The heavy hammer strike sent a sudden, dragging tension through Qian Jin’s arm and shoulder, forcing him to immediately resume the Iron Forging Breathing Technique!

The second strike of the Eighteen Ascending Hammers was more than ten times as difficult as the first! Qian Jin had struggled with this single strike for ten whole days and still could not fully master it.

In the boundless world, Qian Jin used the second strike of the Eighteen Ascending Hammers in every blow, but at the Franlin Blacksmith Shop, he continually employed the perfected first strike to forge the Zhanmadao (Horse-Slaying Saber) meant for his trials.

Four feet long, a foot and a half wide, three inches thick, with a two-and-a-half-foot hilt—the Zhanmadao gradually took shape before everyone's eyes throughout the ten days of forging. Even without being sharpened, the chilling, shimmering aura it already possessed far surpassed that of other unedged weapons.

Qian Jin secretly rejoiced over this, his first true combat weapon. To create this Zhanmadao, the Franlin Blacksmith Shop had expended a full half of its family fortune. Furthermore, forging this saber made him truly understand that a weapon was not easily made; even watching Black constantly by his side and studying the books, true mastery remained a difficult endeavor.

The blacksmiths of the Franlin Blacksmith Shop gathered quietly around Qian Jin, clicking their tongues in awe as they observed this monstrous weapon—the Zhanmadao! A weapon of this type was rarely used by warriors, even counting back to dynasties preceding the Zhence Imperial Dynasty.

“Qian Jin, time to sharpen it, isn’t it?” Franlin rubbed his hands back and forth. After being a blacksmith for most of his life, he had never witnessed a weapon so imposing! He wondered if this was perhaps the legendary Combat Weapon (Dou Bing)?

“Almost. We can sharpen it today.” Qian Jin gripped the hilt with his left hand and lifted sharply. An overwhelming aura slowly radiated from his eyes as he thrust the Zhanmadao directly into the flames of the furnace.

Everyone froze. What was he doing? Everything was forged; why put it back into the fire? Was he dissatisfied with something? Shouldn't the next step be sharpening? What was the purpose of returning it?

The chilling blade edge began to heat up slowly. Qian Jin watched the blade redden, then snatched an ordinary battle knife with his right hand, his eyes instantly seeming bloodshot! A frigid killing intent flared in that instant, causing the surrounding crowd to instinctively take a step back.

Blood Sacrifice! Qian Jin recalled the passage in Black’s Essentials of Forging: First-rate Combat Weapons (Dou Bing) must undergo a Blood Sacrifice! At the moment the blade is completed, it must be consecrated with the blood of the warrior who will wield it. Only then could the warrior and the weapon establish a blood connection, making the weapon feel like an extension of his own arm.

According to the Essentials of Forging, the method of Blood Sacrifice was known to almost every smith. But only master smiths knew the true secret: at the moment of sacrifice, one must also infuse their own spirit/presence (Qishi) into the blood; that was the perfect Blood Sacrifice.

The killing intent mixed with the blood. Under the pressure of Qian Jin’s combat energy (Dou Jin) and muscle tension, hot blood sprayed forth from the self-inflicted wounds.

The blood landed on the glowing red Zhanmadao, eliciting a sharp hiss. After a burst of white mist ascended, not a single bloodstain remained. Faint, dazzling glints of cold light seemed to leap within the blade, as if a thousand long swords were about to burst forth from the steel.

The sound of gasping cold air echoed across the courtyard; many people instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes. Qian Jin laid the Zhanmadao flat across his hand and quickly wrapped the entire length of it in a cloth strip he had prepared.

Franlin looked at Qian Jin, puzzled. “Why aren’t you sharpening it? Isn’t that the last step?”

“It is the last step,” Qian Jin said with a smile, patting the wrapped Zhanmadao. “That’s why I'm going to use Cloud-Flow Stone to sharpen it!”

“Cloud-Flow Stone?”

A chorus of gasps erupted from the group in the courtyard. The price of this whetstone was extravagantly high—perhaps more expensive than many weapons! Moreover, you couldn't necessarily buy it even if you had the money; you needed connections and status to even have the chance to acquire it! Even the City Lord might not be qualified to buy Cloud-Flow Stone, yet a student from the Oakland Academy of Magic and Warriors was casually asking for it?

Franlin stared blankly at Qian Jin. He thought he had become numb to the boy's bizarre actions over the past few days, but this boy continued to pull off ever more astonishing feats.

“Before I leave…” Qian Jin looked at a few pieces of unused refined iron on the ground. “I need to forge something quickly.”

Everyone watched him curiously again. What could he possibly forge with this small amount of metal? A battle knife? That weight was clearly insufficient for a battle knife. A spearhead? This material seemed a bit too much for just a spearhead.

Only half an hour later, everyone was truly dumbfounded.

A kitchen knife! Qian Jin had used the remaining high-grade materials to forge a kitchen knife! Wouldn’t it have been better to use this material for arrowheads or spearheads? A kitchen knife?

Qian Jin weighed the substantial kitchen knife in his hand, turned, and began grinding it meticulously on a whetstone.

“You don’t have to…” Franlin pouted. It was just a kitchen knife; he could have handed it off to a blacksmith apprentice for sharpening. Why should Qian Jin, who seemed to be a master smith already, do it himself? Sharpening was something anyone could do…

On the whetstone, a sliver of cold light pierced Franlin’s pupils! In an instant, Franlin felt a profound chill course through his body, as if a razor-sharp steel blade was truly aimed at his throat. He quickly backed away a step, only to realize nothing was there; it was merely the nascent, chilling reflection coming off the newly formed edge of the kitchen knife.

Is this really a kitchen knife? Franlin looked at the menacing shape slowly emerging from the knife in Qian Jin's hand, his mind filled with utter confusion. What kind of kitchen knife could be this sharp?

“Done!” Qian Jin packed the knife into a box. “Before I use the Cloud-Flow Stone to sharpen it, I have one more place to go.”

Franlin looked at Qian Jin doubtfully. “Where else? Is there anything more important than sharpening?”

“Sharpening can wait until tomorrow. There’s something I’ve been holding back for a long time!” Qian Jin grinned, his five fingers gripping the wooden box containing the kitchen knife. “Uncle Franlin, let’s go.”

“Me too?” Franlin felt the curious gazes of the people around him and shook his head, wearing an expression that suggested he himself didn't know why Qian Jin was dragging him along.

Walking down the streets of Oakland City, Franlin asked somewhat perplexed, “Qian Jin, where exactly are we going?”

“The Lucas Blacksmith Shop.” Qian Jin patted the kitchen knife at his waist. “They sent me a lovely gift a while back that forced me to be cautious every day, returning to school before dark and only heading out when the streets were busy after dawn. It’s cost me a lot of time. I’m going to return a gift to him today, and from this day forward, the Franlin Blacksmith Shop should become the number one blacksmith shop in Oakland.”

: Honestly, I thought the second update for today had already gone live. It was only when I saw someone asking in the review section just now that I realized the second chapter hadn't been posted. If the second update doesn't appear before 7 PM, you all can give a shout in the review section: Gao Lou, you need to update the second chapter. E