To kill? The Continent possesses a comprehensive set of laws; as recorded, the act of killing, regardless of the perpetrator's status, demands acknowledgment of guilt before impartial justice, the penalty being execution by beheading.

The law stipulated this, yet Lucas would not be naive enough to trust it implicitly, believing Fabredis held any great reverence for legal statutes.

"Oh?" Fabredis held up the gleaming refined iron between three fingers, a faint surprise coloring his face. "Genuine fifth-grade refined iron? And still warm? Freshly forged? Who made this?"

Lucas looked up at Fabredis with an almost pleading gaze, hoping the mighty warrior would retract his statement. If Franklin had declared it fifth-grade refined iron, Lucas might still argue, but refuting Fabredis was impossible. This wasn't just due to Fabredis's strength as a warrior, but also because he was, as confirmed by the City Lord, a Fourth-Grade Blacksmith.

"Was it you?" Fabredis looked at Lucas, shaking his head with palpable disbelief. "You don't have the skill. Who was it then?"

Franklin watched Lucas, who dared not even express anger, his expression crestfallen like a slighted young wife, and felt an eruption of internal delight. He trotted over on his short legs to Qian Jin's side and deliberately raised his voice. "Mr. Fabredis, the person who forged this piece of fifth-grade refined iron is this warrior apprentice from the Oakland Academy of Magic and Warriors, Qian Jin."

"A warrior apprentice?" Fabredis's voice held surprise mixed with a hint of joy as he turned to look at Qian Jin, who stood motionless with empty hands.

Listening to Fabredis's tone, Franklin was further convinced his approach to the introduction had been perfectly chosen! Just as the City Lord had said, this strongest man in Oakland, despite being a warrior, seemed genuinely averse to pure blacksmiths, possessing a strange aversion to them while demonstrating a deep affinity for warriors.

If Qian Jin had only been a smith, Franklin wouldn't have been certain this foremost figure in Oakland would truly intervene, but knowing he was also a warrior apprentice...

Fabredis scrutinized Qian Jin, a sliver of admiration hidden in his eyes. "A first-year student? With this level of skill, you must be in the top three among the first-years at that rundown school? You really forged fifth-grade refined iron."

Affectionate! Under Fabredis's gaze, Qian Jin felt a strangely warm sensation, like an elder regarding a junior. If this person before him were a woman and not a man, Qian Jin might even suspect the feeling was instant attraction.

"Mr. Fabredis..." Lucas mustered all his courage and whispered a warning, "Sir, you must look closely, this is a piece forged using the Void Striking technique..."

Fabredis turned a chilling glare upon Lucas, who shuddered and immediately fell silent. It wasn't merely a cold look; it was an expression imbued with genuine killing intent! Only those who had taken lives, many lives, could possess such an aura.

The adventurers of the Xiao Chang Lei Ming all regarded Lucas with odd looks, having almost been fooled by this blacksmith.

"This..." Qian Jin rubbed his chin and offered a grateful smile. "For now, my rank among first-years is eighth. And yes, I forged the fifth-grade refined iron."

"Eighth?" Fabredis's thick, golden eyebrows twitched several times, revealing considerable surprise. "Has the quality at the Oakland Academy of Magic and Warriors improved this much? Ah! 'For now'? I see. This fifth-grade refined iron is excellently forged, truly top-tier among the best."

Though most people in the courtyard didn't know who Fabredis was, seeing Lucas, the City's foremost blacksmith, standing respectfully before him assured them his pronouncements were gospel. A flurry of low whispers erupted throughout the smithy.

Lucas's face was now darker than the charred embers of the furnace. Franklin's lips were curved in a grin that nearly reached his ears. Today's events were overwhelming: first, the aggressive arrival of Lucas, then his display of polished forging technique, only to be awed by Qian Jin's explosive hammering, the sudden reappraisal of the fifth-grade refined iron as Void Striking, and now, Fabredis confirming it as genuine fifth-grade iron. The day when Franklin's Smithy would dominate all the blacksmith shops in Oakland was surely approaching!

Fifth-Grade Blacksmith, Fifth-Grade Blacksmith! Franklin chanted internally again and again. Many smiths labored their entire lives only to remain First-Grade. He felt impossibly fortunate that a mere hired hand, an apprentice from the Oakland Academy, turned out to be a Fifth-Grade Blacksmith! This single piece of fifth-grade refined iron alone made him unbeatable within Oakland's forging industry!

"Qian Jin, is it? Since you can forge fifth-grade refined iron, you can certainly manage third-grade refined iron." Fabredis casually rotated the iron in his palm, asking, "Third-grade refined iron would have sufficed to win; why go to the trouble of making a fifth-grade piece?"

Franklin froze, and Lucas was equally stunned upon hearing this. Indeed! If third-grade iron was enough, why forge fifth-grade?

"Well..." Qian Jin held up his fingers and gestured toward Xiao Chang Lei Ming. "He is a warrior, and I am a warrior too."

The smiths in the backyard listened, utterly confused by the exchange. Fabredis, however, broke into a pleased smile. For a warrior, a superior piece of equipment was akin to an extra life. Qian Jin hadn't allowed petty self-interest to cloud his vision; though young, his integrity was vast.

"Interesting. You learned smithing but were not blinded by the pursuit of profit," Fabredis lightly clapped his hands. "Compared to those wretched blacksmiths who only know how to sell shoddy goods and disregard the lives of warriors, you are far more deserving of wielding the forging hammer!"

Sensing Fabredis's sidelong glance, Lucas shuddered and took two steps back, inwardly wondering why the strongest man in Oakland harbored such intense animosity toward blacksmiths. Hearing the City Lord say that Fabredis always referred to smiths as "wretched smiths" seemed entirely accurate today.

"Qian Jin, you are smart. You understand that one must rely on oneself and truly cannot depend on those wretched iron-pounding scum." Fabredis's expression grew more indignant as he spoke, causing Qian Jin to wonder if this sudden warrior had some deep, long-standing feud with the blacksmith community.

Lucas swallowed hard, staring at Qian Jin, thinking to himself that this kid had earned the high regard of Oakland's premier figure. To ensure his own standing in the future, making Qian Jin "disappear" would likely cost a significant sum of gold! Nevertheless, to protect the status of Lucas's Smithy as the top establishment in Oakland, he would have to take that risk.