Death... and me

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*Swish!*

*Clang!*

However, the end result was different from what happened in the Varen Tribe. Back then, Rean's steel sword shattered the other weapon. Here, on the other hand, the ridiculous amount of Fire Element made Rean's sword pass through Francis's saber like a hot knife through butter. Both weapons were on a completely different level.

Of course, there was another reason why Rean's sword won that easily. It was the amount of Divine Energy poured inside it. Because of the much higher cultivation, Rean's sword almost burst apart due to the pressure. That's why higher-level equipment was necessary for higher-level cultivators. It reached the limit of what it could perform in Ghihara's hands. If he used such a strong attack one or two more times, Rean was certain his sword would simply burst apart.

In any case, it was perfect for the test since Tiao did the same thing with Francis's saber. In that clash, one of the weapons would absolutely be damaged somehow. At the same time, the better one wouldn't suffer anything other than the side effects of the excessive Divine Energy poured into it before the attack... or so it was supposed to be.

Tiao felt a chill on his back. When he and Ghihara attacked each other's weapons, they stood their ground to hold the impact each other would receive from their hands. However, because Rean's sword cut through Francis's saber that easily, the recoil from two weapons colliding didn't happen. With that being said, the inertia that Ghihara and Tiao applied with their bodies to the attack wasn't repelled. In the end, Rean's sword continued to move forward, forcing Ghihara and Tiao to move their bodies at the very last moment.

*Tssssssssss...*

A small cut mark appeared on Tiao's left arm as Fire Element rampaged on it. Tiao didn't notice it, though. Even the pain didn't wipe out the image of his body being pierced through if he and Ghihara hadn't moved accordingly in that last instant.

"Ah!" Eventually, Tiao came back to himself and used his Divine Energy to get rid of the Fire Element on his arm. "Holy shit!" He then looked at the saber in his hand. That was, without a doubt, a Golden Initial-level saber. How did it cut through so easily?!

Ghihara also let out cold sweat after seeing the aftermath. Although piercing Tiao's body could be fixed with the Sacred Land's healing skills and pills, that would take time and would be very expensive. Worse yet was to explain just how ridiculous the situation that led to what happened.

Ghihara then looked at the sword, which lost the Fire Element gathering property once he stopped pouring Divine Energy. "Is this what a Golden Initial-level sword should be like?"

While that was happening, Francis felt like crying. Both weapons were at the Golden Initial-level, so why did his saber lose so badly like that. He could accept if his saber was damaged to some extent. But he couldn't believe that it was cut like paper.

Tiao, Ghihara, and Francis looked at Rean right after as one of them asked, "Just... what did you do to this weapon?"

Rean scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Sorry, I should have warned you it would probably destroy Francis's saber." Rean then patted Francis's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll pay for the material you used in the saber. There's no need to be angry."

Tiao, Ghihara, and Francis's mouths twitched after hearing that. "Who the hell cares about the saber?! We want to know about your sword, idiot!"

Rean understood after that. "Oh! The sword? It was crafted with the Element Gathering method, so it can gather the Fire Element when you pour Divine Energy into it. Didn't I say that already?"

"Not that!" Ghihara shook his head before saying, "Even if your Element Gathering method is overpowered, it shouldn't have been able to cut Francis's saber so easily. I would understand if they clashed and the saber broke apart. But the fact that your sword cut through his saber like butter is totally off the charts! This is not the level of a Golden Initial-level sword anymore. It's definitely at the Golden Middle-level and very close to Golden High-level at that!"

Hearing that, Rean looked at Ghihara as if he was an idiot. "What are you saying, Elder Ghihara? This is definitely a Golden Initial-level Sword. It's just that it's a little stronger than normal ones."

"A... little?" They felt like crying. "Is this what you call a little? Then, what would you call a strong sword?"

Rean thought they were exaggerating. "You guys are forgetting that my sword only cut Francis's saber because Elder Tiao and Ghihara's cultivations are much higher than the sword itself. In a normal circumstance where both cultivators have identical strength to the sword requirement, my sword would need at least ten or so clashes before breaking Francis's saber."

'Ten or so clashes?! That's what we call overpowered, idiot! Why don't you just go and die?!' They all thought at the same time.

However, Tiao and Ghihara's eyes lit up after that. Whatever Rean did with this sword, they must find out!

Ghihara then looked at Rean and said, "Anyways, you pass the test. I'm leaving. Oh, right! I'll let the workers at the counter know that you passed the test. Just give your badge to them, and they will conclude the process of adding you to the Blacksmith Hall and Guild."

*Vup!*

Rean couldn't even see Ghihara's movement before he disappeared from the room.

Well, Tiao wasn't much different. "The same goes for you, Francis. You forged a nice saber. Don't worry about it breaking apart. You were just unlucky. Well then, bye!"

*Vup!*

And with that, Tiao disappeared like smoke as well.

Francis didn't know how to react. 'Just unlucky? Well, I guess so. Who the hell would come across such a ridiculous sword like that normally?' In the end, he sighed and made his way out of the workshop. He already saw how common sense didn't work on the twins during the recruitment, so he decided to think this was just another one of those moments. "Whatever...at least I passed the test."

Rean nodded in agreement. "The same goes for me."

Rean soon came out of the workshop and passed his badge to the worker there. "Can you pass a message to Elder Tiao for him to not forget our deal?"

The worker nodded as it wasn't strange for new blacksmiths to make contact with the hall's elders. With that, Rean was finally part of the Blacksmith Hall.