"Where did you learn your sword forging techniques?"
"From books..." Xiaoyao gave a response that made Princess Wen Ya somewhat frustrated.
"What kinds of books?"
"I forgot…”
“Why would you forget?"
"There were so many books, how could I remember what they were called..."
Princess Wen Ya fell silent and prepared to change the topic, trying to probe Xiaoyao from other angles.
"Have you ever forged any swords? Do you have any works you're proud of?"
"I'm proud of all the swords I've forged..."
"Such as?"
"Such as, such as I forged an Eight-Sided Han Sword that's incredibly sturdy. Even your Peerless Sword would have trouble cutting through it."
...
...
"Impossible! You only say that because you haven't seen the power of the Peerless Sword. There's no sword in the world that can withstand the Peerless Sword," Princess Wen Ya immediately raised her voice, completely rejecting Xiaoyao's words.
"I haven't seen the Peerless Sword, but I think it's probably about the same," Xiaoyao shook his head indifferently.
"Far from it. Forget it, you'll see the Peerless Sword later. I'm too lazy to argue with you, you can try it yourself then and see," Princess Wen Ya was very displeased with Xiaoyao's dismissive attitude toward the Peerless Sword.
"Oh, then I'll look forward to it," Xiaoyao said with a smile.
"Do you have any swords you've forged with you?"
"No, I don't like wielding weapons. I'm a peace-loving person who doesn't like violence," Xiaoyao shook his head.
You're peace-loving? Then why did you just fight me? Young Master Dong thought to himself. He had actually made it into the final competition, so it seemed he had some ability after all.
"Are you joking?" Princess Wen Ya asked with a smile.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Actually, I'm not very good at sword forging. I'm just good at reading and memorizing books. This is my one good point. I read all kinds of books and know a little about everything, but it's only theoretical. In practice, I don't know much," Xiaoyao said. This statement was half true and half false, even if problems were discovered, no flaws could be found. He could face it calmly.
"Are you still joking?" Princess Wen Ya continued to ask.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask me about other things. When it comes to oral theory, no one can stump me," Xiaoyao was very serious about proving this point, because if he didn't prove it, he would have an excuse for making mistakes in the upcoming competition, he only knew theory, not practice.
Based on Princess Wen Ya's question-setting style, he believed there would definitely be practical components. She might have these people forge weapons according to the topic, or it might be free-form, but it definitely had to catch her eye.
When things were forged, she would definitely be the judge. She held the crucial decision-making power, this was her chosen husband, so if the decision wasn't in her hands, whose would it be in?
And Xiaoyao definitely wouldn't forge anything good, because he didn't want to marry Princess Wen Ya yet. His purpose wasn't the marriage competition, but to disrupt the Greedy Wolf Empire.
Using this as a foundation, when problems arose later, it would make sense!
Under Xiaoyao's explanation, Princess Wen Ya temporarily didn't want to verify his practical abilities. She was more interested in knowing whether Xiaoyao's claim that he "knew a little about everything" was just boasting!
So Princess Wen Ya displayed her erudition, asking about many different subjects. The result left her jaw agape, Xiaoyao could actually answer everything, and his knowledge was more comprehensive and accurate than hers.
At this moment, Princess Wen Ya was even more satisfied with Xiaoyao. This was something Xiaoyao hadn't expected, sometimes things didn't require you to be able to do them, just to understand them.
"I never imagined that not only are you not ignorant, but you're actually very learned and talented..." Princess Wen Ya looked at Xiaoyao with eyes that seemed to glow.
"..." Xiaoyao hadn't expected such a result. He could feel that the more he did, the more wrong it became. He should just keep quiet and not do anything.
After that, no matter what Princess Wen Ya said, Xiaoyao used his universal response -
"Oh..."
After Xiaoyao's dozen or so "ohs," Princess Wen Ya understood his meaning. She stopped continuing to talk with Xiaoyao. Her skin wasn't that thick - if someone didn't want to talk, she wouldn't force them.
Finally, they traveled the rest of the way in silence to their destination.
This was a football field-sized area behind the royal palace, surrounded by high walls with only one gate. Near the gate and walls, and on top of the walls, there were soldiers patrolling. This seemed even more heavily defended than the royal palace.
This was Bai Yue Kingdom's Royal Sword Forging Center. The sword smiths here almost represented the top tier of the entire Bai Yue Kingdom, and also the top tier of the entire continent. Swords forged here generally became objects of competition among warriors across the continent.
In the past, nearly half of the divine weapons on the weapon rankings were produced here. You can imagine how important this place was.
However, divine weapons weren't so easily produced, one every few decades was already very good. But the weapons forged here were still at the forefront of the continent. Although they weren't divine weapons, calling them treasured swords was more than sufficient.
Because of this, this place had become heavily guarded.
After entering, Xiaoyao saw extremely complete sword forging facilities here, and more than one set. Even if hundreds of people forged swords together, there would be no problem, each would have their own tools and space.
After arriving here, Xiaoyao was almost certain that the next competition would begin the practical portion. Perhaps this would also be the final competition.
Regardless, this time Xiaoyao felt he had a chance to sabotage Li Cheng's work. Forging a treasured sword was very difficult, but forging a useless sword was very easy, especially under Xiaoyao's deliberate sabotage.
Next, Princess Wen Ya began announcing this competition. Sure enough, they were entering the practical phase, they were going to start forging swords.
"Now we begin the third competition, which is also the last one. However, this one is much more difficult than the previous ones, and will take much more time. This competition is: you will forge a sword, a great sword, a regular sword, a blunt sword, a broken sword, or a short sword. You will draw lots to determine which of these five types of swords you'll make, then forge it according to requirements."
"The time limit is half a month. You can use any materials here, or purchase your own. Later, if you want to take your sword with you, that's possible, you just need to pay the material costs."
"Of course, you can finish early. This is the final competition, the swords you forge will be your final scores. Just by looking at the swords you forge, I'll know who I should choose."
Actually, this one competition alone could decide everything and could overturn previous scores. Even if your previous scores weren't ideal, if you could forge the best sword this time, you would still be the victor.
Why not come directly here for the competition?
This place could only accommodate so many people. If they didn't eliminate people first, how could they hold the competition.
Furthermore, even if it could accommodate that many people, they couldn't possibly let so many people all forge swords here, they couldn't afford the materials.
"Please come here to draw lots."
"Coming," Xiaoyao was the first to run over and draw lots, without any hesitation.
"One? What does that mean?" When Xiaoyao opened his lot and found the number "one" written inside, he was confused. He had listened to Princess Wen Ya's words, but she had only mentioned five types of swords without saying which sword this number represented.
"One? How coincidentally, you're the first to draw lots and you drew number one. This is really interesting," Princess Wen Ya said, looking at the lot in Xiaoyao's hand.
"Never mind interesting, tell me what this means. Which type of sword does 'one' refer to? I hope it's a short sword, please don't let it be a great sword." Xiaoyao was somewhat praying to the heavens. Obviously, among these types of swords, difficulty was determined by size, the smaller, the simpler. At least, that's how it was for Xiaoyao.
"..." Princess Wen Ya was somewhat speechless. Why was this person still thinking about that? Fine, she wouldn't argue with him, she'd explain his question first.
"'One' isn't a type, but the workshop you'll go to. Inside, you'll learn what you need to forge. This lottery is actually for workshops. However, each workshop is the same, the conditions are all the same, so there won't be any better or worse situations," Princess Wen Ya explained.
"Oh, I understand," Xiaoyao nodded. At this moment, he could already see workshop number one. In this Royal Sword Forging Center, there were many individual sword forging workshops where each smith could have their own private space.
"Short sword, short sword..." Xiaoyao chanted as he ran over.
"..., a short sword would be strange, but it won't be a great sword either. What I put in number one is..." Princess Wen Ya looked toward Xiaoyao's direction.
"Blunt sword? Haha, this is pretty good too! Short swords still need sharpening, but blunt swords don't," Xiaoyao made a pleased sound, as if he'd found treasure.
Blunt swords are easy? No, how could they be easy? Although blunt swords have no edge, they need to be heavy and sturdy to unleash their power. Legend has it that there's a legendary blunt sword that, within its killing-intent-free edgeless blade, contains incomparably powerful righteous sword qi.
Of course, Xiaoyao didn't need to achieve that level. If he could, he would become a god among sword smiths, and little Princess Wen Ya would be no match for him.
Princess Wen Ya didn't expect people to reach that level either, she just wanted them to create something that satisfied her!
(End of Chapter)