Chapter 661: The Sword Forging Hall!

Inside Po Qian’s box was not only a soft leather mask but also a set of clothes belonging to a disciple from a northern noble family, adorned with the emblem of the Sword Forging Hall. After putting them on, Po Qian tidied them up for Happy before taking out a copper mirror:
“This is your current appearance. ‘Mu Li’ is your identity among the northern nobles—a disciple who transports materials for the Sword Forging Hall. With your strength, it won’t be a problem. But be careful—the temperature inside the Sword Forging Hall is extremely high! It consumes a lot of internal energy. Every disciple there uses special mantras to maintain their energy levels. Sword sect disciples and ordinary martial arts experts can’t even get close. Make sure not to give anything away…”
Po Qian’s reminders made Happy even more reassured.
The Nine Yang Divine Skill? How could it be afraid of heat? Could it be worse than the environment in the Heavenly Demon Caves?
Nodding to show she had remembered everything, Po Qian marked the exact location of the Sword Forging Hall on the map and said, “First, go there and find ‘Wan Jian’. With him around, he’ll tell you what to do.”
“Understood.”
The second task was completed effortlessly! Happy bid farewell to Po Qian and, under another identity, followed the markers on the map, walking openly through the corridors. She leisurely admired and observed the layout of Han Tian Fort while making her way to her destination.
No players had entered the inner part of Han Tian Fort yet, so there were even fewer REPs…
Of course, Happy wouldn’t record any of this. The less people knew about the Sky Crystal, the better.
Following the corridors and passing through several courtyards, Happy had a general idea of Han Tian Fort’s interior. There were interconnected corridor structures in a ‘U-shaped (huí) – a shape like the Chinese character “U-shaped” (U-shaped)’ shape, and no matter where she was, she could see a towering, magnificent circular building standing high within the fort—imposing and splendid, just like the Temple of Heaven.
The closer she got, the warmer it felt…
The temperature of the surrounding snow and wind seemed to drop significantly.
Only then did Happy realize why her clothes were so thin. Even from a distance, the temperature had changed—despite the freezing cold, it felt like spring. Clearly, that was the core of Han Tian Fort—the Sword Forging Hall!
…
When she arrived at the foot of the Sword Forging Hall, Happy truly realized how tiny humans were!
The huge circular building was as big as a football stadium, dozens of meters high!
Within a hundred-meter radius of the Sword Forging Hall, not a single snowflake remained. Even before approaching, the scorching heat waves evaporated them completely, leaving not a trace of moisture; the ground around was also utterly dry!
“Amazing!”

Compared to the obscure Murong family in the bustling city, the northern noble clans were indeed much more imposing. Just the Sword Forging Hall alone was worthy of its status as one of the eight great families. No wonder even the Murong family, with its profound heritage as descendants of the former dynasty, felt as if facing a formidable enemy. The northern noble clans truly had the pride and strength to back it up!

The main entrance of the Sword Forging Hall was extremely spacious, with twelve large doors wide open, yet it still emitted a continuous wave of scorching heat… Any disciple who approached there would look solemn and remain silent! This included the disciples of the northern noble clans, dressed bare-chested with prominently displayed muscular chests, the disciples of the Sword Sect in their pure white robes with their elegant demeanor, and the disciples of the noble Nangong family in their splendid brocaded robes. Six rows of thirty-six people stood in a line at the entrance, where the heat was intense, their gazes resolute and unyielding, as if secretly competing with each other, none willing to admit defeat. It was understandable for the members of the northern noble clans—having spent long time in the Sword Forging Hall and possessing their own unique anti-inflammatory techniques—they paid more attention to the strength of the Sword Sect and Nangong disciples during the competition.

A group of disciples at the Liberation realm had been standing there for a long time… The disciples of the Sword Sect had sweat covering their faces, their clothes soaked, and sweat dripping from their hands onto the ground as they held their swords, yet their expressions remained firm, not moving an inch. The Nangong disciples were the same—despite the suffocating heat, they refused to give up, gritting their teeth and staying in place, earning silent admiration from the northern noble clan disciples. Though these thirty-six people were not at very high realms, in the eyes of Kai Xin, they still formed a remarkable sight!

With the Nine Yang Divine Skill gently activated, Kai Xin, like the ordinary disciples coming in and out of the Sword Forging Hall, braved the scorching heat and stepped inside.

…The Sword Forging Hall was indeed even more spectacular inside! Right in front of them was a huge sword pool with a diameter of over twenty meters, containing more than thirty weapons of various shapes submerged in boiling water. Next to each sword pool were at least four furnaces and sword-forging platforms. On each platform, two strong, bare-chested men swung huge, heavy hammers, drenched in sweat:

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!! The sharp, rhythmic sounds of the hammering were both rhythmic and awe-inspiring.

There were over a hundred such sword pools! This meant that there were more than four hundred sword forgers from the northern noble clans working inside the Sword Forging Hall at that moment!

The powerful ringing sounds merged into a deafening roar that echoed continuously, striking the eardrums and hearts of everyone inside the hall.

A sense of awe instantly arose in Happy’s heart!
This was the true essence of the northern noble clans…
No wonder they had dominated the Central Plains for so many years, earning the admiration of all martial sects.
Just this astonishing scene was enough to prove everything!
……
“Mu Li!”
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Why did you come so late?”
As soon as she entered, Happy suddenly heard a voice that made her heart race. Turning around, she saw several young people dressed like her, standing there with their hands on their hips, staring at her resentfully.
The leader among them pointed at a wooden barrel nearby:
“Hurry up and carry these things to Sword Pool No. 68…” The others wore smug smiles.
Happy was perceptive. When she first entered, she quickly noticed a secret at the edge of each sword pool—there was a number plate on the edge of each pool, and a number plate engraved next to each sword-forging station, numbered from one to four.
At the same time!
Happy also sensed from the expressions of these young people that her disguise as a disciple of the Sword-Forging Hall seemed to give her a low status here—she was a target for mockery and forced to do heavy labor.
Since that was the case…
Happy quickly gathered a lot of information from the expressions, tones of voice, and various details in the surroundings. Glancing at the dozen or so huge wooden barrels filled with black carbon stone beside those young people, and then at the others carrying barrels in the distance, she immediately had an idea.
Silently, she walked over, picked up the heavy barrels weighing over 200 pounds each, carried one in each hand, and headed toward Sword Pool No. 68…
The group of young people stared at Happy’s back, their expressions suddenly stiffening, as if shocked!
Happy, who had been watching their reactions, felt a chill in her heart:
Oh no!