A tumbleweed bounced down the stairs and circled Long Di a few times before it went back up the stairs and disappeared from view.

Long Di’s gaze followed the odd weed as it merrily went on its way.

“So many wrong things happened, in so little time,” Long Di said. “And ALL OF IT, needs context!”

****

[5 minutes later.]

“What tumbleweed are you on about, you little demon spawn!?”

“How could you not have seen it? Don’t you have eyes in the back of your head or something?”

“I am forging a weapon!”

“You need to forge some security or something because the tumbleweed just circled me and left. The sheer randomness of this is astounding. How could you not be interested?”

“Why should I be!?”

“Where’s your martial curiosity?”

“There is no such thing!”

“I’m thinking it is.”

“Enough!” Uncle Tian Lu roared.

He was able to split his focus and have a conversation with other people, but he could barely do so with Long Di. The little demon spawn could effortlessly send him to the brink of insanity!

First, he was accused of sounding very rapey, and now they were talking about tumbleweeds. Where was the logic in this train of conversation!? It made no sense!

Uncle Tian Lu’s chest heaved as he tried to steady his movements so that no mistakes were made. If his forging suffered any deviation it would lessen the quality of his finished product, and he would never forgive Long Di.

“Still, you little demon spawn, you do impress me,” admitted Uncle Tian Lu after a while. “For you to actually be talented enough with the saber to comprehend saber intent.”

“Saber intent?” Long Di furrowed his brow in confusion. He naturally knew of saber intent based on what he read in cultivation novels. However, the actual comprehension of it was not something that reading about it could compare to. So he was not sure at what moment in the fight was it that he comprehended saber intent.

“In the last moments of your clash with that Nitu Demon, it’s what allowed you to break through his defences to inflict fatal damage.”

“Oh.” Long Di nodded in understanding. He did indeed feel as if he had grabbed hold of some insubstantial energy that made him more powerful at that time. He clearly remembered the feeling too, able to call upon it if he so willed it. So that was saber intent. For some reason, it felt like what he imagined the force in star wars to feel like.

“Oh? You comprehended saber intent at the tender age of eleven and the only thing you can say in response is oh!?”

“Is it something impressive? Cuz it wasn’t hard.”

Uncle Tian Lu’s eye twitched when he heard this. If any bladesmen in the world heard Long Di, they would first kill him in frustration, then smash their heads against a block of tofu and kill themselves.

Uncle Tian Lu ignored Long Di’s comment and explained. “Saber intent is something that a genius saber user comprehends after a fundamental understanding of the way of the saber. It is not something that can be taught. Many martial artists wish to comprehend saber intent but go their entire lives not even seeing it, much less using it.”

“I see, but I don’t have any saber techniques, so I can’t even use it to its fullest potential.” This was something that Long Di wanted to correct but never got the chance to.

Because of the sequence of events that took place, buying any sort of martial techniques was an opportunity that he never had.

“You should visit Saber Mountain then,” Uncle Tian Lu advised.

“Saber Mountain? Is that a sect?” asked Long Di.

“Yes,” Uncle Tian Lu admitted. “They are fanatics of the saber. They eat, drink and sleep with their saber. They don’t tolerate any other weapon within the sect. Simply being caught with another weapon is enough to be chased out. As for training with another weapon? Hehehe…” Uncle Tian Lu chuckled at this.

Long Di entered into deep thought, “You want me to…”

“Before anything else,” Uncle Tian Lu didn’t give Long Di a chance to finish. “I would appreciate it if you could help to return the Nymph to her home.”

“Why is she my problem?” Long Di asked indifferently.

“She isn’t,” answered Uncle Tian Lu. “You have no obligation to help her, and the mere fact that she healed you could be said to be thanks for us healing her. However, I am asking you to have her be your problem.”

Long Di’s brow rose, “Why?”

“It’s good to have the favour of the Nymphs. If you can gain their favour, then you would have a powerful backer in the future.”

“I see. So the first thing that I need to do is get the Nymph back to her home. I also need to pay a visit to Saber Mountain to learn their saber arts and further my comprehension of the way of the saber. I think I’ll go back home after I drop the Nymph off. At the very least, I need to let my parents know that I’m fine. Do you know of Thunder Cloud City?” he asked.

“I’m sorry I don’t,” Uncle Tian Lu shook his head.

“I see. Well, that’s fine, I’m sure it’ll work out somehow.” Long Di was dead set on returning home when appropriate. Who knew just what his parents were going through since they thought he was dead?

Uncle Tian Lu had nothing to say in regards to that and urged Long Di to carry out the actions he advised before.

Though it still sounded profoundly rapey, Long Di acquiesced. It didn’t make sense for him to keep his clothes on anyway. They would just be burned to ashes after the first heatwave.

He kept his underwear on. There were just some things a man, or in this case, a little boy, couldn’t do, and one of those things was stripping naked in the same room with a bare-chested old man who looked like he was way too enthusiastic about the gym.

He also protected his storage rings. There was no way he was gonna make the same mistake as last time.

Uncle Tian Lu didn’t test him with the heatwave this time. The Marrow Chapter had increased his resilience to a point where such things weren’t necessary.

When he arrived beside Uncle Tian Lu, he put his storage rings in the latter’s pocket and then turned to face the forge. Even though he was granted the runes of the Marrow Chapter, the heat of the forge caused a feeling of palpitation to arise within him.

“The Bone Chapter is different from the Marrow Chapter. It is with the Bone Chapter that you will officially start to cultivate somatic essence. I have no idea what this will do to your body, but if you can do what you say you can do, then you will embark on a path never before tread. You will become something that has never existed in this world.” Uncle Tian Lu’s expression was serious as he spoke.

His hands never stopped moving as he forged the material before him. Long Di tried to make out its shape, but the heat caused it to shine so brightly that not even with his heavenly gaze was he able to make it out.

“The name of my clan is The Hellfire Forge Clan,” Uncle Tian Lu suddenly blurted out the name of his clan. “Long ago, we occupied a unique place with the demon race. Though we cultivated somatic essence, we did so by embarking on a path of forging. Our forging was second only to the Ren’duans.”

The Ren’duans were a race of living forges, and they were also one of the five major races. For anyone to claim that their forging arts only came second to the race that literally introduced forging to the world was a truly bold claim!

“Our Hellfire Forge Clan was a force that stood strong for several millennia. The respect we held was ineffable,” pride burned in Uncle Tian Lu’s eyes as he spoke. “Our power was so great that even the demon race’s king at the time personally visited our clan to make her a weapon.”

“History says that our clan succumbed to the withering of time, but it was all a lie!” The prideful look disappeared before it was replaced by pure rage. “During a calamity that befell the world, our clan was badly damaged, and we lost the last part of our Foundation Forge Body Tempering Art! Taking advantage of our weakened state at the time, several forces within the demon region attacked us!” His eyes spat fire as he roared, rage defined his features at the moment.

“We would have been wiped out entirely had it not been for the royal family who intervened. With their help, we survived the calamity, but by then it was too late.” Sadness infected his voice from this point. “One of our two defining treasures was incomplete, and a majority of our clansmen died. Over time, we declined into what you see now. I am the last legacy disciple of the Hellfire Forging Clan.”

Clang! Cling! Bang!

The sounds of hammer hitting metal were the only thing that could be heard as Long Di took in the information he just heard. “Did you ever try to revitalise the clan?” he finally asked.

“Many times,” Uncle Tian Lu confirmed. “The four elders are a result of my failed attempts. Due to the last chapter of the art being lost, we created a modified version of the Foundation Forge Body Tempering Art so that we could blaze a new trail and bring it to completion. Each elder cultivates a differently modified version, but none was successful. Eventually, they took on some disciples they believed were talented and had them cultivate the version the second elder used, since his version was the one with the highest efficiency. If they wished to change it in the future, they could since their foundation would be sturdy enough to handle the shift.”

Long Di nodded in understanding. No wonder the aura the four elders gave off was different, yet strangely similar. “Barring the question that I just asked, why are you telling me this?”

“You need this information if you wish to have any hope of retrieving the lost chapter of Foundation Forge Body Art.”

“Come again?” Long Di asked.

“This is the responsibility you took on after you accepted the Marrow Chapter. Are you declining?” Uncle Tian Lu’s hand shuddered in mid-swing.

Long Di shook his head to indicate he wasn’t. “I will but it just seems like I am looking for a needle in a haystack. How am I going to find it?”

“You can pay a visit to the Ren’duan race. They have a connection with our clan. Use our name and there should be some clues that you can dig up.”

“I seem to be paying a visit to a lot of places and races.”

“As a youngster, you should go out and experience the world.”

“I’m eleven.”

“Oh yeah, well, you’ll be fine. You’re as strong as an elder of a small sect. Plus, there is nothing wrong with broadening your horizon.”

“Fine, I accept.” Long Di conceded, knowing he had no choice.

“Good,” said Uncle Tian Lu. He then opened the forge’s main opening with his free hand. “Now get in, I’ll be bestowing you with the Bone Chapter.”

Shu! Shu! Shu!

Multiple runic chains flew out of the forge and bound Long Di from head to toe. “You say get in, but the chains take me anyway. You’re having fun with this aren’t you?”

“A little, yes.” Uncle Tian Lu revealed a smirk at Long Di’s eventual misery. He felt a little embarrassed that he had to lower himself to the level of an eleven-year-old, but he experienced several verbal losses at Long Di’s hand, enough that he just didn’t care.

The runic chains pulled Long Di into the world of the forge to undergo his ‘refinement.’

When he left, Uncle Tian Lu’s smirk disappeared and his expression became serious once more. He turned his head to the right where, at the end of a long hall, stood a massive door.

It was imposing in both grandeur and magnitude. The ancient air that it manifested revealed how unyielding it was to the hands of time.

Uncle Tian Lu’s expression turned complicated as he took it in, “I beg of you, please help me bring the Hellfire Forge Clan back out into the world.”