Chapter 88: New Owner of the Weapon Forging Shop

Chapter 88: New Owner of the Weapon Forging Shop

Chapter 88: New Owner of the Weapon Forging Shop
It's mid-August and the weather is already cool.

The forging room was bustling with activity, with bellows blowing, flames raging, and the sound of blacksmithing continuing.

"The Autumn Water Sword is made of cold iron, black iron, and a mixture of red gold. To forge a top-grade sword, the most important thing is to refine the black iron a hundred times, melting the cold iron and red gold into one...

Then, use the folding forging method, folding it more than eighteen times, making sure that the iron material is stacked up to more than 32,000 layers...

There are sixteen different liquids for quenching, and the best ones are cold pond water, spirit cow blood, etc...."

Li Yuan seemed not to hear the sound of hammers coming one after another, as he was immersed in the non-stop forging process.

The forging technique is far more complicated than that of the White Ape Cloak Hammer. Each type of weapon has different forging techniques, and even though they are both swords, there are many differences between them.

The forging technique of the Qiu Shui Sword is not complicated among swords. Most blacksmiths tend to choose this sword when they choose to forge their first top-quality sharp blade.

when!
when!
The forging hammer flew up and down, hammering the red-hot iron material densely and evenly, and the force of each hammer was just right, not more or less.

"Hammer talent also greatly improves forging..."

Sparks flew everywhere, and Li Yuan concentrated on experiencing it.

With the blessing of hammer talent, he seems to have truly become a genius.

When the forging hammer rises and falls, he can even feel whether the force on the iron material under the hammer is even, where there are more impurities, and the degree of fire...

It goes without saying how huge the boost to forging skills this will bring.

The folding forging that normally takes ten days was completed in just five days.

"It's a pity that quenching can't be so intuitive..."

Li Yuan had already memorized the forging process by heart. With the blessing of perfect-level hammering techniques and hammer talent, he had almost reached the threshold of perfect-level forging techniques.

The only difference is the timing of quenching and the water temperature.

When quenching a top-quality sharp blade, there are strict requirements on the temperature of the iron material and the temperature of the quenching water. A difference of half a degree will result in completely different results.

"Whoo~"

As the fire burned, the iron sword that had been formed gradually turned red. Li Yuan sensed it calmly. At a certain moment, he suddenly turned around and plunged it into the cold water.

snort~
Thick smoke and water vapor rose up.

Zhang Ben had put down the forging hammer without knowing when. He was quite nervous at the moment and kept reminding:

“Cold iron and black iron are top-grade iron materials. Weapons made of these two types of iron materials need to be quenched more than six times before the iron materials can be used to their full potential.

Every quenching is extremely important..."

"Send fire!"

After taking out the iron sword and putting it back into the forge, the four apprentices pulling the bellows breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down their movements.

"puff!"

As the iron sword gradually glowed red, Li Yuan sprayed a mouthful of water onto the sword, and drops of water streaked across and jumped up.

"It only needs five more temperings, and the Autumn Water Sword will be ready!"

Zhang Ben also breathed a sigh of relief.

If the best quality product could be beaten into top quality, he would have to lose hundreds of taels of money for the iron material, so he couldn't help but be nervous.

"Cold pond water, spirit bull blood, mixed blood water...quenching is much more difficult than hammering."

Putting the sword back on the forging table, Li Yuan resumed forging, missing the thermometer very much.

If there is such a one, the problem of quenching water temperature can be completely solved, and there is no need to be so nervous about the difference of half a degree.

"None of the steps is easy. You think hammering is easy because you have perfected the hammering method and have excellent talent! There is no shortcut to quenching, it can only be accumulated..."

Zhang Ben felt relieved and turned back to his forging table.

Although he has been promoted to the third shopkeeper, he had previously taken over the Yuan family's top-grade heavy hammer, and now he is the only one who can fight it, so naturally he cannot let go.

"A superb heavy hammer!"

Li Yuan took a look.

Zhang Ben’s forging table was quite large. There were six apprentices outside the furnace, constantly pulling the bellows. The flames were billowing and the temperature was extremely high.

The forging of the finest sharp blades requires extremely high temperatures. What is burning in the furnaces of the two of them is "fire wood", which, when burned thoroughly, can produce a temperature far exceeding that of the furnace.

But what he paid attention to was naturally the sledgehammer that was gradually taking shape in Zhang Ben's hand.

Long-handled, huge hammer.

"With the master's craftsmanship, this heavy hammer must be of level three..."

Li Yuan was quite moved.

A third-order heavy hammer made by a highly accomplished blacksmith!
"call!"

After taking a few glances, Li Yuan gathered his focus and prepared for the second forging before quenching.

A third shopkeeper and a half shopkeeper who was promised by the big shopkeeper the same treatment as a shopkeeper were both working hard to forge iron.

Hearing the incessant hammering sounds, the other blacksmiths in the forge did not dare to stop. They gritted their teeth and worked hard. When they got off work, they were all sweating profusely and their arms were sore.

"call!"

After completing the secondary quenching within one day, Li Yuan wiped the sweat off his face and prepared to go home, while Zhang Ben was still forging.

The old man, who was nearly seventy years old, with his muscular upper body naked, was hammering with a hammer.

Li Yuan put out the fire and watched from the side, comparing the gap between himself and Zhang Ben, thinking and learning.

"Tomorrow, I should be able to do the final quenching!"

When Zhang Ben stopped, he was a little out of breath. His skills became more and more proficient, but the decline of his qi and blood inevitably affected his craftsmanship.

In the early years, he didn't need to expend so much energy and effort to make such a hammer.

"You work too hard."

Li Yuan was a little worried.

In terms of hammering skills, he is no less than Zhang Ben, but in terms of immersion in blacksmithing, he cannot compare with this master craftsman who has been working hard day after day for decades.

"The old man's strength has declined significantly. Perhaps this hammer will be his last work. I have to pay more attention to it."

Zhang Ben took the water from Li Yuan and washed his upper body. He glanced at his disciples:

"The head shopkeeper thinks highly of you. He treats you better than I do. He gives you three taels of pure gold as soon as he asks. If you can forge a few top-grade sharp blades, you can be promoted from half shopkeeper to second shopkeeper immediately..."

He was somewhat displeased with Cao Yan's approach, but he was also afraid that Li Yuan might feel resentful, so he would try to enlighten him from time to time.

Since he was his own master, what else could Li Yuan do but nod in agreement.

"Inside Zhelong Mansion, our shop is also under renovation. Next year, the head shopkeeper will definitely take you to Zhelong Mansion, and then settle down in the city and marry a wife.
If you bring your brother and sister-in-law over, won't life be prosperous?"

Zhang Ben was still muttering: "Divine Weapon Valley is not that good. Qiu Long was a disciple of Divine Weapon Valley, but he died in the wilderness, didn't he?"

"You are right!"

Li Yuan kept saying "okay, ok" and "okay, ok" with a very sincere attitude.

"That's it, that's all."

Zhang Ben knew that he was just being perfunctory, he just felt tired:

"Come early tomorrow. This heavy hammer will be tempered for the final time. You must watch carefully..."

Shaking his head, without waiting for Li Yuan's response, Old Zhang went back to the house.

"Old Zhang knows everything, but he is too attached to the shop. Qiu Long died in the mountains, and Wang Ding died on the street..."

Shaking his head inwardly, Li Yuan packed up and locked the door of the forge room.

……

Before it got dark, Li Yuan went to buy some cooked meat and two fish, then hurried back to Chaiyufang, his second brother's home.

These days, Sun Hao came back every few days. Li Yuan sometimes ate out, but most of the time he ate at his second brother's house.

It wasn't that he wanted to save trouble, but he was afraid that Li Lin wouldn't be willing to buy good food. For more than half a year, he would occasionally give him some money, but Li Lin didn't touch it at all, and saved it all, because he was really determined to find him a wife.

"The Wang Sao family in the front street has found a matchmaker again. Are you happy about it? You have to go and meet her, right? When I was a child, I carried you on my back and went door to door to beg for milk. It was Wang Sao who gave me the most..."

As soon as I entered the yard, Li Lin's nagging followed me.

"...When you meet one, there will be a group. If you are happy to meet them, go and meet them, second brother."

Li Yuan lowered his head and scraped the fish scales.

In the past six months, especially in the last two months, I don’t know how many matchmakers came to my house. It was a bit novel at first, but later I got tired of it.

Which good person would meet the matchmaker every day?

"You..."

"Shut up!"

Wang Juan couldn't help it. She held her waist with one hand and the door with the other, her voice still shrill:

"Other people's elder brothers all hope for the best for their brothers, but you are the one who pits your younger brother, right? The wife of Wang Qianjie has been a widow for many years. Her daughter is pretty, but God knows how many idiot fathers she has!
The third son is going to marry her daughter, so don’t expect to have peace in the future!”

"Keep your voice down!"

Li Lin was startled by the shout and hurried to cover his wife's mouth, but was frightened by Wang Juan's glare.

"The third brother is much better than you, so don't worry about his marriage!"

It has to be my sister-in-law!
Li Yuan said "good" in his heart.

His second elder brother is good in every way except that he is a nagging person. He can talk about the same thing over and over again for three to five months, and he really can't stand it.

"Then, let's do it."

Li Lin really didn't dare to make his wife angry, so he carefully helped her into the house, and then came out to help Li Yuan scrape the fish scales:
"Your boss treats you very well. He even sent someone to take us to live in the shop a few days ago..."

Li Yuan frowned: "You didn't agree?"

"Your shop is making a lot of noise all day long. Your sister-in-law can't stand it."

Li Lin shook his head.

"My sister-in-law is already seven or eight months pregnant, it's better to be quiet outside."

Li Yuan stood up and went to the kitchen to stew the fish. His face suddenly darkened. Chi Jin was reluctant to give Cao Yan, but he was quick in using tricks outside the game.

……

"The method of worshipping God."

After returning to the courtyard, Li Yuan threw a few pieces of meat to the hungry little mice and flipped through the books that Master Wang had sent him.

These books were all borrowed by him from other counties, and they contained many records about the worship of gods and the methods of worshiping gods.

"A thousand years ago, because our great grandfather had established a method of worshipping gods, the God Worshipping Religion once became the state religion. Its power grew unprecedentedly, and its temples and branches spread across the country's provinces, states, and prefectures..."

"More than seven hundred years ago, the God Worshipping Cult split and declined overnight. Although it still has many believers, many of its branches gradually disappeared..."

"Warriors who practice the art of worshipping gods often have twisted minds, go insane, and kill people wantonly, committing all kinds of evil..."

……

The God Worshipping Religion was once the state religion of Dayun. It declined overnight seven hundred years ago. Although it was not labeled as a cult, it was suppressed by the imperial court and various major sects.

Nowadays, ordinary people are no longer aware of the existence of the method of worshiping gods.

Under the light, Li Yuan flipped through the book, summarizing and analyzing it in his mind:

"But, the temples all over the world are still there... So, the God Worshipping Cult should be split into two parts, one in the court, and the other hidden in the dark?"

"The group that was suppressed in secret is the 'false doctrine, false scriptures, and false gods' mentioned in the book?"

Li Yuan was thinking while flipping through the book.

During these few months, he never learned any method of worshiping gods, but asked Master Wang to borrow many books about worshiping gods for him.

Unfortunately, little was gained.

It is certain that only the worship of the gods still exists, and it has split into two factions. One faction follows the original doctrine and worships itself as a god.
The other faction is to "invite the evil spirit into the body".

Li Yuan continued to read, and soon, he found records about "inviting gods into the body", or rather, rumors.

"The God Worshipping Cult has thirteen magical skills, all named after gods. The more well-known ones are the Divine Foot Sutra, the Divine Palm Sutra, the Divine Eye Sutra, and the Divine Organ Sutra..."

"The foundation of these thirteen magical skills is 'serving the gods'. There are two aspects of serving the gods: one is to serve oneself as a god, and the other is to invite the gods into one's body..."

"The former is dignified and upright, but difficult to learn and master, while the latter is rapid and rapid, but practitioners often become distorted in mind and become insane and possessed..."

……

Closing the book, Li Yuan guessed:

"The part I got from Yu Zhen is the evil martial arts of 'inviting the evil spirit into the body'. Is it orthodox and in the court?"

The more he understood, the more interested he became in the method of worshipping gods.

This martial art is the only recorded magical skill that has the effect of prolonging life.

According to legend, Pang Wenlong, the founder of Dayun, lived for more than 400 years because of this martial art.

This can be confirmed from the temples spread all over the world.

"More than four hundred years!"

Nowadays, it is rare for people to live to be seventy. Li Yuan felt very tempted by the temptation of more than four hundred years.

"It's a pity that this is an evil method. Wouldn't it be better if it was orthodox?"

Taking a deep breath and restraining his impulse, Li Yuan put away the wooden sign and prepared to do a few sets of standing exercises before going to sleep. Suddenly, he frowned.
I heard the sound of wind falling outside the yard.

"Again?!"

Li Yuan clenched the hammer handle.

In the courtyard, Feng Gang stood with his sword in his arms, and he seemed to be in a good mood:
"Very good, it has been tempered twice in just five days. It seems that it will not take twenty days, but at most eight days, for the Autumn Water Sword to be ready!"

"Who are you?"

Li Yuan felt a little cold in his heart.

He was already certain that the man outside was related to Cao Yan. Only Zhang Ben and Cao Yan might know about his secondary tempering.

"Have you heard of the Star-Picking Tower?"

There was a voice outside the door.

"Star Reaching Tower?"

Not a cult?
Li Yuan stretched and clenched his five fingers, ready to attack at any time.

"It seems that you haven't heard of it. But it doesn't matter. When you join Zhaixing Tower, you will know it naturally."

In the courtyard, Feng Gang smiled slightly:
"It will only take a few days for you to unleash the Autumn Water Sword..."

As the words were floating, Li Yuan pushed the door open and a black shadow climbed onto the roof and disappeared without a trace, but this time, he saw the light of a weapon.

【Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Wooden Sign (Level 1)】

"They are similar to what Yu Zhen brought. It turns out that the evil cult is behind this! Yu Zhen, Cao Yan, and even the people behind Magistrate Lu are all them!"

Li Yuan felt a little confused.

All these big and small things involving Qiu Long, Yu Zhen, Cao Yan, and Gaoliu County are essentially the struggle between the Evil God Cult and the Divine Weapon Valley!

"Just a few days?"

Li Yuan thought about the Autumn Water Sword and the heavy hammer that were about to be used, and his brows relaxed:

"It's only a few days!"

(End of this chapter)