Blacksmith Shop

Clang, clang. Before he even got close, Lin Manshan could hear the rhythmic pounding.

A hammer emblem, outer walls built from packed earth. Looking inside as he approached, he saw several brick-and-wood buildings standing together. Sparks flew from the Forging Room connected to the chimney.

Several blacksmiths were working together, hammering away, while nearby wooden racks were filled with all kinds of ironware.

It was a small blacksmith shop, but it had everything it needed.

Lin Manshan walked straight in and headed toward the Forging Table.

"Little boy, it's dangerous there. Stop right now and don't come any closer!" Seeing Lin Manshan heading for the Forging Room, a burly bare-chested man who had been speaking with a customer beside the racks hurried over. Frowning slightly, he looked down at Lin Manshan, who had stopped and turned around. "Where are your parents? Didn't they tell you it's dangerous to go near a blacksmith shop's Forging Room?"

In an area where commoners gathered, plenty of families sent their children to buy ironware. But children as young as this were rarely seen. The Forging Furnace inside was extremely hot, and the surrounding area was cluttered with all sorts of things. A child too young to know better could easily fall in, and the consequences would be unthinkable.

Moreover, the child before him was wearing a Nuoding Academy uniform. If anything happened, their blacksmith shop could not bear the responsibility. Could a phoenix really rise from a humble nest? How could a Nuoding Academy student be in a place like this?

The man felt a lingering fear in his heart and could not help thinking about it.

"Hello, Uncle!" Lin Manshan greeted him politely and said seriously, "I'm here to apply as an apprentice."

"Little boy, don't fool around. This isn't a place you should be. Judging by your age and clothes, you must have only recently joined Nuoding Academy, right? Becoming a Spirit Master is an incredible achievement. Hurry back. Study hard and become a real Spirit Master as soon as possible—that's what matters." The man smiled, his tone gentle. He could tell that the child before him, like himself, had been born a commoner and was probably short on money. Otherwise, he would not have come to a place like this to apply as a blacksmith apprentice.

On the continent, blacksmithing was one of the lowest professions. Anyone with even a little status looked down on it.

"Uncle, my Martial Soul is a blade. My teacher said that if I wanted to use this kind of Martial Soul well, I needed to train my arm and waist strength. I think smithing is a good way to do that. It can train my body and earn money at the same time." Lin Manshan stated his purpose, his voice earnest. "Also, I'm very strong. I've watched the blacksmiths in my village forge things since I was little. I may not know how to forge ironware yet, but refining pig iron won't be a problem."

"Uncle, if you don't believe me, I can refine a piece of pig iron for you right here. Besides, I'm a Work-Study Student at the academy, so I have time every afternoon."

The man was stunned after hearing this. Lin Manshan's words did make sense. Smithing was physical labor. The more you worked, the more you ate, and it truly did train one's waist and arm strength. Just look at the Employees in his shop—which one of them did not have broad shoulders, thick waists, and powerful hips?

Still, could such a young child even lift a Forging Hammer? And refine pig iron?

"Boss, why not let the kid give it a try?" The blacksmiths in the Forging Room had stopped working by then and began chiming in with interest.

One of the blacksmiths exchanged glances with the man, nodded slightly, and slowly walked forward with a Forging Hammer in hand.

"Little boy, if you can swing this Forging Hammer, I'll let you try."

"Mm-hm." Lin Manshan nodded at once, took the hammer from the blacksmith's hand with his right hand, and casually swung it up and down.

"Good heavens, he can swing it one-handed."

"Having Soul Power with a Martial Soul really is different. Even a child has this much strength."

"He's a natural-born blacksmith."

"..." The blacksmiths in the Forging Room gaped in astonishment and praised him repeatedly.

"Alright, little boy, you're hired as my apprentice." Tie Shan said Laughing. Whether Lin Manshan could truly refine pig iron or not, that strength alone made him an outstanding prospect. With a little teaching, he should be able to start working. If he could raise a Spirit Master blacksmith, it would bring honor to Tie Shan's name. It might even bring better business to the shop.

There was no way this would be a losing deal.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Tie Shan, and this is my younger brother, Tie Zhu." Smiling, the man led Lin Manshan into the Forging Room and introduced each blacksmith in turn. Then they removed a Forging Table from its fixed wooden stump and adjusted its height. Tie Shan picked up a red-hot piece of pig iron from the furnace with tongs and placed it on top. "A'man, try refining this piece of pig iron. Let me see how solid your foundation is."

With that, he retreated to the side with the other blacksmiths.

"Alright." Lin Manshan nodded, set the hammer aside, and quickly took off his academy uniform, revealing a short-sleeved shirt and pale arms beneath. Compared to the blacksmiths present, his arms were clearly much thinner. Yet the faintly bulging muscles showed the marks of long-term training. Picking up the hammer again, Lin Manshan fixed his gaze on the iron block and slowly raised it.

The next moment, he swung it down fiercely.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Intense, rhythmic impacts rang out in rapid succession.

"This is...?" Tie Shan, Tie Zhu, and the other blacksmiths stared ever more intently. They had an inexplicable illusion that what Lin Manshan wielded was not a hammer at all, but a Great Blade. Blow after blow, like towering waves stirred by a raging wind, each wave rose higher than the last. Every strike grew heavier, carrying an aura of Press Forward Indomitably, and each chop was incomparably decisive.

"Is this kid really that good?" Though the customers watching did not understand forging, they could tell from the blacksmiths' expressions that Lin Manshan's skill was anything but ordinary.

Before long, Lin Manshan stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The iron block on the Forging Table had cooled considerably and shrunk by a large margin.

"A'man, is your arm alright?" Tie Shan strode over, lowered his head to inspect the iron block, opened his mouth, then quickly looked up again. He stared at Lin Manshan's reddened right arm as if looking at a monster. Such a domineering, rapid refining technique undoubtedly placed immense demands on the arm's strength. Even he would not dare smith like that, yet Lin Manshan not only dared to do it—he seemed completely fine.

"Uncle Tie Shan, I'm fine. It's just a little hot." Lin Manshan smiled.

Tie Shan let out a long breath of relief, then sighed. "A'man, the blacksmith who taught you this hammering technique must be a forging master. To be honest, I feel that only the legendary Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer could compare to it."

He was certain this was not the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, because that technique emphasized borrowing force to apply force. Lin Manshan's technique, however, was fiercer and more domineering. Each hammer blow went through to the end. No, it did not look like hammering—it looked like chopping, like slicing, driving all his force through in one stroke. At the end, he used inertia to shed part of the recoil, stopping precisely when needed.

By drawing back with less recoil, he protected his arm while maintaining the continuity of his hammer strikes.

In Tie Shan's eyes, such an exquisite technique could only mean that the blacksmith had seen Lin Manshan's Divine Power and recognized him as a talented prospect for smithing, which was why he had been willing to let him keep watching. After all, if merely watching a few times could raise someone's refining ability to this level, Tie Shan would never believe it. What a pity. I can't see how exactly he's exerting his strength. Tie Shan sighed inwardly.

He also knew that Lin Manshan must have been told not to pass on such a forging technique.

As someone with professional ethics, Tie Shan could not bring himself to ask for it. Even if he wanted to learn it, he would have to seek out that forging master.

At my age, with my talent, that person would definitely look down on me.

"Still, although A'man's force application is extraordinarily exquisite, he clearly lacks knowledge of forging materials and experience in judging where to apply force when swinging the hammer. He struck many wrong spots and wasted a lot of strength. That master only taught A'man the most basic hammering techniques of a blacksmith, probably to build his foundation. Now that A'man's foundation is sufficient, he simply hasn't begun teaching him the later techniques for forging finished products."

"If I teach A'man what I know, wouldn't that make me half his master? Once A'man becomes famous across the continent... damn, I'll be able to boast about it for the rest of my life."

"Especially since A'man is a Spirit Master!"

"One day, when I go to the Gengxin City Blacksmith Association for the Blacksmith Convention, I'll have so much face."

Thinking of this, the smile on Tie Shan's face widened.

"Ah? I was just hammering the way I know how. I don't understand anything else..." Lin Manshan said somewhat awkwardly.

"It's fine. That master should tell you the rest on his own in the future." Tie Shan smiled, then his expression turned Serious. "A'man, while your hammering technique is exquisite, your forging experience is still lacking in many ways, especially your understanding of forging materials and your judgment of the points where force should be applied when swinging the hammer. These things need to be accumulated slowly through practice."

"From now on, you can learn here in the shop from me and the other uncles. Don't be polite if there's anything you don't understand—just ask. As for your wages, how about one Silver Soul Coin per month for now, the same as the other uncles? If business is good, you'll get a commission too."

"Thank you, Uncle Tie Shan." Lin Manshan nodded repeatedly. "But Uncle Tie Shan, the academy has its opening ceremony tomorrow, so I probably can't come until the day after tomorrow."

"A'man, so you're a new student. Then this year, you're only..." Tie Shan looked surprised. While inwardly praising Lin Manshan for being hardworking and willing to endure hardship, he became even more certain that Lin Manshan was a natural fit for smithing. He had to teach him well!

He smiled and nodded slightly. "That's fine. Come once you've taken care of things at the academy."

"Mm. Uncle Tie Shan, then I'll head back to the academy first."

After bidding everyone Farewell, Lin Manshan put on his academy uniform, walked out of the blacksmith shop, and headed straight toward the academy.

On the way, he bought bedding, carried it on his back, and ran back to the Dormitory.