The Martial Saint of Humanity, I Have Transformed Low-Level Martial Arts Into Immortal Martial Arts - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Official Blacksmith! Great Accomplishment in Forging!

“However, I shouldn’t be proud or complacent. That monk was also a martial artist who practiced Vajra Fist, yet he ended up being killed by a few local ruffians… I am still far from strong enough.” Su Hao recalled the gruesome sight of the dismembered monk, which dampened his pride. He recognized that he wasn’t at the top level in Crouching Tiger Town, and when he looked at the vast Great Yan Dynasty, he realized he had a long way to go!

“Right now, as I cultivate my strength, my body is increasingly craving energy. It is said that powerful martial artists can even consume a whole cow in a day! To be affluent in martial arts, one must have money; it won’t do to be poor. I need to start earning more!”

At the same time, Su Hao felt waves of hunger coursing through his body. ‘Nurturing Strength’ requires being well-fed; he needed to refine energy from food to replenish himself. He also considered that he must earn more money.

Some medicinal herbs that aid practice and even the purchase of new martial arts manuals all require funds!

The next morning, at dawn, Su Hao arrived at the blacksmith shop to work, beginning to forge the equipment ordered—mostly farm tools like sickles, hammers, and hoes. By now, he had become quite skilled at it.

Su Hao was quick and full of energy, completing the order by midday. After having lunch in the blacksmith shop, he went back to the forging room, starting to hammer a piece of raw iron. He moved swiftly, and with each fall of the hammer, sparks flew about, accompanied by the crisp sound of metal colliding, creating a pleasant rhythm.

Under Su Hao’s hammer strikes, the impurities in that piece of raw iron were gradually eliminated. Forging was a fundamental skill for a blacksmith; through repeated hammering, the impurities were removed, making the iron’s texture tougher, thus transforming it into ‘refined iron’, which could then be used as material for crafting weapons!

What Su Hao was doing now was forging refined iron—continuously hammering, folding, and refining the raw iron. This required both strength and patience.

With plenty of energy, Su Hao effortlessly wielded the heavy forging hammer, alternating with both hands, able to complete thousands of hammer strikes and forging per day. Other blacksmiths in the shop looked on with admiration, astonished by Su Hao’s rapid growth!

When he first arrived in the forging room, he was still small and skinny. Yet now, just about a year later, Su Hao had not only grown taller, but his bare body showcased beautifully defined muscles, a combination of strength and beauty.

With his remarkable bone structure, Su Hao’s intuition and physique were already extraordinary!

Under the sheer number of hammer strikes from Su Hao, the originally mottled iron block was being painstakingly transformed into steel. The impurities were eliminated, and the surface began to shine with a metallic luster, becoming heavy and resilient.

“It could be forged into a weapon now!”

Su Hao’s eyes lit up, and he began to shape the piece of ‘refined iron’ into form, continuously using tools like spatulas and chisels to refine it. The refined iron gradually took the shape of a long sword.

Forging weapons, Su Hao had observed the process numerous times from other veteran blacksmiths in this forging room, and he had memorized the steps, procedures, and precautions. Now, he was finally putting it into practice himself!

Quenching, grinding and polishing, laying clay on the blade, tempering… Su Hao meticulously completed each of these steps.

Besides finishing his regular work, Su Hao devoted the rest of his time to forging blades.

Half a month later, upon completing the final quenching and tempering, Su Hao took a long sword out of the water bucket.

This sword was the result of Su Hao’s efforts over the past half month; the blade sparkled with a cold gleam, its edge was razor-sharp, and when one touched it, they could feel a chilling sensation!

[Forging (Great Accomplishment 1%)]

Potential: 8 points (Remarkable Bone)

At the same time as Su Hao completed this long sword, he sensed a subtle change in his body; his mind seemed to be clearer.

In Su Hao’s attribute panel, the skill under forging had reached great accomplishment, and his potential had once again increased by 1 point!

“Can I take a look?”

At this moment, a voice rang out. A dark-skinned man approached, and it was Zhao Tie, the owner of Zhao’s Blacksmith Shop.

“Uncle Zhao, please take a look.”

Su Hao presented the sword with both hands.

During this time, Zhao Tie had naturally noticed Su Hao’s time spent forging weapons, and now that the forging was complete, he was here to inspect Su Hao’s work.

“The texture is heavy, and the blade is tough… Not bad. Apart from some details that still need improvement, it barely meets the standard of a Ten-Refinement Weapon.”

As Zhao Tie stroked the blade, he occasionally tapped on it lightly with his fingers, a glimmer of surprise and intrigue flashing in his eyes as he gave his assessment.

A Ten-Refinement Weapon is considered to have reached the standard of a qualified weapon.

Under normal circumstances, a blacksmith starting from scratch would take several years, or even more than a decade, to forge a qualified Ten-Refinement Weapon.

But Su Hao had forged a Ten-Refinement Weapon in just one year? Although there were minor flaws and shortcomings that left something to be desired, it was perfectly normal for Su Hao to have imperfections since this was his first time forging a weapon!

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Tie looked up at Su Hao and said, “A Hao, from today onward, you’ll be officially promoted. In addition to your regular compensation, you will receive 1 tael of silver for every qualified Ten-Refinement Weapon you forge.”

This announcement filled Su Hao with a mix of joy and excitement. The effort he had put into forging weapons was naturally to prove his progress in blacksmithing to Zhao Tie. Realizing that Su Hao had exceptional talent in forging, Zhao Tie did not hesitate and directly granted him the status of an official blacksmith.

Earning 1 tael of silver for every Ten-Refinement Weapon forged!

With Su Hao’s physical strength, producing two or even three weapons a month was not a problem, which meant he could earn at least two or three taels of silver each month! That was more than ten times the income of an apprentice blacksmith!

“Thank you, Uncle Zhao! I will keep working hard!”

Su Hao expressed his gratitude.

“Congratulations!”

“Work hard now, and in the future, A Hao, when you marry a wife, you’ll enjoy life!”

In the forging room, other blacksmiths offered their kind congratulations, and some teased him lightheartedly. Su Hao graciously thanked them all, feeling optimistic about this young man’s future!

Only one young man, who was handling the bellows, kept his head down, with a hint of jealousy flashing in his eyes.

Becoming an official blacksmith was undoubtedly a great start for Su Hao, especially since he had achieved this promotion from apprentice to official blacksmith in less than a year. This was a testament to the changes brought about by his increased potential, and he was destined to become even more extraordinary!

“With my potential value reaching 8 points, both my efficiency in practicing Vajra Fist and Baduanjin have improved again.”

Days later, after practicing Baduanjin and Vajra Fist in the courtyard and breaking a sweat, Su Hao was quite satisfied with his progress.

“Time for a break. The weather seems like it’s going to rain today.”

In the evening, Su Hao glanced at the overcast sky, then washed up and returned to his room to sleep.

As night fell, the thick clouds shrouded the sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder, and soon a torrential downpour arrived.

The entire world was enveloped in a misty rain.

At this moment, outside the dilapidated courtyard, three men appeared through the curtain of rain, allowing it to drench their bodies.

In the center stood a muscular man with a scar across his face.

“Dao Ge, that kid named Su Hao not only has a handsome face, but he also possesses the skill to forge Ten-Refinement Weapons. A talent like that will definitely draw a high price from someone! Tonight is the perfect time to act!”

Beside the scar-faced man, a young man wore a grin filled with scheming.

“Let’s go, let’s wrap this up quickly.”

The scar-faced man replied casually. With the heavy rain falling tonight, even if they created some noise, it wouldn’t attract any attention. Moreover, since Su Hao was an orphan, no one would care if he disappeared!