Han Tieshan

After introducing the courtyard, it happened to be mealtime, so Steward Li personally led Shen Chu to the dining hall.

Along the way, Shen Chu spotted several familiar faces.

They had come to apply at the Li Residence together with Shen Chu, but in the end, they had become guards while Shen Chu had become a blade forger.

Shen Chu had originally felt somewhat envious, but after seeing what they looked like now, he no longer did.

Every one of them was listless and exhausted, limping as they walked.

Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought they had suffered some inhuman abuse.

Following Shen Chu's gaze, Steward Li noticed them as well and said with a smile,

"These new guards have to undergo rigorous training. Those who cannot endure it will still be dismissed. Of these people, only two or three out of ten will ultimately succeed in becoming guards."

Hearing this, Shen Chu could not help but feel fortunate.

He had turned misfortune into fortune. Failing to become a guard might not have been worse than becoming a blade forger after all.

When they entered the dining hall, it was already packed with servants, maids, and guards. Even the line for food stretched more than ten meters outside.

Starting from the end of the line, he would have to wait at least ten minutes.

Just as Shen Chu was about to obediently join the queue, Steward Li pulled him directly to a small stove.

"Today is a happy day. Congratulations on becoming an official blade forger. This meal is on me, so don't stand on ceremony!"

As he spoke, he turned to the cook serving food. "This is the residence's newly promoted blade forger. Give him more meat dishes."

"Yes, Steward Li."

The young cook nodded respectfully. She subconsciously glanced at Shen Chu, and when she saw him, a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

She immediately served Shen Chu a heaping bowl of braised pork, then ladled a spoonful of fragrant meat gravy over it!

Shen Chu could not help swallowing.

Over the past ten days, he had been able to fill his stomach. Relying on his utterly unremarkable looks, he could barely get a few scraps of meat that slipped from the aunties' ladles.

But compared to this bowl of braised pork, it was the difference between heaven and earth!

"No rush. After you finish eating, you can rest for an hour before going to work in the main courtyard."

Steward Li gave Shen Chu a few more instructions. Seeing that Shen Chu had more or less understood the matters concerning blade forgers, he prepared to leave.

At that moment, Shen Chu remembered his plan to practice martial arts and increase his stamina.

"May I ask, Steward Li, can someone like me practice the martial arts that the guards practice?"

Shen Chu's reason for practicing martial arts was not merely to build stamina. He also wanted to confirm something.

Since forging blades could allow him to take up the blade forger profession and awaken "Thousand Hammer Refinement,"

could practicing martial arts allow him to take up the martial artist profession and awaken abilities related to martial artists?

"You want to practice martial arts?"

Shen Chu's words greatly surprised Steward Li.

In his view, Shen Chu's failure to become a guard meant he had a D-grade physique. Wouldn't a person with a D-grade physique be wasting his time by practicing martial arts?

Even if he trained for a lifetime, he might not become a true martial artist.

If that delayed his excellent talent for weapon crafting, would that not be throwing away the melon to pick up a sesame seed?

Guessing what Steward Li was thinking, Shen Chu immediately explained, "I only practice martial arts to strengthen my body and improve my stamina. I'll just train casually and won't spend too much time on the martial path."

"That's good." Steward Li let out a breath of relief. "As long as it won't delay your weapon crafting, I'll help you get it from the guard steward. Wait here."

With that, Steward Li headed toward where the guards were gathered. Before long, he returned with a book bound in a blue cover.

"This is the Stone-Shattering Fist practiced by the guards. Take it and have a look."

"Thank you, Steward!"

Shen Chu had not expected obtaining a martial arts manual to be so easy!

Although this Stone-Shattering Fist did not look like any particularly formidable martial art, it was enough to verify his guess.

After finishing the huge bowl of braised pork, Shen Chu nearly swallowed his tongue along with it. He reluctantly put down the bowl, then took the Stone-Shattering Fist back to the small courtyard where he lived and sat by the stone table to read it.

The book that recorded the Stone-Shattering Fist mainly contained simple illustrations, with the figures in the drawings posing in all kinds of stances.

Throwing punches, kicking, raising knees, snapping kicks...

Shen Chu copied the movements.

He had thought that casually practicing a few moves might awaken the martial artist profession, but nothing happened.

"Could it be that I have to complete the entire set before I can awaken the martial artist profession?"

Shen Chu quickly considered this possibility.

He began practicing strictly according to the movements in the book.

But at that moment, the gate to the small courtyard opened, and a middle-aged man in a gray robe with a long, thick beard walked in.

He saw Shen Chu practicing the Stone-Shattering Fist from beginning to end.

"Stone-Shattering Fist? Why are you practicing that?" The gray-robed middle-aged man frowned slightly and looked at Shen Chu with displeasure.

Shen Chu looked at him with equal surprise, unable to understand why the man wore such an expression just because he was casually practicing a fist technique.

He remembered that he did not know this person.

Seeing this, the gray-robed middle-aged man seemed to realize something. With an arrogant expression, he explained,

"Steward Li said you have some talent for weapon crafting and asked me to take you as a disciple. I agreed. From now on, you will listen to me. There is no need for you to practice martial arts anymore. Put all your thoughts into weapon crafting from now on."

"My name is Han Tieshan. From now on, you may call me Master Han."

After saying that, Han Tieshan gave Shen Chu no chance to speak and headed straight for the southern room.

That overbearing manner immediately made Shen Chu think of his identity.

Master Sun had said that there were three people in the weapon-crafting courtyard who could forge low-grade weapons. Perhaps this Master Han was one of them.

If that were true, Shen Chu would not mind learning from Master Han for a while!

"May I ask, Master Han, are you one of the three masters capable of forging graded weapons?"

Han Tieshan halted at the doorway, and a trace of embarrassment flashed through his eyes.

"How could graded weapons be so easily forged? I am still some distance from that realm."

Hearing this, Shen Chu was immediately somewhat disappointed.

They were both ordinary blade forgers. Since Han Tieshan was not a forging master, there was no need for Shen Chu to learn under him.

After all, Master Sun could forge a 98/100 short blade, already not far from a low-grade weapon.

This Han Tieshan before him was at most a little closer, but in Shen Chu's eyes, there was not much difference.

In any case, his "Thousand Hammer Refinement" could increase progress by one point with every hammer strike. What he lacked was not skill, but the strength and stamina to swing a hundred hammers. Besides, Master Sun had treated him fairly well these past days.

Whether out of sentiment or reason, there was no need for him to learn the craft under Han Tieshan.

With that thought, Shen Chu tactfully declined.

"Master Han, I have only been in the residence for a short time and do not yet understand it well. Please give me some time to familiarize myself with it..."

Han Tieshan's thick brows instantly furrowed. He stared at Shen Chu in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I said, please give me..."

Just as Shen Chu was about to repeat himself, Han Tieshan rudely cut him off!