Blacksmith: The Tempering Begins With One’s Flesh - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: End of Round One

The master smiths in charge of the tournament and logistics were stunned to see him.

Only two hours had passed since the beginning of the tournament. Most smiths would take at least four hours to make even a Grade-2 weapon.

However, when they laid eyes on the cold longsword Lin Feng was holding, their astonishment only deepened.

“Grade-3? Is that a Grade-3 weapon?”

One of the smiths asked his friend next to him in disbelief.

The others looked every bit as stunned as the one who spoke.

Lin Feng did not pay any attention to the shock in their gazes. He just walked over to the judging panel and handed over the Grade-3 weapon he was holding.

“Is it really Grade-3?”

The judge took the sword from Lin Feng carefully and gently touched the blade, which still had lingering heat in it. Suddenly, he gave the blade a hard jolt.

The blue longsword gave an abnormally sharp wail after he jolted it with his wrist.

The blade, still warm, suddenly emitted a burst of energy once he abruptly applied force to it, too.

After a pause, the smith let out a soft sigh and put the Grade-3 longsword securely onto the sword rack before suddenly giving Lin Feng a bow.

“Your smithing skills have truly opened my eyes, sir.”

Lin Feng returned the bow and then looked up at the high-ranking smith, asking,

“May I know when the next part of the tournament will begin?”

The tournament schedule usually changed depending on the number of participants.

All Lin Feng knew was that there were more participants this time than usual.

After all, the demonic beasts were surging into human lands everywhere, so more smiths from all over were gathered here.

The judge merely smiled.

“Two days from now. This is only the first round, in which we expect to eliminate more than a hundred participants.

“When the next round begins, there will probably be less than fifty people left.

“You should go back and rest well. Gather your strength and steady yourself for the next round two days from now. At that time, the only smiths left will be at least above average in skill.”

The judge’s smile suddenly widened. Looking at the bright blue sky outside with an air of satisfaction, he said,

“I can see it already. The Smithing Tournament this year will be an exciting event indeed!”

Lin Feng updated his registration particulars and left the Grade-3 Ice Sword at the Smiths’ Association. Considering the schedule of the tournament, he then headed back to the inn.

“Andera paid for my room for a week. Could it be because he knew that the tournament would last several days?”

Lin Feng took off his sweaty smith’s uniform and pulled some of his own clothes from his luggage, putting them on while still lost in thought.

Regardless, he had completed the tournament requirements for today. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he activated his invisible Holy Flame and slowly bathed his bones, heart, and muscles in a gentle warmth.

The time ticked past. As the sky outside grew darker, Lin Feng observed the passersby on the street.

As mentioned before, life in Grimm was quite different from Whitewing and Whitestar.

For one, the people here seemed more active at night than during the day.

Lin Feng saw the crowd on the streets grow, and soon all the lights had come on.

Fiery-red lanterns made of hemp were hung from the eaves, and the orange light from the flames illuminated the entire city.

Lin Feng sat in the inn, looking down at the streets as his lips suddenly curved into a smile.

How nice it would be if all humans could live such carefree lives without worrying about the demonic beasts.

When Lin Feng thought about the beasts, however, his expression gradually grew more solemn.

He could still clearly remembered the scenes from when Whitewing was overrun.

His fists clenched tightly despite himself.

Demonic beasts were humans’ greatest enemy.

As long as they still lived, humans would never have peace.

After taking a deep breath, Lin Feng grabbed a leather coat and put it on. He then pulled open the inn door and left.

Upon walking through the crowded streets, Lin Feng eventually paused in front of the Smiths’ Association.

However, the doors to the Association were tightly shut. It was probably because the competition had just ended so the members were inside appraising all the weapons they had made.

The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth twitched.

He was not one who could sit still. When he remembered how much damage the beasts were doing to humanity back in the inn, he had immediately lost all desire to rest.

Nevertheless, the Smiths’ Association looked closed for the day, so it seemed he could not calm himself down by forging like he usually did.

Lin Feng was stumped. All he could do was sigh and head back to the inn.

Just then, however, two men dressed in leather mercenary garb walked toward his direction.

They looked serious, talking incessantly to each other. As they went past him, Lin Feng perked up his ears and caught a few lines.

“It’s a shame that my Flame Sword damaged the Grade-3 beast hide I brought back, or else that piece of hide would probably be worth another hundred gold pieces at the very least.”

“Yeah… But don’t worry too much about it, bro. That Grade-3 Minotaur was quite a tough customer to begin with. If you hadn’t stabbed its stomach with your Flame Sword, our entire team might have died there.”

“True, but… Sigh, I just think it could have gone better. Ah well, let’s just get a coupla drinks at Hunter Tavern. Next week, we’ll take another hunting mission!”

Lin Feng’s eyes suddenly shone as the mercenaries walked into the distance.

A team, huh…

They had to be from the Mercenaries’ Guild.

Since he had nothing better to do, perhaps he could go take some beast extermination commissions. That way, he would be indirectly protecting the peace for the sake of humanity.

He could cull some beasts and earn some money at the same time. Why not?

His mind made up, Lin Feng nodded to himself and weaved through the streets. A few minutes later, he was at the door of the Mercenaries’ Guild, which was far sparser compared to the rest of the busy city.

Although Grimm’s Mercenaries’ Guild building looked quite impressive from the outside, it was still a little lacking compared to the Smiths’ Association.

Lin Feng walked into the Guild on his own.

To his surprise, there were not that many mercenaries inside. He followed the path and the signs right up to the mercenaries’ mission counter.