"By the Reignbow Arbiter, this isn't scientific! Where's your forging process?!"
Gongsun Lei looked like he had gone mad, pointing at the Crafting Table next to Fu Zhu with a face full of disbelief.
"Where is your process of constantly hammering the blade with tools, quenching it with flames, making its edge sharper, and its body more resilient?!"
"Process?"
Fu Zhu turned his head to glance at the Crafting Table beside him, then walked over to Gongsun Lei and patted his shoulder.
"The times have changed, Gongsun Lei."
Gongsun Lei clutched his head in a frenzy, still looking like he was having a crisis of faith. "Even if the times have changed, it wouldn't have become this fast, right?! The process!"
Seeing him still fixated on the forging process, Fu Zhu shook his head, speechless.
"Since you insist, let me ask you, what is technology?"
Yanqing, standing off to the side, tensed his little face upon hearing Fu Zhu ask this somewhat familiar question.
Why does this scene feel so familiar?
Hearing Fu Zhu's question, Gongsun Lei calmed down slightly. He hesitated for a moment before answering, "A technique that helps intelligent lifeforms increase the efficiency of various tasks?"
Fu Zhu snapped his fingers in approval, then continued.
"Correct. Technology exists to facilitate the lives of all intelligent lifeforms. Just like you blacksmiths, using fierce flames and iron hammers to forge various blades and weapons. Isn't it all so that people can be more efficient at slicing melons, cutting vegetables, and killing enemies on the battlefield?"
"...That's one way to put it, but what does that have to do with your weapon forging having no process?"
Fu Zhu shook his head, looking at him with an expression of "what a hopeless case."
"Why are you so dense? Tell me, how long does it take you to forge an ordinary blade?"
"Two to four days."
"And in the days that soldier is waiting for you to forge his blade, how many fewer enemies will he kill? This is where you lag behind in technology. But me, now, I have directly sped up the forging process. Don't worry about how my process works for now. Just tell me, did I or did I not forge the weapon!
"Just tell me, how many more enemies can that soldier kill with the time saved? For every enemy he kills, the people of the Luofu gain an extra measure of safety! Do you understand?"
After hearing Fu Zhu's tirade, Gongsun Lei stood there stunned, as if he had grasped some inkling of an idea, yet he vaguely felt that something was off.
March 7th, who had been listening to Fu Zhu's speech from the sidelines, felt several dark lines appear on her forehead. She sidled up to Fu Zhu and whispered.
"Fu Zhu, isn't it a bit much to bamboozle him like this?"
Xing, however, giggled as she came over and patted March 7th's shoulder.
"Don't worry, March. Who knows, he might even thank my brother later!"
Just as Xing's voice fell, Gongsun Lei snapped back to his senses and clasped his fist towards the three of them.
"I believe I understand now. The process is not important. No matter what means we use, the result is what matters. I have been taught! Thank you, Mr. Fu Zhu, for your guidance."
Fu Zhu and Xing simultaneously turned their heads and raised their eyebrows at March 7th, as if to say, see, we weren't wrong, were we?
March 7th couldn't help but cover her face in despair. Weren't they just bullying an honest man? When had the Nameless fallen to such a state!
And Yanqing, who had been standing not far from the three of them the whole time, had heard the entire conversation. He couldn't help but ponder, Why do I feel like my Master Fu Zhu bamboozled me back then too?
But what Master Fu Zhu said did have its logic... Am I overthinking things?
Gongsun Lei once again bowed to Fu Zhu with a clasped fist. "Master, may I have a look at your work?"
"Here."
Fu Zhu casually handed over the Ōdachi. He'd already bamboozled the man once; he might as well show him something tangible, right?
Gongsun Lei respectfully took the Ōdachi from Fu Zhu with both hands. He played with it for a moment, and after drawing the blade and looking at it twice, he couldn't help but let out a surprised cry.
"Hm? Master Fu Zhu, could it be that you forged this blade according to my specifications?"
Although he didn't quite understand why Gongsun Lei would say that, Fu Zhu still crossed his arms and retorted with annoyance, "Do you think that's possible? This is an Ōdachi I forged for my own use."
"Then this is a bit strange…"
Gongsun Lei took out the Ōdachi and swung it a few times. When using this blade, he felt a certain comfort. This comfort wasn't due to any magical power the blade bestowed upon him, but rather that it felt perfectly suited to all his habits.
One should know that when a blacksmith custom-forges a blade for someone, especially a weapon, they need to pay close attention to the user's height, arm length, arm strength, and all other data.
After all, you can't just give a five-foot-tall person a weapon that's over two meters long and far exceeds their arm strength, right?
Not only would that fail to enhance the user's combat power, but it would actually become a burden.
But the Ōdachi Fu Zhu had forged was different. After using it for a while, Gongsun Lei felt as if the blade had been forged completely according to his body's data, perfectly matching all his physical parameters. Using it was as smooth and natural as if it were his third arm!
As a swordsman, Yanqing was the first to understand what Gongsun Lei meant. He quickly spoke up to Gongsun Lei.
"Master Gongsun, may I have a look?"
Gongsun Lei immediately handed the Ōdachi to Yanqing. He also wanted to know if this smooth feeling was just his own illusion.
Yanqing took the Ōdachi and, like Gongsun Lei, unsheathed the blade and tried a few sword moves. Afterward, an expression of astonishment also appeared on his face.
He also felt that comfortable feeling Gongsun Lei had described. The sword felt as if it had been custom-made to his specifications, yet there was a clear difference in data between him and Gongsun Lei!
Yanqing whipped his head around to look at Fu Zhu and asked in surprise, "Master, can the weapon you forge adjust itself according to the user?!"
There's such a thing?
Fu Zhu was puzzled internally, but on the outside, he just smiled at them without changing his expression.
Fu Zhu had a faint guess. In MC, whether it was vanilla weapons or modded weapons, they wouldn't have different stats or attack modes when used by different players.
They were the most "standardized" weapons. No matter who used them, the effect was the same.
Perhaps this was the source of the "customized comfort" that Yanqing and Gongsun Lei were talking about?
"In my hometown, aside from a certain senior with the surname He who liked to tamper with his weapons, claiming it was so that enemies couldn't immediately use them after picking them up, the weapons forged are usable by anyone."
Gongsun Lei couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "What a divine forging technique, to allow an inanimate object to adjust its own data according to the user... In the entire universe, only a few legendary weapons can do that!"
Those few legendary weapons were all famous divine artifacts. But looking at the Ōdachi forged by Fu Zhu?
Well, it looked quite majestic, but judging from the casualness Fu Zhu displayed during forging, this blade was clearly just an "ordinary weapon" for him, meant to satisfy his daily needs!
Gongsun Lei didn't dare to imagine what kind of terrifying weapon Fu Zhu would forge if he put his heart and soul into it. At that time, perhaps even an Emanator would have to take notice.
After playing with the Ōdachi for a while, Yanqing reluctantly returned it to Fu Zhu.
Seeing the fondness in his eyes, Fu Zhu couldn't help but laugh.
"Yanqing my boy, don't look at it like that. It's no big deal. In the future, I'll personally forge you an Ōdachi."
Once he had collected enough materials in the future, let alone just for Yanqing, forging an exclusive SlashBlade for the entire Express crew wouldn't be a problem!
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Yanqing couldn't hold back a grin that spread from ear to ear.
"Thank you, Master!"
Gongsun Lei, standing off to the side, felt a bit sour. He couldn't help but ask Fu Zhu, "Master, are you still taking disciples?"
Fu Zhu glanced at Gongsun Lei's decrepit, aged appearance and immediately shook his head.
"Not taking disciples. My mounts are full too."
"…"
Fu Zhu cheerfully patted Yanqing's shoulder. "He's my closed-door disciple. You're out of luck, Master Gongsun."
Gongsun Lei nodded helplessly and didn't say anything more. He had just asked casually anyway, not daring to hope that Fu Zhu would actually accept him as a disciple.
However, he did have another matter to ask of Fu Zhu.
"Master Fu Zhu, may I take a few photos of this Ōdachi of yours?"
"Why? You want to take it back to your shop and hang it up?"
"No."
Gongsun Lei waved his hands repeatedly, then explained with some embarrassment.
"Previously, I wanted to forge the sword you described, the one that could cut through space, to prove myself. Now it seems I was overestimating my abilities. However, I still want to give it a try. I want to see if the technology of the Xianzhou Alliance can forge a sword like yours, Master Fu Zhu. I plan to take these photos to the Xianzhou Zhuming.
"When it comes to forging techniques, the Xianzhou Zhuming is much more skilled than us on the Luofu. I plan to visit my old teacher who taught me forging and see if the techniques of the Zhuming can forge a weapon of the same caliber."
Hearing this reason, Fu Zhu didn't refuse. This was actually good news for him.
If the Xianzhou Zhuming could forge the same kind of blade, then maybe they really could forge the Yamato. That would save him the trouble of grinding for the SlashBlade, and he could just use the Yamato directly!
"Go ahead and take your pictures."
"Thank you."
After Gongsun Lei had meticulously taken photos of the Ōdachi from all angles, he bowed to Fu Zhu and the others again.
"Well then, I shall take my leave."
"Mm, see you."
After Gongsun Lei had walked out of the training grounds, Fu Zhu turned to Yanqing with a serious expression.
"Yanqing, go close the door. I have something very important to tell you."
"Yes, Master."
Yanqing happily trotted off to close the door. Xing, watching this scene, couldn't help but complain.
"He really is a closed-door disciple, huh?"