Becoming a god starting from blacksmithing

Chapter 24 Sword Echoes - Mid-Range

Leave that abandoned town.

Azhu's steps were a bit more steady than the previous two days. She would occasionally glance down at her palm—the line was still there. She didn't tell anyone that the line was slightly warm.

Shi Jian carried a palm-sized bronze plate in his hand, looking at it as he walked. The plate remained unchanged throughout the journey, rotating normally.

But Shih Kin's brow remained furrowed.

Shen Chi noticed: "What are you thinking about?"

Shi Jian remained silent for a moment, then put the bronze plate into the wooden box. "I was thinking about what your father left behind. The old Pavilion Master once mentioned—he might not have kept what he was really looking for in Tian Shu City."

Shen Chi paused for a moment. "Where should I put it?"

"I don't know," Shi Jian said. "But the Judgment Division and the Enforcement Hall have searched for three years without success, which suggests that the thing might not actually be in Tian Shu City. Once we get to the Tianji Pavilion, the old Pavilion Master might know something."

Shen Chi didn't ask any more questions.

The road widened, and the mountains on both sides receded, revealing a wide valley. The ground was covered with withered, yellow grass that rustled underfoot. At the end of the valley was a narrow opening; beyond that, the mountain path would likely resume.

Shi Jian stopped.

Shen Chi also stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Shi Jian didn't speak. He took out the bronze plate and held it up high.

"wrong."

He hadn't even had a chance to say a second word—

Three beams of black light shot in from three directions simultaneously.

One flew past Shen Chi's head, severing several strands of hair; another exploded in front of Mo Huaizhou's feet, scattering shards all over his trouser leg.

The third beam landed beneath Shi Jian's feet. The instant it touched the ground, the black light didn't dissipate; instead, it spread along the ground as if alive, drawing a complete circle around Shi Jian. The circle lit up—pale black lock-element patterns rose from the ground, crisscrossing and ascending like the skeleton of a cage, converging above Shi Jian's head.

Shi Jian reacted extremely quickly. He retreated as soon as the black light landed—but the formation had already been activated. When his foot touched the edge of the circular pattern, a force bounced him back. He steadied himself, his hand already inside his robes, touching the silver ring.

The moment his fingertips touched the ring, the black array tightened abruptly—like an invisible hand gripping his wrist. Shi Jian's entire arm was thrown back, and the ring slipped from his finger, falling back into his pocket.

He glanced down at the array patterns beneath his feet and clicked his tongue.

"The Locking Yuan Forbidden Array. It's specifically designed to seal off communication methods. Trying to play with arrays in front of my Heavenly Mystery Pavilion."

Shen Chi gripped the hundred-forged hammer tightly.

The leader emerged from the valley entrance. It was the same person, dressed in black, his face hidden by a mask. Two assassins followed behind him.

He glanced at the black array cage beneath Shi Jian's feet.

"A communication token from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. We weren't prepared last time, so you had to call someone."

He paused.

"Not this time."

Shen held the hammer horizontally in front of him. "If they come, fight!"

The leader sneered. His gaze shifted from Shen Chi's face to his shoulder.

There was a sword hanging there.

The leader glanced at the sword, then looked back at Shen Chi's face.

"You've been carrying that sword but haven't used it. Is it because you're afraid to use it, or because you can't?"

Shen Chi did not answer.

He drew his sword.

The sound of the cloth strip tearing was muffled. The moment the sword appeared, it was as if something had been pulled out from deep underground—a low hum that made one's chest tighten.

The leader took half a step back.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Shen Chi. It was the aura of that sword—broken and damaged, but its grade was undeniable. A Dao artifact. Even a damaged Dao artifact was not something a mere Lock Sect member like him could withstand.

"No wonder you don't use it." The leader's contempt vanished, and he forced himself to remain calm. "This thing was actually a half-finished product."

Shen Chi ignored him.

The sword suddenly felt very heavy.

It was much heavier than he had imagined. When he dug it out of the cabin that day, he had simply held it without activating it. Now, as he poured the Oathfire into it—the Guardian Sword seemed to awaken, frantically drawing upon his inner strength.

The flames of the oath surged from his chest, flowed down his arm into the hilt of the sword, and were then swallowed by the blade. It wasn't something to be saved for later use like a hundred-refined hammer; it was like pouring it into a bottomless pit. The blade gleamed for a moment—a bronze light traveled from the guard to the tip, but extinguished before reaching halfway.

The sword was too hungry.

Shen Chi's hands were trembling. He could barely hold on. He felt as if he were holding not a sword, but a river—living water, churning in his hand, ready to burst forth. He had to use all his strength to keep it from slipping from his grasp.

The leader figured it out.

"You can't even hold a sword properly."

He moved.

The short blade aimed straight at Shen Chi's wrist, which was gripping the sword. Shen Chi dodged to the side, using the blade to block. Clang—the blade tip struck the sword's surface. Shen Chi veered half a step to the left, nearly dropping the sword.

He gritted his teeth and gripped the sword tightly again.

The second strike came. This time, the leader circled to the right, cutting in from the sword's blind spot, aiming for Shen Chi's ribs. Shen Chi didn't have time to turn his sword and could only retreat—the tip of the blade grazed his clothes, leaving a shallow cut on his flesh.

Shen Chi took a breath. He knew he couldn't fight like this—the sword was too exhausting, and if he was pulled down again, he would collapse on his own without anyone else having to lift a finger.

He loosened his sword with his left hand and gripped a hammer with his right.

With the same hand, the sword was replaced by a hammer. The hammerhead smashed towards the leader's face, and the leader raised his sword to block.

when--

Using the recoil, Shen Chi took three steps back and planted his sword in the ground. The tip of the sword was half a foot deep in the soil, and the blade was trembling.

He gripped the hammer firmly.

"Then let's hit it with a hammer first."

The leader watched him switch weapons, and his gaze behind the mask flickered.

"That's interesting."

He stopped wasting words and pressed his attack.

Suo Zong's movement skills were far superior to Shen Chi's. The leader almost instantly reached him, his short blade slashing across Shen Chi's throat. Shen Chi blocked with his hammer. The second blade slid down the hammer handle, slicing off his fingers.

It's that trick again.

Shen Chi reacted quickly. He swung his hundred-refined hammer, which was covered with a thin layer of bronze-colored flames, and swept it toward the leader's calf. The leader raised his foot to dodge and then kicked at Shen Chi's knee. Shen Chi blocked with the handle of his hammer, but the force still pushed him back two steps.

When he steadied himself, he had a cut on his hand.

The leader noticed. This boy was lasting longer than in the past few days. It wasn't because he had become stronger, but because he was more aggressive—he wasn't just blocking, but actively throwing punches.

"You're learning to fight."

Shen Chi, panting, ignored him. He switched the Hundred-Refined Hammer back to his right hand and stared at the other man's feet.

On the other side, Mo Huaizhou shielded Azhu behind him and engaged in a fierce battle with the two assassins.

Mo Huaizhou's cultivation level was not impressive—he was currently a second-tier weapon craftsman, equivalent to a peak locksmith. But he had gained something new—the Hidden Killer.

He didn't rush to throw it. He simply held it in his hand, preventing the assassin from getting too close. When the opponent's Lock Master-level Qi-locking strike came at him, he dodged to the side—not completely dodging, his left shoulder was hit, and he groaned, but his right hand remained tightly gripping the iron pellet. His thumb was already pressed on the spring, ready to spring out in a second—he was waiting for a closer distance.

"Go ahead and throw it!" the assassin shouted.

Mo Huaizhou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Come here."

The assassins were not allowed to pass.

On the other side, Shi Jian was trapped in the Locking Yuan Forbidden Array.

He took out the small array plates one by one and arranged them in a row on the ground beneath his feet.

He began to assemble the array.

It wasn't an attack formation, but a dismantling formation—using the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's formation to break the Sacred Evolution Pavilion's Locking Yuan Restriction Formation. The principle was the same, only the direction was reversed. He was calculating the formation's pattern structure, finding its nodes, and then using his own formation plate to replace those nodes one by one.

It's slow. But it works.

The black patterns of the Locking Yuan Forbidden Array trembled slightly. As the last array plate was inserted into the node—the black patterns cracked like shattered ice, dissipating from the crack's edge, rising as black smoke only to be blown away by the wind. Shi Jian swayed slightly as he stood up, his knees buckling for a moment before he regained his balance. He glanced down at the array plates scattered at his feet—six were used, two of which were cracked. He crouched down, picked them up one by one, wiped the dust off with his sleeve, and placed them back in the wooden box.

The leader glanced in Shi Jian's direction. He knew they wouldn't be trapped for long.

He turned to look at Shen Chi.

"You have a very good array master."

Shen Chi, panting, gripped the hammer and remained silent.

"But he can save you once, not forever."

The leader sheathed his short blade. He reached out, his five fingers forming a claw, and black locking energy transformed into a giant black wolf at his fingertips, its eyes gleaming with a chilling light—the Heart-Locking Nail.

Seeing this, Shen Chi planted the Hundred-Refined Hammer in the ground and reached in to pull out the Heart-Guarding Sword.

The moment the Heart-Guarding Sword was in hand, the Heart Seal twitched violently. The bronze seal throbbed wildly, and the Oath Flame surged uncontrollably toward the sword, only to be swallowed whole by it.

Here it comes again. The sword is striking him.

But this time, Shen Chi did not let go.

He poured all the flames of his vow into it—leaving no room for retreat. He pushed the heart seal to its limit, and a bronze light shone from beneath his collar, burning his skin.

The sword's blade lit up.

A bronze-colored light spread from the hilt along the blade, reaching halfway down—two-thirds of the way down—to the tip. The fine, flowing patterns on the blade were filled with the Oathfire, like water returning to a dried-up riverbed, extending from the hilt to the tip, as if the entire sword had been ignited from within.

The sword sounded.

It wasn't the previous low, rumbling sound—it was a clear, resonant tremor, like someone striking the edge of an ancient bell with a hammer. The sound made the pebbles within a ten-step radius vibrate slightly, and the air seemed to ripple outwards.

Then he heard a voice.

A faint, distant call emanated from the sword.

Shen Chi did not recognize the voice.

But the mind recognizes.

The bronze seal on his chest burst open. As if something had pushed from the inside, the seal's shell was forced open, creating a crack. More and more oath flames surged out from that crack—a deeper, richer bronze color, like molten copper that had been simmering for a long time.

Shen Chi felt that the light in his chest was no longer burning outwards, but rather drawing inwards, like molten iron being poured into a mold, slowly solidifying and taking shape. The Heart Imprint no longer spewed fire outwards; it transformed into fire itself.

Second-tier - Copper Seal Middle Realm.

The breakthrough was not earth-shattering, nor did it create a shockwave.

It was like my heart skipped a beat and then settled. It finally found its place after being unstable.

The sword's resonance also changed—from clear and melodious to deep and resonant, like the sound of a bell reverberating underwater. The light on the sword stabilized, no longer feeling weak and as if it were being swallowed by the sword, but rather a channel had formed between the sword and the imprint of the heart, allowing the power of the heart to circulate.

Shen's hand holding the sword stopped trembling.

The leader watched all of this happen.

He didn't interrupt. Because he needed to confirm—to confirm that Shen Chi had truly broken through.

He's now certain.

"Your dad used to hit you like that too."

The giant wolf pounced.

Shen Chi did not retreat. He held the Guardian Sword horizontally, its blade coated with a thick layer of bronze-colored oath flame.

The Blade of Promise is attached to the blade.

Collision.

Shen Chi took a half step back. He steadied himself.

The giant wolf was enveloped in a surge of black energy.

Shen leaned back, close to the ground.

The blade, imbued with the flames of a vow, sliced ​​across the giant wolf's chest and abdomen.

The black mist dissipated, then gathered again.

Shen Chi rolled forward, raised his sword, and drew a crescent-shaped arc in the air.

The leader, sensing the danger, drew his short blade to parry.

The blade cracked.

The leader stepped back a few paces and glanced down at his knife.

He had this knife for seventeen years.

Now it's cracked.

He glanced at Shen Chi—his sword grip was firm, the color of the Oath Flame had changed, and the aura of the Heart Seal was at least a fraction stronger than before. He then looked in Shi Jian's direction—the Locking Yuan Formation had shattered, and Shi Jian had stood up.

He sheathed his sword.

"withdraw."

The two assassins simultaneously withdrew and retreated to his side. Mo Huaizhou knelt on one knee, panting heavily, his left shoulder soaked with blood—but he still hadn't thrown the hidden kill bullet in his hand. His thumb was still on the trigger, but he didn't press it down. Because it was no longer needed.

The leader turned around, took a few steps, and then stopped.

He didn't turn around.

"Your dad fought the same way back then. But your dad was much stronger than you."

He paused for a moment.

"—Your father came to Tian Shu City. When he left, he left something behind. But that thing is not in Tian Shu City."

Shen Chi tightened his grip on the sword.

How did you know?

"If we find it, will the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion still protect you?"

The three people disappeared into the narrow path at the mouth of the valley.

Shen Chi planted the Guardian Sword back into the ground.

The sword tip plunged into the earth, and his hand finally relaxed—his entire arm, from fingertips to shoulder, had been trembling, a spasm from exerting too much force. He glanced down at his chest; the light of the bronze seal shone through his collar, bronze-colored, deeper than before. That light no longer leaped outwards, but remained steady in his heart like solidified molten bronze.

It's a breakthrough. It really is a breakthrough.

But he didn't have the energy to be happy.

Shi Jian walked over from the location of the Locking Yuan Forbidden Array.

"You've made a breakthrough."

Shen Chi sat down, leaning against the Guardian Sword. He was too tired to speak.

Shi Jian checked Shen Chi's condition—his heart seal was stable, his aura was stronger than before, and he had no internal injuries. He nodded.

"Ji Wuwang will not send anyone to pursue us anymore."

Shen Chi looked up at him.

Shi Jian closed the wooden box lid: "She's used the same trick twice; only a fool would use it a third time. She already knows about the summons; next time she'll use a different method. Besides—"

He paused.

"You heard what that person said when they left."

Shen Chi was silent for a moment: "He said that the things my father left behind are not in Tian Shu City."

"Not that sentence."

"The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion protects you, not because of what your father left behind. That's what I, Shi Jian, am saying."

Shen Chi looked at the person in front of him.

"I trust you."

------

Ah Zhu walked over.

He reached out and touched the back of Shen Chi's hand that was holding the sword.

"Your light... has become heavier."

Shen Chi looked down at her hand—the lines on her palm were still there.

Is gaining weight a good thing or a bad thing?

Ah Zhu thought for a moment: "If it's heavier, it won't float away so easily."

Shen Chi gently scratched A-Zhu's little nose.

"I'm gone."

The four people crossed the narrow passage and continued south.