The molten iron in the crucible was gurgling. Qin Tiexin held the iron tongs and was about to throw another piece of debris into the furnace.
Suddenly, a rapid shouting came from outside the valley.
"Where is my sword?! Who sent my low-grade Law Artifact sword to the Wasted Weapon Pavilion last night? Come find it quickly!"
There was anxiety in the voice, accompanied by panicked footsteps.
Then came two familiar voices--
"Senior Brother Shen, don't worry. When I brought it over last night, the Waste Equipment Pavilion had already finished work. It should still be in the basket."
"Yes, senior brother, it's not even midnight yet. Usually no one works so early..."
They are the round-faced young man Li Yuan and the tall and lanky Du Ming.
Qin Tiexin Without stopping, the iron pliers firmly picked up the fragments and put them into the crucible. His calm face was reflected in the fire, and only a cold light flashed in his eyes.
The footsteps are getting closer.
When the three of them rushed into the Waste Equipment Pavilion, Qin Tiexin had just poured a crucible of molten iron into the mold. White smoke was rising and making a hissing sound.
The leading young disciple was wearing a gray robe from the outer sect, with an empty scabbard on his waist. When he saw Qin Tiexin, his eyes turned red. He rushed over and grabbed Qin Tiexin's clothes. "Did you see my sword? Did you see it?!"
Qin Tiexin was shaken by his pull, but the iron pliers on his hands did not loosen. He raised his eyes and looked at the other party. "Who are you? This is the centerpiece of the Waste Equipment Pavilion."
"I am Shen Qingshan from the outer sect!" the young man said anxiously, "My sword was sent here by mistake last night! Did you see it?"
At this time, Li Yuan and Du Ming also came in.
Li Yuan hurriedly stepped forward with a smile on his face, "Junior brother Qin, this is senior brother Shen Qingshan. He has a low-grade Law Artifact sword that was accidentally mixed in with the scraps and sent over. We have to look for it first."
As he spoke, his eyes quickly glanced at the newly melted metal ingots next to the Qin Tiexin workbench.
Li Yuan's eyes lit up when he saw the black-gray luster on the surface of one of the iron ingots - they were traces of smelting black iron sand. He knew that Qin Tiexin did not have Law Power to activate the earth-fire furnace and could not separate the spiritual materials through the melting point. He could only melt a small amount of spiritual materials in half Law Artifact into the iron essence to form a mixed metal ingot. This is a practice allowed by the Waste Equipment Pavilion, but the reward will be less.
But he didn't notice that the iron ingot was not very black, and the content of real black iron sand was actually very low.
Li Yuan winked at Du Ming.
Du Ming understood and walked over quickly with a serious tone. "Junior Brother Qin, when you were smelting this morning, did you see any material containing black iron sand? That is Brother Shen's Law Artifact material!"
Qin Tiexin stopped and thought for a moment, "Yes."
"Where?" Shen Qingshan asked urgently.
Qin Tiexin pointed at the stove, and then at the gray-black iron ingot. "It's melted, right there."
The valley fell silent for a moment.
The next moment, Li Yuan and Du Ming's expressions suddenly changed.
"Melt?!" Du Ming's voice suddenly rose, "Qin Tiexin! How could you melt it?! That's Senior Brother Shen's low-grade Law Artifact, sent here by accident! Even if the spirit pattern is damaged, the material is still valuable! The manager has specifically told us that all Law Artifact must be sorted carefully!"
Li Yuan also stamped his feet. "Junior brother Qin, you have to sort it before smelting! It was accidentally delivered yesterday. What if the spirit pattern is intact? What if it is disguised as a wreckage? You, why are you so reckless!"
Shen Qingshan's face turned from white to red, and then from red to green. He stared at Qin Tiexin, the anger in his eyes almost bursting out. "You... do you know how much that sword is worth? Five yuan of low-grade Spirit Stone! A whole five hundred spirit crystals! You, a handyman, can't afford to pay for it after working for a year!"
He grabbed Qin Tiexin by the collar, his voice trembling. "Follow me to the law enforcement hall! If you don't pay for my Law Artifact today, I..."
He didn't finish his words, but everyone could hear the cruelty in his words.
If it weren't for the sect's strict prohibition on private fighting, I'm afraid he would have already taken action. An outer sect disciple at the fifth level of Qi Refining saved up for more than half a year to buy Law Artifact. Although it has some minor flaws, it is very useful. Yesterday, he found that it was missing. It was actually melted by a new handyman disciple--
He couldn't swallow this breath.
The movement here has already alerted others.
The handyman disciples from other groups in the Waste Equipment Pavilion arrived one after another, and when they saw the battle, they all gathered around. Some people whispered:
"What's going on?"
"It seems that the outer sect brother's Law Artifact was melted by mistake..."
"Tsk, tsk, we're in big trouble now, five hundred spiritual crystals!"
"This new guy is so brave, he dares to melt anything."
"Look at his body, he was trained, right? No wonder his brain can't turn..."
"It's a pity. I heard that they work very hard at the Waste Equipment Pavilion..."
The more people gathered, the more people were pointing and pointing.
Li Yuan and Du Ming exchanged a look, with a trace of pride flashing in their eyes. It's done.
At this moment, slow footsteps came from outside the crowd.
It's Old Wu.
He clasped his hands behind his back and walked over as if taking a walk. He squinted his eyes to watch the excitement and said nothing, just standing outside the crowd.
Shen Qingshan was about to drag Qin Tiexin out when he caught a glimpse of Old Wu from the corner of his eye. He paused slightly and his expression changed.
But he was so angry that he didn't care much and continued to drag Qin Tiexin: "Let's go! Go to the law enforcement hall!"
Qin Tiexin was dragged so hard that he staggered and finally moved.
He raised his right hand, held Shen Qingshan's wrist that was holding his collar, and gently pulled away.
Shen Qingshan felt a numbness in his wrist and involuntarily let go of his hand. He was stunned - he was at the fifth level of Qi Refining after all. Although he was not good at physical strength, he shouldn't be let go so easily by a handyman.
Before he could react, Qin Tiexin had already turned around and walked behind the workbench, bent down and took out a sword from the secret compartment.
It is the "broken sword".
The sword body is complete, glowing with a cold luster in the morning light. The spiritual patterns under the "claw marks" on the spine of the sword are clearly identifiable - they are complete "sharp" spiritual patterns, with smooth lines and faint traces of Spiritual Qi.
Qin Tiexin handed the sword to Shen Qingshan.
"Is this what Senior Brother Shen is talking about?" His voice was calm and there was no emotion in it, "I did melt a piece of debris containing black iron sand this morning, but it was a broken fragment of a breastplate, which had already been melted into the iron ingot."
He pointed at the gray-black iron ingot.
"As for this sword, I looked like it was in good condition Law Artifact, so I put it away. Senior Brother Shen must be more careful in the future so as not to lose it again." Qin Tiexin paused, "If there is no problem, I will continue to work."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the furnace, picked up the iron tongs, picked up a new piece of debris, and threw it into the crucible.
jingle.
The piece of iron fell into the furnace and threw up a few sparks.
There was deathly silence in the valley.
Everyone was stunned.
Shen Qingshan stared blankly at the sword in his hand, then looked up at Qin Tiexin, then at the iron ingot, and finally at Li Yuan and Du Ming.
The expressions on Li Yuan and Du Ming's faces were extremely exciting at this moment.
First they were stunned, then shocked, and finally pale. The two of them opened their mouths and were speechless for a long time, with fine cold sweat oozing out from their foreheads.
They can't figure it out.
The sword was well disguised and full of the refiner's care - the break was specially knocked out, the claw marks were scraped out with special tools, and even the scratches in the spirit pattern area were flawless, making the opponent mistake it for a broken weapon. Even an experienced old disciple would have difficulty distinguishing the authenticity from the fake at first glance.
How did you discover this new guy?
And... when did he change the contract? Where did the fragments of the breast mirror come from?
The crowd of onlookers also reacted, and there was a buzz of discussion:
"Huh? The sword is not melted?"
"Then what was the noise about just now?"
"It seems there is a misunderstanding..."
"That's not right. I think Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Du were so sure just now and said that the sword must have been melted..."
Shen Qingshan's face turned red and white. He carefully checked the sword in his hand - it was indeed his own. The spirit pattern was intact and the blade was undamaged. But just now Li Yuan and Du Mingming swore that the sword was melted and pointed to the iron ingot as proof...
He turned his head suddenly and stared at Li Yuan and Du Ming.
The two of them trembled when he saw them.
Li Yuan laughed dryly, "Ah... it turns out it's not melted. That's good. That's good. Maybe we saw it wrong. The fragments of the breast shield also contain black iron sand, so..."
"So you think my sword was melted?" Shen Qingshan's voice became colder.
"No, no, no, misunderstanding, all misunderstandings!" Du Ming waved his hands quickly, "We are also anxious, fearing that Senior Brother Shen's Law Artifact will be damaged..."
Shen Qingshan is not a fool.
He looked at Qin Tiexin - the big man was immersed in his work, paying no attention to the dispute here, as if he had just done a trivial thing. Then he looked at Li Yuan and Du Ming - their eyes flickered, their foreheads were sweating, and they were obviously guilty.
A thought flashed through my mind. What a coincidence. I just discovered that I had lost my sword yesterday, and this happened today. It seemed that it was deliberately staged for me. Isn't it possible that I was used as a knife?
But he has no evidence.
And...
Shen Qingshan glanced at Old Wu outside the crowd from the corner of his eye. The old man took out a cigarette bag at some point and was slowly lighting it up. He took a puff and the smoke filled the air.
Shen Qingshan's heart tightened.
He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, turned around and walked towards Qin Tiexin.
Qin Tiexin stopped and looked at him.
Shen Qingshan took out a small cloth bag from his arms, counted out twenty spirit crystals, and placed them on the edge of the workbench.
"Junior brother," he said in a much more polite tone, "I was reckless just now and got angry at you before I understood it clearly. These spiritual crystals are an apology."
The attitude was respectful and the change was so fast that the onlookers were stunned for a moment.
Qin Tiexin glanced at the spiritual crystal and said nothing.
Shen Qingshan turned around again and bowed slightly in the direction of Old Wu: "Senior Brother Wu, look..."
Old Wu exhaled a puff of smoke without raising his eyelids. "You just want to leave like this?"
Shen Qingshan quickly turned back and bowed to Qin Tiexin again. "Junior brother, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." After saying that, he glanced back at Old Wu and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the other party didn't respond.
Old Wu took another puff of cigarette and then said slowly, "Go away. If anything comes to the Waste Equipment Pavilion in the future, it will be treated as waste equipment."
"Yes, yes, remember!" Shen Qingshan nodded repeatedly as if he was being pardoned, and quickly left the Wasted Weapon Pavilion holding his sword.
The back view is even a bit hurried.
Seeing that there was no excitement to be seen, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. However, when they left, many people looked at Li Yuan and Du Ming with a little more amusement.
Li Yuan and Du Ming stood there, neither leaving nor staying.
Old Wu took the last puff of his cigarette, knocked the pipe on the sole of his shoe, and then walked over slowly. He first walked to the Qin Tiexin workbench and took a look at the twenty spiritual crystals.
"Take what is given to you," he said.
Qin Tiexin nodded and took the spirit crystal into his arms.
Old Wu turned to Li Yuan and Du Ming.
The two of them immediately tensed up.
"Wu, Master Wu..." Li Yuan forced a smile.
"The rules of the Waste Equipment Pavilion," Old Wu said in a hoarse voice, "Everything sent in is all waste equipment. There is no 'accidental delivery' and no 'accidental'. Do you understand?"
"Ming, understand!" The two people responded quickly.
"Go to work." Old Wu waved his hand.
As if they had been granted amnesty, the two of them fled back to their workstations, not daring to look over again.
Old Wu glanced at Qin Tiexin again, said nothing, and walked slowly back to the stone house with his hands behind his back.
Calm returned to the valley.
Only the whirring of the furnace and the clanking of iron tools were left.
Qin Tiexin Continue smelting.
His movements were still steady, but there was a hint of coldness deep in his eyes.
He understood the scene just now. Li Yuan and Du Ming set up a trap to use Shen Qingshan's help to drive him out of the Wasted Equipment Pavilion and even send him to the Law Enforcement Hall to be punished. If he hadn't carefully discovered the abnormality of the sword, if he hadn't prepared a package for the transfer of the breast mirror fragments, he would have been unable to defend himself now.
As for the fragments of the breast shield - he removed them from a truly scrapped semi-Law Artifact a few days ago. The color is poor and the content of black iron sand is low, but it can be used to deceive people.
Qin Tiexin picked up a new fragment and threw it into the crucible.
The fire reflected his face, half bright and half dark.
This Old Wu is not simple.
Shen Qingshan was an outer disciple, and seeing him was like a mouse seeing a cat. He called out "Senior Brother Wu" carefully, and apologized neatly. It was obviously not just because of the injustice.
Qin Tiexin shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
The most important thing right now is to improve your strength as soon as possible.
After this incident, Li Yuan and Du Ming should not dare to touch him again for the time being. But those two people have stayed in the Waste Equipment Pavilion for a long time and have good connections. They may cause other obstacles in the future.
Qi Refining First Layer, must break through as soon as possible.
With Law Power, you can activate the earth fire furnace, process more valuable spiritual materials, and increase your income.
There is also the fourth level of body refining...
Qin Tiexin glanced at Edgeless who was leaning in the corner.
When you reach Qi Refining First Layer, you can re-forge it. Integrate the red heart copper to increase the weight, and it can also be used as a tool to exercise the body.
He withdrew his gaze and focused on smelting.
Throughout the whole day, Li Yuan and Du Ming didn't come here anymore. They were immersed in their work. Occasionally, their eyes met Qin Tiexin, but they immediately avoided it.
When the work was over, Qin Tiexin counted today's results: forty-two fine iron ingots, eleven copper ingots, and some miscellaneous materials. He went to the Shanggong Hall to hand in the task, and received seventeen spiritual crystals. In addition to the twenty crystals Shen Qingshan paid for, he had thirty-seven spiritual crystals in his arms.
When we walked out of Shanggong Hall, it was almost dusk.
Qin Tiexin touched the spiritual crystal in his arms and walked quickly towards the dining hall.
I consumed a lot today and had to eat five bowls of rice.