If that were the case, the swords they made would definitely be eliminated by Princess Wen Ya, and this was just one step.
Every step and detail of sword forging would be key to success or failure. These were all part of Princess Wen Ya's test, so the people here, if they wanted to gain Princess Wen Ya's approval, had to do well in every step, at least better than others.
Just as everyone was contemplating their materials, Xiaoyao suddenly walked out, leaving his workshop and heading in a certain direction.
Soon, Xiaoyao's strange behavior was noticed. Those talented young men participating in the competition stared at Xiaoyao, very curious about what he was planning to do, while Princess Wen Ya was already walking toward Xiaoyao.
"Young Prince, what are you doing? Not forging swords? Are you giving up?"
"No, sword forging can wait a bit. That sword..." Xiaoyao shook his head, pointing in a direction. Following Xiaoyao's direction, everyone could see a sword.
This sword was placed in an ingenious mechanism whose purpose was merely to shield it from wind and rain, not to prevent theft. The security facilities here were already the strongest, if someone could break through the security defenses here, setting up mechanisms would be useless, merely superfluous.
This ingenious mechanism could block wind and rain but allowed everyone in the venue to see the sword without any visual obstruction, like a display stand.
...
...
Because Xiaoyao pointed out this sword, Princess Wen Ya understood his meaning. She didn't stop his intended behavior and followed Xiaoyao to stand before that sword for quite a while.
"The Peerless Sword?" After looking for a while, Xiaoyao asked somewhat uncertainly.
From its appearance, this sword was indeed the Peerless Sword, but how could the Peerless Sword be placed here? This was what Xiaoyao wasn't sure about, he needed to ask.
"That's right, this is the Peerless Sword! You have a good eye," Princess Wen Ya said.
"Really? You just put the Peerless Sword here? This is your national treasure, you just let it sit here like this. Aren't you afraid someone will steal it?" Xiaoyao asked in confusion.
"This is the most heavily defended place in all of Bai Yue Kingdom. If it could be stolen here, putting it anywhere else would be the same." Princess Wen Ya explained with a smile.
Xiaoyao agreed with Princess Wen Ya's statement, this place was indeed the most heavily defended. However, he still felt there was a slight problem, "That's true, but displaying it openly like this versus hiding it... I think hiding it would be safer! At least others would have to figure out where it's hidden first."
"We don't need to hide the Peerless Sword. If we were to hide anything, it would be other divine weapons that people don't know about. But the Peerless Sword. The entire world knows it belongs to us. Even if someone stole it, who could use it?" Princess Wen Ya asked in return.
Xiaoyao was stunned, then realized this was indeed the logic. Even if the Peerless Sword were stolen, it couldn't be used openly, it would be impossible to bring it out because doing so would reveal the theft.
This time, if Xiaoyao gave the Peerless Sword to Ning Zhiyuan, Ning Zhiyuan could only collect it, not use it.
Also, while the Peerless Sword was very important to Bai Yue Kingdom, it wasn't unique. Bai Yue Kingdom had more than just the Peerless Sword as divine weapons, there were many from the past, present, and future.
Therefore, even if the Peerless Sword were lost, to Bai Yue Kingdom it would just be the loss of one divine weapon, nothing more.
Bai Yue Kingdom placing the Peerless Sword here served a more important purpose than hiding it, the Peerless Sword could inspire the creation of many excellent weapons.
With the Peerless Sword here, not only could sword smiths observe its craftsmanship, but it also served as a stimulus to motivate their progress.
"Besides, this Peerless Sword will soon become part of my dowry. Whoever becomes my husband this time will receive this Peerless Sword. Since we're already prepared to give it to someone, why would we need to hide it?" Princess Wen Ya looked at Xiaoyao, her eyes seeming to say: if you want to obtain this Peerless Sword, come marry me.
"..." Xiaoyao fell silent, pretending he didn't see or understand.
After a while, Xiaoyao asked, "Can I pick it up and take a look?"
"Of course, you're a sword smith, naturally you can," Princess Wen Ya nodded. Xiaoyao's identity wasn't important to her, as long as he was a sword smith, she would allow it, because she herself was a sword smith and understood the attraction of a divine weapon.
Besides, it was just looking, what problem could there be? If just looking could damage it, then it wouldn't be a divine weapon.
There was another point, Xiaoyao might very well be the future owner of this Peerless Sword, so what harm was there in letting him look first?
"Truly an excellent sword! This craftsmanship is simply perfect..."
Xiaoyao gently caressed the Peerless Sword, his movements like caressing his most intimate lover. This made Princess Wen Ya even more certain that Xiaoyao definitely possessed extremely high sword forging skills.
Xiaoyao looked very slowly, as if he didn't want to miss any detail of the Peerless Sword. Like this, he spent a full ten minutes examining it from various angles before stopping.
Princess Wen Ya didn't find these ten minutes long, on the contrary, she thought it was too quick. She had been prepared to wait much longer for Xiaoyao, because she had once had the same experience, spending a full hour at that time. Now Xiaoyao only took ten minutes.
Did this mean his eye was sharper, able to see everything in just ten minutes? Or did it mean he was just casually looking and didn't intend to examine it carefully?
Under Princess Wen Ya's gaze, Xiaoyao slowly placed the Peerless Sword back in its original position with great respect, then remained silent for a moment before turning to leave.
In Princess Wen Ya's view, Xiaoyao must have gained some insight, which was why he showed such respect for the Peerless Sword. Now he should begin sword forging and put these matters aside.
Sword forging required complete concentration.
At this moment, if Princess Wen Ya could know what Xiaoyao was thinking, she would definitely be completely confused, not understanding what he was thinking at all.
Damn, I knew this matter wasn't so simple. There really is something fishy going on. No wonder His Majesty specifically instructed me to obtain the Peerless Sword, even saying it could take priority over stopping the Greedy Wolf Empire's marriage alliance, the Peerless Sword is most important.
Now I understand. He's really after this Peerless Sword. I don't know where he got this information, but there really is such a thing.
What was Xiaoyao thinking? It seemed very confused?
Actually, this problem was simple. Xiaoyao was thinking about the Peerless Sword, because he had discovered what Ning Zhiyuan's real purpose was: this Peerless Sword.
Although the Peerless Sword was a divine weapon, with Ning Zhiyuan's power, he shouldn't care too much about such divine weapons. Having one would be nice, but not having one wouldn't matter.
If Xiaoyao hadn't touched this sword, if he didn't know so many things, he really wouldn't have known that this Peerless Sword wasn't just a simple divine weapon, there were actually secrets hidden inside.
Just now, Xiaoyao discovered that the Peerless Sword contained some very ingenious mechanical techniques, there were things hidden within the sword.
These mechanical techniques were extremely minute, so minute that besides Xiaoyao, no one could discover them at a glance. He believed that even if this sword were in Ning Zhiyuan's hands, it would be impossible to discover its secrets unless he knew how to use it.
Given Ning Zhiyuan's attitude, he probably knew something and should be able to open this sword.
At the same time, Xiaoyao found it strange, it seemed the people of Bai Yue Kingdom didn't know about the secrets within this sword. Why would Ning Zhiyuan know? Could this just be a coincidence? Maybe Ning Zhiyuan wasn't after the secrets within the sword but for other reasons?
Xiaoyao couldn't figure it out, so he gave up these thoughts. He would stick to the original plan, first cause trouble, then find a way to switch the Peerless Sword. As for forging the blunt sword, he could just do that casually later, he didn't want to win anyway.
"Prince Li Cheng, what kind of sword are you planning to forge?" Xiaoyao didn't return to his workshop but went to greet Li Cheng and gather some information.
"A great sword," Li Cheng frowned as he replied. Whether he frowned because he disliked Xiaoyao's interruption or because of his bad luck in drawing the most troublesome option was unclear.
"That's very simple. Although great swords are larger, their characteristic is their size. With a broad blade, you don't need to worry about things like flexibility, and you don't need to fear the sword breaking! How about this, why don't you forge a greatsword about the same height as you? The hilt can be longer. As long as someone can wield it, this would be a divine weapon," Xiaoyao said.
Nonsense, don't I know that? If only someone could wield it, but how many such people are there?
Although Li Cheng was cursing Xiaoyao in his heart, on the surface he maintained politeness and bowed, "Thank you for the guidance. May I ask what sword Young Prince is forging?"
"A blunt sword. Very easy, luckier than you." Xiaoyao said with a smile.
"Blunt swords may seem simple, but they're not easy either, because other swords can use sharpness to compensate for other mistakes, blunt swords can't," Li Cheng shook his head, not knowing whether he was reminding Xiaoyao or just showing off his knowledge.
"It's fine, it's all the same to me. Blunt swords don't even need sharpening." Xiaoyao said casually.
"Well, I won't disturb you anymore. I'll go first!" Xiaoyao smiled. As he left, he seemed to accidentally drop something into the molten iron.
(End of Chapter)