Chapter 392
"Xiao Mo, pay attention. The cooling speed of this iron essence is extremely fast; you need to hammer it repeatedly in a very short time."
Elder Zeng's voice broke the silence.
Elder Han He watched intently, and his lack of rebuttal indicated that this was a consensus among all craftsmen.
Both old men felt a bit anxious.
They had never seen a craftsman who started with iron essence for their first weapon forging; most began with mundane items like farming tools or vessels.
"Draw in...."
Li Mo inhaled the scorching air like a bellows and raised the star-shaped hammer in his hand.
Divine Essence, a hundred refinements.
The minimum requirement was a sharp weapon.
Now, he had entered the threshold.
Clang—
Sparks flew, the force was immense, yet the power was concentrated and precise, just right.
"Not bad...."
Both old men, seasoned craftsmen, could see that this strike was effortless; not only was it heavy, but the precision was also commendable.
He wielded the heavy hammer with the finesse of a needle.
But before their praises could settle, their brows suddenly furrowed.
His breathing technique seemed to....
Clang clang clang—
The sound of hammering echoed like a thunderclap, rapid as a lightning strike, the hammer's shadow even overlapping!
Ten strikes.
In the blink of an eye, he delivered ten blows, each one equally precise and heavy!
Divine Essence, a hundred refinements, entry-level, ten hammering techniques.
While other craftsmen delivered one strike, he stacked ten.
Hiss.....
Blue smoke rose as the iron essence was quickly quenched, then returned to the furnace for tempering, followed by another rapid round of hammering.
This cycle repeated four times.
In the vast forge, only the relentless sound of hammering reverberated.
"This must be the critical point of the iron essence."
"Five times!"
Li Mo felt as if his entire body was ablaze; though he wasn't burned, he had the illusion that he was the raging fire itself.
In his eyes, the flickering flames were indeed reflected.
Clang—
The final strike fell, and the long sword, now shaped, was swiftly plunged into the oil barrel.
Li Mo closed his eyes, listening to the sounds from the barrel, exhaling deeply, and finally shook his head slightly.
He raised the iron essence sword, scanning it with his gaze, and indeed, it was as he thought.
"Ultimately, it’s still lacking a bit...."
"Let me take a look." x2
Elder Han He and Elder Zeng immediately appeared beside him, taking the freshly forged sword, their expressions subtly shifting.
......
Chapter 433: Little Li Seems to Be Unwell
Both old men had seen many iron essence swords; they were not rare, but what surprised them was not the shape or material.
It was the forging technique.
"The texture is so uniform and dense."
"The layered forging patterns are so beautiful, like ripples converging in one direction...."
Ding—
Elder Zeng extended a finger and lightly flicked the sword, producing a clear, melodious sound.
"Good, very good! This is definitely a sharp weapon, and a top-quality one at that."
"To achieve such results on your first weapon forging, I... have only seen this once in my life!"
Elder Zeng was not lacking in fine swords, but looking at this top-quality iron essence sword, his eyes were filled with affection.
"Hand it over."
Elder Han He took the sword and examined it closely, occasionally making sounds of approval.
Hmm, yes, this weapon has been infused with spirit.
Every inch of it reflects the craftsman's blood, sweat, and tears; that kid really achieved ten strikes in one breath, and even better than he imagined.
"It seems you took my words to heart."
"Hmph, if it weren't for my Five Elements Forging Method, how could the iron essence undergo five rounds of tempering and quenching?"
Elder Zeng raised his chin, emphasizing his point.
The strengths of both their techniques had perfectly merged in this young man.
The two old men exchanged glances, seemingly aware of what the other wanted to say.
After all, the kid was young; giving him full marks might make him arrogant.
Moreover, this sword had not yet reached its most perfect state.
At least, it still had some distance from what they had forged.
"Theoretically, iron essence can be forged into a renowned weapon, but this sword you initially forged is merely a top-quality weapon."
"There are still a few areas where you fall short."
"I'm all ears."
Li Mo set down the hammer and listened earnestly.
This was the life experience of seasoned craftsmen, accumulated over time, and not something that could be derived from martial arts or insights.
"First, your understanding of 'swords' is still insufficient. Different weapon types require different techniques and focuses during forging...."
Elder Han He and Elder Zeng took turns offering critiques.
In the end, Elder Zeng summarized:
"One more thing, this cannot be blamed on you; it lies in the quenching material."
"This quenching oil, used multiple times in a short period, caused the oil temperature to rise too high. Therefore, the last quenching did not achieve the expected effect; otherwise, this iron essence sword could have reached an even higher quality."
"Xiao Mo.... Xiao Mo?"
At this moment, Elder Zeng noticed that the young blacksmith seemed to be lost in thought, so he waved his hand in front of him.
Li Mo's eyes were a bit dazed, and he felt a swelling sensation all over:
"It seems like it’s not just the sword that won’t cool down."
"Huh?"
"It's me too."
"Huh??? Hiss....."
Elder Han He poked Li Mo's shoulder and found him burning hot, like a red-hot iron. The temperature in the forge was already high, and they hadn’t noticed....
"My goodness, this kid is like a freshly forged ingot."
"Is he forging weapons or himself?"
Saying he was forging himself wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
Divine Essence, a hundred refinements, was indeed about tempering oneself as well....
"This can't go on...."
After a long, serious silence, the two masters reached a consensus.
They needed to 'quench' Little Li.
So....
The two old men lifted the young blacksmith, one in front and one behind.
Splash—
He was thrown into the extreme heat of the forge, beginning to transform into the extreme cold of the icy pool.
"Whoa, Xiao Mo seems to have sunk!" Elder Zeng leaned back slightly.
If he stays submerged too long, he might not have a single hair left.
Elder Han He panicked: "Quick, fish him out! Aren't you good at catching fish? Hurry and bring him back!"
Elder Zeng huffed, "Nonsense! I just know how to take a break while working; you’re the one who’s really good at fishing!"
"Every time you go fishing, you come back empty-handed, then jump into the water to haul it out, acting like you caught it yourself. How shameless!"
Clearly, neither of the old men had much experience with this new method of quenching.
......
In the evening, early spring was slightly chilly. The large banyan tree in the courtyard rustled with its dry leaves, and the cold seeped in, transforming from physical harm to magical harm, drilling from the bones outward.
At this hour, the Qiu Shui Pavilion unusually had no smoke rising from the kitchen, making it feel eerily quiet.
Because, our Chef Li was likely unwell.
When Elder Han He brought him back, he was already stiff. Now, wrapped in a blanket, he sat there, eyes vacant, shivering, with his eyebrows frozen.
Meanwhile, Master Qin, Shang Wu, was circling him, looking puzzled.
"Yesterday, you were full of energy, like you were on fire. Why are you frozen solid today?"
"I don’t know."
Li Mo was a bit confused.
He only remembered using Divine Essence to temper his body and forging a sharp sword before everything went black.
It must have been.... the excessive heat that made him faint?
But why was he now freezing all over?
And not just freezing; it felt like there was a fire burning inside him.
He could honestly say he was a hot-blooded youth with a cold exterior, and no one could refute that....
"Wait a moment."
Shang Wu scratched his head, went into the room, and returned with a cup in hand.
He could smell the slightly pungent aroma of alcohol inside.
"Here."
"Huh? Is this some kind of medicinal wine...."
Li Mo was taken aback as he accepted it.
"No, the colder the wine, the better it tastes."
"?"
Indeed, one could never expect Master to be reliable.
"Let me take a look."
Qin Yuzhi, the Master, had a serious expression, as if she were a professional, placing her hand on him like an old doctor checking a pulse.
Then her brows slowly furrowed.
As everyone knew, Master Qin was well-informed. Seeing her frown made Li Mo's heart race:
"What’s wrong with me?"
"Hiss..... Your symptoms indicate that extreme yang has given rise to yin!" Qin Yuzhi's eyes widened in shock.
"!"
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