's as hard as if black iron was added."
Succeeding in making carbon steel with past-life knowledge held deep meaning for So-hyang.
"...Ahaha!"
This Central Plains wasn't the Asian continent of her past life; constellations differed too.
Not mere regional or era differences—it meant a completely different world.
In other words, the physical laws governing the world might differ vastly.
Of course, So-hyang's sharp senses confirmed basics like gravity and inertia matched her past life.
But chemical material properties couldn't be ruled out.
Thus, she was quite tense while smelting carbon steel.
Worst case, past knowledge would prove nearly useless, forcing her to research from scratch with just scientific method.
But the smelting succeeded, and further experiments validated her past knowledge's practicality.
Fundamentally, this Central Plains operated on the same physical laws as her past life, overlaid with the supernatural element of qi.
Rare metals like black iron, cold iron, true silver, and seven-color gold were confirmed as mundane ores mutated by spirit veins overlapping mineral veins.
"No hitches in the plan."
Time truly flew like an arrow.
Regaining past-life senses alone needed at least a year; adding attempts to adapt Forge Art techniques extended it.
Procuring desired metals mid-process was no small effort either.
If mere money sufficed, she'd have used merits from Demon Seal Cave or her Imperial Dragon Token.
But this required trial-and-error contrasting her knowledge.
Simultaneously, she pinned down Wind Path Beggar to study spirit-handling sorcery.
So-hyang's sorcery knowledge deepened to PhD level even by Beiping's scholarly standards, forcing Wind Path Beggar into all-nighters for lectures—another tale.
Thus, exactly three years passed.
"About time to make the sword."
"Hm? Haven't you made tons already?"
A nearby blacksmith questioned So-hyang's meaningful mutter.
She'd produced countless swords over three years.
But the sword she meant now was utterly different from before...
"Sorry, everyone, but I'll wrap up forge work this month."
"...Alright."
The blacksmiths showed no particular regret or questions.
They'd observed her as she had them.
They could read from her gleaming eyes that her intent lay beyond mere hammering.
Afterward, So-hyang pulled a cart of preparations to the plains outside the Murim Alliance.
Using merits accumulated there, this entire area was now her private land.
"Come watch, will you?"
"...You don't think I'm some errand dog who comes when called, do you? I'm the Murim Alliance Leader, pal."
The preparations included the Alliance Leader.
"Not just to watch—could get dangerous, so supervise, please."
So-hyang said as she unpacked items.
Bone-Shattering Hammer.
A township-grade demon weapon mace that delivered addictive satisfaction crushing bones.
One demon weapon shaped like a similar-sized hammer.
One slab-like demon weapon.
Finally, Unknown Fire Punisher.
A holy-grade demon weapon tongs generating flames rivaling gang qi.
"Begged Se-min for these."
Rented by burning massive merits, returnable to Demon Seal Cave post-use.
He pinched his brow but relented at her pleading face.
"One slip and this whole area blows. Put up a barrier with your intent."
"...What insane stunt are you pulling?"
—he said, but the Alliance Leader's face brimmed with excitement.
"Sounds fucking fun. Let's do it now."