Qin Tiexin walked up to the forging table, placed the wooden sign on the corner of the table, and glanced at the material area.
He didn't walk fast, and his steps were heavy. His weight of nearly three hundred kilograms made the wooden table creak slightly. Several disciples who were selecting materials next to him raised their heads to look at him, and then lowered their heads - this figure was really eye-catching.
The material area is lined up along the east wall of the hall, more than thirty steps long. Basic spiritual materials are placed on the shelves in different categories, with a small wooden sign in front of each type indicating its name and characteristics.
Qin Tiexin walks straight towards Fantie District.
Fine iron ingots, Cold Iron pieces, blue-grained steel.
He picked up a piece of blue-grained steel. It was palm-width, two fingers thick, about a foot long, and weighed about twenty kilograms. The surface of the steel ingot was rough and glowed with a dark blue luster - a characteristic of the blue-grained stone. He had smelted no less than a hundred pieces of blue-grained steel remnants in the Waste Equipment Pavilion and was familiar with the feel.
Then we headed towards the Lingkuang area.
Red copper sand, Mysterious Iron powder, star iron sand.
He took the star iron sand. The sand was put in a black leather bag. It was dark silver and you could see a little bit of starlight when held up to the light. He weighed the weight. It was about three kilograms - enough.
Get a few more auxiliary materials: three cold crystal stones, a pack of mica powder, and a small bottle of rattan gum juice.
As he was walking back with a pile of materials, a tall and thin disciple beside him couldn't help but said, "Brother, are you going to do this?"
Qin Tiexin looked at him and nodded.
"Blue-grained steel with star iron sand... Liuyun Sword?" The tall and thin disciple smacked his lips, "But this combination is very demanding, and the star iron sand coating step is prone to problems."
Qin Tiexin nodded again, said nothing, and continued walking.
The tall and thin disciple was stunned, shook his head, and turned around to choose his own materials.
***
Returning to stage 47, Qin Tiexin placed the materials one by one.
He first checked the tools. The anvil was flat, the hammer was in his hand, the Spiritual Qi furnace was operating normally, and the spiritual spring water in the quenching pool was clear. They were all new and well maintained.
Then he started going through the process in his head.
He was very familiar with the forging of the Flowing Cloud Sword. During the six months in the Waste Equipment Pavilion, he had smelted forty or fifty pieces of the Floating Cloud Sword's remains. From the half-Law Artifact to the low-grade Law Artifact, there was even a tip of the middle-grade Law Artifact. That smelting earned him twenty spiritual crystals and allowed him to understand the structure of the Flowing Cloud Sword thoroughly.
The half-Law Artifact Flowing Cloud Sword uses a "sharp" spiritual pattern. He has copied this spiritual pattern thousands of times in the Void Realm, and practiced it hundreds of times when repairing the wreckage. How deep each stroke should be, how long each stroke should be, and how much Spiritual Qi should be injected have long become instinctive.
In fact, he originally wanted to forge a heavy hammer.
Use Mysterious Iron to make the bones, wrap them with fine steel, and add the "Qianjun" spiritual pattern - it is difficult. If it can be done, the score will definitely be high. But after seeing the performance of the first group, he changed his mind.
Among a hundred people, there were less than ten who had completely forged half a Law Artifact. Three of them were forced to carve a second spiritual pattern into the furnace. The ninety-point shield only used a single spiritual pattern.
What's more critical is time. Two hours, from material selection to quenching, there can be no delay. Heavy hammer forging is complicated, and if there is a problem in some link, it may not even be possible to make a mortal weapon.
"Seeking stability." Qin Tiexin repeated it in his mind.
Choose the most familiar and do the most stable thing.
***
In front of the stage, the deacon glanced around and saw that hundreds of disciples were already in place, and said in a deep voice, "Start!"
"Boom!"
Hundreds of forging platforms ignited spiritual fire at the same time.
Qin Tiexin pressed the mouth of the furnace with his right palm, and injected Spiritual Qi. The fire in the furnace turned from red to green, and finally stabilized at red-red - the temperature he was most familiar with.
He first poured the star iron sand into the black jade crucible and placed it gently in the center of the furnace. The sand gradually turned red under the high temperature, and the star glow on the surface accelerated.
Then he picked up the blue-grained steel ingot and put it into the fire.
The steel ingot changes in the flames: from dark green to dark red, then to bright red, and finally turns into a scorching orange-red with slightly white edges. Qin Tiexin stared at the color and counted in his mind - the melting point of blue-grained steel is around 1,500 degrees, so it cannot be overburned.
Ten breaths, pinch out.
The red-hot steel ingot was placed on the anvil, making a soft "sizzle" sound and splashing with a few sparks.
Qin Tiexin picked up a twenty-pound hammer in his right hand.
The first hammer fell.
Bang!
The voice is deep and deep.
The surface of the steel ingot was dented and sparks flew everywhere. He flipped his wrist, raised and lowered the hammer head, and each blow landed precisely on the area that needed to be beaten. The movements were not fast, but the rhythm was steady - inhaling when raising the hammer, exhaling when lowering the hammer. The moment the hammer touched the steel ingot, the waist and legs exerted force at the same time. The power rose from the soles of the feet, passed through the legs, waist, shoulders, and finally penetrated into the arms.
This is an instinct that Qin Tiexin has developed over many years.
Fold, beat; fold again, beat again.
The blue-grained steel slowly stretches under the hammer. Each time it is folded, the steel ingot becomes thinner and impurities are squeezed out little by little. Qin Tiexin will re-send the steel ingot into the furnace for heating from time to time to maintain the appropriate temperature.
Half an hour later, the twelfth folding was completed.
He stopped and examined the sword blank carefully.
At this time, the steel ingot has been extended into the prototype of a three-foot-long and three-finger-wide sword blank, which is narrow and well-proportioned. Hold it up to the light and see that the texture is uniform, without bubbles or cracks. Flick it with your fingers, the sound becomes clearer and longer, and the impurities have basically precipitated.
That's it.
He put the sword blank back into the furnace for heating while looking at the crucible.
The star iron sand has completely melted and turned into a silvery gray liquid with a faint star glow floating on the surface. The sand liquid is slightly rippling and the temperature is just right.
Clip out the red-hot sword blank - the sword blank is bright yellow at this time. Place it flat on a special receiving rack. The rack is made of fine steel and has heat dissipation patterns engraved on the surface.
Then pick up the crucible, hold it steady with your left hand, and stretch out the index finger of your right hand.
Spiritual Qi trickled out from the fingertips, as thin as a hair, and penetrated into the crucible.
The sand liquid begins to flow.
As if guided by an invisible hand, the silver-gray liquid slowly flowed out from the mouth of the crucible, turned into a thin stream, and evenly sprinkled on the surface of the sword blank.
Zi--
White smoke rises.
The moment the star iron sand touches the high-temperature sword blank, it quickly penetrates. Little bits of star brilliance are submerged into the steel, and then shine through from the inside, forming cloud-like patterns on the surface of the sword body.
This is the origin of the name "Liuyun" - the stars shine into the steel and penetrate the body to form clouds.
Qin Tiexin controls Spiritual Qi, allowing the sand liquid to cover every inch of the sword body. If there is too much Spiritual Qi, the flow rate of the sand liquid is too fast and it is easy to accumulate; if there is too little Spiritual Qi, the flow rate is too slow and the coating will be uneven. And the thickness is the key - if there is too much star iron sand, the sword body will be too brittle, and if there is too little, the moiré pattern will be incomplete.
He held his breath and concentrated.
You can feel the subtle touch of the sand liquid flowing, and you can "hear" the soft sizzling sound of the starlight seeping into the steel. It feels like groping in the dark, but different - Spiritual Qi is the eyes and the hands.
After one stick of incense, the crucible bottomed out.
The last few drops of sand fell down and seeped into the tip of the sword.
The blade of the sword is covered with silver-gray cloud patterns, and stars shine under the firelight.
Qin Tiexin Put down the crucible, let out a long breath, and picked up the sword blank - the temperature had dropped to four to five hundred degrees at this time, the whole body was dark red, and the moire on the surface seemed to come alive, flowing slightly with the temperature change.
Quickly walk to the quenching pool and dip vertically into the spiritual spring water.
Zila--
White steam rose into the sky.
The water in the pool is boiling and bubbles are rolling. The sword body trembles slightly in the water and makes a fine "crackling" sound. This is because the internal structure is being finalized during rapid cooling.
After three breaths, take it out.
The blade of the sword has completely cooled down and is completely blue and gray, like a distant mountain after rain. The silvery white cloud pattern is clear on the surface, and a faint star glow flows under the dome's spiritual lamp. The blade is glowing with cold light, and although it has not been sharpened, it can already feel the sharpness.
Just looking at the appearance, it is already the best of all tools.
But this is not enough.
Half Law Artifact, must have spiritual patterns.
Qin Tiexin Place the long sword flat on the table, sit cross-legged, close your eyes and adjust your breath.
He needs to restore Spiritual Qi.
On the second level of Qi Refining, the amount of Spiritual Qi is too little. Just guided the star iron sand coating and finely controlled Spiritual Qi for half an hour, and nearly half of the Dantian reserve has been consumed. Next, carving the "sharp" spirit patterns requires more concentration, and every stroke must be Spiritual Qi sufficient and flow smoothly.
Spiritual Qi If you don't continue halfway, the spiritual pattern will be incomplete and the sword will be useless.
On the stage, other disciples were still busy.
There were jingling sounds, flame sounds, and quenching sounds mixed together. Some people succeeded and inspected the finished product with happy faces; some people failed and were in a daze looking at the cracked sword blank; some people were anxious and the hammer was swinging faster and faster; some people were calm and every step was as steady as a rock.
Qin Tiexin turned a deaf ear to this.
When the "Qi Entrainment Technique" is operated, the two qi cyclones in Dantian are pulled in. The surrounding Spiritual Qi is pulled in and flows into Dantian along the meridians. The hall is built on the branch of Spirit Vein. The concentration of Spiritual Qi is 30% higher than that in the miscellaneous area, and the recovery speed is much faster.
After about a quarter of an hour, he opened his eyes.
Dantian Spiritual Qi has recovered to 70% to 80%, which is enough.
***
Under the stage, the judges' seat.
Manager Zhou Divine Sense moved among several outstanding disciples, occasionally communicating with his colleagues.
"That girl on the 39th is pretty good." Manager Liu next to her said, "She has precise control over the fire. She should be someone who refines elixirs and refines weapons."
"The boy No. 61 has a methodical hammering technique." The middle-aged steward answered, "The hammer falls seven times lightly and one heavy, and there is a small spin on the wrist when lifting the hammer - this is the 'returning air hammering method', a skill inherited from the Liu family in Qingyang County."
"Look at number forty-seven."
Several Divine Sense fell on Qin Tiexin at the same time.
"Blue-grained steel with star iron sand, Liuyun sword embryo." Liu Guanshi commented, "The technique is experienced, folded twelve times, and the impurities are basically removed. The star iron sand is evenly coated, and the moiré pattern is more than 90% complete. If you hand it in now, you will get a guaranteed score of 75 points."
"But he hasn't carved the spiritual pattern yet."
"On the second floor of Qi Refining, is Spiritual Qi enough? The coating just consumed a lot of money, and now I am meditating to recover... do I have enough time?"
"Carving the 'sharp' spirit pattern, half a stick of incense is enough if you are skilled at it. But he has to do it the first time, there is no second chance."
Manager Zhou didn't say anything, he just looked at the golden light that gradually lit up on Qin Tiexin's fingertips.
On the stage, Qin Tiexin picked up the long sword again.
Hold the hilt of the sword with your left hand, and extend the index finger of your right hand, hanging three inches above the sword body.
On my fingertips, the pale gold shimmer shines steadily.
He took a deep breath and slowly moved his fingers down.
Three inches, two inches, one inch...
His fingertips lightly touched the blade of the sword.
The golden light sinks into the steel.
This action attracted the attention of a pair of eyes in the corner next to him.