Chapter 69

"Th... this..." Upon hearing Fang Ge's evaluation of him, Yuan Ming was momentarily speechless, at a loss for words.

"But..."

At this moment, Fang Ge's tone suddenly shifted. Yuan Ming thought he was about to say something positive about him, and his spirits lifted, feeling that he could finally regain some dignity and confidence.

"But, the starting point does not determine future achievements. As of now, among the 183 registered disciples, only five can continuously hammer a thousand times to forge a qualified magical weapon ingot. Whether you can become the sixth depends more on whether you are diligent enough and whether you can persist." Fang Ge continued in a matter-of-fact tone.

Although he did not hear any praise, the words "the starting point does not determine future achievements" truly touched Yuan Ming's heart.

His starting point was as a "Fur Beast Slave," already as low as it could be. Now, having just overcome the first hurdle to become a registered disciple of the Bi Luo Cave, he decided to set becoming a weapon forger as the second hurdle to overcome.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Yuan Ming took a deep breath and bowed to Fang Ge with clasped hands.

"Practice on your own... You are still at the apprentice stage, so you don't need to take on forging tasks for now. By the way, don't forget to go to the dining hall for lunch." Fang Ge said.

"Forging tasks?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

"After you can continuously hammer 560 times, you can take on some basic forging tasks. You can help forge ordinary weapons, hidden weapons, or saddles for spirit beasts for the sect's disciples." Fang Ge answered casually.

Yuan Ming recalled that the smoke bombs he had used before seemed to come from the Fire Refining Hall.

"I understand." Yuan Ming nodded.

"By the way, this is the basic textbook for learning weapon forging. Take it and study it. In half a month, I will come to check your progress, including your forging of the ingot." Fang Ge said.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Yuan Ming took the green book from him and put it in his pocket.

After Fang Ge left with the forged ingot, Yuan Ming started a fire and continued practicing with the hammer.

...

After the hour of Wei, a sound of a gong rang out.

The disciples who had been busy in the forge for half a day began to stop forging and leave one by one.

At this time, someone noticed that a new disciple with a proper appearance but not a very robust physique had joined the forge.

However, seeing him still hammering away diligently, no one disturbed him.

After the third quarter of the hour of Wei, Yuan Ming stopped hammering, drenched in sweat. After finding the dining hall to eat, he took a shower and returned to his quarters, dragging his tired body.

After sitting down in his room, he took out the book from his pocket. Seeing the title "Basics of Weapon Forging" in Southland script on the cover, he opened it and began to read.

As he flipped through it, he found that it contained basic knowledge about weapon forging, detailing how to identify various basic materials and the temperatures required to smelt different materials.

As he read, his vision began to blur, and he could not resist the drowsiness, falling asleep on the desk.

After an unknown amount of time, a cool breeze blew in, and Yuan Ming woke up, instinctively reaching for the green fish sword at his waist.

Unconsciously, he thought he was still in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and he was frightened by how deeply he had slept.

But when he saw the surroundings clearly, he felt a moment of confusion.

At this moment, a bright moonlight was shining in from outside, like a light veil spread on the desk in front of him.

Yuan Ming, now wide awake, sat down on the floor, made a hand seal, and began to practice the "Mingyue Technique."

Outside the window, on a branch he could not see, a silver cat lay lazily.

Its head rested on its front paws, its eyes half-closed, and the moonlight flowed over its silver fur, creating a shimmering glow.

...

Time passed quickly, and half a month went by.

In a casting room in the forge, the sound of hammering was continuous. Yuan Ming held a forging hammer and was hammering an iron ingot.

Fang Ge and several disciples from the Fire Refining Hall were watching, and Chen Wan was also there.

"281, 282..." a disciple counted.

Yuan Ming swung the hammer with all his might, his strength and speed exactly the same as Fang Ge's demonstration, without any mistakes. However, as time passed, his strength gradually waned, and his face turned pale.

Just after the count reached 300, his arm ached, and he could no longer lift the hammer, which fell with a "ding" on the anvil.

"315 hammer strikes, failed the test." Fang Ge shook his head, his voice devoid of emotion.

The onlookers laughed, some with mocking expressions. They forged countless times every day, and Yuan Ming could not even reach 500 hammer strikes.

Yuan Ming was not particularly upset. He had done his best, and it seemed that his physical condition still had a gap compared to the Southlanders.

Fang Ge frowned. Yuan Ming's physique did not seem suitable for forging, but he had seen his hard work every day.

"How is your study of the 'Basics of Weapon Forging'?" Fang Ge asked.

"I have basically memorized it." Yuan Ming replied.

"Memorized? Tell me the origin, characteristics, and properties of Wutie Stone!" Fang Ge's face darkened, and his voice became stern.

He had asked how his study was going, not whether he had memorized it. The "Basics of Weapon Forging" was the foundation of the Fire Refining Hall, with a lot of content, and even senior disciples of the Fire Refining Hall dared not claim to have memorized half of it.

Fang Ge, who managed the forge, was steady and serious, and he hated those who spoke lightly and boasted.

"Wutie Stone is found in the Black Wind Mountains in the northwest of the Southland. It has a cold and hard texture, is resilient, and is suitable for forging bows, arrows, and flexible whips." Yuan Ming recalled and recited the content of Wutie Stone.

Fang Ge paused, then continued, "Shuijin Jade."

"Shuijin Jade is found in the Lujin Lake of the Southland. It is extremely hard and suitable for forging swords and knives, but it is easily eroded by yin energy and must be carefully stored." Yuan Ming answered without hesitation.

This time, not only Fang Ge but also the others were surprised.

Chen Wan looked at Yuan Ming, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Fang Ge asked about several other spiritual materials and the temperatures required to smelt them, and Yuan Ming answered accurately.

"It seems you really have memorized it. Good. From today, you will do the material screening work." Fang Ge nodded, his tone much softer.

"Yes." Yuan Ming nodded in agreement.

The male disciples who were watching showed disdain in their eyes.

Material screening was usually done by female disciples with weaker wrists. In the Fire Refining Hall, male disciples doing material screening were considered weak and cowardly. Yuan Ming's acceptance of this task was seen as a lack of shame.

Yuan Ming knew that the male disciples in the forge had some prejudice against material screening, but he did not care. He had gradually adjusted his mindset and planned to establish himself as a registered disciple first.

"What are you looking at? There is no hierarchy in the forge. It seems my previous words have been ignored by you all?" Fang Ge looked at them with a stern face.

"Fang Senior Brother is right. We have always remembered your teachings and do not have any prejudices."

"Yes, we think that Yuan Junior Brother has an excellent memory and is very intelligent, making him suitable for material screening. Your arrangement is very appropriate."

"Senior Brother, I suddenly remember I have some urgent matters to attend to. I will take my leave first."

"Oh, I also have something to do. I almost forgot."

Seeing Fang Ge's anger, they hastily apologized and dispersed.

Fang Ge sighed and said to Chen Wan, who was still there, "Chen Junior Sister, I have some matters to attend to. Please take Yuan Ming to Wuri's casting room. He has been short of people, and please explain the key points of material screening to Yuan Ming."

"Okay." Chen Wan nodded and walked to the other side.

Yuan Ming followed, looking back at Fang Ge, who was walking away, and asked, "Chen Senior Sister, why did Senior Brother Fang sigh just now?"

"Do you think there is a hierarchy in the forge?" Chen Wan looked at Yuan Ming and asked.

"If we consider the difficulty, forging is the hardest, and material screening is simpler. However, both forging and material screening are just steps in weapon forging. If any step is done poorly, it will affect the final result. So, in a sense, there is no hierarchy." Yuan Ming answered without hesitation.

"It's rare to have such insight, but the people in the Fire Refining Hall do not think so. As you said, among the tasks in the forge, forging is the hardest, and the sect values forging disciples the most, giving them the most resources. Because of this, forging disciples become arrogant and look down on material screening and smelting disciples, leading to increasing conflicts, which is detrimental to the development of the Fire Refining Hall. Since taking charge of the forge, Senior Brother Fang has been trying to adjust this prejudice, but as you saw, the results have been minimal, and he naturally sighed in disappointment." Chen Wan explained.

"I see, Senior Brother Fang is not easy." Yuan Ming understood, and his view of Fang Ge improved.

"Let's not talk about this. You have probably seen material screening before. This task is simple. Follow the instructions of the forging disciples, crush the required minerals, and sieve them. The only thing to be careful about is not to mix up the minerals. Since you have read the 'Basics of Weapon Forging' thoroughly, as long as you are careful, there should be no problem." Chen Wan said as they walked.

"Yes, thank you, Senior Sister Chen." Yuan Ming responded.

As they spoke, they arrived at a small casting room.

There were only four people here. The leader was a tall young man with a broad build, thick limbs, and hands burned to a dark yellow, clearly a senior forging disciple.

There were two female disciples screening materials, one tall with slightly dark skin, and the other a young girl with a round face and baby fat.

The last person was a bald male disciple, around twenty years old, who was vigorously pulling the bellows to maintain the temperature of the fire pit.

Compared to other casting rooms, there were fewer people here, and everyone was extremely busy, especially the two female disciples screening materials, who were almost running around, their clothes and faces covered in dust, looking quite disheveled.

"Wuri, this is Yuan Ming, a new disciple of the Fire Refining Hall. He will help with material screening here from now on." Chen Wan said to the tall young man who was hammering a casting block.

Wuri did not respond, focusing on the red-hot casting block in front of him. He hammered it like a whirlwind for nearly a hundred times before stopping.

He placed the casting block back into the fire pit, turned his body, looked at Chen Wan, and then turned his gaze to Yuan Ming with a suspicious look, saying, "Newcomer