Devil Metal, undoubtedly the finest of all magical materials! It is also an absolutely indispensable ingredient for enchanting equipment!

Qian Jin shook his head, pushing away the thoughts of inscriptions from his mind, and concentrated on working the bellows. With forceful strokes, the furnace roared with gusts of searing flames. A piece of Hundred-Year Ice Iron, which felt like clutching a chunk of ice even when held, was tossed into the fire. It immediately absorbed a massive amount of thermal energy, causing the scorching air around it to drop slightly in temperature for a moment.

Qian Jin poured a bowl of lamp oil onto the fire. The flame, which had just weakened, surged back up again. He followed this by tossing in several pieces of coal and pulling the bellows even faster. The furnace instantly transformed into a miniature, erupting volcano, with magnificent flames leaping up over ten feet high. The Hundred-Year Ice Iron quickly soaked up the heat, beginning to glow with a blinding, crimson light.

A piece of Wind-Fire Bronze was then tossed into the furnace roaring with ten-foot flames. The fiery red Wind-Fire Bronze seemed on the verge of melting under the intense heat, yet it did not truly liquefy. Only those who truly understood metallurgy would know that at this precise moment, the Wind-Fire Bronze had not softened; rather, it had become significantly harder.

Qian Jin used the tongs to pull out the blazing-hot Hundred-Year Ice Iron and raised the heavy, one-hundred-jin hammer high overhead...

The tobacco in Uncle Black’s pipe suddenly ignited with a fierce burn. The instant the massive hammer struck the Hundred-Year Ice Iron, a cascade of sparks erupted. The clang of metal meeting metal mingled with the warlike aura of the battlefield, and the scattering sparks were like the brilliant flames of a celebratory magic show.

The first hammer, the second hammer...

Black forgot the pipe in his hand, staring blankly at the young man before the furnace. He blinked his hazy eyes hard. The hammer was still the same hammer, the technique was still the same technique, and the man was still the same man!

But everything was different! As Qian Jin swung the hammer, there was an air about him that hadn't been there before—confidence! Qian Jin, who had always wielded the hammer with caution and meticulous care, was entirely transformed today!

Black couldn't help but nod repeatedly, his narrow, hazy little eyes filled with an indescribable appreciation. Confidence! Yes! Confidence! If a smith is only infatuated with technique but cannot wield the hammer with genuine intent, how can he ever forge truly excellent objects?

Merely possessing an added layer of confidence elevated Qian Jin's entire forging process to a completely different realm. The small forging platform momentarily seemed to become a domain belonging solely to Qian Jin.

Hundred-Year Ice Iron Essence! Hardness 150, Spirit Energy Conduction Sensitivity Level Three.

Ignoring the sweat dripping down his forehead, Qian Jin used the tongs to pull out a piece of Wind-Fire Bronze, hammering it until it too became Wind-Fire Bronze Essence: Hardness 170, Spirit Energy Conduction Sensitivity Level Three.

Black couldn't stop nodding. Forging high-grade metal into an essence state was far more difficult than turning the most common iron into iron essence. The higher the grade of the metal, the harder it was to forge into its essence form; even a Tenth-Grade Blacksmith couldn't guarantee success.

Qian Jin looked at the two pieces of essence metal, took a deep breath, and his eyes sharpened. This was the true test! High-grade metals, much like arrogant individuals, were difficult to reconcile with another arrogant entity. Control even slightly off—concerning their attributes—and the metals would reject each other, resulting in ruin.

Clang! The three metals struck each other, producing a tremor like rolling thunder. Qian Jin felt a reactive force surge through his wrist, and he swung his arm again, bringing the hammer down.

Clang! Another collision of metal echoed. A slight smile touched Black’s eyes. The metal was ruined.

Qian Jin stood still, holding the hammer, recalling the feel of the previous cool-strike. After the initial fusion upon contact, the subsequent force, angle, and vibrations imparted on the metal should not have been identical to the first strike. That identical hammering after the first contact was indeed flawed.

Ten minutes later, Qian Jin picked up the hammer again and forged five sets of Hundred-Year Ice Iron Essence and Wind-Fire Bronze Essence in one go.

After fifteen strikes, another batch of Hundred-Year Ice Iron Essence and Wind-Fire Steel Essence became scrap.

Fifteen minutes later, Qian Jin raised the hammer for the third time, commencing the fusion forging of two essence metals once more.

Black’s hazy eyes now held only admiration. The failure of essence metal fusion delivered a massive blow to a smith’s confidence; many would hesitate to attempt essence fusion again so soon.

Two consecutive failures in essence fusion in such a short time could almost completely shatter a smith’s courage to fuse essence metals. At the very least, they would lack the nerve to try rashly again soon. Even those smiths brave enough to pick up the hammer for a third attempt at essence fusion forging would wear expressions of deep gravity and caution.

Confidence! Black saw only confidence in Qian Jin. The smithing hammer in his hand showed no sign of slackening; instead, he swung it with an ease that seemed greater than before.

One hammer... two hammers... ten hammers...

In every move, Qian Jin maintained an incomprehensible self-assurance. Ten days of self-immersed special training had allowed confidence to gradually merge with him. This wasn't just true for forging; it was the same in combat. His Spirit Energy, infused with this confidence, was fiercer and stronger than at any previous moment.

Three hundred strikes later, the two different essence metals fused perfectly into a single piece, shimmering with a sword-edge brilliance under the firelight.

“You have obtained one piece of Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Essence. Forging proficiency increased...”

The emotionless voice of the system sounded. Qian Jin showed neither joy nor sorrow, as if successfully forging the Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Essence was entirely ordinary. He immediately brought up his attribute panel to check the proficiency for the Eighteen Ascending Edge Hammers technique.

Normally, the system rarely prompted notifications about proficiency increases for a specific skill, unless a new skill was just acquired or a skill had seen a massive boost in proficiency.

[Eighteen Ascending Edge Hammers]: Level Two. Proficiency 187632/250000.

“Huh?” A flicker of surprise crossed Qian Jin’s usually calm expression. When he last left the Four Seasons Valley, the proficiency was only 3977. Even after practicing smithing since then, the proficiency should only be around 5000, perhaps a little more. How could it be over 180,000 now? Just because he succeeded in fusing the high-grade metals?

“Recall and feel the process of this forging attempt carefully,” Black instructed, adjusting his posture, taking two puffs from his pipe, and revealing an expression that was half-smile, half-smirk.

Qian Jin closed his eyes to relive the forging. His body held an indescribable sensation—the feeling of truly grasping the secret key to smithing.

“Actually, with your current ability, success was not guaranteed,” Black inhaled deeply twice, the smoke from his nostrils swirling before his face. “Or rather, the probability of success was very low. But because the chance was low, success yields enormous enlightenment. It’s just like facing a stronger opponent in battle; if you are lucky enough to win once...”

“I gain significant experience! Accelerating the growth of my combat strength,” Qian Jin blurted out, the scene of killing the Second Star Dark Guard flashing in his mind—one arrow, one punch, one flying knife; the battle ended in a flash, yet the insights gained surpassed days of hard training.

“Forging works the same way,” Black nodded approvingly. “Attempting something very difficult, yet still achievable, yields a high return upon success.”

Qian Jin quietly nodded and closed the attribute panel. He finally understood why the proficiency for the Eighteen Ascending Edge Hammers had skyrocketed. Reflecting now, the possibility of successfully fusing the two essence metals was truly minuscule—perhaps he could have failed every single attempt even if he ruined all this Hundred-Year Ice Iron and Wind-Fire Bronze.

Succeeding in just a few tries, Qian Jin realized, was sheer luck. If he hadn't had this massive stockpile of metal as a foundation, if Uncle Black hadn't been so audacious, if West Mountain didn't possess nearly endless high-grade metal ores...

“I suppose the apprentices in the Blacksmith Guild wouldn’t teach their students this way,” Qian Jin shook his head firmly. To gamble on a disciple’s almost nonexistent chance of enlightenment using so much high-grade metal—if not for resources as boundless as West Mountain’s, it would surely require a truly maniacal personality.

“Continue,” Black gestured toward the piles of Hundred-Year Ice Iron and Wind-Fire Bronze in the corner of the yard. “Use these to familiarize yourself and consolidate your skill. Forge the weapon you desire, and then go kill the Flame Demon B.”

Qian Jin firmly rubbed his temples with his thumb. A Flame Demon! Even a juvenile Flame Demon would be a headache, possessing formidable strength.

He glanced again at the attributes of the Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Essence, silently marveling. Fusing essences of different metals was difficult, but the resulting effect was truly astonishing.

Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Essence: Hardness 640, Spirit Energy Conduction Sensitivity Level Four!

The higher the hardness attribute of a metal, the less likely it was to be damaged in combat. The Spirit Energy Conduction Sensitivity related to the amount of energy consumed and the speed of transmission as Spirit Energy passed through the weapon.

Qian Jin then looked at the Iron Essence previously forged at Uncle Black’s place.

First-Grade Iron Essence: Hardness 60, Spirit Energy Conduction Level Two.

“If you don’t compare, you don’t see,” Qian Jin thought to himself. “Once you compare, the gap is starkly revealed.”

For three consecutive days, Qian Jin dedicated himself to forging weapons. Fusing two high-grade metal essences to create the Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Essence was one matter; forging that essence into a Jidu Horse-Cleaving Saber was another entirely.

Qian Jin scrapped four blades before finally forging one complete Horse-Cleaving Saber, one enhancement level-5 weapon, and three arrows.

Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Horse-Cleaving Saber: Sharpness 400, Hardness 700, Spirit Energy Conduction Sensitivity Level Four.

First-Grade Iron Essence Horse-Cleaving Saber: Sharpness 100, Hardness 70, Spirit Energy Conduction Sensitivity Level Two.

“Weapons forged from fused metal essences are indeed far superior,” Qian Jin swung the Ice-Iron Fire-Bronze Horse-Cleaving Saber a few times. The cold edge left a brilliant streak in the air, as if it were slicing through the atmosphere itself. “The hard rock shell of the Flame Demon, tempered by lava, this time I should be able to cleave right through it. It’s just a pity...”

Qian Jin sighed deeply, shaking his head repeatedly as he looked at the skill attribute panel. “Proficiency hasn’t increased again. It’s the same as my comprehension of forging; I don't feel any visible growth in my forging skill.”

[Eighteen Ascending Edge Hammers]: Level Two. Proficiency 249999/250000.

The proficiency had been stuck at this point since he scrapped the second saber. Now that the saber was successfully forged, there was still no increase in proficiency.

“Forging is like a warrior’s Spirit Energy,” Qian Jin sighed. “Once you hit a bottleneck, you need something new, or you stagnate.” He picked up the saber, accepted the [Flame Demon] map from Black, and turned to leave the yard.

“Oh, right.”

Black’s yawning voice drifted out through the open gate and into the street, reaching Qian Jin’s ears: “When you become a Forging Master, you can begin to touch upon the art of Inscriptions.”

Inscriptions! The foot Qian Jin had just placed on the ground seemed to root itself deeply into the earth. He froze on the spot, staring at the inscription shop not far down the street, the lazy voice of [that person] echoing ceaselessly in his mind.

Inscriptions! Becoming a Forging Master allows one to learn Inscriptions! The fingers gripping the Horse-Cleaving Saber tightened involuntarily, blue veins throbbing on the back of his hand.

Inscriptions meant expensive, powerful, and exquisitely crafted magical equipment!

“Flame Demon, I’m coming,” Qian Jin’s eyes shone with an unprecedented excitement as he sprinted rapidly out of the village with his saber.

“What’s with that kid today?” Adams scratched the back of his head, watching Qian Jin flash past his door like a gust of wind, looking puzzledly across the street at Ourala.

“How should I know?” Ourala scratched her messy, bird’s-nest hair, turned, and shambled back into her room. “The little fellow is so spirited; it looks like I’ll have to double the dosage in the next Volcanic Potion.”

Qian Jin burst through grass nearly as tall as a man, and two centaurs, nearly three meters tall, their muscles bunched like small mountains, raised their rusty iron spears and roared in unison at the sky.

“Move aside! I’m busy today!”

Qian Jin didn't even look at the centaurs blocking the path. His saber flashed twice, cleaving the ground and slicing across their bodies. The rusty iron spears blocking his way met the saber, sparking a few star-sized flashes. After a metallic clang sound, the heads of the centaurs flew high into the air, all at once.

With a flick of the saber across the centaurs’ bodies, two demon cores ejected from within them, falling perfectly into Qian Jin’s hand five meters ahead. The massive bodies of the centaurs slowly collapsed behind him.

Qian Jin ran while wiping the faint bloodstains from the blade with his thumb. A rusty iron spear was still just iron; one strike had severed the spear itself. The sharpness and hardness of this blade were indeed far superior to his old one. The flow of Spirit Energy was as smooth as blood coursing through veins.

Two wolves, drooling white saliva, their heads emerging from the forest, immediately saw Qian Jin’s silhouette and hastily pulled their heads back into the woods. Animal instinct, sensing the killing intent, made them tuck their tails between their hind legs and let out submissive whines.

Forging Master! Inscriptions! Qian Jin, feeling as starved as if he hadn't eaten for seven days, had suddenly encountered the scent of blood from the wolves. Just the fusion of two essence metals, neither of which were top-tier, yielded equipment of such power. What about after becoming a Forging Master? What about engraving inscriptions and enchanting the weapons?

The strongest warriors, aside from their innate power, always possessed gear worthy of admiration—gear built upon countless amounts of money and luck!

The strongest members of any Bloodline Warrior Family always had the massive financial backing of their clan! This held true even for the three most powerful Bloodline Families of the True Policy Dynasty.

Ruo Qingqing had money, but how much? One truly fine piece of equipment—even if Ruo Qingqing sold off her entire family fortune, doubled, she might still not afford a single piece. Gearing up with a full set? Absolutely impossible!

No financial backing? Qian Jin slashed his saber, and a tiger, possessing a fierce territorial instinct, was cleaved into two segments.

“No backing? I’ll make it myself!”

Qian Jin ran until his stamina was overly depleted, then paused briefly to rest, rapidly approaching the Lava Region indicated on the map.

As he neared the Lava Region, the ambient temperature gradually rose. Qian Jin crouched behind a massive rock, his saber held ready, looking toward the source of the intense heat.

Less than a hundred meters away, resting atop a crimson boulder, was an oval-shaped, gigantic red egg. However, the shell of the egg was not that of an avian creature; instead, it was encased in red rock. From a distance, it looked like a massive red stone.

Only the rhythmic expansion and contraction betrayed to all surrounding life that it was not a stone, but...

A Flame Demon in the process of evolving and transforming!

Qian Jin’s eyes widened as he stared at the nearby Flame Demon egg, swallowing hard. “What the hell is going on? I was told it was a juvenile Flame Demon! How is it transforming into its growth stage?”

Flame Demon! Even ordinary commoners in the True Policy Dynasty knew the name of this powerful magical beast! In the Qian Family’s magical beast books, there were many powerful beasts, and the Flame Demon was one of them. It, along with the Adamant Battle Demon, the Green Wood Vine Demon, the Barren Sand Rock Demon, and the Extreme Ice Water Demon, formed the Five Demons. Any one of them reaching adulthood could become a true High-Tier Magical Beast.

How powerful was a High-Tier Magical Beast? Qian Jin recalled a Third-Level Awakened Elven King Bloodline Warrior saying that against a High-Tier Magical Beast, they could at least ensure their own survival.

Could ensure survival.

Qian Jin remembered that the first time he heard this, he wasn't impressed by the power of the High-Tier Magical Beast, but rather amused by the Qian family ancestors' phrasing. They should have just said that a Third-Level Awakened Elven King Bloodline Warrior simply couldn't win against a High-Tier Magical Beast; it seemed they could only escape.

“I can’t let it complete this transformation. Even a Flame Demon that has entered its growth stage from the juvenile phase might be beyond my ability to defeat.”

One hundred and eight Spirit Apertures increased their rotational speed sequentially. The Horse-Cleaving Saber emitted a faint hum. Spirit Energy flowed back and forth within the blade, like a bottle full of water—only this ‘bottle’ possessed a lethality far beyond that of an ordinary container.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.