Chapter 46: The Birth of a New Forging Path

As Su Yun emerged from the two girls’ residence, her previously cheerful smile gradually solidified, revealing the pretense of her earlier composure.

‘It seems I must dedicate more of my focus to artifact forging,’ Su Yun mused, patting her cheeks. ‘Calm down, calm down. Perhaps a session in the artifact forging room, deep in thought, will spark an idea.’ With that, she soared on her sword towards Artifact Forging Peak.

Only after Su Yun had departed did Lin Xue and Lin Shuang emerge from within.

‘Oh, she’s still the same,’ Lin Xue sighed, watching Su Yun fly away. ‘Despite her obvious anxiety, she insists on maintaining an air of composure.’

For once, Lin Shuang found herself in full agreement with Lin Xue’s words.

‘Big sister is just being stubborn,’ Lin Shuang stated, her gaze serious as it met Lin Xue’s. ‘Nevertheless, I still believe she can achieve it. Of course, we two must also seize this time to cultivate diligently.’

Lin Xue nodded softly.

****

Upon returning to her artifact forging room, Su Yun immediately secluded herself. Her research began with a singular goal: to transform her firearms into true magical artifacts.

Once a firearm became an artifact, it would be akin to sword manipulation. As long as her spiritual power was abundant, she could control the gun with her qi.

Su Yun believed that both the Spirit Gathering Art and Sword Manipulation Art of Spirit Sword Mountain could be adapted to control her firearms.

However, this hinged on one crucial prerequisite: the firearms themselves had to possess the characteristics of a magical artifact.

After a brief moment of contemplation by her workbench, Su Yun retrieved paper and pen to sketch new designs. Lei Yan had previously informed her that most artifacts were singular entities, while firearms, with their numerous components, were difficult to control with spiritual power alone.

If she could reduce the number of internal components in a firearm, there might be a chance to turn it into an artifact. For each design she drew, Su Yun meticulously crafted a corresponding firearm.

Naturally, such arbitrary modifications to a firearm’s components were bound to lead to issues. As expected, her very first design failed.

This time, Su Yun wasn’t simply copying; she was innovating, creating entirely new firearms from scratch.

Creation was rarely a one-time success, but even a single triumph would pave the way for smoother progress thereafter.

The floor soon became littered with an increasing number of blueprints and failed firearms. Yet, with each iterative improvement, the flaws revealed by each failure grew progressively smaller.

After all, creative design was a process of identifying causes within failures. To pinpoint the reasons for her setbacks, Su Yun even acquired artifacts from this world for reference.

These artifacts were typically activated by a cultivator’s spiritual power, much like the flying sword she used for travel.

Su Yun summoned her flying sword, letting it hover before her. This particular sword only possessed the ability to fly; it held no combat power. The reason lay in its forging method, which differed from common combat flying swords.

Within this flying sword resided a core sword embryo, etched with a specific type of artifact inscription. This inscription was exclusively designed for flying artifacts.

After examining her flying artifact sword, Su Yun seemed to gain a new perspective. She immediately began redesigning her blueprints and forging firearms anew.

Indeed, this time Su Yun made significant progress. She forged a firearm capable of floating in mid-air, and she could even stand on it to fly. Beyond that, however, it served no other purpose.

Consequently, Su Yun had no choice but to continue refining her designs. This time, she brought out a combat flying sword, disassembling it for close observation.

Combat flying swords lacked a sword embryo. They were constructed from various materials that could interlink, allowing the inherent energy within them to merge. This, combined with corresponding artifact inscriptions, enabled the treasure to channel a cultivator’s power and attack enemies according to their will.

‘Material combinations… perhaps I can try that too,’ Su Yun pondered. ‘I’ll search for suitable materials to pair together for firearm crafting.’ After a moment of thought, she flipped open a material catalog to begin her search.

Any materials she lacked, she would promptly request from Lei Yan.

One day, two days, three days… a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Then, on that particular day, the door to Su Yun’s artifact forging room burst open, and a somewhat deranged, wild laugh echoed from within.

‘Hahahaha… After countless failures, I’ve finally found the trick! Reality may torment me a thousand times, but I treat it like my first love! I knew it, I knew I could succeed!’ Su Yun’s hair was disheveled, her eyes were dark, and she looked utterly unkempt, as if she hadn’t rested in ages.

It was clear she had devoted her entire month to this creative endeavor.

Above Su Yun’s head, a refined, seamless three-colored pistol floated — the culmination of her month-long effort.

This pistol was constructed from three different materials, with the gun body, barrel, and other components completely integrated. The gun effectively had only two parts: the magazine and the main body.

Upon hearing Su Yun’s maniacal laughter, the disciples of Artifact Forging Peak poked their heads out from their own rooms. Lei Yan, too, emerged from his forging room immediately.

They stared at the continuously laughing Su Yun, utterly bewildered.

‘What… what’s wrong with Junior Sister?’ someone asked, puzzled.

Upon seeing Lei Yan, Su Yun abruptly declared, ‘Master, take this shot!’

Lei Yan froze. The next moment, the pistol above Su Yun’s head, without any visible manipulation, fired a volley of bullets.

The bullets all struck Lei Yan’s body, though they were all repelled. Nevertheless, Lei Yan appeared profoundly shocked.

‘This? My good disciple, you… you’ve already devised a method to control hidden weapons with a cultivator’s power?’ Lei Yan walked closer, disbelief etched on his face.

Su Yun reached out, retrieving the pistol floating above her head.

‘Yes, though there are still some minor issues, I’ve found the key,’ Su Yun said, pleased. ‘Master, take a look.’ She handed her newly developed artifact pistol to Lei Yan.

Lei Yan immediately observed it with his divine sense. As he did, his eyes lit up, for the pistol’s structure and artifact inscriptions were remarkably complex — far beyond what a Tier 1 artifact could achieve.

Judging solely by the inscriptions, this item was at least as difficult to forge as a Tier 3 artifact.

The gun had no trigger or firing pin. Its bullets were propelled by a specific internal component that released scorching energy, igniting the gunpowder and pushing the bullet forward. The principle was similar to ordinary firearms.

However, Su Yun had replaced physical ignition with a cultivator’s spiritual power.

‘This? This girl’s talent is truly terrifying,’ Lei Yan thought, growing increasingly shocked after examining the pistol. ‘She’s essentially created a new type of artifact inscription all on her own.’

He suddenly had a feeling that his talented disciple was on the verge of creating something truly astonishing.

‘How is it, Master?’ Su Yun asked, beaming.

Lei Yan truly didn’t know how to praise Su Yun’s brilliance. He felt she had surpassed his ability to evaluate, as he himself lacked the skill to create new artifact inscriptions or an entirely new type of artifact.

‘This… I don’t know how to describe it,’ Lei Yan finally said, returning the artifact firearm to Su Yun. ‘However, I can see that this artifact still has room for improvement.’

Su Yun nodded in agreement.

‘Indeed, there’s still significant room for refinement,’ she acknowledged. ‘No more talking; I’m going back to research.’ With that, Su Yun turned and hurried back into her artifact forging room, resuming her studies.

Fan Yang and the others couldn’t help but approach Lei Yan.

‘Master, what’s wrong with Junior Sister? I feel like something’s off about her,’ someone inquired.

Lei Yan looked at the closed door of Su Yun’s room, still perplexed as to why Su Yun was so determined to create artifacts. In his opinion, she would be better off spending this time improving her current artifact forging skills.

He believed Su Yun was being overly ambitious. After all, her cultivation was only at the fourth level of Qi Refinement, and her forging rank was merely a low-grade Tier 1 Artifact Forger. Was it truly necessary to rush into creation so quickly?

He felt that creation was something only Master Forgers could attempt. Yet, after examining Su Yun’s pistol just now, he had a distinct feeling that she might genuinely pave the way for an entirely new system of artifact forging.

****

Another week passed in the blink of an eye.

On this particular day, Lin Shuang and Lin Xue unexpectedly arrived at Artifact Forging Peak. Su Yun hadn’t returned to their residence for over a month, which had caused the two sisters considerable worry, prompting them to check on her.

They had never been to Artifact Forging Peak before.

‘Ugh… it’s all black ash and filth, and the temperature is so high,’ Lin Shuang grumbled, her face full of distaste.

Both she and Lin Xue possessed Ice Spirit Roots, making them particularly averse to such scorching environments.

‘Let’s just bear with it,’ Lin Xue said before walking towards the main entrance of Artifact Forging Peak.

The place was unguarded, but as soon as the two sisters entered, a disciple noticed them.

‘Oh? Two Junior Sisters from Heavenly Sword Peak, how may I help you?’ asked an Artifact Forging Peak disciple who had just finished his work, emerging from his forging room.

Lin Xue quickly explained their purpose.

‘Oh, we’re looking for Junior Sister Su Yun. Is she on Artifact Forging Peak?’ Lin Xue inquired.

The Young Man paused, then scrutinized the two. He quickly recognized who they were.

‘Ah, you two must be Junior Sister Lin Shuang and Junior Sister Lin Xue, right?’ the Young Man chuckled.

The two girls nodded. While the disciples of Artifact Forging Peak rarely paid attention to sect matters, even if they hadn’t met the sisters, they would certainly have heard of them.