This old man really does seem to enjoy collecting weapons, huh.
...
Winslow’s workshop is indeed, as he described, pretty much the pinnacle of high-end workshops.
Even though Li Younan was somewhat prepared, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised upon arrival.
Although called a workshop, this place is actually a small estate on the outskirts of New York, equipped with everything like an air hammer, high-temperature quenching furnace, thermometers, heavy anvils, band saws, grinding tools, and laser cutting devices.
After working on Sword Forging alone, the production team required the forging process to be filmed, and here, there’s also non-stop high-speed cameras, allowing Li Younan to film the content required by the crew without much effort.
Winslow enthusiastically introduced Li Younan to the different functional areas of the studio and mentioned there are three assistants he could use.
Though called assistants, their work was more like that of service staff, handling things like cleaning rooms and preparing meals.
I have to say, the life of the wealthy is indeed dull, missing out on the details of truly savoring life, damned capitalism.
In the afternoon, Winslow solved the kitchen issue for Li Younan.
His method was simple and crude: he directly brought in an RV with a full kitchen suite, complete with appliances and a refrigerator.
Then Winslow asked Li Younan, "Anything else you need?"
Li Younan thought for a moment and gave a straightforward answer, "I like peace when forging, if possible, I’d prefer not to be disturbed until I finish."
Winslow blinked and said, "You’re so heartless, I wanted to watch from the side. Alright then, in 10 days, I hope to see your work before anyone from the crew does."
"Of course."
After seeing Winslow off, Li Younan began to fully immerse himself in the Sword Forging work.
Time passed, and before he knew it, it was already the 10th day.
When people repeat something, it takes just three days to adapt to the lifestyle; for Li Younan, ten consecutive days of forging wasn’t boring at all.
Since becoming a traveler, overall, life has been quite busy.
Looking back, life was spent running from one place to another, continuously working towards some goals, and it seems like it’s been a long time since he experienced leisure. Ironically, this forgery slowed his life down.
Initially... precisely speaking, when forging the first sword, Li Younan aimed for the competition’s requirements.
He even went online to carefully study some reference pictures.
The first sword was the Yue King Goujian Sword forged from powder steel, with not much trouble and took less than half a day to complete.
With a full 9 days left, and nothing to do, he decided to continue forging other things.
Having acquired the skill of Sword Forging, one wouldn’t generally have many chances to use it; he wanted to fully indulge this time, experimenting with various forging techniques and styles he wished to try.
Li Younan had many ideas in his head and took this opportunity to experiment. Over the few days, his life unexpectedly gained a rhythm: Sword Forging, cooking, resting.
While he was forging, the assistants arranged by Winslow didn’t disturb him. Their work was simple, just helping with groceries and tidying up utensils.
Thinking about it, it’s quite absurd. Though he was busy daily, to him, forging swords was similar to painting or calligraphy; it was art. Once immersed, there wasn’t any physical tiredness or boredom, instead, there was a gentle sense of accomplishment.
Of course, this sense of accomplishment came from real achievements, and now, he had a whole heap of accomplishments lying around.
A whole heap...
The last sword he crafted was Gai Nie’s Yuanhong Sword.
In terms of effort, this was the sword he poured the most heart into during these 10 days, taking about seven or eight hours.
Yuanhong is the second-ranked legendary blade among the top ten famous swords in the anime "Qin’s Moon," with a distinctive design and recognizable form.
But from Li Younan’s perspective, the original design could be optimized; when forging, he made adjustments to details like the length of the hilt and the width of the blade.
Even though these tweaks seemed minor, the final result made the sword aesthetically pleasing.
Beauty doesn’t need to be flashy; just the right proportions can provide comfort... and this seemingly harmonious comfort never goes out of fashion, becoming a true classic.
Genuine beauty doesn’t present itself in a stunning form.
The surface of this Yuanhong Sword’s blade was forged with a flowing water shadow red pattern penetrating the entire surface, showing a chilly deep visual effect under sidelight like autumn water.
Li Younan was very satisfied. He casually swung the sword, and it emitted a clear sword hum.
His other identity is a Swordsmanship master. From a practical perspective, this sword also achieved perfection.
He nodded in satisfaction, then nonchalantly tossed it aside like garbage.
During this period, Li Younan underwent some changes in mindset; to him, the greatest meaning of his works was the complete immersion during their creation.
And right at this moment, Winslow walked in from outside and saw this absurd scene as soon as he entered.
He was stunned for a moment, about to say something, then he noticed that there were at least a dozen swords of different shapes lying on the floor, and he paused again.
A moment later, he reacted and furrowed his brows, "These weapons..."
Li Younan looked up and smiled, "Oh, Mr. Winslow, you’re here. Over the past 10 days, I’ve been trying out various forging techniques. These are all trial pieces."
"Trial pieces? You mean... they’re not the competition pieces? Where is your entry?"
"Sort of..." Li Younan casually picked up a sword from the ground, "I’ll just pick one to enter."
Winslow was dumbfounded, "Huh?"

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