Morning of the second day.
Qin Tiexin When he woke up, he first felt the wound on his back. The scab was thick and the pain was only 20%, and there was only a slight stretch when he moved. He stood up and moved his shoulders and back, and his muscles and bones stretched smoothly.
Jade Cream is really useful.
He remembered Li Yun's appearance when delivering the medicine, and made a mental note of the favor. He packed up and went to the Waste Equipment Pavilion.
Today's work was as usual. He spent two hours smelting scraps, hammering and hammering, and the wound on his back was no longer serious. After finishing the work, he washed his hands and did not leave directly as usual.
He remembered that today was "the day after tomorrow".
Old Wu said that day, "Come to my stone room to find me after work the day after tomorrow."
Qin Tiexin wiped his hands and walked deeper into the Waste Equipment Pavilion.
The Waste Equipment Pavilion occupies a large area. In addition to the front hall and the smelting area, there is also a row of stone chambers in the depths. These are independent workshops that the handyman disciples applied to the Shanggong Hall. They need to be qualified to smelt spiritual materials independently. Qin Tiexin Qi Refining First Layer also applied for one.
He walked along the corridor. Most of the stone rooms on both sides had their doors closed. Occasionally, disciples would come in and out. They were all old handymen who were above the middle stage of Qi Refining. When he saw Qin Tiexin, he nodded slightly - Xiaobi's reputation among the top ten had already spread among the handyman disciples.
The stone chamber of Old Wu is at the deepest corner.
When Qin Tiexin approached, he found that the door was not closed tightly and there was a crack. There was a subtle scratching sound of a carving knife and the smell of spiritual energy fluctuations inside.
Carving spiritual patterns?
He paused for a moment. When carving spiritual patterns, it is most important not to be disturbed. Once the fluctuations of spiritual power are disordered, the spiritual patterns may be damaged at least, or explode at worst. He stood outside the door, neither entering nor retreating.
When he was hesitating, Old Wu's voice came from inside the door. "Tiexin is here? Come in, the door is unlocked."
Qin Tiexin was stunned. Can you still be distracted and talk while carving spiritual patterns?
He pushed the door open and went in.
The stone room is larger than his room, about three feet long and wide. There is a large forging table in the middle, and the tools are neatly placed on the table. There is a material rack on the right wall, with various spiritual materials leftovers sorted on it. On the left is a stove and a sink.
Old Wu was sitting in front of the forging table with his back to the door, holding a carving knife in his hand and carving spiritual patterns on the body of a dagger. He didn't look back and kept moving his hands.
Qin Tiexin stood by the door without making a sound.
He looked carefully at Old Wu's technique.
The carving knife is an ordinary tungsten steel carving knife, with a tip as thin as a needle. Old Wu's hand holding the knife is very stable - no, not steady, but "fixed". The tip of the knife falls on the embryo body and does not move very fast, but every stroke is made without hesitation, and the trajectory is clear and direct. Gray-white aura seeps out from the tip of the knife and penetrates into the embryo body, leaving shallow silver lines.
It's the "sharp" pattern.
Qin Tiexin has carved sharp lines many times and knows the direction of this stroke: the starting stroke should be sharp, the closing stroke should be sharp, the three main veins in the middle should be parallel and equidistant, and the spiritual energy infusion should be even.
The characterization of Old Wu... is different.
The strokes are indeed standard, but there are slight deviations in the details. The arc of the third main vein is slightly larger, and the end of the stroke is also a little hasty. Overall, the spiritual pattern structure is complete, but not perfect.
But Old Wu is extremely fast.
Qin Tiexin estimates that the time from the beginning to the end is less than half a stick of incense. To carve the same spiritual pattern himself, it would take at least one stick of incense - in order to pursue the accuracy of the strokes, he would deliberately slow down and adjust repeatedly.
The last stroke has fallen.
The body of the dagger trembled slightly, and a layer of light silver luster appeared on the surface, and then disappeared. It was finished, low-grade Law Artifact.
Old Wu put down the carving knife, picked up the dagger, looked at it, and handed it to Qin Tiexin: "Have a look."
Qin Tiexin took it.
The dagger is about seven inches long and has an inch-wide blade. It is made of ordinary refined iron mixed with a small amount of red copper. It is slightly heavy in the hand, and the blade is not sharp. You can see subtle forging lines. The spiritual pattern is engraved on the ridge of the blade, and the silver lines are winding. It is indeed as he saw - the structure is complete, but the details are rough.
He told the truth, "The spirit pattern... is a bit crooked."
Old Wu smiled, "Is this all you can see?"
Qin Tiexin looked at the forging process carefully again. The embryonic body was not evenly forged, and the cutting edge was thicker in one place and thinner in another. The fusion of red copper and fine iron was also average, and slight color differences could be seen.
"The forging technique... can't be called good." He tried to word it tactfully.
Old Wu nodded without comment. He picked up another dagger from the tool rack and handed it to Qin Tiexin: "Look at this one again."
Qin Tiexin took the second dagger.
The moment he took it, he felt different.
The weight is even, and the center of gravity is perfectly placed at the intersection of the handle and the blade. The blade is as straight as a line, with a cold light. The materials are seamlessly blended, and the surface has a uniform dark blue luster. The sharp strokes on the blade ridge are as standard as a ruler, and every arc and every turn is accurate.
Perfect.
Qin Tiexin made an evaluation in his heart. The forging process, material fusion, and spiritual pattern engraving of this dagger are all exemplary. If it is assessed by the weapon refining branch, it will be at least Grade A.
He raised the second dagger. "This one is good."
"Why?" Old Wu asked.
Qin Tiexin Organizational language. "The materials are evenly blended and there is no color difference. The forging technique is fine and the cutting edge is straight. The spiritual patterns are carved to a standard and the strokes are of consistent depth. The whole... is perfect."
Old Wu After listening, he said, "The foundation is very solid."
I don't know if it's a compliment or a derogation.
He took back two daggers, one in his left hand and one in his right hand. Infused with spiritual power, the two daggers glowed with silver light at the same time - the sharp lines were activated.
Then he made a move that made Qin Tiexin's eyelids twitch.
The two daggers were sharply facing each other, slashing at each other--
Bang!
The sound of metal clashing was crisp and clear. Old Wu flipped his wrist, twice more.
Clang! Clang!
After three sounds, he stopped and placed the two daggers side by side on the forging table. "Look again."
Qin Tiexin looked down.
Then he froze.
There were three gaps left on each edge of the two daggers. They were about the same size and depth. It was like using the same file and filing it three times in the same position.
"This..." Qin Tiexin picked up the first dagger and looked at the gap carefully. The material of the blade was indeed poorer, and there were slight cracks on the edge of the gap. The gap of the second dagger was much neater.
But the difference is too small.
So small that it's almost negligible.
He originally thought that the second "perfect" dagger should easily cut off the first one. But the reality is that the two daggers went head-to-head and the result was almost a tie.
The voice of Old Wu sounded, "The first time, from selecting materials to forging, to carving the spiritual patterns, it took me less than an hour."
Qin Tiexin looks up.
Old Wu continued, "The second one took me an hour and a half."
He paused and looked at Qin Tiexin: "Which one do you think is better?"
Qin Tiexin opened his mouth but said nothing.
His mind was a little confused. After ten years of blacksmithing and the past few months of systematic study of weapon refining, he came to the understanding that the better the material, the more refined the craftsmanship, and the more standard the spiritual patterns, the more powerful Law Artifact would be.
But the two daggers in front of him subverted this perception.
The one with rough workmanship takes a short time, but the effect is not bad. The one with perfect workmanship takes time and effort, but the result is... almost the same.
Why?
Old Wu was not in a hurry to explain. He walked to the sink and washed his hands. With his back to Qin Tiexin, he said, "Refining utensils is for making utensils. Utensils are for use, not for viewing."
Qin Tiexin held two daggers and remained silent.
"You just said that the first one had crooked spiritual patterns and the forging technique was not good." Old Wu wiped his hands and turned around, "But its cutting effect is not much worse than the second one. Why?"
Qin Tiexin shook his head.
"Because it's 'sufficient'." Old Wu walked back to the forging table and picked up the first dagger, "What is the function of the sharp pattern? It makes the edge sharper and easier to cut things. Although the spiritual pattern of this dagger is crooked, the three main veins are not broken, and the spiritual power flows smoothly. It has completed its 'sharp' function."
He put down the dagger and picked up the second one. "This one has perfect spiritual patterns, smoother spiritual power flow, and a better sharpening effect - but how much better? 10%? Half a percent? Is it worth spending half an hour more for this improvement?"
Qin Tiexin fell into deep thought.
Is it worth it?
If it were him, he would definitely choose the second option - striving for perfection. But if he was on the battlefield and needed a weapon urgently; if he was in a weapon refining competition and the time was limited...
"The weapon refiner must be able to calculate accounts." Old Wu's voice was calm, "Calculate time accounts, materials accounts, and effect accounts. One dagger is enough. Use the time saved to refine the second and third daggers. Which of ten daggers is more useful than a perfect dagger?"
Qin Tiexin raised his head.
He understood somewhat, but not completely.
Old Wu looked at him and suddenly smiled, "Do you think I'm teaching you how to cut corners?"
Qin Tiexin nodded honestly.
"It's not about cutting corners." Old Wu shook his head, "It's 'just right'. For example, when refining a weapon, you need to know when to be precise and when to be extensive. A flying sword must have precise spiritual patterns. A slight deviation may affect the flight trajectory. On a shield, if the solid patterns are deeper or lighter, the difference is not big - as long as it is hard enough."
He paused and looked at Qin Tiexin: "The shield you blew up before was too 'good'. The idea of double spiritual patterns is good. But the material of low-grade Law Artifact, with 10% spiritual material content, is the limit for carrying one spiritual pattern. If you insist on carving two, and still carve it so deeply - you are asking for death."
Qin Tiexin's face felt slightly hot.
"However," Old Wu changed the topic, "You are brave enough to dare to try. The weapon refiner cannot be too conservative. You have to take risks when it is time to take risks - but you have to know why you are taking the risk and whether it is worth the risk."