Chapter 152 - Black Iron Gold Crystal, Weapon For Yin Wuyou
Chapter 152 Black Iron Gold Crystal, Weapon For Yin Wuyou
“Marquis, this is all the information regarding Great Xia’s military parade.” Haitang placed a thick stack of documents in front of Zhou Shu. “Her Highness said to let you take a good look.”
“I understand.” Zhou Shu waved his hand.
Who has the time to care about the military parade?
I’m busy designing the Huaxia Pavilion.
Zhou Shu had already communicated with the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works. The craftsmen from the Ministry of Works were very amazed by his idea.
But they also raised many questions. As for the construction, there were still many problems that needed to be solved.
Constructing the Huaxia Pavilion was a huge project, and Zhou Shu didn’t want to do it rashly. After all, this place was different from the oth Workshop. This would be his base camp in the future.
“Marquis, the military parade is about to begin. Before that, you must prepare your weapon in advance. Her Highness has repeatedly reminded that there must not be any problems,” Haitang instructed before leaving.
Zhou Shu waved his hand, indicating that she could leave.
He threw the military parade to the back of his mind.
He started scribbling on his desk.
He had to write down all his ideas and then hand them over to the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works to design the blueprints. This wasn’t an easy job.
Zhou Shu decided to focus on building the Huaxia Pavilion.
Time flew when one focused on a task.
For the next few days, Zhou Shu almost never left his residence.
If not for an unexpected visitor, Zhou Shu might have continued to stay in his study.
Speaking of which, ever since he became the You Marquis, the visitors had never stopped. Sometimes, there were three or four visitors a day. Sometimes, there were more than ten visitors a day. Most of the time, Zhou Shu would let the steward deal with them. If he had to deal with these people every day, he wouldn’t have time to do anything else.
Zhou Shu was a homebody at heart, and he had no interest in forming cliques or relationships.
Besides, with his current status, he had the right to refuse.
A marquis was an upper-class existence among the nobles of Chang’an.
Moreover, he was young, and his future achievements were limitless. Who would dare to disrespect him?
Therefore, the steward wouldn’t even inform him of ordinary visitors.
“You are?” Although Zhou Shu already knew the identity of this person from the steward, he still pretended to be ignorant and asked.
In front of him was a middle-aged man dressed in silk and luxurious clothes. There was nothing special about his appearance, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, leaving a deep impression. “Demon Executing Army, Lieutenant Yin Chengshan greets you, Marquis.” The middle-aged man stood up and cupped his hands.
“General Yin, you are too polite.” Zhou Shu cupped his hands. “May I know why you are looking for me?”
He sized up Yin Chengshan. Yin Chengshan’s breaths were long, and his aura was steady. In Zhou Shu’s perception, his cultivation was at least at the sixth rank of the Martial Dao.
Zhou Shu had heard of the Demon Executing Army countless times.
The three armies of Great Xia were the Country Protector Army, Demon Executing Army, and Fiend Eradication Army.
The Country Protector Army was an ordinary army, and most of the troops were martial artists that had yet to enter the ranks. As for the Demon Executing and Fiend Eradication armies, they were formed entirely by ranked martial artists.
Although they were also armies, their establishment was unique. They were more like special operations forces.
The upper limit and lower limit of a lieutenant’s rank were very wide. Some officers were third-rank generals, while some were only eighth-rank officers.
The Demon Executing Army were all ranked martial artists. Everyone had an officer rank, and their ranks weren’t low either. Yin Chengshan had a cultivation of the sixth rank of the Martial Dao, and he was among the stronger ones in the Demon Executing Army. But Zhou Shu was not familiar with official positions and didn’t know what rank Yin Chengshan was. Of course, no matter what rank he was, his rank was definitely not higher than Zhou Shu’s.
“I’ve come to ask for a weapon from you,” Yin Chengshan said seriously.
“You want a weapon?”.
This was not the first time Zhou Shu had encountered such a thing. The former commander of the Huben Troops, Cheng Wanli, had done so before. He didn’t know if Cheng Wanli had survived the You and Bing prefecture incident.
Although Cheng Wanli’s position was not low, his cultivation level was not high. However, he only wanted a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber.
Yin Chengshan was a member of the Demon Executing Army. The weapon he was asking for was probably not a standard weapon.
“Yes.” Yin Chengshan nodded solemnly. “To be honest, when I was carrying out a mission previously, I obtained a piece of Black Iron Gold Crystal. Coincidentally, my saber was also destroyed during the mission.
“I heard that you are the strongest among the new generation of Forging Masters, so I took the liberty to come and ask you to forge a divine weapon!”
“Who spread the rumors? When did I say I was the strongest among the new generation of Forging Masters?” Zhou Shu’s expression darkened.
I’m not only the strongest among the new generation of Forging Masters. I’m the strongest among all Forging Masters. But I’m the only one who needs to know this. There’s no need to tell everyone about it.
Wouldn’t I be making more work for myself otherwise?
“Everyone knows it,” Yin Chengshan said doubtfully. “Back then, when Shi Songtao forged the Songtao Sword at the age of twenty-five, he was already known as the Great Xia’s number one forging genius. Marquis, you’re not even twenty yet, but you’ve already forged the Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword. Furthermore, it ranks eleventh in the Yellow-grade Armament Manual. When the Songtao Sword first came out, it only ranked thirty-sixth.”
Yin Chengshan looked as if it was only natural.
He didn’t know that the Great Destroyer Sword, which ranked first in the Yellow-grade Armament Manual, was also forged by Zhou Shu.
“The Songtao Sword currently ranks above the Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword. Why don’t you go find Shi Songtao?” Zhou Shu asked curiously.
“Master Shi is good at forging swords, while I use sabers,” Yin Chengshan said. “Everyone knows that you’re an expert in forging sabers…”
Zhou Shu’s true famous works were the Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber, Horse Slaying Saber, and Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber.
Therefore, even though he had used the Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword to become a Forging Master, most people still felt that he was better at forging sabers.
Zhou Shu thought for a moment before rejecting, “Sorry. I don’t have time lately.”
“Marquis, I understand the rules. Money is not a problem,” Yin Chengshan hurriedly said.
He naturally had to pay for a Forging Master to forge a weapon for him.
He took out a banknote. “Here is one thousand taels of gold. You can cash it at any time. If it’s not enough, I will top up more later.
“Marquis, what I seek is only a yellow-grade weapon. I hope that you can help me,” Yin Chengshan pleaded.
“It’s not about the money.” Zhou Shu shook his head. “As you know, Great Xia’s military parade is about to begin, and I still have to prepare for it. I am really unable to spare the time.”
Upon seeing the thousand taels of gold, Zhou Shu was somewhat tempted.
Although the Forging Division drew commission whenever he forged weapons for others, he still took the bulk of the profits.
To be able to earn so much money by forging a yellow-grade weapon, it was really easy for Forging Masters to earn money.
But then again, the Demon Executing Army was rich. He took out 1,000 taels of gold just like that.
“I am also participating in the military parade,” Yin Chengshan said. “It takes place in ten days or so. I’m not in a hurry. You can slowly forge it. Marquis, our Demon Executing Army fights demons all year round. A good weapon concerns our lives. I will be extremely grateful if you can help me!” “It’s still a no.” Zhou Shu still shook his head.
He still had a lot of things to do. He wasn’t in a hurry to earn money. After all, the Forging Division didn’t have any requirements for the Huaxia Pavilion’s performance.
But he couldn’t break his relationship with the Demon Executing Army.
The Demon Executing Army had many opportunities to kill enemies. In the future, he would definitely have to deal with the Demon Executing Army. The Demon Executing Army would be a good helper for obtaining rewards from the Legendary Armament Canon.
“General Yin, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I can’t help you for now,” Zhou Shu said.
“I don’t mind telling you, but the only yellow-grade weapon I can forge now is the Seven Star Dragon Abyss Sword.
“How about this? When the military parade is over, I will continue to develop weapons. If there is a suitable opportunity, I will forge one for you. How about that?” Zhou Shu didn’t casually make a promise, nor did he directly agree to Yin Chengshan’s request.
He didn’t even know what his next weapon would be, so why would he agree to Yin Chengshan?
But if he really forged a suitable weapon, Zhou Shu wouldn’t mind selling it to Yin Chengshan.
What else could Yin Chengshan say?
After all, he wasn’t an ordinary Forging Master. He was the You Marquis. Even if he was an ordinary Forging Master, Yin Chengshan had to beg him.
“Alright, since that’s the case, I won’t disturb you any further.”
Yin Chengshan put away his banknote with slight disappointment, then cupped his hands and said, “If you have any instructions, you can just send someone to inform me. I live
at…”
Yin Chengshan gave him an address and then left.
Zhou Shu sent him out. Just as he returned to the room, he saw a wooden box lying on the chair Yin Chengshan had just sat on.
Zhou Shu was stunned for a moment before he quickly understood. This Yin Chengshan is also an interesting person.
He picked up the wooden box. It was basically impossible to say that Yin Chengshan had forgotten it here.
A lieutenant of the Demon Executing Army was always walking on the edge of a blade. How could such a person be so careless?
This box was probably left behind on purpose. Is this considered bribery? Zhou Shu mocked himself as he opened the box. Black Iron Gold Crystal? Inside the box was a brown stone the size of a fist. Inside the stone, he could see faint threads of gold. The entire stone looked extraordinarily beautiful.
This was the Black Iron Gold Crystal that Yin Chengshan had mentioned before.
Black Iron Gold Crystal was a relatively rare forging material. It was not even present in the batch of materials that the Mi family had given Zhou Shu.
When it was used to forge a weapon, the durability and toughness of the weapon would be greatly enhanced.
Most importantly, by using it to forge a weapon, it could increase the tolerance of the weapon to Heaven Refining Stone.
In other words, it would allow the weapon to withstand even more star paths.
The more star paths a weapon had, the more powerful it was. Since this Black Iron Gold Crystal had such an effect, it was naturally not cheap.
Even though it couldn’t compare to the Heaven Refining Stone, it was much more valuable than ordinary forging materials. The value of this piece of Black Iron Gold Crystal was not below the banknote that Yin Chengshan had taken out.
This Yin Chengshan is quite daring.
Isn’t he afraid that I won’t help him forge a weapon?
From the start, Zhou Shu had never agreed to help him forge a weapon.
If he left this Black Iron Gold Crystal behind, Zhou Shu might not use it to forge weapons for Yin Chengshan.
Yin Chengshan definitely knew this in his heart.
But he still left it behind.
Was this a deliberate attempt to befriend Zhou Shu?
Since I’m participating in the military parade, I have to prepare a weapon no matter what. I promised Yin Wuyou that I would help her forge a weapon. With this Black Iron Gold Crystal, I can do both things at once. But this way, I’ll have to owe Yin Chengshan a favor. I’ll have to think of a way to forge a weapon for him later.
During Great Xia’s military parade, all the participating Forging Masters had to forge a weapon to showcase the Great Xia’s Forging Division.
Forging a ranked weapon could easily take months or even years. The parade naturally couldn’t last that long.
Therefore, the Forging Masters participating in the military parade usually forged their weapons in advance and left one or two stars unfixed.
When they arrived at the parade ground, they would fix the last star and finish forging the weapon.
This way, not only would they be able to display their forging skills, but they would also not waste too much time. They would also be able to let the emperor witness the might of a ranked weapon.
If they could obtain the favor of the emperor during the military parade, it would undoubtedly be a good thing for the Forging Masters.
To Zhou Shu, he didn’t care much about this.
But since he couldn’t avoid participating, he couldn’t embarrass himself too much.
He was about to help Yin Wuyou forge a weapon, but he was still considering what to forge. After all, if it was too inferior, he wouldn’t be able to present it.
Now that he had the Black Iron Gold Crystal, he could try some of his ideas.
The construction of the Huaxia Pavilion can’t be completed in a day or two. I’ll get the Ministry of Works to draw the blueprints later. I’ll handle the military parade first.
As for Zhang Yibei and those guys, I can’t let them idle around either. After all, they are members of the Huaxia Pavilion. Their current standards are too disgraceful.
What sword should I forge for Yin Wuyou?
Zhou Shu pinched his glabella. In his mind, there were countless divine weapons that he had heard of in his previous life. It was not impossible to replicate them in this world.
But it was precisely because there were too many that he didn’t know what to choose. It’s too troublesome to give women things. It has to be classy and match her temperament…
Zhou Shu cursed in his heart. Sun Gongping is such an easy person to deal with. I just gave him whatever I forged. I didn’t have to think so hard about it like now.
I have to design it properly for Yin Wuyou. As for returning Yin Chengshan’s favor, I’ll just give him any yellow-grade weapon. Anyway, the weapons produced by the Huaxia Pavilion won’t be too bad.
Zhou Shu touched the Black Iron Gold Crystal as the images of weapons flashed through his mind.
As the sun set, it shone in through the window, casting a shadow on the ground.
Zhou Shu’s expression suddenly changed as a thought appeared in his mind. Yes, that’s it! Zhou Shu laughed loudly.