Now it was necessary to carefully reheat the metal again, as a sharp temperature change could crack it; it had no protection against this, unlike ice. Slowly heating the blank for the next hour, I began tempering; I needed to perform seven to fifteen tempering cycles to get a decent artifact. After a short rest, I was more or less confident in my ability to do it.
To facilitate the work, I slightly loosened the restraint of internal energy again, but without allowing it to exceed the level where its volume would be too large for a novice. If this master is indeed from a body-tempering family, which is likely, he might figure me out and realize that I am connected to another. And then I'll be in trouble; they'll consider me a spy and, if they don't kill me, they'll definitely force me to sign a contract.
The first seven were quite easy; although I was sweating, I confidently continued the tempering. The eighth was already quite difficult, and by the thirteenth, my hands were starting to tremble. However, taking a deep breath and exhaling, I forced them to continue working with the force of my will. I was an expert at this, even in my previous life, doing things beyond my capabilities. The fourteenth and fifteenth were completed without major obstacles. The master watched me silently the whole time; from his eyes, I could tell that he was amazed by my strength and determination.
After that, I sighed with slight relief; I had been forging for six hours, so I was very exhausted. The last step remained: shaping the sword; this was a bit easier than tempering. Soon, this stage was also completed. In my hands was a sword blade, sharp on both sides, slightly bluish. To complete the work, it was necessary to make a guard and engrave a magic formula, but I couldn't do that anymore; fatigue was taking its toll.
"Master, I have finished the work," I said in a slightly trembling voice from fatigue, handing him the blade.
"Excellent work, you have exceeded my expectations," he said dryly, examining the blade. "If the artifact is completed competently, it will be capable of killing monsters up to the senior commander level, of course, if the owner is strong enough."
"Thank you for such a high assessment of my work," I said, bowing slightly. "So, I am now limited to one item per month and fulfilling a small number of orders?"
"No, you can choose any orders you like; your talent is truly amazing," he said, raising his eyebrows slightly. "However, you must provide me with one item per month, regardless of its level; the main thing is that the quality is no worse than this blade. You can take it for yourself; it is now your property," he said, returning the blade to me. "And now go; it will soon be dawn, and you haven't even slept yet; you have an exam in two days, you should prepare."
"Thank you, master. I think this blade will serve me faithfully," I said, smiling and leaving the forge.
Upon reaching home, I collapsed into sleep, not even paying attention to where exactly. I woke up only after a day; after all, I shouldn't overexert myself so much when producing artifacts; so much time is lost. I woke up, by the way, not in my room, but on the floor in Jiaxing Er's room. Well, that was quite an awkward moment. Going into the kitchen, I saw her sitting in a robe, calmly drinking tea. Of course, this was not one of those cases where something could happen while drunk; I clearly remembered that she wasn't even in bed then; I was still in my right mind, although I was so tired that I wasn't thinking clearly, wanting to go to bed as soon as possible.
Brother, everything is fine. When you came, I was already up and showering, and today I slept at your place. - She said with a smile, looking so sweet and beautiful that something twitched in my chest. But it immediately died down and emptiness formed, and Lin Yun Er appeared before my eyes. Of course, after so much time, I reacted more calmly, remembering her, but the pain of separation had not gone away. Perhaps I tried to drown it out by working myself to exhaustion all this time?
"I see, thank you for not waking me up," I said, scratching my head. "Get ready, we're going to Shanghai, I'm going to enroll in Minzhu." - I added, the first exam was supposed to be in a day.
"Okay, but can I ask? Why is brother enrolling in this university? It already belongs to the Gong clan, one of the three clans that practice body tempering. Also, with his abilities, he can enter the imperial university, where he will receive much greater support. Plus, I haven't known my brother for long, he might have even more useful connections." - She asked calmly, slightly insistently. Over these three weeks, we had lived under the same roof, although we saw each other rarely, mostly in the morning and evening, but we got to know each other well and, one might say, developed a mutual understanding. So she became bolder and now, though a little afraid, asked such a personal question. She wouldn't have done that before; at first, she trembled with fear and was afraid to speak in my presence.
"You don't need to know why yet, I'm enrolling there specifically. But you should understand that my actions are never thoughtless." - I said dryly, shrugging my shoulders, sitting opposite her and pouring myself tea.
"Of course, brother is incredibly smart and always acts with caution. Especially with gifts, like Master Gun Wei's mask." - She said with a gentle smile. After we arrived in Nanjing, I told her the whole truth about the old man and his masks, and also destroyed the mechanism in her mask first thing so that she could wear it freely without fear for her soul. "But when he attacked the guardians' base in Xi'an, I don't think he foresaw everything, and acted more emotionally."
"And I see you've become bold." - I said indifferently, sipping tea. At my words, she flinched, and a grimace of horror, despair, and remorse appeared on her face. She seemed to want to start apologizing for her insolence, but I didn't let her. "It's okay, as long as your questions don't go beyond personal matters, I won't be angry with you. Be careful with the old man, remember that. You're not stupid, I think you'll manage. As for the attack on the guardians, yes, it was a bit impulsive, but I still thought about how to get the maximum benefit from this impulse, so it doesn't count."
"Brother, don't you think you're acting a bit childish?" - She asked, laughing slightly. "You don't look like someone who single-handedly defeated so many strong mid-level mages."
"Really?" - I grinned, cheering up, and with the magic of space and wind, I opened her robe, so for a moment, her entire naked body appeared before my eyes.
"Hey! Do brothers do that to sisters!" - She got angry and pouted, hastily covering herself. Because of this, she dropped the cup, which broke and spilled tea. "See! I broke the cup because of you!"
"It's okay, I think the owner will agree to fair compensation." - I grinned, breaking into a smile, after all, we had become quite close this month. "Now go pack your things, we can't be late for the train."
A couple of hours later, we were at the train station. Shanghai wasn't that far, so I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a plane at all. Before that, I called Mo Fan and Xu Zhao Tin, and warned them that I was coming. They當然 yelled at me for taking so long, that the exam was the day after tomorrow, and I could have been late. But I didn't care, so I didn't pay much attention to their words. After another couple of hours, we were in Shanghai and the first thing we did was find and rent an inexpensive room for a week or two. Because according to the canon, Mo Fan was sent for an additional exam, giving him a week to prepare. And considering that the canon strives to happen, it will be the same this time, and I want to see it, so we'll have to stay here.
After that, we went to Mo Fan's house. As I understood from the conversation, Xu Zhao Tin was living with them until the exams. Since Mo Jiaxing was away, there was a free room. Jiaxing Xia greeted us again. Mo Fan and Xu Zhao Tin were training before admission.
"Hello, Jiaxing Yun, and this is..." - she asked, shifting her gaze to Jiaxing Er. "I heard that Lin Yun Er left you, but so quickly..." - Jiaxing Xia said with doubt.
"I'm his sister, Jiaxing Er." - Hearing Jiaxing Xia's words, Jiaxing Er hurried to correct her. "We met brother in Xi'an."
"Yes, she's my sister. Why would you make something up?" - I asked, puzzled by Jiaxing Xia's behavior. "Didn't Mo Fan and Xu Zhao Tin tell you about her?"
"No, yes, I vaguely remember. I just didn't think it was her. You don't look alike at all." - Jiaxing Xia replied modestly, then, rolling back in her wheelchair, added. "Come in, Mo Fan and Xu Zhao Tin should be back soon."
We went into the kitchen and waited for the others to arrive. Jiaxing Er and Jiaxing Xia started talking about something, but I wasn't listening. My thoughts were far away. I was pondering what would happen in Minzhu. Before, I had only vague ideas, but now I seriously thought about it, because a lot happened with Mo Fan in the first year of study. The tournament for the resources of the first-year students, joining the Clear Sky, the attack of parasitic monsters, the attacks of the Black Church, and its complete cleanup in Shanghai.
Besides all this, I also need to remember the guardians. If my deception didn't work, or didn't have the desired effect, then in Shanghai, I should expect two high-level mages at once. One from the Vladivostok guardians, and the second from the Khabarovsk ones. So I need to be very careful and not leave the university grounds without special reason, otherwise I risk dying. Soon I was pulled out of my thoughts, Mo Fan and Xu Zhao Tin arrived.
"Hello, Jiaxing Yun, where have you been all this month?" - Mo Fan asked cheerfully from the doorway. "We thought you'd come earlier."
"I got a little delayed." - I smiled awkwardly. They both looked quite worn out, which indicated that the duel was very intense. "I had urgent matters. By the way, who among you won?"
"Another draw." - Mo Fan said gloomily, almost to himself, and punched the wall with his fist. This result clearly annoyed him.
"I think after the exam, I'll go look for the spiritual seed." - Xu Zhao Tin said confidently. "You are much stronger than me now, and in terms of technique, you'll soon catch up, and I won't be able to handle you. My experience is not infinite, unfortunately."
"I'll help you, maybe I'll find one for myself too." - Mo Fan grinned. "Don't you want to go with us?"
"Good idea, but where to?" - I asked, as there was a high chance they would choose the lands of the lightning wolves.
"I don't know yet. After the exam, we'll have to find out from the league where we can find them." - Zhao Tin shrugged.
"By the way, what rank did you achieve in the league after completing such a long mission to help the military?" - I asked, by the way.
"Mo Fan became a high-ranking hunter, I remained a top-tier one. You also got a couple of points, but not many. Jiaxing Xia even rose to mid-level hunter. Though I don't think it will be particularly useful for her." - Xu Zhao Tin explained briefly.
"But I gained invaluable experience in using healing magic." - Jiaxing Xia said modestly and a little quietly.
"You're a mage?" - Jiaxing Er was surprised, apparently they hadn't touched on this topic in conversation. "I would never have believed it."
"Yes, and are you too?" - Jiaxing Xia was also surprised. "I'm a second-stage initial-level healing mage, and you?"
"I'm a poison mage, I've almost reached the second stage of the initial level." - Jiaxing Er replied with slight excitement, after which they went into the room and continued talking about something there.
"How is your preparation for the exams?" - I asked, taking the opportunity.
"Everything is going well for me, but he decided to enroll in the summoning faculty, so he's not taking the usual exams like us, only an interview." - Xu Zhao Tin said with slight contempt, pointing at Mo Fan.