Chapter 60

Behind the Wuliang Mountains lies the Lancang River, where the waves surge and the water flows rapidly. The riverbank is lined with steep cliffs, making it extremely difficult to traverse. In the depths, there are rarely any signs of human presence. However, three months ago, a wealthy family bought a large piece of land by the Lancang River and has been working day and night. In just two months, they built a manor—Mingjian Manor!

Needless to say, this Mingjian Manor was created by Bai Xiaosheng! It was to cover up the Jianhu Palace beneath the Wuliang Mountains!

After walking out from the bottom of the Wuliang Mountains, Bai Xiaosheng entered the Mingjian Manor through the back door, a route he knew well. The manor had only been established for a month, and apart from Bai Xiaosheng and his six beautiful disciples, there were no outsiders. Normally, Bai Xiaosheng would teach the six of them, and once they were proficient, he would let them practice on their own, supervising each other to ensure they didn't slack off. Meanwhile, he would enter the Jianhu Palace to practice the Lingbo Weibu.

After coming out, Bai Xiaosheng didn't disturb his disciples. He had already set a strict schedule for them, and they were not allowed to disrupt it, so the six women had no time to pay their respects to him. To them, Bai Xiaosheng's teaching was very strict, and they were so exhausted after their daily lessons that they had no energy left to visit him.

Bai Xiaosheng didn't care about these formalities, so the six women rarely saw him, and today they didn't even see him during their morning lessons. Although they were surprised, they still followed Bai Xiaosheng's orders and practiced martial arts within the manor.

Finding a roasted chicken, Bai Xiaosheng aimlessly walked to the front courtyard to watch the six women practice. These six women were not unattractive, with good figures, making them quite pleasing to the eye. Watching them, Bai Xiaosheng felt a stirring desire.

'Pity they are my disciples; otherwise, I could do whatever I want with them,' Bai Xiaosheng thought, but he only entertained this thought. He admitted he wasn't a good person, as modern behavior wouldn't make him a gentleman in ancient times. However, he still had principles and a bottom line. If he had bought these six women, he could have controlled their lives, and no one would have said anything about him warming the bed or laying out the quilt. But his modern mindset led him to take them as disciples. This was the most unfortunate part—seeing six beautiful young women, he couldn't act on his desires.

'Out of sight, out of mind! I'll just go back to eating my roasted chicken!' With a couple of smacks, Bai Xiaosheng quickly left the front courtyard and returned to his own backyard. After finishing the chicken, he threw the bones away, stretched his body, and leaped onto the roof.

This backyard had a unique building, different from the others, with a flat roof. Bai Xiaosheng had built it specifically for sunbathing and practicing internal skills. Of course, there was also a bit of boasting—'Not only do I live in a building, but it's a standalone one!'

"Sunbathing on the roof is indeed very pleasant!" Bai Xiaosheng smiled smugly and fell asleep in the warm sunlight. He didn't wake up until midnight. With no one in the manor and nothing to do in ancient times, he had nothing to do.

After a quick tour, Bai Xiaosheng noticed a stone house next to the standalone building. He had a sudden idea and quickly walked inside.

This stone house was different from the others, built with stones and extremely sturdy. Inside, there was a large furnace, with coal piled beside it.

Bai Xiaosheng had added this room himself to forge weapons. Since he had named the manor Mingjian Manor, he naturally hoped to have a few good swords, so building a forge was inevitable.

However, he hadn't thought about forging swords himself, but today he had a sudden urge to do so.

A swordsman must have a good sword, and Bai Xiaosheng had never had his own. Today, he obtained a sword, but the sword from the Xianxia Sect was too flashy, making it hard to use in public. Seeing the forge, he thought about melting the sword and mixing its materials with other metals to create a new one.

If he could forge the sword himself, it would be even more perfect!

Driven by this idea, Bai Xiaosheng entered the stone house, lit the furnace, and started a fire with charcoal and coal. It wasn't until the fire was roaring that he realized he didn't know how to forge!

"Really..." Bai Xiaosheng laughed bitterly and walked out of the house. Seeing that it wasn't yet dawn, he left the manor and went to the city. Less than an hour later, he returned with a large man carrying tools, a blacksmith he had found in the city to teach him.

"Master, this is..." Qin Shuang, who had risen early, was slightly surprised to see Bai Xiaosheng with the man and quickly greeted him.

Bai Xiaosheng pointed to the man and said, "This is a blacksmith I found in the city. From today, I will learn blacksmithing..."

Qin Shuang was stunned and thought, 'Master, how bored must you be!' However, she didn't say it out loud and just looked at Bai Xiaosheng innocently, making him feel awkward.

He knew he seemed quite bored!

However, since he had already invited the man and agreed on a price, he couldn't let him leave without teaching him. So, he decided to learn blacksmithing.

Under the blacksmith's guidance, Bai Xiaosheng quickly grasped the basics and divided the process into detailed steps, summarizing the knowledge and writing a manual. Then he entered the system space and asked the system how to improve his blacksmithing skills. The system provided an answer based on all the knowledge it had, guiding Bai Xiaosheng on a path.

With the basic guidance from the blacksmith and the scientific extension from the system, Bai Xiaosheng's progress was rapid. The blacksmith only taught him for seven days before feeling he couldn't teach him anymore. Bai Xiaosheng had no choice but to pay him and let him go, then he continued to learn blacksmithing in the stone house.

In a month, Bai Xiaosheng forged his first weapon. It was neither a sword nor a knife, but a strange-looking object. When he showed it to his disciples, they laughed at him.

Feeling embarrassed, Bai Xiaosheng turned his frustration into motivation and spent another month forging a proper sword. However, although it looked better, it was still rough, and the system rated it only 50 points, failing the test.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaosheng didn't show it off and threw the sword in a corner, then started forging again, practicing and memorizing the techniques.

The forging knowledge provided by the system was far superior to the current era, and the weapons Bai Xiaosheng forged using this knowledge were also excellent, though he was still not proficient. For example, the sword he forged, while failing as a sword, was far superior in terms of material forging, as the techniques he used spanned Chinese history and were far more advanced than those of others.

With this advanced technology, despite his short learning period, Bai Xiaosheng's forging skills were not lacking. His forging improved rapidly, and in just three months, he forged a rare sword, which the system rated 70 points.

The score was not high, but the system described his skills as having reached a high level, and the low score was due to the material he used, which was just ordinary iron.

Holding this seemingly perfect iron sword, Bai Xiaosheng walked to the front courtyard and proudly showed it to his six beautiful disciples, saying, "Disciples, look at the sword I forged..." He raised the sword and approached a tree, slicing it in half with a single, swift stroke. "What do you think? Impressive, right!"

The six women were amazed, not expecting their master to have such skills. They quickly approached to see the sword, and Qin Shuang, as the senior disciple, took it from him. She tried to imitate Bai Xiaosheng, swinging the sword at the cut tree. With a thud, the sword embedded itself in the tree but didn't cut it, getting stuck.

Bai Xiaosheng explained, "You used the wrong force! I made you train to strengthen your bodies, but using a sword requires finesse, not brute strength." He took the sword, pulled it out, and handed it back to Qin Shuang, saying, "Remember the horse stance I taught you. Now, take the stance..." He handed her the sword and instructed, "Imagine the force rising from your feet, passing through your waist and abdomen, and reaching your arms, then strike with the sword!"

It sounded simple, but it was difficult to execute. Qin Shuang couldn't imagine it at first, and her body moved with the force. Bai Xiaosheng had to explain it several times before she finally succeeded on her fifth attempt, slicing the tree in half, which left her very excited.

Seeing this, the others wanted to learn as well. Bai Xiaosheng didn't teach them directly but assigned the task to Qin Shuang, standing aside to observe. He only spoke up if they made a mistake.

After the six women mastered the basic technique, Bai Xiaosheng said, "You've been training for three months. It's time to teach you something else. Follow me, and I'll teach you a set of boxing techniques."

"Great!" The six women were delighted. For three months, Bai Xiaosheng had only made them train their bodies and strength, with a strict training schedule. Now, they could finally learn boxing, which made them very happy.

Bai Xiaosheng didn't teach them the Huquan from the Yun Family Manor, as it wasn't suitable for women. Instead, he chose a set of boxing techniques from the Hundred Schools of Thought, suitable for women, and taught it to them.

Over the next few days, Bai Xiaosheng taught the six women boxing and absorbed the forging knowledge he had learned over the past three months, stabilizing his skills. Once the six women mastered the boxing techniques, Bai Xiaosheng redefined their training plan and returned to the forge to continue making swords.

After two more months, Bai Xiaosheng forged 28 swords and felt confident. That night, he took out the sword from the Xianxia Sect and threw it into the furnace. Then, he added a small piece of black iron, which he had obtained with great effort. Anyone who has read "The Return of the Condor Heroes" knows that the black iron sword is very powerful.

Bai Xiaosheng wanted to forge a sword, but the material from the sword alone was not enough, so he collected other materials, with black iron being his first choice.

Watching the two materials melt in the furnace, Bai Xiaosheng walked out. Both materials were very hard, and based on his experience, it would take at least two to three days to melt them.

So, he didn't need to watch the process constantly; he just needed to check it occasionally. For now, he decided to rest.