Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

Gu Shuxian sat on a large rock, with several pieces of wood of different materials next to him.

He lowered his head, holding a small carving knife, and carefully carved the wood in his hands.

As the blade sliced ​​through the wood, wood chips fell continuously, and a lifelike wooden kite gradually took shape.

"Hmm, wouldn't it be better if the tail was thinned out a bit? The same goes for the wings; reducing weight would make it easier to fly..."

Gu Shuxian brought the wooden kite close to his eyes, examined it carefully for a moment, and then made a few more cuts.

Then he carved a pair of wings, attached them to the sides of the wooden kite, and adjusted the angle several times before nodding in satisfaction.

The mannequins are consumables and don't need too much attention, but the wooden kite can be used multiple times, so it's best to package it properly.

Moreover, through continuous iteration and testing, these wooden kites were improved and could fly more freely.

As for why it's carved here, it's because there's plenty of wood here.

Gu Shuxian heard some footsteps, but ignored them and instead carefully finished carving the last few tail feathers.

"Hey, someone's here!"

When the other person took the initiative to approach, Gu Shuxian looked up and sized up the newcomer.

A man who appeared to be in his thirties, followed by four men dressed as attendants, and two children, a boy and a girl, around eight or nine years old, were curiously looking in their direction.

The man's eyes were wary, but after just one glance, his wariness lessened considerably.

The two children, oblivious to the danger, ran up to Gu Shuxian as soon as they saw he had something in his hand.

"What are you doing?" the little girl Xue Ling asked curiously, looking up at her.

"Wooden bird," Gu Shuxian replied casually, his carving knife still moving.

"A wooden bird?" The boy, Lu Zhi, leaned closer, glanced at it, and asked in surprise, "Did you make this?"

"Um."

"So beautiful!" Xue Ling couldn't help but reach out to touch the wooden kite's wings, but Lu Zhi grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch it carelessly, what if you break it?" Lu Zhi glared at her, then turned to Gu Shuxian and said admiringly, "Your skills are really good."

Gu Shuxian smiled but didn't reply.

Lu Zhi stared at the wooden kite for a long time, becoming more and more amazed by its beauty.

Although the wooden kite was not painted, the carving technique alone made the body details and feather textures look almost exactly like the real thing.

"If you hadn't told me, I would have thought it was true," Lu Zhi muttered.

"Exactly, exactly." Xue Ling nodded like a chick pecking at rice, then tilted her head curiously and asked, "Can your wooden bird fly?"

fly?

Gu Shuxian was stunned.

He immediately laughed, shook his head, and said, "How can something made of wood fly?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi revealed an expression of certainty and proudly told Xue Ling, "I knew it! Only our Chijin Mountain can make wooden birds that can fly!"

Mount Akatsuki?

Gu Shuxian's heart stirred.

I don't know if they brought any fragments with them, but then I thought, fragments wouldn't be of much use to me anyway.

What intrigued him more was the flying wooden bird they were talking about.

"Are you from Chijin Mountain?" Gu Shuxian asked.

"Of course!" Lu Zhi said proudly, "It's that Chijin Mountain, the holy land of craftsmen! You've heard of it, right?"

"I've heard of it, it's very impressive." Gu Shuxian nodded.

"You're quite insightful!" Lu Zhi was even more smug. He was about to say something more when Fan Yun stepped forward.

"Lu Zhi, you must not be rude."

Fan Yun first scolded the two children, then bowed to Gu Shuxian with a hint of apology, and said:

"Young man, we apologize for disturbing you. We are from Chijin Mountain. These two children are traveling far from home for the first time and are quite ignorant. Please forgive them if they have offended you."

"It's alright, this forest isn't owned by my family." Gu Shuxian waved his hand.

Fan Yun glanced at him. Judging from his clothes, this child didn't seem to come from a wealthy family, but he spoke with neither arrogance nor servility, displaying a composed demeanor that suggested he was quite extraordinary.

"My name is Fan Yun from Chijin Mountain. May I ask how you should address me, young brother?" Fan Yun introduced himself.

The two children also introduced themselves.

"Gu Shuxian is just a menial servant in the Suishan Sword Sect, nothing special," Gu Shuxian said casually.

Fan Yun nodded and exchanged a few polite words.

Lu Zhi, growing impatient, interjected, "Gu Shuxian, haven't you ever seen the flying wooden bird of our Chijin Mountain? Aren't you curious?"

Gu Shuxian was taken aback; this child was really proactive.

"I've never seen it before, and I am indeed a little curious," he said casually.

"Hehe!" Lu Zhi grinned, pulled something out of his pocket, and said smugly, "Want to see?"

Gu Shuxian stared intently at it.

A small wooden bird, about the size of a palm, is coated with a layer of paint. It is meticulously crafted, with its body and wings made of countless tiny pieces of wood pieced together, and some parts are inlaid with metal wire.

Lu Zhi held the wooden bird in his palm, twisted the mechanism under the bird's body a few times, and then threw it upwards with force.

With a click, the mechanical wooden bird really took flight!

It circled along an arc, then paused in mid-air, as if it had lost all its strength, and plummeted straight down.

"How about that? Pretty impressive, huh?" Lu Zhi ran over, picked up the wooden kite, and said proudly.

Gu Shuxian was genuinely curious this time.

The craftsmen in this world are truly amazing!

"It's really impressive." Gu Shuxian nodded sincerely. "However, it can only fly along fixed routes. Can't we give it commands on the fly?"

Lu Zhi was taken aback, and stammered, "It's not even alive, how can we give it commands? It's already amazing that it can fly!"

"Exactly, exactly! Do you think this is a live bird?" Xue Ling chimed in.

"Indeed," Fan Yun couldn't help but interject. "The art of mechanisms emphasizes ingenious structure and tight mechanisms. To make wood fly is a skill rarely seen in the world. Apart from our Chijin Mountain, there is no other like it!"

Gu Shuxian responded with an "oh," sounding somewhat disappointed.

"What a pity. It would be better if it could receive commands, such as flying out to scout enemy positions and then flying back on its own, or changing direction in the air to evade attacks..."

"This...this is impossible!" Lu Zhi looked at him like he was an idiot. "I already told you, mechanisms aren't living things!"

Fan Yun smiled and shook his head. It was perfectly normal for a lowly servant to speak ignorantly about mechanical devices.

Seeing that the two children were chatting happily with the other person, and that the other person did indeed seem to be an ordinary servant, he lowered his guard, his gaze drifting towards the direction of Suishan Palace, and began to reconsider the events of the day.

Meanwhile, the attendants had already dispersed to various locations to guard different directions.

Gu Shuxian asked, "Could I borrow your wooden bird to take a look?"

"No way!" Lu Zhi refused without even thinking. "This was made for me by my father; I can't just let anyone touch it!"

Gu Shuxian sighed, slightly disappointed.

Seeing that the adults were no longer paying attention to them, he smirked and pulled out an old, obsolete model from the pile of wood behind him.

An early work, very rudimentary.

Gu Shuxian smiled and handed it out, saying:

"I'll trade you this."