Chapter 778 - 325: Harvest and Return Journey (Part 3)

However, he was a bit puzzled afterward, because they were just discussing the strength of these powder steel swords, and suddenly Li Younan pulled such a stunt. Is he trying to prove his skills and thereby demonstrate the strength of these swords?

While Winslow was still puzzled, Li Younan casually walked over to the butler and said, "Give me a sword."

The butler snapped back to reality and quickly responded, "Oh, yes sir, which one would you like?"

"Any one will do."

The butler picked up one: "Will this do?"

Li Younan took it; it was the Xuanyuan Sword.

These swords all have their names written in Chinese characters on the hilt.

At this moment, Li Younan held the Xuanyuan Sword in his right hand and the strength-maximized Tang Blade in his left, glanced at Winslow and said, "Watch closely, uncle."

He pressed the blade of the Xuanyuan Sword against the blade of the Tang Blade.

Winslow looked puzzled; this scene made him quite perplexed, not understanding what Li Younan was doing.

The next moment, Li Younan suddenly sliced downward with the Xuanyuan Sword, as if cutting a pencil tip with a small knife, a thin strip of curled blade floated at the contact point between the Xuanyuan Sword and the Tang Blade.

Winslow and the nearby butler were both dumbfounded as they watched.

Li Younan sliced all the way to the bottom in one go, and now the sharp blade of the Tang Blade had been shaved down a few millimeters, but it wasn’t enough, so he did it again.

Like peeling wood, there appeared to be almost no resistance.

He continued to slice three or four more times, and the Tang Blade was now thoroughly devoid of a sharp edge.

Then, Li Younan stood the Tang Blade upright on the ground and struck downward with the Xuanyuan Sword. He didn’t use much force, but the Xuanyuan Sword directly cut half a centimeter into the front of the Tang Blade.

Winslow and the butler were still in shock, and Li Younan pulled the Xuanyuan Sword from the notch in the Tang Blade, blew at the edge, then pressed the sword against the ground, applying pressure, bending the Xuanyuan Sword into a massive curve.

This scene instantly made Winslow’s eyelids twitch.

But as soon as Li Younan released the tension, the sword returned straight with incredible elasticity.

He then handed the sword back to Winslow, and Winslow saw that the blade of the Xuanyuan Sword looked flawless, and the sword was impeccably straight, with its resilience and strength beyond reproach!

Li Younan shrugged and said, "In fact, there’s a misconception here. From a physics standpoint, industrial production of powder steel is advantageous for its consistency and quality control, but that doesn’t mean their heat treatment is flawless."

"Powder steel contains minute pores internally; heat forging can weld these pores, refine the grains, making the material denser. But different companies vary in heat forging levels, so theoretically, secondary forging might further enhance density, increasing weapon strength and resilience."

"Before the official forging, I meticulously inspected this batch of powder steel. Theoretically, perfect heat forging not only doesn’t reduce its strength and toughness but can enhance it by around 30%~50%."

"But unfortunately, this batch of swords only increased by over 30% and didn’t reach 40% or more."

Upon hearing Li Younan’s regretful expression, Winslow’s lips twitched slightly.

He suspected Li Younan was showing off, but he had no evidence: Li Younan’s expression was so sincere, as if he was genuinely regretful.

With a somewhat dry throat, he coughed and said, "I... I understand."

"So, Mr. Winslow, have you decided which sword to use for the final test? This can be up to you."

"Then... just take any one."

"You see, I told you any one would be fine."

...

A few days later, in Winslow’s collection room.

At this moment, the dozens of ancient Chinese swords forged by Li Younan were displayed in the showcase, and in his hand was the Yuanhong Sword, which participated in the final competition, astonishing all judges and the other two competitors.

Indeed, it was randomly selected, every sword was outstanding, so Winslow picked the Yuanhong Sword with his eyes closed.

And the Yuanhong Sword did not disappoint, not only breezing through the tests but also impressing Beck and the Sword Forging Competition program’s producer with its aesthetics.

There was an interesting episode during this time. In fact, people eyeing Li Younan’s final competition sword were not only him; a fellow collector in his social circle, a wealthy person at his level, also wanted to buy this Yuanhong Sword as soon as the show finished recording.

How could Winslow possibly agree?

The two began bidding without courtesy; the Yuanhong Sword once reached the exaggerated price of eighty grand.

Finally, in a fit of fury, Winslow directly shouted the terrifying price of one hundred grand.

The other party was initially stunned upon hearing this price and then fumed.

But his anger was only fleeting.

Successfully acquiring this sword, Winslow felt like he had won a battle, triumphantly bragging to the opponent, "Actually, Li Younan forged 13 swords like this; this is only one of them."

Seeing the stunned expression on the opponent’s face, Winslow was immensely pleased, even more so than earning a few million.

And before the official testing, Li Younan had already sold all the works except for the Yuanhong Sword to Winslow.