The pleasant rush from leveling up his skill put Xia Xi in a wonderful mood. Even breathing felt a little easier.
He scratched his head and said to Tiezhen, "Maybe... you're just a good teacher?"
Honestly, even he hadn't expected his Forging skill to improve so quickly here.
It was nearly twice as fast as fumbling around on his own in the Northern Region.
Xia Xi suspected he had stacked too many bonuses.
Practicing forging in the Swordsmith Village might have come with a hidden bonus from the location's buildings.
Add a renowned teacher's [Personal Guidance from Tiezhen], and the returns from practice naturally snowballed.
Now he was itching to stay here and grind the skill all the way to LV.4.
"A good teacher?"
Tiezhen clearly didn't believe that explanation.
But she didn't press him, merely smiling as she said, "Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you how to forge a Great Tachi."
Xia Xi's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Village Chief!"
New forging blueprint acquired!
By the time he left the workshop, it was already dark.
The Swordsmith Village was particularly quiet at night.
There was only the chirping of insects in the grass and the occasional muffled sound of hammering from distant workshops.
Xia Xi stretched and was just about to go soak in a hot spring.
Then he noticed a young masked man furtively following him.
His attempts at hiding were hopelessly amateurish, though.
You're a six-foot-tall man crouching in a bush, and half your mask is sticking out!
Xia Xi felt he couldn't pretend not to see him even if he wanted to!
"Look, if you need something, just come out and say it."
He couldn't sense any killing intent, and the man's name was green anyway.
Naturally, Xia Xi spoke politely.
Only then did the man