Chapter 15

Clang! Clang-clang!

Clang-clang!

With 9 points in Strength and 9 points in Stamina, Wangchuan was clearly endowed with far greater power and control. Alternating between both hands, his hammering rhythm was fast and steady.

A double-strike flow allowed him to drastically shorten the time required for each Hundredfold Steel forging cycle.

While others had already logged off to rest, Wangchuan stood alone in the back courtyard of the blacksmith shop, beside the forging table and the blazing furnace, hammering red-hot iron blocks again and again.

While Heipi was somewhere enjoying himself with his girlfriend, firelight reflected off Wangchuan’s body as he worked with focus and intensity.

Blacksmith Sun came over several times to observe. Seeing Wangchuan’s increasingly skillful techniques and fluid movements, he revealed a look of deep satisfaction.

Hiss!

The scorching iron block was plunged into a water barrel to cool rapidly, then tossed back into the high-temperature furnace.

Wangchuan clamped another glowing iron block, fixed it in place, and began hammering again.

Clang!

Clang-clang!

Clang-clang!!

The heavy, muffled strikes were strangely pleasant, carrying a strong rhythm.

Sparks flew with every blow, brimming with impact.

Inside the furnace, four iron blocks were glowing red-hot. Including the one currently being forged, that meant Wangchuan was working on five Hundredfold Steel ingots at the same time.

He kept going until midnight.

Wangchuan successfully forged five Hundredfold Steel ingots.

Blacksmith Sun walked over, inspected them with satisfaction, and handed him ten large copper coins.

“Go rest.”

After fifty thousand consecutive hammer strikes, Wangchuan was indeed exhausted.

“Thank you, Master.”

He found an empty room, lay down, and logged out of the game.

“Forging five Hundredfold Steel ingots per day is already my limit. I can’t push it any further—any more workload would start harming my body.”

“One hundred copper coins per day equals three hundred in bonus income. That’s already very good.”

“I’ll keep it at this pace for now.”

Wangchuan knew that he was already operating at the absolute limits of his ability.

As long as he maintained this efficiency, earning over twenty thousand a month meant he had finally escaped the trap of living paycheck to paycheck.

Day after day passed.

Soon—

Twenty days went by.

Wangchuan finally achieved a small breakthrough.

His Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique advanced from Entry Level to Minor Mastery.

And this breakthrough came with a system notification:

“Ding!”

“Life Skill ‘Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique’ has advanced from Entry Level to Minor Mastery. Reward: +1 Strength.”

Wangchuan froze.

There was a reward like this?

He had only wanted to solidify his foundation and improve the quality of the steel he forged, hoping to raise his own value. He had not expected such a pleasant surprise.

He quickly calmed down and thought it through.

“Continuous heavy labor is just like strength training. It stimulates the nerves and muscle groups, improving physical attributes.”

“Reaching Minor Mastery in a life skill probably triggered the system reward after hundreds of thousands of hammering motions.”

Seen this way, it made sense.

However, he also noticed that a new realm had appeared after the skill description:

Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique – Minor Mastery

Next Realm: Practice Makes Perfect (0/300)

Which meant forging three hundred Hundredfold Steel ingots.

Wangchuan calculated quickly.

At five ingots per day, it would take about two months to push the skill into the next realm and obtain another reward.

…

Ding-dong.

At midnight, his phone chimed.

A salary notification.

Wangchuan’s heart instantly raced.

He opened the message.

“Warring States Game Studio has transferred [amount] yuan to your account (Salary + Bonus). Current balance: [amount] yuan.”

The moment he saw his first month’s salary, Wangchuan clenched his fist hard.

Yes!

A huge sum of money had arrived.

His pockets were finally no longer empty.

A month of hard work had paid off.

He was so excited that he wanted to tell his parents immediately—he even wanted to share the news with his longtime fans.

But then he remembered: he could not explain where the money came from, and he was forbidden from revealing anything related to Spirit Realm.

For the sake of protecting this hard-earned job, he forced himself to endure.

Clutching his phone, tossing and turning, he finally fell asleep.

The next morning, even the air in the game felt refreshingly crisp.

Walking along the ridge outside Blackstone Village, his steps felt light.

“Wangchuan.”

“Judging by the time, you’ve been with the company for a month now. Did you get paid?” Heipi noticed the smile on Wangchuan’s face and sidled over, lowering his voice.

Wangchuan nodded.

“Salary came in right after midnight.”

“How much?”

“Not telling you,” Wangchuan replied decisively. “You all kept your salaries secret too.”

Lin Dahai burst out laughing.

“See? I knew it. Don’t let his age fool you—Wangchuan’s sharp.”

Old Li added, “Wangchuan, Heipi’s probably broke. Don’t lend him money. He borrowed two thousand from me for his girlfriend and still hasn’t paid it back.”

“He borrowed from you too?” Wei Zhe asked in shock.

Everyone immediately looked at Heipi.

Wangchuan understood at once.

Everyone here had probably lent Heipi money before.

And—

None of it had been repaid.

Heipi froze, quickly abandoning the idea of borrowing money, scoffing awkwardly.

“I’m just a little tight on cash lately. Once things loosen up, I’ll settle everything at once.”

No one continued teasing him, and they carried on their way.

Suddenly, Wangchuan gazed at the golden fields of ripened rice and sighed.

“The rice is ripe.”

“Harvest season should be coming soon.”

“Probably in the next few days,” Lin Dahai agreed.

At noon, the ore convoy arrived.

While everyone was resting, the merchant did not leave immediately. Instead, he announced loudly:

“Everyone, for the next seven days, we won’t be coming.”

“What?”

“Why?”

Over forty miners stood up in shock. The flatbreads in their hands instantly lost their appeal.

If the convoy did not come to collect ore, how were they supposed to work? How were they supposed to earn money?

The merchant had clearly anticipated this reaction.

“The authorities have announced the autumn harvest period. To prevent wild boars from destroying the crops, all available labor in Hui Water County must help with harvesting. If nothing unexpected happens, the Blackstone Village head will assign you harvest tasks as well.”

“Seven days later, we’ll return and resume ore collection as usual.”

Only then did everyone relax, letting out sighs of relief.

The convoy departed.

That afternoon, when they returned to the village, the village head indeed announced that starting the next morning, everyone would leave the village to harvest rice. One basket could be exchanged for three copper plates.

However, everyone would need to buy a sickle.

Sickles were cheap—five copper plates each.

Many people rushed to the blacksmith shop to buy them.

Blacksmith Sun said to Wangchuan, “You don’t need to join the rice harvest tomorrow.”

“Why, Master?”

“The sickles wear down quickly during harvesting. We need to speed up production,” Blacksmith Sun said grimly.

“Also, it’s late autumn. According to past experience, many wild boars will come down from the mountains to forage. Weapon damage will increase.”

“From today onward, the blacksmith shop will begin large-scale production of tools and weapons—especially iron arrowheads. Tonight, I’ll teach you how to forge arrowheads.”