Chapter 159

Ding! Ding! Ding…

In front of the number one forge at Heart Forging Workshop, Lu Qing had been hammering at that iron bar for several hours.

But he didn’t seem tired at all. Not only were his hands steady, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

It was as if he wasn’t standing beside a scorching forge but in a cool valley.

Outside the number one forge, the others had already gathered.

Like Master Lin, they all stood dumbfounded, watching this scene.

The entire backyard was silent, with only the rhythmic sound of Lu Qing’s hammering.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Lu Qing stopped hammering.

By now, the iron bar in his hand had transformed into the shape of a long sword embryo.

Hiss!

Lu Qing plunged the sword embryo into the cool water, causing steam to rise.

After the sword embryo cooled, he took it out and examined it closely.

A faint red glow appeared on the sword embryo.

[Hundred-Fold Sword Embryo: A sword embryo formed through repeated folding and hammering, reaching the hundred-fold level.]

[Only through countless hammerings can a weapon be forged. This sword embryo has the foundation to become a treasured sword.]

It actually reached the hundred-fold level?

Lu Qing was somewhat surprised.

Just now, he was immersed in practicing the hammer technique in his mind and hadn’t kept count of how many times he folded and hammered the iron bar.

He didn’t expect to forge it into a hundred-fold refined steel at once.

Seeing Lu Qing examining the sword embryo, the anxious Master Lin hurriedly approached.

“Little Lord Lu, may this old man take a look at this sword embryo?”

“Of course, it’s made from your materials after all.”

Lu Qing handed over the sword embryo.

Master Lin carefully examined it.

Seeing the special hammering patterns, he was shocked and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Hundred-Fold Sword Embryo!”

“What, Master, are you serious? Did this sword embryo really reach the hundred-fold level?”

The other blacksmiths were incredulous.

They hadn’t watched Lu Qing hammer from start to finish, so they didn’t know how many times he had folded and hammered the sword embryo.

“What, do you doubt my judgment?”

Master Lin was displeased and immediately glared.

“No, no, we wouldn’t dare question your judgment!”

The apprentices trembled and quickly smiled in agreement.

Yet, their hearts remained shocked.

Their gazes toward Lu Qing changed completely.

They recalled Lu Qing’s earlier statement about knowing a bit about forging.

Forging a hundred-fold sword embryo in a single morning was called knowing a bit?

Even their master would struggle to achieve that!

Who exactly was this Little Lord Lu?!

Master Lin was equally shocked.

He could forge hundred-fold weapons.

As a nearly grandmaster-level blacksmith, he could even forge five hundred-fold, seven hundred-fold weapons.

However, such weapons required extensive preparation, effort, and time to forge.

Strict requirements could mean taking half a year to forge a single one.

Even a hundred-fold weapon would take him several days to forge.

Yet, Lu Qing had forged a hundred-fold sword embryo right under his nose in just a few hours.

This efficiency far surpassed his own.

How could Master Lin not be astonished?

However, what astonished Master Lin most wasn’t the hundred-fold sword embryo but Lu Qing’s state while hammering.

His extreme focus, undistracted state, without a single mistake from start to finish.

His movements, filled with beauty and power like a heavenly being.

If not for Lu Qing’s youth, he might have suspected some grandmaster was pretending to joke with him.

By now, Master Lin realized Lu Qing’s earlier humility was self-deprecating.

It was laughable that he had thought Lu Qing was a clueless noble.

Even Wei Dazongguan was surprised.

He knew Lu Qing’s extraordinary talent couldn’t be measured by common sense.

But seeing him forge a hundred-fold sword embryo still left him stunned.

He knew Lu Qing’s background well and knew he had no opportunity to learn forging skills.

Yet now, he had personally forged a hundred-fold sword embryo. How was this possible?

“Little Lord Lu, are you from a family of blacksmiths?”

Master Lin asked respectfully.

Previously, Master Lin’s respect for Lu Qing was due to his status as a guest of the Wei family.

Now, it was from the heart.

A young man already surpassing him in forging skills.

Such a person couldn’t have a simple background.

“No, I just happened to acquire some forging knowledge and tinkered with it. I have no formal training.”

“No formal training?”

Master Lin gasped, even more shocked.

No formal training, yet he had honed his forging skills to this extent.

He couldn’t imagine Lu Qing’s innate talent in forging.

Facing their astonishment, Lu Qing remained unfazed.

With his current cultivation and abilities, learning a hammer technique didn’t take much time.

In fact, the hammer technique he practiced was merely basic in the Li Huo Sect’s heritage.

It was used by outer disciples to practice forging mundane weapons.

The truly profound forging methods could, in a single thought, activate the true fire, melt materials, inscribe spells, draw on the energy of heaven and earth, and forge spiritual artifacts. Those were the real miracles.

Compared to that, hammering piece by piece was inefficient.

Of course, the foundation was crucial. Hammering was the start of forging; a solid foundation and understanding were necessary to grasp advanced forging techniques.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing picked up the hammer again, took another iron bar, and prepared to continue forging.

This time, he chose the largest hammer.

“Little Lord Lu, do you still want to forge? Isn’t this sword embryo up to your standard?”

Master Lin quickly asked.

“That was just a practice piece, not up to my weapon standard.” Lu Qing shook his head. “Don’t worry, Master Lin, I’ll pay for the materials I use.”

A mere hundred-fold sword embryo barely reached the threshold of a treasured sword, far from Lu Qing’s goal.

The battle blade Mago gave him was five hundred-fold.

“Little Lord Lu, I didn’t mean that. Feel free to use the iron, there’s plenty in the warehouse. But you’ve been forging for a while, don’t you need a rest?”

Master Lin quickly explained, afraid Lu Qing would misunderstand his stinginess.

“No worries, I have good stamina, this bit of effort is nothing. Besides, this time it won’t take as long.”

Lu Qing smiled.

He lifted the hammer; the heavy hammer, weighing dozens of pounds, felt weightless in his hand.

Lu Qing focused and, after a moment, swung the hammer down.

Bang!

A loud noise echoed.

Master Lin’s eyes widened instantly.

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