‘’Okay.’’

Li Ao plugged his ears back in.

The supervisor snorted and left, occasionally walking around and making sure there wasn't anyone trying to sabotage another.

Turning his focus to the forge, Li Ao took out one of the Fire-Qi imbued black iron ores. He shot it into the furnace.

For the sake of audience’s entertainment, Sun Family and their sponsors had paid quite a lot of money for good furnaces.

The amount of Fire Stones were astronomical as well—hence the ore melted into a sublime shape in but a few minutes.

Willing with his Qi, Li Ao controlled the shape like a whip and brought it over to his side.

From the audience seats, Sun Zhongyan kept glancing at his figure every once in a while.

There were many promising rising stars in the competition, but First Capital was like a closed-off ecosystem with little changes.

Anyone with good enough talent had already been known for a long while. Some of them even received these masters’ guidance once in a fortnight.

The entire thing was a sham to cover up Sun Family’s mining expedition, after all. So the attention was on the weird ones among the youth.

‘’He doesn't even sweat.’’

His comment made Fan Yueyin look over as well.

‘’He doesn’t have Qi around him, huh? His body must be quite strong.’’

Saying so, her gaze went over to another contestant. Sun Zhongyan followed her eye as well.

Only Sun Jian kept his undivided attention on Li Ao’s methods.

When he saw Li Ao grasp the burning liquid in his bare hands, he let out a yelp.

Then he saw there was no wound, just a slight blush over his palm.

The sight intrigued him so much that for the next hour, Sun Jian repeated Li Ao’s moves over and over in his head.

Li Ao had no notice of who looked at whom, especially this young master.

After dousing the melted liquid, he poured it into a carved grid. The blade was around eighty centimeters, its width one finger.

It had a subtle red color radiating out of its sharp tip as the general shape came to be.

Li Ao grasped one of the hammers and started sending blows upon it. Each of his strike sent rings sounding across the stage, but soon others also began their own work.

In but a moment all one could hear became constant booms and rings of metal.

When Sun Jian saw Li Ao raise the hammered shape into the Sun, he looked disappointed.

‘’Fifth-grade Mortal-quality.’’

His grandpa looked over at that moment as well.

‘’It is passable.’’

‘’I thought he would do better.’’

‘’He must not have the time to spare.’’ Sun Zhongyan shook his head. ‘’It is already exemplary that he has such forging mastery with his cultivation.’’

Sun Jian nodded, but soon his expression changed.

Li Ao lowered the blade, broke it into two, and threw it back into the furnace.

‘’He destroyed it?’’

Sun Zhongyan squinted as he watched what the young man was about to do.

Li Ao still waited for the blade to melt, then in the same manner received it without the support of his Qi.

He doused it, poured it into the grid, then hammered it again and again. This time the blade turned shorter, had the same width, and gave off a obvious red glint.

Raising it into the air, Li Ao looked at it with squinted eyes.

‘’Third-grade...’’ Sun Jian watched with his mouth open. How did that work?

‘’Isn’t it more efficient to hammer impurities away before forming anyway?’’ His question brought Fan Yueyin’s attention back to them. ‘’And why is he destroying it for the third time?’’

As he said so, Li Ao sent the shattered blade back into the furnace.

‘’He is practicing one of the bodily destruction methods.’’ Fan Yueyin said with a hint of surprise. ‘’It might be the Nine-Waves Hammering technique.’’

‘’The aim is to not interfere with metal using Qi. With each bout of forging and destroying, he is thinning the impurities and strengthening the density of the metal.’’

‘’It is a pity the ore is quite small.’’ Sun Zhongyan added, playing with his fan. ‘’At this rate it will become a dagger.’’

‘’It depends on how much he wants to reforge.’’

Their conversation ended there when Li Ao sent the blade back for the fourth time.

It was interesting enough, but not something unique. Forging was a stoic, but also diverse study that had myriad schools.

Li Ao’s own education and the manual he studied were both universal in a way that could make anyone recognize his aim.

He didn’t need complicated hammering arts or impurity expelling magic. He just needed to do it the ‘right’ way.

Another hour passed then, and bit by bit contestants cooled their forges to prepare for the inspection. Only a few were left alongside Li Ao.

At that time, a rang sound out through the arena. Looking at the source, Sun Jian made a curt nod.

‘’Someone forged an Earth-Quality weapon.’’

‘’That’s good. Do you know him?’’

Sun Zhongyan nodded. ‘’A child of Lei.’’

There was another rang then, and another, until all late contestants finished.

The hum of these weapons sent the resting teens into despair and acceptance. There was little they could do against these young masters and ladies with their resources and education.

After all, most important thing in forging was first skill, and the second was materials. Could anyone make a divine sword with a piece of pig iron?

Of course not! Not even Immortal Grandmasters could do such a feat.

Looking at the weapons glistening with otherworldly blue and green lights of precious metals, Sun Jian turned back to look at Li Ao.

He was the only one remaining, and his hammering sent out shockwaves that trembled the ground.

‘’He is using Qi.’’ Sun Zhongyan said. ‘’Is this the seventh reforge?’’

‘’That’s impressive.’’ Fan Yueyin nodded. She seemed to hold a little interest in the boy. ‘’Not many can approach the sixth even among quasi-masters.’’

‘’...grandpa, he is...’’

‘’Sorry?’’

Sun Zhongyan cast Sun Jian a questioning glance. The boy muttered again.

‘’He is at the thirteenth reforge.’’

Fan Yueyin choked on her saliva.

‘’Third? Did you say third?’’

‘’Thirteenth.’’

‘’Tenth?’’

‘’Thirteenth.’’

‘’Thirteenth?’’

‘’Thirteenth?’’

A loud hum spread through the area then, and the trio turned their eyes to look at the flame rising out of Li Ao’s hands.

There was a twenty-centimeter blade in his palm standing balanced.

Its body had a scarlet color, with wisps of Qi revolving around its tip. Just holding it bare handed made Li Ao sweat, so he used Qi to cloak himself.

Taking out his ear plugs, Li Ao let out a yawn and sat down with a silly smile. His furnace cooled on its own.

‘’Earth-quality...but what is that?’’

It was just a blade.

Just a forged blade.

It had no hilt, no handguard, pommel, anything. Just a sharp piece of flaming metal.

‘’...he doesn’t have any materials on him?’’

Sun Jian shook his head.

Most of the contestants already had suitable hilts and handguards to compile their weapons beforehand.

They made ample preparations to present their peak performance.

Li Ao, on the other hand, seemed to consider this occasion more like an experiment than a trial.

‘’Let’s get to judging first.’’ Sun Zhongyan stood up. Fan Yueyin also got on her feet and ascended the stage.

Starting from the first number, they called out the young ones and had them present their works. There were two clerks by them noting down points—ten points for utility, ten points for stability, ten points for quality.

A few dozen went by them with no more than ten combined points. Then the first earth-quality weapon arrived.

‘’Lei Jin.’’ The young man got on one knee and presented his saber. Sun Zhongyan grasped it and took out the golden sheath. A sharp glint escaped the black edge.

‘’Eight points for quality.’’

‘’Make it seven.’’ Fan Yueyin said.

‘’Seven it is.’’

Taking the hilt in his hand, Sun Zhongyan swung the blade towards the sky. Unlike his looks, he was a Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivator at the eighth stage. One strike sent the air reeling, then a wind picked up after his strike.

A storm fluttered the robes and hairs of the people upon the stage and dispersed the remnant heat clinging to the forges.

‘’Excellent. Nine points for utility.’’

‘’Make it seven.’’

‘’Seven it is.’’

Lei Jin seemed to have constipation as he grit his teeth.

Sun Zhongyan made three more moves, but none of them made such a great reaction as before, and put the sword back into its hilt.

‘’Seven points for stability.’’

‘’Make it seven.’’

‘’Seven it is.’’

Lei Jin felt like shitting himself.

Who made this woman a judge!?

Did she even pay any attention?

‘’Thank you, Master Sun.’’

‘’Aiyo, don’t forget to thank Master Fan—’’

‘Thank you, ‘Master’ Fan.’’

‘’Shoo, shoo.’’ She waved her hand. ‘’Just come back to the Sun Estate later with us.’’

Hearing her say so, Lei Jin froze, then beamed.

Another weapon arrived of Earth-quality, which also received seven points all around.

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The next dozen were mortal quality below fifteen points, then two more Earth-Quality weapons with a combined twenty-one points.

Li Ao’s turn arrived after them. He was the last.

‘’Li Ao.’’ He said, then slapped himself. ‘’I mean, Xu Liao.’’

‘’...’’

‘’Here you go!’’

He raised the blade towards Sun Zhongyan. The old man looked at Li Ao, then at the sparkling metal.

‘What the fuck am I supposed to do with it?’

Still, with a bit of embarrassment he plucked it.

The moment his hand touched the blade, he felt a boundless fire bursting in his palm.

Sun Zhongyan frowned, then applied a little Qi to protect himself. He swung the blade upward—a beam shot forth with a roar.

Whistling, screaming, the fire split the few meters of stage in front of him.

‘’Good...blade?’’

‘’Ten points for quality.’’ Fan Yueyin said.

‘’Seven points it is...uh? I mean, yes, ten points!’’

Sun Zhongyan nodded, then turned to look at the blade.

How was he supposed to test utility with this shit?

‘’Two points for utility.’’ Fan Yueyin said again. ‘’Nine points for stability.’’

‘’You could make a good flying sword with this using the right formations. However, there is no point in calling this a weapon.’’

Listening to her explanation, Li Ao nodded. ‘’Yeah, this is just experimental trash.’’

Some of the contestants coughed.

This guy’s trash was this valuable? What did a good weapon look like, then?

‘’Come to the Sun Estate with us, then.’’ Sun Zhongyan said. He could see that Fan Yueyin wanted to talk with this young fellow.

Li Ao nodded. He had no reason to refuse, after all, and since he got the same twenty-one points as the others there had to be something else waiting for them.

After that, he was approached by the curious Sun Jian.

He mingled with the naive young master while the event was wrapped up and the stage was withdrawn. In under an hour they were back in the Sun estate’s forgery.

The forgery was laden with the smell of sweat and ash.

The ceiling reached around ten meters and adorned air vents that vacuumed the constant smoke.

Even with their patriarch’s arrival, none of the blacksmiths stopped what they were doing. Passing by the bronze skinned muscle giants, the group came to a large forge that remained four meters tall.

There was a dark dais that reached the top of the forge, where a large cobalt anvil stood erect.

Sun Zhongyan climbed up and took out his robe. He wore no shirt, only a humble underwear that covered his thighs and private parts.

Inspecting the majestic physique of the man, Li Ao clicked his tongue. He was still the thin young man he was, and he actually admired big bodies.

His father, Li Cai, was also a giant of a man.

‘Should I ask him how he got that body?’

Perhaps later.

Sun Zhongyan pointed at the first of the five teens.

‘’What do you want, Qing Yan?’’

Qing Yan was a young girl around Li Ao’s age. She also wore a loose robe that showed her muscular shoulders and chest.

Propping her arms, she thought for a moment.

‘’A battle hammer.’’

‘’Anything specific?’’

‘’One-handed, wide surface, and if possible a sharp back to pry open plate armor.’’

‘’Alright.’’

Sun Zhongyan waved his hand and several metals appeared in front of him.

‘’Choose one.’’

‘So the reward is not just for the top three?’

Li Ao looked at the pieces while thinking. They were all actually Meteor Iron with Star Qi in them.

Only, there seemed to be something else mixed in, which made their quality higher than the one he bought at the market. Leftmost one carried Fire-Qi that he could sense with his affinity.

Coincidentally, Qing Yan chose that one.

Nodding, Sun Zhongyan made the rest disappear and got into working.

Li Ao, as well as the other youngsters intently watched the man work his way. How he hammered, how he moved the metal, how he ascertained the weight, or even the move of his fingers.

Li Ao didn’t hold much respect within him before.

He was too arrogant.

If anything, just forging the hiltless blade made him aware how much he lacked regarding Forging. In retrospect, he wasn’t even qualified to judge these masters yet.

‘Me? Arrogant?’

When he thought of it, Li Ao felt like slapping himself.

Just because he had access to some grand knowledge didn’t make him master of it.

That was such a childish thought.

When he saw the concentration on Sun Zhongyan’s wizened face, Li Ao imagined a life spent before fire.

An entire life, decades, spent before bright blaze and constant rings of metal.

Was that a life anyone could achieve?

Perhaps.

Sun Zhongyan was born to a Forging Clan, and it also was a Great Clan.

He had all the privilege a blacksmith could wish for.

He had access to techniques and resources not many could even imagine. He had a wide network of associates that could help him master his craft.

Still, what did he have that set him apart from those with the same chance?

Looking at the young Grandmaster Fan Yueyin, then back at the old Sun Zhongyan, Li Ao found himself thinking again.

‘I am also born with a golden spoon.’

‘What makes me different?’

At each strike of his hammer, Sun Zhongyan made the forgery tremble.

Soon most of the family had been gathered around the periphery. No one dared to stand close—they only watched with concentration.

Beads of sweat formed around the old man and vaporized. He worked amidst a swirling white mist.

‘Do I even look cool like that?’

Li Ao found himself silly for asking it. Why did his look matter when he was forging?

Still, the question made rounds in his mind as Sun Zhongyan finished his work.

With a swipe, he threw the war hammer over the large forge to Qing Yan’s feet.

The hammerhead cracked the ground and planted itself straight, looking majestic. Its handle carried a black aura, and the silver head shone with bright light.

Qing Yan held the hammer with both hands and raised it upon her shoulder. Its weight made her feet sink into the ground.

‘’Practice a few years with it.’’

Qing Yan spoke through gritted teeth. ‘’Yes, Master Sun!’’

‘’Lei Jin.’’ He asked another boy. ‘’What do you want?’’

Lei Jin stepped forward with a deep bow. He seemed to be the type that liked formality. He wore long robes and had a jade ornament with butterflies in his dark hair.

‘’I’d like to ask for a cavalry saber. Three fingers at width and a hundred centimeters in length.’’

‘’Alright.’’

Another seven pieces of metal floated in front of Lei Jin. Li Ao was surprised at the depth of this man’s generosity.

‘’Pick one.’’

Lei Jin made his choice and Sun Zhongyan went back to work.

In a few hours, he crafted several First-grade Earth-Quality weapons. All of them radiated strong auras with wild colors.

Only Lei Jin seemed capable of holding his weapon straight, which made an impression on Li Ao

‘’Xu Liao.’’

Hearing ‘his’ name, Li Ao stepped out and gave a deep bow as well. By now he was in awe of the old man’s latent capability, as well as his working intent.

‘’What do you want?’’

‘’A Forging Hammer.’’

Sun Zhongyan, as well as others, showed surprise.

‘’Are you sure?’’

‘’...I don’t really have a hammer.’’

Hearing his pained voice, Fan Yueyin laughed from the side.

‘’Ah, sorry.’’ She waved her hand. ‘’Isn’t he putting you in a tough spot, Old Sun?’’

Since this wasn’t a public space, Fan Yueyin chose to call Sun Zhongyan in a more intimate manner.

She was his old disciple, and now his superior. There were certain societal norms that bound her shows of affections into restraint. After all, the high society of the Bai Dynasty thrived on misunderstandings and drama.

At their cultivation and status, they didn’t need stupid rumors or remarks.

‘’Indeed...’’ Sun Zhongyan cast an amused glance at Li Ao.

What did he mean?

Li Ao’s words could be attributed another way—I trust my weapons more than yours!

Of course, this meaning was dispelled by the two masters in a quick manner. The other meaning they gathered from Li Ao, however, made them a little apprehensive.

The quality of the hammer could also decide the ceiling of his forging results.

Most families would cultivate and nurture their Forging hammers with special techniques over generations. In time, they would turn into spiritual tools, then Heaven-grade tools.

Spiritual Tools were the first of the three steps to becoming a Heaven-Quality artifact.

But that fact didn’t matter. What mattered was that Li Ao confessed he had no hammer of his own—with his age and skill, most would argue otherwise. He confessed he had no backing.

That meant his talent was self-cultivated.

This also meant that he was making a promise to the Sun Clan.

Or perhaps to Sun Zhongyan himself.

It was common for talents without backing to show their allegiance in competitions for favor.

Apart from all these convoluted sub-meanings, the most clear one was a symbolic show of respect. He also had a favorable impression of Li Ao from his gift to Sun Jian, so he smiled at the brazen outburst.

‘’You are forcing my hand.’’ He said.

Li Ao smiled. ‘’It is out of ambition.’’

Sun Zhongyan didn’t think too much of it anymore. He was old and almost retired—any hidden agenda or whatnot would be troubles of his nephew in a few months.

For now, he just wanted to try his best at delivering this last tool.

The four weapons before this were all made with his peak performance. Sun Zhongyan poured his entire being into them.

He also made no attempt to hide his work style and experience—there was a reason he called these youngsters to watch instead of delivering their rewards later.

For an old man thinking of death, every act would become meaningful.

Sun Zhongyan was aware of his old lifespan, and he was also aware of a brewing storm within the Bai Dynasty’s safe walls.

Before that, he had to leave ‘something’ behind.

That was why Li Ao’s request made him a little emotional. Perhaps, he could live on with the hammer for a while.

Closing his eyes, he took out seven pieces of metal again.

‘’Choose one.’’

Li Ao carefully inspected each piece. At last, he pointed to the one at the third one, left to the middle.

‘Ice-Qi’ Sun Zhongyan nodded. Li Ao indeed needed a little balance within himself. His Yang Aura was too bright for his age, which indicated an affinity to Fire-Qi.

That was a good talent for any Forger, but control was also vital.

Li Ao also thought of it. The reason he used his body more than his Qi was that the act of destroying and re-forging required little to no interference. The aim was to reduce waste after each try, and to do so one had to use control beyond a normal practitioner's means.

Qi could only be used when there was no other choice.

That was a ‘weakness’ of his Cultivation. Any weapon he forged using Qi would be more attuned with Fire Qi, and most of the time that wouldn’t be the preference of the usual cultivator. After all, Li Ao didn’t pursue forging only for himself or a lofty ideal. Other than the avatar art, there was a more important thing!

He wanted the shinies.

Shiny shiny stones.

With the water-attribute hammer, he could offset that imbalance to some degree. After a few years, when he achieved greater mastery over his cultivation, Li Ao wouldn’t need external means to solve that problem.

While he mused, Sun Zhongyan already began working on the hammer.

He took out an ancient grid for the hammer—the general shape seemed similar to the one he held.

As he heated up the ore and rolled it, Li Ao returned to reality.

Instead of hammering, Sun Zhongyan raised his palm and pressed down.

A ring of air formed around the point of impact, then spread out like thunder. Its roar suppressed the yelps and shouts rising around the smithy.

A shockwave sent everyone to the ground except Fan Yueyin. She didn’t seem affected at all while others rolled across the smithy.

Li Ao barely managed to stand upright, but another shockwave came and sent him tumbling alongside others.

Sun Zhongyan slapped down nine times, then rolled the metal again. This time, he began to hammer.

Gathering to their feet, everyone stood at a respectful distance this time.

Watching the flames burst, Li Ao became enamored with the process.

For an hour, the forgery rang with clanks and rings of metal. A sharp, red flame rose every once in a while, dying the black interior crimson.

At last, Sun Zhongyan stopped hammering and put the hammer into a pool of spiritual water. A steam exploded forth and enveloped the room.

Li Ao could taste the sweet smell of morning dew with each breath.

A whistle echoed, then the ground cracked in front of him.

The forging hammer was an aquamarine color, with a compact surface and two sides. Its handle was marine blue, and from its entire being a refreshing smell spread out.

It was a first-grade Earth-quality forging hammer, and just with a look Li Ao could see the potential to upgrade it further.

He took it with one hand, albeit strained, and waved it a few times. Then he bowed at the panting old man with reverence.

‘’Each of your...tools,’’ Sun Zhongyan spoke through heavy breaths. ‘’Can be reforged into Spiritual Tools in the future.’’

‘’If you can further improve yourselves, it is not a foolish dream to bring them into the Heaven-Quality realm.’’

‘’In the end, it depends on you.’’ Fan Yueyin added. ‘’I did the same with my first Heaven-Quality weapon. You all should be grateful to Old Sun.’’

‘’We are eternally grateful to Master Sun!’’

Everyone bowed in unison.

The old man simply waved his fan, which came out of nowhere, and descended the dais.

‘’Get to know each other while you are here. A few weeks later, there will be an internal competition among you.’’

Hearing this, Li Ao’s brows rose.

‘’There won’t be any rewards. But...’’

Here he cast a glance at Fan Yueyin and everyone understood his meaning.

Everyone spoke some pleasantries and promised to join, and Li Ao did the same. Then he made to leave.

However, Sun Jian blocked his path.

‘’Xu Liao!’’

‘’Yes, young master?’’

Sun Jian put his hands over his chest and glared down at him.

‘’Would you like—I mean, come with me! We shall be having some tea and talk with other friends—competitors!’’

Li Ao let out a sigh.

‘’Am I really allowed to, young master?’’

‘’Of course! You have my permission.’’

‘’But my attire...’’

Looking down at Li Ao’s dirty and ashen clothes, Sun Jian frowned for a moment.

‘’We will be at the Eastern Square’s Chiming Bell Tavern. Come there after cleaning up!’’

‘’Of course, of course.’’

‘’Don’t forget! Don’t hurry, take your time! Don’t trip and hurt yourself!’’

‘’Of course, of course.’’

‘’Then good bye!’’

Li Ao left while bowing again and again. Behind them, Sun Zhongyan shook his fan and sighed.

Then his grandson approached him with a worried look.

‘’Grandpa...is Xu Liao poor?’’

‘’Should I have given him some clothes?’’

Sun Zhongyan patted his grandson’s head and sighed again.

‘’Weren’t you interested in him?’’

Fan Yueyin looked at the leaving youngsters and shook her head at Sun Zhongyan.

‘’I’ll see to it after the internal competition.’’