Chapter 133
After learning metallurgy from Wang Geol, Bu Eun-seol was introduced to the Tangshan Iron Family as a Master Blacksmith through the Hwang Family Forge, which had connections with Wang Geol.
This was because he had obtained information that Yeo Hwan-jin, one of the Great Righteous Experts, was staying at Majestic Mountain Gorge in Tangshan and occasionally visited the branch academy there.
The problem was that Tangshan was practically within the sphere of influence of Mount Zhongnan.
No matter where he went, Zhongnan disciples swarmed the place. In short, if he acted recklessly, his identity could be exposed before he even had a chance to fight, and he might lose his life.
First, I must hide within their territory and observe their movements.
After much deliberation, the method Bu Eun-seol chose was to become a blacksmith at the Tangshan Iron Family.
And this plan had two advantages.
First, the Tangshan Iron Family was a forge that had long-standing trade relations with the Zhongnan Sect's Martial Court.
By working here, he could naturally gather information about the Zhongnan Sect and the Great Righteous Experts.
The second was that he would have the opportunity to examine the swords of Zhongnan disciples.
Since they primarily used fierce sword strokes, Zhongnan disciples frequently had their swords repaired.
And if he could observe the traces of damage, he could roughly deduce the initial movements and variations of the Zhongnan Sword Technique.
This was no different from deducing the cause of death from the scars left on a corpse.
'I should repair this quickly.'
As he absentmindedly examined the sword, he realized that an hour had already passed.
Having fully analyzed all the marks left on the blade, Bu Eun-seol placed the longsword on the workbench and began repairing it.
"What the hell is this?!"
Inside the exclusive drawing room for distinguished guests at the Tangshan Iron Family, Yeon Myeong-jin's voice boomed loudly as he took the sword from Bu Eun-seol, who was disguised as a blacksmith.
"Why is the hilt shorter, and why is the sword guard gone?"
Yeon Myeong-jin shook the scabbard before glaring at Bu Eun-seol with blazing eyes.
"I asked you to repair my sword, not to change its appearance on a whim!"
"I didn't change its appearance—I removed unnecessary elements."
"What? 'Elements'?"
As Yeon Myeong-jin rolled up his sleeves in fury, I Bok, standing behind him, smirked sinisterly.
'So it's come to this.'
Bu Eun-seol might have dexterous hands, but he lacked aesthetic sense and had a tendency to disregard the balance of appearance.
'If the Chief Blacksmith finds out, even I'll be in trouble... but you will definitely be kicked out of here.'
With an expressionless face, Bu Eun-seol replied,
"Your hands are smaller than those of the average adult. Yet you were using a hilt longer and a sword curtain wider than most, which must have made it even more uncomfortable."
"W-what?"
"Try using it first. If you don't like it, I'll restore it to its original state."
Yeon Myeong-jin's face twisted like a tiger's before he reluctantly nodded.
"Fine! Alright!"
Swoosh!
In his anger, Yeon Myeong-jin drew the sword—
"...!"
And in that instant, his expression froze stiff.
The grip, which he had held thousands—no, tens of thousands of times—felt completely different now.
"What... what did you do?"
Blinking rapidly, he couldn't hide his bewildered expression as he looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"I've used this sword for ten years... yet now it fits my hand even better than before?"
Tilting the blade slightly to examine it, Yeon Myeong-jin frowned in confusion.
"The shape is the same, but the weight has changed. It feels as light as holding a feather."
"Then there's no issue?"
"What?"
Bu Eun-seol spoke in a low voice.
"I asked if it's uncomfortable."
Normally, he would have scolded this insolent young blacksmith until tears welled up in his eyes.
But now, the newly altered sword made him feel like he was floating on air.
"Uncomfortable...? No."
"Good. Then I'll take my leave."
As Bu Eun-seol turned to go, Yeon Myeong-jin reached out.
"Wait."
"Is there more to say?"
"By any chance... could you repair other swords besides this one?"
"This forge has many Master Blacksmiths."
"No, I mean you."
Clearing his throat, Yeon Myeong-jin lowered his voice.
"I've entrusted my sword to the blacksmiths of Tangshan Iron Family many times before, but you seem to be the best at repairing them."
At that moment, Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed faintly.
'Got it.'
Finally, an opportunity had arisen to freely examine swords bearing traces of the Zhongnan Sword Technique.
But if he seized the chance too eagerly, it might arouse suspicion. So instead, he glanced at I Bok with an air of annoyance and said,
"I don't decide the workload."
"Indeed, a true artisan."
Yeon Myeong-jin nodded in satisfaction before addressing I Bok.
"If it's acceptable, I'd like to entrust all sword repairs for our Martial Academy exclusively to him."
"To him? That's..."
As I Bok hesitated with a troubled expression, Yeon Myeong-jin grinned.
"Not just my sword—the swords of the other instructors as well."
Instantly, I Bok's eyes widened.
The instructors of the Zhongnan Sect's Tangshan Martial Academy were all direct-lineage masters from the Zhongnan Sect Headquarters. Entrusting their swords entirely to one blacksmith?
This was practically equivalent to monopolizing the sword repairs for the Zhongnan Martial Academy that dominated Tangshan—it would send the reputation of the Tangshan Iron Family soaring to the heavens.
"O-of course!"
I Bok steadied his pounding heart and clasped his hands together.
"If you entrust us with this, we will do our utmost. Thank you."
"Thank me? I should be the one thanking you."
Yeon Myeong-jin glanced at Bu Eun-seol before nodding.
"I'll be counting on you from now on."
Not long after, a small additional forge was built opposite the Iron Weapon Workshop where the Tangshan Iron Family manufactured weapons.
It was Bu Eun-seol's personal forge, dedicated exclusively to repairing swords sent from the Zhongnan Sect.
Under his hands, even ordinary iron swords became as sharp as treasured blades, their density and balance perfectly adjusted.
As word of praise spread among the Zhongnan Martial Academy instructors who dominated the Tangshan region, even the Zhongnan Sect Headquarters began sending their swords one by one upon hearing the rumors.
The swords of the masters from Zhongnan Sect Headquarters were veritable repositories of the Three Great Sword Techniques' essence. This was something even Bu Eun-seol, who had planned everything meticulously, had never anticipated.
Deep into the night.
Alone in the forge, Bu Eun-seol sorted through the swords placed in the weapon storage compartment he had built beside his workbench.
"Traces of the Myriad Heavens Ancestor from the Drunken Rain Sword Technique."
"And this one bears the Scattered Blossoms Shadowless of the Floating Wind Sword Technique."
He was separating blades that still carried the marks of techniques he had already analyzed from those bearing unfamiliar traces he had yet to study.
Clack.
Finally finishing his categorization, Bu Eun-seol dusted off his hands and moved to the workbench where ink, brush, and paper lay ready.
Swish, swish.
He began meticulously recording the damaged sections of each sword, the variations in their strokes, and the movements he could infer from them.
But for traces too faint or difficult to discern with the naked eye, he would sometimes swing the blade himself or press its edge against another damaged sword for comparison.
'The Zhongnan Sect's sword art conceals gentleness within ferocity, and precision within sharpness.'
Bu Eun-seol lightly swung a broken sword in his grip.
The longsword's blade, slicing through the air, suddenly began spinning rapidly.
Despite being firmly fixed to the hilt, the sword whirled like a windmill, spinning round and round.
'This rotational technique—the very foundation of the Zhongnan Sword Technique—must be why so many blades warp and twist.'
Unlike his own Formless Heavenly Flow, which destroyed swords due to sheer overwhelming force, this was an entirely different cause.
'They must incorporate rotation to enhance power while restraining lethality.'
Twisting the blade midair once more, Bu Eun-seol abruptly unleashed a surge of killing intent from his entire body.
He amplified it using the principles of Fluorescent Sword Control.
Buzz—Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Instantly, the once-gentle sword strokes transformed into lethal killing moves brimming with murderous aura.
The smoothly rotating blade now spun violently, and even the sword's previously fluid trajectory radiated razor-sharp energy.
He had just modified the Zhongnan Sword Technique into a demonic martial art by infusing it with killing intent and overbearing force.
'The power may seem impressive, but the subtlety is lost.'
Righteous martial arts, especially those of Taoist lineage, inherently suppress killing intent to an extreme degree.
Forcibly increasing power or converting techniques into killing moves only distorts the original Sword Intent, stripping away their refined intricacy.
'There's a reason the martial arts of the Demonic Path and the Righteous Faction are fundamentally divided.'
Shaking his head, Bu Eun-seol smoothly shifted the sword strokes back to a moderate state.
Had any martial artists witnessed this, they would have recoiled in shock.
Altering the Sword Intent of time-honored, intricate sword strokes was no easy feat—even for a grandmaster of martial arts.
Yet Bu Eun-seol wielded and modified Sword Intent with effortless mastery.
Click.
Sheathing the broken sword, Bu Eun-seol let out a bitter chuckle and shook his head again.
'Had I fought them blindly, without any prior knowledge, I would've been utterly crushed. There's no way I could've won.'
The more he studied the cross-sections of shattered blades, the more he found himself awed by the profundity of the Zhongnan Sword Technique.
The Nine Great Sects and One Gang.
The martial arts of these prestigious orthodox factions, which had stood unshaken through generations, were far more profound than Bu Eun-seol had ever anticipated.
'A shame. I wish I could've seen the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.'
All the swords entrusted to Tangshan Iron Family bore only traces of the Floating Wind and Drunken Rain Sword Techniques.
None carried remnants of the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique—the greatest of the Three Great Sword Techniques.
Because those who reached the level to master the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique had attained such fluid control over their True Qi and sword strokes that their blades no longer broke.
"Haa..."
Letting out a sigh after examining every trace left on the stacked swords, Bu Eun-seol glanced outside.
Dawn was already breaking in the distance.
"Now that I think about it... there's not much difference."
A wry smile tugged at his lips.
Repairing damaged swords felt no different from preparing the corpses of deceased martial artists for burial.
To prepare a corpse was to suture its wounds, cleanse the body, and restore it to its living appearance.
To repair a damaged sword was to mend its twisted and shattered parts, realigning its broken balance to restore its original form.
In essence, both were acts of returning something to its former state.
Though life and forged steel could never be the same, to Bu Eun-seol—who had long dwelled in the blurred boundary between life and death—they felt strikingly similar.
"Master Blacksmith Bu. Are you in?"
A low voice called out as a middle-aged man in hemp robes entered the forge. It was Chief Steward I Bok.
The moment he stepped inside, he placed a large bamboo basket atop the workbench.
Inside were strong, fragrant liquor, fruits, rice cakes, and other snacks.
"You've been working late into the night. Have some of this before you continue."
For a chief steward to personally bring snacks for a mere blacksmith was unheard of.
Yet Bu Eun-seol merely gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, not even bothering with thanks.
In the past, I Bok would've seethed with anger or barked at him for such insolence.
But now, Bu Eun-seol had become Tangshan Iron Family's treasure.
Even his arrogance was now perceived as the stubborn pride of a master artisan.
"Isn't it too much? The workload seems overwhelming lately."
"It's fine."
"Perhaps... you could start passing some of the repairs to the other blacksmiths in the Iron Weapon Workshop?"
Receiving no reply, I Bok leaned closer and spoke in a coaxing tone.
"What I mean is... well, wouldn't you like to start forging swords yourself?"
"Swords..."
Bu Eun-seol's long, dark sword-like brows twitched and rose sharply.
"You're asking me to forge swords?"