"Theoretically, iron essence forged from a blend of higher-grade metals would be superior. But..." Black smiled and shrugged, "That's predicated on the forger being able to handle pure iron essence first, and possessing deep knowledge of metal combinations. Otherwise, the resulting iron essence might not even be as good as that from pure iron."

Qian Jin felt he understood; this pure iron essence served as the foundation, but if one couldn't even master the basics, attempting high-level techniques would likely result in instability and compromise even those advanced skills.

"Alright, we still have some time," Black looked toward the village exit and waved his hand. "Go to the mine outside the village and dig up some ore for me."

Digging again? Still trying to trick me? Qian Jin brushed the dust from his backside, stood up, and replied, "Fine, no problem. Uncle, may I borrow a weapon?"

Black’s fingers swept across the weapon rack. "Pick anything you like, but return it when you're done."

The long weapon rack was lined with all sorts of armaments: longswords, battle sabers, great spears, massive hammers, wheel axes, morning stars...

Qian Jin walked past the array of weapons, his gaze suddenly snagged by one item. Its hilt was over two feet long, yet the blade was nearly a foot wide and three feet in length!

A Zhanmadao! Qian Jin drew the blade from the rack and executed a mighty slash in the air. The small courtyard seemed to be split by an instant bolt of lightning! The dust on the ground was swept aside by the downward force of the blade's passage!

Qian Jin admired the Zhanmadao in his hand. It had satisfying weight and a broad cutting surface, giving him the presence of a battlefield general. His entire bearing felt elevated by the weapon.

"Jidu?" Qian Jin paused, noticing the two characters engraved on the hilt. "This blade is called Jidu?"

Black's usually indifferent eyes flashed with immense surprise, and he murmured under his breath, "I never thought he would choose this blade. Should I say he's lucky? Or unlucky? Does he have insight? Or... did he actually pick Jidu."

"A fine blade! Jidu is a formidable name too!" Qian Jin wielded the sword with one hand, bringing it around behind him, instantly adopting the heroic posture of a lone warrior facing down an army on the field!

"It is indeed a fine blade, but unfortunately, you cannot yet grasp all of its potential," Black waved dismissively. "Go fetch some ore."

"Oh." Qian Jin lovingly stroked the blade, feeling his Dou Jin flow into the Jidu blade without the slightest impedance. "Could this be a Dou Bing (Battle Weapon)?"

Black had already curled up and fallen asleep against the wall.

Qian Jin understood that Black had no intention of answering. Happily gripping his blade, he headed toward the path outside the village, his mind racing with plans to cleave that wild wolf in two upon their next encounter!

At the quiet entrance to the village, Qian Jin took two deep breaths, his Level Six Dou Jin circulating rapidly within his body, and stepped out past the boundary.

Just like last time, the three-headed wolves in the distance charged forward like a gust of black wind.

"Good! Watch me split you today!" Qian Jin crouched slightly, gripping the blade with both hands and instinctively activating the Iron Forging Breathing Technique. The Jidu blade unleashed its simplest, most direct downward chop, transforming into a white flash that sliced through the air with a sharp "whoosh!"

The white flash met the black gale. The three-headed wolves shrieked in pain and hastily retreated. A deep, bone-visible gash marked the head of the central wolf. At the crucial moment, the wolves instinctively sensed Qian Jin's danger and managed to recoil just in time, though they couldn't entirely evade the strike. Their six eyes instantly flared blood-red!

"You want to fight to the death? Come on!" Qian Jin was overjoyed by his successful strike, yet even more astonished that the Iron Forging Breathing Technique, combined with the basic hammering motion from the Level One Iron Forging Art he first learned, could unleash such startling power.

"Player Qian Jin, please note: your daily game time is about to expire. Please prepare to log off."

The world before Qian Jin began to warp, and the Jidu blade in his hand slowly lost its weight. The blood-red eyes of the three-headed wolves shone with confusion and bewilderment.

"Damn it! Just give me a little more time!"

Qian Jin roared as he shot upright in bed, looking helplessly at the hat beside him. He was that close to revenge! He still wanted to test the power of the first move in the rumored Eighteen Hammers technique combined with his Dou Jin.

"Qian Jin..." Roly rubbed his sleepy eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Ouch..."

Returning to reality, Qian Jin was instantly tormented by a debilitating ache that coursed through his entire body, temporarily eclipsing his thoughts about the Eighteen Hammers.

The morning drill whistle blew.

On the campus of the Auckland Academy of Magic and Warriors, students began to quickly gather for the morning exercises.

Qian Jin, dragging his sore muscles, entered the grounds only to find every surrounding student staring at him with strange looks. This time, it wasn't just the first-year warrior students; second and even third-year magic and warrior students were casting odd glances his way.

Seeing the unusual situation, Roly eagerly pricked up his ears, trying to catch snippets of hushed conversations.

"Did you hear? Qian Jin single-handedly took on the sixth and seventh ranked warrior students of his year yesterday, and he won."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that too. They said he won in spectacular fashion."

"More than that! A friend told me that after defeating those two from his year, he then took on two senior students from the second-year warriors."

"That's right! I heard he even tossed them into the well and made them drink cold well water."

"That's audacious, challenging the second years."

"What's that compared to this? I heard last night he actually rejected Zhu Lisi."

"I know about that one. Didn't Zhu Lisi make an announcement to all the male students this morning? Anyone who wants to date her, to be her boyfriend, has to challenge Qian Jin and beat him into a pulp. Qian Jin is in big trouble now..."

"It is School Beauty Zhu Lisi! Doesn't that mean waves and waves of students will be challenging him?"

Roly was shocked again and again. Beating up the second years? And tossing them in the well? That meant offending the entire second-year warrior department! And rejecting Zhu Lisi...

Roly threw his arms tightly around Qian Jin. "Classmate! You truly are good to me! Knowing I have a crush on Zhu Lisi, you'd rather offend every guy in school than let me have a chance..."

For the first time, Qian Jin noticed how strong the infatuated Roly could be. He managed to push him away and said very seriously, "Classmate, I've sacrificed so much. Don't you think you should treat me to a meal?"

"Absolutely! No problem!" Roly puffed out his chest and boldly agreed, then lowered his voice mysteriously. "Classmate, since you've already sacrificed so much for me, could you sacrifice just a little more for me?"