Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

"How is he now?" Tian Guang asked with a hint of concern.

He was not entirely unaware of Xu Qing's situation in Qi. The two had previously corresponded, and he had even arranged for Wu Kuang to be by Xu Qing's side. However, due to busy schedules, they lost contact, and he no longer knew how Wu Kuang was doing.

Although he knew Xu Qing's general whereabouts, he had never met him in person, and he was still somewhat worried about Xu Qing's specific situation.

Especially after his previous conversation with Changping Jun, Xu Qing's name was mentioned many times, making him seem like a key figure influencing the situation. Tian Guang knew that although Xu Qing hadn't joined the Farmer's Clan, he was one of their most important allies, and this friendship had to be carefully maintained.

“Brother Xu is doing very well now.” Situ Wanli quickly replied, telling Tian Guang in detail about his meeting with Xu Qing, from their initial greetings to the details of their conversation about the farmers’ recent situation.

Upon hearing this, Tian Guang nodded slightly and said solemnly, "Some friendships need to be carefully maintained. Although Mr. Xu has not joined our family, he has always been our most reliable friend. This bond must not be broken."

Tian Guang didn't say anything more, but Situ Wanli was so shrewd that he instantly understood his unspoken meaning.

Xu Qing's importance goes far beyond what is apparent, and maintaining a good relationship with Xu Qing is crucial for the future development of the farm.

He quickly bowed and replied, "Don't worry, Chief Hero. I have a life-or-death bond with Brother Xu. Even if you didn't say anything, I would still cherish this friendship."

Tian Guang nodded, a satisfied look on his face: "That's good. Once things calm down a bit, I plan to go to Qi State in person to meet with Mr. Xu. If you have any words you'd like to convey to Mr. Xu, feel free to tell me now."

Situ Wanli was taken aback for a moment, secretly wondering about the purpose of Tian Guang's personal visit, but he didn't dare to ask too many questions, and just pondered it carefully.

He and Xu Qing did have many private conversations, but most of them were just casual pleasantries and nothing important.

As for Xu Qing's previous request for a large sum of money to "buy tickets" for Da Tiechui, he dared not convey it through Tian Guang. If Tian Guang found out about this, he didn't know what kind of trouble it would cause. It would be safer to inform Xu Qing through a secret letter.

Therefore, he only picked out some trivial, everyday things to tell Tian Guang.

Their conversation mostly revolved around Xu Qing, and Tian Guang's words revealed how much he valued Xu Qing.

Meanwhile, in a corner outside, a slender figure was hidden in the shadows, her eyes gleaming and her face showing a complex expression.

The woman was none other than Jing Ni, who had been hiding in the farmhouse for many years.

Since parting ways with Xu Qing in the State of Qi years ago, the two have lost contact.

Back then, she destroyed the Luo Wang files and resolutely fled that cold-blooded assassin organization, just so she could live for herself once.

Fortunately, the Luo Wang organization was in turmoil due to a power struggle at the time and had no time to attend to her as a "defector," which gave her a chance to catch her breath.

But everyone needs a place to live.

Initially, she wanted to find a remote country to live a peaceful life as an ordinary person, but by chance, she ended up in a farming family.

At that time, the Farmer's Clan was expanding and recruiting disciples. She briefly displayed her martial arts skills and joined smoothly without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Initially, she didn't plan to stay at the farmhouse for long; she just wanted to temporarily escape the world and find another place to go after things calmed down.

It wasn't until she happened to hear that familiar name at the Siyue Hall farmhouse that she overheard it—Xu Qing.

It was from that time that she decided to stay with the farm family and secretly gather information about Xu Qing.

However, she hadn't heard any news about Xu Qing for a long time, which made her feel a little disappointed.

It wasn't until recently, when Siyuetang facilitated a major deal in Qi, that she heard Xu Qing's name again while secretly investigating.

Therefore, after Situ Wanli returned from Qi, she kept a close watch on him, hoping to get more information about Xu Qing from him.

She had considered directly interrogating Situ Wanli, but she was no longer the ruthless killer she once was; her methods had changed. She chose a more covert approach, gathering information through hiding and eavesdropping. And as it turned out, her wait was worthwhile; from the conversation between Situ Wanli and Tian Guang, she finally obtained the most crucial information.

Xu Qing is in the State of Qi!

This news stirred up ripples in her heart. The last place she met with Xu Qing was also in the State of Qi; and the event that changed her life also happened in the State of Qi.

"What a coincidence..." she murmured to herself, a hint of nostalgia and anticipation flashing in her eyes.

Having obtained the information she wanted, Jing Ni did not continue to lie low, nor did she rashly reveal herself to ask for more details. Her current identity must not be exposed.

Although the State of Qi is vast, as long as the general direction is known, Xu Qing's whereabouts can always be found.

……

At this moment, Xu Qing was completely unaware of this in Linzi, the capital of Qi.

Unbeknownst to him, the undercurrents within the peasant community had already stirred because of him, and even more unbeknownst to him, old friends were following his trail. If, after some time, Xu Fu returned to Qin and to the Yin-Yang School, even more people would likely turn their attention to him.

After receiving the Korean inheritance, he never neglected his sword-making skills, even while handling various affairs.

Over the years, countless third-tier swords have been created in his hands. Although he has not been able to nurture a fourth-tier legendary sword, his sword-making experience has continued to accumulate and steadily improve.

His past obsession with forging fourth-tier swords was not only because forging higher-tier swords would yield more experience points, but also because in the process he could learn more sword-forging techniques and break through his own limits. For him, this process of constantly surpassing himself was full of fun.

Even though he failed to forge a fourth-tier sword, he was not disappointed, after all, his experience bar was still growing and the future direction was clear.

Finally, on this day, as he lit the furnace again, preparing to forge a new sword, the system panel in his mind suddenly lit up.

The value, which was originally stuck at 99.999% of the third-tier experience bar, finally jumped slightly and instantly reached 100%.

Immediately afterwards, a system notification sounded, announcing that his swordsmith level had officially advanced to the fourth tier!

According to the system's classification, swordsmiths in this world are divided into five levels.

Swords forged by third-tier swordsmiths are already listed in the sword manual and can be called famous swords; while swords forged by fourth-tier swordsmiths can be passed down for hundreds of generations and are called "legacy swords". Each legendary sword is a masterpiece created by a top swordsmith who has devoted his heart and soul to it. Many swordsmiths may not be able to forge a single one even if they spend their entire lives.

Xu Qingshang did not know if there were any other fourth-tier swordsmiths in the world, but he himself had finally entered this field after spending several years of hard work.

The process of advancement was devoid of any earth-shattering phenomena; everything seemed to unfold naturally, yet it carried an indescribable sense of profound weight.

At the same time, countless exquisite sword-forging techniques flooded into his mind like a tidal wave.

If the techniques used in the third-tier sword forging were already considered extraordinary, granting him the ability to communicate with the sword and listen to its inner voice, then the techniques used in the fourth-tier sword forging subtly leaned towards the "fantasy and chivalry" side, possessing extraordinary mystery.

Does a fourth-tier sword need to conform to the three elements of Heaven, Earth, and Man? No problem. Even without suitable timing and location, a perfect sword-forging environment can be artificially created by setting up an array. Is the forged sword lacking in spirit? The new "Spirit Ascension" method can draw spiritual energy from Heaven and Earth into the sword, allowing it to develop its own spirit.

Xu Qing closed his eyes, carefully sensing the newly added knowledge in his mind, as if a brand new door was slowly opening in front of him, behind which was a more vast and mysterious world of sword forging.

He could clearly feel that the connection between himself and the "sword" was becoming increasingly close, as if he could see through the essence of the sword with just a thought.

Chapter 210 The Profound Mystery of the Fourth Order

Even before upgrading, Xu Qing could still try to forge a sword beyond his level.

However, it is quite difficult to advance to a higher level, and you need to figure everything out on your own in the process.

If Xu Qing wanted to forge a fourth-order sword when he was at the third rank, he would need to seize the right time, find the right place, and create the right people. Xu Qing found it difficult to find the first two, so he could only nurture the sword spirit through the third method.

Either the "talent" is directly forged into the sword, using their "soul" as its spirit, nurturing the soul hidden within the sword and allowing it to sublimate, thereby elevating the sword and making it a sword spirit. Or, a sword is forged to be in harmony with the wielder, allowing the swordsman to infuse their will and their own path into the sword through long-term companionship, thus giving birth to a "spirit." The former is simple and direct, while the latter is similar to the cultivation method of Zanpakuto in a certain world. Of course, neither method is inherently superior; rather, they are essentially different paths leading to the same goal.

Ultimately, it all comes down to writing a person's spirit and will into a blank sword.

The former approach may seem simple and straightforward, but in reality, there are very few "talented individuals" who can truly meet the requirements.

The latter is more widespread, but it is extremely difficult to cultivate a spirit.

But all these difficulties and obstacles vanished the moment Xu Qing broke through to become a fourth-tier swordsmith.

Only now did he truly understand that different realms lead to vastly different perspectives on problems and methods for solving them. If he hadn't reached the fourth rank, he probably would never have known that there was a sword-forging method in this world that could "seize the creation of heaven and earth," forcibly creating favorable conditions through arrays and drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to temper the sword's body.

However, Xu Qing felt no regret whatsoever, nor did he ever regret his previous attempt to forge a sword beyond his level.

Some paths can only be walked personally to gain insights that others cannot comprehend; some challenges can only be faced bravely to break through one's own limitations.

Doing things step by step and doing them in the present moment has never been his style. He has an indomitable spirit in his bones and prefers to seek breakthroughs in challenges.

In the following months, Xu Qing devoted almost all his energy to comprehending the inherited knowledge of a fourth-tier swordsmith.

As he continued to digest the new knowledge, a brand new idea gradually sprouted in his mind, and his eyes suddenly brightened: "A fourth-order sword, in harmony with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, uses arrays to create favorable conditions and draws the power of Heaven and Earth to temper the sword body... This method may also be used for cultivation!"

In fact, many years ago, Xu Qing discovered that many profound sword-making techniques were essentially exquisite martial arts.

He once used the hammer technique he used when forging swords to defeat a powerful enemy in battle. That fierce and domineering hammer technique was far more powerful than ordinary martial arts.

Now that he has mastered the fourth-order sword-forging technique, he naturally thought that he might be able to apply these sword-forging techniques to the field of cultivation and open up a completely new path of cultivation.

"Think and do" is Xu Qing's consistent principle.

Previously, he had plundered countless rare materials from the Korean treasury; over the years, he has never stopped collecting materials, including jade, treasures, spirit ores, and anything that is useful for forging swords. Among them are many rare treasures that can be used to set up formations and draw upon the power of heaven and earth.

However, the process of setting up the formation was extremely complicated, and Xu Qing was unwilling to do it personally, so he turned his attention to Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai.

After a long period of training, the two sisters, who were once the junior masters of the Yin-Yang School, had long been convinced of Xu Qing's sincerity and had become his loyal followers, following his lead without question.

"Move this piece of black jade three feet to the east, so it fits perfectly into the opening position of the nine-square grid!"

"Yes, that's it. The jadeite must complement the black jade perfectly, without the slightest deviation..."

Xu Qing held a crystal-clear jade cup filled with mellow fruit wine, sitting leisurely to the side, pointing and gesturing to the busy Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai.

These sisters were no ordinary women. As junior masters of the Yin-Yang school, they were proficient in the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, the Five Elements metaphysics, and had a thorough understanding of various metaphysical knowledge.

It is important to know that the entry-level skill of the Yin-Yang School is "alchemy," and the prerequisite for learning alchemy is to thoroughly understand the principles of the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements.

They could immediately tell that the materials Xu Qing had instructed them to arrange contained profound array formations and were by no means randomly placed. However, they couldn't figure out exactly what kind of array it was or what its function was, and could only carefully adjust the positions of the materials according to Xu Qing's instructions.

"That's it!"

At Xu Qing's command, Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, who had been busy for nearly two hours, stopped what they were doing at the same time.

They were not sent away by Xu Qing, after all, the effectiveness of the formation still needed to be witnessed and verified by someone.

The Yin-Yang School can also be considered a lineage of "Qi Refiners," which is different from ordinary martial artists. Ordinary martial artists first temper their bodies, and then condense their internal energy. Only after their cultivation reaches its peak can they perceive the power of the outside world and thus use their internal energy to drive the power of the outside world, achieving both internal and external cultivation.

While the Qi Refiners lineage, including the Yin-Yang School and the Taoist School, also cultivate internal energy, from the very beginning they emphasize "following the natural way" and "harmony between heaven and man," drawing the power of heaven and earth into their bodies for simultaneous internal and external cultivation.

The more abundant the spiritual energy of the outside world, the faster they can cultivate.

The Yin-Yang School's cultivation methods are unconventional and extremely fast, and this may well be one of the reasons behind it.

The location of the Yin-Yang School's headquarters is itself equipped with a powerful array that can gather and concentrate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. In addition, the Yin-Yang School is also skilled in alchemy. With the help of elixirs, the strength of cultivators naturally increases rapidly.

Of course, because their strength increases too quickly, their mental cultivation cannot keep up, and they are unable to control that rapidly growing power. Therefore, the probability of Yin Yang practitioners going into qi deviation is quite high.

Xu Qing gestured for Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai to stand at the edge of the formation, while he himself slowly walked to the center of the formation.

He quickly formed hand seals, and a series of profound hand gestures flashed in the air. A unique and powerful aura instantly surged from his body and spread throughout the entire formation.

Upon sensing this aura, Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai's eyes immediately showed surprise. They could clearly perceive that this aura had a strange connection with the power of heaven and earth.

The next second, a ripple suddenly appeared in the previously calm room, and a gentle breeze quietly arose.

Feeling the breeze, both Blackie and Whitey were startled, exchanged a glance instinctively, their eyes filled with shock.

In their perception, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from all directions was converging on the location of the formation at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It should be noted that although this is the Prime Minister's residence of the State of Qi, located in the core area of ​​Linzi City, and is a place of great prestige to outsiders, it is ultimately just an ordinary place, not a blessed land, and the concentration of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has always been at a normal level.

But at this moment, the concentration of the spiritual energy around the formation increased several times in just a few breaths. This phenomenon was beyond their comprehension.