The room was so quiet it was awkward.
This … this … this was different from what they had expected.
Just now, it was like a hot knife cutting through butter. It felt like one swing of the sword would cut through the rock cleanly. In the end, the rock only had a small dent.
Duo Kang looked at the rock on the ground, then at the sword in Heng's hand. He turned to glance at Zheng Luo. He wanted to say something but swallowed his words.
Not just Duo Kang, even Gongjia Heng's bearded face was flushed with embarrassment.
He wanted to show off but he failed.
"Cough, this rock is a little strange. The ones I tried before were all easily cut through." Heng did not know that a random rock he picked up from the house would be so hard. If it was a normal rock in the forest, he would have cut through it with one swing! He really didn't expect to encounter such a situation. He simply, simply … wished he could just end his own life.
Shao Xuan was shocked. He walked over and picked up the rock. When he saw the dent, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Great sword!" Shao Xuan praised.
Heng was speechless. Don't say anything, I want to kill myself.
When he saw Heng's expression, Shao Xuan knew what he was thinking. He explained, "This is indeed the best sword I've ever seen. As for this rock, it's harder than the others. According to the stone tools we use, this rock is close to the highest quality. It's much harder than the others. "Shao Xuan pointed at another rock in the corner." If it's that one, it'll be different. "
Shao Xuan had picked up the rock during a hunting trip. It was a good rock but too small to be made into a sword or spear. Shao Xuan had tossed it in the corner. He did not expect it to become Heng's testing stone. Heng was too lucky. This was good too. He did not need to show off.
Shao Xuan handed Heng another rock. To Heng and the others, it did not look too different. It looked like any other rock in the forest.
"Try again," Shao Xuan said.
Gongjia Heng wasn't as confident this time. However, for the sake of the Gongjia name, he couldn't leave a bad impression. Otherwise, if they were to mention that someone with the surname Gongjia came from Gongjia Mountain and made a sword that couldn't even cut a rock … Then Gongjia Heng would really run back to Gongjia Mountain to commit suicide.
Taking a deep breath, Heng tossed the rock Shao Xuan handed him into the air. He clenched his teeth and swung his sword downwards. He held in all his strength, even more ferocious than before.
Bang!
The stone broke into two halves.
Heng heaved a sigh of relief. However, his arrogance faded a little. He couldn't help it, he had just embarrassed himself. Even if he managed to salvage some of his pride, he had to admit that it was quite a blow. This also made him realise that his skills were still far from perfect. If he had more time and continued to improve, one day, he too would be able to crack that rock.
Duo Kang picked up the two halves of the rock on the ground, casting his suspicions to the back of his mind. His eyes lit up as he stared at the sword in Heng's hand. However, he knew that the sword was for Shao Xuan. He just wanted to borrow it for fun when Shao Xuan didn't need it.
Zheng Luo also admired Heng. As expected of a Xia person, he could break rocks so easily! No wonder the slave masters from the great six cities loved him so much.
Heng passed the sword to Shao Xuan. He didn't introduce the other weapons now, instead asking Shao Xuan for advice on how to identify the rocks. This would make it easier for him to choose a rock to test his sword on after he made it. Otherwise, if an embarrassing incident like this happened again, he wouldn't have any face left. Fortunately, this was just a tribe living deep in the forest. If this happened in the great six cities, especially the Royal City, the consequences would be worse.
After witnessing Heng's sword, Zheng Luo and Duo Kang didn't stay. Heng still had things to discuss with Shao Xuan so they didn't disturb him.
Shao Xuan explained some methods to identify rocks, then asked about his future plans.
"I'll go directly to the Royal City. I still have some elders and friends there that I need to visit. After all, I've been away for twenty years! I wonder how the Royal City looks like now. " Gongjia Heng sighed. "Some people are so close to entering Gongjia Mountain, yet they can't even take that last step." Just like the corpses in Xia Valley, they died with great reluctance.
"The elders in the tribe say it's fate. I thought I'd follow in their footsteps but I didn't expect to meet you, Shao Xuan."
"I've benefited a lot too," said Shao Xuan.
Heng thought Shao Xuan was talking about the ten weapons he gave away so he waved his hand. "That's nothing. When my skills improve in the future, if you want more weapons, you can come to me. Don't worry, I won't charge a high price. "
Heng paused, the muscles on his face twitching. "Why did you step on the valley before you left?!"
When Gongjia Heng came out of the mountains, he was in a daze from the continuous forging. He tripped over the pit and almost coughed up blood when he saw the letter Shao Xuan left him.
"Cough, that place is not bad." Shao Xuan quickly changed the topic. "When are you going to the Royal City? Our tribe is going out to trade soon. I'll go with the tribe then to the Royal City. "
"Alright. If you don't have a place to stay in the Royal City, you can come to me. Our Gongjia family lives together in the Royal City. You can ask around when you get there." Heng was very happy that Shao Xuan could go to the Royal City. "I'll introduce you to a few Gongjia masters. If you need any weapons, you can go to them. Oh, wait, I'll be a master too! Hahahaha!"
Heng's confidence, which had been shaken by Shao Xuan's rock, returned.
Different people had different definitions of the title 'master'.
In the Yanjiao tribe, those who forged and repaired weapons were called craftsmen. It was the same in other tribes but to those who were more particular, only those who had reached a certain level and achieved a certain level of results would be called masters or craftsmen. Otherwise, they were just regular craftsmen.
In the past, Heng was also known as a Xia craftsman but in the eyes of the Gongjia family, as well as some noble slave masters in the six tribes, he was not qualified. But now, after a trip to Gongjia Mountain and learning some secret techniques from his ancestors, his skills had improved. He could be called a master now.
In the past, Gongjia Heng was indeed arrogant but this arrogance was fake. Even Gongjia Heng himself felt a little guilty when he boasted. After all, he was not considered a genius among the Xia people. Otherwise, he would not have been trapped for twenty years while searching for Gongjia Mountain. He did not have much influence in the great six cities either, he could not compare to the more outstanding people in his tribe.
But now, he was confident that he could turn the tables and make a name for himself in the city!
The current Heng was like an ore that had been forged into a weapon. He had shed his initial form and become a more advanced and dazzling sword.
"Thank you in advance, Master Heng!"
"Hahaha, you're welcome! You're welcome! "Heng was elated. He was already imagining his glorious return to the Royal City. However, when he saw the chipped stone, he calmed down.
Gongjia Heng asked Shao Xuan for the missing rock. He had decided to use it as a sword test for the rest of his life.
"Our tribe uses knives, spears and axes. Can these weapons be better than this sword?" asked Shao Xuan.
"Of course!" answered Heng.
Because the slave owners liked swords, among the many weapons, the craftsmen made more swords. After all, in the place where the slave owners lived, there were not so many huge and fierce beasts.
"What are your requirements for these weapons?" Even if he could not make them now, Heng wanted to think about it so he could be prepared when Shao Xuan asked him to make weapons.
Shao Xuan thought for a while and said, "Make it bigger, it'll be more useful for hunting."
Heng's eyelids twitched. So this was Yanjiao's style.
Shao Xuan taught Heng many techniques to identify stone materials. In return, Heng gave some pointers to the tribe's craftsmen after his conversation with Zheng Luo. The Taihe tribesmen were jealous. They wanted to get some advice from Gongjia Heng but they had no reason to. Gongjia Heng only spoke to the Flaming Horn craftsmen because Shao Xuan had helped him before. As for the others, Master Heng was too arrogant to bother with them.
The Xia people were arrogant because they believed no one could make a better weapon than them even if they were to forge a weapon in front of other people. He was just giving pointers to the Yanjiao craftsmen too. Heng did not feel pressured at all.
In the two days he stayed at the Yanjiao tribe, he could feel the warmth of the Yanjiao people. When he left, they even gave him a roasted beast leg. The leg was bigger than his entire body. However, to Heng, it was inconvenient to carry such a huge beast leg around in the forest. He only cut off a piece and brought some jerky with him before leaving.
Before he left, he reminded Shao Xuan that if Shao Xuan went to the Royal City, he should bring him some thousand-grain gold. In exchange, he would make more weapons. Although Heng did not know much about farming, he had seen a lot. He could feel the uniqueness of these grains.
When they heard this, the Yanjiao people's anticipation for the thousand-grain gold grew even stronger.
Now, the grains on the thousand-grain gold ears were like grapes. They were much bigger than the soybean-sized grains Shao Xuan had seen before. The heavy ears drooped, waiting to be harvested when they were ripe.
As he watched the thousand-grain gold ripen, Shao Xuan thought about the old man who had discovered the thousand-grain gold with him. How was he doing now? The Ji people should not have any problems. Shao Xuan planned to ask the old man if there were any other ways to plant the thousand-grain gold.
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