149: Chapter 149 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Ninety-Seven)

"On the path of martial arts, the physical body progresses step-by-step, and the way of weapon forging is no different.

The Iron Skin Realm refines the skin and flesh, while the Copper Bone Realm tempers the bones and tendons. With every advancement in realm, the essence of a martial artist's true qi and their physical load capacity undergo a qualitative transformation. Naturally, their corresponding weapons must change accordingly."

Elder Jin extended a withered finger and lightly tapped the Magical Artifact on the forging table:

"You can now refine top-grade Magical Artifacts to the perfection of twenty-seven runes, which is already top-tier among cultivators of the same Iron Skin Realm.

However, ordinary iron ultimately has its limits. Profound iron is hard in texture, making it suitable for bearing the dense blood vitality and true qi of the Iron Skin Realm. Yet, its very nature dictates that it will never touch the threshold of the Copper Bone Realm."

Chu Shi listened intently, committing every word firmly to memory.

"Let us first speak of copper-iron alloys." Elder Jin got straight to the point, his tone turning somewhat solemn.

"Ordinary pig iron and common copper are both low-grade materials, unworthy of consideration for forging Treasure Artifacts. The foundation of refining Treasure Artifacts is to use the high-grade profound iron you usually use as a base, paired with pure Copper Essence that has been tempered a thousand times to remove all impurities.

Profound iron primarily provides toughness, serving as the bone of the weapon to bear physical brute strength. Copper Essence primarily conducts qi, serving as the soul of the weapon to accommodate flowing true qi.

The two complement each other, making for the perfect raw material suited for Profound-grade Treasure Artifacts.

As for the ratio, our Lieyang Peak's ancestors over the past thousand years have figured out a universal ratio."

Elder Jin slowly revealed the precise ratio: "Seventy percent profound iron, thirty percent Copper Essence.

With profound iron making up seventy percent, it ensures the weapon still possesses sufficient hardness and resistance to slashing, so it won't become soft or brittle due to the addition of Copper Essence.

Thirty percent Copper Essence is just the right amount to enhance the conduction efficiency of the transformed true qi, without causing the weapon's weight to become unstable and its foundation shaky due to an excess of copper.

This ratio is the optimal solution that aligns with the physical transformation of our martial arts system.

A fraction more copper, and the weapon becomes too soft; a fraction less, and the true qi becomes obstructed. Neither can forge a qualified Treasure Artifact."

An epiphany struck Chu Shi's heart, and he silently memorized the ratio of seventy percent iron and thirty percent copper.

No wonder no matter how he polished pure profound iron, he could never break through the barrier of a Treasure Artifact. It turned out that he had already fallen short right from the foundational materials.

"Now that you understand the materials, let us talk about the runic transition."

Elder Jin shifted the topic, speaking of the even more core runic mysteries.

"When you forged top-grade Magical Artifacts, you divided the twenty-seven basic runes into three groups, unifying them to amplify the three core attributes and form a micro-circulation.

However, this still remains within the realm of 'addition' and 'multiplication'. In essence, they are still scattered basic runes.

The forging of a Treasure Artifact, on the other hand, is a complete qualitative change.

It requires all twenty-seven basic runes to discard their original independent structures and merge back into one.

Countless fine patterns blend, collapse, and unify with one another, ultimately condensing to give birth to a complete intermediate rune.

A single intermediate rune is equivalent to the entire power of twenty-seven basic runes, and can even achieve an effect where 1+1+1... is greater than 27.

This is the most fundamental chasm between Magical Artifacts and Treasure Artifacts. Magical Artifacts rely on stacking runes, while Treasure Artifacts unify them."

Hearing this, Chu Shi's mind shook violently.

He finally understood the gap between them completely.

The runic integration he had spent two months polishing was merely optimizing within the basic framework. A Treasure Artifact, however, directly shattered the framework to complete a hierarchical leap of the runes.

"The difficulty of unifying runes far exceeds the sum of all your previous forging endeavors," Elder Jin reminded him calmly.

"With even a slight slip-up, the twenty-seven runes will backlash against each other. Let alone a sword embryo, even a copper-iron alloy would be instantly blown into ashes by the violent power."

Chu Shi nodded solemnly, keeping this risk firmly in mind. He no longer had the impetuousness of wanting to act immediately.

"Lastly, there is the classification of Treasure Artifact grades."

Elder Jin picked up his teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and continued to explain in detail.

"Just as Magical Artifacts are divided into low, intermediate, and high grades, with top-grade being the peak,

Treasure Artifacts also have a clear division of four ranks, corresponding to the four cultivation levels of the Copper Bone Realm.

Low-grade Treasure Artifacts: The twenty-seven basic runes are initially fused, barely condensing a fragmented intermediate rune. They are suited for cultivators who have newly entered the Copper Bone Realm and can only barely bear the transformed true qi.

Medium-grade Treasure Artifacts: The fusion of the runes is more than halfway complete, the intermediate rune is stably formed, and the conduction of true qi is smooth. These are the most commonly used standard weapons for Copper Bone Realm cultivators.

High-grade Treasure Artifacts: The unification of the runes is perfected, the intermediate rune has a deep foundation, and the weapon naturally carries martial majesty, sufficient to accompany a Copper Bone Realm cultivator across the battlefield.

And top-grade Treasure Artifacts are the absolute limit that can be reached in the Copper Bone Realm.

The twenty-seven basic runes perfectly collapse and unify, and the intermediate rune contains source power, thoroughly giving rise to an active effect.

The copper-iron alloy must also be tempered to pure flawlessness. Within the same realm, a single top-grade Treasure Artifact is enough to crush thousands of opponents."

Having reached this point, Elder Jin looked at Chu Shi, his eyes filled with a touch of expectation:

"You have now reached the end of the path of Magical Artifacts. You are only a step away from entering the gateway of Treasure Artifacts, lacking only the accumulation of materials and the comprehension of runic unification.

However, you must remember that haste makes waste.

Alloy ratio, runic collapse, grade control—every step requires you to calm your mind and comprehend it slowly."

Chu Shi stood up and bowed deeply to Elder Jin, his attitude incredibly sincere:

"Thank you, Elder, for teaching me everything without reservation. Your disciple will keep your teachings firmly in mind and will never act rashly again."

He was now completely clear-headed. Just now, he had only seen the glamour of the completed Treasure Artifact, thinking of how cool it would be to go and show off in front of that old geezer.

Yet, he had overlooked the countless layers of intricacies behind it.

Without the Elder's guidance, opening the furnace rashly would have only wasted precious Copper Essence and profound iron for nothing.

Elder Jin nodded in satisfaction. Seeing Chu Shi's composure, which far exceeded his peers, he felt increasingly gratified.

"In the storehouse, I have already prepared a batch of refined Copper Essence for you,"

he said slowly. "Once you have thoroughly integrated what you learned today and fully grasped the principle of runic unification, you may fetch it yourself and attempt to forge your first low-grade Treasure Artifact."

This pre-prepared resource was yet another silent support and expectation.

The warmth in Chu Shi's heart grew even stronger, and he thanked Elder Jin once more.

By this point in the conversation, he understood all the foundational theories of Treasure Artifacts perfectly.

After seeing Elder Jin off, Chu Shi turned and walked out into the small courtyard.

He did not rush to the storehouse to gather materials and forge weapons.

Chu Shi prepared to thoroughly understand and digest what the Elder had just described, waiting until everything was foolproof before opening the furnace.

The afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded, and night quietly shrouded Lieyang Peak.

In the courtyard, Shi Tie and the other two were diligently practicing the engraving of basic runes. Under the lamplight, the youths buried their heads in hard work, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Chu Shi nodded slightly as he watched the three working so diligently. Then, he sat alone in front of the stone table, closed his eyes, and fell into deep thought.

The alloy ratio of seventy percent iron and thirty percent copper, the collapse and unification of twenty-seven runes, the grade differences of the four ranks of Treasure Artifacts...

Countless pieces of knowledge were continuously organized and integrated in his mind, verifying themselves against his own two months of forging experience.

...