Steward Li

Master Sun saw this and gave a faint nod.

Seeing that the blade blank had softened until its edges glowed red, Shen Chu pulled it out with the tongs and placed it on the anvil. He picked up the hammer and imitated Master Sun, bringing it down on the blank.

The sound was somewhat dull.

Master Sun shook his head slightly. "Boy, your force is wrong, the hammer's landing point is wrong, and your swing is wrong, too. If you keep at it like this, your blade will come out uneven in thickness."

As he spoke, Master Sun took the hammer from Shen Chu and demonstrated in person.

"Like this."

Master Sun twisted at the waist and sank his shoulder, bringing the hammer down steadily on the blade blank. The blank, whose value had been zero, immediately gained a point.

[Low-Grade Short Blade (1/100)]

"So that's how it works!"

Shen Chu seemed to understand. Master Sun handed the hammer back to him.

"Again."

This time, Shen Chu had grasped some of the essentials. He twisted at the waist and sank his shoulder in the same way, using those two parts to generate force as he struck five times in succession.

At last, the number in the display above the blade blank changed.

[Low-Grade Short Blade (2/100)]

Five strikes had only added one point.

He was still far behind Master Sun, who gained a point with every strike.

Even so, this small improvement brought a trace of satisfaction to Master Sun's face.

"What if I activate Thousand Hammer Refinement?"

Since acquiring Thousand Hammer Refinement, Shen Chu had never used it.

He was curious, too, about what effect the skill would have once activated.

So when he next swung the hammer, he quietly used Thousand Hammer Refinement.

The next moment, the hammerhead struck the blade blank, but instead of the dull sound from before, it rang out with a clear, sharp note.

Though the note was faint amid the unceasing hammering in the courtyard, the seasoned Master Sun still heard it.

Master Sun raised an eyebrow. He watched Shen Chu swing the hammer with even greater attention.

Before long, he was surprised to see Shen Chu's movements growing more and more precise.

He couldn't help staring at Shen Chu in astonishment.

Before Shen Chu's eyes, the progress that had taken five strikes to increase by one point had changed from one point every five strikes to one point per strike.

His precision was already comparable to Master Sun's!

But the toll of Thousand Hammer Refinement was staggering, too.

After only a few strikes, Shen Chu already felt his strength giving out.

Shen Chu thought that if he had enough stamina to sustain him, and Thousand Hammer Refinement could increase the progress with every strike, forging a low-grade weapon would only be a matter of time!

"In the end, my constitution just can't keep up. I still need to build up my body..."

He sighed to himself and continued with the remaining steps.

Quenching, tempering, polishing...

By the time he finished every step, it was already noon. At last, the short blade he had forged was complete.

[Low-Grade Short Blade (40/100)]

[Successfully forged an ordinary weapon. Thousand Hammer Refinement proficiency +1]

[Thousand Hammer Refinement (1/100)]

Compared with Master Sun's 98 points, Shen Chu had only reached 40.

Even so, Master Sun was deeply astonished.

"You brat, is this really your first time forging a blade?"

Even now, Master Sun could hardly believe it. A newcomer, forging a weapon for the first time, had managed to achieve this level of quality?

It was already close to the level of some of the bladesmiths in the courtyard!

And he could tell, too—

If Shen Chu hadn't run out of strength, the short blade's quality would have been even higher!

"Take this short blade to Steward Li and ask him to make you a full-fledged bladesmith. Once you become one, you'll receive a monthly wage."

After thinking it over, Master Sun shoved the short blade Shen Chu had forged into his arms.

Shen Chu was taken aback. "I'm already a full-fledged bladesmith?"

He had thought he would need at least another ten days or half a month of training. He hadn't expected to become a full-fledged bladesmith so soon!

Just as he stood there dazed, Steward Li, whom Master Sun had mentioned, happened to arrive in the courtyard.

Steward Li was a middle-aged man with a mustache shaped like the character for eight. Dressed in a white robe patterned with bamboo, he gave off an air of refinement.

After surveying the courtyard, his gaze settled on Shen Chu.

"You're the bladesmith apprentice who just arrived, right? Come with me. I have a few things to discuss with you."

With that, Steward Li headed straight out of the courtyard, not giving Shen Chu a chance to speak.

Though Shen Chu was puzzled, he followed with the short blade he had forged in his arms. The two soon arrived in front of a coal pile.

"You've been here for a few days now. Besides fetching water and handling odd jobs, you'll also be responsible for transporting the courtyard's coal from now on."

Steward Li seemed busy—or perhaps he simply didn't want to waste time on Shen Chu. From leading him out to assigning him his new duties, it took less than half a quarter of an hour.

Having finished, he turned to leave.

Shen Chu looked at the coal pile.

Good heavens, it was as tall as a hill. If he had to handle all of that himself, wouldn't he be worked to death?

That wouldn't do!

He hurriedly held out the short blade he had forged.

"Steward Li, please wait. This is the short blade I forged. Master Sun told me to ask you to make me a full-fledged bladesmith."

Steward Li stopped in his tracks. When he turned around, his face showed surprise and doubt. His gaze fell on the short blade Shen Chu held out.

After examining it, he could see that the short blade had already reached the level of some of the weapon smiths in the courtyard!

Forging weapons wasn't unusual.

What was unusual was that Shen Chu was merely an apprentice who had only recently arrived at the courtyard—and he was so young!

"Have you studied weapon forging before?" Steward Li asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Never."

"You've only been at the Li Family for ten days?"

"That's right."

"Well, we've certainly struck gold!"

As the steward in charge of the entire Sword-Forging Courtyard, Steward Li naturally hoped to have one or two geniuses under his watch.

If someone eventually became a low-grade weapon smith, the master would surely reward him once he found out.

"Since you're already capable of forging blades on your own, I can't keep you as an apprentice, much less make you do this backbreaking labor. Come with me!"

Steward Li deliberately slowed his pace as he led Shen Chu toward another part of the grounds.

Shen Chu could clearly feel the change in his attitude.

At first, Steward Li hadn't wanted to waste time on him. But after learning that Shen Chu could forge weapons on his own, he became more patient and was even willing to chat with him along the way.

"How old are you this year? Where are you from?"

"I'm seventeen, from neighboring Wangchuan County. I fled here to escape the disaster."

"Then stay at the Li Residence from now on and work hard. Don't worry about anything else. The Li Residence is very safe."

As they chatted, the two had already arrived at a small courtyard.

"Since you've become a bladesmith, you can't keep sleeping in the apprentices' communal dormitory. You'll live here from now on. The room on the east side is yours."

Steward Li smiled as he patted Shen Chu on the shoulder.

Shen Chu looked around. The surroundings here were far better than the communal dormitory.

There was no nauseating smell of sweat. The courtyard even had a bamboo grove, a stone table, and a pond, while a faint fragrance of bamboo drifted through the air.

"Don't go into the rooms on the south and west sides. Other people live there."

"If anything isn't to your liking, just tell me."

Steward Li's manner was downright amiable.