Chapter 41: 3rd Rank Blacksmith

Tang Wulin didn't reveal much about Xia Yi to Mu Chen.

He didn't know much about Xia Yi to begin with, and since Wu Chang Kong had repeatedly instructed them not to disclose anything regarding the Spirit Douluo Yali, he didn't know how to explain.

After leaving the clinic, Xia Yi returned to his dormitory.

The next day, as soon as school was over, an orange-red car stopped in front of him.

"Get in, my father asked me to take you to get your blacksmith badge," Mu Xi said, rolling down the car window and sticking her head out.

Looking at Mu Xi and the orange-red car, Xia Yi couldn't help but think to himself, "As expected of the daughter of an eight-star master craftsman, changing cars is like changing clothes."

"Wasn't it supposed to be in two days?" Xia Yi asked curiously.

"Your situation is special. My father already had someone make your blacksmith badge early. Get in the car," Mu Xi said in a low voice.

"Are you sure you can drive?" Xia Yi asked with a smile. He was hesitant to get into Mu Xi's car, given his doubts about her driving skills.

"What do you mean by that? If you're so capable, you drive!" Mu Xi gritted her teeth. If it weren't for Xia Yi, she wouldn't have been in that car accident.

"Sit in the passenger seat," Xia Yi said indifferently.

"Wait, you can actually drive?" Mu Xi's eyes lit up and she quickly gave up the driver's seat.

Mu Chen had asked her to probe Xia Yi's background, and now was a good time to see what Xia Yi was capable of.

"Don't worry, I won't drive you to some roadside shop," Xia Yi laughed.

"You!" Mu Xi stomped her feet angrily. Xia Yi really knew how to touch her nerves.

After arriving at the Blacksmith Association, Xia Yi didn't meet Mu Chen. Instead, Mu Xi simply took him from a staff member to collect his second-rank blacksmith badge.

"Follow me," Mu Xi said, leading him into a blacksmith workshop.

"From today on, I'll teach you blacksmithing for two hours every day until your skills match mine," Mu Xi said seriously.

"How skilled are you?" Xia Yi asked curiously.

"Third-rank," Mu Xi said proudly.

"Barely acceptable," Xia Yi nodded.

"What do you mean 'barely acceptable'? Am I a third-rank blacksmith who can't teach you, a beginner who hasn't even learned blacksmithing yet?" Mu Xi said angrily. Talking to Xia Yi was making her feel like she might die from frustration.

Even though Xia Yi had saved her life, she didn't think it was fair for him to insult her repeatedly.

Xia Yi shrugged. What he needed most right now was the most basic knowledge of blacksmithing.

It didn't matter who taught him.

Mu Chen had realized this, which was why he had asked Mu Xi to teach Xia Yi.

Although Mu Xi's talent wasn't as great as Tang Wulin's or Xia Yi's, she had been exposed to blacksmithing from a young age and had far more experience than Tang Wulin in many areas.

"This is the Complete Guide to Rare Metals, which contains ninety percent of the rare metals on the continent, including their properties, characteristics, applicable mechs, and soul armor," Mu Xi said, though still irritated by Xia Yi's remarks. She pulled out a thick book over thirty centimeters in width and handed it to him. "Take this book and read it when you have time. Today, we're focusing on blacksmithing techniques, so don't just hammer away like you did during the exam."

Mu Xi then took out a piece of blue metal that Xia Yi didn't recognize and said, "This is Gale Demon Metal. Try forging it based on your instincts."

"Alright," Xia Yi nodded. Previously, when forging the Crimson Flame Copper, he had just followed Wu Qian's example.

He wanted to see how different this new metal was from Crimson Flame Copper.

Gale Demon Metal was different from Crimson Flame Copper, and it took a full fifteen minutes of heating before Mu Xi reminded him that it was ready.

Xia Yi chose to use two 50-kilogram forging hammers.

Ding! As he struck the Gale Demon Metal, he realized that everything he had learned the day before was in vain.

The resonance of Gale Demon Metal was completely different from that of Crimson Flame Copper. He had never seen this metal before and had no idea if the sound contained impurities.

But this didn't stump Xia Yi. He focused on one area and hammered it repeatedly, using the sound variations to judge the impurities present.

"Good method! But it's quite difficult, and it's easy to cause uneven purifying," Mu Xi thought to herself, silently approving.

For someone just starting blacksmithing, to think of using this method with an unfamiliar metal was impressive.

As Mu Chen had said, Xia Yi truly had great talent for blacksmithing.

Ding, ding, ding…

With a series of forging sounds, Xia Yi quickly completed the hundred-forge process.

"Don't stop, keep forging according to your feel. Don't stop unless I tell you to," Mu Xi shouted.

Xia Yi nodded and swung his forging hammer again, striking the Gale Demon Metal.

After surpassing the hundred-forge mark, Xia Yi quickly realized an important problem: the impurities in the metal were now very few, and the sound of each hammer strike was barely changing.

It became hard for him to discern where the impurities were most concentrated.

Reluctantly, he had no choice but to slow down his hammering speed, but his expression became more focused.

Soon, he forgot everything around him, and his gaze was entirely focused on the Gale Demon Metal on the forging table.

Mu Xi had been watching Xia Yi, and as she looked at his handsome face, she couldn't help but recall the scene where he had helped her with surgery.

Her cheeks flushed slightly.

"This guy, when he's serious, actually looks a bit like a blacksmith," Mu Xi thought to herself.

Suddenly, with a loud crack, the Gale Demon Metal split into four pieces under Xia Yi's hammer.

"You didn't pay enough attention to sensing the metal, causing it to break. Your forging level… is lacking!" Mu Xi said flatly.

In truth, Mu Xi's heart was in turmoil. This was Xia Yi's first time working with Gale Demon Metal, yet he had already achieved results beyond a hundred forges.

Mu Xi couldn't believe it. If Xia Yi had been exposed to blacksmithing from a young age, how terrifying would his skills be?

"How do I properly sense the metal?" Xia Yi asked humbly.

"Now you're starting to show some desire to learn," Mu Xi was satisfied with his attitude and smiled slightly. "After a hundred forges, the purity of the metal becomes very high, and it's hard to judge the impurities just by the naked eye or the sound. It's not just about refining anymore; after a hundred forges, the metal needs to be elevated through forging. You must sense it with your heart. When forging, treat the metal like a living entity and communicate with it. Only with perfect communication can it truly recognize you. Try again."

Mu Xi then took out a piece of metal that Xia Yi didn't recognize and handed it to him. "This needs to be heated for eight minutes before forging."

An hour later, with another loud crack, the metal shattered again under Xia Yi's hammer.

"You didn't put your heart into it. Watch me forge this time, then you can try," Mu Xi said. She moved to the forge, took a piece of Gale Demon Metal, and began her own forging process.

One hour later, a faint cyan glow suddenly rose from the forging table, illuminating the entire workshop. Mu Xi handed the forged Gale Demon Metal to Xia Yi and asked, "Feel it. Remember, put your heart into it!"

Two hours later, Xia Yi left the Blacksmith Association, and Mu Xi dialed Mu Chen's soul communicator.

"Dad, Xia Yi can do a thousand forges now!"

"A thousand forges?" Mu Chen's lips twitched slightly, and he asked in a low voice, "Didn't I tell you to teach him the basics of blacksmithing? Why are you teaching him how to do a thousand forges?"

"I just wanted to try, and I didn't expect him to learn it in less than an afternoon. He's already done a thousand forges," Mu Xi said, still in disbelief. She never imagined that Xia Yi would catch up to her blacksmithing level so quickly.

Perhaps because Xia Yi had saved her life the day before, she wasn't jealous when she saw his talent, unlike when she had first met Tang Wulin. Instead, she was genuinely happy.

"Does he know he's a third-rank blacksmith now?" Mu Chen asked seriously.

"He doesn't know yet," Mu Xi shook her head. "He has no idea that the metal he just forged is already a thousand-forge metal."

"Since that's the case, let's have you continue teaching him. First, solidify his blacksmithing foundation," Mu Chen said after a moment of thought.

(End of Chapter)