I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"From the steel to the length of the blade, to the curvature of the blade and the width of the handle... every part and every detail is perfect!"

"I guarantee in the name of Yamada Asaemon—if one were to choose the sword in the world that is 'most suitable for slashing,' this sword, even if it cannot win the championship, would certainly be among the top!"

"It is precisely because of its immense power that my grandfather named this sword after the title of the Great Sun Tathagata."

"It's a pity that it wasn't included in 'The Precious Sword and Ruler'."

"Otherwise, the ranking of the 'Supreme Greatest Goods' will definitely have to be rearranged."

After listening, Qingdeng nodded solemnly in agreement.

The "Kaihoken-shū" published by the Yamada Asaemon family uses cutting force as the standard for judging swords.

The criterion for judging a "top-grade masterpiece" is that it has an 8-9% probability of severing a human body with a single cut.

The "Haibaojian Chi" records the swords of 228 swordsmiths, among which only 12 are considered "the finest great swords": Nagasone Kotetsu, Nagasone Okimasa, Kiyoseki Kengen, Magoroku Kengen, Hatsudai Kunihisa, Hatsudai Sukehiro, Hatsudai Tadakichi, Mutsu no Kami Nagamichi, Tatara Nagayuki, Osafune Hidemitsu, Mihara Masaie, and Osafune Motoshige—all of which are great treasures worth thousands or even tens of thousands of gold!

After the "Ikedaya Incident", Souji's sword, Kaga Kiyoshi, broke.

Qing Deng originally planned to simply replace her with a "Moste Daiye item".

However, such high-quality swords rarely enter the market; most are collected by wealthy and powerful families, making them a classic example of being valuable but unavailable, with no supply even if one wanted to buy one.

If we judge swords by the standards of the "Huaibao Sword Ruler", then without a doubt, the Vairocana sword belongs to the "supreme great item"!

When Qingdeng wielded Vairocana, every strike of his blade left no body unscathed, broken and shattered!

Besides being incredibly sharp and tough, its exceptional feel is truly remarkable!

Whether it's the length and curvature of the blade, the weight of the blade, or the size and width of the handle, everything about it is incredibly comfortable.

Qingdeng had never used such a comfortable knife before.

After getting used to using the Vairocana sword, picking up another sword feels like mocking a prosthetic limb; it just doesn't feel right.

It's no exaggeration to say that after receiving this sword, Qingdeng has completely transformed into the form of Vairocana!

At this moment, Kiryu seemed to recall something, paused for a moment, and then adopted a meaningful tone.

"Actually, this knife has the potential to be upgraded to another level."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng immediately raised his eyebrows and listened attentively.

"There is a very rare type of steel in this world."

We call it 'Ten Thousand Refinements Steel'.

"As the name suggests, this is a special type of steel that must be forged through thousands of repeated hammerings."

"For a bladesmith, this steel is truly the steel of his dreams!"

"The blades forged from this steel are not only incredibly sharp, but also extremely hard, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant."

"What's even more amazing is that this steel turns the blade a deep black color."

"And this is the 'black knife' that is so rare in the world."

“I have considered finding this steel to recast the blade of Vairocana.”

"In this way, Vairocana will become the undisputed 'Number One Swordsman Under Heaven'!"

"Unfortunately... 'Ten Thousand Refined Steel' is extremely rare."

"For decades, I have traveled all over the world, but I have never seen this steel with my own eyes."

"A black knife, huh? I have seen one before."

"The lord's sword is a black sword."

"When we were young, we were always puzzled as to why our lord's sword was black."

"We only know that a very special type of steel was used, but we don't know the name of this steel."

"It wasn't until I gained more experience that I realized the knife was forged from 'ten-thousand-times-refined steel'."

“My lord once told me: If I am willing, she can give me her sword so that I can extract ‘Ten Thousand Refined Steel’ from it.”

"It goes without saying that I would never melt down my lord's beloved sword."

"There's no other way..."

"To reforge the blade of Vairocana with steel refined through countless processes—this can only remain a thought for me."

Black Knife—a name that exudes sophistication.

Just hearing the name makes you feel like it's something special!

Qingdeng did not know how to forge swords.

However, based on his knowledge of chemistry from his previous life, he felt that the "ten-thousand-times-refined steel" that Mr. Kiryu mentioned was very likely tungsten steel!

Tungsten carbide is a hard alloy, often referred to as the teeth of modern industry, possessing a series of excellent properties such as high hardness, wear resistance, good strength and toughness, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance.

In particular, its high hardness and wear resistance remain essentially unchanged even at 500℃, and it still has very high hardness at 1000℃.

If tungsten steel could be used to forge swords... that would be incredible! It would completely crush swords of the same era!

However... to be honest, in the feudal era when iron smelting still relied on hammers, Qingdeng found it hard to believe that a blacksmith could produce tungsten steel.

Even with tungsten steel, he would find it hard to believe that any blacksmith could master this hard alloy that maintains its hardness even at 1000 degrees Celsius.

Although it's hard to believe, Kiryu-sensei just stated that his lord... Kinoshita Rin, possesses a black sword!

Therefore, it's possible that this era did indeed possess the mysterious technology to produce tungsten steel and forge knives from it.

Regardless, Qingdeng silently memorized the words "ten thousand-times-refined steel" and "black knife".

Kiryu's story continues:

“After Vairocana appeared in the world, my grandfather regarded this knife as a family heirloom.”

"He personally decreed that only the head of the Yamada Asaemon family could possess this sword."

"After my grandfather died, the knife was passed down to my father."

“Ever since Vairocana came into being, the execution process on the execution ground has become a bit gentler.”

"Because Vairocana is so sharp, in many cases the victim is unaware that he has been beheaded and dies very quickly."

"Because it is the heirloom sword of the 'Executioner Family,' it has been soaked in the blood of countless sinners, and its blade glows with a purple light due to the addition of special materials, it has earned the name 'Demon Sword.'"

"I dare not say whether there is a knife in this world that is sharper and more resilient than Vairocana."

"But I dare say that when it comes to 'the number of people killed,' there is probably no sword in this world that can surpass Vairocana's!"

“Throughout four generations—grandfather, father, myself, and you—the number of people who have died under this blade must be at least six thousand, if not eight thousand.”

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but ask in return:

“Mr. Kiryu, you just said that your grandfather personally stipulated that the Vairocana could only be passed on to the head of the Yamada Asaemon family.”

"If that's the case, then I'm not qualified to possess this sword."

As he spoke, he deliberately raised his gaze to look at the demon sword in his hand.

Mr. Kiryu smiled slightly:

"Tachibana-kun, you don't need to worry."

“Since my father’s generation, no one has followed this ancestral rule.”

“If we really follow this ancestral rule, I am not qualified to possess this knife—I left the family long ago, and I am not the head of the family.”

"I won't go into the details."

"In short, after I left the family and went through a series of events, I reconciled with my father."

“My father decided to entrust Vairocana to me.”

"In any case, this sword will always be the family heirloom of the Yamada Asaemon clan."

"Therefore, as I grew older, I began to think about whether to return Vairocana to the family or entrust it to a trustworthy successor."

“Tachibana-kun, before I met you, I had thought about entrusting Vairocana to Katsumi.”

"In this way, we can achieve the best of both worlds."

"It can either be returned to the family or fall into the hands of a trustworthy descendant."

"However... however..."

At this point, Mr. Kiryu's tone suddenly dropped.

An unconcealable look of sorrow appeared on his cheeks.

He half-closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

After calming down, he continued speaking in a composed manner:

"Perhaps it is because our family committed too many killings that we have suffered this retribution."

"Infertility is a problem in almost every generation."

“My father’s fertility was already outstanding in the family. He had two legitimate sons, my brother and me.”

“The family line died out as early as the fourth generation; there wasn’t a single son.”

"Left with no other choice, we had to adopt a son to inherit the title of the fifth generation."

“From then on, our family continued the tradition of ‘adopting children’.”

"We will widely recruit talented swordsmen from outside the country and nurture them with care."

"This way, we can ensure the continuation of the family line and also expand the family's business of testing knives and refining medicines."

“After I left the family, the title of ‘Eighth Generation Yamada Asaemon’ was inherited by my younger brother, Yamada Asaemon Yoshitomo.”

"My younger brother, like our ancestors, also suffers from infertility."

He had no children throughout his life.

"Therefore, he could only follow family tradition and adopt many sons."

“He had many adopted sons, at most more than a dozen.”

"Although my relationship with my father is complicated, my relationship with my brother is very good."

“I have kept in touch with him.”