NOVEL WEB Chapter 41: Tempered to Perfection
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
With hardly a ripple of disturbance, 'Muzhicheng' lived through this month uneventfully. Ling Yi found great satisfaction in the peace of this small nation, far from the tumultuous center of Douluo Continent known for frequent incidents.
Once more, in the familiar dormitory 304 of Building Three, Ling Yi opened his eyes to survey the bed surrounded by a half-human-high wall of "Blue Silver Grass." His heart brimmed with unmatched joy.
A month ago, Ling Yi had entrusted someone with three letters, sent back to Jiang's Blacksmith Shop in Beikou River Town.
One letter was for Master Jiang, expressing gratitude for the introduction that led him to become a disciple under Old Master Jin and learn forging from Fifth Senior Brother Wang Meng.
The other two letters were for Ling Bai and Yan Bin, the deacon at the town’s Martial Soul Branch Hall.
The letter to Yan Bin was much like the one to Master Jiang, filled with words of appreciation. Additionally, he shared details of his visit to the high-ranking deacon, Lu Yi, at 'Muzhicheng's' main Martial Soul Hall. They exchanged pleasantries and established a friendly acquaintance.
To Ling Bai, the letter primarily updated him, his family in Mountain Sea Village, and relatives such as his parents, grandparents, and eldest cousin about his well-being, assuring them not to worry. It concluded with personal notes for each family member.
At the end of the letter, Ling Yi specifically mentioned to Zhang Lei to help transplant the 204 "Blue Silver Grass" growing in the family courtyard’s corner into wooden boxes for Ling Bai to bring to town.
On the third day after receiving the letter, these 204 "Blue Silver Grass" plants were delivered by a caravan heading to 'Muzhicheng', arriving at the {Yinxin Blacksmith Shop} in the east part of town.
After more than twenty days, the "Blue Silver Grass," initially wilted and drooping upon arrival, had revived with vigor. Their year-long nourishment with soul power had enhanced them significantly. Compared to the hundred plants Ling Yi had cultivated before enrolling, these had longer leaves and roots, with a vitality more potent than ever.
Besides nearly five hundred "Blue Silver Grass" beside him, there were segments of bamboo tubes under the bed by the wall’s corner. Each contained superior "Blue Silver Grass" seeds brought over earlier, waiting to be further grown and placed beside Ling Yi's bed.
It seemed that before the end of the year, Ling Yi might transform his bed into a single room of his own!
...
At the Silver Star Forge.
As usual, after sharing breakfast with his Fifth Senior Brother Wang Meng and his family of nine, Ling Yi approached the forge, ready for the day's practice.
However, just as Ling Yi was about to raise his forging hammer, Wang Meng, instead of heading to his own designated forge, came directly to Ling Yi's station.
“Fifth Senior Brother~” Ling Yi called out, lowering his arm halfway.
“Little Yi~” Wang Meng nodded, his gaze fixed on the iron ingot in front of Ling Yi.
It was not the one from a month ago, but the eighth piece. Originally as large as three adult heads, it was now the size of two adult fists.
“Refining pig iron and other raw materials is a path every apprentice blacksmith must tread~”
“Generally, when pig iron is hammered down to one-third of its original size, it becomes a qualified iron billet, ready for crafting all sorts of ironware...”
Wang Meng recited words he had said a month earlier as he watched the steadfast iron ingot amid the blazing flames.
Over a year ago, Master Jiang had told Ling Yi the same things.
“Of course, the iron tools crafted directly like this can at most be used as kitchen knives, sickles, hoes, shovels, and other everyday and farming tools...”
Wang Meng continued speaking, while Ling Yi listened quietly, even though he had already committed these details to memory.
“A novice blacksmith can easily refine pig iron and then shape it into the appropriate tools. Generally speaking, the strength of these tools isn’t bad either, equivalent to the weapon spirit strength of a typical spirit wielder without soul power awakening...
In other words, the most basic iron tools!”
“Twenty hammer strikes, thirty hammer strikes, forty hammer strikes... Each signifies a novice blacksmith’s progress step by step, climbing towards becoming an intermediate blacksmith!”
“Once you can shape the materials with fifty hammer strikes, it signals entry into the threshold of an intermediate blacksmith. This is akin to what a hundred hammer strikes are for an advanced blacksmith.
The barrier that holds many novice blacksmiths from advancing to intermediate, and intermediates to advanced, is partly due to the strength of the blacksmiths themselves.
If your strength is insufficient, naturally you cannot further refine materials that have already reached a certain level of refinement.
On the other hand, it’s a matter of technique. Understanding how to use the least amount of strength with each hammer strike while maximizing its effect is the universal challenge for blacksmiths who lack strength.”
As he spoke, a touch of lament appeared on Wang Meng’s face. It was for himself, nearly forty years old and still stuck at a soul power level of nineteen with little hope of further progression. And it was also for his four sons who didn’t inherit his soul master talents. Although under his careful guidance, they became intermediate blacksmiths without much issue, becoming advanced blacksmiths as ordinary people required much more rigorous technical skills!
Shaking his head to dispel the negative thoughts, Wang Meng looked at Ling Yi with a serious expression and continued, “Practicing material refinement during the apprentice stage is extremely, extremely crucial!”
"Master once said, in the city of metal 'Gengxin City', whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced blacksmith, you're actually just starting out," Wang Meng began.
"Because below the level of a master blacksmith, many spirit masters can rely on their own immense strength to forcefully complete the forging process at the Hundred Refinements level. The only downside is that the efficiency of material usage is lower, and the resulting tools have a shorter lifespan..."
At this, Wang Meng offered a bitter smile. "Of course, this isn't much of a problem across the major cities of the two great empires, actually."
"Many spirit masters prefer to rely more on their martial spirits rather than on the tools crafted by blacksmiths, often discarding them..."
"They trust their martial spirits more!"
Ling Yi listened to Wang Meng's words with an indifferent silence.
After all, this is a world dominated by martial spirits. Even if one's martial spirit is just a wooden stick, as long as innate soul power can be cultivated, with the addition of spirit rings, it can quickly achieve hardness beyond steel. Add in the support of soul skills, factors that are closely related to oneself, self-repairing, etc., naturally diminish the need for blacksmith-made tools.
"Phew"
Wang Meng exhaled deeply, shaking off the pessimism, as he turned to Ling Yi and asked, "Xiao Yi, during the past month, over twelve hours each weekend and four hours during twenty evenings, totaling more than 120 hours of material tempering, what are your thoughts?"
Faced with Wang Meng's inquiry, Ling Yi glanced at the iron ingot with a faint red glow at its base, then turned his attention back to Wang Meng, meeting his gaze, and softly uttered two words: "Rhythm? Cadence?"
Upon hearing these two words, Wang Meng's eyes widened slightly, a look of surprise appearing in his gaze towards Ling Yi.
"Tell me all about it," Wang Meng said with an expectant expression, his mouth opening and closing a few times before finally speaking.
"Hmm..." Ling Yi nodded, thought for a moment, and after organizing his words, he said:
"Last year, when I was learning with Master Jiang, it also started with the tempering of materials. It was about a month or so until the pig iron was refined into an iron billet. After that, Master Jiang began to teach me how to forge the iron billet into the shape of the desired tool..."
"Back then, when I was forging, I merely aimed to remove the impurities from the pig iron and other materials through hammering, refining the material into something finer.
But over this past month, I've realized something. Once I found the forging posture that felt most comfortable for me, each strike felt as if the iron ingot was responding, almost as if... it was breathing!"
"And with each swing of the hammer, the rhythm of my entire movement seemed to sync more and more with the breathing of the iron ingot. The more in tune we were, the better the efficiency and effect of the refining process!"
"Impressive!" Wang Meng listened to Ling Yi's explanation, and the more he listened, the wider his smile became, until he couldn't help but clap his hands in the end:
"Xiao Yi, I've always known you were smart, but I truly didn't expect your insight to be this profound!
You're a natural-born blacksmith!"
(End of Chapter)
