Chapter Eighteen: Secondary Refining of Iron

  The dazzling metal sparks finally stopped, and the iron apprentices in the backyard stood still, as if they had been petrified by magic, staring at Qian Jin with a gaze that seemed to be looking at a demon. Where did this little kid come from? A hammer of over 100 kilograms, he swung it with one breath and hammered out 200 times, turning an iron ingot the size of a human head into something the size of a baby's fist?

  "A hundred kilograms of hammering, two hundred hammers! In the Franlin Ironworks, aside from Franlin himself, even Francis can only manage thirty hammers. The others can't even use it, and yet a young boy who just walked in accomplished it? And what's more ridiculous is this young man's identity - a warrior student from the Oakland Magic and Warrior Academy? That academy that can only produce demon-slaying warriors actually produced someone who knows how to forge iron? And at that, one who looks as skilled as Franlin himself? You know, Franlin is recognized as a top-tier blacksmith on the entire continent!"

  To be blunt, if Franklin were to pack up and run off to the Demon Realm, those cannibalistic demons would also give him a warm welcome, allowing him to open his own shop there, and might even offer tax exemptions. They definitely wouldn't treat him like they do ordinary humans, killing him at their whim.

  Franklin walked quietly to the anvil, carefully picked up the iron block that had been cooled down with cold water by Gang Qi, and followed by Francis, who let out a whistle-like inhaling sound behind him. His palm slightly trembled as he reached for the iron block in Franklin's hand that was emitting an unusual glow.

  "Big... big brother... this... this is..."

  Francis held the small iron block in both hands, carefully examining it from left to right, and finally looked at Francis Lin with excitement, finding that this brother who was usually very confident, now had eyes shining with unparalleled shock.

  "That's right... it's adamantite..." Franlin nodded laboriously: "And... it's even second-grade adamantite..."

  In the quiet backyard of the blacksmith's shop, a series of exclamations erupted. The apprentices' eyes were left with only incredulous shock, whispering to each other: "Refined iron? Did you hear that? The boss said it was refined iron!"

  "I heard it! And it's still secondary refined iron!"

  "Heavens! Did I hear that right? The boss said before, anyone who can hammer out first-rate iron from an iron ingot is a true first-rate blacksmith! Only second-rate blacksmiths can hammer out second-rate iron! This is definitely a test for the blacksmith promotion exam!"

  "After so many years of hammering iron, it took visiting a master to become a first-rate blacksmith. How old is this kid? A second-rate blacksmith?"

  "I say, surely the boss isn't mistaken? These are students from the Oakland Magic and Warrior Academy. Aren't they a bunch of people who can only fight and do nothing else?"

  "You ask me, how do I know? Even if the big boss is wrong, can't the second boss be wrong too? Don't forget, the second boss's standards for judging people are not as high as the big boss, but those eyes of his are poisonous."

  Qian Jing put the iron hammer on the ground, repeatedly exercising his sore arm. This hundred or so jin of a hammer would still be tiring even if he swung it two hundred times in one breath.

  Secondary refined iron! Franlin grabbed the refined iron in Fran's hand and looked at it left and right, confirming once again that this was indeed a piece of secondary refined iron! A true master blacksmith had hammered out the impurities from the iron to create this secondary refined iron!

  Francis looked at Qianjin and exclaimed in his heart that he had found a treasure. In this world, to forge the best weapons, one must have good raw materials. How many true heavenly treasures are there? After countless years of research by ironwork predecessors, they finally discovered their own way of making superior materials - forging!

  Take a piece of ordinary iron, copper or other materials and forge it into refined iron, copper with a hammer. According to the degree of refinement, it is divided into first-class, second-class, third-class... The higher the level of refined iron and copper, the better the hardness and sharpness of the weapon will be in theory.

  Because high-carbon steel is difficult to obtain, many fine weapons have only the cutting edge made of high-carbon steel while the rest of the body is made of ordinary materials. Even so, they can still be sold at a good price.

  Secondary refined iron? Gan Jing was startled by the whispers of the crowd, and had heard rumors about refined iron in his family before. Those were high-quality materials that only true blacksmiths could forge! He casually hammered a couple of times and actually managed to produce refined iron? And it's even secondary refined iron?!

  Qian Jin suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart secretly wondered: What is this thing called the "Endless World" virtual game? After being abused for sixteen hours playing the iron-forging game inside, he actually became able to forge iron after coming out! And it's even second-level refined iron? He has acquired second-level blacksmith skills? So, if I spend every day playing the iron-forging game inside, won't I become a master craftsman one day? Even Bloodline Warriors would have to respectfully address me as "Master"?

  Franklin came before Gan Jing, his heart somewhat difficult to suppress, the second-grade refined iron in his hand was still scorching hot. Second-grade refined iron! That's a second-grade blacksmith! This young man, in such a short time, had forged a piece of second-grade refined iron, far less than the rumored time it took for a second-grade blacksmith to pass the exam, clearly not just an ordinary newly-promoted second-grade blacksmith.

  "Are you... really a student of the Oakland Magic and Warrior Academy?" Franlin asked cautiously, unintentionally switching from "you" to "your honor".

  The sturdy man nodded with some stiffness in his ten fingers due to long-time gripping of the iron hammer: "Yes."

  "Then... you really plan on hammering iron in our small shop?" Franlin's attitude became even more cautious than before. As a second-rate blacksmith, he was fully qualified to easily open his own blacksmith shop in Oakland. This kid wouldn't be here to cause trouble, would he?

  "Did I come to your iron shop to embroider flowers?"

  "But you are a second-rate blacksmith." Franlin glanced at Qianjin with a hint of embarrassment: "The economic capacity of this small shop is probably really unable to afford your salary, and I am only a first-rate blacksmith."

  Francis's eyes, which had been gleaming with excitement, turned to worry. Throughout all of Oakland and every iron shop, only the largest one, Godly Hammer Iron Shop, had a second-level blacksmith. Although his own shop also had some savings, hiring a second-level blacksmith would probably be extremely difficult.

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