Twice the Result with Half the Effort

"You arrogant brat!"

"Do you know how many people have begged me to teach them, and I wouldn't even spare them a second glance?"

"And now you've got a little talent and think you can turn me down?"

"You've got no talent worth mentioning in my eyes!"

"I saw the short blade you forged. It was downright crude! And for something like that, Steward Li actually promoted you to a formal bladesmith?"

"I'm going to find him right now and make him demote you!"

Shen Chu hadn't expected Han Tieshan to have such a short temper.

He had only offered a polite refusal.

But Han Tieshan was like a powder keg, exploding at the slightest spark. He even meant to find Steward Li and have him demote Shen Chu?

With such a narrow mind, Shen Chu would have found it unpleasant to share a courtyard with him, let alone become his disciple.

If Steward Li really revoked his formal bladesmith status over this, Shen Chu wouldn't care.

As long as he had enough time, he would become a master smith sooner or later.

When that day came, he wanted to see what Han Tieshan would have to say!

Han Tieshan didn't give Shen Chu a chance to argue. He shoved open the courtyard gate and strode out, looking as though he was on his way to find Steward Li.

Watching him leave, Shen Chu reopened the manual for the Stone-Shattering Fist.

"Since things have come to this, I'd better learn the Stone-Shattering Fist first."

For the rest of the time, Shen Chu committed the Stone-Shattering Fist's moves and sequences to memory.

At first, he could only perform one move at a time. Before long, he could smoothly link together the first few moves.

His movements weren't quite right, and he hadn't felt the fist force described in the book, but his talent was limited to begin with. This was already a huge improvement for him.

As the midday break was about to end, Shen Chu finally went through all eight moves of the Stone-Shattering Fist.

And just then:

[Successfully became a Martial Artist. Obtained initial skill: Twice the Result with Half the Effort Lv. 1]

[Twice the Result with Half the Effort: The time you take to complete tasks is reduced, and the experience you gain is doubled.]

[Passive skill: The higher your martial prowess, the stronger your Spirit of Blood and Courage.]

[Stone-Shattering Fist: Beginner (1/100)]

Shen Chu's theory had been right.

The appearance of the new skill delighted him even more.

With it, he could forge a weapon faster, and the experience he gained from each forging would be doubled.

Whether he was practicing martial arts or forging weapons, he could make progress faster!

As the level of Twice the Result with Half the Effort increased, so would the skill's multiplier.

If Shen Chu had a good physique by then, he would become a once-in-a-generation genius!

If there was anything he wasn't satisfied with, it was that his physique hadn't been raised to a higher grade.

"Looks like I'll just have to grind for more experience..."

When the break ended, he returned to the Sword-Forging Courtyard.

But as soon as he stepped inside, he heard a voice that made him uncomfortable.

"That brat is truly arrogant. He's forged nothing but a lousy blade, yet he dares to come before me and run his mouth!"

"If things really happened as Master Han says, then this man has gone too far. His formal bladesmith status should be revoked!"

The speaker was Han Tieshan. Several other formal bladesmiths stood beside him, chiming in with agreement.

When they saw Shen Chu enter, none of them gave him a friendly look.

Only Master Sun, who was already working at a forge in the corner, saw through the whole affair.

"Did you offend him?" Master Sun glanced at Shen Chu.

"Yes."

Shen Chu nodded.

Master Sun sighed. "Then your newly acquired status as a formal bladesmith may be in jeopardy."

"Master Sun, are you sure?"

Shen Chu couldn't help feeling curious.

Could a bladesmith whose skill was on par with Master Sun really wield that much influence?

"You might not know this, but Han Tieshan has taken many disciples and has some connections. Quite a few formal bladesmiths in the Sword-Forging Courtyard are his disciples. If they all band together and make a fuss..."

Master Sun didn't continue. He trusted Shen Chu to understand what he meant.

And Shen Chu did understand.

If Master Sun was right, Steward Li ought to appear at once and demote him back to a bladesmith apprentice.

But where was Steward Li now?

Seeing Shen Chu's confusion, Master Sun explained, "Steward Li went out to buy iron ore. He won't be back until later."

Since his fate wouldn't be decided until evening, Shen Chu simply stopped worrying about it.

He returned as usual to the forge he was responsible for and began forging a short blade.

With the boost from Twice the Result with Half the Effort, he found that he was working much more efficiently.

Without activating Thousand Hammer Refinement, it had previously taken him five strikes to add one point to the Low-Grade Short Blade progress bar.

Now it only took three!

And instead of gaining just one point, he gained two!

"So this is the effect of Twice the Result with Half the Effort?"

Shen Chu's heart burned with excitement, and he swung the hammer even faster.

[Low-Grade Short Blade (6/100)]

...

[Low-Grade Short Blade (12/100)]

With each blow of the hammer, the Low-Grade Short Blade's progress bar steadily increased.

But Shen Chu had also begun to breathe heavily. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, some of them slipping into his eyes.

His lack of stamina remained his greatest weakness.

If he could raise the Stone-Shattering Fist to beginner level soon, that should help make up for it a little.

"Keep going!"

Shen Chu pressed on, throwing himself heart and soul into forging. He didn't notice Master Sun watching him from nearby with a complicated look in his eyes.

Master Sun's real name was Sun Ping. He had been in the bladesmithing trade for decades, growing from a young boy into an old man. He had seen countless bladesmiths come and go.

Among them were plenty of exceptionally gifted people who became weapon smiths before they turned twenty.

There were also those who worked hard and, after many years, got lucky enough to forge a weapon of a certain grade.

He had once thought that was what talent and hard work looked like.

But after seeing Shen Chu today, he finally understood what true talent and hard work were.

A newcomer who had only recently entered the residence had become a formal bladesmith and had only just begun forging that morning.

By that afternoon, he had nearly halved the time it took him to forge a blade.

And every blade he forged was better than the one before it.

What was more, even when others bullied him, he kept to his work without getting arrogant or agitated.

On these grounds alone, he surpassed countless conceited people!

If Steward Li really drove Shen Chu away over a few words from Han Tieshan, it would be the Li Family's loss. Sun Ping didn't want a talent like Shen Chu to be buried, either.

But Sun Ping was only an ordinary bladesmith. He had seniority, but he was too honest by nature. He couldn't compare with Han Tieshan.

He silently sighed, then went back to hammering his tools.

Shen Chu knew nothing of Sun Ping's thoughts.

He was frowning at the short blade he had just finished forging.

[Low-Grade Short Blade (46/100)]

He had forged this short blade without using Thousand Hammer Refinement at any point, relying solely on the skill he had just learned and the boost from Twice the Result with Half the Effort.

Without the Twice the Result with Half the Effort bonus, the blade's completion would have been 23 points.

That was his true level at the moment.