Capítulo 41: Chapter 41: A Hundred Forgings, A Thousand Refinements
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Time flew by as Ling Yi began his studies under Fifth Senior Brother Wang Meng.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
During this month, nothing out of the ordinary happened in Wood Plant City, which pleased Ling Yi. This remote small country, far from the central accident-prone areas of Douluo Continent, was quite satisfactory.
In the familiar Building 3, Room 304, Ling Yi opened his eyes again. Looking at the half-person-high wall of Blue Silver Grass around his bed, he felt an immense sense of joy.
A month ago, Ling Yi had sent three letters back to Beikouhe Town's Jiang Family Blacksmith Shop through a friend.
One was for Master Jiang, expressing his gratitude for the recommendation. Now, he had become a disciple of Old Master Jin and was learning forging from Fifth Senior Brother Wang Meng.
The other two letters were given to Ling Bai and the town's Martial Soul sub-temple steward, Yan Bin.
Yan Bin's letter was similar to the one for Master Jiang, expressing gratitude and mentioning a visit to the high-ranking steward Lu Yi at the main temple of the Martial Soul in Wood Plant City. They had caught up, and he had gained some familiarity, laying the groundwork for a friendship.
In the letter to Ling Bai, Ling Yi mainly reported his safety to Ling Bai and his parents, grandparents, and cousins in Mountain Sea Village, assuring them that he was doing well and that they needn't worry. He also included personal, heartfelt messages for each of them.
At the end of the letter, Ling Yi specifically instructed Zhang Lei to dig up the 204 Blue Silver Grass plants from the corner of their yard, pack them in a wooden box, and give it to Ling Bai to bring to town.
On the third day after receiving the letter, the 204 Blue Silver Grass plants were brought to the Yinxin Blacksmith Shop in the eastern part of the city by a merchant caravan heading to Wood Plant City.
After more than twenty days, these Blue Silver Grass plants, which had been drooping when they first arrived in the city, had recovered their vitality. Due to the Spiritual Power they had absorbed over the past year, they were more robust and active than the 100 plants Ling Yi had cultivated before starting school and the subsequent Blue Silver Grass plants.
In addition to the nearly 500 Blue Silver Grass plants around his bed, there were bamboo tubes in the corner of the bed, each containing high-quality Blue Silver Grass seeds from the last batch. Once they grew a bit more, they would be placed around Ling Yi's bed.
He imagined that by the end of the year, he might transform his bed into a single room!
...
Yinxin Blacksmith Shop.
As usual, after having breakfast with Fifth Senior Brother Wang Meng's family of nine, Ling Yi came to the forging table to prepare for today's practice.
However, before Ling Yi could lift his forging hammer, Wang Meng did not go to his designated forging table but came straight to Ling Yi's side.
"Fifth Senior Brother~" Ling Yi put down his arm, which was halfway up, and greeted him.
"Little Yi~" Wang Meng nodded, his gaze falling on the iron ingot in front of Ling Yi.
This was not the same ingot from a month ago but the eighth one. Originally as big as three adult heads, it was now only the size of two adult fists.
"Hammering raw iron and other raw materials is a path every blacksmith apprentice must take~"
"Generally, when raw iron is hammered down to one-third of its original size, it becomes a qualified iron ingot, suitable for forging various iron tools..."
Wang Meng looked at the iron ingot, which remained steadfast in the fierce flames, repeating what he had said a month ago.
Master Jiang had also told Ling Yi this more than a year ago.
"Of course, iron tools forged this way can only be used as kitchen knives, sickles, hoes, shovels, and other household or farming tools..."
Wang Meng continued, while Ling Yi listened quietly, even though he had long memorized this content.
"A Junior Blacksmith can easily complete the hammering of raw iron and then forge it into the desired shape. The strength of these tools is generally not bad, equivalent to the strength of ordinary Spirit Weapons of non-Spiritual Power-awakened individuals...
In other words, the most basic iron tools!"
"Moving up, one uses larger iron ingots to forge the desired iron tools. This involves further refining the ingot through hammering, improving the quality of the material!
Within ten hammerings, there is no further distinction, as it is already included in the basic iron tool forging process.
Twenty hammerings, thirty hammerings, forty hammerings... these represent the progress of a Junior Blacksmith, step by step, toward becoming an Intermediate Blacksmith!"
"When one can forge an ingot with fifty hammerings, they have reached the threshold of an Intermediate Blacksmith, which is the same as the hundred hammerings of a Senior Blacksmith."
"One of the factors that prevent many Junior Blacksmiths from advancing to Intermediate Blacksmiths, and Intermediate Blacksmiths from advancing to Senior Blacksmiths, is the blacksmith's own strength.
Lacking strength, one cannot further refine the material that has already been hammered to a certain degree.
The other factor is technique, how to use the minimum force in each hammering while achieving the maximum effect. This is a common challenge for blacksmiths with weaker strength and lower skills."
At this point, a sigh of regret appeared on Wang Meng's face. He was nearly forty and still stuck at the 19th level of Spiritual Power, with little hope of advancing further. His four sons, though they had not inherited his Soul Master talent, could become Intermediate Blacksmiths under his careful guidance. However, for them to become Senior Blacksmiths, the requirements for technique were even more stringent!
Shaking his head to dispel the negative thoughts, Wang Meng looked at Ling Yi with a serious expression and continued:
"All of this is very, very crucial during the apprentice stage when practicing material hammering!"
"Master said that in the Capital of Metals, Gengxin City, whether it's a Junior Blacksmith, Intermediate Blacksmith, or Senior Blacksmith, they are all just at the entry level..."
"Because below the rank of Blacksmith Master, many Soul Masters can rely on their own powerful strength to forcibly complete the hundred hammerings, though the material utilization rate will be lower, and the lifespan of the tools will be shorter..."
At this point, Wang Meng gave a bitter smile: "Of course, this is not a problem in any major city or capital of the two empires.
Because most Soul Masters actually use their own Spirit Weapons, and they often discard the tools forged by blacksmiths..."
"They place more trust in their own Spirit Weapons!"
Faced with Wang Meng's words, Ling Yi remained neutral.
Who could blame it? This was a world dominated by Spirit Weapons. Even if a Spirit Weapon was just a wooden stick, as long as one had innate Spiritual Power and could cultivate, with the enhancement of Soul Rings, it would soon surpass the hardness of steel. With the addition of Soul Techniques and the ability to self-repair, the demand for tools forged by blacksmiths naturally decreased.
"Sigh"
Wang Meng took a deep breath, no longer dwelling on the pessimistic information, and asked Ling Yi:
"Little Yi, over this month, with four weekends of twelve hours each and twenty evenings of four hours each, a total of over 120 hours of material hammering, what do you think?"
Faced with Wang Meng's question, Ling Yi looked at the iron ingot, which was slightly red at the bottom, then shifted his gaze to Wang Meng, meeting his eyes, and softly said two words:
"Rhythm? Harmony?"
Hearing these words, Wang Meng's eyes widened, and his gaze toward Ling Yi showed surprise.
After a few moments of hesitation, Wang Meng said with anticipation: "Tell me more~"
"Hmm~" Ling Yi nodded, thought for a moment, and then said:
"Last year, when I was learning from Master Jiang, I also started with material hammering. It took about a month to hammer raw iron into an iron ingot, and then Master Jiang began teaching me how to forge the ingot into the desired tool shape through hammering..."
"At that time, I was only thinking about removing impurities from the raw iron and other materials through hammering, refining and reducing the material..."
"But this month, I felt that when I found my most comfortable hammering posture, each hammer strike gave me a sense of feedback from the iron ingot, as if it was... breathing!"
"And the more my hammering rhythm matched the breathing rhythm of the iron ingot, the better the refining efficiency and effect!"
"Excellent!" Wang Meng's smile grew wider as he listened to Ling Yi's narration. By the end, he couldn't help but clap his hands:
"Little Yi, I always knew you were smart, but I never expected your insight to be so strong!"
"You are a natural blacksmith!"
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(End of Chapter)
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