"Brother Xu, you’d best ask a Senior Brother for a few days of guidance. Without anyone to guide you, the Thousand Forging Technique is truly difficult to get started with."
Xiong Kun walked over to offer Xu Yang some advice.
He had started cultivating the Thousand Forging Technique here before Xu Yang. At first, he also felt there was no need to waste money, but after ruining several pieces of Profound Iron, he gritted his teeth and hired someone for guidance. Things improved significantly after that.
"I’ll give it a try for a few days first," Xu Yang said with a smile.
Xiong Kun shook his head and walked away. He was speaking from experience, but there was nothing he could do if Xu Yang wouldn’t listen.
Soon, the Profound Iron in the furnace was glowing red. Xu Yang removed it, lifted the Forging Hammer, and began to pound it using the methods of the Thousand Forging Technique.
"CLANG CLANG..."
With each muffled clang, his Gang Qi seeped into the Profound Iron, bit by bit.
After about ten minutes, the glowing Profound Iron dimmed. Xu Yang had completed the first fold-and-forge. It looked no different than before, and he had no idea if its quality or performance had improved at all.
He used a pair of tongs to place the Profound Iron back into the furnace and glanced at his panel.
[Thousand Forging Technique - Introduction (0/200)]
He frowned. After all that time hammering, his Thousand Forging Technique hadn’t progressed one bit.
’Again!’
Xu Yang didn’t know if he simply lacked talent for forging or if progress was always this slow at the start. Once the Profound Iron was red-hot again, he took it out and resumed hammering with the Thousand Forging Technique.
One time!
Two times!
[Thousand Forging Technique - Introduction (1/200)]
On his eighth forging attempt, the panel finally flashed. His progress with the Thousand Forging Technique had increased by one point.
"This is way too slow!" Xu Yang was speechless.
Nearly an entire afternoon had passed, and his progress in the Thousand Forging Technique had only increased by a single point.
At this rate, he calculated it would take him at least three months just to reach the Minor Achievement stage of the Thousand Forging Technique.
’According to Jiang Yan, this means I have no talent for forging. My Gang Qi is terrible at improving the properties of the material.’
’Luckily, I can cheat. It’s just a waste of the points I’ve worked so hard to accumulate.’
Nine times!
On the tenth fold-and-forge, there was a sudden CRACK! The piece of Profound Iron, which had seemed perfectly fine, split apart. Its unique dark luster quickly faded, turning it a dull, grayish-black. It was now scrap.
This piece of Profound Iron was completely ruined.
"Haha... Junior Brother Xu, I told you it wouldn’t work without guidance. Now do you believe me? You wasted a piece of Profound Iron for nothing. That’s a loss of seventy or eighty taels of silver."
Luo Xin strode over, a gloating look on his face.
He had been watching Xu Yang the whole time, just waiting for this moment.
"Mastering the Thousand Forging Technique without paying for help? You must be dreaming."
"We all went through the same thing, paying the senior brothers who came before us for guidance. Who does he think he is?"
"Stubborn people only learn to regret their choices after they’ve bashed their heads against a wall."
...
The disciples Xu Yang had rejected earlier also took the opportunity to jeer at him.
"Didn’t Brother Jiang also ruin a piece of Profound Iron under your guidance?" Xu Yang countered with a smile.
Luo Xin’s expression instantly stiffened. Then, annoyed, he said, "Junior Brother Jiang may have ruined a piece of Profound Iron, but in a single afternoon, his Thousand Forging Technique has already reached the tenth fold."
"What about you? What fold are you on?"
’Only the tenth fold?’
’Before this piece of iron broke, wasn’t I on the tenth fold-and-forge, too?’
"Let’s call it the ninth fold," Xu Yang said.
As soon as he said this, Luo Xin’s expression changed slightly.
The others also stared wide-eyed, their faces showing disbelief.
"Just because you say it’s the ninth fold, that makes it so? Your Thousand Forging Technique doesn’t reach the ninth fold just because the Profound Iron broke after nine attempts. It depends on whether the quality was improving with each fold."
Luo Xin quickly recovered, realizing he’d almost been bluffed by Xu Yang.
The purpose of the Thousand Forging Technique is to improve a material’s properties, not to see how many times you can fold it before it breaks.
"Believe what you will. In any case, I don’t have the money to hire you." Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words.
He had only just started learning the Thousand Forging Technique, so he couldn’t tell if the material’s properties were improving, either.
Luo Xin had said all that just because he wanted to be paid for guidance. By making his stance clear, Xu Yang could prevent the guy from bothering him again.
By now, it was evening. Xu Yang picked up his remaining Profound Iron and hammer, sold the ruined piece to the Forging Pavilion for twenty taels, and left.
’A loss of eighty taels!’
In the following days, he only went to the Forging Pavilion occasionally to keep up appearances. He had no intention of cultivating the Thousand Forging Technique with his own abilities; instead, he used his panel to add a little progress each day.
In his spare time, he also cultivated the Iron Refining Hand, but most of his time was dedicated to the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture, the Fuyue Bear Scripture, and the Golden Gang Skill.
One day, he finally saw Lu Ren on Li Fire Peak. He must have completed his assessment mission and been successfully accepted into Li Fire Peak.
Xu Yang didn’t ask Lu Ren how he had done it. Their eyes met for a moment, and then they went their separate ways.
In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed since he arrived at Li Fire Peak.
One morning, just as Xu Yang was about to head out, he saw Gao Lin approaching with a cheerful smile.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Gao!" Xu Yang hurriedly said, cupping his hands.
Gao Lin nodded. "Junior Brother Xu, if you’re free, come with me. Master is instructing all the disciples on their Weapon Forging Skill today. You can’t afford to miss it."
"Of course. Thank you for letting me know, Senior Brother."
In nearly a month, Elder Huoyun had never summoned him. He had almost forgotten he was even Elder Huoyun’s disciple. It was as if he had no master at all—no guidance in Martial Arts, no lessons in Weapon Forging Skill.
Xu Yang followed Gao Lin, who went on to notify several others who were also Elder Huoyun’s disciples. When their group arrived at the Elder’s location, seven or eight people were already there.
Including their own group, Xu Yang counted a total of thirteen people. And this likely wasn’t even all of Elder Huoyun’s disciples.
’He has too many disciples. No wonder he doesn’t pay any of us much mind.’
Xu Yang was beginning to understand. Elder Huoyun had so many disciples that if he were to personally instruct each one, he’d have no time for anything else. He wouldn’t even have enough time to teach them all.
The chances of an Outer Disciple entering the Inner Sect were slim, but with each passing year, the numbers accumulated. Every Elder had quite a few disciples under their name.
Some of the Senior Brothers looked even older than Xu the Second.
"Today, I will be explaining the Thousand Forging Technique,"
Elder Huoyun announced as soon as everyone had arrived. He rose to his feet. "The Thousand Forging Technique is the foundation of the Weapon Forging Dao. If you wish to forge a Spiritual Soldier, you must first cultivate the Thousand Forging Technique to the Perfection stage. Otherwise, even if you use nothing but Spirit Iron, you will never create a proper Spiritual Soldier."
Xu Yang was shocked to hear this. He knew the Thousand Forging Technique was important, but he never realized it was *this* important.
Without reaching Perfection in the Thousand Forging Technique, it was impossible to forge a proper Spiritual Soldier.
"Some masters who have reached the pinnacle of the Thousand Forging Technique can forge powerful weapons comparable to Half-Spirit Weapons, even with ordinary materials... Watch closely."
A red-hot furnace was already prepared beside Elder Huoyun. As he spoke, he drew out a glowing piece of Profound Iron, lifted a Forging Hammer, and began to strike it with a rhythmic TING, TING, TANG.
Xu Yang watched with wide eyes. Elder Huoyun’s movements were practiced and fluid. A peculiar aura rose from him, and it was as if he had merged with the world around him.
Though his strikes seemed simple, each blow caused the Profound Iron to vibrate strangely. Streams of red energy were absorbed by the metal, which grew redder and brighter with every hammerfall. Its quality was improving at a rate visible to the naked eye.
’He truly is a master!’
Xu Yang was secretly shocked. His own attempt at the Thousand Forging Technique was just crude hammering, with no sense of artistry whatsoever.
But Elder Huoyun’s Thousand Forging Technique was a mesmerizing sight, drawing one in completely.
[Thousand Forging Technique - Introduction (61/200)]
An hour later, a faint light flashed before his eyes as the panel popped up. It showed that his progress in the Thousand Forging Technique had increased by one point.
At that same moment, Elder Huoyun stopped.
The once-ordinary piece of Profound Iron now emitted a faint fluctuation, similar to that of Spirit Iron.
While not as strong as that from true Spirit Iron, it now possessed a property unique to it.
Xu Yang was utterly stunned. No wonder Elder Huoyun had said that once the Thousand Forging Technique reached its pinnacle, one could forge Half-Spirit Weapons from even ordinary materials.
The Thousand Forging Technique could actually bestow the properties of Spirit Iron upon Mortal Iron.