The two old men had seen many Iron Essence longswords before, so it wasn't anything unusual. But what surprised them about this sword was neither its shape nor its material.
It's not a forging method, but a forging technique.
"The texture is so even and dense."
"The forging patterns on these layered mountains are so beautiful, like ripples of water converging in one direction..."
Bite--
Elder Zeng extended his finger and flicked it lightly, and the longsword rang out with a clear and melodious sword sound.
"Excellent, truly excellent! This is absolutely a powerful weapon, and a top-quality one at that."
"To achieve such results in the first forging of weapons... I have never seen anything like it in my entire life!"
Elder Zeng had no shortage of famous swords, but when he looked at this superior-quality Iron Essence longsword, he couldn't help but admire it.
"Give it to me."
Elder Han He took the sword and examined it closely, occasionally clicking his tongue in disapproval.
Yes, good. This weapon has been imbued with a soul.
Every inch of that space was imbued with painstaking effort; that kid actually accomplished ten refinements in one breath! And he did it even better than he had imagined.
"It seems you've taken my words to heart."
"Hmph, Non-Self Five Elements Smelting Method, how could the Iron Essence have undergone five rounds of tempering and quenching?"
Elder Zeng raised his chin and emphasized.
The strengths of both skills were perfectly combined in this young man.
The two old men exchanged a glance, seemingly knowing what the other was trying to say.
This kid is still young; if I give him a perfect score, I'm afraid he'll become arrogant.
Moreover, this sword is not yet in its most perfect state.
At least, it's still inferior to what the two of them forged.
"Theoretically speaking, the highest level of Iron Essence can be used to forge famous weapons, but the sword you just forged is a top-grade weapon."
"There are still a few areas where you fall short."
"I'm all ears."
Li Mo put down the hammer and listened attentively.
This is the life experience of a seasoned craftsman, which can only be accumulated over time, and is not some kind of martial arts skill; even martial arts insights cannot necessarily be deduced from it.
"Firstly, your understanding of 'swords' is still insufficient. The forging techniques and emphases for different weapon types are not uniform..."
Elder Han He and Elder Zeng began to comment on the matter, one after the other.
At last.
Elder Zeng summarized:
"There's one more thing, but this isn't your fault; it's the material used for quenching."
"You used this quenching oil multiple times in a short period of time, causing the oil temperature to be too high. As a result, the final quenching did not achieve the expected effect. Otherwise, the quality of this Iron Essence sword could have been even higher."
"Xiao Mo... Xiao Mo?"
At this moment, Elder Zeng noticed that the blacksmith Li was a little distracted, so he waved his hand in front of Li's eyes.
Li Mo's eyes darted around, and his whole body throbbed as he said:
"It seems that it's not just the sword that can't be cooled down."
"Um?"
"And me too."
"Huh??? Hiss..."
Elder Han He poked Li Mo's shoulder and found that his body was burning hot, like a red-hot iron. However, the temperature of the fire veins was naturally high, so they hadn't noticed it before...
"Damn, this kid looks like a freshly forged iron billet."
"Is he training his troops or himself?"
There's some truth to the idea that it's about self-improvement.
The Hundred Refinements of Divine Treasures, inherently tempering itself along with it...
"No, this can't go on..."
After a long, solemn silence, the master craftsman and the forging master reached a consensus.
We need to give Little Li a "tempering."
Then...
The two old men lifted up the novice blacksmith, Xiao Li, one in front and one behind.
Thump--
He was thrown into the Extreme Yang part of the fire vein, which began to transform into an Extreme Yin, icy pool.
"Holy crap, it seems like Xiao Mo has sunk!" Elder Zeng leaned back slightly.
If you soak this for too long, there probably won't be a single hair left.
Elder Han He cried out anxiously, "Quickly, scoop it up! Aren't you good at catching fish? Hurry up and get it out of the water!"
Elder Zeng glared and puffed out his beard. "Nonsense! I was just stealing a moment of leisure from my busy schedule. You're the one who's best at slacking off!"
"He always comes home empty-handed while fishing, then jumps into the water to fish it all out, and pretends he caught it himself—shameless!"
Obviously.
Neither of the two old men had much experience with this new quenching process.
In the evening, the early spring air was slightly chilly. The withered leaves of the large banyan tree in the courtyard rustled, and the chill transformed from physical damage into magical damage, seeping into one's very bones.
At this hour, unusually, no smoke was rising from the Autumn Water Pavilion, making it seem even more deserted.
Because, it seems our Chef Li is ill.
When Elder Han He carried him back, he was already stiff. Now he was wrapped in a blanket, sitting there shivering with lifeless eyes, his eyebrows frozen.
Meanwhile, Qin, the Great Master, and Shang Wu were surrounding him with expressions of suspicion.
"You were so hot-tempered yesterday, like you were on fire, but today you're frozen solid?"
"I don't know either."
Li Mo was also a little confused.
He only remembered that after tempering his body with Hundred Refinements of Divine Treasures and forging a sharp longsword, his vision went black and he fainted.
She probably fainted because she was too angry?
But why is my whole body covered in ice now?
Moreover, it wasn't just that my whole body was covered in ice; I also felt like there was a fire burning inside me.
He now says he's a seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted young man, and I doubt anyone can refute that...
"Wait for me a moment."
Shang Wu scratched her head, went into the room, and came back with a cup in her hand.
You can smell a slightly pungent alcoholic aroma inside.
"Take it."
"Hmm? Is this some kind of medicinal wine...?"
Li Mo was taken aback, but then accepted it.
"No, wine tastes better chilled."
"?"
As expected, one cannot rely on their master for anything.
"Let me see."
Qin Yuzhi, the Great Master, had a serious expression on her face. She placed her hand on Qin Yuzhi's wrist as if she were a professional, like an old Chinese medicine doctor taking a pulse.
Then his brows slowly furrowed.
As everyone knows, Leader Qin is very knowledgeable and experienced. When Li Mo saw her frown, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
What's wrong with me?
"Hiss... Your symptoms are actually a case of extreme yang generating yin!" Qin Yuzhi's eyes widened.
"!"
Li Mo shivered, unsure whether it was from the cold or from fright.
Didn't you say yesterday that you were just a little feverish, and that you weren't far from it?
How come today it suddenly became a case of extreme yang giving rise to yin?
"Just kidding, haha, did you scare me?"
"So I'm not someone who generates Yin from extreme Yang?"
"I didn't realize that, because I don't know anything about treating illnesses."
"... This is outrageous!"
Li Mo was speechless.
No wonder Qin Yuzhi slept in the Cloud Dream Underground Palace for so long without anyone trying to wake her; it's hard to say that the believers weren't doing it intentionally or carelessly.
If either of you were even slightly reliable, you wouldn't be completely unreliable!
He felt that staying in the Autumn Water Pavilion any longer was like going to the hospital for a cold in his past life.
Originally, there was nothing wrong, but it might cause some trouble for Qin Yuzhi and Shang Wu.
He took a deep breath, forcing his stiff body to stand up, and prepared to go to Cauldron Peak to see Elder Xue. Although he felt that he was not very seriously ill and that nothing major would happen for the time being.
The real concern is that over time, these issues might accumulate and cause serious problems.
But just then, a series of crisp footsteps came from the attic stairs.
Li Mo paused, turned around, and saw the cold and ethereal beauty of the Cold Fairy.
Ying Bing immediately looked at Little Li and noticed that something was wrong with him. His previously ethereal expression suddenly became serious, and his brows furrowed deeply.
"Li Mo, come and sit down."