Learning Forging

Xia Yi did not respond to Forging Master Ao Chuang or his disciple Wu Qian. He had kept his eyes closed and rested from start to finish, making Wu Qian feel as though she had thrown a full-force punch into cotton. She stomped her feet in frustration, yet there was nothing she could do.

"Enough, girl. Don't let him affect your mood. Calm your mind and steady your breathing. Don't forget that this is your test." As a fourth-level Forging Master, Ao Chuang knew that a blacksmith could not afford to be distracted during Forging, or all their efforts could easily go to waste.

Originally, he had not agreed to let Xia Yi stay nearby, but since Wu Qian had spoken up, he could not refuse her.

Besides, there would be an evaluator present shortly. Xia Yi would not dare disturb Wu Qian.

What Ao Chuang feared now was that Wu Qian's state of mind would be thrown into disarray by Xia Yi's provocation.

"I understand." Though Wu Qian was furious, she thought about how she was about to take the blacksmith rank test. It concerned whether she could become a blacksmith in the future, so she had no choice but to suppress the anger in her heart.

Soon, a tall, broad-shouldered evaluator pushed open the door and entered. Seeing that there were actually two children inside, he froze for a moment.

Fortunately, the staff had not yet left. They explained the entire situation to him, and only then did he understand what was going on.

The two children were competing with each other, and the evaluator could only shake his head helplessly. He addressed Wu Qian first. "There are fifteen kinds of metal here. Choose one and perform Hundred Refinement purification on it. I'll score you based on the metal you choose and its degree of purification. If you score over sixty, you can advance to a first-level blacksmith."

"Yes!" Wu Qian shot Xia Yi, who was still meditating, a resentful glare before walking toward the rack of metals at the side.

She did not notice that the instant she turned around, Xia Yi opened his eyes.

There were fifteen types of metal, each one a cubic foot in size.

The metals came in different colors and had different textures.

The evaluator did not tell Wu Qian what those metals were. This required her and her teacher to have a sufficient understanding of the various metals, and she also had to choose one that she could handle.

The quality of the metal and the effect of its purification complemented each other in the scoring.

Honestly, Wu Qian was not very capable. She had come to take the blacksmith rank test, yet she did not recognize more than half of the metals.

Fortunately, her teacher Ao Chuang was beside her and explained the names and properties of every type of metal one by one.

In the end, she chose a metal called Crimson Flame Copper.

Xia Yi remembered Ao Chuang introducing this metal to Wu Qian earlier. He had said that Crimson Flame Copper was one of the most malleable metals, making it the least likely to be damaged during Forging. Crude purification was easy, but refined purification was especially difficult.

Crimson Flame Copper was not especially dense among rare metals. A cubic-foot block of Sinking Silver weighed around three hundred jin, and Wu Qian could not even lift it. Her teacher had to help her carry the Crimson Flame Copper onto the Forging Table.

"Begin. You have one hour. Within that hour, purify this piece of Crimson Flame Copper as much as possible. Whatever degree you achieve will determine your score." As he spoke, the evaluator took out a timer and placed it in the most conspicuous spot on the Forging Table.

Wu Qian glanced at the timer, and a trace of panic was clearly visible in her eyes. Still, she immediately activated the Forging Table, raised the temperature, and placed the Crimson Flame Copper inside to be heated.

The hour included the heating time.

The Crimson Flame Copper was heated for about ten minutes. During that time, Wu Qian stretched and took several deep breaths, continuously adjusting her Soul Power.

She kept adjusting her condition.

When the heating was complete, Wu Qian quickly pressed a button with her left hand. The Crimson Flame Copper, which had just reached a temperature suitable for Forging, slowly rose from the Forging Table.

She lightly brushed her right hand across her Storage Soul Tool Ring, and a dark little hammer appeared in her hand.

A Thousand Refinement Hammer. The evaluator raised his head and glanced at the fourth-level Forging Master Ao Chuang. Wu Qian could not possibly possess Thousand Refinement ability, so this Thousand Refinement Hammer could only have been forged for her by Ao Chuang.

With the Thousand Refinement Hammer's aid, Wu Qian's chances of passing the test would rise greatly.

Xia Yi looked up at the left wall of the Forging Room, where more than ten Forging Hammers of varying weights hung.

However, compared with the Thousand Refinement Forging Hammer in Wu Qian's hand, those Forging Hammers seemed to be missing something.

Xia Yi could not tell yet that those Forging Hammers were merely Hundred Refinement Forging Hammers.

Clang! As Wu Qian's twin hammers struck the red-hot Crimson Flame Copper, the Thousand Refinement Hammer bounced back with a ring, while the Crimson Flame Copper sank slightly inward.

"Don't use too much force, or you won't have enough strength later to carry out Hundred Refinement purification." Ao Chuang hurriedly reminded her. He knew Wu Qian's strength very well. If every strike was as forceful as the first, she would be exhausted after at most fifty blows.

After hearing Ao Chuang's words, Wu Qian's next strike was indeed lighter.

"Pay attention to the echoes. Use them to judge the degree of purification, and try to keep the purification even," Ao Chuang continued to remind her.

"Watch the grain of the Crimson Flame Copper carefully. You cannot damage it, or you'll lose a lot of points!"

"Strike the upper left ten more times. The echoes there are clearly wrong; there are too many impurities."

"Strike the lower right corner five times, and use a little more force."

Following Ao Chuang's repeated instructions, the Thousand Refinement Hammer in Wu Qian's hand kept falling, again and again striking the Crimson Flame Copper on the Forging Table.

By then, Xia Yi had already come to the Forging Table. As he listened to Ao Chuang's instructions to Wu Qian, he watched the Crimson Flame Copper steadily shrink under repeated strikes.

He was also observing the grain of the Crimson Flame Copper and listening to the echoes produced when Wu Qian's Thousand Refinement Hammer struck it. He was even more focused than Wu Qian herself, who was actually Forging the Crimson Flame Copper.

He committed every word Ao Chuang said firmly to memory.

Fortunately, Wu Qian, Ao Chuang, and the evaluator were all focused on the Crimson Flame Copper. None of them had the attention to spare for him.

After more than thirty strikes, Wu Qian's speed visibly slowed. Sweat began to appear on her forehead, and by the fiftieth strike, she had no choice but to release her martial soul. As a white soul ring rose around her, she picked up the Forging Hammer again and continued Forging.

But by then, it was already difficult for her speed to increase any further.

"Time's up! Stop Forging!" At the evaluator's command, Wu Qian released the Thousand Refinement Hammer immediately after her final strike landed.

Although her Thousand Refinement Hammer was not large, it weighed twenty kilograms. After swinging it continuously for fifty minutes, she felt as though her arms were about to break.

"A total of one hundred and thirteen strikes. That meets the basic requirement for Hundred Refinement purification." The evaluator picked up the completed Crimson Flame Copper and examined it before adding, "The purity barely meets the requirements. Your overall score is sixty-three. Congratulations, you have become a first-level blacksmith."

Upon hearing the result, Wu Qian finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the nearby sofa.

She was so exhausted that she did not even have the strength to show off in front of Xia Yi.

"Your turn. What metal will you choose?" the evaluator asked Xia Yi.

Xia Yi took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I want Crimson Flame Copper too."

Crimson Flame Copper was the only metal he understood well enough right now, so it was the only one he could choose.

"All right, wait here." The evaluator nodded and took two pieces of Crimson Flame Copper from the storeroom. Seeing Xia Yi's sickly appearance and that he had no teacher to help him, he kindly placed one piece of Crimson Flame Copper on the Forging Table and the other in the metal selection area.

Xia Yi said nothing. He immediately copied Wu Qian's actions, activating the Forging Table, raising the temperature, and placing the Crimson Flame Copper inside to be heated.

Then he took a twenty-kilogram Hundred Refinement Hammer from the wall and stood before the Forging Table, waiting for the Crimson Flame Copper to finish heating.