Chapter 130: Heavenly Mirror, The Announcement of the Standard Armament Manual

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Thank you, everyone, for coming to attend my banquet. I hope you can forgive me for my lack of hospitality.” Zhou Shu raised his wine cup politely.

This was the first time he was attending a banquet in this world. But regardless of which world it was, such events were similar.

In his previous life, Zhou Shu had also been a slave to society for a few years. For the sake of living, he had attended many drinking parties.

Right now, it was just that the officials here were a little more prestigious and had a little more money. That was all.

“Lord Zhou, you are too polite. Congratulations on your promotion.”

The people were all making small talk.

Actually, how could a county baron be worthy of their congratulations?

They only came because of the princess.

They were also very curious. The invitation to the banquet was sent by the princess, and the one making arrangements was also the steward from the princess’s residence. What was the relationship between the princess and this new baron?

Even though they were doubtful, no one would be foolish enough to ask directly.

“Lord Zhou, you are young and promising. It is a great fortune for our Division to have such talent.” The person who spoke was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Works, Yuan Shouzhong.

The Forging Division was nominally affiliated to the Ministry of Works. However, the Forging Division was relatively independent, so they rarely contacted the Ministry of Works.

Strictly speaking, Yuan Shouzhong was Zhou Shu’s superior, so it wasn’t a problem for him to say that.

“Minister Yuan, you are too polite,” Zhou Shu said.

After Yuan Shouzhong spoke, the rest of the people also began to speak. They were all making insincere small talk.

Most of the people Yin Wuyou had invited were deputy ministers of various departments, such as the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Official Personnel, and the Ministry of War.

It was not that she couldn’t invite the ministers but that they were all waiting in the palace for the announcement of the Standard Armament Manual.

Of course, it would be too much for a baron to invite the ministers to celebrate his promotion.

“Superintendent Zhou, I heard that you claimed that the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber you forged is the strongest standard weapon in the world. I wonder if the first place in the Standard Armament Manual already belongs to you?” An extremely discordant voice suddenly sounded amid the harmony.

Everyone’s gaze naturally turned toward the voice.

Zhou Shu also looked over and happened to see a provocative gaze.

Xiao Bufan? Upon seeing this person’s face, a name appeared in Zhou Shu’s mind.

He didn’t notice when Xiao Bufan came. The steward hadn’t announced his arrival either.

If Zhou Shu hadn’t seen him again, he would have almost forgotten this name.

After Xiao Zongshui, the superintendent of the 97th Workshop, died, Xiao Bufan, a Forging Master, had taken over the 97th Workshop.

At the time, he had even joined forces with Minister Meng Jinguang and the others with the intention of taking him down a notch. In the end, they naturally failed.

Later on, Zhou Shu no longer had any dealings with him, and he didn’t try to find fault with him again. Zhou Shu had thought that he would be implicated in Zhu Chuanfeng’s matter, but he hadn’t expected him to still be alive.

“Superintendent Zhou, you haven’t answered me yet.” Xiao Bufan looked straight at Zhou Shu and spoke without fear.

The way he spoke was extremely unpleasant. The guests addressed him as Lord Zhou, but he was the only one who called him superintendent. He was obviously trying to stir up trouble.

Zhou Shu looked at Xiao Bufan, and the corner of his mouth raised slightly. He didn’t come with good intentions.

“Superintendent Xiao, you must be joking. I’m not the one who ranks the weapons in the Standard Armament Manual. How would I know what ranks first?” Zhou Shu said. “Superintendent Xiao, you are a dignified Forging Master. Why are you concerned about such a small matter?”

“You claimed that the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber is the strongest standard weapon in the world. If it doesn’t rank first, how can it be called the strongest? If Great Xia loses to Great Wei, can you bear the responsibility?” Xiao Bufan stared at Zhou Shu.

Some people frowned slightly, but most of them looked as though they were watching a show.

Is this idiot Xiao here to cause trouble? Yin Wuyou’s brows furrowed slightly. She was already displeased.

She held this banquet to introduce Zhou Shu to these people, not to let people question him.

“Why should I bear this responsibility?” Zhou Shu shook his head.

“Aren’t you Great Xia’s number one Forging Apprentice? If you don’t take responsibility for the standard weapons, who will?” Xiao Bufan said.

“Are you stupid? Were you the one who named me Great Xia’s number one Forging Apprentice?” Zhou Shu sneered. “Superintendent Xiao, if you’re here as a guest, I welcome you. If you’re here to cause trouble, then I’m sorry, but the door is right there. You can get lost!”

“Zhou Shu! Why don’t you dare to answer me directly? Is it because you don’t have any confidence in the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber? Or is it because you’re a thief who only knows how to deceive the world!” Xiao Bufan became enraged!

“Bufan!”A shout rang out just as Zhou Shu was about to say something. A handsome and elegant figure appeared in front of Xiao Bufan.

Xiao Bufan lowered his head and greeted, “Senior Brother.”

Xiao Bufan’s senior brother apologized to Zhou Shu with an apologetic expression. “Lord Zhou, I’m sorry. My junior brother is young and frivolous. I apologize for him.”

This person looked to be in his twenties. He was handsome and had an elegant aura. Every move he made had the air of a gentleman.

“Shi Songtao, he’s insensible, but are you also insensible?” Yin Wuyou said coldly. “I don’t object to you bringing someone here, but there are some people you shouldn’t bring. I hope this doesn’t happen again!”

Shi Songtao gave a bitter smile and cupped his hands. “Your Highness is too kind!”

A sentence flashed across Zhou Shu’s mind. Shi Songtao, 28 years old, a talented Forging Master. At 25 years old, he forged the ranked weapon, the Songtao Sword. He became famous with one weapon…

Shi Songtao was on the genius assassination list of Great Wei.

Zhou Shu didn’t expect to meet him under such circumstances. Furthermore, Xiao Bufan was his junior brother?

“Bufan, apologize to Lord Zhou,” Shi Songtao said seriously.

There was a complex expression on Xiao Bufan’s face. He gritted his teeth and said, “Why should I apologize to him?! I’m not lying! What nonsense about the number one Forging Apprentice of Great Xia? He’s just a Forging Apprentice? What right does he have to be a baron?”

“If you keep talking nonsense, then get the hell out of here!” Shi Songtao was also a little angry.

Xiao Bufan seemed to respect his senior brother very much. He lowered his head and didn’t say anything, but he didn’t apologize to Zhou Shu either.

Shi Songtao sighed and said to Zhou Shu, “Lord Zhou, I apologize on behalf of my junior brother. At the same time, I am well aware that the strength of a standard weapon is not fixed. Even the strength of a ranked weapon may not be obvious at a glance.

“Who can predict the Standard Armament Manual rankings in advance?”

Shi Songtao’s tone was extremely gentle, and it sounded as if he was apologizing to Zhou Shu. But it also felt like his words were hinting at something, making one feel a bit uncomfortable.

“My junior brother has disturbed the fun for everyone. In order to express our apology, I will give this Heavenly Mirror to Lord Zhou. I hope you will not decline,” Shi Songtao said as he took out a palm-sized bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror was about the size of an adult’s palm, and there were exquisite carvings on its back. The front seemed to be shrouded in mist, making it appear blurry.

“Heavenly Mirror?” Some people cried out in surprise, while others revealed looks of confusion.

Evidently, not everyone present knew what the Heavenly Mirror was.

“Take it!” Yin Wuyou whispered to Zhou Shu, her tone carrying a rare hint of urgency.

Zhou Shu looked at Yin Wuyou in surprise. The princess isn’t an inexperienced person. Even she’s reacting this way to the mirror?

Zhou Shu didn’t hesitate. “Since you’re so sincere, Brother Shi, then I won’t decline.”

He walked forward and took the bronze mirror from Shi Songtao’s hands.

The bronze mirror felt extremely heavy in his hand.

“Lord Zhou, you might not know about the Heavenly Mirror. Allow me to tell you about it,” Shi Songtao said with a smile.

“This Heavenly Mirror is an item of the Heavenly Mountain Villa. It is connected to the Heavenly Rock. With the Heavenly Mirror, we can see the information on the Heavenly Rock at any time.

“For example, if the Standard Armament Manual is announced on the Heavenly Rock, we can see it immediately through the Heavenly Mirror.”

Zhou Shu suddenly understood. This was the same as Great Xia’s imperial palace’s Heavenly Rock. It could be considered a client.

Why didn’t Yin Wuyou mention such a good thing before?

Shi Songtao’s next words enlightened Zhou Shu.

“The Heavenly Mirror is extremely rare. I only obtained one by chance. Lord Zhou, you only need to inject spiritual essence to check out the Armament Manuals’ rankings.

“According to my understanding, the Armament Manuals of the Heavenly Mountain Villa might change in the future. It will no longer be ranked once a year. Instead, it will become a real-time ranking. With the Heavenly Mirror, you will be able to know the rankings of all weapons in the world at any time.”

Shi Songtao was talking about the secrets of the Forging Master’s Association. Ordinary people might not know about them.

Zhou Shu was curious. With a thought, a stream of spiritual essence entered the bronze mirror.

Buzz—

The bronze mirror trembled slightly. The mirror that seemed to be shrouded in mist suddenly emitted a weak golden light.

In an instant, Zhou Shu felt as though he was looking at a huge rock standing by the sea. The rock’s surface was smooth and entered his vision, and pages of text kept flashing across it.

Then he saw thin lines extending from the giant rock. Some of the lines connected to the rocks in the capital cities of the various countries, while others connected to bronze mirrors. These bronze mirrors were identical to the one in Zhou Shu’s hands.

There was an extremely thick beam of light on the boulder that connected to an unknown location. Zhou Shu was just about to examine it carefully when he felt his body rejuvenate. The scene in front of him had already returned to reality.

The bronze mirror in his hand reflected a golden light screen.

On the screen, words suddenly began to flow.

“The Standard Armament Manual is about to be announced!” someone exclaimed.

Zhou Shu looked at Shi Songtao in surprise. What a coincidence! Did he plan this?

Xiao Bufan intentionally looked for trouble, and then Shi Songtao stood out to apologize and even compensated me with a Heavenly Mirror. I have just obtained the Heavenly Mirror, and the Standard Armament Manual is going to be announced?

How can there be such a coincidence in this world?

Is Shi Songtao doing this on purpose?

He wants everyone present to see the Standard Armament Manual immediately?

What is he plotting?

Zhou Shu was a bit puzzled, but this was the first time he had seen Shi Songtao today. He didn’t understand Shi Songtao’s character, so he naturally couldn’t guess what his goal was.

Before he could think further, words began to appear on the screen projected by the Heavenly Mirror.

“Standard Armament Manual”

A few words appeared.

In Zhou Shu’s opinion, the Heavenly Mirror was like a projector. Everyone was watching a movie. The content of the movie was the Standard Armament Manual’s rankings.

He had a strong sense of being solitary.

Everyone’s breathing quickened as they stared at the screen.

Zhou Shu didn’t feel much.

Xiao Bufan wanted to make fun of him just now, but little did he know that Zhou Shu didn’t care about his weapon being first on the Standard Armament Manual at all.

So what if he was first?

The Legendary Armament Canon wouldn’t give him benefits for it.

He might as well use the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber to kill a few more people.

After the words ‘Standard Armament Manual’ appeared, words began to emerge below.

“3,971st, Bone Severing Saber.”

…

“3,964th, Standard Crescent Path.”

…

“1,156th, Standard Unilateral Spear.”

…

“712th, Swallowtail Strongbow.”

…

“305th, Three-foot Copper Whip.”

…

The golden words flashed past quickly, and the weapons before 100th place were almost gone in a flash.

These standard weapons only showed their names and didn’t show which country they belonged to.

However, the insiders knew which weapon belonged to which country, so there was no confusion.

Soon, it reached 100th place, and the speed at which the words flew slowed down.

However, no one cared much about this.

Right now, they only cared about which weapon ranked first in the Standard Armament Manual.

The same scene happened in the imperial palace of Great Xia.

Emperor Yuan Feng, the core court officials of Great Xia, as well as the Great Wei’s envoy, Shen Yue, and the others were all paying attention to a three-meter-tall boulder in the palace.

This was a Heavenly Rock. The imperial families of each country had one.

“It’s almost the tenth place!”

Whether it was within the imperial palace of Great Xia or within Zhou Shu’s baron’s mansion, everyone who could see the announcement of the Standard Armament Manual felt their breathing quicken.

“10th, Cloudhead Saber.”

The words projected by the Heavenly Rock and the Heavenly Mirror were cold and emotionless, but they affected the hearts of countless people.

“The Cloudhead Saber is a standard weapon of Great Liang. The handle of the saber is small, and the blade is curved forward to the top before continuing to bend toward the back of the saber. The head of the saber is round and shaped like the head of the cloud, hence its name,” Shi Songtao said, displaying his rich knowledge of weapons.

There were indeed many people who didn’t know much about this. They nodded as they listened to him.

Zhou Shu curled his lips. This fellow really likes to show off.

“9th, Thick Grade Sword.”

Another name appeared on the Standard Armament Manual.

“The total length is three feet four inches, and the sword handle is six inches and two…” Shi Songtao continued explaining gracefully with his hands clasped behind his back.

At this moment, he and the words on the screen became the center of attention.

Even though Zhou Shu was somewhat unhappy, he had to admit that he didn’t know as much as the other party.

The speed at which the words flew was extremely slow. The names of every weapon would stop for a moment before disappearing.

Finally, Zhou Shu saw a very familiar name appear on the light screen!

“7th, Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber.”