Enlightenment

Master Bentham walked over to Abel, picked up a 30-pound sledgehammer from the workbench, tossed the rough ingot into the furnace, and said to Abel while watching the fire, "You are the most talented child I've ever seen. I'll only do it once. How much you can learn is up to you."

Master Bentham took the red-hot rough ingot out of the furnace with tongs and placed it on the anvil. He raised the sledgehammer high, carefully observed the ingot, and then brought it down heavily. Each strike was slow but incredibly powerful, causing the massive workbench to tremble.

"After being refined to 80-refined, the rough ingot becomes very hard. Forcing it further won't help forge it and will actually damage its internal structure. That's why we switch to a larger hammer after 80-refined. Each strike must land on the ingot's structural grain. Watch carefully. You have great strength, and as long as you're meticulous, mastering this skill is no problem," Master Bentham instructed Abel while hammering the ingot.

Abel's purple eyes were fixed on the rough ingot. At the points where the Master's hammer fell, he could vaguely see subtle lines. They were hard to spot on the dark red ingot, yet the Master struck the grain with every blow. With each impact, the ingot changed shape, and the next grain had to be found anew.

Master Bentham tossed the 81-refined ingot into the furnace and handed the 30-pound sledgehammer to Abel, saying, "You try it."

Abel took the hammer and used tongs to retrieve the red-hot ingot from the furnace. His eyes locked onto it. Where are the lines? Where are they? he thought. Abel's focus intensified, and everything around him seemed to disappear. The entire world consisted only of the ingot before him. The ingot grew larger and larger in his eyes, and every minute detail on it registered in his mind. Found it. You're here.

The 30-pound sledgehammer smashed down heavily onto the ingot. The tremendous sound didn't affect Abel. The ingot before him changed shape with the blow. Where are you? Haha, I found you. Another hammer blow descended.

At this moment, Abel was like a child who had found a novel toy. He'd find a grain, strike it with the hammer, then find another, and strike it again. The deafening sounds rang out continuously, no slower than Master Bentham's earlier pace.

Master Bentham was stunned. This child before him was making him jealous. Yes, a Master was jealous of a child who had only been learning forging for a month.

"This is spiritual power," Master Bentham thought repeatedly. He knew what this state was. His teacher, the dwarf forging Master Robin, was a forging Master with the gift of spiritual power. That was a true Master, unlike Master Bentham, who was only called a Master by the people of nearby cities due to his mastery of forging various weapons and armor. Master Robin, on the other hand, was a forging Master recognized across the continent.

Master Bentham studied under Master Robin for ten years. Lacking spiritual power, he couldn't learn more profound forging techniques and returned to his hometown. Master Bentham's success in forging rough ingots above 80-refined was due to his own continuous refinement and experience, which allowed him to forge 100-refined ingots.

When Master Robin began teaching, he used spiritual power to find structural grains, which is why Master Bentham immediately recognized Abel's state.

Master Bentham didn't disturb Abel's forging. He quietly turned and left, having made a decision. The wish he couldn't fulfill, his disciple would help him accomplish.

Abel, lost in this peculiar state, didn't notice Master Bentham's departure. The rough ingot in his hands underwent more and more refines in the furnace as time passed.

82, 83, 84... 98, 99, 100.

When the 100-refined stage was complete, Abel finally emerged from his state. He felt utterly exhausted, especially the depletion of his spiritual power, as if his mind had been hollowed out. He felt dizzy and nauseous.

The 30-pound sledgehammer slipped from his grasp, hitting the workbench with a loud clang. Looking at his trembling right hand, Abel recalled what had happened. He seemed to have entered a peculiar state where he was operating on instinct. But the burden this state places on the body is too great.

He checked his body and was surprised to find a large amount of Qi accumulated around his Qi Veins. The sheer quantity was astonishing.

Without further thought, he sat down on the dirty floor and began practicing the Knight Breathing Technique. The accumulated Qi around his Qi Veins rapidly gathered and concentrated towards his fifth Qi Vein.

"What's wrong?" Gaden noticed Abel sitting on the ground and hurried over, about to help him up.

"Don't move him," Master Bentham appeared beside Abel, stopping Gaden and glaring at him. "You're always so careless."

The Master then looked at the other apprentices who were approaching upon hearing the noise and waved them away.

"Go inform Knight Marshall to come here," Master Bentham said to Gaden, turning back.

"Yes, Master," Gaden strode out of the Blacksmith Shop.

"This Marshall, what incredible luck. His adopted son has leveled up again," Master Bentham muttered to himself. Ever since taking this disciple, he had been subjected to one shock after another.

This time, Abel's promotion to Level 5 Apprentice Knight was remarkably smooth. Almost all his Qi seemed to gather towards the fifth Qi Vein as if commanded. It only took him half an hour to successfully become a Level 5 Apprentice Knight.

Abel was confused about this promotion. He had just advanced two levels to become a Level 4 Rookie Knight only a month ago. He hadn't taken any potions this time. Filled with questions, he stood up and saw Master Bentham standing aside, while the other people in the Blacksmith Shop kept their distance. It was clear Master Bentham was protecting him, and Abel felt immense gratitude towards the Master.

With a "boom," the door was kicked open, and a figure rushed in, shouting as he ran, "What happened to Abel?"

It was Knight Marshall. Half of his golden hair was already damp with sweat, clinging to his face, while the rest was disheveled by the wind, falling behind his head. His usual dashing demeanor was completely gone.

Seeing Abel standing there as if nothing had happened, looking perfectly fine, Knight Marshall yelled, "That brat Gaden dared to lie to me! I'll teach him a lesson later!"

"Who's going to teach my disciple a lesson?" Master Bentham looked displeased, gritting his teeth as he glared at the man who was still cursing despite his good fortune.

"Uncle Marshall, I accidentally leveled up again," Abel said softly.

"Leveled up? Let me sort this out with Master Bentham first, then we'll talk." Knight Marshall turned to Master Bentham, preparing to argue, but then he stopped.

"Wait, you said you leveled up again?" Knight Marshall looked Abel up and down in disbelief, then pushed a hand towards him. Abel instinctively flashed the aura of a Level 5 Apprentice Knight.

"It doesn't make sense. How can you just level up? What were you doing at the time?" Knight Marshall pressed Abel.

Abel hesitated for a moment, then said with certainty, "I wasn't doing anything special, just forging a rough ingot."

"You didn't eat anything unusual?"

"I only ate breakfast, which I had with you. I skipped lunch because I was forging the rough ingot," Abel replied, eager to understand the reason himself.

"How is that possible? If forging could increase a knight's level, I'd be forging tomorrow too," Knight Marshall retorted, pointing at Master Bentham. "If forging could lead to leveling up, this guy would have been a Great Warrior long ago."

Master Bentham huffed and sarcastically said, "As long as you can enter the state of Enlightenment while forging, you can certainly level up. Why don't you try it?"

"Abel, why don't you find another rough ingot, keep forging, and enter Enlightenment again? Then you'll be the youngest knight in the Duchy." As soon as Knight Marshall finished speaking, not only did Master Bentham roll his eyes, but even Abel couldn't help but cover his head.