The Almighty Ring

To express his gratitude and his trust toward Jiang Fei, Bai Shien immediately handed over the Godblade to Jiang Fei after removing it from its box. It was the only sensible move as he was the man with a request. There was literally no one else on Earth to trust but Jiang Fei to forge his weapon.

“I will pass this to my master as soon as I can. He will then reforge the weapon you requested. I’m afraid it would take several days for him to complete it,” said Jiang Fei.

“No rush! No rush!” Bai Shien retreated and croaked. An ordinary weapon took months to make. So did making an extraordinary weapon. Making a personalized Godblade was an entirely different matter. Bai Shien would also have nodded happily if Jiang Fei had claimed that it would take a few years.

“Ah! That reminds me. Do you carry your current weapon with you? I need to measure its size and weight,” said Jiang Fei.

“Of course! Here,” Bai Shien flinched and quickly unsheathed his current weapon from his pouch and gave it to Jiang Fei. He had genuinely thought that Jiang Fei had forgotten to inform Zhuge Shanzhen about fashioning it into a form he preferred. Even so, he was fine with it. Even a Godblade in the form of a sword would be lethal to his enemies. He wasn’t even expecting Jiang Fei to take the weapon’s measurements.

When Jiang Fei received the Water Splitting Er Mei Needle, he pretended to examine it thoroughly. At the same time, he ordered 0543 mentally to start analyzing it. It took merely a second for 0543 to finish scanning the entire weapon. Once the schematic was acquired, 0543 started working on the weapon immediately. It would be completed in merely a few hours.

While Bai Shien was having the time of his life, Xiahou Shangyuan was gritting his teeth, suppressing his jealousy of Bai Shien. Having a personalized, or even a usable Godblade was the dream of every Level 5 fighter. What would he feel when he saw his own friend with one right in front of him!

“Young Jiang…” Xiahou Shangyuan accidentally croaked Jiang Fei’s name. But when Jiang Fei turned to him, Xiahou Shangyuan felt ashamed and kept quiet. To be honest, ever since Bai Shien had been going on and on about how he was about to get a Godblade reforged by the renowned Zhuge Shanzhen, Xiahou Shangyuan had felt envious of him and wanted to have himself a Godblade as well. Thing is, the only man he could ask was Zhuge Shanzhen. He was not an ordinary man. He was an extraordinary blacksmith if he was able to reforge the Godblade. He could not just run up to him and simply ask the man to reforge a Godblade for him.

Bai Shien was only able to get his weapon because he had already paid the toll; by helping Jiang Fei rally other Level 5 grand masters. But what about Xiahou Shangyuan? What had he done to deserve Zhuge Shanzhen’s help? Besides having befriended Jiang Fei, what else could Xiahou Shangyuan use to ask Zhuge Shanzhen’s for a favor?

“Mhm? Did you call me? Senior Xiahou Shangyuan?” Jiang Fei asked curiously, a mere pretense since he could see the glint of envy in his eyes. Jiang Fei knew that the man would be jealous of Bai Shien, which was why Jiang Fei had purposely discussed about reforging the Godblade. By doing that, Jiang Fei would not lose anything from his side, but only profit in the form of Valium and a favor from a Level 5 grand master! How could he just let this opportunity pass?

“I… It’s nothing,” said Xiahou Shangyuan. He had only met Jiang Fei for the first time today and he knew his place. At best, Xiahou Shangyuan was not an acquaintance to Jiang Fei. He could not simply ask Jiang Fei to help him ask his master to reforge his Godblade.

“Oy! What are you being so bashful about? Are you perhaps jealous that I’m having my Godblade reforged?” said Bai Shien, snickering like a little kid. Even though he was seen teasing Xiahou Shangyuan, he was actually trying to help him gather his nerve to talk to Jiang Fei.

It worked like a charm as they were now on the topic. If Jiang Fei agreed, Xiahou Shangyuan would be in debt to him. And since Bai Shien was half-serious-half-teasing, Jiang Fei rejecting Xiahou Shangyuan would not be as hurtful to his pride.

“Hmm? Senior Xiahou Shangyuan has a Godblade to be reforged as well?” Jiang Fei asked again, continuing his pretense.

“It is… as you said,” Xiahou Shangyuan said humbly. He was not as thick-skinned as Bai Shien. He was embarrassed about it that he was blushing!

“Come now. Wasn’t Senior Xiahou Shangyuan the one who said we should skip to the part where we are all equals? If you wish to have your Godblade reforged, just say it!” Jiang Fei smiled.

“Would it trouble master Zhuge?” Xiahou Shangyuan asked. There was a hint of joy in his voice. If Jiang Fei was sincere about it, Xiahou Shangyuan couldn’t be more thrilled about owning his own weaponized Godblade!

“Consider it convenience. If it were any other time, I would not dare to promise you anything. But as of now, my master is preparing to fire the forge. Once the fire is hot enough, forging one or two Godblades is only a matter of extra time,” Jiang Fei explained nonchalantly.

“Really? You’re a godsend! Ahh. No words can express my gratitude. Please inform master Zhuge that I, Xiahou Shangyuan owes him a great favor!” Xiahou Shangyuan cried, bowing to Jiang Fei.

“Hohohoho! To think that you would be borrowing my light to shine like the moon! It makes me so happy!” Bai Shien laughed as he pat Xiahou Shangyuan on the back. Both Bai Shien and Xiahou Shangyuan trusted Jiang Fei, and now, they were greatly indebted to him, unbeknownst to them that Jiang Fei was merely making things up.

“In that case, could senior Xiahou Shangyuan please leave your Godblade here. If you have a specific design you wish to make, please show it to me,” Jiang Fei said, smiling happily like Bai Shien.

“Ah! Excuse me for a moment, I’ll go and retrieve it now,” said Xiahou Shangyuan. The next second, the man disappeared from his seat. Jiang Fei had already gotten used to Level 5 fighters disappearing and reappearing out of thin air. It was only expected of them.

When Xiahou Shangyuan left, Bai Shien took the liberty to talk with Jiang Fei, discussing matters about the attack on the machines.

“Little Jiang Fei, I have already gathered all the other grand masters. When are we going to attack?”

“It should be in three days time. By then, the Godblade should be ready. I’m confident that senior Bai Shien and senior Xiahou Shangyuan would be undefeatable with the new weapons in hand!” said Jiang Fei. To be honest, Jiang Fei wanted to start the attack tomorrow since creating the weapons would only take several hours. However, to garner enough attention, Jiang Fei had purposely stalled the attack for a few days. Giving them the weapons too soon would only deteriorate the weapons’ value. What would they think of the weapon if they were delivered in only a few hours when they had expected it to be delivered in a few years!

The best way to truly maximize both Bai Shien and Xiahou Shangyuan’s favors would be Jiang Fei delaying the attack for another six months. That would then show that even the greatest master, Zhuge Shanzhen, took that long to forge the ultimate weapon. However, Jiang Fei did not have the luxury of time to wait. He needed to increase his forces quickly. To arm the two grand masters with their weapons of choice would undoubtedly increase the attack power of the entire assault team.

“I see. This not an issue. I will inform the others about it.” Bai Shien acknowledged Jiang Fei’s words. Counting himself and Xiahou Shangyuan, Bai Shien had rallied a total of fourteen Level 5 grand masters. Adding Jiang Fei’s Level 5 companions, Bai Shien was confident that the assault on the machines would be easy. He lacked information about the enemy and truth be told, he was oblivious to what sort of danger he was exposing himself to. At that point, he believed that he was helping Jiang Fei with his training.

Half an hour later, Xiahou Shangyuan teleported back. He held a box that was roughly the same size as Bai Shien’s and a longsword.

Jiang Fei took the Godblade and analyzed the longsword before discussing about the attack for a bit. The two bade farewell after spending such a long time with Jiang Fei. After they left, Jiang Fei ordered 0543 to start the reforging process for the second Godblade. After a short calculation, 0543 informed Jiang Fei that he would have more than enough Valium, obtained from cutting corners during the reforging process of the two Godblades, to forge Jiang Fei a Zhanlu Sword.