Sizzle!
Zhou Shu plunged his crimson blade into the tank of cold well water. The entire work shed was filled with a white steam.
The blade slashed through the air with a faint sound as he flicked his wrist.
Two hours! Zhou Shu looked at the long saber in his hand with a satisfied expression.
He forged a new one after the previous sharp standard long saber was ruined. He kept track of how long it took to forge one this time.
He had completed the full forging process in just two hours.
If it was before, he would have required at least six hours to make a sharp standard saber!
After mastering the first level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, his weapon forging efficiency had grown by three times!
Most notably, forging a sharp standard long blade used to leave him exhausted, and he had to take a long break from forging before he could resume.
He didn't feel tired at all this time. Even if he had to forge another sharp standard long saber, he believed that his stamina would be sufficient.
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique is more powerful than I anticipated. Zhou Shu was overjoyed. It won't be difficult for me to forge five or six sharp standard long sabers a day if I unleash my full power.
As a result, completing the Forging Division's monthly task became significantly easier.
To complete his monthly task, he simply needed to spend four to six hours a day forging. Wouldn't it be nice to spend the rest of the time relaxing?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A knock on the door jolted Zhou Shu out of his reverie.
Zhou Shu frowned slightly. Today isn't the day to collect weapons. Who would come looking for me?
He subconsciously glanced at the tall thin man's corpse in the corner. He had yet to dispose of the body.
Could it be someone else with a hidden agenda? Zhou Shu raised his guard, but he didn't panic or fear. He was no longer the same person he had been the night before, although it had only been a night.
He wielded a sharp standard long saber and had mastered the first level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique. He would be able to take on ten regular Forging Apprentices!
Zhou Shu opened the door a notch while concealing the sharp standard long saber behind him.
"What time is it already? Are you still sleeping? Why did it take you so long to open the door?" Xiao Zongshui reprimanded as soon as the door opened.
Zhou Shu cursed in his heart. What time is it? In my previous life, it's only six in the morning. If I am not sleeping at six, am I supposed to be working?
"Why are you here, Superintendent?" Zhou Shu said directly, pretending not to hear Xiao Zongshui's criticism.
The only response Zhou Shu received from Xiao Zongshui was him walking right through the door and into his work shed.
Zhou Shu leaped in terror. The corpse of the tall thin man was still there. He would have thrown the corpse into the fire and burned it had he known Xiao Zongshui was coming today!
I was too careless! His mind raced as he prepared to deal with Xiao Zongshui's questions.
In the end, Xiao Zongshui simply gave a cursory glance at the corpse before shifting his focus to Zhou Shu's freshly forged saber.
Xiao Zongshui yelled, "Give it to me!"
Zhou Shu was stunned for a moment before blurting out, "What?"
"Saber!" Xiao Zongshui said impatiently.
"Oh… okay." Zhou Shu handed over the sharp standard long saber in his hand without hesitation.
Zhou Shu wouldn't have given the saber away so readily if it had been someone else.
But this was his superior, who was also the 97th Workshop's local tyrant. It didn't matter to him whether Zhou Shu had the saber or not if he wanted to kill him.
Xiao Zongshui slashed down with the saber.
The blade gleamed momentarily as the sharp standard long saber struck Zhou Shu's anvil.
Pfft! With a soft sound, the two-foot square anvil was split into two.
Zhou Shu was speechless as he looked at the smooth surface.
He had forged the sharp standard long saber, so he knew precisely how powerful it was.
If it was just a regular person holding the saber, cutting through three layers of armor would be the limit. The strength of the individual wielding the saber determined their ability to cut through iron as easily as it did mud.
He had accomplished the first level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, and his strength was significantly higher than before. He had exerted all of his strength the night before, but he had only managed to sever a piece of the anvil. Xiao Zongshui's casual swing had cut the anvil in two.
As expected, he knows martial arts! Zhou Shu had long suspected that Xiao Zongshui was no ordinary person. But it now appeared that he was at least more powerful than him.
"The sharpness of this saber is unrivaled among standard weapons. The sturdiness, on the other hand…" Xiao Zongshui frowned.
Following his words, the long saber in his palm snapped into two.
Zhou Shu's heart was bleeding. He had given up his sleep to forge it!
He had intended to hide it away and use it for self-defense!
"Superintendent is right," Zhou Shu muttered while cursing Exploiter Xiao in his heart.
Zhou Shu was well aware of the issue pointed out by Xiao Zongshui.
A sharp standard long saber had significantly more sharpness than a standard long saber, but its sturdiness was mediocre, and it might be readily destroyed if hacked with force.
Win some, lose some. After all, this was only a standard long saber.
"However, it's not easy to forge such a sharp standard long saber with existing materials," Xiao Zongshui continued. "Zhou Shu, get ready to accompany me out."
Without waiting for Zhou Shu to agree, Xiao Zongshui threw away the broken saber in his hand and strode out with his hands behind his back.
His foot had already crossed the threshold when he abruptly stopped. "Take care of the corpse. Don't leave it there. In an hour, come find me."
Xiao Zongshui walked away slowly.
Xiao Zongshui hadn't asked who the tall thin man was, why he had died in Zhou Shu's work shed, or who had killed him.
Although the tall thin man had died in Zhou Shu's hands, his heart was full of sorrow.
A life was lost just like that, and no one questioned it.
This world is no longer the Earth of my past life. Here, human lives are worthless. Zhou Shu realized the cruelness of this world once more.
What does Xiao Zongshui want me to do? Zhou Shu sensed danger.
He had only mastered the first level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique. It was far from enough in terms of self-preservation!
It should be related to the sharp standard long saber. From the way Xiao Zongshui behaved, the possibility of danger is low.
Xiao Zongshui was the superintendent of the 97th Workshop. He was like the supreme leader in this workshop. He didn't have to hide anything in front of Zhou Shu, and he didn't need to go around in circles if he intended to harm Zhou Shu.
As Zhou Shu recalled Xiao Zongshui's every action, he came to the conclusion that Xiao Zongshui looking for him wasn't necessarily a negative thing.
After he contemplated for a bit, his gaze fell on the tall thin man's corpse.
Xiao Zongshui demanded that he dispose of the body. How was he going to do this?
Toss it into the furnace and let it burn? He couldn't possibly do it…
In the future, he would have to use this furnace to forge. How was he going to use it after burning a corpse?
Bury it? Just thinking about it made Zhou Shu nervous. Would he still be able to sleep if a corpse was buried in his courtyard?
Just as he was thinking, a couple of drudgers appeared in his courtyard and entered without a word. They lifted the tall thin man's corpse and left.
Zhou Shu didn't stop them. Instead, he heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed Xiao Zongshui was quite meticulous, dispatching workers to dispose of the body.
After resolving this major issue, Zhou Shu washed his face and proceeded toward Xiao Zongshui's residence.