Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

Xia Yi did not respond to Master Ao Chuang or his disciple Wu Qian. He kept his eyes closed, meditating, which frustrated Wu Qian even more. It was like punching cotton—her punches had no effect. She stomped her feet in anger but felt helpless.

"Alright, girl, don't let him mess with your emotions. Calm yourself and remember, this is your test," Ao Chuang, a level four Blacksmith, advised. He understood the importance of staying focused during forging tests. Otherwise, all their hard work could go to waste.

At first, he disagreed with Xia Yi being present in the testing room, but since Wu Qian insisted, he didn't want to cause trouble. Moreover, with a testing evaluator present, Xia Yi would not dare to interfere.

"I understand," Wu Qian replied, still angry but trying to suppress her emotions. She had to stay calm; after all, this test would determine if she could become a Blacksmith.

Soon, a tall, burly testing evaluator entered the room. He paused when he saw two young people but was quickly briefed by the staff about the situation. The two kids were "competing," but the evaluator shook his head in resignation. He then turned to Wu Qian and said, "Here are fifteen types of metal. Choose one, and perform a hundred-fold refining. I'll score based on your choice and the quality of the refining. A score above sixty qualifies you as a level one Blacksmith."

"Yes!" Wu Qian gritted her teeth, casting a glare at Xia Yi, who was still meditating. She walked over to the metal rack.

She didn't notice that Xia Yi had already opened his eyes the moment she turned away.

The fifteen metals were square pieces, each with different colors and textures. The evaluator did not tell Wu Qian the names or characteristics of the metals, which meant she needed to rely on her teacher's knowledge of the metals, choosing one that was within her ability to refine.

Metal quality and the refining effect were closely linked.

To be honest, Wu Qian wasn't very impressive. Even though she was here for her Blacksmith test, she didn't recognize half of the metals. Fortunately, her teacher Ao Chuang was beside her, explaining each metal's properties.

Finally, she chose a metal called Red Flame Copper.

Xia Yi remembered when Ao Chuang had mentioned the properties of this metal. Red Flame Copper was known for its excellent malleability. It was hard to break during forging, and it was easy to perform rough refining but difficult for precise refinement.

Red Flame Copper wasn't very dense compared to other rare metals. A block the size of a fist weighed about 300 pounds, which Wu Qian couldn't move on her own. Fortunately, Ao Chuang helped her place the Red Flame Copper on the forge.

"Begin. You have one hour. Do your best to refine this Red Flame Copper. The score you receive will depend on your refining level," the evaluator said, placing a timer on the workbench.

Wu Qian glanced at the timer, clearly feeling anxious, but she immediately activated the forge and began heating the Red Flame Copper for smelting.

The smelting process lasted about ten minutes, during which Wu Qian performed stretching exercises and deep breathing to adjust her soul power.

After the smelting ended, Wu Qian pressed the button with her left hand, and the Red Flame Copper slowly rose to the right temperature in the forge.

She then took a dark, small hammer from her storage soul tool and started the forging process.

The evaluator looked up at the level-four Blacksmith Ao Chuang. Wu Qian couldn't possibly have a thousand-forge hammer; this hammer had clearly been forged by Ao Chuang.

With the help of the thousand-forge hammer, Wu Qian's chances of passing the test were significantly increased.

Xia Yi, on the other hand, was already standing in front of the forge, observing intently. He paid attention to every word Ao Chuang said and observed the Red Flame Copper's texture and the sound of the hammer striking it. He was even more focused than Wu Qian, who was actually forging the metal.

Ao Chuang's every word was deeply ingrained in Xia Yi's mind.

At that moment, neither Wu Qian, Ao Chuang, nor the evaluator were paying attention to Xia Yi. They were all focused on the Red Flame Copper.

After about thirty strikes, Wu Qian's speed slowed, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. By the time she reached fifty strikes, she had to activate her martial soul. As a circle of white soul rings rose around her, she picked up the hammer again to continue forging.

However, her speed was no longer increasing.

"Time's up! Stop forging!" the evaluator called out. After Wu Qian's last strike, she let go of the thousand-forge hammer.

The hammer was heavy, and though she had little strength, it weighed twenty kilograms. After swinging it for fifty minutes, her arms felt like they would break.

"You struck a total of 113 times, meeting the basic requirement for a hundred-fold refining," the evaluator said, examining the finished Red Flame Copper. He added, "The purity barely meets the standard. Your final score is 63. Congratulations, you've become a level one Blacksmith."

Upon hearing the result, Wu Qian finally sighed in relief, collapsing onto a nearby couch.

She was too exhausted to even boast to Xia Yi.

"Your turn. What metal do you choose?" The evaluator asked, turning to Xia Yi.

Xia Yi took a deep breath and replied calmly, "I'll take Red Flame Copper as well."

It was the metal he knew best, so it was the only choice he could make.

"Alright, wait a moment." The evaluator nodded and took two pieces of Red Flame Copper from the warehouse. He looked at Xia Yi's sickly appearance and, seeing that he didn't have a teacher to help, decided to be kind and placed one block of Red Flame Copper on the forge while placing the other on the metal selection rack.

Xia Yi said nothing and immediately began following Wu Qian's steps. He activated the forge, raised the temperature, and placed the Red Flame Copper in for smelting.

He then picked up a twenty-kilogram hundred-forge hammer from the wall and stood ready as the Red Flame Copper was being smelted.

(End of Chapter)