After being away from the capital for a long time, Wang Chong suddenly felt that there was something foreign about it. The atmosphere of the capital had turned a little bizarre. To describe it, it seemed like it had turned slightly ‘poetic’.
Even though there were people who recited poems here and there in the past, the art had never attained such a level of popularity before.
“Does gongzi not know? A poem praising Consort Taizhen to be the world’s number one beauty has leaked from the royal palace, and the poem is said to be extremely beautiful. Gongzi, do you see those plaques? Places like ‘Springwind Pavilion’, ‘Jade Pavilion’, ‘Fairy Pavilion’, and ‘Beauty Pavilion’ have been sprouting up all around the capital, as though bamboo shoots after a rain.”
“Most of them are old pavilions who have changed their name to go along with the trend. In fact, some of them even hung the poem at their entrance, using it as a couplet for their door!”
Amidst the raging crowd, a guard of the Wang Family Residence explained excitedly.
Wang Chong hadn’t paid much attention to his surroundings upon entering the capital. Upon hearing his words, he took a closer look and saw an extremely familiar sight.
On the left: Clouds, one thinks of her clothes; flowers, one thinks of her countenance.
On the right: The spring wind sweeps dew from her balustrade, splendid and dense.
And in the center: Springwind Pavilion.
Another different couplet was hung on the pavilion at the direct opposite of the Springwind Pavilion.
On the left: If not seen at the peak of the Jade Mountain.
On the right: Then she will be encountered under the moon on the gemstone terrace.
And in the center: Beauty Pavilion.
Huge plaques like this were hung before the entrances of the taverns and teahouses.
“Beauty wine! Beauty wine! Heroes deserve to drink the wine of a beauty! …”
“Fairy tea! Come, come, come. Have a cup to revitalize yourself!”
…
Shoutings could be heard from the taverns and teahouses from the both sides of the street.
Hearing those shoutings, Wang Chong’s expression suddenly turned extremely bizarre.
Not many people knew that he had helped King Song on the Consort Taizhen incident, as well as the poem that he wrote.
At the very least, the Wang Clan didn’t know of it.
He was completely caught off guard by the sudden change in the capital. At this moment, he had no idea how he should react to the sight before him. But soon, Wang Chong caught the scent of something.
“It’s impossible for ordinary folks to know about the happenings in the palace. Most probably, it’s that person from the Yuzhen Palace who leaked the news out. At the very least, it’s done under her approval.”
Wang Chong thought.
While cultivating at the spirit vein for more than a month, he didn’t pay much attention to the affairs in the royal court. However, the fact that Consort Taizhen was willing to propagate this poem meant that she had accepted their goodwill.
In the other words, even though King Song and Consort Taizhen couldn’t be considered to be friends yet, under Wang Chong’s hard work, the impact of the Consort Taizhen incident had been reduced to the bare minimum.
This gesture of hers most probably meant that she didn’t intend to pursue King Song for the Consort Taizhen incident. At the same time, the fact that one could hear these ‘palace news’ in the market meant that the ‘Consort Taizhen incident’ storm had started to die down in the royal court.
If nothing goes wrong, this matter could be considered to be over.
“This Song of Purity and Peace sure is formidable!”
With a light smile, Wang Chong continued walking toward the Wang Family Residence.
…
Upon returning back to the residence, Wang Chong went straight to look for Tuoba Guiyuan first.
“Gongzi, I’m already done forging the saber you wanted!”
In Wang Chong’s room, with deep and complex emotions rippling in his eyes, Tuoba Guiyuan stared at the seven chi long slender-blade thick-blunt saber he held with both of his hands. It seemed like he had spent a great deal of effort forging it during this period of time.
(233.3cm)
“Heavy!”
Grabbing over the saber, the first thing Wang Chong noticed was its weight. If one didn’t possess exceptional strength, it would be impossible for one to maneuver it around.
At the least, it was impossible for anyone beneath Origin Energy Tier 7 to wield this saber.
“Indeed, there’s a huge difference when an additional jun of Hyderabad ore is added into it!”
(a jun -> 12.5 to 13kg)
Wang Chong thought.
Tuoba Guiyuan had forged this slender-blade thick-blunt Wootz steel saber according to the blueprint Wang Chong drew. In fact, he even went on to refine several aspects of it.
Just from the color, brightness, balance, and sensation of the blade itself, Wang Chong could sense that the quality of this sword was far beyond the four Wootz steel sword he had crafted previously.
“As expected of the number one swordsmith in the future!”
Wang Chong complimented the other party in his mind.
The previous four Wootz steel swords were crafted by the professional blacksmiths of the Wei Residence with Little Sister Wang Xiao Yao contributing her strength to it.
However, this ‘collaboration’ was still insufficient to match up to the skills of the future number one swordsmith, Tuoba Guiyuan. Tuoba Guiyuan pursued perfection in every aspect of his work, even for the seemingly minor and insignificant details.
“Not bad! You’ve worked hard!”
Facing Tuoba Guiyuan, Wang Chong nodded.
“As long as gongzi is satisfied.”
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Tuoba Guiyuan spoke with utmost respect. Wang Chong saw the world’s number one swordsmith in Tuoba Guiyuan, but Tuoba Guiyuan felt that Wang Chong was the real number one blacksmith in the world.
Despite having immersed himself in the forging of weapons for so many years, he had never seen anyone crafting or designing a weapon of such a level. After it was completed, Tuoba Guiyuan had given it a try, and he realized that its hack and slash were exceptionally powerful, far surpassing the other weapons Tuoba Guiyuan had seen before.
Furthermore, it felt extremely comfortable to use, making one reluctant to put it down once they had picked it up.
For those who had immersed themselves in the path of the saber, this weapon possessed fatal attraction!
“You should rest now, leave the rest to me!”
“Yes, gongzi!”
Tuoba Guiyuan bowed and left.
‘The tougher an object is, the more brittle it is’. This is a fundamental rule of the universe. Wang Chong was done with the primary forging, but this saber had yet to reach the level which Wang Chong visioned.
The next two processes, quenching and tempering, would be the most important procedures to bringing this saber to perfection. Without these two steps, it wouldn’t be long before this seven chi slender-blade thick-blunt saber broke while facing the weapons of powerful experts.
Quenching and tempering could improve the flexibility of the weapon significantly, thus solving the problem of its brittleness from its length.
If not, given how easily it would break, the saber would actually be impractical.
Placing the saber in his room, Wang Chong washed up, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and went to greet his mother.
“Mother!”
Wang Chong bowed to his mother respectfully.
“I apologize for making you worry in the past few days!”
In Wang Chong’s mind, his mother was always placed at the top.
“Hehe, it’s good that you’re back.”
Sitting on a dark-colored wooden armchair, she was visibly gladdened to see Wang Chong. She casually pointed to the seat beside her and said:
“Sit down.”
Wang Chong walked over and sat down on the chair. At the same time, curiosity suddenly sprouted in his mind. He had received word from his mother to return when he was at the spirit vein in the mountains. Usually, if it wasn’t something important, his mother wouldn’t call for him.
“Chong-er, the reason why I called you back is because I have something to discuss with you.”
Madam Wang’s expression was extremely gentle. Wang Chong may be young, but he rarely made her worry nowadays. This was unimaginable for her in the past.
“Chong-er, do you remember saying that you want to enter Kunwu Training Camp in the past?”
Weng!
Wang Chong’s heart suddenly jolted. He abruptly lifted his head to look at Madam Wang with a grave expression. He had thought about the various possible matters that his mother would want to talk to him about, but he didn’t think that it would be this.
“Mother, there is news regarding the Kunwu Training Camp?”
Wang Chong asked with a concerned expression. Even though the ‘Consort Taizhen incident’ and ‘regional commanders policy’ were huge matters, they were more of matters of the royal court than Wang Chong’s problems. Rather, it was the Three Great Training Camps that had a direct influence on Wang Chong’s future.
In his previous life, due to Wang Chong’s failure to enter the Three Great Training Camps, he had to walk many roundabouts before he managed to win the favor of those elders with his aptitude in military stratagems to become the Grand Marshal of the Central Plains. However, by then, it was already too late.
Everything had already been decided!
‘Only those who help themselves will be helped by the heavens’. One had to grasp one’s destiny in one’s own hands! Thus, while Wang Chong was interfering with the matters of the royal court, he had been paying attention to the matter of the Three Great Training Camps as well.
The Three Great Training Camps formed an important ring in Wang Chong’s plans.
Madam Wang didn’t know what Wang Chong was thinking, but she knew how strongly he desired to enter the Three Great Training Camps.
“The matter regarding the Three Great Training Camps has already been decided, and currently, they’re in the midst of building three large-scale training grounds. There are limited placings for the first batch, and currently, most of the prestigious clans are pulling all of their connections in hopes of getting a placing in the training camps for their own children.”
“I remember you mentioning about your desire to enter Kunwu Training Camp, so I called you over.”
Madan Wang said.
“How could this be?”
Hearing his mother’s words, Wang Chong’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He was slightly surprised. While the slots for the Three Great Training Camps were tight in his previous life, it didn’t reach such a level back then.
When the Three Great Training Camps were first established, there wasn’t much attention on it. It only came to the spotlight when the prestigious clans started to pursue the slots right after the first batch.
If his mother’s description was accurate, this meant that the attention on the Three Great Training Camps was much greater than how he remembered it to be in his previous life.
“For the matter regarding the slots, you need not worry. Two days ago, your big uncle delivered a message saying that King Song has reserved two slots for you. However, I heard that the training camp is endorsed by the Sage Emperor, and no one is allowed to lay their hands or pull any connections in it. To enter the training camp, one has to pass an examination. As such, the slot King Song reserved for you isn’t entirely guaranteed. Thus, I prepared a teacher for you!”
“King Song, King Song… Wait, mother, what did you just say? Teacher? What teacher? You want to find a teacher for me?”
Wang Chong was taken aback. The former part of her words still alright, but it abruptly twisted at the very end. How did the topic dive from Kunwu Training Camp to getting a teacher for him?
“Indeed!”
Thinking that Wang Chong was embarrassed, Madam Wang didn’t think too much into it.
“There are many powerful clans in the capital, and the competition over the slots is intense. Based on what I’ve heard, the madams in the capital, out of worry, are going around utilizing all of the connections they have, some even going to the extent of visiting the palace to plead with the consorts.”
“Given the intense competition, I contemplated for a very long time before concluding that it is best that I get a teacher for you! This is also the main reason why I got you to return. Only with a good teacher can you enter the training camp without any issues. Otherwise, if they were to cut you down, given our Wang Clan’s reputation as a clan of generals, it will be embarrassing.”
Madam Wang said worriedly.
“!!!”
Wang Chong stared at his own mother in shock, unable to utter a single word. In the end, the matter regarding Kunwu Training Camp was just a cover. She just wanted to find a teacher for him!