"This..." When Yuan Ming heard Fang Ge's evaluation of himself, he was speechless and speechless.
"but……"
At this time, Senior Brother Fangge suddenly changed the topic. Yuan Ming thought he was going to talk about his own merits, and he felt refreshed, feeling that he could finally regain some face and confidence.
"However, the level of the starting point cannot determine future achievements. As of now, among the one hundred and eighty-three named disciples, there are only five who can swing the hammer a thousand times in a row and forge a qualified magical weapon iron embryo. Whether you can become the sixth one depends more on whether you are diligent enough and whether you can persevere." Fang Ge continued to say solemnly.
Although he didn't hear any words of praise for himself, the sentence "The level of your starting point cannot determine your future achievements" really touched Yuan Ming's heart.
His starting point was as a "fur-covered beast slave", which was already too low. Now that he had just climbed over the first hurdle and became a registered disciple of Biluo Cave, he considered becoming a weapon refiner as the second hurdle to overcome. Bar.
"Thank you, senior brother, for your teaching." Yuan Ming took a deep breath, bowed to Fang Ge and clasped his fists.
"Practice on your own... You are still in the apprenticeship stage now, so you don't need to take on the forging task for the time being. By the way, don't forget to go to the dining hall to eat at noon." Fang Ge said.
"Forging mission?" Yuan Ming asked doubtfully.
"After you can swing the hammer five hundred and sixty times in a row, you can take on some basic forging tasks. Help the sect brothers to refine some common sharp weapons, hidden weapons, or saddles needed to ride spiritual beasts. ." Fangge replied casually.
Yuan Ming remembered that the smoke bomb he had used seemed to come from Huoliantang.
"I understand." Yuan Ming nodded.
"By the way, this is a basic textbook for learning to refine weapons. You can take it back and study it. After half a month, I will come to test your learning results, including your embryo refining status." Fang Ge said.
"Thank you, senior brother." Yuan Ming took a cyan book from his hand and put it in his arms.
After Fangge left with the smelted piece of embryonic iron, Yuan Ming started to light a fire and continued to practice hammering.
…
After a while, a golden gong sounded.
The disciples who had been busy in the fire workshop for most of the day began to stop forging and leave one after another.
At this time, someone noticed that there was a new person in Huofang who looked good but not very strong.
But seeing that he was still beating hard, he didn't bother him.
After less than three moments, Yuan Ming stopped working out while soaking wet. After finding a meal in the dining hall, he took a shower and dragged his tired body back to his residence.
After returning to the room and sitting down, he took out the book from his arms and saw "Basics of Weapon Refining" written in southern Xinjiang on the cover, so he opened it and started reading.
After flipping through it, he found that it contained basic common sense about refining, detailing such things as the identification of various basic refining materials and the firepit temperatures needed to smelt different materials.
As Yuan Ming turned over the pages, he felt his eyes blurred for a while. Unable to bear the drowsiness, he lay down on the desk and fell asleep.
I don't know how long it took, but a gust of cool wind blew. Yuan Ming suddenly woke up and subconsciously touched the herring sword at his waist.
Unconsciously, he thought he was in the midst of a hundred thousand mountains, and immediately felt frightened because he was so asleep.
But when he saw the surrounding scenery clearly, he couldn't help but feel in a trance.
At this time, a bright moonlight shone in from the outside, spreading like a veil on the table in front of him.
Yuan Ming had already recovered from his sleepiness, so he simply sat down on the ground, pinched the magic formula with both hands, and began to practice the "Ming Yue Jue".
On the pine tree outside the window, on a branch that he couldn't see, a silver cat lay lazily.
Its head was resting on its front paws, its eyes seemed to be squinted, and the watery moonlight also flowed on it, reflecting sparkling waves on its silver hair.
…
Time flies, and half a month has passed.
In a casting house in Huofang, the sound of forging could be heard endlessly. Yuan Ming held a forging hammer and pounded a piece of iron embryo.
Fang Ge and several disciples from Huolian Hall were watching, and Chen Wan was also here.
"Two hundred and eighty-one, two hundred and eighty-two..." A disciple counted.
Yuan Ming swung the hammer vigorously, and the strength and speed were exactly the same as what Fang Ge had demonstrated before, without any mistakes. However, as time passed, his strength continued to be consumed and his face gradually turned pale.
Not long after the man had counted three hundred, his arm felt sore and he couldn't lift the hammer, and it hit the anvil with a "dang" sound.
"Three hundred and fifteen swings of the hammer, the assessment failed." Fangge shook his head and said in a voice without any emotion.
The onlookers laughed, some with sarcastic expressions on their faces. They forged countless times every day, but Yuan Ming couldn't even swing the hammer five hundred times.
Yuan Ming was not angry at all. He had tried his best, but it seemed that there was still a physical gap between himself and the people in southern Xinjiang.
Fang Ge frowned. Yuan Ming's body was not blacksmith's material at first glance, but he could see the hard work he had practiced every day during this period.
"How did you read the "Basics of Weapon Refining"?" Fang Ge asked.
"I've basically remembered it all," Yuan Ming replied.
"Remember? Tell me the origin, characteristics and properties of the iron stone!" Fangge's face sank, and his voice suddenly became stern.
What he asked was how he saw it, not whether he had remembered it. The "Basics of Weapon Refining" was the basis of weapon refining in Huoliantang. The content was so rich and complicated that even senior disciples of Huoliantang would not dare to
Say you remember half of the content.
Fangge is in charge of the Fire House and has a stable temperament. He hates people who are frivolous and boastful.
"Wu Tie Stone is produced in the Heifeng Mountains in the northwest of southern Xinjiang. It has a cold texture and good toughness. It is suitable for forging bows, arrows, soft whips and other magical weapons." Yuan Ming thought about it briefly and recited the content of Wu Tie Stone.
Fang Ge paused for a moment and continued: "Broken gold and jade."
"The broken gold jade comes from the Gilded Lake in southern Xinjiang. It is extremely hard in texture and is suitable for forging swords and other magical weapons. However, this material is easily corroded by Yin Qi and needs to be carefully preserved." Yuan Ming said without thinking.
This time, not only Fang Ge, but others were also surprised.
Chen Wan looked at Yuan Ming, something strange flashed in her eyes.
Fangge also asked about several other spiritual materials and the fire pit temperature required to smelt them. Yuan Ming answered them all accurately.
"It seems that you really remembered it. Very good. From today on, you will be doing the work of sifting materials." Fang Ge nodded slightly and his tone softened a lot.
"Yes." Yuan Ming nodded in agreement.
Several male disciples who were watching saw Yuan Ming's reaction, with disdain in their eyes.
Sifting materials is usually done by female disciples with weak wrist strength. In the Huolian Hall, male disciples who sift materials will be regarded as soft-footed shrimps and losers. Yuan Ming accepted it calmly, which was a shameless performance in their eyes.
Yuan Ming also knew that the male disciples in Huofang had some prejudices against the work of sifting materials, but he didn't care. During this time, he had gradually adjusted his mentality and planned to establish a foothold among the registered disciples first.
"What are you looking at? There is no distinction between high and low in the work in Huofang. It seems that what I said before has been ignored by you?" Fangge looked at those people with a sullen face.
"Senior Brother Fang is right. We have always kept in mind Senior Brother's teachings and do not dare to be biased."
"Yes, we think that Junior Brother Yuan has an excellent memory and is smart, so he is suitable for sifting materials. Senior Brother's arrangement is quite appropriate."
"Senior brother, I suddenly remembered that I have some urgent matters to deal with, so I have to take my leave first."
"Ah, I also have something to deal with, I almost forgot."
Seeing that Fang Ge was angry, several people hurriedly confessed a few times at random, and then dispersed in a hurry.
Fang Ge sighed and said to Chen Wan who was still staying: "Junior sister Chen, I still have something to do here, so I would like you to take Yuan Ming to Wuri's casting house. He has always been short of people there. By the way, I can explain the sifting material to Yuan Ming.
The main points.”
"Okay." Chen Wan nodded and walked towards the other side.
Yuan Ming followed, looked back at Fangge who was walking away, and asked: "Senior Sister Chen, why did Senior Brother Fangge sigh just now?"
"In your opinion, is there a distinction between high and low work in Huofang?" Chen Wan glanced at Yuan Ming and asked.
"In terms of difficulty, forging is the most difficult, and sieving materials is easier. However, whether it is forging or sifting materials, it is just a step in making a weapon. Which step is not done well will affect the final result. It doesn't matter.
There is really no high or low." Yuan Ming said without thinking.
"It's rare that you have this kind of insight, but the people in Huoliantang don't think so. As you said, among the several tasks in Huolianfang, forging is the most difficult, and the sect values forging disciples the most and provides the most resources.
Because of these, the forging disciples have become more arrogant and arrogant, looking down on the sifting disciples and the smelting disciples. The conflicts between them have become more and more serious, which is not conducive to the development of Huoliantang. Brother Fangge has been trying to adjust this situation since he took over the firefang.
Waiting for prejudice, as you just saw, it has little effect, so he naturally sighed in disappointment." Chen Wan said.
"So that's it. It's not easy for Senior Brother Fang." Yuan Ming suddenly realized that Fang Ge's view changed a lot.
"Not to mention this, I think you have seen sifting materials these days. This job is very simple. Follow the forging disciple's instructions to crush the required ore and sift it carefully with a sieve. The only thing you need to pay attention to is not to make a mistake.
If you have obtained the ore, since you are familiar with "Basics of Refining Weapons", as long as you are careful, there should be no problem." Chen Wan said as he walked.
"Yes, thank you, Senior Sister Chen, for your advice." Yuan Ming responded.
While talking, the two came to a casting hut.
There are only four people here, and the leader is a tall young man with a broad build, thick limbs, and the skin of his hands is burnt yellow. At a glance, he can tell that he is a senior blacksmith disciple.
There were also two female disciples sifting materials nearby. One of them was tall and dark-skinned, and the other looked like a girl, with some baby fat on her round face.
The last person was a bald male disciple who looked to be in his early twenties. He was working hard to pull the bellows to blow the air and maintain the temperature of the flames in the fire pit.
Compared to other casting houses, there are fewer people here, and everyone is extremely busy, especially the two female disciples who are sifting materials. Their feet can hardly touch the ground, their clothes and cheeks are covered with dust, and they are a bit gray.
"Wuri, this is Yuan Ming, a new disciple of Huolian Hall. He will help you sift materials from now on." Chen Wan said to the tall young man who was hammering the ingot.
Wu Ri did not respond. He looked intently at the red-hot ingot in front of him. He hammered it nearly a hundred times like a whirlwind with one hand before stopping.
After he stuffed the ingot into the fire pit, he turned around and glanced at Chen Wan. Then he turned his eyes and looked at Yuan Ming with suspicion, and said: "Newcomer? Are you familiar with ore? I have few people here.
But we don’t need people who are doing us a disservice.”