Hundred Refinements Method

The wager was set, and the news spread like wildfire throughout the entire recruit camp.

Recruits challenging veterans!

This was undoubtedly the most exciting seasoning for their monotonous training life. The entire camp was filled with an excited atmosphere of those who love to watch a good show and don't mind a bit of trouble.

However, for the parties involved, Wei Zhe's squad was shrouded in gloom.

"Squad leader, are we really going to compete with them?"

"Yeah, they're all veterans who've been on the battlefield. We... we haven't even gotten a firm grip on our glaives yet."

"We're finished. A month's worth of meat..."

Inside the tent, the squad members sighed, devoid of any fighting spirit. Three days, in their opinion, was simply not enough time to bridge the vast chasm between them and the veterans.

"All of you, shut up!"

Wei Zhe's low shout instantly silenced the tent.

"You're thinking about losing before the fight even begins. Are you even soldiers of Great Qin?" His gaze swept sternly over each person. "Instead of sighing, why not think about how to win!"

The squad members lowered their heads in shame.

"From now on, for the next three days, all of your training volume will be doubled!" Wei Zhe's voice was unquestionable. "Hu Lei, you're strong and sturdy. Your mission is to withstand the frontal assault and be our shield! Everyone else, you only need to practice one move: the thrust! Simple, fast, and deadly thrusts! I want each of you to practice it a thousand, ten thousand times within three days! Until this move is etched into your bones!"

He didn't teach any complex formations because there simply wasn't enough time. What he wanted to do was to maximize his squad's strengths in these three days: discipline and execution!

Under Wei Zhe's strict supervision, the squad began hellish special training.

However, after just one day, Wei Zhe discovered a serious problem.

The glaives in the recruits' hands were all standard issue weapons uniformly distributed from the armory. They were crudely made, uneven in weight, and had varying center of gravity. This severely impacted the thrusting action, which required precise control.

"No, we have to solve the weapon problem."

A flash of inspiration struck Wei Zhe, and he thought of his other system ability: forging.

He made up his mind and found Shi Meng, who was supervising the training.

"Instructor, I have something to report."

"Speak." Shi Meng looked at him, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

"Instructor, I've found that the glaives my brothers are holding are unstable in their center of gravity, severely affecting training effectiveness. Before enlisting, I was a blacksmith and know some rudimentary forging skills. I humbly request permission to use the army's furnace. I want to try recalibrating the center of gravity of these glaives to improve my squad's combat power and prepare for the competition in three days!"

Wei Zhe's reasoning was sound and logical, demonstrating his desire for victory while perfectly concealing the existence of the system.

"Oh? You know forging?" Shi Meng was somewhat surprised. He remembered Wei Zhe's hometown, Beacon Tower Town Blacksmith Shop.

He pondered for a moment. The army's furnace was a crucial place for forging weapons and armor, and outsiders were generally not allowed near it. However, Wei Zhe's situation was special, and his request was indeed aimed at improving the army's combat effectiveness.

"Very well." Shi Meng finally nodded. "In the western corner of the recruit camp, there's a discarded old furnace that hasn't been used in a long time. If you have the skill, clean it up yourself and use it. As for materials... just use your scrap metal. I'd like to see what kind of tricks a blacksmith's son can pull off."

"Thank you for your permission, instructor!" Wei Zhe was overjoyed.

After getting permission, he immediately had Hu Lei and the others collect all the glaives from the squad and carry them to the abandoned corner.

Indeed, there was a semi-collapsed earthen furnace and a dilapidated bellows, along with some rusty tools and discarded iron scraps scattered nearby.

"You guys continue training. I'll handle this," Wei Zhe instructed.

After the squad members left, Wei Zhe immediately got to work. He inspected the furnace and found that the main structure was still intact, though somewhat damaged. This was not a difficult task for him.

He quickly repaired the furnace body, cleaned out the hearth, and adjusted the bellows, which were barely usable.

He lit the furnace fire, disassembled the metal head of a glaive, and threw it into the blazing furnace.

"Ding, detected host using forging function for the first time."

"Issuing series quest: Path of the Divine Craftsman."

"Quest 1: Forge or modify the first weapon of 'Superior Grade' quality. Reward: 200 Tempering Points, Forging Blueprint Armor-Piercing Awl."

The system notification sounded at the opportune moment.

"It's here!"

Wei Zhe's spirits lifted. He took off his shirt, revealing his well-built upper body. He picked up a rusty hammer, weighed it, and found it wasn't very comfortable to use.

He simply threw this hammer into the furnace to heat it up, then placed it on the anvil and began hammering with another small hammer.

He was going to forge himself a handy hammer first!

As he hammered, a miraculous scene unfolded. He didn't use brute force but followed the principles of the Thousand Refinement Force. Each hammer blow carried a spiral force, as if transferring the hammer's power completely into the heated iron block.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Rhythmic hammer sounds echoed in the corner.

Under his tempering, impurities were hammered out of the rusty lump of iron bit by bit. Its volume decreased, while its density continuously increased.

An hour later, a brand new, ancient-looking octagonal iron hammer with a mirror-smooth striking surface appeared on the anvil.

Wei Zhe immersed it in cold water for quenching.

"Hiss--"

With a puff of white smoke, the hammer was completed.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for forging a 'Superior Grade' Octagonal Hammer, Forging Skill Proficiency +10."

Wei Zhe gripped the hammer, custom-made for him, and a feeling of connection, as if to his own bloodline, surged within him.

He picked up the glowing red glaive head again and placed it on the anvil.

This time, he held nothing back.

Thousand Refinement Force was activated at full power!

The warm stream of energy in his dantian surged through his meridians into his arms. The Octagonal Hammer in his hand seemed to come alive!

The hammer shadows in his hands were as fast as lightning. Each strike landed precisely on the critical points of the glaive head. He wasn't just calibrating the center of gravity; he was purifying the steel and increasing its toughness through folding and hammering!

What would normally take ordinary blacksmiths several days was completed by him in just half an hour.

When he quenched the re-forged glaive head again, a faint, flowing cloud pattern, like ripples on water, appeared on its surface! The edge also became sharper than before, gleaming with a chilling sharpness.

Wei Zhe reassembled it and swung it casually.

"Hummm—"

The glaive cut through the air in a perfect arc, emitting a clear, resonant hum.

It felt light yet strong, with a perfect center of gravity, as if it had become an extension of his arm.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for modifying a 'Superior Grade' Glaive, Forging Skill Proficiency +5."

Wei Zhe looked at the masterpiece in his hands and nodded in satisfaction.

With such a divine weapon, his chances of winning the competition in three days had increased by another three points!

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