That kind of strength.
And not even a scratch on my hand.
For a sword that was supposed to be Master Smith Cheon’s life’s masterpiece, the sword aura coming off it was no joke, but my hand was completely clean—no nicks, no cuts, nothing.
Did he think I’d trained some Iron-Cloth Art or something?
On top of that, I’d handed over a miraculous spiritual pill that calmed his raging blood and qi in an instant, and I’d found a flaw even Master Smith Cheon himself hadn’t seen.
Flowing-Shadow Phantom Sword had clearly realized it.
I wasn’t normal.
Master Smith Cheon stared at Soul-Azure lying on the floor.
He had believed it was the masterpiece of his entire life.
To find out it was a demonic sword.
THUD—
His massive frame simply collapsed down onto the floor.
Where had he gone wrong?
It had been perfect.
“The sword itself is perfect. The problem is that the intended wielder is you, Master Smith Cheon.”
“What?”
“I’m saying it’s only a perfect sword when you wield it. No one else can use it. That’s what Soul-Azure is.”
It really was the masterpiece of his life.
For Master Smith Cheon.
But for any other swordsman, it was a demonic sword that handed them death.
“I made a mistake like this...?”
He had obsessed over perfection.
And in doing so, he’d forgotten the most important thing.
The heart that thinks about the one who’ll actually use the sword.
Master Smith Cheon looked down at Soul-Azure.
There was nothing wrong with the blade.
It was entirely his fault.
“I’m the one who... turned you into a demonic sword... I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
He picked it up and gently stroked the steel.
After standing there for a long time, he seemed to come to a decision and rose with the sword in hand.
“I’ll destroy this sword myself.”
“Could you give me that sword for a moment?”
Master Smith Cheon blinked at my sudden request.
“Why?”
“If you just change the flow of energy, it becomes perfect.”
He snorted.
“Once a current of energy is engraved into steel, it can never be erased. If you try to force it, the sword dies. It’s scrap metal at best.”
“You know steel has its own veins, right? The energy you engraved must be circulating along those veins as well.”
“Of course. What are you getting at? Don’t tell me you’re planning to read its pulse like a human and strike its acupoints.”
“Yes.”
“Ha ha ha! Now that’s a good joke. Do you have any idea how much mental force that takes? You have to strike the veins with exactly the corresponding strength of the current. Even I can’t do that.”
“I can.”
“You crazy brat. I’ll praise you for spotting the sword’s flaw. But I won’t tolerate arrogance built on top of that.”
“You can decide whether it’s arrogance or not after you see it yourself.”
“Fine.”
Master Smith Cheon handed Soul-Azure to me.
“If you can restore this sword to what it should have been, I’ll grant you anything you want, whatever it may be. I’d even agree to become your subordinate if that’s what you ask. How about it?”
“Sounds good.”
“In exchange, if you fail, you put your neck on the block.”
He glared at me with murderous eyes.
I just let out a small laugh and nodded.
“That’s fine too.”
“Good. Then let’s see it. Want me to give you my furnace? That sword was forged by mixing Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and Abyssal Nightsteel. You can’t work on it in any other furnace.”
“No. There’s no need to go to a furnace.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can do it right here.”
“What insane nonsense is that? You’re not telling me you’re just going to hammer it as is, are you?”
“You’ll see.”
“Fine! Show me.”
Leaving Master Smith Cheon’s growling in the background, I lifted Soul-Azure and examined it from every angle.
It was clearly a peerless blade.
The balance was perfect, the weight light.
It was hard, and even when you swung it, it didn’t make a sound.
If I just changed the energy, it would become the masterpiece of the age.
I hooked my middle finger over my thumb and brought my hand toward the blade.
“Wait, no way. That crazy brat isn’t... he’s not actually going to flick it, is he?”
Just as Master Smith Cheon was thinking that couldn’t possibly be it—
TANG—
My finger snapped against Soul-Azure, and a clear note rang through the entire main furnace hall.
“I-it can’t be. H-how can you hit a sword with just your finger...?”
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Everyone there, not just Master Smith Cheon, stared at me with the same disbelieving expression.
I kept tapping Soul-Azure in succession.
TANG— TANG— TANG—
Sometimes fast, sometimes light, sometimes heavy.
I struck it like I was playing an instrument.
The sound was so pleasant that some people even closed their eyes to listen.
Each time a strong force struck the veins, the energy inside Soul-Azure roared.
The agitated current lost its path and soon began to move in the direction I was driving it.
The flow that had been running in reverse slowly turned the right way.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
“By my refined energy, may your sword-soul be continued; sealed yet not scattered, responsive yet never reversed.”
As I murmured the incantation and engraved a formula into the sword, the properly flowing current fused under that pattern.
Before anyone realized it, the blade was being reborn into a sword even better and more perfect than the one Master Smith Cheon had first forged.
“Phew.”
Finishing my work, I handed the sword back to Master Smith Cheon.
He took it and looked it over again and again, his whole body starting to tremble.
“S-such a p-perfect sword...”
A sword even more perfect than the one he’d believed was flawless had been born.
It felt as though the blade was alive.
Whether it was that sensation or something else, tears began rolling down his face without him noticing.
Without bothering to wipe them away, he turned his head toward me.
“Thank you. For bringing this child back to life.”
He wiped his eyes with a hand like an iron pot lid, then held Soul-Azure out to me.
“From now on, this sword is yours. Take it.”
Everyone around us gaped.
I accepted Soul-Azure without a word.
Now I had a sword I could give my grandfather.
Off in the distance, Flowing-Shadow Phantom Sword smacked his lips in regret.
Seeing that, Master Smith Cheon spoke to him.
“I’ll forge you a sword separately. You won’t be disappointed.”
If Master Smith Cheon himself was promising to make him a blade, Flowing-Shadow Phantom Sword’s regret vanished.
“Ha ha. In that case, I’d be nothing but grateful. I’ll look forward to it.”
“I’ll make you one that’s not a step behind his. Just wait.”
“Understood.”
Then Master Smith Cheon turned back to me.
“Now. State your wish. What is it?”
“Pay some attention to Heavenly Forge.”
“What?”
“No matter how crazy you are about iron, you can’t just ignore how Heavenly Forge itself is running.”
“Why? Is there something going on at Heavenly Forge?”
“It’s rotten from the bottom up. If you’d really been paying attention so you could pick out true talent, do you think things would have gotten like this?”
“I see. I was wrong. From now on, I’ll cut back on my own work and personally look over Heavenly Forge as a whole.”
“And please take this kid as your personal disciple.”
Yeomhwa jumped when I pointed at him.
“He has the talent to surpass you, Master Smith Cheon.”
At that, Master Smith Cheon’s eyes lit up with sharp interest.
“You’re saying he’s someone you rate that highly?”
“Yes. A talent like that almost withered away forever, stuck as nothing but an apprentice smith.”
“Ugh... I’ve really been living wrong until now. I’m sorry.”
“You can fix it by doing better going forward. That’s all I’m asking you for.”
“All right. Just like you said, I’ll make sure no artisan has to suffer anything unfair from here on out.”
I grinned and nodded.
“That’s enough.”
“That really all you want? You’re not going to ask me to forge you ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) some weapon or anything?”
“No. Why would I ask you for that when I’m better than you?”
“What?”
He went blank for a moment at my words, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Kahahahaha! You’re right! You’re right. You did what even I couldn’t. It’s a fact you’re better than me!”
He laughed hard for a long time, then finally let out a clean breath and spoke.
“This is the first time I’ve laughed like this in ages. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Just treat this kid right. If not for him, I wouldn’t have cared about this place and would’ve left already.”
“Left? Where?”
I was just about to answer when—
“Huh? Young Master Jeok, what are you doing here?”
Metal Inspector Yongmyeong appeared, looking utterly confused.
Master Smith Cheon turned to him.
“You know this brat?”
“Yes. He’s the one who helped us when the wagon had issues. He said he was interested in reforging, so I asked Yeomhwa to help him, but why is he here...?”
“So that’s how it is. This is all fate. This it?”
Master Smith Cheon let out a small laugh.
Yongmyeong still had no idea what was going on and just looked around in a daze.
Master Smith Cheon looked back at me.
“Wherever you go, you’re a full artisan of Heavenly Fire Road. Come whenever you like.”
“Yes. Understood.”
I smiled and nodded, and Master Smith Cheon turned to Yeomhwa with a satisfied look.
“From now on, you’re to call me Master.”
“Sir?”
“This brat. What are you doing, not giving your master the nine bows of respect?”
“Ah! Yes, Master.”
Yeomhwa hurriedly offered him nine full bows.
Then Master Smith Cheon proclaimed to every artisan present.
“From this moment on, Yeomhwa is my one and only personal disciple! Treat him with proper respect.”
“Yes, sir!”
In that instant, the status of Yeomhwa—the unwanted stray and outcast of Heavenly Forge—shot straight up.
From now on, no one in Heavenly Fire Road would dare lay a hand on him.
I spoke to Yeomhwa.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. This is all thanks to you, my lord.”
“Work hard and then come back to me. Got it?”
“Yes! I’ll become the best and definitely return to you, my lord.”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes!”
Master Smith Cheon turned to me again.
“How about a drink with me?”
“I’m sorry. I already promised someone I’d drink with them first. I should keep that promise.”
“Ugh. That so? I’m not much for tea.”
I gave him a small grin, and he scratched his head.
“Fine, I’ll try tea for once. Let’s go.”
“All right.”
*****
SLURP—
“Ugh! What the hell do people see in this stuff?”
Master Smith Cheon took a sip of tea and screwed up his face into a knot.
“If you drink it properly, it has a deep flavor.”
“Forget it. You drink as much as you want.”
I leisurely enjoyed my tea and spoke to Master Smith Cheon, who had shoved his cup away like he couldn’t stand the sight of it.
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
“What?”
“How is it that someone at your level is tied down to Heavenly Martial Castle like this?”
“That’s what you were wondering?”
“Yes. I couldn’t help but wonder why the foremost of the Three Supreme Artisans Under Heaven is living like this.”
At the word “foremost,” he gave a small grin.
“When other people say that, it doesn’t mean much. But when you say it, it really does feel good.”
He laughed pleasantly and continued.
“It’s because of my ties with the Heavenly Martial Emperor.”
“Sir?”
“There was a time in the past when a group called the Four Heavenly Demon Fiends ran wild.”
“I’ve heard of them. Were they really that vicious?”
“They were. Because of them, my entire family nearly got wiped out.”
“...Ah.”
“It was the Heavenly Martial Emperor who saved us. After that, I started treating him as my older brother.”
“Your older brother?”
“That’s right. We made a promise back then. If he ever built his own power, I’d forge every weapon that power needed. Then one day, he said he was founding a place called Heavenly Martial Castle. So I told him to set aside a spot for me too. That spot is Heavenly Forge.”
“I see.”
“I believed that forging the finest weapons would be the way I served Heavenly Martial Castle and my big brother. But after meeting you, my thinking changed. If I couldn’t even take care of my own people properly, then what the hell was I doing... I was just being a burden instead.”