Chapter 158: Practice Work, Hundred-refined Sword Core
Ding! Ding! Ding...
In front of furnace number one at Zhu Xin Workshop, Lu Qing had been hammering the iron bar for several hours.
Yet, he seemed not tired at all, his hand was always so steady, and he hadn't even sweated a single drop.
It was as if he wasn't standing by the hot forge but rather in a cool mountain valley.
Outside furnace number one, other people had already gathered.
Like Master Lin, they all stared, dumbfounded, at the scene.
The entire backyard fell silent, leaving only the rhythmic sound of Lu Qing's hammering.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Lu Qing finally stopped forging.
By then, the iron bar in his hand had already transformed, taking the shape of a sword embryo.
Hiss!
Lu Qing plunged the sword embryo into the cold water, and a burst of steam rose.
After the sword embryo cooled down, he clamped it out and observed attentively.
A faint red light emerged from the sword embryo.
[Hundred-refined Sword Core: A sword embryo formed through repeated folding and forging, has reached the Hundred-Refinement Level.]
[Only through a thousand hammer strikes and a hundred foldings can a device be made; this sword embryo has the foundation to become a treasure sword.]
It reached the Hundred-Refinement Level?
Lu Qing was somewhat surprised.
Just now, he had been immersed in mastering the hammering technique in his mind and hadn't counted how many times he had folded and forged the iron bar.
It was unexpected that he had forged it into Hundred-Refinement steel in one go.
Seeing Lu Qing examining the sword embryo, Master Lin, who had been anxiously waiting outside, couldn't wait any longer and rushed in.
"Young Master Lu, may this old man also have a look at this sword embryo?"
"Of course, this was made using the materials from your workshop."
Lu Qing handed over the sword embryo.
Master Lin received the sword embryo with both hands and scrutinized it carefully.
When he saw the special forging pattern on it, his heart shook, and he couldn't help but blurt out, "Hundred-refined Sword Core!"
"What, Master, is it true? This sword embryo has really reached the Hundred-Refinement Level?"
The other blacksmiths couldn't believe what they heard.
They had not watched Lu Qing forge from the beginning to the end, so they were not aware of how many times Lu Qing had folded and forged the sword embryo.
"What, now you even doubt my judgment?"
Master Lin, upon hearing this, immediately frowned and retorted.
"Not at all, not at all, we would never dare to question your judgement, sir!"
The disciples shivered and hastily responded with a laugh.
Still, their hearts were deeply shocked.
Their view of Lu Qing had completely changed.
They recalled Lu Qing's previous comment about understanding a little about forging.
Merely an understanding, yet in just one morning he had forged a sword embryo of the Hundred-Refinement Level?
Even their master rarely managed to do that!
Who exactly was this Young Master Lu?!
Master Lin's heart was equally stunned.
He was not incapable of crafting Hundred-Refinement Level weapons.
Being a casting master with skills approaching those of a Great Master, he had once managed to forge weapons of Five Hundred and even Seven Hundred Refinements.
However, such weapons required him to prepare extensively, spending a great deal of effort and time.
If the standards were strict, it might take a year and a half to forge just one.
Even for a Hundred Refinement weapon, he would need several days to complete. Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire
Yet, under his very eyes, Lu Qing had forged a Hundred-Refinement Level sword embryo in just a few hours.
This efficiency far surpassed his own.
How could Master Lin not be astonished?
Yet, what astonished Master Lin the most was not the Hundred-refined Sword Core itself, but the state Lu Qing had exhibited during forging.
He was utterly focused, without a trace of distraction, error-free from start to finish.
Every move he made was like a union of heaven and man, full of beauty and power in his hammer skill.
If Lu Qing weren't so young, he might have suspected this was a Great Master disguised, playing a joke on him.
By now, Master Lin knew that Lu Qing had been modest in his earlier words.
He laughed, having truly thought the young man knew nothing of forging.
Housekeeper Wei, who had been silent all this while, was also very surprised.
He knew that a genius like Lu Qing couldn't be judged by common standards.
But still, seeing him forge a Hundred-Refinement Level sword embryo left him somewhat stunned.
He was well aware of Lu Qing's background and knew that following the elder doctor, he shouldn't have had the chance to learn forging skills.
Yet now, he had personally hammered out a Hundred-refined Sword Core. How could this be possible?
"Young Master Lu, are you by any chance from a forging family?"
Master Lin asked respectfully.
If his earlier respect was to compliment Lu Qing as a distinguished guest of Wei Mansion,
Now the respect came genuinely from within.
A young man whose forging skills subtly surpassed his own.
Such a person could not possibly come from a simple background.
"Not at all, I just happened upon some forging legacy and was tinkering with it by myself, with no formal mentorship."
"No mentorship?"
Master Lin drew in a breath of cold air, even more astonished.
Without mentorship, yet able to refine forging skills to such an extent.
He couldn't even imagine just how high Lu Qing's talent in forging was.
Facing the astonishment of those around him, Lu Qing felt no pride.
With his current realm of cultivation, coupled with the help of Superpower, learning a hammer skill naturally wouldn't take much time.
In fact, the hammer skill he was practicing was merely a foundational technique within the traditions of the Li Huo Sect.
It was initially given to some Outer Disciples to practice forging Mortal Weapons.
The truly profound techniques of Artifact Refining, which involve stirring Innate True Fire in the blink of an eye, melting materials, embedding spells, drawing upon nature's spiritual energy to forge Magic Artifacts and Spiritual Artifacts, were indeed techniques that transformed the decayed into the magical.
Compared to that, this method of repetitive hammering hardly counted as efficient.
Of course, skyscrapers rise from the ground, and although basic, Lu Qing did not underestimate this technique of hammer forging.
It was the beginning of the Craft of Forging. Only with a solid foundation and deep understanding of forging could he better understand and master the profound techniques of Artifact Refining.
Thinking this, Lu Qing picked up the hammer again, grabbed an iron bar, and prepared to continue forging.
But this time, he chose the largest hammer.
"Young Master Lu, are you continuing to forge? Isn't this sword embryo to your liking?"
Seeing this, Master Lin hurriedly asked.
"That was just practice work, not meeting the requirements I desire for a weapon," Lu Qing shook his head. "Don't worry, Master Lin, I'll fully pay for the materials used here."
A mere Hundred-Refinement Level sword embryo, barely meeting the threshold of a treasure sword, how could it possibly meet Lu Qing's goals?
The War Saber that Ma Gu had given him had five hundred refinements.
"Young Master Lu speaks too humbly. I certainly didn't mean that. It's just some iron, use it freely; if it's not enough, there's plenty more in the storeroom. But you've been forging for so long, don't you need to rest?"
Master Lin hurriedly explained, fearing that Lu Qing would think him stingy.
"It's alright, I'm quite strong, and this bit of exertion is nothing to worry about. Besides, this round of forging won't take as long."
Lu Qing smiled.
Lifting the hammer, a massive one weighing tens of pounds, it seemed weightless in his hands.
Lu Qing first concentrated and gathered his energies, then suddenly, with a mighty swing, he smashed the hammer down.
Bang!
A loud sound erupted.
Master Lin's eyes instantly widened in shock.