Elder Huoyun contentedly basked in the shocked and adoring gazes of his disciples. His eyes swept over Xu Yang, and an idea struck him. "Xu Yang, come here," he said.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes fell upon Xu Yang.
"This disciple greets you, Master!" He dared not hesitate, quickly stepping forward and cupping his fists.
Elder Huoyun nodded. "You’ve been on the peak for some time now. You should have started practicing the Thousand Forging Technique."
Xu Yang nodded. "To answer, Master, I began practicing the Thousand Forging Technique at the Forging Pavilion over twenty days ago."
"And how is your practice coming along?" Elder Huoyun asked with a smile.
"It’s hard," Xu Yang said bluntly.
In truth, he had no idea if it was difficult or not. Practicing the Thousand Forging Technique often meant ruining the Profound Iron, and he didn’t want to waste money.
When he went to the Forging Pavilion to practice the Thousand Forging Technique, he was basically just putting on an act, making it look like he was practicing in front of others.
His actual method of improvement was still through his panel.
"Now, you give it a try. Let me see what your talent for Weapon Forging is like," said Elder Huoyun.
Today was, in fact, mainly for Xu Yang’s sake. He wanted to see if this new disciple had any Weapon Forging talent. If he did, he would receive special training in the future.
If not, he would naturally pay him no more mind and just let him focus on his martial arts training.
He treated practically every disciple who joined him in this manner.
"Alright!"
Xu Yang turned, pulled a heated piece of Profound Iron from the forge, and began the first fold and strike.
THUD! THUD...
The muffled strikes echoed as wisps of Gang Qi seeped into the Profound Iron with each impact.
One forge!
Two forges!
...
No one spoke, their gazes fixed intently on the piece of Profound Iron.
"Stop. Any more strikes and that piece of Profound Iron will be ruined."
On the hundredth forge, Elder Huoyun suddenly called for him to stop. Xu Yang’s raised hand froze mid-air before he slowly lowered it.
"Your talent for Weapon Forging is average. It will be difficult for you to achieve much. From now on, you should focus your efforts on your cultivation," Elder Huoyun said, shaking his head.
After nearly twenty days of practice, Xu Yang hadn’t even reached one hundred forges in the Thousand Forging Technique. This indicated that his Gang Qi was not suited for enhancing the properties of materials.
A truly talented person would reach at least two hundred forges in the Thousand Forging Technique after twenty days of practice. Xu Yang hadn’t even reached half of that.
’I thought that after being rejected by Tie Fu and Chang Chun, I might have stumbled upon a hidden genius. But that’s just a plot from a storybook. It’s not that Xu Yang has no Weapon Forging talent, but he doesn’t have much. In the future, even crafting a Half-Spirit Weapon will be difficult for him.’
"Yes, Master!" Xu Yang cupped his fists, sensing the distance in Huoyun’s words.
’It wasn’t as if he had been putting all his effort into honing his Weapon Forging Skill anyway. Whether it was Weapon Forging or Alchemy, for him, they were just ways to earn resources.’
’Elder Huoyun’s words didn’t faze him in the slightest. He had his panel; even without talent, he would master the Weapon Forging Skill sooner or later.’
The others, however, didn’t think this way. They all looked at Xu Yang with pity. Lacking talent in Weapon Forging meant that Xu Yang would no longer be valued by Elder Huoyun.
Next, Elder Huoyun used Xu Yang as an example to instruct the group of disciples for a while before waving his hand and dismissing them all.
"Junior Brother Xu, it’s no big deal if you don’t have talent for Weapon Forging. Just focus on your cultivation from now on. Whether it’s a Weapon Forger or a Pill Master, they mainly exist to serve Martial Artists anyway.
If you need Weapons in the future, I’ll forge them for you."
Worried that Xu Yang was feeling down, Gao Lin caught up to him to offer some comfort.
Xu Yang smiled. "Then I’ll have to thank you, Senior Brother Gao."
That same day, the news that Elder Huoyun had declared Xu Yang to have no talent for Weapon Forging spread among the disciples of Li Fire Peak.
When Xu Yang went to the dining hall to eat, people looked at him with a mixture of pity and schadenfreude. This was because the vast majority of them had also been declared by their master to have no talent for Weapon Forging.
Seeing someone else as unlucky as them naturally made them happy.
"Brother Xu, it’s a good thing you didn’t waste all that money back then."
Xiong Kun strode over, and it was hard to tell if he was comforting Xu Yang or gloating.
His face was full of smug satisfaction, his spirits soaring.
Xu Yang had already heard the news: Xiong Kun’s Weapon Forging talent was quite good. Elder Tie Fu had initially overlooked him, but after Xiong Kun reached nearly two hundred forges in the Thousand Forging Technique within a single month, he earned the elder’s attention. He was now expected to reach Minor Achievement in the Thousand Forging Technique—the level of three hundred forges—in a total of a month and a half.
"Brother Xu, so you really don’t have any Weapon Forging talent either," Jiang Fan appeared, a smile on his face.
He himself had given up on the Thousand Forging Technique in less than a month. He had started learning it on a whim, only to find it tedious and a waste of time and money. He had given up after just ten days or so.
"Does my lack of talent make you happy, Brother Jiang?" Xu Yang asked with a laugh.
’He couldn’t tell if Xiong Kun was gloating, but he knew Jiang Fan definitely wouldn’t have such intentions.’
Jiang Fan’s expression turned serious. "Weapon Forging isn’t the only path. With Brother Xu’s talent, the proper path is martial arts. Pill Masters, Weapon Forgers... aren’t they all just servants to the strong?"
This remark made Xiong Kun’s face darken. He had been feeling smug due to his own impressive Weapon Forging talent, and now, hearing these words, it sounded as if his talent was only destined to serve others in the future.
However, seeing that the one who spoke was the Young Master Marquis, he could only grit his teeth and bear it, not daring to retort.
"You really dare to say that, Brother Jiang!" Xu Yang laughed.
’Only someone like the Young Master Marquis would dare to say that Pill Masters and Weapon Forgers exist only to serve the strong.’
Jiang Fan shook his head. "I’m just speaking the truth. With your talent, if you don’t get distracted by other things, a Secondary Dragon Ascension might not be impossible for you in the future.
If you can achieve a Secondary Dragon Ascension, countless Weapon Forgers on this Li Fire Peak would be willing to become your followers. There’s really no need to waste time and money learning some Weapon Forging Skill."