Wanshan Refines Magic Tools

Lu Wanshan immediately started cleaning up the courtyard, as it was a mess.

Now that he was the shopkeeper, he needed to present a new image, at least a fresh face and a revitalized atmosphere after reopening!

He had been in this market town for over a year, and was now 18 years old. Managing a new workshop was certainly no easy feat.

This was all because his Eldest Brother trusted him completely, and he certainly couldn't let his Eldest Brother down. He had to work hard.

After all, this was also contributing to the future cultivation of the Lu Family.

Three days later, Lu Wanshan, exhausted, finally finished cleaning up all the messy things in the rooms and courtyard. The workshop's flagpole was also re-erected, and the name was changed to 'Lu Family Artifact Refining Workshop'. The workshop's name could be seen from afar, and the same characters were painted on the courtyard walls.

This was something Eldest Brother Lu Wanyuan had specifically instructed him to do, calling it a marketing tactic and the first step towards branding.

Over the past few days, he had also used the channels left by Shopkeeper Liu to procure some raw materials, preparing to attempt some refining.

Therefore, after handling these matters, he began artifact refining.

The workshop had stopped artifact refining for a long time. If they didn't start producing products soon, the original distribution channels might face changes.

Fortunately, his more than a year of work in the workshop hadn't been in vain; everything felt intuitive now!

He started the furnace, adding coke and charcoal, then lit the flame and pulled the bellows beside it!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The bellows continuously pumped air into the furnace. Before long, the charcoal in the furnace was ignited, and the coke and charcoal burned hotter and hotter, the temperature rising. The heat radiating from the furnace walls could be felt from afar.

Lu Wanshan continuously pulled the bellows, feeding a massive amount of air into the furnace. With each pull, the flames leaped high into the air, several meters high, scattering sparks.

Seeing the flames grow taller, he knew the furnace had reached its peak temperature. He then used a shovel to scoop several loads of the black, low-grade Mysterious Iron Stone ore into the fiery furnace.

After adding the ore, he shoveled several more loads of coke and charcoal on top, then continued to pull the bellows, pumping air into the furnace to accelerate the burning of the coke and charcoal, raising the temperature to melt the Mysterious Iron Stone ore!

This process was for preparing the materials, melting the ore, and separating out slag and impurities.

For two hours, he repeatedly added coke and charcoal to the furnace to maintain its temperature.

Watching the molten Mysterious Iron Water in the furnace, Lu Wanshan immediately opened the furnace valve and poured the Mysterious Iron Water into a mold.

The red-hot molten iron flowed into the mold.

Sizzle!

White steam continuously rose!

After it cooled, he immediately began hammering the solidified block of Mysterious Iron.

This step was called hammering, and its main purpose was to purify the Mysterious Iron, removing impurities. The purer the Mysterious Iron, the stronger its ductility and toughness, making it more suitable for refining swords and other Magic Tools.

Rolling up his sleeves, he held a hammer in one hand and tongs in the other, placing the block of Mysterious Iron on the anvil.

Clang!

Clang!

Lu Wanshan continuously swung the hammer, striking the block of Mysterious Iron, sending sparks flying.

In a short while, he was drenched in sweat, but he couldn't stop. The more difficult it was, the more he had to persist.

This was striking while the iron was hot, meaning he had to work the iron while it was molten and hot, making it easier to hammer out impurities. He repeatedly put the iron block back into the furnace to reheat it, all to maintain its temperature.

Before long, he was sweating profusely!

His clothes were so wet they could be wrung out.

When the hammering was almost done, he began to shape the iron block!

After a series of clangs, he still needed to repeatedly hammer it, slowly shaping it into the desired form. This was because it was impossible to create the required shape all at once. The shaping process involved varying lengths and thicknesses, and couldn't be done uniformly.

This required the experience of the artifact refining master to determine the precise length and thickness, otherwise it would affect the next step.

Once the Artifact Embryo's shape was mostly formed, it needed to undergo quenching, which would permanently solidify its shape.

Quenching was also a critical step, as various minerals and medicinal herbs were added to the quenching liquid to prevent the Artifact Embryo from cracking and ruining the entire refining process.

The next step after quenching was to carve restriction patterns, commonly known as Magic Patterns, onto the shaped Artifact Embryo. These were essentially restriction arrays.

However, these restriction arrays were already solidified, meaning they were in a graphical form. The effectiveness of a Magic Tool was due to these restriction arrays.

Furthermore, the grade of a Magic Tool was determined by the number of restriction patterns carved onto the Artifact Embryo.

There were four grades in total, from lowest to highest: Low-grade, Mid-grade, High-grade, and Top-grade.

Magic Tools with one to three restriction patterns were Low-grade Magic Tools;

Magic Tools with four to six restriction patterns were Mid-grade Magic Tools;

Magic Tools with seven to nine restriction patterns were High-grade Magic Tools;

And Magic Tools with ten to twelve restriction patterns were Top-grade Magic Tools.

The grading of Spirit Tools, which were above Magic Tools, was also based on the number of Spirit Patterns. The more patterns, the more precious and higher the grade.

The Artifact Embryo was still scorching hot at this moment, and its ductility was at its peak, making it the best time to carve the Magic Patterns.

Subsequently, Lu Wanshan secured the Artifact Embryo, bringing his head close to it. The intense heat from the Artifact Embryo washed over him.

Seeing this, he could only continue to endure, his eyes focused intently on the Artifact Embryo before him. When carving Magic Patterns, one had to be extremely careful, as even the slightest mistake could lead to the complete failure of the Magic Pattern carving and, consequently, the Artifact Embryo itself.

Complex Magic Patterns required even more caution and focus.

After preparing everything, he took out a small carving knife for Magic Patterns. Holding the small carving knife, he carefully carved the Magic Pattern onto the Artifact Embryo!

After more than a year of practice, the carving knife moved across the surface of the Artifact Embryo like a plow in a field. Wherever the carving knife passed, material was shaved off and fell away, while the Magic Pattern gradually emerged.

Slowly, one hour passed, then two.

His right hand grew a little sore. He then blew a breath onto the carved Artifact Embryo, scattering the debris from its surface.

Instantly, a complete Magic Pattern was perfectly revealed on the surface of the Artifact Embryo.

Seeing this, he showed a satisfied smile. The arduous practice of the past year had truly not been in vain.

Now, he could accurately carve a perfect Magic Pattern. While two or three were not enough to complete the artifact, he firmly believed that if he could carve one Magic Pattern, he could certainly carve two or three more, it would just take a little time.

It was nothing more than carving a few more times; practice made perfect. Especially now that he was the workshop owner, he was sure to have opportunities, so he wasn't in a hurry.

At this moment, his goal was to reduce the failure rate.

He had to ensure the workshop survived first!

After carving the Artifact Embryo, the next step was processing and fitting, such as adding a handle or a scabbard to the Artifact Embryo.

Only then could the Magic Tool be driven more effectively. At the same time, the workshop's unique seal was stamped onto the Magic Tool, indicating it was a genuine product and also serving as a brand effect.

Once all this was completed, it was the final step: polishing.

Through repeated grinding, the dirt on the surface of the Magic Tool was removed, leaving behind a gleaming, sharp surface that clearly indicated a very sharp Magic Tool.

This was a Sword Magic Tool refined by Lu Wanshan.

At this point, it appeared as a complete Magic Tool. After being placed in a box and packaged, it was ready for sale.

This was the entire process of Artifact Refining: melting ore, forming a mold to create an Artifact Embryo, hammering the Artifact Embryo to remove impurities, hammering the Artifact Embryo to shape it, cooling and setting, carving Magic Patterns, processing and fitting, stamping, polishing, and packaging.

Such a tedious process, where not a single step could afford any error, otherwise all previous efforts would be in vain, and the Artifact Refining would ultimately fail!