Chapter 40

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In the casting room, the furnace blazed fiercely, as if it could burn everything to ashes. The red-hot flames illuminated the area, radiating intense heat.

"The four essentials of blacksmithing are the foundation, and you have already mastered them all. In this aspect, there's nothing more I can teach you."

"But to forge a sword, the four essentials alone are not enough. Now, I will teach you a more advanced forging technique—the Four Changes and Five Strikes."

After explaining the steps of sword forging to Chen Zong, Elder Lie began to impart the Four Changes and Five Strikes.

The Four Changes and Five Strikes are an advanced forging technique derived from the four essentials of blacksmithing. The Four Changes are the deeper application of the four essentials, while the Five Strikes are five techniques for swinging the hammer.

The Four Changes are: Light, Heavy, Fast, and Slow.

The Five Strikes are: Direct, Light, Press, Press Down, and Grind.

Combining the Four Changes with the Five Strikes forms the Four Changes and Five Strikes technique.

Elder Lie imparted the technique, and Chen Zong learned quickly. In fact, over the past few months, Elder Lie had unconsciously taught Chen Zong the Five Strikes in bits and pieces while teaching him the four essentials.

"Alright, you've now grasped the basics of the Four Changes and Five Strikes. Forge a sword for me to see," Elder Lie said bluntly.

Chen Zong was already used to Elder Lie's way of speaking and didn't mind.

Forging a sword is different from forging iron blocks. Forging iron blocks involves heating rough iron until it turns red and soft, then repeatedly hammering it. Forging a sword requires melting the iron into iron water, pouring it into a mold to form a rough shape, and then repeatedly hammering it to shape it. Finally, it is quenched and sharpened to complete the sword.

The iron had already melted into iron water. Under Chen Zong's control, it was poured into the longsword mold. The iron water was bright red, like lava, emitting intense heat, causing Chen Zong to sweat profusely.

With his eyes fixed on the iron water in the mold, he watched it cool and solidify. When it was almost ready, Chen Zong took it out and placed it on the anvil. He grabbed a hundred-pound hammer with his right hand, raised it high, and struck it forcefully.

The "Direct" strike involves holding the hammer straight, the most common way to hold it.

The "Light" strike involves holding the hammer loosely, not using much force. It looks fierce but is actually light, causing a slight vibration.

The "Press" strike involves pressing the hammer down after striking, not letting it bounce back.

The "Press Down" is an enhanced version of the "Press."

The "Grind" involves pressing the hammer down and moving it in a short, up-and-down motion.

Elder Lie watched from the side, nodding in approval. This was Chen Zong's first time forging a sword, and although he was a bit clumsy, his overall performance was quite good, especially his solid foundation and skill in controlling and applying force.

After repeated hammering, the sword took shape and solidified. Further hammering was unnecessary, so it was time to quench it.

The quenching process uses cold spring water, and timing and angle are crucial. This requires keen eyesight, sharp senses, and extensive experience.

Chen Zong's eyesight and senses were good, but he lacked experience. Therefore, Elder Lie found this quenching attempt to be quite average.

"Is this the sword I forged myself?" Chen Zong took the sword out of the cold spring water and examined it closely. The blade was uneven and not straight, looking more like a fire poker.

"It's far from good; you need to keep practicing," Elder Lie scolded. He could say that his first attempt at forging a sword was even worse than a fire poker.

From then on, Chen Zong stopped forging iron blocks and focused on forging swords.

Elder Lie gave him the task of forging at least ten ordinary iron swords this month, which would earn him 200 contribution points.

Leaving the casting room, Chen Zong recalled every detail of the sword forging process.

"Understanding the sword through forging, how does one do that?"

Clearly, forging a sword and practicing with a sword are two different things. What is the connection between them?

Chen Zong didn't know yet, but he would find the answer.

Ten days passed, and Chen Zong forged a sword every day, but each attempt was unsatisfactory.

Pouring the iron water into the mold, taking it out, hammering, and quenching.

A hissing sound filled the air as steam rose. After the quenching was complete, Chen Zong took the sword out and examined it closely.

The blade was straight, uniform, and smooth, slightly better than the first ordinary iron sword he had forged.

"Finally, I succeeded." Chen Zong wiped the sweat from his face and smiled genuinely.

Forging the sword gave Chen Zong a deeper understanding of the sword, as every step of its formation was under his control.

"Next, I need to sharpen it."

Sharpening involves grinding the blade to make it sharp, turning it into a real sword rather than a decorative item.

Sharpening also requires skill; random grinding would ruin the sword.

After sharpening, Chen Zong lightly touched the blade, feeling its sharpness, and smiled again. Suddenly, he swung the sword, and his blood and qi surged, moving in a unique way.

Four clear sword beams shot out, and four more faint ones appeared beside them.

"Good." Chen Zong quickly put down the ordinary iron sword, not bothering to tidy up, and rushed to the training ground with the precious iron sword.

Forging the sword gave him a more intuitive understanding of the sword, which无形中提升了他对剑法的理解。尽管他还有些迷茫，但这不妨碍分光掠影即将突破。

铸造坊内不是练剑的地方，带着那种感觉，陈宗如骏马奔驰，奇快无比，奔向练武场一角，拔剑，抓住那种感觉，立刻修炼起来。

一遍又一遍，四道模糊的剑光，慢慢变得清晰。

十五遍后，一身气血耗尽，陈宗不得不恢复起来，恢复之后，继续练剑。

反反复复，仿佛不知道疲倦似的，直到太阳西下夜幕降临，明月，悄然升空。

“分光掠影！”

再次一剑劈杀而出，八道清晰的剑光往前斩杀而去，仔细分辨，其中四道无比清晰璀璨，另外四道则相对黯淡。

“分光掠影，终于修炼到大成之境了。”陈宗呼出一口气，一身汗水，肚子更是饿得咕咕直叫，连忙取出一粒精力丸服下，再前往膳堂。

“大成之境的分光掠影，施展一次竟然消耗我五分之一的气血之力，若是达到大成巅峰的话，只怕会更多。”

虽然气血之力的消耗增加了，但大成之境的分光掠影，威力的确要胜过小成巅峰许多。

练剑、铸剑、修炼功法。

陈宗每一天都可以感觉到自己的进步。

只是，真秘之境，依然毫无头绪，而真剑八式，依然处于圆满巅峰，不曾突破。

真武历395年12月28日。

又到了一年末，风武城位于东陆东部，四季变化没有那么强烈，但如此寒冬，寒风吹袭，依然冷意袭人。

练武场一角，陈宗出剑，犀利剑光刺眼，撕裂寒风，一分为八，冲杀而去。

再一剑，八道剑光前后排列，依次斩杀向同一处，仿佛将空间给切开似的，留下一道清晰剑痕，好几个呼吸才消失。

将一身气血之力耗尽，陈宗便修炼烈虎功。

气血如虎，运转之间猛力冲击，一股强大的无畏气势在体内聚集，气血之力也加速恢复。

当气血之力完全恢复时，陈宗也感觉身躯内部震动，仿佛有虎吼声响彻山林，咆哮惊世，气血之力，更是随之剧烈震荡起来。

“这是……”待到气血之力平复下来之后，陈宗仔细的感受一番，顿时露出满脸欣喜：“烈虎功第一重练成了？”

烈虎功为人级中品功法，分三重，将第一重练成，便能一路修炼到气血境七层，练成第二重，便可以一路修炼到气血境八层，练成第三重，则可以一路修炼到气血境九层。

只是，功法的修炼难度往往比同级武学更高，族堂当中许多子弟，至今也还没有将第一重练成，更别说第二重，至于整个陈家之中，能将烈虎功三重全部练成者，也只是少数部分。

功法的修炼级别越高，不仅代表所能够达到的修为上限越高，也代表修炼速度的提升和气血之力恢复速度的提升。

“烈虎功第二重的兑换，需要五百贡献点，如今我已经超出。”

暗道一声，陈宗立刻动身，往藏武楼而去。

“藏武楼第二层第三层的功法武学，只有名字和简介，并无详细内容，你若选择好，再来告诉我。”藏武楼管理员对陈宗说道。

这种做法，便是为了防止有人进入藏武楼第二层第三层之后，凭着一些手段记录更多的武学。

“我选择烈虎功第二重。”陈宗说道。

既然如此规定，此时，便没有必要进入第二层了。

“陈宗，扣除五百贡献点。”接着，管理员取出一本绢册递给陈宗：“这是烈虎功第二重，十日内，必须交还。”

烈虎功第二重比第一重更深奥了不少，但以第一重为基础，只是在气血的运行上做出了一些添加和改变，使其更有效率。

但如果直接修炼第二重的话，难度会更大，因为缺少第一重作为基础。

陈宗很快就将第二重的运行方式取代第一重，立刻就感觉到，消耗之后的气血恢复速度更快了，差不多是五成，也就是说，继续修炼，也把握到，和第一重相比，第二重的修炼速度，也提升了五成。

也就是说，人级中品的烈虎功第二重在修炼速度和恢复速度上，足以媲美人级上品功法的第一重。

再者，陈宗也能感觉到，以烈虎功第二重催动气血之力，气血如虎，其气势比第一重更胜过几分。

“我的修为，距离气血境五层也不远了，有了第二重，修炼速度加快，或许，两个月内，便能够达到第五层。”陈宗暗道，更有动力。

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(Translation continues from the previous text)

"Understanding the sword through forging, how does one do that?"

Clearly, forging a sword and practicing with a sword are two different things. What is the connection between them?

Chen Zong didn't know yet, but he would find the answer.

Ten days passed, and Chen Zong forged a sword every day, but each attempt was unsatisfactory.

Pouring the iron water into the mold, taking it out, hammering, and quenching.

A hissing sound filled the air as steam rose. After the quenching was complete, Chen Zong took the sword out and examined it closely.

The blade was straight, uniform, and smooth, slightly better than the first ordinary iron sword he had forged.

"Finally, I succeeded." Chen Zong wiped the sweat from his face and smiled genuinely.

Forging the sword gave Chen Zong a deeper understanding of the sword, as every step of its formation was under his control.

"Next, I need to sharpen it."

Sharpening involves grinding the blade to make it sharp, turning it into a real sword rather than a decorative item.

Sharpening also requires skill; random grinding would ruin the sword.

After sharpening, Chen Zong lightly touched the blade, feeling its sharpness, and smiled again. Suddenly, he swung the sword, and his blood and qi surged, moving in a unique way.

Four clear sword beams shot out, and four more faint ones appeared beside them.

"Good." Chen Zong quickly put down the ordinary iron sword, not bothering to tidy up, and rushed to the training ground with the precious iron sword.

Forging the sword gave him a more intuitive understanding of the sword, which无形中提升了他对剑法的理解。尽管他还有些迷茫，但这不妨碍分光掠影即将突破。

The casting room is not a place for sword practice. With that feeling, Chen Zong galloped like a horse, incredibly fast, to a corner of the training ground, drew his sword, grasped that feeling, and immediately began to practice.

Again and again, the four faint sword beams slowly became clearer.

After fifteen rounds, his blood and qi were completely drained, and Chen Zong had to rest. After recovering, he continued to practice.

Over and over, as if he didn't know fatigue, until the sun set and night fell, the moon quietly rose.

"Divide and Conquer!"

He swung his sword again, and eight clear sword beams shot forward. Upon closer inspection, four of them were extremely clear and brilliant, while the other four were relatively dim.

"Divide and Conquer, finally reached the Great Success stage." Chen Zong exhaled, drenched in sweat, and his stomach growled with hunger. He quickly took an energy pill and headed to the dining hall.

"Great Success stage of Divide and Conquer, one use consumes one-fifth of my blood and qi. If it reaches the peak of Great Success, it will likely consume even more."

Although the consumption of blood and qi increased, the Great Success stage of Divide and Conquer was indeed much more powerful than the peak of the Lesser Success stage.

Practicing sword techniques, forging swords, and cultivating martial arts.

Chen Zong could feel his progress every day.

However, the True Secret Realm was still a mystery, and the True Sword Eight Stances were still at the peak of perfection, without any breakthrough.

On December 28, 395 True Martial Era.

It was the end of the year. Fengwu City, located in the eastern part of Donglu, had less intense seasonal changes, but the cold winter wind still brought a chill.

In a corner of the training ground, Chen Zong drew his sword, and a sharp, blinding sword beam tore through the cold wind, splitting into eight and charging forward.

Another swing, and the eight sword beams lined up, cutting through the same spot one after another, as if slicing through space, leaving a clear sword mark that disappeared after several breaths.

Exhausting his blood and qi, Chen Zong then practiced the Fierce Tiger Technique.

His blood and qi surged like a tiger, forcefully impacting as they circulated, gathering a powerful, fearless aura within his body, and his blood and qi recovered faster.

When his blood and qi were fully restored, Chen Zong felt a vibration inside his body, as if a tiger's roar echoed through the mountains, roaring to the world, and his blood and qi vibrated intensely.

"This is..." After his blood and qi calmed down, Chen Zong carefully felt it and immediately showed a joyful expression: "I have completed the first level of the Fierce Tiger Technique?"

The Fierce Tiger Technique is a mid-grade human-level technique divided into three levels. Completing the first level allows one to cultivate up to the seventh level of the Blood and Qi Realm. Completing the second level allows one to cultivate up to the eighth level of the Blood and Qi Realm. Completing the third level allows one to cultivate up to the ninth level of the Blood and Qi Realm.

However, the difficulty of cultivating techniques is often higher than that of martial arts of the same level. Many disciples in the clan hall have yet to complete the first level, let alone the second level. In the entire Chen family, only a few have completed all three levels of the Fierce Tiger Technique.

The higher the level of the technique, the higher the cultivation limit it can reach, and the faster the cultivation speed and the recovery speed of blood and qi.

"The exchange for the second level of the Fierce Tiger Technique requires 500 contribution points, which I now exceed."

Thinking this, Chen Zong immediately set off for the Martial Arts Hall.

"The second and third floors of the Martial Arts Hall only have the names and brief introductions of the techniques and martial arts, without detailed content. If you choose one, come back and tell me," the Martial Arts Hall administrator said to Chen Zong.

This is to prevent people from entering the second and third floors of the Martial Arts Hall and recording more martial arts using some methods.

"I choose the second level of the Fierce Tiger Technique," Chen Zong said.

Since this is the rule, there is no need to enter the second floor at this time.

"Chen Zong, deduct 500 contribution points." Then, the administrator took out a silk book and handed it to Chen Zong: "This is the second level of the Fierce Tiger Technique. You must return it within ten days."

The second level of the Fierce Tiger Technique is much more profound than the first level but is based on the first level. It only adds and modifies the circulation of blood and qi, making it more efficient.

However, if one directly cultivates the second level, it will be more difficult due to the lack of the first level as a foundation.

Chen Zong quickly replaced the first level with the second level and immediately felt that the recovery speed of blood and qi after consumption was faster, about 50%. This means that with continued cultivation, the speed of cultivating the second level is 50% faster than the first level.

In other words, the second level of the mid-grade human-level Fierce Tiger Technique, in terms of cultivation speed and recovery speed, is comparable to the first level of a high-grade human-level technique.

Furthermore, Chen Zong could feel that using the second level of the Fierce Tiger Technique to circulate blood and qi, the aura was even more powerful than the first level.

"My cultivation is not far from the fifth level of the Blood and Qi Realm. With the second level, the cultivation speed is faster, and perhaps within two months, I can reach the fifth level." Chen Zong thought, feeling more motivated.

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