Dough-Kneading Forging Technique

The next day, Zhang Ping made a special trip to the school library.

He first looked up the history of Mingzhu City, but found no information about "Martial Training" or "Southern Moon," which meant these two terms were not old place names.

If they weren't place names, then what could they be?

Zhang Ping returned to the dormitory and kept thinking as he filled out his graduation application.

"Could the two words be meant to be read backward?"

That afternoon, Zhang Ping put down his pen and suddenly had a new idea.

Though it seemed unlikely, he still wrote the two words backward on the paper.

Southern Moon.

Martial Training.

Zhang Ping stared at the reversed words and suddenly widened his eyes.

So the riddle wasn't difficult after all.

But there definitely weren't many people who knew it. The other party knew him very well!

No.

More accurately, the other party knew the original owner very well.

Not far from the orphanage in Mingzhu City, there had once been a Beef Brisket Ramen Shop.

Because the character for "brisket" on its sign had split in half, it looked like the two characters for "Southern Moon."

Behind that Beef Brisket Ramen Shop was a small park, a paradise in the eyes of the orphans.

Before Zhang Ping entered Pearl Ability Academy, he often practiced martial arts alone in that park, throwing wild punches.

But times had changed. The Beef Brisket Ramen Shop had gone out of business four years ago, and an armor workshop now stood there. The odds of Heavenly Fox knowing this information were extremely low, while the number of people who knew he had practiced martial arts in that little park could definitely be counted on one hand.

From this, he could infer that the person who had appeared behind him last night definitely knew the original owner!

Zhang Ping tore up the words on the paper and threw them into the toilet, then picked up his graduation application and headed out.

After figuring out the answer, he felt much more at ease.

Judging from the literal meaning, the other party wanted him to meet at the small park behind the Beef Brisket Ramen Shop on the twenty-third.

There was no need to reverse the number, because a month did not have thirty-two days. So it had to be the twenty-third.

The graduation application went very smoothly.

After all, he was just a useless Awakened with a Useless Tier ability. No one valued him.

Evening came.

Zhang Ping packed his luggage and left the school directly.

When he arrived at Iron Soul, Stinky Qiang, who was tending to Uncle Liu in the shop, immediately smiled. Seeing Zhang Ping carrying luggage, he already knew Zhang Ping's answer.

"Little brother, you came at just the right time. I have to go on a mission tomorrow and probably won't be back for five days. I was worrying over who could take care of Uncle Liu. Come, come, I'll take you upstairs to have a look first," Stinky Qiang said happily, pulling Zhang Ping by the hand.

The shop had three floors in total. The first floor was the storefront, the second was the living quarters, and the third was the workshop.

The second floor was large and had many rooms. Zhang Ping picked one, put down his luggage, and went downstairs with Stinky Qiang. Only then did he learn that Stinky Qiang's real name was Qiu Qiang. Since all the neighbors had called him Stinky Qiang since childhood, though, he did not mind the nickname.

Uncle Liu's name was Liu Tiefeng, and he was already seventy-nine years old. He had originally had a son named Liu Dashan, but Liu Dashan had gone missing some time ago.

Perhaps he had a bad feeling about it.

Liu Tiefeng's mental state had steadily worsened lately. Not only had his reactions become slower and slower, but he had also grown somewhat muddleheaded. That was why Qiu Qiang wanted to find someone reliable to care for Liu Tiefeng.

The main reason he chose Zhang Ping was that Zhang Ping was both a student and an orphan, unlike people who had entered society and had complicated thoughts and relationships.

Besides, Qiu Qiang would often come by to care for Liu Tiefeng himself, so he was not worried that Zhang Ping might have ulterior motives.

Of course, Qiu Qiang had not said that last part. Zhang Ping had guessed it himself.

A student who wanted to become an adventurer.

There was no need to guess.

He had to be an orphan.

In Mingzhu City, it was far too easy to tell.

That night, since Qiu Qiang had time, he decided to first teach Zhang Ping some blacksmithing basics.

After he left on his mission, Zhang Ping could watch over Liu Tiefeng in the shop while practicing the basics, so he would not have nothing to do.

The blacksmiths of this world were somewhat different from what Zhang Ping had imagined.

Before learning about it, Zhang Ping had thought forging weapons meant hammering away at red-hot iron, then quenching, polishing, and sharpening it.

But the forging techniques of this world were not so simple.

"Little Zhang, I'll demonstrate once first. Watch carefully," Qiu Qiang said to Zhang Ping as he put on fireproof gloves.

Zhang Ping nodded, focused his attention, and carefully watched Qiu Qiang's movements.

Qiu Qiang picked up several iron ingots and placed them on a wooden tray. "These are all processed refined iron. You can generally buy them from iron ore wholesalers. A ten-catty ingot costs around six thousand dollars."

"That expensive?" Zhang Ping asked in surprise.

Qiu Qiang placed several kinds of scales on the wooden tray and smiled faintly. "You need to understand that Mingzhu City's iron ore is all mined in the wilderness. Going outside the city is practically gambling with your life. Every piece of refined iron may be stained with the blood of miners and adventurers. Is six thousand really expensive?"

"..."

Zhang Ping had nothing to say.

Next, Qiu Qiang prepared the materials and said, "These scales are called Crimson-Tempered Snake Scales. They come from the Mutated Beast known as the Crimson Refining Snake. At high temperatures, the scales gradually melt and release extremely high heat. At the same time, a substance called 'Crimson Ash' can fuse into refined iron. It not only strengthens the iron's hardness and toughness, but also gives it the ability to repair itself."

"Therefore, once Crimson-Tempered Snake Scales are added, the weapon must be forged in one go. Otherwise, once it cools, whatever shape the ingot has will be its shape forever. It will be very difficult to forge it a second time."

As he spoke, Qiu Qiang placed the iron ingots and materials, wooden tray and all, into the furnace. Then he reached into the fire and rapidly stirred them. It did not look like he was forging a weapon at all, but rather kneading dough.

"Many of these materials need to be mixed evenly by hand, which is why this method of forging weapons is called the Dough-Kneading Forging Technique." Qiu Qiang paid no attention to the high heat. His eyes stayed fixed on the flames as his hands continued stirring.

Zhang Ping swallowed. He could see that although Qiu Qiang wore fireproof gloves, the flames had actually reached his arms. Yet Qiu Qiang did not care in the slightest; not even a single hair had been burned.

"Watch closely. This next step is crucial," Qiu Qiang said.

He scooped a lump of red "dough" out of the fire, immediately stood and placed it into a black rectangular mold beside him, then picked up a massive iron hammer and furiously struck the raised sections on top of the mold. Gradually, the raised portions became flatter and flatter.

"Bring me that red oil over there!" he said after catching his breath, then addressed Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping immediately lifted a one-meter-tall oil drum from behind the counter and laboriously carried it to Qiu Qiang's side.

"Not bad. Being able to lift fire oil means your physical condition isn't poor." Qiu Qiang smiled. He had only been testing Zhang Ping's strength.

Although the Dough-Kneading Forging Technique did not have especially high strength requirements, one could not be completely weak either.

Qiu Qiang opened the fire oil and poured a small amount over the mold. With a loud boom, the mold erupted with steam. Then Qiu Qiang pressed the switch beside it and pulled hard. The mold slowly opened, revealing a saber blackened with red patterns before the two of them.

"These are the most basic steps in forging a weapon. This saber is called the Pearl Saber. It's a standard weapon of Mingzhu City. Every blacksmith apprentice starts by learning to forge this. Only after becoming familiar with changes in the materials can one possibly stop using molds and forge all kinds of weapons according to one's own wishes." Qiu Qiang took the saber from the mold, walked to the testing stand, and spoke to Zhang Ping.

The next moment, he raised the saber and slashed at a stone on the testing stand. A flash of blade light passed, and the stone was instantly cut in two, its cross-section smooth and even.

"This is the most ordinary saber in Mingzhu City!"

Zhang Ping truly felt as though his horizons had been broadened. This was something Pearl Ability Academy could not teach, and it also gave him his first basic understanding of Mingzhu City's weapons. But he quickly sobered up. Even with such weapons, Mingzhu City had still been infiltrated by Heavenly Fox.

Without a doubt.

Heavenly Fox was even more terrifying and dangerous.

"Can this sort of standard weapon injure Intermediate Awakened Mutated Beasts?" Zhang Ping asked after thinking for a moment.

Qiu Qiang set the saber aside and laughed at Zhang Ping's question. "That depends on the Mutated Beast. Some have powerful physical defenses, some are extremely agile, and some excel at attacking, so there's no absolutely certain answer.

"But Pearl Sabers are generally only used against beginner Mutated Beasts. And even among beginner Mutated Beasts, some with strong defenses can still withstand a Pearl Saber's attacks."

Most Mutated Beasts were naturally stronger than humans, and the higher their Level, the stronger they became.

Even Mutated Beasts whose abilities were not physical enhancement types had physical strength no weaker than body-enhancement Awakened ones after reaching higher Levels.

This was also one of humanity's disadvantages when facing Mutated Beasts.

"Alright, now it's your turn to give it a try. Don't be nervous for your first time. You'll have plenty of time to slowly practice the basics from now on." Seeing Zhang Ping deep in thought, Qiu Qiang removed his fireproof gloves, patted Zhang Ping on the shoulder, and spoke.

Zhang Ping nodded, accepted the fireproof gloves Qiu Qiang handed him, and walked to the furnace after putting them on.

He had already memorized Qiu Qiang's method. Now, he only needed to follow the steps Qiu Qiang had used to forge the Pearl Saber.

First, prepare all the necessary materials.

Second, place the materials into the furnace and heat them with an open flame.

Zhang Ping carried the wooden tray into the furnace. As he put it in, his unprotected arms immediately felt a burst of scorching heat. Moreover, as the materials burned in the flames, they also released heat themselves. That wave of heat surged out of the furnace, instantly curling his eyebrows. He could faintly smell burning hair.

"Don't step back. Carefully feel the changes in the materials. Don't let go, or the accelerant mixed into the firewood will be ruined," Qiu Qiang reminded him.

Zhang Ping had wanted to retreat, but after hearing that, he could only grit his teeth and endure. As the wooden tray burned away completely, he immediately felt that he was holding a lump of something heavy and unknown. Clearly, this was the blended material after combustion.

"The timing should be about right. The materials in your hands are not evenly distributed yet. Slowly knead them and feel their weight," Qiu Qiang said.

Zhang Ping nodded and began kneading slowly with both hands.

Although the fireproof gloves separated him from it, he could indeed feel that the lump of material, similar to flour yet harder than flour, had a different texture in different areas.

At first, he had truly thought it was no different from kneading dough. But after experiencing it firsthand, he discovered that it required far more strength than kneading dough. It was simply not something an ordinary person could do.

It was extremely strenuous.

But he still gritted his teeth and continued stirring and kneading.

"This step is very important, and you can't be too slow. If you are, some materials will burn away completely." Qiu Qiang said with a smile as he watched Zhang Ping gradually break into a full sweat.

Zhang Ping persisted through gritted teeth. Gradually, he felt that the "dough" in his hands had fused into one. He glanced at Qiu Qiang, but Qiu Qiang gave no indication either way, making it clear that Zhang Ping had to judge for himself.

"It should be ready!"

After thinking it over, Zhang Ping immediately carried the reddened "dough" out of the furnace, swiftly placed it into the mold, and closed the mold.

He bent down to pick up the iron hammer, only to discover that it was even heavier than he had expected. He could not lift it with one hand.

With great difficulty, he raised the hammer with both hands and hurriedly struck the mold.

Amid a chorus of clangs, the raised parts of the mold were gradually hammered flat.

Only after confirming that he had done his best did he lift the fire oil and pour it over the mold.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, a large amount of steam sprayed from the gaps in the mold.

Zhang Ping set down the fire oil. Instead of immediately checking the saber he had forged, he sat down heavily on the ground, completely exhausted.