[Hmm? Didn’t you used to watch shows where characters talked like this?]
“Sigh… Anyways, the rewards are quite nice. I nearly forgot that I didn’t have the rest of the Primordial Vessel Cultivation Art,” he continued to say with a smile.
[Now, you should go ahead and make preparations for the quest. This won’t be an easy one,] Yue Lan spoke in a rare serious tone.
Shen Yuan felt his fighting intent surging. He walked towards the market to buy some necessary stuff and headed towards the mansion.
…
After coming out from multiple spatial portals, he reached his mansion.
“Now, I should set up the smithy in one of the side buildings. I’m not expecting any guests in them anyways for the time being,” he talked to himself as he went towards the side building on the left.
He pushed the gates of the building as he saw that the insides were nearly empty. “This is the good thing about this place—to get your own decorations and furniture for side buildings, but I don’t have to bother with this, hehe.”
After walking inside, he looked around and walked to the center. He took out the furnace and placed it there before activating the formations on it to have it fixed.
“Good, now this won’t move from here,” smiling happily, he took out the rest of the equipment which he had gotten from the Mystique Realm.
He arranged the forging tools neatly around the furnace, ensuring everything was in its proper place.
He threw in some Flame Crystals inside the furnace and ignited them using his Fire Intent. freewebnoveℓ.com
The flames danced wildly within, casting a warm glow throughout the room. The formations he embedded in the walls using formation plates got activated, circulating the heat evenly and enhancing the forge’s efficiency.
“Now, everything is set,” Shen Yuan said with a satisfied nod. “Time to test my hand at blacksmithing.”
He had never formally learned blacksmithing before, but his confidence stemmed from his high comprehension and perfect body control.
Taking out a chunk of common spirit ore from his storage ring, he placed it into the roaring furnace. Using his Fire Intent, he carefully monitored the temperature, watching as the metal began to glow bright orange slowly.
“Seems about right,” he muttered.
Using a pair of tongs, he removed the heated metal and placed it onto the anvil. Grabbing a hammer, he took a deep breath and swung it down onto the glowing ore.
The impact sent a shockwave up his arm, but the metal barely changed shape.
“Hmm? Do I need to hit it harder?” he thought.
He raised the hammer and struck again, this time with more force. The iron flattened slightly but unevenly, and cracks began to appear on the surface.
He frowned, looking at the cracked ore. Shen Yuan realized something was wrong. “That doesn’t look like the right way to do it.”
Still, he didn’t give up with one minor setback. He reheated the metal and tried again, adjusting his stance and grip. However, each attempt led to similar results—the metal either cracked, deformed irregularly, or failed to take the desired shape.
After several hours and numerous failed attempts, he started to get frustrated. “What am I doing wrong? Why does this seem so hard? Should I have bought a book like the alchemy book from the system?” he exclaimed and thought, wiping the sweat from his brow.
A soft chuckle echoed in his mind.
[Perhaps because you’ve never learned the basics of blacksmithing?]
Yue Lan teased.
He sighed. [I wanted to see whether I could figure it out myself.]
[Even the most talented cultivators need guidance in their cultivation,] she replied gently. [There’s more to blacksmithing than just heating and hammering metal.]
Shen Yuan leaned against the anvil, contemplating her words in silence. “You’re right. Hmm, can you help me out here? What is the price for a Basic Blacksmithing Manual?”
[Haha, of course, I can help you. You only need to ask for it. And as a special price, it will be 200,000 Chaos Coins. I can give you a basic Blacksmithing Technique together with it as well.]
His eyes twitched. “Is it just me, or did you love to increase the prices of stuff inside the store?”
[Well, the prices will increase together with your cultivation, so I would say you buy everything when you have the chance. And the spike in price for this one is justified.]
“Are you charging me for something extra as well? Like some consolation fees or something?” he suspiciously asked.
[Quality guidance doesn’t come free,] she retorted playfully.
“…” He speechlessly shook his head. “Fair enough, give me those two manuals.”
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, host, for purchasing the Basic Blacksmithing Manual and Basic Cultivation Technique.]
A stream of information flooded his mind—techniques for forging, insights into metal properties, proper hammering methods, and the importance of timing and temperature. The manual covered everything from the basics of tool handling to the nuances of imbuing Qi into created weapons or artifacts.
“Damn, it’s the same as the Basic Alchemy Manual but better. It has all the details of Tier 1, Tier 2, and even Tier 3. No wonder it cost me that much,” he murmured, absorbing all the new knowledge.
Feeling his motivation at an all-time high, Shen Yuan decided to start afresh.
He selected another piece of Spirit Ore and heated it carefully, paying close attention to the color changes indicating the temperature.
Once it reached a bright yellow glow, he retrieved it from the furnace and placed it on the anvil.
This time, he held the hammer correctly, positioning his feet for better balance. He struck the metal with measured force, flattening it evenly.
Seeing the metal not cracking or getting disfigured, his confidence boosted as he began pounding the Spirit Ore rhythmically, its sound echoing inside the entire room.
He folded the Spirit Ore and hammered it to increase its strength and remove impurities.
As he worked, he infused a small amount of his Qi into each strike, balancing each of his blows precisely.
He smiled, seeing his work being nearly finished as he struck again, but as soon as the hammer hit the Spirit Ore, it smashed the ore into pieces as the hammer continued down and hit the anvil.
Shen Yuan froze on his spot as he didn’t think something like this would happen. “Wha—how?”
[You lost focus, Yuan’er. You need more experience before you can start doing your work even with a lot of distractions.]
Shen Yuan took a deep breath before exhaling. “I will just start again; I refuse to believe that I can’t make a weapon even if I try my hardest.”
He threw the broken Spirit Ore into a pile of scrap metal as he took out a new one, placing it in the furnace and waiting for it to heat up.
After a while, he carefully took it out using his tongs as he placed it on the anvil and picked up the hammer.
“Nice and steady; haste makes waste,” he muttered under his breath.
He began hammering the metal rhythmically, slowly reaching the same level as his previous attempt.
He folded the Spirit Ore after hammering it enough and hammered it again to increase its durability and strength.