parentshiftbook Chapter 19 The First Flame of the Copper Seal
Chapter 19 The First Flame of the Copper Seal
Shen Chi had already stood up when the executioner drew his sword.
He silently repeated "burn" three times in his mind.
The oath was not lit.
The executioner did not give him a chance.
With a flash of black light, a short blade flashed in his left hand—Shen Chi raised his hammer to block, but with a clang, he was sent flying, his back slamming into the trunk of an old locust tree. The cracked trunk pressed against his spine, the pain making his vision go black.
The second stab followed immediately. He dodged to the side, the short blade grazing his ribs, tearing the cloth and flesh together, warm blood flowing down his side. Shen Chi gritted his teeth and raised his hammer to retaliate—halfway through the swing, the executioner kicked him in the back of the knee.
Shen Chi knelt on one knee.
Then the executioner's boots stepped on his hammer-wielding hand.
*Snap.* The finger bones made a crisp sound.
The executioner held a short blade to his throat, looking down at him.
"That old man is dead. What do you have left?"
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Shen held the knife tip to his throat. With each swallow, his Adam's apple touched the cold blade.
He couldn't move. His right finger bones were broken, he had a cut under his ribs, and his left knee was swollen and bent.
The hundred-refined hammer fell beside him. He couldn't reach it.
His vision began to blur. He saw the starry sky above him slowly rotating, and the lights of Qingxi Town in the distance seemed to be seen through a layer of water.
He thought, if I just close my eyes like this—
Azhu is still waiting for him at the blacksmith's shop.
As he left, he said, "Stay inside. Lock the door."
A-Zhu nodded.
If he can't go back, how long will Ah-Zhu wait?
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His left hand, which was hanging down, unconsciously reached into his clothes.
It wasn't that he wanted to take something out. It was that when the pain reached its peak, his body instinctively sought something to hold onto—he touched the fragment of the Heart-Guarding Sword in his arms.
The edge of the shard cut his palm. Blood seeped into the ancient patterns on the shard.
Then he heard a voice.
It was like someone had struck a bell in his head, a resounding, distant, and heavy sound.
The Sword of Guardian.
The Era of Passion. Ancient Relics.
A warm current surged from the fragment, flowing down his arm and directly into the iron-gray heart mark on his chest.
It is not a weapon—it is the last warmth left by a guardian. Three thousand years have passed, and finally, someone, on the verge of death, touched it again with their blood.
Shen Chi felt a sudden warmth in his chest.
It was as if a hand reached into his heart, grasped his heart which was about to stop, and squeezed it.
------
The executioner sensed something was wrong.
He looked down—light shone through the fabric beneath Shen Chi's shirt.
He had seen too many people who were reckless. But he had never seen one who, on the verge of death, suddenly came back to life.
Without thinking, he drew his knife and stabbed.
It's too late.
The heart-shaped markings on Shen Chi's chest burst open.
Iron-gray lines split open from the very center of his chest, like a rusted iron shell being violently shattered from the inside. The cracks spread from his heart to his collarbone, shoulders, and arms—a bronze light emanating from beneath each fissure.
Within the heart-shaped pattern, a seven-colored stream of light suddenly began to spin—the Nine-Turn Heart-Repairing Stone.
The crystal, like a gear, now locked into a certain position. With each rotation, the cracked lines were stabilized a little more. The rampaging power was gathered, guided, and channeled into every meridian.
The hundred-refined hammer, pressed against Shen Chi's fingertips, heated up again.
The intertwined floral patterns on the hammerhead were rekindled one by one by the bronze flames, burning from the handle upwards to the hammerhead.
The flames of the oath no longer merely enveloped the hammer's surface; they burst forth. Three inches in front of the hammerhead, a bronze-colored flame extended from the tip, flickering erratically.
The air twists above the hammerhead.
The fire in my heart spread. It was three feet away from my body.
Second-tier bronze seal. Initial stage.
Shen Chi recalled Mo Chenzi's words: "After the bronze seal, the oath fire can leave the body and transform into a blade of promise." So that's how it is. So that's what those words meant.
------
The executioner took half a step back.
His pupils reflected the bronze firelight, and for the first time, his hand holding the knife hesitated.
He watched as Shen Chi straightened up from the tree trunk—his right finger bones were still crooked, and the wound under his ribs was still bleeding, but he stood up. He straightened his crooked thumb himself. With a snap, it went back to normal. Sweat rolled down his forehead, mixing with the blood on his face, dripping onto the ground. He gritted his teeth, without frowning. His knuckles were swollen, but he gripped the Hundred-Refined Hammer.
The bronze glow of the firelight shone on his face.
"You say the old man is dead, what do I have left?"
He took a step forward.
"What I have is beyond your imagination and cannot be taken away."
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The executioners showed no mercy.
The Heart-Locking Nail in his left palm unleashed its full power—black energy seeped from beneath his skin like ink, condensing into a black chain as thick as a thumb. A full-force attack from a Lock King level, without any reservations.
The chains came hurtling through the air with a low whistling sound.
Shen Chi did not dodge.
He raised his hammer to meet the attack—the hundred-refined hammer, glowing with three inches of bronze fire, slammed down on the chains.
The chains snapped. They broke in the middle—the bronze flames, like red-hot iron rods, pierced the ice, and the energy that had been locking the vital energy dissipated the moment it touched the layer of fire.
The executioner's pupils contracted.
But he is the King of Locks; he doesn't believe in evil, and instead of retreating, he advances.
The remaining energy from the Heart-Locking Nail condensed at his fingertips, aiming straight for Shen Chi's throat.
Shen Chi did not put away the hammer.
He pulled the "Unlockable Heart" knife from his pocket with his left hand.
The power of the bronze seal flowed into the blade. The entire blade exploded with a bronze-colored fire blade about half an arm's length long.
Blade of Promise. The core killing move of the second-tier bronze seal.
He met the lock-heart nail with a single strike.
There was no sound of collision.
The fiery blade pierced through the energy of the lock-heart nail as easily as piercing through a layer of ash. The lock-heart nail was knocked away, fell to the ground, bounced twice, and then remained still.
The executioner looked down at his chest. There was a deep, gaping wound there.
He looked up again, gazing at the golden-red light emanating from Shen Chi's arms.
He opened his mouth.
"The Sword of Guardian Heart... You possess the Sword of Guardian Heart..."
His voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from under his throat.
"Your father... has kept it well hidden..."
He fell to the ground.
------
The surroundings became quiet.
The wind blew across the mountain path, stirring up ashes and the stench of blood.
Shen Chi stood there for a while.
He put the dagger into his pocket, picked up the Hundred-Refined Hammer, and walked up to Mo Chenzi.
The old man leaned against a tree with his eyes closed.
Shen Chi squatted down.
He gently pulled the broken sword from the broken crutch. It was icy cold to the touch. Then he picked up the broken crutch as well, placing it side by side with the broken sword in front of him.
He stared at the broken sword for a long time.
Then he put the broken sword back next to Mo Chenzi.
I will no longer be involved in worldly affairs. I will sleep with the Lord.
------
Shen Chi carried Mo Chenzi's body back to the Monument to the People's Hearts.
He dug a hole under the roots of a nearby tree. Using a hammer, he broke open the hardened soil, one blow at a time, and scooped out the broken stones by hand.
He put Mo Chenzi into the pit, placed the broken sword and crutch beside him, and straightened his old white robe.
He squatted in front of the grave. He remained silent for a long time.
The sky began to lighten.
He muttered to himself:
Don't just sit there like an idiot.
"You said the Heart Seal isn't for fighting. It's for guarding. And guarding it."
He glanced into the pit.
Then he stood up and began filling the hole with soil.
------
By the time I finished filling it out, it was already dawn.
Just as he turned around—
The light on the monument to people's hearts shone for a moment.
It's as if someone lit a lamp inside that monument, and its light fell on that mound of fresh earth through the surface of the monument.
Shen Chi did not turn around.
But he paused for a moment.
Then he continued walking.
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The blacksmith's shop door was ajar.
Shen Chi pushed open the door. A-Zhu was curled up in the corner of the room, hugging her knees, looking so docile it was heartbreaking.
When she saw Shen Chi enter, she looked up abruptly and stared at his chest for a long time.
She didn't ask Grandpa Mo. But her eyes reddened.
"Brother Shen Chi..."
"Um."
"Your light... has turned bronze."
"Yes. It's changed."
In the distance, a sliver of morning light shone up the eastern mountain ridge.
The outline of the clock tower gradually became clear in the morning light.
Shen Chi looked in that direction.
Three-day deadline.