The Perfect Feather-Pattern Dagger

The next day, a little after nine in the morning.

Shi Fen slowly awoke from his dream and got out of bed, stretching comfortably.

For the sake of the "Qualification Trial," he had been reluctant to "sleep," feeling that it wasted time. He had only allowed himself a good, comfortable sleep last night to completely relax his mind and ease the pressure within his soul.

When he woke, the sun was already high in the sky.

After getting up, Shi Fen brushed his teeth at an unhurried pace, pondering what to do today.

I haven't been to the workshop in ages. I'll go there this morning, Shi Fen decided.

Luo Feng had to prepare for the college entrance exams and was busy every day. Shi Fen couldn't go bother him. Luo Hua would surely be studying today. Shi Fen had given him quite a lot of books yesterday, so he wouldn't disturb Luo Hua while he was studying.

If he wanted to get out and clear his head, the best choice was to visit the workshop.

Shi Fen had to handle all the workshop's highest-tier orders. Maybe they had already received one of those orders.

To avoid disturbing Shi Fen, Shi Tie never took the initiative to urge him to come by. Besides, Shi Fen was quite conscientious and usually visited the workshop every two or three weeks. Even though he had been "busy" this month, he would definitely come by before the month ended.

So Shi Tie trusted Shi Fen completely, letting him do whatever he pleased. Shi Fen could do whatever he wanted.

Moreover, Shi Fen's strength was soon going to reach the "Quasi-Fighter" level. The whole family was now letting him do as he pleased. They didn't even care whether he took the college entrance exams. Shi Fen could do whatever he wanted.

They never asked about Shi Fen's daily life.

They only hoped he would reach the Quasi-Fighter level soon.

With Shi Fen's current mastery of blade techniques, he was guaranteed to pass the Martial Artist Combat Assessment! Then they wouldn't need to buy a house; they could move straight into Bright Moon Residential District. Wouldn't that be great?

After washing up, Shi Fen checked the date on his phone.

April 16, 2056.

His head buzzed with stress. There were less than two months until his eighteenth birthday. If he couldn't complete the task ahead of time, he would lose the extra reward.

In a few more years, Luo Feng would make contact with the universe. Time was of the essence!

Shi Fen didn't want the reward, so close within reach, to slip through his fingers. The closer the deadline got, the more frantically he worked. He felt that the extra reward would surely help him make contact with the universe.

To Shi Fen, even a single "hair" dropped by a big shot would be an incredible fortune.

That was why Shi Fen was so eager to get the "extra reward."

Shi Fen sighed helplessly and started making breakfast. Four slices of bread, two fried eggs, and a glass of milk. After eating everything, he felt much more alert. He left the crowded South Bank Residential District and hurried straight to the workshop.

Although Shi Fen was quite "bourgeois" and could have taken a taxi,

he would rather get some exercise.

He was cooped up at home every day. Although he exercised there daily, it was still just at home. Since he rarely got out, he always took his time walking there.

10:03 a.m.

Shi Fen arrived at the workshop.

The workshop had been elaborately renovated to imitate the style of the "Virtual Trial Space." To get it decorated properly, lazy Shi Fen had been forced to leave his room every day and come by often to check on the progress.

Building the workshop had nearly emptied Shi Fen's "little nest egg."

The results were remarkable.

Anyone who came here would feel as if they had stepped into the technological world of the future.

The money had been well spent.

Shi Tie was arranging the display case of blades. Hearing a sound, he turned and saw Shi Fen stroll in at an unhurried pace.

"Son, what brings you out for a stroll? Aren't you still in seclusion?" Shi Tie teased.

Shi Fen silently rolled his eyes and thought, If I didn't have to stay in seclusion, I'd be over the moon right now. Why would I come here?

Shi Fen said helplessly, "Dad, I came to see if there are any orders I need to handle."

Shi Tie might tease Shi Fen, but he took work extremely seriously. When Shi Fen brought up work, his expression immediately turned more serious.

"There's an order for a 'Perfect Feather-Pattern Dagger' that I can't handle. The customer wants the feather pattern to be perfectly symmetrical. I've tried several times, but every one I made had flaws. You'll have to do it."

"Okay."

After giving Shi Tie a brief reply, Shi Fen had no intention of chatting. He practically fled straight into the Forging Room.

Shi Tie wasn't surprised by Shi Fen's reaction at all. Perfect feather-pattern weapons were Shi Fen's favorite things to forge. Whenever he got an order like this, he always reacted the same way.

He couldn't wait to get started.

If two or three months passed without an order like this, Shi Fen would forge a few of these weapons himself, just to satisfy his craving.

"Haha, I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise today."

Shi Fen was very pleased with this order.

Forging in real life was much more interesting than doing it in the "Virtual Trial Space." The tools there were far too capable. Unless he was forging "condensed iron," he could finish a task quickly by using the various tools. There was no joy in forging and no sense of accomplishment.

Real life was different.

The tools used for forging in reality were relatively crude, making personal abilities like skill and eyesight especially important. On top of that, perfect feather-pattern weapons demanded exceptional precision.

The final product was "a perfect artificial feather," more flawless than any feather found in nature. The feather pattern Shi Fen forged was perfectly symmetrical, without a single flaw.

Even the most severe perfectionist couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Shi Fen skillfully lit the furnace, changed into his forging clothes, put on his mask, and activated the fixed cameras positioned at various angles.

He began forging!

Shi Fen chose two relatively thin sheets of premium-grade steel.

One was high-carbon steel and the other was low-carbon steel. Forged together, the two metals would create contrasting shades and form a pattern.

He started the metal-cutting machine and cut the sheets into a number of equally sized thin strips.

After cleaning the metal strips thoroughly, he arranged them at intervals and welded them together. Then he welded a handle onto one end of the metal block. Once that was done, Shi Fen put it into the furnace and heated it until it reached the required temperature.

The preparations were complete.

The forging began in earnest.

Shi Fen put a heat-resistant glove on his left hand and gripped the handle of the metal block. He pulled the glowing-hot block out of the furnace and placed it on a specially made anvil.

With his right hand, he gripped the handle of the enormous hammer. Shi Fen raised his arm, hoisted the strangely shaped, ridiculously oversized hammer into the air, and brought it crashing down on the block of metal.

The glowing block instantly flattened considerably.

Anyone watching closely would have seen that the metal had been flattened to exactly the same degree everywhere, as if it had been pressed by a hydraulic forging machine.

Shi Fen had extremely precise control over his strength. This was only a simple demonstration.

Shi Fen kept turning the metal over and hammering it again and again, almost without thinking. Every so often, he paused briefly to sprinkle some borax powder over the metal's surface or reheat the block.

The block of metal kept changing shape until it became a relatively flat piece.

Shi Fen let it cool. Once it had cooled completely, he cut it into several pieces and welded them together again. Then he put it back into the furnace to heat it. Once hot, he continued hammering until the block had flattened out again.

Shi Fen put the flattened block back into the furnace to heat it.

He waited patiently nearby. When the block had turned gold-red once again, he grabbed the handle and set the intensely hot metal on the Press-Cutter.

Shi Fen stepped back slightly, checking that the centerlines of the two were perfectly aligned.

Then he reached out and started the machine.

Driven by hydraulic pressure, the Press-Cutter's thin "axe blade" split more than half of the scorching metal block in two. Seeing the cut go so smoothly, Shi Fen couldn't help feeling delighted.

He picked up the metal block, its "head blossomed" open, and placed it on the anvil to continue forging. This time, he struck it lightly and slowly. Carefully, he brought the opened sections together. Even after closing them, Shi Fen continued to hammer gently.

Amid the "clang, clang" of the Forging Room,

the sword blank gradually took shape.

The blank was 31 centimeters long, with a 21-centimeter blade that was 2 centimeters wide.

Shi Fen attached the hilt, made from a monster's horn, to the end of the sword blank. It was a "craftwork-grade" hilt supplied by the customer. Since he didn't need to make one himself, Shi Fen was glad to save the effort.

In just a few minutes, Shi Fen had installed the hilt.

After finishing all the auxiliary steps, including polishing, sharpening, and acid etching, a gleaming feather-pattern dagger was perfectly completed in Shi Fen's hands.

It wasn't even one o'clock in the afternoon when Shi Fen finished the dagger's final step. He worked fast. It had taken him less than three hours. With Shi Fen's current abilities, there was no way he could fail at a small job like this. That was why he could work at such an unbelievable speed.

For Shi Fen, making a little trinket like this was like "using a cannon to kill a mosquito."

What a waste of talent!

Still, the little thing not only satisfied Shi Fen's desire to forge but also earned him a handsome sum. He didn't know what the going price was now, but a custom-made weapon like this had once sold for over 80,000.

Everything Shi Fen forged was a "work of art." For wealthy collectors, these were highly sought-after "art pieces."

Nobody would actually use a fine blade like this. They were usually kept in display cases. If even a tiny bit chipped off the perfect feather-pattern blade, its value would plummet.

After putting everything in the Forging Room back in its place,

Shi Fen carried the dagger in one hand and left the room.

As soon as Shi Fen stepped out, he saw Wei Wen in the lobby, directing the unloading.

"Please stack these pig iron blocks neatly in the warehouse. Once we're done unloading, lunch is on me," Wei Wen said with a smile as he directed the movers.

Hearing this, the three movers, who had missed lunch because of the pig iron lumps, immediately brightened. They took even greater care stacking the blocks, arranging them into neat squares.

"Hey, Wei Wen, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be studying?" Shi Fen asked, holding the dagger as he quietly approached Wei Wen.

Wei Wen suddenly sensed someone beside him. Seeing that the person was holding a sword, he jumped. When he realized it was Shi Fen, he relaxed.

Wei Wen didn't answer Shi Fen's question. Instead, he teased him.

"Why are you like a ghost? You didn't make a sound walking over. With you standing next to me holding a sword, I thought someone was trying to assassinate me."

Shi Fen felt helpless in the face of Wei Wen's teasing and said, "I never make a sound when I walk, okay? I just forged this sword. How am I supposed to give it to my dad if I'm not carrying it?"

Wei Wen looked at the sword in Shi Fen's hand, and his eyes immediately went wide. He snatched it from Shi Fen and stared at it as if he couldn't look away, astonished. "You forged this?"

Seeing Wei Wen turn the sword over and over in his hands,

Shi Fen rolled his eyes and retorted, "Who else would've forged it? You?"

"Uh..." Wei Wen was speechless. He handed the sword back to Shi Fen and stammered, "I always thought your uncle forged swords like this. I had no idea you were the one who made it. Now I know your forging skills are the best. You're so good, and you still teach a clueless apprentice like me. You must be so..."

Shi Fen cut Wei Wen off, took the sword from his hands, and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "What's the point of saying that between brothers? Don't get discouraged. You've got a lot more talent than my brother. You've made huge progress in less than two years—that's already very impressive.

Keep practicing for another two or three years, and you'll be able to make ordinary blades. Then you'll be the smith at our Three Stones, and we'll sell all your work here. You can keep all the earnings. Just stick with it and you'll succeed soon.

You know, the two of us are real 'iron' brothers. Even Luo Feng isn't as 'close-knit' with us as we are with each other!"