"Hello everyone, the Oscar Awards are officially underway! The best actor, best actress, best supporting actor and best supporting actress will be selected. Each of the four options is worth 30 points, for a total of 120 points. Don't miss out on the chance to score points! I hope you can vote for "Dream Fantasy" , vote for Xuan Yuan Soul, Guan Guan, Long Xingyun, Ren Qingya. If you really like them, go and cast your vote!!"

  Voting address: /vip2year/ask/ask01.asp

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  Excitedly taking over the dark sword, his heart was filled with anticipation. For any blacksmith, a masterpiece is the most precious thing. If he could get close and touch it, that would be even more incredible. It would have an indescribable benefit for improving his craftsmanship.

  With an excited heart, I slowly drew out the treasured sword, and suddenly... a dazzling light burst forth from the scabbard, illuminating the slightly dim room.

  I stared at the so-called treasure sword in my hand, oh heaven... Is this really a treasure sword? Except for its polished appearance and the faint blue light it emits, this sword itself is not even as good as the one I saw earlier. It's all gold and jade on the outside, but utterly worthless inside!

  A sword isn't necessarily better just because it's brighter, that's just the result of incomplete surface treatment. A truly precious sword should have a subtle inner glow, how could it be so dazzlingly radiant like this!

  This so-called ultimate work is actually just a sword with a brighter exterior, this kind of sword I can make four in an hour and guarantee the quality to be one hundred times better than his.

  Taking a closer look at the texture of the sword and its structure, I'm dizzy... There's no basis in mechanics whatsoever. A sword like this can only be used for decoration; it looks good but don't even get me started on using it!

  I reluctantly returned the sword and said faintly: "Sorry, I still don't like this sword, is there...?"

  Just as I was about to say something, suddenly... a large hand stretched out from the side and snatched away the treasure sword in my hand. I turned around in shock and saw a warrior wearing full purple armor looking at the "treasure sword" with joy and excitement, muttering to himself: "Heaven! Heaven... I've finally found it after searching for so long!"

  At this point, the purple-armored warrior suddenly raised his head and excitedly said to the boss: "Boss... he doesn't want it, I do! Name a price and I'll buy it!"

  I stared at the purple-armored warrior in shock, no way... He's still going to buy such a crappy sword? And... he even looks overly excited, what's wrong with him?!

  Just as I was secretly surprised, the boss said with an unwilling expression: "This... this treasure sword is actually not for sale. If you want to buy it, come to next week's auction!"

  Ah!

  I was shocked and my mouth fell open, someone actually bought such a sword, the boss should have gone home to burn incense long ago, but he still wouldn't sell it like it's a treasure! What kind of world is this?!

  I thought it was already surprising enough, but then... something even more surprising happened. The purple-armored warrior had a pleading expression on his face and begged sincerely: "Boss, please, I'm begging you, sell it to me! I'll give you ten purple crystals!"

  My mouth can't close anymore, if such trash can be sold for ten purple crystals, what am I? I casually pinch a handful of mud sword and it's stronger than this one, yet I'm still worried about the debt of ten purple crystals.

  But the boss still didn't take the hint, hesitated for a moment, and said faintly: "Sorry, I don't want to sell after all. I think... you'd better..."

  Before the boss could finish speaking, the Violet Armored Warrior said with a smile: "I'll give you 20 violet crystals, that should be enough! You wouldn't even get this price at an auction!"

  The boss sighed and shook his head, saying helplessly: "Actually... I wanted to make a name for myself at the auction, let everyone know that I can forge such a fine sword. Money is not important, what's important is reputation!"

  The purple-armored warrior looked at the boss anxiously, hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and stretched out four fingers: "Boss, I'll give you 40 purple crystals, please sell it to me! I really like this sword, and I'm leaving tomorrow, no chance to attend the auction!"

  He paused for a moment, then the purple-armored warrior continued: "You don't know, I've been searching for a good sword for almost a year now, and finally I see one, you have to help me get it!"

  I'm really curious, so I quietly pulled the Purple Armor Warrior and asked in confusion: "This friend of mine, you keep saying it's a good sword, but what's so good about this sword?"

  The purple-armored warrior looked me up and down a few times, then suddenly said: "Oh! So you're the magician, no wonder you didn't know. Let me teach you the trick to identifying good swords!"

  At this point, the Violet Armored Warrior drew out his treasured sword and exclaimed in admiration: "Look... how noble is the shape of this sword, how resplendent its exterior, how dazzling its radiance! The moment this longsword leaves its scabbard, the opponent will immediately be intimidated!"

  I stared at this garrulous guy in astonishment, his good looks seemed to be just for show! Is having a good appearance all it takes to be a great sword? It's simply inexplicable!

  Before he could finish speaking, I interrupted him and said: "I've heard that a good sword should be able to cut through iron like it's mud, breaking ten precious swords in a row without damaging its blade!"

  A samurai with a purple armor looked at me with an expression as if I was crazy, and said disdainfully: "You haven't woken up yet, have you? What you're talking about is just a legend, okay?! When did you ever see two people fighting, one sword cutting off the other person's weapon, what's the point of continuing to fight then!"

  Oh no!

  I was taken aback by his question, in the three years on the battlefield, how many weapons did I cut off? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? This... this seems to be forgotten, but if I say it out loud, will he think I'm bragging?

  I asked uncertainly: "So you're saying that as long as it looks good on the outside, this sword is a good sword?"

  "The Purple Armored Warrior bellowed: 'Nonsense! A sword is a nimble instrument, not something to be used for a fierce battle to the death. If you want to fight to the death, wouldn't you go buy a big axe? Swords are not meant for clashing, as long as they're sharp enough to easily cut through armor, that's all that matters... so, appearance is what's most important. A beautifully crafted sword, its value is simply...' "

  At this time, the blacksmith on the side nodded and said: "This warrior has said it too well, I've decided, I won't sell you this sword for 40, 30 purple crystals and you can take it, my intention is not anything else, just because of your understanding of swords!"

  The purple-armor warrior suddenly jumped up, quickly took out 30 purple crystal coins and handed them to the boss, with a look of fear that he would regret it, leaving me stunned.

  After taking the money with a nonchalant expression, the blacksmith turned to me and said indifferently: "Don't think that forging a sword with a good shape and beautiful appearance is simple. It requires a very high level of artistic skill from the blacksmith. You should know that a blacksmith is not a sculptor or an artist, but a person who does hard labor. It's not easy to forge a complex shape out of such hard common iron. Being able to achieve this in Jie Tian City already makes me a high-level craftsman!"

  I silently watched the blacksmith, without saying a word. However... I didn't agree with what he said. In my opinion, a blacksmith is originally a sculptor, an artist. If they can't forge anything they think of, how can they be called a blacksmith?

  Seeing me not saying a word, the blacksmith probably thought I agreed with his point of view, smiled and nodded, and said to me: "I'm very sorry, I don't have any better swords here, so... you'd better wait for a while before coming again, or... go take a look at other blacksmiths?"

  I looked at the blacksmith in astonishment, then at the delighted purple-armored warrior, and quietly walked out of the blacksmith's shop. In my opinion, a good sword must have both a beautiful appearance and excellent properties to be considered complete; having only one or the other makes it nothing more than a toy.

  Now I finally know why that blacksmith is so productive, with his way of forging, making ten or eight pieces of weapons a day is no big deal!

  But... a truly good sword is absolutely not something that can be forged in just one or two days. Even after being tempered and refined hundreds of times, it's still impossible to guarantee the quality of the sword, let alone forging ten swords in a single day?

  A good sword is absolutely one that requires the blacksmith to devote his entire body and mind, every sword is equivalent to the blacksmith's child, it needs to be carefully nurtured and cultivated, I ask you, which child can grow up in just one day?

  It takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a man. A good sword can't be forged in less than a month, how can you expect to create one in just an hour?

  My Evil God Slaying Sword is still not a finished product, it's just a rough draft that has been tempered for ten or eight years, and now the Evil God Slaying Sword is only just taking shape, there is still a long way to go.

  I slowed down my footsteps and calculated that there are still 12 days left before the auction next Saturday. If I work day and night, with a bit of luck, I can forge a qualified long sword before the auction. Note! It's just qualified, not good, but it's absolutely not a toy or an ornament, it's a real sword!

  Gritting my teeth, I finally made up my mind. From now on, for the next 12 days, I will devote all my body and mind to forging this precious sword. I must forge a qualified precious sword and use the money from auctioning it to repay debts and pay for all school expenses!

  Is everyone back? Hope you all continue to support me! Please...