: Only a few days of study?

Chapter 93: Only a few days of study?

"Yan Xiaolou is willing to be a stove boy."

The words were spoken in the front hall.

Zhaoyue blinked twice: "You really want to be my stove attendant?"

Yan Xiaolou brandished his sword, threatening, "You're not allowed to tell anyone about this!"

Shen Gui's voice came from the backyard.

"Come in."

Yan Xiaolou and Zhaoyue lifted the curtain and went over.

Shen Gui pointed to the iron block: "First, make some farm tools to fill the shelves."

Zhaoyue asked, "What are you fighting?"

"Hit whatever you want."

After giving his instructions, Shen Gui sat back down at the stone table.

On the table sat the "A Thousand Miles Within Reach" (a dish symbolizing close proximity and distant distance), but his attention was fixed on the green bean, lost in thought.

Yan Xiaolou glanced at him, but couldn't discern anything amiss, so he just stood there like a lackey.

Zhaoyue had already run off to pick coal, but seeing her still standing there in a daze, she beckoned and said, "Stove boy, come and lend a hand."

The stove boy's voice came out very smoothly.

Yan Xiaolou's eyelids twitched, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "I have a name!"

"No way. Young Master said he'd help you solve your sword problem, and what he teaches will definitely be real skills. I'd feel like I'd be missing out if I didn't say a few words."

Zhaoyue stood with her hands on her hips, speaking very seriously.

Yan Xiaolou clenched his fist. He hadn't seen anything, yet he was taught real skills?

Before she could retort, Zhaoyue pushed a basket of coal over: "Pick out the damp coal first."

Yan Xiaolou looked down and saw that the basket of coal was black, and apart from the different sizes, he couldn't tell which piece was damp.

She casually picked up two pieces: "How do we divide them?"

Zhaoyue leaned closer and scraped away the coal dust with her fingertips: "Don't take the ones that are white inside, and don't take the ones that are too cold to the touch. Take your time looking at them, there's no rush. The young master said that the more you rush, the more mistakes you'll make."

Yan Xiaolou did not respond.

Since she decided to stay, she wouldn't be unable to do something as simple as picking coal.

The fire quickly rose up.

Zhaoyue stepped on the small wooden platform that Shen Gui had raised for her, and while pulling the bellows, she fed the iron billet into the furnace.

Because it's not big enough, every step it takes is more difficult than for others.

"I'll do it." Yan Xiaolou reached out and took the bellows.

Zhaoyue didn't object, but only reminded, "Slow down, pause for two breaths after every four strokes."

Once you reach the Observation Realm, you can control your Yuan Power. Yan Xiaolou's hands were very steady, and his strength advantage was obvious. He pulled the bellows so loudly that the fire in the furnace immediately rose a notch.

Zhaoyue quickly exclaimed, "You're pulling too fast! The fire will turn white!"

"I can see it, but it's not there."

"It will be too late by the time it turns white."

Zhaoyue lunged forward and hugged the wooden handle, trying to slow her down.

Yan Xiaolou looked down at it: "You've been pulling for so long, you still can't get the iron through. You're not even as good as me."

"Don't worry if it's not fully heated; iron won't run away."

One of them held onto the top of the bellows, and the other held onto the bottom; neither was willing to let go.

Until Shen Gui's voice came from the stone table: "Listen to Zhao Yue."

Yan Xiaolou then let go.

After the iron billet was heated to a red-hot color, Zhaoyue used pliers to take it out, placed it on the anvil, and picked up her small hammer.

The hammer fell.

"Dang" 6

The sound wasn't loud, and the metal surface only flattened a little.

Zhaoyue didn't immediately strike the second blow, but stared at the iron billet, her ears twitching slightly.

Yan Xiaolou waited for a moment, then waited for another moment.

Zhaoyue still didn't move.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Listen to the sound."

"It already rang."

Yan Xiaolou listened attentively for a while, but could only hear the sound of the furnace fire; there was no sound of iron being struck.

The iron billet was darkening in color, and she watched anxiously: "If we wait any longer, it will be overcooked."

Zhao Yue said, "The last hammer strike wasn't even finished yet."

Yan Xiaolou frowned: "You've already lifted the hammer, where haven't you finished walking?"

Zhaoyue gestured with her claws: "Young Master said that when the hammer strikes, the force doesn't stop here; it will spread to the side. You have to wait until it has spread out before you can deliver the blow."

After listening, Yan Xiaolou felt it was troublesome.

"It's just blacksmithing, why make such a fuss?"

Yan Xiaolou held out his hand and said, "Give me the hammer."

Zhaoyue hid the hammer behind her back: "Young Master said that everything on the stove is at my command."

"I'll only try it once."

"Not even one hammer blow will do; you can't even recognize all the coal types."

"What's so difficult about it? I can slice this piece of iron flat with a single sword stroke."

"Then go practice your swordplay in the street. Our shop sells hoes."

Yan Xiaolou stopped arguing and went to the wall to pick up another hammer, the one Yu Fu usually used. The hammerhead was several times heavier than the one Zhao Yue was holding.

Zhao Yue panicked: "Yan Xiaolou, don't do anything rash!"

Yan Xiaolou had already stood in front of the chopping block.

She had practiced swordsmanship for many years, and the techniques for generating power had long become instinctive. Although the hammer and the sword were different, the path of force was not too different.

She raised her arm and brought the hammer down.

"Clang!"

The hammerhead struck the iron flaw squarely, without veering off even slightly.

The entire piece of iron was suddenly spread outwards, and the area that was supposed to be hammered three or four times was immediately thinned out.

Zhaoyue was stunned for a moment.

Yan Xiaolou's face showed a smug look: "Difficult?"

Zhao Yue leaned closer to take a look, and the surprise on her face quickly disappeared: "We can't keep hitting it; the iron block isn't heated properly."

Yan Xiaolou's second hammer blow has already landed.

This time the sound was not as clear as before, and the right side of the iron billet suddenly curled up, leaving a coin-shaped mark on the edge.

Yan Xiaolou felt that the landing point was just slightly off, so he turned his wrist and added another blow to the raised spot.

The metal surface looks flat, but an unwanted bulge has squeezed out from the side.

"I told you we shouldn't hit him!" Zhaoyue put the hammer down on the ground, heartbroken.

It picked up the iron billet with pliers and tapped it lightly against the edge of the anvil.

"Thump."

The voice was muffled.

Zhaoyue then took another undamaged iron billet and tapped it in the same way.

"Clang!"

This sound is noticeably cleaner.

Faced with the facts, Yan Xiaolou's initial resentment lessened: "Why is this happening?"

Zhaoyue then squatted down beside the anvil and pressed her two paws on either side of the iron surface.

"Your first hammer blow was too heavy, all the force went this way, and the anvil pushed it back. The iron hadn't even recovered before you pressed down with your second hammer blow. The two forces collided, how could it not tilt?"

"No, when the hammer falls, the harder the better."

"Who said that?"

"If the weapon falls into the enemy's hands, should we hold back?"

"We're using hoes, not enemies."

Zhaoyue spoke with righteous indignation, "Besides, when the young master taught me, he said that having great strength is not a skill, but being able to control it is. You only know how to put the strength in, but you don't know where it comes from. That's not good."

Yan Xiaolou originally wanted to refute.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he suddenly stopped.

All you know is to put force in?

This statement is related to forging iron, but it doesn't just seem to be talking about forging iron.

Yan Xiaolou slowly loosened his grip on the hammer.

The core disciples of Zhefeng Pavilion will learn a sword technique called "Hunhe Sword Technique".

This sword technique emphasizes the first three strikes: fast, heavy, and straight, aiming to strike the enemy's vitals with the force of thunder.

Relying on his superior sword physique, Yan Xiaolou thoroughly comprehended the Hunhe Sword Technique.

In the same realm, most people cannot withstand the third sword strike, so few people can see the trouble behind the sword technique.

If the first three sword strikes fail to overwhelm the opponent, the fourth sword strike will be half a breath slower.

The master himself said that this is both the advantage and the disadvantage of our sect's swordsmanship.

The sword is like a surging river, naturally there is no reason for it to return. If you are focused on withdrawing your strength, you will lose the essence of the Hunhe Sword Technique.

Yan Xiaolou then focused on practicing the first three sword techniques to make them faster and more ruthless.

It wasn't until the sword became stiff that she realized her swordsmanship could be improved. A sword has two edges, allowing for free movement, so she shouldn't be so aggressive.

However, Yan Xiaolou couldn't articulate the specific problem, so his efforts to report it to the elders of the sect remained stalled.

But now...

The little demon's words instantly awakened Yan Xiaolou.

"They know how to send out their strength, but they don't know how it will come back."

She repeated the sentence, staring at the folded edge on the iron billet, and remained silent for a long time.

Zhaoyue continued to explain: "Young Master said that if the previous blow is not completed, don't rush the next one. You have to listen to the sound of the weapon to know where the force is landing and in which direction."

Yan Xiaolou's eyes brightened further as she asked, "Can you tell which way Li is going?"

"Sometimes."

"sometimes?"

"How could it possibly work every time?"

Zhaoyue wasn't ashamed at all. "If you can't tell, just hit it one less time and burn it again. It's better than ruining it."

This was the first time Yan Xiaolou had seriously examined the toad demon.

The two black eyes were still there, the cloth on its paws hadn't been changed, and it was still pitifully short standing in front of the chopping block.

But what he just said wasn't nonsense.

"Shall we play it again?"

Yan Xiaolou suddenly said.

Zhaoyue was taken aback: "You're still going to fight? Iron is very expensive; it could buy a lot of bowls of plain noodles."

"Tenfold compensation for any damage."

"Quack! Okay then!"

Zhaoyue immediately became more agreeable.

The new iron billet is sent into the furnace.

This time, Yan Xiaolou neither snatched the bellows nor urged Zhaoyue to fetch the iron.

When Zhaoyue said to slow down, she slowed down; when she said to stop for two breaths, she stopped.

After the billet landed back on the anvil, she picked up the hammer but didn't immediately bring it down. Instead, she turned and asked, "Shall we hit it now?"

Zhaoyue tilted her head to listen and said, "Hit."

The hammer fell.

The force was still a bit too much, and the iron surface opened to the left.

Yan Xiaolou raised his hammer to give chase, but stopped halfway through.

She stared at the iron billet, trying to listen.

The sounds of fire were too chaotic, and the noise from the street was also disordered; only the clear echo from just now remained in my ears.

Unable to grasp the underlying meaning, Yan Xiaolou could only ask, "And now?"

Zhaoyue said, "Turn the iron a little, then strike the right side."

Yan Xiaolou did as instructed.

The second hammer blow was softer than the first, but the iron surface did not break again.

When the third hammer fell, she subconsciously pressed the force on her shoulder to its limit, but then forcibly pulled it back by half.

The noise was still hard to stop, but this time the iron wasn't damaged.

Zhaoyue leaned closer and looked at it: "This is more presentable."

Yan Xiaolou stopped arguing and stopped treating Zhaoyue as a junior in the Body Tempering Realm. He followed orders diligently from beginning to end.

A hoe blade was burned three times, and after being finally ground down, it was barely usable and far from being considered refined.

The two attached the wooden handle, took it to the front of the room, and placed it in the middle of the empty shelf.

Finally, the shop had one item available for sale.

Yan Xiaolou stood in front of the shelf and looked at it for a long time.

She still recalled what Zhaoyue had said: where each hammer blow landed, which one was too hasty, and which one was too slow to stop.

In the past, when she practiced swordsmanship, her master would tell her the direction of the moves, and the elders would correct her meridians, but the final judgment of good or bad was still based on winning or losing. If she won, it was the right thing to do, and if she lost, she would continue to practice more.

No one told her where the remaining power went after she unleashed the sword.

Yan Xiaolou raised his right hand, his fingers loosely clenched.

After the third sword strike, the swordplay began to falter. Was it not that the fourth sword strike was too slow, but rather...?

The power of the third sword strike went out and didn't return?

The moment this thought crossed Yan Xiaolou's mind, her breathing quickened.

It's just a guess right now, far from a success, but for the first time, the wall that has trapped her for so long seems to have let in some air.

Zhaoyue was writing on scrap paper at the back of the counter for a long time before turning the paper over.

"If you break one piece, you'll need to burn two more furnaces. You've worn so much down, so you'll have to owe the shop one tael of silver first."

Yan Xiaolou lowered her head: "One tael?!"

"I haven't even counted the coal yet."

"A few pieces of scrap iron are worth an ounce?"

"You yourself said ten times the compensation."

"...

'

Yan Xiaolou took out some loose silver and placed it on the counter.

Zhaoyue picked it up and bit it, confirming that it was real, and her mood immediately improved.

Yan Xiaolou suddenly asked, "Are you a master blacksmith?"

Zhaoyue, with her claws behind her back, first straightened her chest.

"That is—"

Halfway through its sentence, it caught sight of Shen Gui by the stone table in the backyard out of the corner of its eye, and its voice immediately fell silent.

"Not really, I've only been learning for a few days."

"A few days?!"

"It hasn't been many days since you started teaching me how to forge iron."

"Did you figure out all these tricks of the hammer yourself?"

"How could I possibly understand so much? It was you who taught me, young master."

Zhaoyue scratched her head.

Yan Xiaolou followed its gaze and looked toward the backyard.

Shen Gui remained seated at the stone table.

He wore an old gray dress, his black hair swayed in the autumn wind, and a small green bean was placed beside him. He was very quiet, as if he could sit there for ten or even a hundred years.

Since the furnace was opened, Mr. Shen has only reminded people about the temperature a few times.

But a little demon who had only been learning for a few days, when he relayed the few words he had taught him, vaguely touched upon a point that his sect had never been able to overcome.

The previous sword inspection led Yan Xiaolou to believe that Shen Gui was a sword-making master in hiding.

Furthermore, it is boldly speculated that Shen Gui's forging skills are even superior to Master Yan's.

And now...

Yan Xiaolou's thoughts changed again.

She took a closer look at the figure in gray.

Could this person be even stronger than the owner?

A City Destroyer Realm expert?

She couldn't be sure.

After all, there are only three City Destroyer Realm experts in the entire Qiwu Kingdom, making them super big shots who have no say in the matter.

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