368 – First Time Forging

Lan Xuanyu took the forging hammer, and the expression on his face suddenly became serious. When holding the hammer, his finders could fit in the handle’s veined patterns. For him, the forging hammer was a bit too big. After all, he was still young and his body had not yet fully grown.

The forging hammer was also heavy, but with Lan Xuanyu’s strength, he had no problem in controlling it.

The senior did not speak any more, stepping aside, and ready to watch him forge.

Whether a soul master was gifted in forging or not, it could often be seen during their first forging. Naturally gifted people will act differently from ordinary people.

The smelting time was not long. After a few breath time, the forging counter split open, and the burning red Heavy Silver slowly rose. The Heavy Silver was slid onto the forging counter under the push of the slide rail. Suddenly, the temperature of the entire room rose by a few degrees.

Lan Xuanyu took a deep breath and looked at the Heavy Silver intently. Although he was forging for the first time, he had also heard that one must fully concentrate, using his spiritual power to feel the metal’s changes during the forging process. These changes often determined the forging’s success rate and its next steps.

He could feel that the originally hard Heavy Silver seemed to have softened due to the high temperature, and it gave him the feeling that it had become from taciturn to lively. It also seemed to desire to become even more livelier.

As soon as this thought flashed, Lan Xuanyu immediately acted, lifting the hammer with his hand, and slamming it at the Heavy Silver in front of him.

In the eyes of the young senior next to him, his hammer was naturally swung without any technique, and even the way he used his force was wrong. However, he swung this hammer very decisively, obviously using his full strength.

With a loud “dang”, Lan Xuanyu felt a strong force going through him, and his hands immediately shook, and then a feeling of numbness. But his bloodline power reacted immediately on its own, dissipating the shock within a short time. Part of the Heavy Silver in front of him suddenly sank under the hammer swung with his full strength.

“Your strength is not bad.” The senior complimented.

Lan Xuanyu used the rebounding force to raise the forging hammer in his hand again, and then slammed it down again.

There was another loud “dang”, and sparks from the Heavy Silver splashed everywhere. Vaguely, Lan Xuanyu seemed to feel some changes had happened to the Heavy Silver.

He didn’t know what kind of change, but he was certain that this change should not be a bad thing.

The forging hammer rose, swooped down, and struck again. Time after time, steady and at full force.

Lan Xuanyu didn’t know how to forge at all, but anyone could swing down a hammer. With each strike, Lan Xuanyu was silently feeling the changes happening to the Heavy Silver while seeing it being gradually smashed.

Yes, it has been constantly changing during his forging.

The senior behind him was just watching silently at first with his arms folded. Lan Xuanyu, like most people who had never forged, was simply using the forging hammer to strike it. However, after watching for a while, his expression began to change.

Lan Xuanyu was indeed simply pounding at the metal, but every time his forging hammer fell, the used strength was the same.

One had to know, not everyone could keep swinging at full strength and continuously pound the metal. The recoil force from the forging hammer could easily hurt one’s bones, although it would be much easier for a soul master protected by his soul power, but it was by no means easy to control one’s strength.

Lan Xuanyu’s every hammer was clearly at full strength, but he was able to maintain it. More importantly was his focus. From the beginning to the end, he never said a word during the forging, his eyes were always fixed on the Heavy Silver, and he kept hitting it with the hammer.

A cube of metal was gradually smashed into flakes, but his hammering did not stop and he was still smashing down constantly.

As the Heavy Silver’s temperature continued to drop, it began to harden. The crimson color gradually disappeared, but Lan Xuanyu found that the Heavy Silver after being beaten seemed to be a little brighter than before.

The forging hammer in his hand finally stopped. He turned to look at the surprised senior, and said, “Senior, does the brightening of the Heavy Silver mean that my forging is effective?”

The senior nodded silently, “Yes, this means that the quality of the Heavy Silver improved under your forging, and its impurities have been reduced. What happened just now can already be regarded as forging. So how was it ? How did you feel?”

Lan Xuanyu thought for a while and said, “I seem to be able to feel it constantly changing during the forging process. But I can’t tell what kind of change. Maybe it’s the process of removing impurities as you said. In other words, if I wanted to do a Hundred Refinement, I would need to fold it up and beat it again, right? Until it’s done a hundred times?”

Senior said: “The so-called Hundred Refinement does not mean that it has to be forged a hundred times, it’s for saying that it has been purified to a certain extent. The purpose of a Hundred Refinement is to remove as much impurities as possible. A piece of metal with almost no impurities can be regarded as Hundred Refined. That’s why we say Hundred Refinement Purification.”

Lan Xuanyu suddenly said: ” I understand, thank you senior. I think I like forging. I like the feeling of focusing on the metal and feeling its changes. It feels very wonderful.”

The senior gave him a thumbs up and said: “Not bad, not bad, looking at how you focused, I think you are a good seedling for learning forging. Welcome to the Blacksmith Association.” While talking, he reached out his large hand to Lan Xuanyu.

“I can join with just this?” Lan Xuanyu looked at him in surprise.

The senior laughed heartily, “Of course! What’s the problem with this? Let me introduce myself, I’m Yang Yingming, everyone calls me big brother Yingming, you can also call me that.”

“Hello big brother Yingming.” Lan Xuanyu hurriedly called.

Yang Yingming said: “Everyone joins the association because they like forging. Therefore, if you want to join, the only criterion is your love for forging. Now that you think you like it, you can join directly. And in the future what kind of blacksmith you’ll become depends on how much effort you put into forging. Forging is the most fundamental part of making a Battle Armor. If the forged metal is not good enough, then no matter how good its quality is, it is useless. Therefore, we are the foundations of Battle Armors. Work hard, and if the metals you forge in the future are good enough, you can sell it, and it’s quite a good way to make money.”

Hearing what he said, forging seemed to be profitable and harmless, but Lan Xuanyu still felt that something was wrong, and tentatively asked: “Senior, the metals we use for forging, especially the metal for practicing, are they provided by the association?”

Yang Yingming’s face changed, “How could that be possible. The academy encourages us to be self-reliant, so naturally you are on your own. You can use emblems at the exchange office. I suggest you start with the cheap ones first. Then you can ask for a teacher to teach you. For a novice like you, it is most cost-effective to invite seniors like us. I am already a third-rank blacksmith, and I can do a Thousand Refinement. Enough to teach you. And my price is cheap . A white emblem for three lessons, each time guaranteeing more than an hour. What do you think of this junior brother?”

Lan Xuanyu looked at him dumbfounded, and said, “Not only do I have to pay for the metals, but I also have to pay the learning fees ?”

Yang Yingming snorted, “Of course, what did you think? For all auxiliary professions one needs to spend money to learn. Us blacksmith, the tuition is considered cheap. Designing and manufacturing are a bit more difficult, but the cost of their materials is relatively low. A designer’s material cost is the lowest, he just needs to draw. The manufacturing side can use ordinary metal to practice. We are more miserable, as we can only use rare metals to practice forging, otherwise we will never grasp the characteristics of rare metals.”

Lan Xuanyu’s mouth twitched, no wonder this person let himself join the Blacksmiths Association without hesitation. It seemed that the association smelled a bit fishy ! In Shrek Academy, it was indeed hard to do anything without emblems.

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