Chapter 206 - Sword Forging Commission

Upon entering the hold of the boat, Lu Mingshu was surprised. It was a completely different world.

It seemed to be a small boat on the outside, but there was about sixty feet of space in the hold of the boat. There was a corridor in the middle, and the sides were separated into different rooms. There was a cabin, a kitchen, bedrooms, and a cargo hold. There was everything a boat needed.

“This boat….”

The girl looked at Lu Mingshu with pride. “My ancestors passed this down. Back then, he got more than ten shipbuilders, rune carvers, and even weapon makers to make it. Our boat may not be the best in the world, but it’s one of the best on the Ming River.

Seeing the faintly shining pattern in the hold, she couldn’t help but think about how much it was worth. This boat can be considered a spiritual tool, right? It should be able to withstand a degree of wind and waves. This boat is quite worth the rent.

“Let’s go!” The boatman shouted. Slowly, he steered the boat to the middle of the river.

The old ferry crossing slowly got further away, and everything that once happened was left back there.

…

In a flash, five or six days passed. The boat slowly left the area where they picked Lu Mingshu up.

Torrential waves came at them steadily. In the vast waters, the cool breeze along with water vapor landed on their faces. Waterfowl hovered around the sky, chirping.

The boatman hung up the sail. When there was wind, the boat moved along with it.

Lu Mingshu stood at the bow of the boat and asked softly. “This is the Ming River? It’s as vast as a sea.”

Laughter could be heard, and the girl, Ah Ling, sat on the canopy. “Miss, we haven’t even reached the Ming River yet. This is just a tributary.”

“Just a tributary?” Lu Mingshu looked at her in amazement.

“Yeah! The Ming River’s water isn’t this peaceful.”

After the past few days, they got to know each other well. This was the boat of the Ding Family, and people addressed the boatman as Captain Ding. He had a pair of grandchildren; the guy was known as Ah Lang and the girl was known as Ah Ling.

Like most Jianghu people on the Ming River, they didn’t have a good family background, and they didn’t have good resources or support either, so they couldn’t get into a sect. They lived freely and true to themselves on the Ming River.

The Ding Family didn’t have high cultivations. Captain Ding barely made it into the Harmonization Realm, and he had only learned a few important skills, so it was almost impossible for him to become any better. Ah Ling and Ah Lang were okay; they were already in the Harmonization Realm. However, compared to sect disciples, it was considered bad to only reach the Harmonization Realm at the age of fifteen.

When they learned Lu Mingshu was from a sect, the Ding Family looked up to her.

“Beiming is mainly made up of three mountains and nine states. The three mountains are Tianzhu Mountain, the Jasper Sun Mountain, and the North Pole Mountain. Tianzhu Mountain is where the Ancient Jade Summit is located; the resources there are the most abundant, and it’s the safest mountain. The Jasper Sun Mountain is closed since it’s said to have many ferocious beasts living there. For the North Pole Mountain, it’s just a plain mountain. After you pass the North Pole Mountain, it’s no longer in Beiming’s scope. As for the nine states…”

Ah Ling’s melodious voice rang across the river.

After she finished, she turned to Lu Mingshu. “Miss Lu, are you here to travel?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, you guys are really lucky. You can travel all around.”

“Aren’t you travelling every day on the Ming River?” Lu Mingshu replied.

“Nah, it’s different.” Ah Ling pouted. “We have to constantly make a living, so we don’t have the mood to travel about.”

“Oh? Mood to travel?”

“The mood to enjoy the sceneries and have one’s heart fulfilled.”

Lu Mingshu smiled. “We have very strong competition as disciples. So what if we can travel around? Who would ever have the mood to just travel?”

For example, during the days she spent on the boat so far, she needed to polish her mystic force, nourish her spiritual tool and the Mystic Dewdrops, and read a huge volume of ancient records in the Heavenly Wheel.

After sitting outside for a while, she went back to the hold and entered the Heavenly Wheel.

A leaf on the tree was especially eye-catching, and Lu Mingshu reached out for it.

The leaf rapidly passed her a message for her before turning into rays of light and dispersing.

After receiving the message, Lu Mingshu was pleasantly surprised. Someone had taken up the request that she placed to make the sword.

“Brother, did you take up the request?”

“Yes.” The other party answered, and it was a female’s voice.

There weren’t many females who were tool refining masters.

“Miss,” she corrected herself, “I’ve already stated my request clearly; the materials are hard to come by. I hope that you can prove you’re good enough to forge this sword.”

The other party said no more and sent her a video. “This is a video of me forging a sword. You can also ask for a spiritual tool, and I’ll make one right now and record it for you.”

Lu Mingshu attentively looked at the video that the other party sent over. She was indeed a skilled tool refining master. Lu Mingshu thought for a while before replying. ”It’s okay. Since you’re confident, can you explain how you will forge the sword?”

“No problem.” The other party told her some plans. “I have three plans here. There are three types – first, second, and third class. Take your time to consider which you prefer. Please take note that if you choose first class, the cost will increase, and the few Golden Crystal Extracts that you have won’t be enough.”

Lu Mingshu opened the plans up, and the contents surprised her. The other party’s plans were well-written and perfect, other than the fact that she didn’t put in the details about the actual method of forging. The pros and cons, what to take note of, and even examples were included.

Such a perfectionist.

“Miss, your plan is very detailed, I’m afraid I’ll need more time to understand it.”

“Give me an answer tomorrow then,” the other party replied. “You can ask me if you do not understand anything.”

“Okay.”

For three days, Lu Mingshu spent her time in the Heavenly Wheel studying the plans.

Lu Mingshu could tell that the tool refining master had put in a lot of effort into the plans. She had considered the materials needed, cost, and the quality-to-price ratio.

In the plan for the third-class sword, the tool refining master would prepare the supplementary materials. The main material was the Golden Crystal Extract.

For the second-class plan, more materials would be needed. A few supplementary materials would be used to improve the Golden Crystal Extract’s attributes.

As for the first-class plan, the Golden Crystal Extracts would only be considered supplementary materials, and something else would be the main material. The tool refining master mentioned in her plan that the Golden Crystal Extract was very good in conducting mystic force, so it was the best option to bind with the main material. It was light, stable, and firm. It only needed to be refined a bit more before it could be used. The main thing was that the forged sword could be upgraded! The tool refining master said that this plan used the method of cultivating a sword; when it was at a higher cultivation, new ingredients could be added to improve its quality.

Of course, it came with an obvious disadvantage; how much would it cost if the Golden Crystal Extracts were only a supplementary material?

This plan was particularly detailed. It could be seen that she wished for Lu Mingshu to choose this plan. Obviously, which tool refining master would not want their client to choose the best? It’s best for her craftsmanship too.

Looking at the first-class plan, Lu Mingshu just couldn’t pick the other two plans. Compared to the first-class sword, the other two were too simple and crude!

Unable to convince herself, she sighed and calculated the amount of money she had.

There was a hundred Mystic Crystals that State Master Jiayan lost to her, as well as the prize for getting first place on the New Generation Ranking. Adding everything up, it was barely enough, leaving nothing for her own cultivation.

It was the agreed-upon time now, and the Heavenly Wheel sent a message. “Has Miss decided?”

Lu Mingshu glanced at the plan and her purse, then stopped struggling. “I’ll take the first-class sword.”

The other party didn’t seem surprised; she immediately sent a list over. “This is the exact amount for each material. Contact me when you collect it all.”

Lu Mingshu’s heart felt pain as she read the list. All my money!

“As for the reward you give me, that will be the Golden Crystal Extract. If I cast the sword my way, I’ll have some left over, and for all tool refining masters, the leftover materials will be kept. However, what you should know is that, the more leftover materials, the finer the method is, and the better the quality of the sword.”

“As long as the sword is good enough, that’s not a problem.”