The world flashed into black, and then back into light. Qian Jin was accustomed to the way he entered the game of the 【Endless World】; when he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar village, with wisps of smoke curling up from a few houses as usual.

This time, Qian Jin didn't dawdle about; he charged straight into Black’s blacksmith shop. With the experience of the previous two times, Qian Jin didn't wait for the blacksmith Black to say anything, burying his head and heading directly for the hot spring that could wash away all fatigue.

The magical hot spring instantly erased the fatigue from Qian Jin’s body once again; the stinging muscles returned to normal, and the only thing he could feel was the explosive power contained within. Black squatted by the doorway, leaning against the leaky, cracked wooden door panels, staring at the ground with hazy, sleepy eyes, silently smoking his pipe: "Today, I have nothing new to teach you.

Continue practicing that last strike. When you finally make something decent of it, then we'll learn something else." "Oh, right..." Black pointed the stem of his pipe towards the rack behind Qian Jin: "Starting today, stop using your old hammer.

Switch to Hammer Number Two..." Number Two? Qian Jin followed the direction of Black’s pipe.

The Number Two sledgehammer he was pointing to looked like it weighed at least a hundred catties more than the one he had been using before? This old blacksmith was truly ruthless; adding a full hundred catties right away?

"Don't forget the Blacksmithing Breathing Technique." Black opened his sleepy eyes briefly for a reminder, his body slightly contracting as he resumed smoking, not saying another word. Qian Jin grimaced, hefting the hammer that now carried an extra hundredweight.

The strength he had painstakingly built up over the past few days seemed completely negated by this sudden, massive addition of weight. Taking a deep breath, allowing the fiery energy to circulate through the dormant acupoints in his body, Qian Jin’s shoulder and neck muscles bulged.

The heavy, massive hammer was lifted high overhead, beginning a new round of striking. With the increased weight of the hammer, Qian Jin discovered that the lines and angles he could strike so smoothly just yesterday were completely thrown off in this instant.

He had thought he was close to mastering the technique of this first strike. Unexpectedly...

Qian Jin forced a bitter smile and raised the sledgehammer high once more. Scorching sparks flew ceaselessly in the small courtyard, the clang of metal striking metal becoming the sole music in the small yard.

One hour... "Your Forging Proficiency has increased.

Blacksmithing Level increased by one. Strength increased by one point." Two hours...

"Your Forging Proficiency has increased. Strength increased by one point." Three hours...

"Your Forging Proficiency has increased. Blacksmithing Level increased by one.

Strength increased by one point." "Player Qian Jin, successfully forged Level One Iron Essence." Black watched the spectacular metal sparks Qian Jin was generating yet again, and a hint of surprise and joy bloomed in his hazy eyes. He quickly raised a hand and called out: "Stop." In just three hours, Qian Jin felt as if his body was being drained dry; his inner power (Dou Jin), the Blacksmithing Breathing Technique, and all his brute strength were utterly exhausted by these three hours.

Black held his pipe in his left hand and circled Qian Jin twice, his eyes nodding frequently, radiating obvious delight. Qian Jin felt a strange unease under Black’s gaze, which resembled a father-in-law sizing up a suitor, so much so that he even forgot to summon the system to check his level.

"Excellent! Very excellent!" Black patted Qian Jin's arm repeatedly, nodding: "I didn't expect you to reach Level Ten Blacksmith so quickly.

Very good!" Level Ten Blacksmith? Hearing this, Qian Jin felt as if a good portion of his strength had instantly recovered.

He had expected it to take several days to become a Level Ten Blacksmith, but to reach the coveted Level Ten status—a dream for countless blacksmiths—simply by switching to a heavier hammer and practicing that peculiar forging technique, was astonishing. "So that means..." Qian Jin pointed to his own nose, asking in disbelief, "I am a Level Ten Blacksmith?

I am a Forgemaster." "That's right! You are a Level Ten Blacksmith." Black put his hands behind his back, nodding, then shaking his head: "However, you are not yet a Forgemaster." "But I'm already a Level Ten Blacksmith!

How can I not be a Forgemaster?" Qian Jin looked at Black, confused. According to the old blacksmith Franlin’s explanation, reaching Level Ten Blacksmith meant becoming a Forgemaster.

Why did Black now say he wasn't? "A Level Ten Blacksmith is a Level Ten Blacksmith; a Forgemaster is a Forgemaster." Black sat down on the ground, held his pipe bowl over the fire pit to heat it, and took a deep draw, causing the tobacco within to flicker with dim and bright light: "A Level Ten Blacksmith is the closest one can get to a Forgemaster, but not the genuine article.

To become a true Forgemaster, you must pass a trial; only upon completion can you earn the title." A trial! Another trial!

Qian Jin realized that whether in the Auckland Academy of Magic and Warriors of the True Policy Dynasty or here in the Endless World, he could never escape trials. "What is a true Forgemaster?

Is having Level Ten Blacksmith status enough? Perhaps that’s true elsewhere, but it is different here." Black slightly tilted his chin up, his hazy eyes filled with immense pride and self-satisfaction, possessing a look that seemed to scorn the rest of the world: "A true Forgemaster should know many things: preliminary repairs for Battle Weapons, personally exploring mineral deposits, forging Iron Essence, completing the construction of a Battle Weapon entirely alone, managing the selection of wood and charcoal for fire, and so on..." "Repairing Battle Weapons?

I know how to do that." Qian Jin recalled reviving the Battle Weapon of the Auckland Guardian: "I still know the 'Edge Cleansing Art'." "Edge Cleansing Art? What does that have to do with repairing a Battle Weapon?" Black frowned, puzzled: "If a saber-type Battle Weapon breaks in half, what use is your Edge Cleansing Art?" Qian Jin scratched his head awkwardly.

This was indeed something he couldn't manage. It seemed his understanding of 'repair' was not entirely the same as Black's.

"Take this and go..." Black fumbled in his robes and pulled out a book with a yellowed cover, so worn it looked ready to fall apart at any moment: "Read up on this Ore Prospecting Art first." Ore prospecting was a specialized field of knowledge. Although both humans and demons had devoted considerable effort to it, they were still far inferior to the Barbarians who lived north of the territory of the True Policy Dynasty.

Several of their tribes possessed an innate intuition for prospecting; nearly every one of them began their education by learning to identify different geological features, various rock strata, and the surrounding mountains and rivers to determine if a location held metallic ores, what kind of metal might be present, and the potential yield. Legend held that those few mining clans among the Barbarians, besides studying all the knowledge of ore prospecting, seemed to possess a natural, special ability to locate mineral deposits.