Yoriichi's eyes widened. This was exactly what he needed. A trade. A way to create.
"This type of talent shouldn't go to waste," Tie Shan grunted, looking away as if embarrassed by his own kindness. "So rest now. Nothing good comes from forging with an ill body. The metal remembers the weakness of the smith."
Yoriichi felt a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the furnace. He stepped back and bowed deeply—a perfect, respectful bow that ignored the pain in his waist.
"I am grateful," Yoriichi said earnestly. "Thank you, Senior. I would be honored to learn."
He wanted to say more, to promise he would work hard, but his body was reaching its limit. The adrenaline of the strike was fading, leaving only a hollow ache.
"Go, go now!" Tie Shan waved his massive hand dismissively, acting grumpy to hide his concern. "Or I will get angry! Meet me at my quarters in the Southern Division of the clan after you recover. Don't die before then!"
"Take care, Senior," Yoriichi whispered.
He turned and began the long walk to the exit. He dragged his left leg slightly, his energy spent. Every step was a battle, but his heart was lighter than it had been since he woke up in this world.
"I have found a path," Yoriichi thought, pushing open the heavy doors and stepping into the cool, fresh air. "I will rest. And then... I will forge."
He disappeared into the afternoon light, a broken boy with a spirit of steel.
Tie Shan stood motionless by the anvil for a long time, staring at the empty archway where the young master had vanished. The heat of the furnace beat against his back, but he felt a strange chill of excitement.
The other smiths were glancing at him nervously, wondering why their terrifying boss was so quiet.
"He calls it instinct," Tie Shan muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "If that is instinct, then I have been hammering with my eyes closed for forty years."
He turned back to the Ice Silver bar. It sat on the anvil, glowing with that steady, beautiful blue light. It was perfect. The impurity that had plagued him for three days—the one that threatened to ruin the entire commission and his reputation—was gone.
"Well then," Tie Shan cracked his knuckles, a feral grin spreading across his face. "The boy did the hard part. It would be shameful if the Master Smith couldn't finish the job."
He grabbed his tongs and thrust the metal back into the fire.
Whoosh.
He worked with renewed vigor. The hammer rose and fell, sparks showering around him like a celebration. Clang! Clang! He folded the metal, layering it to increase its toughness. He shaped the edge, drawing it out into a long, wicked curve.
Usually, forging Ice Silver was a nightmare of temperature control. It fought the fire. It cracked. But because the core was stabilized by Yoriichi's resonance, the metal complied beautifully. It felt... grateful to be shaped.
An hour later.
Tie Shan plunged the glowing blade into a barrel of special Frost Oil for quenching.
HISSSSSSS.
A massive plume of white, freezing mist erupted from the barrel, instantly cooling the forge by ten degrees. Frost crept up the sides of the barrel.
Tie Shan pulled the blade out.
It was magnificent.
The blade was a deep, icy blue, with a ripple pattern along the edge that looked like frozen waves crashing against a shore. It radiated a faint, chilling coldness that pricked the skin from five feet away.
Tie Shan held it up. He channeled his Dou Qi—a rough, Earth-attribute energy—into the hilt.
Hummmm.
The sword didn't reject him. Instead, a layer of frost instantly coated the blade, extending the reach by three inches. The air around the blade crystallized.
"Incredible," Tie Shan breathed. "Conductivity is over 90%. This isn't just a Master weapon. This is... scratching the surface of a Grandmaster Weapon."
A weapon usable by a Da Dou Shi (Grandmaster). In Wu Tan City, this was a national treasure. Even the Clan Leader, Xiao Zhan, only wielded a peak-tier Master weapon.
"It's a masterpiece," he whispered. "The Miteer Auction House will go crazy for this. I can easily get fifty thousand gold coins. Maybe more. This... this is the finest work of my life."
He wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes gleaming. He turned to the hall.
"Everyone! Stop!" Tie Shan bellowed.
The clangor ceased. Thirty apprentices and journeyman smiths looked at him, sweat dripping from their noses.
"Gather round!"
They hurried over, forming a circle around the master anvil. They gasped when they saw the blue sword, sensing the sharp Qi radiating from it.
"Master, you did it!" a journeyman exclaimed. "The Ice Silver Sword! It's beautiful!"
"I did it?" Tie Shan scoffed. He held the sword up high, the blue light reflecting in his eyes. "Look closely at the grain. Do you see how the core is fused? Do you see the lack of fractures?"
The smiths leaned in. They nodded, awestruck.
"I spent more than a day failing to do this," Tie Shan admitted loudly, shocking his students. "Do you know who fixed it?"
Silence.
"It was Xiao Ning," Tie Shan declared. "The boy you were snickering at. The boy you didn't even greet."
Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
"Impossible," one whispered. "He's trash."
"Trash?" Tie Shan glared at the speaker, his aura flaring. "He walked in here, injured, saw the flaw that I missed, and fixed it with three strikes. He listened to the metal while you lot were listening to gossip. He possesses a Metal Affinity that you can only dream of."
He pointed the icy tip of the sword at them.
"You are frogs in a well!" Tie Shan scolded. "You judge a man by his rumors, not his work. Today, a 'cripple' taught this Master a lesson in humility. If any of you disrespect him when he returns, you will answer to me!"
The smiths lowered their heads, shame burning their faces. They looked at the sword—the physical proof of the young master's talent—and realized how blind they had been. They had mocked a dragon for being asleep.
Tie Shan sheathed the blade in a leather scabbard.
"Now, clean up!" Tie Shan ordered. "I have a meeting with Ya Fei at the Auction House. This blade... is going to make waves."
As the smiths scrambled to obey, Tie Shan looked at the door one last time.
"Xiao Ning," he thought. "Recover quickly. The fire is waiting for you."
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Guys, Since there is no official mention of any grades of weapons. What should i insert:
1. Tier system (Tier 1, 2, 3, ...)
2. Grade system (Disciple Grade weapon, Master Grade weapon, ....)
3. Hybrid or u suggest?
Pls comment from these which u prefer and easier to understand. ok?
Don't forget to add my novel also below😁😁