After returning to the MC world, the first thing Ryen did was send Ningguang upstairs to rest for a while.
Today's focus was the Slash Blade mod. This mod was important overall, but for Ningguang personally, its significance was fairly limited.
The reason was simple.
Like Ryen, Ningguang had no real swordsmanship to speak of.
Even if she were given a Slash Blade, she'd much rather have a staff, it was far more straightforward for her.
Besides, the Slash Blade mod would eventually be delegated downward, with blacksmiths mass-producing them.
If Ningguang wanted one later, it would only take a single sentence.
Ryen even suspected that, down the line, an entirely new profession might branch off within the Millelith.
Soldiers stationed beneath mob farms, using Slash Blades to farm kills and stack kill counts.
As he thought about this, Ryen tucked Ningguang in properly, then headed downstairs.
Everyone was already waiting in the living room.
Albedo, in particular, was curiously examining the drastically changed interior.
He didn't visit this world often. To Albedo, alchemical research was always the top priority.
As long as this world provided research directions and a place to work, that was enough for him.
Still, the pace of development here was astonishing.
Blink once and everything changed completely.
Every visit felt novel.
When Ryen came downstairs, Albedo looked up at him and asked with interest:
"What are you having me research this time? These pieces of furniture? I can tell they carry a certain mystical quality, but overall, they don't seem to have much alchemical value."
Ryen waved his hand dismissively, sat down between Hu Tao and Lisa, and casually pulled them both into his arms as he smiled.
"We opened three mods this time in total. The furniture mod is meant for public use, it's not worth alchemical study."
"We'll send some over to you later. It'll improve your quality of life quite a bit."
"What you're really here for is another mod."
He paused, then asked curiously:
"You didn't know we opened three new mods this time?"
Albedo shook his head.
"Miss Ningguang only told me to come over, said there was a new mod to research. She didn't go into details."
"Fair enough. She's exhausted."
Ryen spoke up for Ningguang, then continued calmly:
"Besides the furniture mod, we also unlocked the Slash Blade mod and the Witchcraft mod."
Albedo's eyes immediately lit up.
"Slash Blades and witchcraft?"
"Interesting… I've always wanted to study those Slash Blades, to see how they actually carry spatial power."
"But you should be mentally prepared. With artifacts of this level, I probably won't gain much insight."
Ryen shrugged.
"I wasn't planning on having you research Slash Blades anyway. If you're interested, you can take one later and study it on your own."
"You're here mainly for witchcraft."
As he spoke, Ryen waved his hand again.
"But estimating the timing, that'll still take a while. No rush for now, we'll start by getting familiar with Slash Blades."
"Follow me."
With a gesture, Ryen led everyone down to the underground research room.
It was packed with chests stacked densely together, numerous crafting tables, and even an arcane workbench.
Nearly every material Ryen possessed was stored here in significant quantities, extremely comprehensive.
It saved the trouble of fetching things repeatedly.
There was also a bed in the research room.
Guizhong glanced at it and immediately blushed.
Just yesterday, she had almost failed to hold the line.
Ryen's "army" had practically battered down the gates, if she hadn't snapped back to her senses in time, she might've gone from an untouched maiden to a married woman in a daze.
After much negotiation, she'd barely convinced Ryen to wait a little longer.
As for the "price" she paid…
Guizhong pressed her lips together, cheeks warming again.
"I'll slow down the steps next," Ryen said as he took out the materials, reminding everyone.
"Record everything carefully."
"First: the Mother of Ten Thousand Blades, Wooden Puppet. One wooden sword, two wooden blocks."
Even though he said he'd go slowly, the truth was that this kind of crafting barely took any time.
In the blink of an eye, it was done.
Ryen swung the Wooden Puppet a few times, then said seriously:
"As the most basic starting Slash Blade for nearly all Slash Blade paths, you'll be making this countless times in the future."
"So you must memorize this recipe."
Everyone nodded solemnly.
"Also, pay attention, "
"The wooden sword used in crafting must have lost a bit of durability from attacking a creature."
"But for convenience, I've already prepared a full chest of wooden swords with one point of durability missing."
"Everyone, craft Wooden Puppets first. At least three per person. After that, just follow my lead."
Ryen walked around checking progress.
Before long, everyone had three Wooden Puppets each.
Satisfied, Ryen continued:
"Another crucial point: Slash Blades aren't indestructible."
"But the reason a single blade can kill thousands of enemies is because Slash Blades can be repaired."
"At an anvil, by consuming specific materials, you can restore their durability."
"Each Slash Blade requires different materials for repair. I'll give you a detailed guide later."
"Next…"
He thought for a moment, then said:
"Follow me closely: Bamboo Light, White Sheath, and Iron Blade Wood."
"These three are the upgrade paths from Wooden Puppet. If you want to proceed further, you must remember them."
"The three evolution paths of Wooden Puppet represent three different growth directions."
"These can all branch further later on."
"Just think of it as nested dolls."
"First: Bamboo Light. Wooden Puppet plus two bamboo."
Crafting Bamboo Light wasn't difficult at all.
With Ryen's ample materials, everyone tried it themselves and finished almost instantly.
Like a teacher, Ryen walked around inspecting their work, nodding in approval from time to time.
After so long in MC, if nothing else, everyone was very proficient with crafting tables.
But when Ryen reached Scaramouche, his brows furrowed tightly.
Looking at Scaramouche's crafting grid, Bamboo Light plus eight bamboo, Ryen scolded him:
"I told you two bamboo! Two! Can't you understand that?!"
Scaramouche looked sheepish and muttered:
"When I studied sword forging under the Raiden Gokaden, I was taught that more materials meant a stronger blade…"
"..."
Ryen was momentarily speechless.
After a pause, he snapped:
"Undo it! Make Bamboo Light properly!"
"Don't bring Teyvat habits into this world. There are strict standards here."
"This is not the time for creative freedom."
Scaramouche awkwardly remade Bamboo Light correctly.
Only then did Ryen return to his own crafting table.
After calming himself, he said evenly:
"I'm not against creative freedom. In fact, I've said more than once that this world thrives on imagination."
"I fully support experimenting with material combinations to see if new items can be crafted."
"But at the very least, specific weapons and tools have strict material counts and placements."
"At times like these, what you need isn't divergent thinking, it's rote memorization."
"Wooden Puppet and Bamboo Light are the foundation of foundations."
"They have no upper limit, and you won't be using them long-term anyway."
"Just memorize them."
Glancing at Scaramouche again, Ryen continued:
"Next, Sharp Blade: Basic Iron Blade!"
"Two iron ingots, one gold ingot. Watch my placement carefully…"
Everyone crowded closer, burning the pattern into memory.
Nilou looked surprised and asked softly:
"I heard a single gold ingot weighs nearly two tons. Isn't it wasteful to use it for a sword?"
Hearing this, everyone smiled knowingly.
Ryen said nothing, he simply gestured for Dehya and Nilou to follow him to a row of large chests.
He flipped one open casually.
Neatly stacked gold blocks filled the chest, full stacks of sixty-four, every slot packed.
Nilou and Dehya froze.
Ryen led them onward.
Six large chests in total, all filled with gold blocks.
"This is only part of it. There's much more elsewhere."
"One gold block weighs twenty tons. Sixty-four per stack. Do the math yourselves."
"If you want, I can build you a Zubayr Theater entirely out of gold."
"You can dance on gold every day. How about that?"
At Ryen's teasing, Nilou pressed her lips together and murmured:
"That's… absurd…"
"You'll get used to it."
Yae Miko smiled gently as she patted Nilou's shoulder.
"If we weren't worried about flooding the economy with gold all at once, our reserves would be enough to give every citizen of the Five Nations over a kilogram each."
Ryen clapped his hands.
"Alright. Finish crafting the Basic Iron Blade, then the last one."
"Advanced Iron Blade."
"This one you don't need to craft right now, but you should remember it."
He paused, then continued:
"Advanced Iron Blade is no longer an ordinary Slash Blade."
"It has an active skill: Phantom Blade, Vertical."
"Yes, spatial power."
"This blade requires Wooden Puppet with one thousand kills, plus four Soul Orbs, two Eyes of Ender, and two Ender Pearls."
"The requirements are fairly simple."
"If you want, you can farm them at a mob tower. One day is more than enough."
Everyone hurriedly wrote everything down.
Ryen waited quietly, then said:
"Next is Bamboo Light's superior blade: Silver-Paper Bamboo Light."
"Materials: one egg, one iron ingot, two strings, one coal, one piece of paper, plus Bamboo Light."
"Note, this blade still has no special skills, but its damage is already quite respectable."
"Even so, I don't recommend using it. It lacks defining traits."
"The most important function of Silver-Paper Bamboo Light is to produce a Sheath."
"After over one hundred kills, Silver-Paper Bamboo Light breaks and yields a Sheath."
Ryen paused and took out two sheaths from his inventory.
He'd farmed them at the mob tower the previous night.
With nighttime mob tower efficiency, it took less than ten minutes.
"For now, just take notes."
"Later, when you have time, you can farm your own Sheaths."
He added:
"Sheaths are the true value of Silver-Paper Bamboo Light."
"With them, you can branch into Rusted Blade, Ruby, and Terrace series."
"Rusted Blade leads to Dōtanuki, a blade said to cut the earth itself."
"Of course, that's just a claim. Its active skill is Gang Blade."
"Ruby's active skill is Dimensional Slash."
"Yes, spatial power again."
At this, everyone's spirits lifted, eyes fixed eagerly on Ryen.
He didn't disappoint.
He crafted a Ruby blade on the spot.
Before everyone's eyes, the blade evolved into a mature Slash Blade imbued with spatial power.
"You think that's all?"
Ryen suddenly chuckled, glancing around.
"Isn't it? That's already a spatial weapon."
Lumine shrugged.
Ryen smiled mysteriously and turned to Yae Miko.
"Do you remember your white fox?"
"Of course… you mean, ?"
"That's right."
"Ruby is the prerequisite blade for White Fox and Black Fox."