More than a month had swiftly passed.
Tang Jian's injuries had fully healed, but his dantian remained unchanged.
As Chen Guang paid him little heed and Yao Bin harbored a hint of hostility towards him, he had no opportunity to access the sword-forging materials, neither during nor after the sword-making process.
Thus, his original plan to forge a few magical swords in exchange for medicines to repair his dantian remained unfulfilled.
During this time, it was Xiao Dingdang, a little girl, who visited him several times, bringing him clothes and other supplies. Yan Zi, the head of the Yan Family Merchants' Association, never came.
Xiao Dingdang was dissatisfied with Tang Jian's living conditions and even had a fierce quarrel with Yao Bin about it. It was only after Tang Jian intervened that the argument ceased.
As a result, Yao Bin's gaze towards Tang Jian grew increasingly gloomy, almost completely cutting off his access to sword-forging materials and the geothermal well.
One day, after Chen Guang failed another sword-forging attempt, Tang Jian brought back two broken sword embryos to his room and tossed them onto the pile of scrap sword embryos with a clang.
The two sword embryos hit the mound of scrap and slid down a few inches before stopping.
Hearing the sound, Tang Jian suddenly had an idea and hurried over, squatting down to rummage through the scrap pile.
He occasionally pulled out a section of sword embryo from the pile, examined it briefly, and then either threw it aside or neatly stacked it at his feet.
After a while, he selected over twenty sections from the pile of broken embryos and sorted them into three piles.
"Since there are no materials available, I'll have to give you a try," Tang Jian muttered to himself, looking at the broken embryos before him.
If there were other swordsmiths around, they would surely shake their heads in disapproval or even disdain.
The materials of the sword embryos had undergone tremendous changes during the failed forging process, with most of their properties worsening. Using these scraps to forge magical swords would undoubtedly result in a low success rate.
Tang Jian was now in a dire situation with no other options. He had to grit his teeth and give it a try, hoping to forge a magical sword by luck.
Even the lowest-grade magical sword would give him the means to exchange for initial resources.
Once Tang Jian made his decision, he didn't hesitate and began planning how to execute it.
Yao Bin guarded the geothermal well closely, so he definitely couldn't use it. Although there were fire pits available in the ordinary sword rooms, without fire essence powder as a combustion aid, the temperature wouldn't be enough to melt the sword embryos.
Moreover, those rooms were near the shops and streets. If he used them, he would likely be discovered, leading to many troubles.
Thinking of this, Tang Jian couldn't help but frown.
After a moment, he turned to glance at his house and suddenly had a bold idea.
...
It was late at night.
A serene atmosphere enveloped the Yan Family Sword Shop, with only a single auxiliary hall in the courtyard of the Xieshan Grand Hall still illuminated.
Inside the room, Tang Jian, dressed in a short-sleeved brown shirt, had dug a three-foot square hole in the ground behind a pile of charcoal. He was now stacking the bricks and dug-up soil around it, forming a simple square fire pit.
The broken iron anvil that had been in the corner was also moved beside the fire pit by him.
On a small table next to the anvil, stone cups, molds, forging hammers, and other items were neatly arranged. He had obtained them all from the sword room earlier in the afternoon.
The swordsmiths there, knowing he was an apprentice of Master Chen Guang, naturally didn't dare to neglect him and provided everything he needed.
After applying the last handful of soil to the gaps between the bricks, Tang Jian straightened up, dusted off his hands, and picked out a dozen pieces of charcoal from the pile beside him, throwing them into the fire pit.
Then, he took some easily combustible dry grass, ignited it with a fire starter, and stuffed it into the fire pit, covering it with charcoal.
Wisps of smoke emerged, and a faint flame slowly rose from within.
Tang Jian shattered the two broken sword embryos, put them into a stone cup, and placed it inside the fire pit.
Then, he carefully took out a small yellow paper packet from his bosom and opened it.
Inside was a fine, reddish powder—fire essence powder used to aid combustion.
This fire essence powder, not much larger than a thumbnail, was collected by him over time from the edges of fire pits and ebony shelves when Yao Bin wasn't paying attention. It was the leftover material scattered during Chen Guang's sword forging.
After a moment of consideration, he threw the entire packet into the fire pit.
"Boom!" A loud noise echoed as a sheet of crimson flame shot up, instantly engulfing the stone cup and burning intensely.
Soon, the blazing fire in the pit turned the stone cup bright red, and the sword embryo fragments inside began to melt.
Seeing this, Tang Jian let out a sigh of relief.
After a while, most of the sword embryo fragments in the stone cup had melted, except for some at the top that had turned bright red but still maintained their solid state.
As Tang Jian turned to fetch the iron tongs and mold, the flames in the fire pit suddenly trembled and gradually weakened, causing the temperature in the entire room to drop slightly.
The fire essence powder had finally burned out before the melting process was complete.
Although Tang Jian had prepared for this, he couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret.
He took a deep breath, suddenly let out a low shout, and his whole face turned red as he punched his chest.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The muffled sounds of punches continued, each one stronger than the last.
"Come out, come out..." Tang Jian's eyebrows furrowed as he exclaimed.
Suddenly, a "boom" sounded from within his chest. It wasn't louder than his punches, but it seemed to come from the depths of his heart, making his whole body tremble.
Immediately afterward, an unbearable sensation of heat swept through his body, turning his skin a dry, reddish color.
Before he could react, a intense burning sensation emerged from his heart, flowing rapidly along his veins toward his hand stretched into the fire pit.
"Puff!" A faint golden flame suddenly erupted from between his fingers, turning into a fire wave about a yard in diameter that engulfed the entire fire pit and rushed toward the wall behind it.
Tang Jian was startled. He quickly focused his mind, and the fire wave immediately contracted, turning into a golden flame about a foot in size and gathering in the fire pit.
The last time he used this golden flame, it was an accidental act in a life-and-death situation. This time, when he consciously willed it, he discovered that this peculiar flame was connected to his thoughts and quite easy to control.
The temperature of this flame was terrifyingly high.
Just a moment ago, the burst of flame had burned a noticeable crack in the lower part of the wall ahead. If he hadn't controlled it in time, it might have even burned through the entire auxiliary hall.
In just a few moments, the sword embryo in the stone cup had completely melted into a cup of crimson liquid.
Tang Jian shook his hand, trying to retract the flame from his fingers, but it only caused the fire wave to become unstable without any effect. He tried closing his five fingers into a fist, but it was still useless.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a dizzy sensation in his head, and his whole body staggered.
The limited magical power dispersed in his meridians was rapidly depleting due to his use of the peculiar flame.
If he didn't stop, it would be exhausted soon, causing him to lose strength and fall unconscious.
In that case, this sword forging would surely fail.
He was extremely anxious but forced himself to calm down, trying to soothe the blazing golden flame with his mind, calling it back into his body repeatedly.
Finally, when Tang Jian's consciousness was already somewhat blurred, the golden flame trembled slightly, like a child returning home after playing outside, reluctantly contracting into his fingers and returning to his body.
Tang Jian's body swayed, but he managed to steady himself. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took deep breaths, unable to conceal a trace of excitement within him.
After composing himself, he slowly lifted the stone cup out and carefully poured the melted liquid into the mold.
When it had solidified but had not yet cooled, he poured it onto the iron anvil and picked up the forging hammer, beginning to strike it with "ding ding dang dang" sounds.