Weapon Refining, Four Ranks! Seeking Ferns!

"Ah, it's that sharp?"

Seeing this, Xiao Yi Xian could not help but cry out, her small mouth opening slightly.

At that moment, Jiang Lin revealed the hilt of the Water Pattern Gold Dagger. Embedded there was a first-tier gold-element Magic Core the size of a pigeon's egg!

In other words, Jiang Lin only needed to use a tiny bit of Dou Qi to trigger the Dou Qi energy contained within the first-tier gold-element Magic Core, adding a layer of sharp qi to the Water Pattern Gold Dagger's blade. As for how to make that Dou Qi precisely condense along the edge into a blade, that was the result of Jiang Lin's previous research.

"Hehe!" Jiang Lin moved close to Xiao Yi Xian and waved the Water Pattern Gold Dagger before her. Just as she was about to reach out and take it, he raised it high into the air, earning an angry glare from her.

"Childish!" Xiao Yi Xian huffed angrily, then turned and left without looking back.

"I don't even want it!"

"Hehe." Watching Xiao Yi Xian's retreating figure, Jiang Lin chuckled happily. He then tidied himself up, packed away his clothes, and chased after her. After all, eating was more important.

After hammering iron for half the day, Jiang Lin was now starving, barely holding on through sheer willpower.

In the second-floor loft of the Myriad Medicine House, Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian sat at the dining table, chatting idly as they waited for Jiang Lin to arrive.

"Huh? There's chicken stew today? Did something good happen, Mr. Yao?" The moment Jiang Lin, now dressed in clean clothes, came upstairs, he smelled the aroma of meat. Then he spotted a steaming pot of chicken stewed with mushrooms on the table, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"Isn't it because Mr. Yao saw how hard you worked all morning and worried that your body couldn't take it, so he specially added a dish for you?" Xiao Yi Xian could not help rolling her eyes at Jiang Lin. Ever since this guy had come to follow Mr. Yao, she had felt as though she had become just a little less favored.

Damn it! I was clearly... clearly here first!

"Come, eat. I saw how seriously you were working in the back courtyard, so I didn't disturb you. You look quite well—did you gain anything new?" Mr. Yao was a refined middle-aged man with a faint medicinal fragrance about him, always giving people the impression that he was easy to talk to.

Hearing that, Jiang Lin took the dagger he had hastily made a crude belt for from his chest and pushed it across the table toward Mr. Yao. As he wolfed down several mouthfuls of rice, he mumbled, "Before, I didn't have Dou Qi, so I could never make weapons that could use Dou Qi. Take a look, Mr. Yao. This dagger should count as a Ranked Weapon now. It's no longer one of those toys made by ordinary blacksmith shops."

In this world, many things were divided into the five ranks of Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow, and Unranked. Of course, Dou Techniques only had four ranks, while weapons had five, because only tools capable of using Dou Qi could enter the Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow grading system.

Even a sharp treasured sword forged by an ordinary blacksmith could not be used with Dou Qi and could only be considered finely made. Of course, under special circumstances, even flowers and leaves in the hands of an expert could become lethal weapons. Weapons that were highly compatible with Dou Qi, however, could be called Dou Qi Weapons—that was, Ranked Weapons.

Just as there were pharmacists before the profession of Alchemist, there were blacksmiths before the profession of Artifact Forger. However, the people of the Dou Qi Continent did not think much of Artifact Forgers. After all, at most, there were only Mysterious-grade Artifact Forgers in this world. Earth-grade Artifact Forgers basically did not exist. The Earth-grade and higher weapons circulating across the continent were almost all either blanks made from high-grade materials or items found in some secret realm. (Such as the Profound Weight Ruler.)

Now that Jiang Lin could forge Yellow-grade low-tier weapons, he had officially stepped through the doorway of Weapon Refining—and he had done so without a teacher.

Hearing this, Mr. Yao drew the Water Pattern Gold Dagger and examined it carefully, flashes of surprise occasionally appearing in his eyes.

"Artifact Forging is a declining profession. Qingshan Town has never even heard of an Artifact Forger's existence. Who would have thought? Who would have thought that you, little fellow, would truly learn it without a teacher." Mr. Yao continuously ran his fingers over the exquisite patterns on the Water Pattern Gold Dagger, as though they had been naturally formed. The technique of Hundred-Refined Steel was not unheard of in this world, but no one made it as exquisitely as Jiang Lin did.

"Mr. Yao, I treated seventeen patients today!" Xiao Yi Xian cut in from the side.

"Hahahaha!" Hearing that, Mr. Yao looked at Xiao Yi Xian and Jiang Lin, both of whom were buried in their meals, and his gaze softened considerably. "Good, good, good. Xian'er did very well today too." Looking at the two little ones he had raised, Mr. Yao sometimes felt that days like these were quite nice.

He had brought Xiao Yi Xian from the Chu Yun Empire, while he had adopted Jiang Lin from the Monster Mountain Range. Before he knew it, he, who had once been all alone, had somehow gained two little followers behind him.

"Back to Artifact Forgers. You two have never traveled far from home, so it is only natural that you do not know these secrets." Mr. Yao set down the Water Pattern Gold Dagger, raised a bowl of tea, and moistened his throat before reminiscing to the two little ones who were busily eating. "In this world, an Artifact Forger's status is actually no lower than an Alchemist's. Surprising, right? I was quite surprised too. But when I saw at an auction house that a Mysterious-grade weapon of the same rank sold for more than a Mysterious-grade Dou Technique, I understood. No matter how much people praise Alchemists, when they encounter a high-quality Dou Qi Weapon, their bodies are still very honest."

Mr. Yao had traveled to many places in his youth, so he was an elder with exceptionally rich experience.

"Generally speaking, an expert needs powerful cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, medicinal pills, and weapons. Only with all four can one be considered truly strong."

"Take this Yellow-grade low-tier dagger forged by Lin'er. If a child with Dou Qi held this weapon, even Dou Zhe and Dou Masters would feel a trace of apprehension. If they were careless, this Dou Qi Weapon could easily cut through their protective Dou Qi and injure their physical bodies."

The Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow ranks of Artifact Forgers corresponded to nine realms. Among them, the Yellow grade corresponded to the three realms of Dou Zhe, Dou Master, and Da Dou Shi. Since the Dou Qi Garments of Dou Masters and Da Dou Shi operated on the same principle, even top-tier Yellow-grade weapons could still cut through them with ease.

Heaven-grade Weapons corresponded to Dou Zun and Dou Saints. The Profound Weight Ruler was the blank of an Earth-grade weapon, which was why, when facing a Dou Zun, someone could leave a palm print on it.

"Although this dagger is Yellow-grade low-tier and can at most threaten Dou Zhe below the Dou Master realm, it could still sell for around five thousand Gold Coins. Lin'er, what do you think?" Mr. Yao roughly estimated the Water Pattern Gold Dagger's value, then handed the choice over to Jiang Lin.