Commanding Wind and Cloud
chapter-37

Under the light of the fire and the sun, the [Refined Iron] shined in Lucas’ hand. Although it was only a piece of [Refined Iron], it gave people a sharp sensation that could only come from a sword or blade, as if it was already a sharp weapon.

The heaviness he felt made his gloomier. His eyes started at the metal in his hand closely as he murmured to himself subconsciously, “This! This… Is this [Level 5 Refined Iron]?” He was very surprised.

“[Level 5 Refined Iron]! This young man forged a piece of [Level 5 Refined Iron] in only two hours? How is this possible? A piece of [Level 5 Refined Iron] is way more valuable than two pieces of [Level 2 Refined Iron]! How is this possible?” Lucas thought.

He tried to focus even harder to see if his eyes were not functioning properly for the first time. “A student from Oakland Academy made a piece of [Level 5 Refined Iron] after striking the metals with two hammers! The precious material that far exceeds my masterpiece!” Lucas felt he was about to faint as he thought more about it. “What kind of world am I living in right now? The ability to forge [Level 2 Refined Iron] would be considered miraculous for someone his age. The ability to create [Level 5 Refined Iron]? Did I waste all of my life to achieve nothing?”

“What?”

“For real?”

“Impossible!”

Doubts and gasps immediately filled the workshop. Franklin shook his head forcefully trying not to pass out. “[Level 5 Refined Iron]?”

If Qian Jin could forge a top quality [Level 2 Refined Iron] under the tremendous pressure that Lucas had created, Franklin would be very happy. He didn’t expect to receive such a huge surprise. By using two hammers, Qian Jin forged [Level 5 Refined Iron]!

A bright smile came on Wilfred’s face as he was surprised and excited at the same time. He heard that the best blacksmith in Oakland was Lucas, who was a Level 2 Blacksmith. He didn’t expect to find a Level 5 Blacksmith after trying to get a higher price for his energy stone at Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop.

Lucas looked at the [Level 5 Refined Iron] in his hand, and then looked at Qian Jin who had a layer of sweat on his forehead. He still couldn’t believe that this [Level 5 Refined Iron] came out of the hands of a student from Oakland Academy. Lucas himself had been a blacksmith his whole life. Even though he wasn’t that talented, he believed he shouldn’t have been that far off compared to Qian Jin.

Under the stares from the crowd, Qian Jin yawned, stretched his shoulders, moved his head to stretch his neck, and shrugged his shoulders as he smiled at the members of the Fire Adventure Team.

Lucas felt like the smile was piercing his body. “Why does the smile that seems friendly feel like it is full of scorn and disdain?” he thought.

The two chief blacksmiths from the two blacksmith shops had made two pieces of [Level 2 Refined Iron] and a piece of [Level 5 Refined Iron] respectively after using a series of visually spectacular forging techniques.

Which chief blacksmith was better in the field of forging? Even a kid could answer that question after hearing the grades of the [Refined Iron] that were produced.

The workshop was quiet; the only sounds that could be heard were those of people breathing and those of the fire crackling. Almost everyone’s attention was on Qian Jin.

Qian Jin peeked at his hands that held the two hammers and sighed in his mind. “I could only forge [Level 2 Refined Iron] yesterday. After a night of learning from Blake, the [Refined Iron] that I can produce jumped three levels. If I could forge weapons…”

He looked at the half-completed swords and blades lying around the forge and had a sudden desire to learn how to forge weapons. If he could forge a weapon using purely [Level 5 Refined Iron], he would be more confident in successfully going into the Four Season Valley in the Sunset Mountains to find the [Supreme Wind and Cloud Energy Training Scroll] that was in the treasure map!

Lucas, on the other hand, held onto the [Level 5 Refined Iron] tightly. [Level 5 Refined Iron]! That represented the skillset of a Level 5 Blacksmith. Without any immense luck, he wouldn’t be able to reach this level before he died.

“No!” He thought to himself as he peeked at the energy stone in Wilfred’s hand. He wasn’t going to let this energy stone slip out of his hands! More importantly, if Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop won this challenge, then the title of the number one blacksmith shop would be removed from Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop and placed on Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop.

“Cough… cough…” Lucas pretend to clear his throat as he attracted the crowd’s attention. He played with the [Level 5 Refined Iron] in his hands as he put an exaggerated expression on his face. “No! This is not a [Level 5 Refined Iron]; it is only a [Level 1 Refined Iron]. I didn’t expect you to be so slimy and learn the [Fake Forging Technique]. Fortunately, I’m very experienced. Otherwise, you would have gotten away with it for sure!”

Wilfred and his team didn’t know what Lucas was saying. Qian Jin also had a similar, perplexed expression on his face. “What is a [Fake Forging Technique]? I only learnt blacksmithing skill from old Blake from the Endless World for the past two days. I don’t know anything about [Fake Forging Technique].” Qian Jin thought to himself.

“[Fake Forging Technique]? You are saying that Qian Jin used [Fake Forging Technique]? Impossible!” Franklin marched toward Lucas with his short legs and reached out for the crystal cold [Refined Iron] in Lucas’ hand, but Lucas pulled his hands back, so Franklin couldn’t grab onto it.

“Hey man.” Qian Jin asked Francis who was standing beside him quietly, “What is the [Fake Forging Technique]?”

Francis stared at Luas angrily and didn’t say a word. However, the blacksmith who followed Lucas and pumped the bellows for Qian Jin sneered as he shouted: “You don’t know what the [Fake Forging Technique] is? Stop lying. Even Level 1 Blacksmiths know what that is.”

“Qian Jin, don’t listen to him.” Francis looked at Qian Jin and said with a firm voice. “I believe that you would never use such a slimy and deceiving technique.”

Qian Jin was still confused, as he didn’t understand what Francis said. “People can lie about blacksmithing?” he wondered.

After seeing the confusion on people such as Wilfred’s faces, Lucas smiled confidently as he explained. “Captain Wilfred, there are a bunch of liars in this industry. It is because of them that the growth of the blacksmith profession was inhibited. Don’t worry, I will tell you what [Fake Forging Technique] is.”

Qian Jin patted Francis who was about to explode as he dragged over a chair and sat on it comfortably. After experiencing two days of blacksmithing, he found the work to be quite enjoyable, and he wanted to learn more about the blacksmithing industry. On top of that, he knew that the [Level 5 Refined Iron] he just forged was the real deal. It would be entertaining to see how Lucas would pull off the shameless denying tactic.