Born in Blood

Chapter 512 Journey

Liam furrowed his brows in confusion. “That makes no sense.”

“Aye.” “You just provide the material, and your hands do the rest?”

“Aye. Something like that.”

“Show me.”

Kamjin scoffed with pride. He took out a piece of vicirum metal, then took out his hammer. “This is going to take me out of commission for at least one or two years… but whatever,” Kamjin said with a slow sigh. “A short price to pay for the hospitality.”

Liam didn’t understand what the man meant by that. But it was the first time Liam laid eyes on the Iron Hammer’s iron hammer. It looked… fairly normal. It was like any other tool… albeit heavily stained by black marks. However, looks could be deceiving. Liam used Spirit Sight, and a profound, ghostly silver energy radiated from it.

Liam didn’t know what exactly it was… but it gave him a strange feeling.

A moment later, Kamjin started striking the ingot of vicirum metal. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

With each clang, white sparks flew wild, and a soft ripple of silver light spread across the ingot.

However, despite the force and grit that Kamjin struck the ingot with… it wasn’t flattening. In fact, it was morphing into a different shape!

Liam furrowed his brows. The silver energy that radiated from the hammer connected to Kamjin’s fingers, then seeped into his hands. A moment later, the silver energy connected to the vicirum!

Liam’s eyes widened.

So that’s what it was.

The hammer was basically an extension of Kamjin’s body, similar to how Liam’s swords were an extension of his hands. But Liam had techniques from Eternal Sword. A Celestial cultivator. Kamjin was just Rank 5. ‘The amount of times he probably used that hammer might be uncountable,’ Liam thought. ‘Are Paths really that vast? Three total hours passed as Kamjin struck the hammer the same way he always did, but in different spots. However, it really was as though Kamjin’s hands moved on their own!

Soon, the ingot of black metal had transformed from an uneven, unrefined form to a crisp, sleek longsword. Two, peerlessly sharp edges adorned it, which made the hair on Liam’s skin stand to no end.

It was also incredibly thin. Just a fingertip could cover its width, and towards its tip, it was a hair’s breadth.

But it had the length of two adult arms stacked atop one another.

It lacked exaggeration and style… but Kamjin didn’t seem like the type of blacksmith to beautify his weapons. Not only did Kamjin shape, purify and fortify the sword meticulously, he had also imbued it with Meanings! All at once!

However, the Iron Hammer looked exhausted. Sweat trickled from his forehead in large drops. He also took in ragged, uneven breaths. The silver energy in his hands and hammer slowly dissipated, too.

…But the end product was a Rank 5 sword! The sword almost looked like it breathed, pulsing like a metallic vein of some kind. It was in the initial stage, sure. But the easiness and simplicity that Kamjin forged it with was breathtaking. It reminded Liam of Rogan.

In fact, there were quite a few resemblances between the two blacksmiths. “What drawbacks does this have?” Liam asked Kamjin, who took a seat on the floor and clutched his chest, storing his hammer. “Ah. It’s not gentle, I see.” “You think, genius?” Kamjin sighed with a raspy voice, then laid down and slowly closed his eyes. “Torture… it is… ah… I hate this part.” As soon as he spoke those words, Kamjin laid his head on the ground and fell unconscious, snoring like a pig deep in sleep. So that’s what he meant by ‘out of commission’. And for one to two years?! For just one weapon?! Using Spirit Sight, Liam saw how some of the silver energy in his hands and hammer were slowly coming back.

Except, it wasn’t even a fraction of itself. Like droplets that stuck to a large bottle after its depletion.

In hindsight, making a Rank 5 weapon so fast and with such minimal effort did seem like it was fitting for a harsh drawback. ‘Maybe he could heal himself faster if he takes some drugs.’ Then, Liam glanced at the sword.

He felt like the sword was calling out to him. Begging him to embrace it. Swing it. Kill with it.

Liam himself felt a morbid lust towards it. His fingers itched just to feel its cold edge on his skin. Liam reached out for it.

And stopped himself just as fast.

Then, he reeled back his hand and took a deep breath.

“I’ll make my own,” Liam said with a quiet voice. It wasn’t really befitting for Liam to forsake his Black Blade after he had spent so long forging and improving it.

In fact, the Black Blade had more than enough potential to become a Rank 5 item sooner or later, so long as Liam constantly improved it. Ever since Liam learned that hardship would be beneficial for his Path, he’d rather choose a long, thorny road than a short, clear one. That included not taking a Rank 5 longsword made by a master blacksmith.

Someone else could have it.

Liam’s eyes grew cold and distant. “I’ll forge my Path to the cosmos alone. Even if I have to split moons to get there.” In fact… it was time for Liam to take a vacation and leave the Temple of Shadow. At least, for a while. A Path usually begins with a journey of some kind, either seeking out beneficial locations or challenging greater opponents. Kerian herself told him so. And Liam had the perfect place to venture to. Sure, he had just gotten a Rank 4 core. A lot of his darkness spells and techniques were behind. 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Plus, Liam was lacking a Rank 5 body tempering method. And a Rank 5 cultivation technique. Primordial Forging was also lacking, and as a consequence, so were his three swords.

But he could worry about those on the road. Right now, the Path took precedence.

First, he had to prepare the Temple of Shadow for his absence.

𝑖𝘦𝑎.𝗇t