Careful Control

The next morning, Lei Mingxing accompanied Chang Liuyun on his way to the Mercenary Association.

She had left her sugar figure at their current hideout for safekeeping. She didn't want it to get damaged because of some incident like yesterday.

Other than that, Chang Liuyun had helped her once again with her hair, bundling it into a very practical and elegant-looking bun. Lei Mingxing also offered to help him do his hair but Chang Liuyun refused.

On their way, Chang Liuyun also ordered two steamed buns for them, one of which Lei Mingxing finally ate.

The bun was incredibly tasty, fluffy and filled with a sweet red paste. Lei Mingxing enjoyed this fresh meal very much, wolfing it down in the span of a minute.

Chang Liuyun was left dumbfounded for a moment.

"Do you want some more?"

He offered, holding his half-eaten bun towards her.

But Lei Mingxing just shook her head.

"It's yours, why would I eat your breakfast as well?"

He didn't say anything after that, just continued to bite down on his savory bun.

They soon reached the Mercenary Association, and with it, Jing Jiang's forge.

The words 'Unyielding Branch Forge' boldly hung above the shop's entrance...

""...""

This name really fit perfectly, considering the owner's personality.

The both of them stepped inside. The first thing they were greeted with was an anxious-looking Jing Jiang, whose face immediately lit up upon seeing Lei Mingxing.

"You're here!"

He jumped off the stool he was sitting on and rushed in front of them.

"Good morning," Chang Liuyun greeted, Lei Mingxing joining him shortly after.

"Good morning," Jing Jiang hastily said before continuing, "Let's quickly get started, I've already prepared everything!"

Lei Mingxing happily agreed and bid Chang Liuyun farewell before following Jing Jiang to the workspace from yesterday.

Baffled by how quickly they had both left, Chang Liuyun helplessly shook his head and also went on his way, even if there was still a faint worry in his heart.

In the meantime, Jing Jiang had led Lei Mingxing to the same furnace she had used the day before.

The coal inside hadn't returned to its former dull black, it still glittered with the same red color as before. This fact only added to Jing Jiang's lofty impression of Lei Mingxing.

The talent he had picked up was truly amazing!

She had actually refined the coals yesterday, directly turning them into artifacts that could endure extreme heat and wouldn't burn with just any ordinary fire. Even he had trouble keeping a fire going with them.

Although that somewhat destroyed their original purpose of keeping heat long term, just the fact that she succeeded in refining in her first attempt was incredible enough, regardless of the outcome.

He had also deliberately kept these coals as they were, so Lei Mingxing could see them and gain some insight from this example.

"So, we will start just like yesterday in just a second, but first let's look at the co-"

Jing Jiang abruptly turned silent in shock.

Lei Mingxing had lit the faulty coals without batting an eye, each and every one of them gleaming with the same amount of fire inside.

Having completed this step, Lei Mingxing innocently blinked at Jing Jiang, waiting for the next instructions.

And Jing Jiang was busy roaring in his mind.

Ohhh! This talent could no longer be categorized as blessed by the Heavens, it was more like rivaling the Heavens!

Almost trembling from excitement, Jing Jiang hurriedly picked up a few of the materials he had prepared in advance. After that, he quickly went to his own furnace and lit it as well, beginning his demonstration. He was scared that Lei Mingxing wouldn't be able to control the fire for a long time.

"I thought we would start with the basics today."

He took out a piece of iron.

"The first step is to control the heat so that it will even reach the center of the metal, like this," using a pair of tongs, Jing Jiang firmly held the iron in place while he controlled it to become the same orange color as the coal. "The important point is to not melt the metal and at the same time, burn as many of the impurities left in it as you can."

A trickle of ash fell into the gleaming coals as Jing Jiang mentioned this step.

Lei Mingxing watched Jing Jiang's every move intently.

"Next, after you have burnt the impurities, you begin shaping the iron. We're making arrowheads today, nothing too difficult, just try to make them pointy."

Jing Jiang had an absolutely focused expression on his face as the metal began to change shape between his tongs, soon turning sharp and exceedingly pointy, with a wedge at the blunt end to connect the wooden part.

"The last step is to cool the metal down again."

Jing Jiang stuck the orange gleaming metal into a water bucket.

Fshhh!

Steam rose from the bucket. After a while, Jing Jiang pulled out the iron arrowhead from the water, its silver gleam evident of its lethality.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Jing Jiang finally addressed Lei Mingxing.

"Now you try!"

Lei Mingxing nodded and took the piece of iron Jing Jiang handed to her.

She furrowed her brows in concentration. She used a pair of tongs to pick up the metal and stepped in front of the furnace.

Controlling the fire had become much easier after the coals had turned this jewel-like appearance. But she still didn't dare relax one bit, in fear that the fire inside would escape her grasp. With the same principle, Lei Mingxing slowly lowered the iron into the furnace, while observing carefully in case something unexpected appeared.

The closer the iron got, the more excited the fire inside the coals became, but Lei Mingxing forced it down. She held the iron in the same position for a few seconds after she reached the right height, finally, Lei Mingxing had gotten used to controlling the fire like this and gradually began leading some of the fire Qi inside the metal.

A minute passed before finally, the entire iron slab had turned a blood-red color. The next step was to burn the impurities. Lei Mingxing tried using her Qi to feel inside the iron. The fire Qi inside was restless as if it only waited for her command to wreak havoc inside the ore.

Lei Mingxing began to frown as she felt around inside.

What exactly were the impurities?

She felt doubtful as she looked around again.

The picture in her mind reflected countless brown and red spots which made up the majority of the metal's volume, about two-thirds. And then there was a silver part scattered in between the other spots.

Should she burn all the brown and red spots?

But then there would only be one-third of the iron's mass left.

...Jing Jiang hadn't burnt nearly as much.

Feeling conflicted, Lei Mingxing finally chose to burn all the brown and red spots, just to see what would happen.

The fire Qi immediately broke loose upon realizing Lei Mingxing's intentions and wildly devoured the spots she pointed out.

Small theater:

Jing Jiang sweating buckets on Lei Mingxing's behalf: Why is she taking so long? I'm almost dying because of anticipation!