Carrying the heavy chest, Fugaku glanced back at the luxurious residence.
All he felt was a crushing heaviness in his heart.
This was what the Uchiha had become—haggling over every last scrap of profit.
Were they truly still the foremost noble clan of Konoha?
Fugaku felt utterly exhausted.
When he returned home and saw that the light in the living room was still on, his mood finally improved a little.
The moment he stepped inside, he found his eldest son nestled obediently in his wife’s arms.
A trace of comfort rose in Fugaku’s heart.
At last, he would have the chance to display a father’s dignity before his eldest son.
“Father, you’re back!”
Qiyu hurriedly broke free from his mother’s embrace.
He had wanted to escape much earlier.
After all, he possessed the mind of an adult.
However, Mikoto simply refused to let him go.
She was like a cat lover cuddling her favourite pet.
Once she found an excuse to pull Qiyu into her arms, there was no chance she would release him easily.
“Mm.”
Fugaku nodded solemnly and placed the heavy chest on the table.
“Qiyu, are you planning to forge them now?”
Fugaku asked uncertainly.
“Mm!”
Qiyu nodded firmly.
He did not truly need sleep.
The sooner he finished refining the artifacts, the sooner he could experience the thrill of flying on a sword.
It was the kind of romantic fantasy every immortal-cultivation enthusiast dreamed of.
“Can your mother and I watch?”
Fugaku asked tentatively.
He was also curious about how Qiyu intended to manipulate the chakra metal.
Qiyu considered it for a moment.
“Of course.”
These two were his closest family.
There was no possibility of them exposing his secrets.
Besides, even if he refined the artifacts directly in front of them, they belonged to entirely different systems of power.
They would not understand what he was doing and would ultimately attribute everything to some kind of kekkei genkai.
After saying that, Qiyu looked at Fugaku.
“Father, are you certain there aren’t any spies nearby?”
Fugaku froze for a moment before swiftly extending his senses throughout the residence.
A moment later, he nodded.
“Go ahead, Qiyu.
No spy could infiltrate the Uchiha clan head’s residence.”
He was greatly pleased by his son’s cautious attitude.
Seeing this, Qiyu said nothing more and opened the large chest Fugaku had placed on the table.
However, he now found himself facing a slight dilemma.
Back then, he had assumed there was no chance he would receive one hundred jin of chakra metal, so he had deliberately demanded an outrageous amount.
He had never expected his father to trust him so completely.
This was one hundred jin of chakra metal.
Ordinary chakra-metal weapons were measured by the gram.
Even exceptional ones rarely contained more than one or two jin.
That alone showed just how expensive chakra metal was throughout the shinobi world.
Still, matters had already reached this point.
He might as well refine it all.
At worst, he would simply forge a few extra swords.
With that thought, Qiyu released his spiritual power, causing the chakra metal to float into the air.
The moment Fugaku and Mikoto saw the metal hovering before them, their expressions became solemn.
Both of them even activated their three-tomoe Sharingan, staring unblinkingly at Qiyu’s every movement.
Boom!
A cluster of blue-green flames ignited in Qiyu’s palm.
The fire flowed like water, rapidly enveloping the chakra metal suspended above him.
Even after witnessing Qiyu’s exquisite control over flames once before, Fugaku and Mikoto still could not conceal the shock in their eyes.
Under the searing heat, the chakra metal quickly melted into a lava-like liquid.
Qiyu manipulated the flames with extraordinary precision, stripping away the impurities hidden within it.
Threads of residue were burned into wisps of gas that drifted away from the molten metal.
At the same time, the spiritual energy within Qiyu’s body was being consumed at an alarming rate.
Beads of sweat soon appeared across his forehead.
Artifact refinement was a supporting profession that demanded an immense amount of mental energy.
Although the process appeared simple from the outside, extracting impurities required the cultivator to maintain absolute concentration while observing every Mastery transformation within the material.
Qiyu could not help feeling fortunate.
If the advancement of his cultivation technique had not strengthened his mental energy and granted him the ability to perceive the smallest details, this attempt might truly have ended in failure.
He watched as the mottled elemental particles within the flowing liquid were gradually purified into a uniform azure colour.
Only then did he breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
The first step—purification—had succeeded.
Next, he manipulated the flames and divided the purified liquid into five portions.
Now came the most crucial stage: shaping.
As Qiyu connected his consciousness with the flames, the five embryonic forms were slowly stretched and refined.
Bit by bit, they took the shape of five double-edged swords resembling those carried by wandering swordsmen in his previous life.
Their blades were long and slender.
The flames suddenly began erupting in rapid bursts, striking the newly formed sword blanks like countless tiny hammers.
Clear metallic chimes mingled with deep, muffled impacts.
Clang!
Boom!
Clang!
Each strike compressed the material within the five swords, making them denser, tougher, and more resilient.
Layer upon layer of fish-scale patterns gradually emerged across the blades.
The entire process lasted nearly half an hour.
By then, Qiyu’s face had grown increasingly pale, filling Mikoto’s eyes with worry.
When the flames finally dispersed, five red-hot swords stood upright in mid-air.
Qiyu formed a single hand seal.
A mass of clear water appeared from thin air, radiating threads of icy mist.
Following the movement of his finger, the water swiftly wrapped around all five blades.
Sssssss!
Thick clouds of white steam surged outward, spreading through the room like fog.
When Fugaku witnessed Qiyu’s seamless manipulation of what appeared to be a Water Release technique, the shock in his heart reached an indescribable level.
He could not understand what kind of kekkei genkai his son had awakened.
Not only could Qiyu freely control flames, but he could apparently manipulate water as well.
Still, this was not the time to question him.
Fugaku had naturally noticed Qiyu’s pallid complexion.
It was obvious that wielding this power placed an enormous burden on him.
Disturbing him now would be unwise.
When the mist finally cleared, five gleaming swords hovered in the air.
Their designs were simple and ancient, without excessive ornamentation.
Each hilt was spiralled, while the slender blade was covered in rows of naturally formed, mysterious scale-like patterns.
The moment Fugaku and Mikoto saw the five swords, they instinctively stepped backwards.
The blades emitted such a terrifyingly sharp aura that even from four or five metres away, both of them felt as though their bodies might be sliced open at any moment.
“Qiyu, are they finished?”
Fugaku asked uncertainly.
Qiyu shook his head slightly.
Without saying anything, he immediately sat cross-legged to restore his spiritual energy and mental strength.
Fugaku, who had been about to ask another question, promptly closed his mouth.
More than half an hour passed before Qiyu slowly rose again, some colour finally returning to his face.
Now came the most important step.
He had to inscribe Daoist talismans onto the five swords, granting them mysterious powers.
Qiyu began forming a succession of intricate hand seals.
At the same time, strange syllables spilled from his lips—mysterious sounds whose meaning neither Fugaku nor Mikoto could decipher.
Dense clusters of seal characters in five different colours emerged from Qiyu’s mouth with every spoken syllable, floating in the air above him.
Qiyu slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the hovering characters with satisfaction.
It was immediately obvious that the fiery-red and ink-black seals were far more complex than the other three.
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