Jun Mo Li lay in the bamboo grove with light injuries. There were still traces of burning on his clothes.
Swearing brotherhood was a great idea, but deciding who would be the eldest brother was a question worth serious consideration.
Although Jun Mo Li and Li Tonghui got along well, neither wanted to yield in this matter.
So the two decided—as always—to settle it with a spar, just like old times.
Although in the past Li Tonghui had always been the sandbag for Jun Mo Li to practice swordsmanship on, times had changed.
Three days ago, Li Tonghui had received a god's gaze and obtained a Pyro Vision.
The gap between a Vision holder and an ordinary person was enormous. Everyone knew that.
Jun Mo Li knew it too, but he didn't think he would lose.
The boost from a Vision was huge, but his current swordsmanship could already recreate the strike that cleaved the waterfall. His strength had reached a whole new level.
Everyone said a Vision was a dividing line—an insurmountable chasm for mortals. Jun Mo Li refused to believe it.
And the final result...
"You win. The position of eldest brother is yours."
Jun Mo Li sat up from the ground and spoke to Li Tonghui, who was staring blankly at his own fist.
In this spar, Li Tonghui had won by a narrow margin.
From constant losses to holding his own. So all it took was one Vision?
"This doesn't count—you didn't go all out."
"Did you?"
"..."
"..."
A spar was still just a spar; neither could truly go all out. Jun Mo Li hadn't used Waterfall Sever, but Li Tonghui also hadn't unleashed Rock Shatter Fist at full power.
When neither went all out, Li Tonghui—with his Vision—came out on top.
"This isn't fair to you. How about this—I won't use my Vision, and we do it again."
"There's no such thing as unfair. Getting a god's gaze is your own ability."
Jun Mo Li yielded the central spot between the three to Li Tonghui. "There's no unfairness here. This position of eldest brother—you earned it with your strength. No one can question it."
"Then... I won't hold back!" Li Tonghui happily accepted the role of eldest brother.
Three cups were filled with wine and held in each of their hands.
Li Tonghui wasn't sure if this was the correct way to swear brotherhood—after all, all his knowledge came from storytellers.
But the ceremony itself wasn't important. The bond was.
"I, eldest brother Li Tonghui."
"I, second brother Jun Mo Li."
"I, third brother Jun Bai."
"We swear: Though we three bear different surnames, we wish to become sworn brothers of different surnames." ×3
"United in heart and effort, we shall serve the nation above and bring peace to the people below." ×3
"From this day forward, the three of us shall share one heart. Heaven and earth bear witness." ×3
"If we betray righteousness or forget kindness, if we violate this oath, may heaven and man alike strike us down." ×3
"We do not seek to be born on the same year, month, and day, but we wish only to die on the same year, month, and day." ×3
"Rex Lapis and the Dust God bear witness to this heart. If we betray righteousness or forget kindness, may heaven and man alike slay us." ×3
Little Jun Bai (σ≧▽≦): "Then from now on, we'll address each other as brothers. Eldest brother, second brother."
"Third brother." ×2
Li Tonghui and Jun Mo Li smiled indulgently at little Jun Bai.
The happiness of youth was really this simple.
...
Some time later, in the Jun family forging room.
"Phew—" Little Jun Bai wiped the sweat from his face, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Done."
On the scorching forging table lay the red-hot blade blank of a heavy sword. All that remained was for little Jun Bai to complete the final quenching step, and this heavy sword would be fully complete.
Little Jun Bai gripped the hilt with one hand. The high temperature couldn't harm his fair, tender little hands in the slightest. At the same time, the hundred-jin heavy sword felt weightless in his grasp.
Unafraid of heat, ordinary flames couldn't injure his body—and he possessed innate divine strength.
Little Jun Bai seemed born suited for the craft of blacksmithing. In just six years of study, he had already fully mastered the Jun family's sword-forging technique.
If the god of Qingce Village hadn't already fallen, little Jun Bai would sooner or later take a sword he forged to test it against a god.
The blade blank was plunged into cold water. After a burst of steam, the red-hot blade dulled.
The finished product was complete.
Little Jun Bai sheathed the heavy sword, pushed open the forging room door, and proudly presented the heavy sword to Jun Mo Li, who had been waiting outside.
"Second brother, here. This is the sword you wanted. It took quite a lot of effort to forge."
"Thanks, third brother." Jun Mo Li smiled as he accepted it. But the moment he took the sword, the blade pointed downward—and a large crater appeared in the ground.
Even without using full strength, he couldn't lift this sword.
"Third brother, how heavy is this sword?"
"109 jin."
Jun Mo Li fell silent.
He had told little Jun Bai to make the sword as heavy as possible while still within the limit of what he could lift.
But a hundred-jin sword...
Honestly, Jun Mo Li really felt that little Jun Bai had overestimated him.
Being able to lift a weapon was one thing, but lifting it and actually using it were two different matters.
To wield a weapon properly, one needed at least ten times its weight in strength.
To wield it freely and skillfully, at least twenty times.
A hundred-jin heavy sword—aside from immortals and gods, who in the world could use it?
"Is it too light?" Little Jun Bai asked innocently.
"No—too heavy." Jun Mo Li said bluntly.
"Then should I reforge it?" Little Jun Bai asked.
"No need. A masterpiece like this—if you reforge it, it would be too much of a pity." Jun Mo Li carefully examined the heavy sword in his hands.
The heavy sword had no edge, yet it gleamed with a cold light. The blade was simple and grand, full of weight and presence. No ornate decorations—just pure, reassuring heaviness.
The more he looked, the more he could sense its extraordinary quality.
Jun Mo Li hadn't seen much, but that didn't stop him from feeling that this heavy sword was extraordinary.
"Oh, alright." Seeing Jun Mo Li say this, little Jun Bai gave up the idea of lightening the heavy sword.
"By the way, third brother, have you named this sword yet?"
"You're the sword's master, second brother. I'm just the forger. Naming it is naturally up to you."
Jun Mo Li lifted the heavy sword with both hands and examined it as he said: "Then... let's call it Mountain Severer."
"Like eldest brother's Rock Shatter—may the day come when it can, in my hands, split mountains and sever peaks."
After naming the heavy sword, Jun Mo Li shouldered Mountain Severer and walked with heavy steps toward the usual training spot.
"By the way, second brother, isn't there already a light sword at your waist? Why have me forge a heavy sword?"
Little Jun Bai—who only knew fast swordsmanship—couldn't figure it out no matter how much he thought.
Beside the waterfall.
Jun Mo Li set his usual light sword aside, then used both hands to laboriously lift the heavy sword little Jun Bai had forged—Mountain Severer.
Just holding Mountain Severer and maintaining a standing posture already caused fine beads of sweat to cover Jun Mo Li's forehead.
Gripping the hundred-jin Mountain Severer, Jun Mo Li began practicing the fundamentals of swordsmanship—chopping.
The battle against the Stonehide Lawachurl had made Jun Mo Li realize the shortcomings in his swordsmanship.
His fast sword was very fast, and his moves were sharp enough.
But it lacked power.
Jun Mo Li's strength was simply too weak.
The heavy sword was the way Jun Mo Li chose to make up for the lack of power in his swordsmanship.
If he could one day wield this hundred-jin Mountain Severer as easily as an ordinary light sword, how could his sword ever lack power?
"Still not enough. The greatest in the world—I'm still far from it!"
Jun Mo Li roared as he gripped Mountain Severer and chopped down with force.