Who Said Girls Couldn't Be Blacksmiths?

Every morning, Na'er went to school with Tang Wulin.

After school in the afternoon, Tang Wulin had to go to Mang Tian's workshop to forge. Whenever Na'er had time, she went with him and sat nearby to watch.

As she watched, Na'er discovered that she was quite interested in forging.

Once Tang Wulin finished forging a piece of metal, Na'er walked over and asked, "Can I try forging too?"

When Mang Tian heard that Na'er wanted to forge metal too, he couldn't help laughing. "Little girl, forging metal isn't easy. Even plenty of boys can't endure it. You should learn mecha construction or repair instead. That way, you can team up with Tang Wulin in the future to make mechas or Battle Armor."

His words left Na'er rather displeased. "Who said girls can't learn forging? I want to give it a try anyway."

Hearing that, Mang Tian grew interested too. "All right. As long as you can strike five hundred times with these hammers, I'll consider you to have passed. Then I can teach you forging too."

Tang Wulin hurriedly said, "Teacher, you made me strike a thousand times when I first started."

Mang Tian glared at him. "Are you and she in the same situation? Say another word, and you'll have to forge a few more pieces of metal before you can leave today."

Tang Wulin quickly shut his mouth. If he had to forge a few more pieces of metal, his arms would probably be ruined.

In fact, even five hundred strikes were extremely difficult for someone forging metal for the first time.

Na'er took the pair of hammers and found that each weighed about five kilograms, no heavier than her Silver Dragon Spear.

She swung one of the hammers and struck the metal with a clang. A tingling numbness ran through her hand.

The sound of hammering rang out again and again, while the number on the screen above kept climbing.

Na'er discovered that striking metal with these hammers really wasn't easy. Before long, her arms began to ache.

After a hundred strikes, Na'er stopped.

"Well? Hard work, isn't it?" Mang Tian thought Na'er was about to give up.

"Come on, Na'er! You can do it!" Tang Wulin encouraged her from the side.

It wasn't that Na'er couldn't continue. She was thinking about how to deliver the next strikes.

She realized that her strength was far inferior to Tang Wulin's, so she couldn't rely on brute force alone. She needed to master some technique.

Making use of her body's flexibility, Na'er stopped relying solely on her arms and began using her arms, waist, and legs together. With them working in concert, hammering became much easier.

Mang Tian was astonished by what he saw.

Tang Wulin had relied entirely on brute strength to deliver his thousand strikes.

At the time, Mang Tian had been shocked too. A six-year-old child had actually possessed such tremendous strength.

But Na'er's performance delighted him even more. She had grasped the technique of channeling her strength without anyone teaching her, proving that she was a true genius in this field.

If Tang Wulin was a hard worker who advanced one steady step at a time, then Na'er was a genius who could quickly grasp anything.

"Four hundred and ninety-nine!"

"Five hundred!"

Na'er delivered the final strike, dropped the hammers, and gasped for breath.

"I did it."

Although the Golden Dragon King controlled strength and the Silver Dragon King controlled the elements, the Silver Dragon King was still a dragon, after all. Her physical strength was formidable too. Anyone who truly treated her as nothing more than a mage might well be punched to death by Na'er.

"Na'er, you're amazing!"

Tang Wulin hugged Na'er, their sweat mingling together.

Even Tang Wulin hadn't imagined that Na'er would actually manage it.

Na'er smiled and asked Mang Tian, "Well? I can forge alongside Wulin now, right?"

Mang Tian nodded. "Yes. Starting today, you can come learn forging with Tang Wulin."

Mang Tian suddenly felt that he might really be able to train a female blacksmith.

In the forging world, women were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Training a high-level blacksmith wouldn't bring him as much fame as training a female one, and he grew increasingly eager to try.

Mang Tian sent Tang Wulin back to his forging, then explained the fundamentals of forging to Na'er.

Na'er's memory was excellent too, and she soon committed everything to memory.

Once Tang Wulin finished forging, they got ready to go home.

Mang Tian said, "All right, that's enough for today. Na'er will be progressing a little more slowly, so help her out, Wulin. Explain the details of forging to her carefully."

"When you get home today, help Na'er apply hot compresses to her arms. Ideally, she should soak in a hot bath."

Tang Wulin muttered, "You never told me to take a hot bath after forging."

"What did you just say?" Mang Tian hadn't heard him clearly.

"I said don't worry. I'll remember."

"All right. Both of you, be here on time tomorrow."

The two walked home hand in hand.

Tang Wulin told Tang Ziran and Lang Yue that Na'er would be learning forging too, leaving the couple deeply shocked.

"No. That isn't something girls should learn." Lang Yue rejected the idea outright.

What kind of girl went off to learn forging? She could hardly imagine Na'er training until her arms grew thick and muscular.

"I don't recommend it for Na'er either."

Tang Ziran would be proud to have a son who was a blacksmith, but he wouldn't be able to bring himself to say that his daughter was one.

Lang Yue crouched down and patiently told Na'er, "Na'er, there are actually plenty of other professions related to forging. Mecha design, for example, would suit you very well. How about I take you to see a teacher in a couple of days? You might have a talent for design."

Na'er shook her head. "No. I've already decided. I want to learn forging."

The couple exchanged looks. They hadn't expected Na'er to be so resolute.

During their time with Na'er, they had discovered that although she was a girl, she had a firm mind of her own. Once she decided on something, no one could change it.

Tang Wulin urged them, "Dad, Mom, don't worry. Teacher said Na'er is very talented, so she won't have any trouble learning forging. If she really can't keep going later on, she can always switch to something else. Just let her give it a try."

After hearing Tang Wulin's words, the couple relented.

"All right, then. Give it a try. If you can't keep going, it's fine to give up."

Na'er nodded.

And so, Na'er became another little blacksmith at Mang Tian's workshop.

After her bath that evening, Na'er lay on the bed while Tang Wulin gently massaged her.

"That hurts, Wulin. Be gentler."

"Okay."

Tang Wulin lightened the pressure of his hands.

"That feels so nice."

Feeling Tang Wulin's fingers glide over her, Na'er felt wonderfully comfortable and soon fell asleep.

In the days that followed, Na'er and Tang Wulin got up, ate, went to school, came home, forged, and went to bed together every day. They were as inseparable as a body and its shadow.

Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, two and a half years had gone by.

Na'er and Tang Wulin were about to graduate from Red Mountain Academy.