Chapter 3: Fourth Tier of Forging!
"Ah—it's really that sharp?!"
Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, her lips slightly parted.
At that moment, Jiang Lin revealed the hilt of the Water-Patterned Golden Dagger, and to her surprise, embedded within it was a gold-attribute magic core the size of a pigeon egg—Grade One!
In other words, Jiang Lin only needed to use a small amount of Dou Qi to activate the energy within the Grade One gold-attribute magic core, which would then form a sharp energy blade along the edge of the dagger. The method for condensing that Dou Qi precisely into a blade was the result of Jiang Lin's earlier research.
"Heh heh!" Jiang Lin waved the Water-Patterned Golden Dagger in front of Xiao Yi Xian. Just as she was about to take it, he lifted it out of reach again, earning a sharp glare from her.
"Childish brat!" she huffed angrily, turned around, and left without looking back.
"Like I even care!"
"Hehe…" Watching Xiao Yi Xian walk away, Jiang Lin chuckled gleefully, then quickly changed into fresh clothes and chased after her—after all, food was a top priority.
After hours of forging, Jiang Lin was so hungry his stomach was practically glued to his spine, running on willpower alone.
Upstairs in the loft of Wan Yao Pharmacy, Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian sat at the dining table, casually chatting as they waited for Jiang Lin to arrive.
"Oh? Stewed chicken today? Mr. Yao, is there something worth celebrating?" The moment Jiang Lin, now wearing clean clothes, stepped upstairs, the aroma hit him. His eyes lit up upon seeing a pot of steaming chicken and mushroom stew on the table.
"It's just that Mr. Yao saw how hard you were working all morning and worried you'd collapse. So he prepared something extra for you," Xiao Yi Xian muttered as she rolled her eyes at Jiang Lin. Ever since this guy started following Mr. Yao, she had noticed that she seemed to have been… just a little… dethroned.
So unfair! I was here first!
"Hurry and eat. I saw how focused you were working in the back courtyard, so I didn't disturb you. Judging by your good spirits, did you gain any new insights?" Mr. Yao was a refined, scholarly man, exuding a gentle medicinal fragrance. He always gave the impression of being approachable.
Upon hearing that, Jiang Lin pulled a dagger—secured with a makeshift leather sheath—from his chest and slid it onto the table in front of Mr. Yao. While devouring several mouthfuls of rice, he mumbled, "Before, without Dou Qi, I couldn't make weapons that utilized it. But look, Mr. Yao, this dagger should count as a ranked weapon now, not one of those toy-like blades made by ordinary smiths."
In this world, many things were classified by the tiers of Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, along with the rankless "common" level. Of course, combat techniques had only four ranks, but equipment had five—only weapons that could channel Dou Qi were considered worthy of being ranked among the four tiers.
Sharp swords forged by ordinary smiths, which couldn't channel Dou Qi, were only considered fine-quality. Though in the hands of true experts, even flower petals and leaves could become deadly weapons, a weapon that synchronized well with Dou Qi could be called a Dou Qi weapon—a ranked weapon.
Just like the profession of alchemy has "apothecaries" as a precursor, forging has "blacksmiths" before "forgers." However, in the Dou Qi Continent, people rarely valued forging because the highest known forgers were only of the Black Tier. Earth Tier forgers basically didn't exist. Most Earth Tier or higher weapons were merely top-tier material prototypes or treasures found in ancient ruins. (Like the Heavy Xuan Ruler.)
Now that Jiang Lin had forged a Low-Tier Yellow Rank weapon, he had officially stepped into the realm of a real forger—and entirely self-taught.
Mr. Yao took the Water-Patterned Golden Dagger and examined it carefully. Surprise flickered in his eyes now and then.
"Forging is a declining craft. I've never even heard of a forger in Qingshan Town. To think… to think this little guy actually taught himself." Mr. Yao gently ran his fingers over the naturally elegant patterns of the dagger. The Hundred-Refinements forging method wasn't unknown in this world—it just had never been executed this exquisitely.
"Mr. Yao, I treated seventeen patients today!" Xiao Yi Xian suddenly interjected.
"Hahahaha!" Mr. Yao burst out laughing. Looking at the two kids devouring their food, his expression softened. "Good, good. Xian'er, you did great today too." Watching the two little ones he had raised, Mr. Yao sometimes felt that life like this wasn't bad at all.
Xiao Yi Xian was someone he had brought from the Jia Ma Empire, and Jiang Lin was a child he'd taken in from the Magic Beast Mountains. Unknowingly, this once solitary man now had two small companions by his side. (In the original novel, Mr. Yao only turns bad later—he's a genuinely good man in the beginning.)
"Back to forging. It's not surprising you two don't know the truth—it's normal since you've never left this town," Mr. Yao said, putting down the dagger and sipping some tea. Then he began sharing his knowledge with the two busy eaters. "Actually, forgers in this world don't rank lower than alchemists. Surprising, right? I was surprised too, until I saw a Black Tier weapon at an auction fetch a higher price than a Black Tier combat technique. That's when I understood—even if people idolize alchemists, when they encounter a high-quality Dou Qi weapon, their bodies will always tell the truth."
Mr. Yao had traveled extensively in his youth, giving him considerable experience.
"Generally speaking, a powerful cultivator needs a strong technique, a powerful combat skill, pills, and a weapon. Only when these four elements align can one be called truly powerful."
"Take the Low-Tier Yellow Rank dagger Lin'er forged as an example: if a child at the Dou Qi stage wielded it, even full-fledged Fighters or Battle Masters would feel some caution. If they weren't careful, that weapon could pierce their Dou Qi protection and wound their flesh."
The forging tiers follow the same Heaven-Earth-Black-Yellow pattern and are matched with nine cultivation realms. Yellow Tier corresponds to Fighter, Battle Master, and Great Battle Master. Because Fighters and Great Battle Masters share a similar principle in Dou Qi shroud techniques, a top-tier Yellow Rank weapon can still cut through them with ease.
Heaven Tier weapons correspond to Dou Zun and Dou Sheng levels. The Heavy Xuan Ruler is only an Earth Tier prototype—so when faced with a Dou Zun, it could still be imprinted with a palm mark.
"Though this dagger is only Low-Tier Yellow, it can at most pose a threat to those below the Battle Master level. But even so, if sold, it could fetch around five thousand gold coins. Lin'er, what do you think?" Mr. Yao roughly estimated the dagger's value and left the final decision up to Jiang Lin.
(END CHAPTER)
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