TL : GoldenLung
“Therefore, only by using our spiritual power to sense the subtle changes happening and judge their state in the truest sense can we understand the mysteries the metals have to offer and what their characteristics are. Only through your forging can you awaken them and help elevate them, or even give them life.”
Listening to Tang Le’s narration, Lan Xuanyu suddenly felt enlightened. What he didn’t know was that Tang Le’s theory also existed in Shrek Academy, or in the world of blacksmiths, but it was knowledge that only at least rank 6 or above blacksmiths would consider. For junior blacksmiths, how could they have so much spiritual power left to feel, and neither did they have a powerful teacher for guiding them !
Others would not, but Tang Le did. At the end of the afternoon, Tang Le took Lan Xuanyu to explore the internal structure of the iron ingot.
The iron ingot was in front of him, and Tang Le said solemnly: “Focus your mind and concentrate your willpower on this iron ingot, don’t just look at its appearance, but also feel its changes as a whole. Although your spiritual power is not strong enough, it should be possible to sense metals such as iron ingots. No one can help you in this aspect, you have to rely on yourself to sense them.”
According to Tang Le’s words, Lan Xuanyu focused his mind and attention, his eyes staring at the iron ingot, silently feeling its changes.
The changes from Tang Le’s previous strike surfaced in his mind. He could vaguely guess the reason behind that miraculous shrinking, it was probably from clearing the impurities in the iron ingot. Not only that, the iron ingot also went through a phase of compression and refinement ?
Thus the huge changes that happened afterwards.
In that case, that probably meant that the iron ingot had quite a lot of impurities. This kind of ordinary iron had extremely scarce energy, but it definitely wasn’t none. The hardness and strength of the metal weren’t its unique features.
Gradually, Lan Xuanyu got immersed in his perception of the iron ingot, and the veil of the iron ingot seemed to be getting peeled off for him layer by layer.
Standing next to Lan Xuanyu, Tang Le silently felt the changes that occurred after his spiritual power came into contact with the iron ingot. His face couldn’t help showing relief. This kid was really smart, and he could understand many things by himself with just a few tips. Although the instructions he gave were very effective, it still required Lan Xuanyu to have the ability to comprehend it.
Facts proved that Lan Xuanyu’s comprehension ability was extremely high, and what happened this afternoon was definitely twice the results for half the effort.
If Le Qingling were here, she would definitely be jealous of Lan Xuanyu, because during this afternoon, Tang Le had spoken more than he usually did in a week. And it was for Lan Xuanyu alone.
Tang Le didn’t feel this way at all. He just felt that he was very comfortable when he was with Lan Xuanyu, and his mood was particularly good.
Only until feeling a little tired did Lan Xuanyu open his eyes.
“How do you feel?” Tang Le asked.
Lan Xuanyu frowned slightly and said, “It’s very dirty, its body is dirty, there are so many, many impurities! I feel sad for it. Uncle Le, the forging process is also to make it clean, right? Those rare metals are precious because they are cleaner and have their own characteristic, right?”
Tang Le smiled and said: “Yes, your first interaction is very clear. You didn’t take any detours. If you feel too exhausted, take a rest and don’t overdo. You will continue again tomorrow. What you have to do now is that each interaction must differ from the previous one every day. It must feel clearer than before. In this way, you will eventually reach the goal.”
“I understand.”
Tang Le said: “It’s late, you should go eat your dinner. Come again tomorrow.”
Lan Xuanyu opened his eyes, his big eyes were a bit tired, but also full of excitement, “Uncle Le, you must come tomorrow!”
Seeing the longing in his eyes, Tang Le nodded, “I will come. I happen to be on vacation during this period of time. I will use it to accompany you.”
Lan Xuanyu said, “Do I need to kowtow to you as a teacher?”
Tang Le shook his head, “No need. Aren’t you my little friend? No need to acknowledge me as your teacher. Okay, I’m leaving now.”
Before leaving, he couldn’t help but come to Lan Xuanyu again and pat his head, then his silhouette blurred, turning into a golden light and disappeared silently. It seems that the heavy metal reinforced-wall of the forging room couldn’t block him at all.
Looking at where he left, Lan Xuanyu couldn’t help feeling a little envious, when could he become as powerful as Uncle Le ! And Uncle Le also looked so cool.
Going back to the dormitory, eating and then meditating. Reflecting on what he learned this afternoon. Lan Xuanyu suddenly felt that his life had become so fulfilling.
***
Sure enough, as he thought, Qian Lei did not come for next morning’s class. He drank too much water from Sea God Lake, and he really needed time to digest and absorb it. Lan Xuanyu called him, and Qian Lei told him that he was okay, that he just needed more time to digest. Fatty Jin was fine, he seemed to have fallen asleep. After drinking a lot of Sea God Lake water, Fatty Jin was no longer sucking his vitality, which was a good thing.
Everyone became very busy with cultivating and improving themselves. The seemingly loose teaching of Shrek Academy actually filled every student with a sense of urgency.
The same went for Lan Xuanyu. He went to class in the morning. In the afternoon, he would then learn for two hours interstellar fighter piloting with Tang Zhenhua, and then go to the Blacksmith Association. He didn’t know where Mr. Le was usually, but whenever he came to the forging room, after a while, Tang Le would definitely appear.
Tang Le didn’t ask him to find any rare metals, he just used the most common iron ingots to teach. Teaching him the hammer technique, the method of exerting one’s strength, and the method of sensing metal. That was it.
In Tang Le’s words, these were the foundations of forging, and mastering these foundations was the most important thing. And learning to master these was the same with or without rare metals. First of all, once he thoroughly interacted with ordinary iron ingots, the rest was actually the same.
Concerning Mr. Le, Lan Xuanyu completely trusted him and would not doubt anything at all. He would learn whatever he taught him.
Every time he came to learn forging, he was actually exhausted by Tang Zhenhua. But for some reason, every time he saw Mr. Le, his spirit would become vigorous again.
Time passed day by day amid this intense and fulfilling studying. Two weeks went by in a blink of an eye.
***
“Tang Le, if you don’t come back then I’ll stop everything. Is there anyone like you? You said you wanted to go out and relax for three days, and you even after two weeks you’re still not back. Do you know how many appointments I delayed for you? How much we paid as compensation? I’m done with that, I can’t help you anymore. I’m going to resign.” From the roar coming from the device, Tang Le could hear how angry Le Qingling was at this time.
In this regard, he was also very helpless.
Yes! He really only intended to rest for a few days, visit Lan Xuanyu and then leave. But who would’ve thought that he happened to meet Lan Xuanyu at the moment he began to practice forging, and then he stayed, and the process of teaching Lan Xuanyu made him very happy. These days, not only was Lan Xuanyu improving, his own spirit as well had never been in a better state than now. He could even feel that something in his body had become stable.
“Okay. Don’t make a fuss. I’ll go back.” Tang Le said helplessly.
Le Qingling said unrelentingly: “Immediately, now, right now. Today. If I don’t see you before it gets dark today, I’ll just pack my stuff and run away. You are so irresponsible, Tang Le. Yes, every time it’s me who has to wipe your ass.”
Tang Le sighed, “Okay, I’m going back now.”