Designing the Flame Sword

After assigning the tasks, He Fenghua delivered a few more motivational words before wrapping up.

"Rest for three days. All Yellow-level Demon Suppression Officers must reach their assigned villages and towns within three days. That's all for today, you may leave."

"Yes, Lord He Fenghua."

The crowd responded and departed.

He Fenghua watched Gu Qingfeng's retreating figure, a cold smile creeping onto his lips.

Assigning Gu Qingfeng to the most dangerous area was no accident; He Fenghua had never been a magnanimous person.

Ever since Gu Qingfeng refused to sell the Wood King Sword, He Fenghua harbored resentment towards him. Today, being publicly humiliated by Gu Qingfeng only intensified his desire for revenge.

Bound by the rules of the Demon Suppression Bureau, he couldn't personally crush Gu Qingfeng like an ant, so he resorted to using a knife to kill him.

And that knife was the demonic creatures of Blackwater Village.

...

On the way back, Wang Fatty was in a state of panic, trying to persuade Gu Qingfeng, "Lord Gu! Lord Gu! Since things have come to this, please listen to me!"

Gu Qingfeng glanced at him, "What do you want to say?"

"Lord Gu, could you possibly plead with Lord He Fenghua to assign us to a different village? If it requires money, I do have some savings..."

Gu Qingfeng cut him off, "To be honest with you, He Fenghua and I have a grudge. No amount of money would change his mind."

Wang Fatty's chubby face turned pale.

He thought, "I'm done for, I've been tricked. I've boarded a pirate ship."

He had chosen Gu Qingfeng for safety, only to find out that Gu Qingfeng had offended his superior. Just appointed and already being given the cold shoulder, how would he survive under Gu Qingfeng?

Wang Fatty's small eyes darted around, "Lord Gu, since we have no choice but to go to Blackwater Village, how about this: we pretend to patrol the outskirts of the village in three days, without actually entering it. That should suffice for our duty."

Gu Qingfeng, seeing Wang Fatty's anxious and hopeful expression, suppressed a chuckle but maintained a righteous demeanor, "How could that be! We, as Demon Suppression Officers, are duty-bound to eliminate demons and protect the people. Knowing that Blackwater Village is suffering from demonic infestation and doing nothing about it is a disgrace to our duty and the people we serve."

Wang Fatty was dumbfounded by this speech. He couldn't believe this was the same person who had talked about fleeing from demons earlier.

Wang Fatty was desperate and turned to Xu Fan, who stood like a wooden statue, not saying a word.

"Xu Fan, don't just stand there like a fool, say something! Persuade Lord Gu!"

"Ah? Oh." Xu Fan snapped out of his daze, "Lord Gu is right."

Gu Qingfeng felt amused and patted Xu Fan's shoulder in encouragement.

Wang Fatty, seeing the two in cahoots, was dumbfounded, his fat jiggling with anger.

He pointed at Xu Fan, "Xu... Xu Fan! I asked you to persuade Lord Gu, what are you saying?"

"But I think Lord Gu is right. As Demon Suppression Officers of the Bureau, it's our duty to eliminate demons. We can't shirk our responsibilities." Xu Fan said matter-of-factly.

Wang Fatty was furious.

"Xu Fan, if you're so brave, why did you join Lord Gu's team after hearing his speech?"

Xu Fan scratched his head, "The book says, 'A gentleman does not stand under a leaning wall.' Lord Gu's team was the safest, so I naturally joined it."

"If a gentleman doesn't stand under a leaning wall, then why are you insisting on going to Blackwater Village?"

"The book says, 'A gentleman does not stand by and watch others in peril.'"

"You... you you you..." Wang Fatty was so angry he started to roll his eyes, unable to utter a single word.

Gu Qingfeng watched the two clowns with amusement. It seemed he had made the right choice in recruiting them; at least it wouldn't be boring.

To reassure them, Gu Qingfeng also added, "You two, rest assured. With me here, those mere demons are nothing to worry about."

This only made Wang Fatty even more distraught. What kind of team had he joined?

The leader was only at the fourth level of Qi condensation and already so arrogant.

The only teammate was a book-smart fool!

How could he, a normal person, survive?

...

After parting ways with Wang Shan and Xu Fan, Gu Qingfeng found a training room to practice. There were still three days before they had to go to Blackwater Village, and there was nothing else to do, so he might as well practice the One-Word Blazing Sun Sword.

This time, he planned to use ordinary fire, which wouldn't be too powerful, suitable for training in the room.

The training rooms were protected by arrays, very sturdy.

Before starting, Gu Qingfeng took out a prepared fire starter, lit it with flint, and began to control the fire.

While lighting the fire, Gu Qingfeng realized the inconvenience.

If he were to use ordinary fire with the One-Word Blazing Sun Sword in combat, he would have to light the fire first each time.

After all, the fire control talent was just a fire transporter, not a fire producer.

In a real battle, who would give you the chance to light a fire?

If he used the Bone Demon Fire, the power would be too great and too conspicuous. It couldn't be a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut every time.

He had to find a way to solve the problem with ordinary fire.

Ordinary fire was just common flame, which needed combustible material and air. Even if he used his fire control talent to store it in his body, it would naturally extinguish soon. So he had to change his approach.

Since it couldn't be stored, he had to simplify the process of lighting the fire, ideally making it so that drawing the sword would ignite the fire.

Drawing the sword and having fire?

Huh! There it is!

Gu Qingfeng suddenly had an epiphany, and an idea immediately came to mind.

Why not design the sword to act like a lighter?

The blade could be made of special flint material, the scabbard filled with special oil, and a latch could be added inside the scabbard. When the sword was drawn, it would rub against the latch, igniting the oil, resulting in a flaming sword!

The remaining special oil in the scabbard wouldn't need to worry about burning, as it could be extinguished by the fire control talent.

Perfect!

Gu Qingfeng clapped his hands, becoming more and more convinced of the idea's feasibility.

"Hahaha, as a modern person, my thinking is just so unique!"

With that thought, Gu Qingfeng couldn't wait to stop practicing and rushed out of the training room to the Weapons Bureau.

The Demon Suppression Bureau was an important department of the Great Yan Dynasty, and even its branches were fully equipped.

The Weapons Bureau, Talisman Bureau, Alchemy Bureau, and more were all present.

At the Weapons Bureau, Gu Qingfeng presented his Yellow-level Demon Suppression Officer badge and was allowed to pass without obstruction, quickly finding a well-regarded old blacksmith.

He described his idea to the old blacksmith.

The blacksmith was dumbfounded, having forged weapons all his life, this was the first time he had heard such a request.