Becoming a god starting from blacksmithing

Shen Chi stared at it for a long time. He had never imagined that a city could float in the sky.

Each link of those chains was as thick as two people could hug, hanging down from the city walls and diagonally into the ground. He approached the nearest chain and touched it—it was cold, made of the same material as the lock-pins on the pillars of Crow Town.

The Guardian Sword vibrated slightly within the storage ring, as if sensing something.

A-Zhu walked to his right. The wound on her right shoulder had been re-bandaged and was hidden inside her clothes. Shen Chi noticed that her left hand was slightly clenched—palm facing inward, thumb pressing on the inscription on the tombstone.

"A-Zhu," Shi Jian called out, "can I take another look at the inscription on your palm?"

Without hesitation, A-Zhu opened her palm.

The circular patterns, with their fine lines, resemble a miniature map. Their boundaries are clearer than last night, as if something continued to grow during the night, filling in the last remaining blurry outlines. The lines extend outwards from the center, each with its own direction, yet together they form a complete circle.

Shen Chi noticed that Shi Jian's finger twitched—as if he wanted to touch it, but then withdrew it.

"Qi is the one who holds the promise, and has the seal of his heart. All the holders of the seals recorded in the ancient books of Tianji Pavilion have the seal of their hearts."

Shi Jian looked at A Zhu.

"But you don't have the heart imprint. Why would the stone tablet imprint appear on you?"

Ah Zhu looked at her palm and then clenched her fist.

------

Scattered farmlands and villages began to appear on the plains, and the closer they got to Tian Shu City, the more people appeared on the road. Farmers carrying loads, merchants driving donkey carts, and two or three young people carrying cloth bags were all heading in the same direction.

Shi Jian suddenly glanced at Shen Chi and the other two.

"There was a problem with your previous battles—the three of you fought separately, without any common ground."

He didn't stop walking, talking as he went. Shen Chi turned his head to listen.

"You should form a triangle," Shi Jian said. "Shen Chi should be at the front, facing the pressure head-on. Mo Huaizhou should be on the flank, slightly behind; your mechanical skills are suitable for flanking support and early warning. Azhu—"

Shen Chi continued, "She's at the very back, in the middle. She can sense the flow of energy and needs to see the whole picture."

Shi Jian glanced at Shen Chi, a hint of surprise in his eyes, but nodded.

A-Zhu glanced at Shen Chi without speaking, but a slight smile curved her lips before she walked to the spot Shen Chi had indicated. The three of them took a few steps, tacitly distancing themselves. Shen Chi was in front, Mo Huaizhou to his left rear, and A-Zhu to the right rear of the center.

But after taking his position, Shen Chi sensed a change. The aura of the Mo Sect's inner power emanating from Mo Huaizhou, the faint glow of the stele imprint on A Zhu's palm, and his Oath Flame formed a delicate balance. The three forces of different natures found a common frequency in the space where they stood.

Like three streams that originally flowed separately, they merged into the same river.

Shen Chi felt the pressure in his chest ease. It seemed that some of the force had flowed to Mo Huaizhou and Azhu, and then flowed back from them, forming a cycle.

"Did you feel it yourselves?" Shi Jian asked.

Shen Chi nodded.

Mo Huaizhou was silent for a moment, then said, "After the positioning changed, the reaction time of the mechanical threads is shorter. This positioning is similar to the Three Powers Diagram I saw in the Mo Sect's Scripture Pavilion before, but it is simpler."

Shi Jian glanced at Mo Huaizhou, said nothing, and simply nodded.

"This is the formation," he said. "The essence of a formation is not runes or array plates, but position and flow. When three people stand in the right positions, the natural flow of power between them is the simplest formation."

He paused.

"I named it the Three Powers Guardian Formation. Prototype."

------

The four continued on their way. Shen Chi walked in front, his mind still replaying the sensation from just now. Mo Huaizhou walked behind him to the left, his pace increasingly close to his, almost in sync. A-Zhu walked slightly behind the middle, her gaze fixed on the ground. Shen Chi noticed her fingers hanging at her sides, the fingertips occasionally trembling slightly as she walked—she was sensing the vibrations of the ground, the scent of the soil, and the faint energy flow in the air.

Ahead lay a wide bluestone road. The road was smooth, paved with square bluestone slabs, wide enough for four horse-drawn carriages to pass side-by-side. The road was now bustling with people—some leading pack animals laden with goods, some pushing wooden carts, and some carrying long, cloth-wrapped items on their backs. Some had set up stalls by the roadside, selling food Shen Chi had never seen before—brown flatbreads, steaming hot on an iron plate.

The air was filled with a mixture of smells of oil, animal, and metal.

These sounds, these smells—they're completely different from those in Qingxi Town. Mornings in Qingxi Town are quiet, with birdsong outweighing human voices. Here, the sounds are noisy and hurried, everyone seems to be in a rush.

At the end of the road, the city gate of Tian Shu City was clearly visible. It was not on flat ground. A wide stone staircase slowly rose from the ground, sloping towards the entrance of the city in mid-air. The stone staircase was long, at least three hundred steps, with a lock-heart nail pillar standing every ten steps on both sides—thicker than the ones in Han Ya Town, the black nails reflecting a cold light in the morning light.

As Shen Chi approached the first heart-locking nail, his heart tightened slightly. The feeling was more complex than mere repulsion. It was like walking into a very cold room; before goosebumps even formed on your skin, your body already knew.

He glanced at the pillar. Its surface was covered with dense runes, much denser than those in Raventown.

The vibration of the Guardian Sword traveled from the ring face to his wrist, then along his arm to his chest—right where the Heart Seal was suppressed, mitigating some of the discomfort. It was as if someone had patted him on the shoulder, steadying him.

Shen Chi took a deep breath.

At the top of the stone steps, two massive iron gates stood open. Guards in gray uniforms stood guard at the entrance, their chests embroidered with silver-white chain patterns.

Shi Jian's voice came from behind, low: "Once we enter the city, the mental imprint will be suppressed more clearly. The guards at the city gate have already seen us. They are from the Enforcement Hall, not the Judgment Division. Don't cause trouble, but don't show any weakness either."

Shen Chi stood before the stone steps, gazing up at the colossal city suspended in the air. Morning light shone from behind it, casting the shadows of the city walls onto the plain, covering a large expanse of ground.

The Guardian Sword vibrated slightly within the ring, as if to say: "Go, I'm here."

Shen Chi looked back at everyone and then stepped onto the first stone step.