Back in the times when I crafted my windslord, I was mistaken in thinking that I could force the impurities out of my craft with just hammering them down. This time, I simply ignored all the flaws in the blades and s.h.i.+fted them between forge, anvil and back to the forge for as long as it took me to properly shape them into slightly different forms.
If I were to auction seven blades looking exactly the same, everyone would quickly understand that the craftsmen that I got them from was able to create such weapons mechanically and repet.i.tively. By adding them a little uniqueness, I would be able to cheat are the potential customers that they were actually a one of a kind works!
Looking around the smithy, it took me a while to realise that there wasn"t any handle prepared for me already! I guess Venna though that I would be able to create one by myself. Well, I can"t fault her for it, but that means that I won"t be able to finish a single weapon before stocking on the wood and other miscellaneous wares required to make one.
Putting all of the finished trashy blades back into my storage ring, I reached for the first form with containing the mixed metal. This time, I didn"t work on them simultaneously but paid a great amount of attention to every single detail and flaw. Their quality was already limited by their average materials, so I had to at least do my fair bit of work by making them as great trashes as I could!
Ten minutes later, I threw all ten of the blades in my storage ring. Without any window, I was unable to gauge the time by the position of the sun on the sky, so I had to go out of my way and actually leave the building.
While it sounds like nothing much, it actually required me to make sure that I closed all the doors properly so that there wouldn"t be even a fraction of the second when someone could see the real interior by just pa.s.sing by!
This was one of the few requirements that was written on the paper note that I received back in the auction house. I guess this place was one of those hidden investments by Venna"s faction, so giving any clue about it would definitely sour our relations before they even managed to stabilize properly!
As soon as I finally emerged back to the open area, I realised how immersed I was in my work. Just by a single look, I realised that I had to drop everything and run back to the hotel to not make my beloved wait!
Sparing only enough of time to make sure I sealed the doors back with a special paper note that was included in the content of the envelope back at Bakari"s, I ran all the way back to the main street and to the hotel. Thankfully, Eve was nowhere to be seen when I arrived, giving me a chance to actually catch a breath.
The second I stopped frantically inhaling the air as if I was dying, my beloved one emerged from behind the corner with a rather wry smile.
"Something happened?"
This kind of att.i.tude wasn"t something that I know her from. If she was happy, she would smile. If she was l.u.s.tfull, she would look at me like a predator would on its prey after weeks of starving. If she was angry, she would look the happie… okay, forget that.
"I don"t want to make any judgements, but after I saw a few fights between cultivators on our level… They were weak! Far too weak!"
Oh? I"m sure that she realises that everyone will do their best to appear as weak as possible to not reveal their hand immaturely, but considering how half of the duels ended in someone"s loss… It would be strange if they didn"t give their best at the end to secure this first win!
"Are you sure they weren"t just pretending?"
Since this is our first time in this tournament, we have no way to understand real, hidden rules of how it works. Taking the ma.s.sive bets that were placed even before the grand opening, it was obvious that some shady deals were set under the tables, but if there wasn"t even a single remarkable fighter on the arena through almost a half of the day, wouldn"t that mean that we were simply too powerful?
I know that we were able to face off against enriching essence cultivators, but it was far from a comfortable fight. If not for our specific cultivation and Bonger on my side, I"m sure that we would be dead instead of walking leisurely through the streets while looking for some interesting food vendor!
"I know that it"s better to say low profile for as long as possible, but even when some of the people suddenly burst with strength in the crucial moment of the fight… Their movements were slow, the strength of their attacks was weak, their special techniques… were lacking! It"s as if they didn"t know how to cultivate properly!"
Ah, so that"s the reason. I didn"t forget that everyone seemed to have the misconception that cultivation means going against the will of the heavens. If someone sticks to this ideology, it"s no wonder that every single of their moves would be simply forced against the will of the world, making it far weaker than it could turn out to be if it was executed according to the real cultivation!
"Well, that only works in our favour, but I wouldn"t take it for granted. I think that it would be best if you used enough of your strength to swiftly overcome your enemies in the first few fights while relying on the sword in the latter ones. This way, everyone will be forced to acknowledge your real strength, while keeping the aspect of promoting our scheme!"
I can"t allow her to only rely on the sword to win in her fights. Doing so would only make her clan more eager to somehow s.n.a.t.c.h it away from her while disregarding her personal strength and looking down on her. Only by making those d.a.m.n Katenaris acknowledge her real prowess I will be able to secure her safety!