Blacksmith: The Tempering Begins With One’s Flesh - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Material

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

To tell the truth, Lin Feng was more than a little surprised at the offer of eight thousand gold pieces by now.

At first, he had only planned to find this Grade-3 Obsidian Sword a good owner.

He did not think that a small auction here at Whitestar would harbor so many hidden millionaires. 

He definitely did not think the price would be raised this high.

When faced with the employee who approached him in secret, Lin Feng had to just nod exasperatedly.

To be honest, he did not want the auction to continue like this either. The employee’s expression lit up, and he quickly ran to the stage, saying something to the host.

The auction host nodded repeatedly and suddenly tapped his gavel onto the table, saying,

“Everyone, please!

“We’ve received a message from the owner of the Obsidian Sword!

“He has decided to give Master Andera the sword in exchange for eight thousand gold pieces! With that, the auction is over!”

Eight thousand gold pieces!

That number was enough to make many members of the crowd balk.

Eight thousand was far higher than they had ever imagined. That was why they did not protest too loudly even though the Obsidian Sword was given away in a private deal.

After the rest of the crowd dispersed, Andera took the Obsidian Sword in its leather wrapping out of the trade center, quite satisfied with his purchase.

However, he had barely stepped out when he overheard an unexpected conversation.

“Hey, did you hear? Apparently Master Lin Feng, the blacksmith who just arrived at Whitestar recently, made a weapon that sold for eight thousand gold pieces!

“Eight thousand! Oh my lord, could he be a Grade-4 master blacksmith?”

Andera’s hand tightened around the Obsidian Sword for some reason, his expression torn between confusion and bitterness. Finally, he just shook his head.

“Lin Feng… I think I’ll pay you a visit after I examine this sword of yours very closely…”

Of course, Lin Feng did not know what happened after he left.

By the time he returned to his smithy, it was already past three in the afternoon, but his forge in the smithy was still burning hot.

Mystified, Lin Feng looked around the smithy and saw a terrible-looking dagger that he had not forged lying abandoned on the forging table.

At the same time, Brent walked out from the inner room, looking dejected.

When Lin Feng saw his expression, he understood what the boy was thinking without having to ask.

“You’re thinking that you have no talent as a blacksmith, right? Because you can’t even make a normal dagger?”

Lin Feng’s question made Brent nod slowly, both of his eyes red.

“Haha…”

To Brent’s surprise, Lin Feng just chuckled and patted the boy’s head, saying,

“Actually, the first time I tried to forge something with metal back then, the result was even worse than your dagger.”

Brent’s mouth fell open, his expression that of disbelief.

That night, Lin Feng walked Brent back to his room and gave him the Strengthening Potions. 

After that, he brought his blue crystal ore back to the smithy and contemplated on it.

With God-level Forgery, he simulated one way of using the crystal after another.

Not too long later, there was a flash of understanding in his eyes.

“Weapons made with blue crystal will have high magic power but limited sharpness. The perfect way to solve that weakness would be to use the claw of a cat-type demonic beast, which can increase the sharpness of a weapon…

“Now the question is, how do I get my hands on such a claw?”

With that in mind, Lin Feng paced around the smithy. Suddenly he remembered that he had seen a Grade-2 cat demon in the Whitewing demon tide, back when he had saved Brent.

“Looks like I’ll need to make another trip to Whitewing if I want to forge the blue crystal into a weapon…”

Although Whitewing was still very dangerous right now, Lin Feng nevertheless decided to hunt a cat demon.

It just happened to be nighttime, so after some hesitation, Lin Feng walked right out of his smithy.

Out of fear for the rampaging beasts, the citizens tended to stay in their rooms after nightfall, so Lin Feng did not draw much attention to himself on his way out.

He made it to the outskirts of Whitewing without any trouble, but when he arrived there, he suddenly realized that the beasts overrunning Whitewing seemed to have reduced in numbers.

“Could so many of them have retreated to another spot?”

Since he had his suspicions, Lin Feng hid himself and gradually approached the city.

A few low-grade straggled beasts noticed Lin Feng and immediately surrounded him, but Lin Feng had reinforced his bones four times by now. The beasts were weaker than even a normal Grade-3 fighter, so he cut through them like butter.

“I didn’t realize it, but… have I truly gotten this strong?”

Lin Feng was ecstatic to see how much he had grown, but he did not stop moving. Soon enough, he had walked into the heart of the city.

At the same time, in Whitestar after Lin Feng left his smithy…

Andera was standing in his own room, looking at the Obsidian Sword with its purple starlight as it lay on the table in front of him.

“But how can this be…?

“Since it has the power of the stars, it should have come from a meteorite ore, but how did he manage to replicate the star energy onto the sword itself?

“Even actual meteors can’t summon the power of the stars like this. What is the matter with this sword?”

Those questions haunted Andera into the night. He spent all day ruminating on it, but he could not figure it out even as the distant horizon began to brighten.

His eyes were bloodshot, and it looked as though he had aged ten years.

When he saw that the sky outside had turned to day, he clenched his teeth and made up his mind. Grabbing the Obsidian Sword, he walked out of his house.

He had to go to Lin Feng’s smithy and find out!

As a blacksmith, he was more curious about the creation process of this Obsidian Sword than anyone else.

Lin Feng’s smithy was emanating waves of heat, thick black smoke rising from the stone chimney.

Andera walked right up to the door and knocked on it loudly.

Soon, a slightly skinny young man with surprisingly well-defined muscles opened the door.

“Excuse me, who is this?”

Andera’s mind was a mess right now. Gripping the Obsidian Sword tightly, he told the skinny boy,

“I’m looking for Lin Feng…”

Brent blinked and gave Andera a closer look. When he saw the Obsidian Sword in his hands, he seemed to immediately understand something.

“Sorry, my master went out last night, and I’m not sure when he’ll be back…

“Could you wait a little longer? He usually comes back in two or three days.”

Andera blinked his dry eyes and frowned slightly, muttering to himself,

“He went out…”