After spending some extra time with Sister Orb, Rean and Roan left the Soul Gem Space. Since both of them got free, they decided to put some effort into cultivation. Of course, even together, they will need time to reach the middle stage of the Energy Gathering Realm.
Things were pretty calm for Rean and Roan. They spent their days between training, cultivating, and helping with the classes. However, things were not like that for Juri and his troupe in Astreg City.
When Juri arrived at the City with Erkil and the others, they went straight to the Workshop. Since their Tribe has an Iron Ore Mine, they also brought enough of it this time around. For the next week, Erkil and his apprentices produced one Steel Sword after another. The Workshop would not open for business before enough of those were made. After all, the idea was to not forge a single extra one before getting an agreement with the Zafa Bank.
Juri asked for Swords only since that is the most used weapon. They could think about something else later. For now, they had to guarantee a profit.
Finally, they forged around 100 Iron Swords, a widespread weapon that most ordinary folks used. Those were the ones that would be used by other people to test their Steel Sword.
One week later, Erkil got rid of all limestone. He also kept just the necessary Iron Ore and Coal. No one would suspect that Coal was part of the forging process.
The next day, the Workshop finally opened its doors. At first, no one paid attention to it, but soon, they noticed a curious announcement on its outside wall.
"A new type of Sword has been created, and we welcome everyone to test it. We will allow two lucky customers to check it first hand against Iron Swords. Our new Sword can slash through Iron like butter, and you can feel it yourself. There will be three tries per day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one last at dusk. Please call your friends and see it by yourself."
The majority ignored it. Some thought that it was false advertising, while others felt that they would provide a Spiritual Sword. If the Spiritual Equipment grade is high enough, it could indeed slash through Iron without much problem.
However, there would always be those who were curious or just so happen to be passing at the right time.
"Come, come! Check our new Steel Sword. It is not a Spiritual Equipment but can Slash through Iron as if it was one. If you are doubting our words, you can come and test it yourself. Come, come!"
Slowly, a small group of people gathered in front of the Workshop. It wasn't that many, but Juri was happy with this amount already. It was evident that the first test wouldn't attract much attention, but words would spread after they were done with it.
Juri called the warrior who was making the announcements back and stepped out fo the Workshop.
"Welcome, everyone. I know that you are all busy people, so your time is precious. That being said, I would like to ask for any two volunteers straight away. One will be holding our Steel Sword, while the other will use an Iron Sword. All you have to do is to attack each other's Swords."
The people looked at each other, and it didn't take long for two men to step forward. Both of them were in the Energy Gathering Realm, which was a common sight in the City.
One of them took the Iron Sword and examined it with his Spiritual Sense to see if it wasn't fake.
"Good, it's a common Iron Sword."
The other guy took the Steel Sword.
"Oh, it is lighter than I thought, and the metal seems a lot smoother. Well, I'm only interested in your claim, though. So you really don't mind if we slash the swords against each other with full force, right? I'm not paying anything if it breaks."
Juri shook his head.
"This customer has no need to worry. Even if it breaks, our Workshop will definitely not blame you. Put your everything into it, I guarantee that the result won't disappoint."
The two warriors guys nodded, and they assumed an attack instance. Spiritual Energy started to cover their Swords, which showed that they were really not planning to hold back. Seeing that only made Juri smile, though.
Suddenly...
Swish!
The Iron and Steel swords hit each other. Not too surprisingly, the steel sword really passed through the iron Sword as if it was made of paper. Rean's Steel was different from the ones on Earth. It used Spiritual Energy in the process, which greatly increased its attack power. Since the person with the Steel Sword also used his Spiritual Energy, it was no wonder that the Iron Sword destroyed.
Both the guys with the Iron and Steel Swords lost their balance after that attack. They had prepared themselves for the impact. However, the Steel Sword passed through the Iron one so smoothly that the previous preparation worked against them. When they finally regained balance, the two looked at the half Iron Sword. As for the other half, it fell on the ground close to the crowd.
"Woowww!"
Everyone was surprised. It did really slash through Iron, as Juri claimed. Suddenly, one person on the crowd shouted.
"I don't believe it! How can a Sword that isn't a Spiritual Equipment slash through Iron that easily? There must be a trick behind it!"
Everyone nodded subconsciously. That person was right, as far as they know, ordinary materials shouldn't be able to slash through Iron that efficiently. In their eyes, only a Spiritual Equipment should be able to do such a thing. They couldn't be blamed, that is just the common knowledge that they had long since accepted.
However, Juri heard that and just laughed out loud.
"If that is the case, would this customer be willing to use your own sword against our Steel Sword?"