A Blacksmith's First Lesson

"Yuhua, why put yourself through this? With our family's wealth, as long as we pay more, there isn't any metal we can't obtain. It wouldn't be difficult for you to complete a one-word or even two-word Battle Armor. For you, learning mecha design from your old man would be enough."

Lin Qingye was clearly a little drunk by then. With bleary eyes, he looked at Lin Yu and muttered on and on.

Lin Yu scratched his head helplessly, then said to Lin Qingye, "Dad, your abilities as a mecha designer are only at level five at best. Once I reach two-word Battle Armor, I'd have to find another master anyway. Rather than starting over then, I might as well learn forging from the beginning. Besides, learning forging means I won't have to ask others for help. That's pretty good too."

Lin Qingye looked into Lin Yu's resolute eyes. After a long while, he nodded, then tilted his head and began snoring like thunder.

Lin Qingye truly was no ordinary person. He had been drunk senseless the night before, yet he still remembered their conversation the next day.

That afternoon, after Lin Yu brought Na'er back to the Lin Residence, Lin Qingye summoned him to his study. When Lin Yu saw him, he found that he was different from yesterday.

Lin Qingye had returned to his usual meticulous appearance and was looking at Lin Yu.

He no longer looked like the drunkard from before. Lin Yu knew that this appearance meant Lin Qingye had something important to tell him, so he raised his head and looked back at him with a serious expression.

Lin Qingye studied Lin Yu, then said, "You said you wanted to learn forging yesterday. That wasn't drunken nonsense, was it?"

Lin Yu nodded, then said to Lin Qingye, "Of course not, Father. I thought about it for a long time before telling you—half a month in total. Among these professions, forging has the greatest shortage of practitioners, especially high-level blacksmiths.

"Besides, this line of work differs from the others. It mainly tests one's physical ability. It's the kind of skill that requires training from childhood; the earlier one starts, the better it is for future growth."

Lin Qingye nodded, then said to Lin Yu, "An old master surnamed Qi at the Blacksmiths' Association is willing to teach you the basics of forging. Go become his apprentice. You can earn yourself some pocket money while you're at it."

Lin Yu nodded. Lin Qingye's arrangement was more or less what he had expected.

After all, he was the city lord of Aolai City. He certainly had some influence in Aolai City's Blacksmiths' Association, so the teacher he found for him should not be some fraud.

A few days later, Lin Qingye took Lin Yu to Aolai City's Blacksmiths' Association.

Though it was called an association, it was really more like an office building. Each room inside was a blacksmith's workshop, and there was no soundproofing between them. They were all rough men anyway and did not care about being disturbed by noise.

Led by Lin Qingye, Lin Yu entered the Blacksmiths' Association and soon arrived before a blacksmith with a full white beard and bulging muscles.

Looking at the blacksmith, Lin Qingye revealed a cordial smile. He bowed to him and said, "Old Master Qi, this is my son. I hope you will look after him."

The blacksmith glanced sideways at Lin Yu, then said to Lin Qingye, "Skinny arms and skinny legs. He can stay for now, but if he can't endure it, don't say that I, Old Qi, failed to show you respect. I don't have time to coddle children."

Lin Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, merely sizing up the blacksmith surnamed Qi in silence.

The man's muscles were swollen as though inflated, and his veins remained bulging at all times. It was clear that years of forging had left his veins habitually congested with blood.

Lin Qingye nodded, patted Lin Yu on the shoulder, and said to the blacksmith surnamed Qi, "Old Master Qi, just instruct this uncut jade as you see fit. If my Yuer truly can't make it, I'll personally come take him back."

After saying that, Lin Qingye turned and left the Blacksmiths' Association, leaving Lin Yu alone to face the blacksmith.

Although the blacksmith claimed he had no patience for coddling Lin Yu, he was still far more patient than Mang Tian, who had taught Tang Wulin in the original story.

"Come on. These are all forging hammers I used in the past. Try them first. Whichever pair you can lift, you can use. To a blacksmith, hammers are his most important weapons. Only after finding a pair of suitable forging hammers can one speak of forging."

Lin Yu nodded, then first estimated the sizes and weights of the hammers with a simple sweep of his gaze. He still could not identify the rare metals of the Douluo Continent, so he could only rely on his instincts and reached for a pair near the middle-left.

Seeing Lin Yu directly reach for that pair, the blacksmith narrowed his eyes, seeming to reveal a trace of disappointment.

The moment Lin Yu took hold of the pair of hammers, he felt their heaviness. Yet with a slight circulation of soul power, he lifted them.

He swung them through the air several times, reducing the surrounding air's HP by one, then turned to the blacksmith, whose expression had rapidly changed, and said, "Old Master Qi, I think this pair will do."

The blacksmith's expression as he looked at Lin Yu had changed from disappointment to appreciation.

He had initially thought that Lin Yu simply lacked awareness of his own strength and had casually picked a pair of hammers that looked heavy to show off.

He had not expected Lin Yu to truly be able to wield the pair normally. At once, he gestured for Lin Yu to look to the other side, where there was a long instrument with a display screen. The blacksmith said,

"Start with the basics. Today, hammer these pieces of iron into iron discs."

Beside the instrument the blacksmith pointed to were around ten iron blocks the size of human heads. Lin Yu nodded, then placed an iron block on the forging table.

The blacksmith walked behind Lin Yu and first taught him how to activate the forging table's heating mode. Only after the iron block had turned red did he begin teaching him how to swing the hammer.

Though this was fundamentally different from Mang Tian directly demanding that Tang Wulin strike ten thousand blows, it was nearly identical in form.

In fact, in terms of hammering technique alone, Lin Yu struck far more times than Tang Wulin's ten thousand blows. Every one of those iron blocks was the size of a human head. After being heated until red-hot, they had to be hammered and refined blow by blow until they formed qualified iron discs.

Each one required several thousand hammer strikes before it could be considered complete.

When Lin Yu returned to the Lin Residence that night, he could no longer raise either arm. He forced his legs to move and barely made it back to his room.

Seeing Lin Yu in that state, Na'er worriedly touched his somewhat red and swollen arms.

Lin Yu smacked Na'er's hand and said, "Don't mess around."

Na'er looked at Lin Yu, blinked, and said nothing. The night passed uneventfully...