"It's fine, it's fine..." Francli waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't know what you plan to do, but whatever it is, I'll support you with everything I have! Out of pig iron, you say? Hey you, push that cart of pig iron over here for Qian Jin!"

"This..." Qian Jin looked at the pile of pig iron cascading at his feet, a troubled expression directed at Francli. This wasn't just a pile of iron; it was essentially a pile of money! Franclin Blacksmith Shop, though once ranked second in Oakland, now, even if temporarily first, didn't bring in nearly as much income as Lucas Blacksmith Shop.

Two carts of pig iron like this represented a significant outlay for Franclin Blacksmith Shop.

"Qian Jin, use it if I tell you to! If you're a man, stop hesitating about this and that!" Franclin waved his arms vigorously, his face impatient, "I can afford to lose this much money!"

Can afford to lose it? The few blacksmiths nearby twitched the corners of their mouths. While the price of iron ore wasn't excessively high, pig iron was far from cheap. Ordinary quality ore only yielded one jin of pig iron for every ten jin of ore; these one thousand jin of pig iron were equivalent to ten thousand jin of raw ore!

Franclin Blacksmith Shop was not wealthy; two thousand jin of pig iron was nearly a tenth of Franclin's entire fortune!

Qian Jin felt a slight warmth in his chest—he wasn't sure if it was the heat generated by the Iron Forging Breathing Technique swirling within his Dead Aperture, or the warmth stirred by Franclin's words—but he silently resolved that in the future, he must forge several weapons worthy of auction for Franclin to repay his generosity.

The forging hammer was raised once more, and the clash of metal against metal, along with the scattering sparks, once again became the main rhythm in the courtyard.

After lunch, no one asked what Qian Jin intended to do. They simply watched as he worked from noon until late into the night, only stopping once he had transformed all three carts of iron ore into refined iron essence.

Franclin turned the unusual metal over in his hands, trying to guess what it could be, as it seemed drastically different from the fine iron he usually dealt with. Even if Qian Jin were a Level Nine or Level Ten Blacksmith—a rank capable of forging weapons that could kill with their mere presence—the resulting metal should still be Level Nine or Level Ten fine iron. How could he have forged this utterly unfamiliar, strange metal?

Taking advantage of the twilight gathering for dinner, Franclin quietly asked Qian Jin, who had nearly exhausted all his Dou Qi and the power of the Iron Forging Breathing Technique due to extreme fatigue, "What is this?"

"This," Qian Jin smiled, "is refined iron essence."

Clang... The gleaming refined iron essence slipped from Franclin’s grasp, falling to the ground and rolling until it stopped near the furnace. He stared blankly at Qian Jin, his mind utterly blank.

Refined iron essence! It existed only in rumors, something he had never seen—the superior, special material said to be used only by Dou Soldiers! It was an entirely different conceptual tier from fine iron! Even Level Ten fine iron was like common dirt or bricks compared to refined iron essence?

"You..."

"Shopkeeper," Qian Jin scratched his head and said softly, "I have a trial coming up at the academy in a few days, so I wanted to forge a suitable weapon for myself. After much consideration, I decided to forge my very own Dou Weapon..."

Franclin’s palm instantly covered Qian Jin’s mouth, his expression unusually grave as he lowered his voice, "You only need to tell me about this. Absolutely do not tell anyone else. I don't care if you can truly forge a Dou Weapon, but you must remember this. Once the weapon is finished and tested, wrap it immediately in canvas! How many Dou Weapons are there in all of Oakland City? You are just a first-year warrior student, probably only a Level Two or Three warrior, right? If this draws the attention of a warrior above Level Eight, they might actually risk murder to steal that weapon!"

"I'm afraid it might be more than just Level Eight warriors..." Franclin thought seriously, "Even the City Lord might be tempted..."

"He doesn't have a Dou Weapon?"

"Kid! Does anyone ever think they have too many Dou Weapons?"

Qian Jin rubbed his forehead, which Franclin had just smacked, turning it red. Nodding, he knew Franclin wouldn't betray the secret of the Dou Weapon; that was precisely why he confided in this respected Shopkeeper. Qian Jin had studied since childhood and understood the logic Franclin spoke of.

However, Qian Jin wasn't overly concerned about someone trying to seize his weapon. As a Level Nine Warrior! Even without a Dou Weapon, merely carrying a kitchen knife would allow him to walk roughshod across almost all of Oakland City. Adding a Dou Weapon like a Zhanmadao (horse-slaying saber), and truly, there would be few who could defeat him in single combat, save for Fabredis, his daughter, and the City Lord.

As for the City Lord? Qian Jin didn't worry too much. According to what Fabredis said, the current City Lord, Jagallo, was a very smart man, and he was having a difficult time; he needed Fabredis’s support for many matters.

A smart man, struggling to get by, would not, Qian Jin believed, risk offending the only person capable of helping suppress the Kai family just for the sake of a Dou Weapon.

After eating dinner at the blacksmith shop, Qian Jin lay down on the hammock in the backyard to rest, looking up at the setting sun on the horizon, feeling the slight regeneration of the Dou Qi within his body.

After a full day of frantically forging refined iron essence, Qian Jin felt that the heat his body could accumulate when using the Iron Forging Breathing Technique seemed to have increased beyond its previous capacity; even his Level Nine Dou Force was growing.

Stars began to replace the setting sun. Qian Jin stretched his recovered arms, jumped off the hammock; he still had to enter the Endless World later, and without sufficient physical strength, even Black's grim expression could be terrifying enough to scare someone to death.

The nights in Oakland City were usually very quiet on the streets. Aside from the occasional boisterous sounds from a few taverns, only the patrols of the City Guard occasionally passed by.

A series of undisguised shouts erupted from across the street. Qian Jin frowned slightly as he watched three figures approaching him, bottles in hand, staggering forward as they supported each other.

"Drunk so early?" Qian Jin raised an eyebrow toward the moon, usually, drunks only reached their peak two hours later, when the streets became populated by inebriated wanderers.

"Oww... oww... I am the greatest adventurer king of Zhence..."

"I am the greatest warrior..."

"I am the Sovereign! All beautiful women are mine to command..."

Drunken shouts echoed continuously above the street. Qian Jin raised a hand to cover his nose and quickened his pace, shaking his head secretly with a wry, helpless smile. People who went mad while drunk were usually those whose lives were the most unsatisfying on a daily basis...

No!

Qian Jin suddenly sensed a killing intent! His eyes snapped wide open, his right ankle planting on the ground as the power of his Level Nine Dou Force erupted, causing his body to twist rapidly sideways like a whip being flung through the air!

The instant Qian Jin pushed off the ground, a streak of snow-bright saber light erupted violently in the darkness! The dazzling blade light reflected the cold glare of the three moons in the sky, blossoming with a chilling, murderous intent!

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