Legend of the Evil God Chapter 8

Just how long would it take before a good weapon was crafted?

After an entire day, I still had yet to get an answer to my question. Even with me being engrossed the entire day, I had only completed the simple step of smelting. With the liquid metal solidifying in the mold, hammering… had to be done tomorrow!

As usual, I cultivated the ‘Art of the Nine Suns’ for the entire night. Upon reaching my optimal condition, I had full confidence in facing the difficult task of hammering!

Sprinting out of my house towards the forge, I couldn’t wait to complete the weapon, which I had poured all my blood, sweat and tears into!

However, my hopes were dashed upon the rocks when I heard from the chief what I would be needing to do the entire day. I finally understood that a good weapon could never be crafted in a single day!

What I had to do was very simple; To use the smithing hammer and knock repeatedly on the coa.r.s.e axe.

Hammering different parts of the axe required different techniques; it became clear why the eighteen styles of the ‘Dwarven Axe Style’ were needed to smith any good equipment!

Every Dwarf only had one axe; the one that they crafted as their first weapon, and it would never be replaced in the future…

With tens of thousands of hammer strikes done to it, the axes of each and every Dwarf were their greatest weapon. Not only did it increase their fighting proficiency, they could also use the eighteen stances of the ‘Dwarven Axe Style’ while wielding the axes!

The Dwarves would always bring out their axe daily for some hammering. Other than upgrading their axe in terms of hardness and sharpness, they could also hone their skills in the ‘Dwarven Axe Styles’!

The Dwarves were indeed famed as a race that cared about nothing other than smithing. They were even training their smithing skills while fighting! From this perspective, the Dwarves were indeed born warriors!

The axes of the Dwarves were more formidable the smaller they were! Using the chief’s axe as a comparison, it was only half the size of my current axe, but its weight was absolutely not compromised! With a few hundred years of hammering and tempering… his axe could be considered to be made of stainless steel instead of the usual iron! No matter what one did to it, there wouldn’t be even a scratch!

Moreover, with continuous days of tempering, there would be an indescribable bond between the axe and the Dwarf! The chief could literally play with his axe just like a circus act, being able to do anything with it! Once someone reached that state with their axe, they could attack not just with the ‘Dwarven Axe Style’, but with virtually any form, only limited to their imagination

The so-called tempering of the axe would be to first heat it up until it was fully red, then lifting it out of the fire with tongs, followed by strong strikes of the hammer. Once the axe started to cool down, it would be thrown into the fire again, brought out with tongs again… And the cycle repeats.

With three days of continuous tempering, the surface of the axe was, at long last, shiny and smooth! It finally had the feel and look of a sharp weapon!

All the weapons made by the Dwarves were impeccably sharp. However, they never used a grindstone, only making use of their hammer to shape out the edge!

Judging from the angle and strength of my hammer strokes, it was obvious that my techniques were subpar. The shape of the weapon was decided by the mold, but the sharpness and toughness were decided by me.

As the chief said, I had the knowledge but lacked experience, and the weapon I was hammering only looked nice on its exterior. Owing to the fact that I had inadequate strength, my strikes couldn’t penetrate into the weapon, causing it to be structurally weak!

Furthermore, due to my shoddy skills, I had used my strength inappropriately and struck inconsistently. Hence, the sharpness of the axe was also compromised. However, smithing was a skill that definitely improved with practice, and the technique used was the same as the one for combat!

As the axe crafted would follow the Dwarves their entire lives, its weight would already be predetermined at its birth. The general size and configuration also couldn’t be changed. Hence, my axe would always weigh roughly forty kilograms and be styled after a Xuan flower. However, with my growth, the axe would correspondingly change in a few minor areas!

Facing the incomparably heavy and large axe, I rid myself of any thoughts related to leaving the village. I knew that no matter, the basics were the most important. With my current strength, I had absolutely no way to lift and wield the forty kilogram axe. There would be absolutely no benefits in leaving the village like that!

Upon hearing that I wanted to postpone the trial of my own accord, the chief smiled unhesitantly. Being able to hold back one’s desires was a necessary attribute when embarking on the path of a master blacksmith!

During the following days, I started my career as a smith, hammering at my axe, which was becoming darker and shinier! My arm strength increased in accordance to my motions, and coupled with my cultivation every night, I experienced a surge in power!

Picking the axe out of the furnace with my tongs, I lowered my head and continued hammering wholeheartedly, figuring out and appreciating the secrets of Dwarven smiths, while learning the uses of every move and executing them!

n.o.body else in this world could be on par with my rate of improvement as they didn’t have my education and wisdom!

Back in my homeland, Earth, everybody looked to Science for explanations whenever they run into problems. Being taught about principles and the nature of problems my entire 10 years living, I naturally created a habit of implementing that into my everyday actions!

I had two doctorates, one in Engineering and the other in Metallurgy. Thus, I had great knowledge about the properties of metals, how they were used and how they respond under pressure. Hence, once I put my mind to learning, mastering the essence of the craft became as easy as 

Pretty simple actually!

From a critical standpoint, the hammering techniques the Dwarves used weren’t perfect. Even with ninety thousand years of improvements, it could be further enhanced with the help of science!

Placing the axe gently inside the burning furnace, I started thinking. Only the ‘Hundred Slashing Knives’ was perfectly correlated with science, causing it to have overwhelming power with minimal movement. On the contrary, the ‘Dwarven Axe Style’ had too many useless moves, and certain actions that were supposed to cause a greater impacting force became a burden instead!

After comparing the differences and similarities between the ‘Dwarven Axe Style’ and the ‘Hundred Slashing Knives, I tried combining the both of them. I was confident that I had mastered all the basics. Thus, as long as I could achieve the desired effect, both techniques would become one and the same!

After half a year of contemplation, I finally reached a conclusion. Half a year… To some people, it was a short period. However, that was the amount of time I took to complete my college studies!

I finally managed to examine both styles thoroughly over the past half a year. Even though it was still imperfect, I managed to compress the two techniques into one, forming a skill exclusive to myself – the ‘Seven Rending Cuts’!

The supposed ‘Seven Rending Cuts’ weren’t meant to be taken literally. ‘Seven’, referred to seven modes with each mode having seven styles.

I’m pretty sure that I compiled all the tricks and secrets of its predecessors inside these 49 styles. In addition, the techniques which the ‘Hundred Slashing Knives’ and the ‘Dwarven Axe Style’ lacked, were added in by me!

Anyway, the imperfections stated earlier were just the transitioning between each style. The style itself had no problem, as each swing and move was in line with scientific principles, it could be changed. The style was invented via mathematical and scientific theory over the past half a year, resulting in tremendous improvements to the linking of styles!

As for the ‘Cut’, in the ‘Seven Rending Cuts’, it also had the meaning of temporary*, meaning to say that this set of techniques was still incomplete and could still be improved on in future with constant experiments and experiences!
[*TL Note: Same spelling but it’s a different word and pitch. Intricacies of chinese… ~_~]

To make it sound nicer, I replaced ‘Temporary’* with ‘Cut’. Whether it was the look or sound of the words, ‘Seven Rending Cuts’ was way cooler!

Every style of the ‘Seven Rending Cuts’ contained seven strokes, with each stroke and style being unique! The only question that I had right now was how to combine these different styles harmoniously. Unfortunately, imagination wouldn’t be enough, and I had to hone it through combat!

Even though the ‘Seven Rending Cuts’ had many shortcomings, it was still pretty thorough in all aspects. Hence, I decided to seek the chief’s approval to use it for my daily smithing tasks!