Chapter 41

It seems these apprentices all regard him as a loafer who comes to eat for free? Lu Buqi’s lips tightened slightly, but he didn’t say a word.

At this moment, Wang Gangqiang loudly said, "To avoid wasting coal and everyone’s time, the rules of this competition are: within half an hour, whoever has more effective bellows strokes wins."

"What coal is being wasted? I haven’t worked with my hands for a long time, and they are itching. It’s rare to have someone pull the bellows, so let’s play a bit!" Wang Lishou had already taken off his leather jacket and was holding a small hammer. "Gangqiang, you team up with me. You guys don’t just stand around; tonight, we’ll all work overtime and forge twenty fine iron spearheads. Let me see if your skills have improved over the past six months."

With Wang Lishou’s words, the apprentices and blacksmiths naturally followed suit, each taking their tools and quickly pairing up, then preparing the materials.

Lu Buqi noticed that the pairing for forging was always an older one with a younger one. The older ones, who were more experienced, held the tongs and small hammers, while the younger ones held the large hammers. It seemed to be a well-established routine.

"Lu Yazi, Wen Yazi, you two will count for Buqi and Niansheng. Lihong, help keep an eye on it, don’t get the count too wrong!" Wang Lishou’s face glowed with an unusual red light, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation as he looked at Lu Buqi. "Let’s start!"

As Lu Buqi and Wang Niansheng vigorously pulled the bellows, the furnace, with its top open, roared, and two tongues of fire rising half a meter instantly illuminated the entire forge like daylight.

The sound of hammering rang out, and Lu Buqi knew that Wang Lishou and the others had thrown the prepared iron into the furnace. The counting voice of Lu Yazi also echoed in Lu Buqi’s ears.

The bellows whistled, but Lu Buqi didn’t start pulling with all his might. In his memory, when the iron was first put into the furnace, it didn’t need too much heat. After all, even iron smelting was a gradual process.

However, to others, it seemed that Lu Buqi was struggling with the bellows, and his speed was clearly slower than Wang Niansheng’s. The frequency of the flames rising from Wang Niansheng’s furnace was obviously faster. When Wen Yazi had counted to fifty, Lu Buqi was only at thirty-two.

Many people showed expressions of "as expected." In their view, Lu Buqi was just a thirteen-year-old boy who had never touched a forge. How could he possibly be a match for Wang Niansheng? To have this performance was already quite good!

But only Wang Lishou kept smiling, because he knew that Lu Buqi wouldn’t lose. Moreover, what surprised him was that Lu Buqi seemed to have a natural talent for being a blacksmith, finding a good rhythm with the bellows in just a few strokes.

In just thirty-two strokes, the effect of melting iron was no less than Wang Niansheng’s fifty strokes, as evidenced by the rate at which the blacksmiths moved the iron blocks.

When the sound of hammering, light and heavy, rang in his ears, Lu Buqi suddenly increased the speed of the bellows, because he also understood that to stay in Wang Lishou’s forge, he had to win Wang Niansheng first.

Lu Yazi was clearly surprised, as he found it hard to keep up with the changing frequency. Lu Buqi’s speed had indeed increased significantly, and he had switched from using both hands to one.

Wang Lihong’s eyebrows raised, and his surprise was evident. Just a moment ago, when Lu Buqi was pulling the bellows casually, there was no obvious display of strength. But now, with the increased speed, that natural strength was evident, and it didn’t escape the eyes of a Bone Resonance expert like Wang Lihong.

"Good heavens, he’s already cultivated the Strength Formula to the ninth level in just half a year?" Wang Lihong muttered, his heart racing. He suddenly understood why Wang Lishou could eat the meat of several refined beasts.

Even before cultivating the Strength Formula, Lu Buqi’s strength was equivalent to that of a seventh or eighth-level warrior, and he dared to challenge refined beasts. Now, with the Strength Formula at the ninth level, he wouldn’t be a liability to Wang Lishou if they encountered a refined beast. They would even have a chance to kill it.

Wang Niansheng also noticed Lu Buqi’s increased frequency. At first, he thought Lu Buqi had just become a bit more proficient and thus sped up a little. But when he realized that Lu Buqi’s speed had doubled, he started to take it seriously.

Originally, Wang Niansheng was sitting pretty, even feeling a bit sorry for the coal and slowing down a bit. But now, seeing that Lu Buqi had some real skills, he knew that if he didn’t use his full strength, he might lose.

As a result, the flames in the furnace danced even more freely, and the temperature in the forge rose again. Many of the younger apprentices, including Lu Yazi and Wen Yazi, who were counting, moved outside the forge.

However, Lu Buqi didn’t maintain the high speed for long. Just as he was about to catch up with Wang Niansheng’s number of strokes, he slowed down slightly, giving the impression that he was exhausted. In fact, Lu Buqi had only slowed down because Wang Lishou and the others had put more iron into the furnace to avoid burning themselves. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have minded surpassing Wang Niansheng immediately.

After a few rounds, although Lu Buqi’s number of strokes was still a few dozen less than Wang Niansheng’s, the way people looked at him had completely changed.

Wang Niansheng, drenched in sweat, also changed his mind. If he still couldn’t realize that Lu Buqi’s basic abilities were not inferior to his, he wouldn’t be Wang Lishou’s favorite disciple.

However, even so, the competitive Wang Niansheng wouldn’t allow himself to lose to a newcomer, especially one who was only thirteen, a beginner, and, more importantly, a swamp slave, a lowly person who had just received a name and had no surname!

But within the half hour, amidst the exclamations of the other apprentices who hadn’t joined the rush, Lu Buqi’s number of strokes naturally surpassed Wang Niansheng’s and maintained a leading position.

"The time is up!" Wang Lihong’s voice announced the result of the competition: "Buqi made 1,961 strokes, Niansheng made 1,887 strokes. Buqi wins."

"Ha ha..." Just as he threw the spear tip, which had been hammered a thousand times, into the quenching pool, Wang Lishou, his body gleaming with a bronze sheen, took a sip of cold water and laughed heartily. "I told you, I don’t make mistakes! Buqi, you can slow down a bit. You two are going to burn all the coal."

Wang Niansheng’s face was ashen, but he still continued to pull the bellows, though much slower, until the slowest group had completed the tempering of the spear tips, then he finally stopped.

Then, Wang Lishou walked around, inspected the twenty spear tips, and finally nodded in satisfaction. "Good, very good. Everyone’s skills have improved, and you haven’t been lazy these days. However, Minhan, your tempering of the spear tip wasn’t quite right, and the strength is a bit lacking... But it’s fine, these are just the blanks I need..."

"What? A thousand hammerings are just blanks?" The blacksmiths and apprentices were quite surprised. In their memory, such quality spear tips could be used as standard weapons in the private army.

Wang Lishou glanced at Lu Buqi and laughed heartily. "Don’t ask so many questions. Just put them away. I’ll have my use for them."

Clapping his hands, Wang Lishou walked to Wang Niansheng and patted him on the shoulder. "What, tough guy, still not convinced?"

Wang Niansheng gritted his teeth and hung his head. "Convinced!"

"Good, that’s settled!" Wang Lishou nodded. "If you’re not convinced, you’ll have a hard time! Since you’re convinced, I’ll pay Buqi eight cuts. Do you have any objections?"

"No!" At this moment, Wang Niansheng had no face to raise objections. If Lu Buqi wasn’t worth eight cuts, wouldn’t that mean he was even less worth it?

"Let him live in the same room as you. Do you have any objections?" Wang Lishou narrowed his eyes at Wang Niansheng, who shook his head again. "No, I’ll follow Master’s arrangement. I accept the loss, and Niansheng will treat Buqi at the Happy Tower tomorrow."