Becoming a Martial Master: Starting as a Swordsmith

At this moment,

Shen Chu suddenly felt an unusual vibration coming from the iron material in his hand.

He looked down and saw a hair-thin crack quietly spreading across the beautiful silver patterns on the surface of the blade blank.

Oops!

Upon seeing the crack, Shen Chu's heart sank.

If this crack continues to expand, the entire knife will be ruined, and this precious piece of silver-patterned meteorite will be lost forever!

Shen Chu's mind raced; he tried to find a way to salvage the situation as quickly as possible.

But cold sweat was already seeping uncontrollably from his forehead.

At this critical moment, a familiar and steady voice sounded from behind him:

"Xiao Shen, don't panic! Make the fire even hotter, then lower the knife vertically into the water, not horizontally!"

Shen Chu turned around abruptly, only to find Sun Ping already standing behind him.

At this moment, Sun Ping was calmly looking at the knife blank in his hand, his eyes carrying a composure that had been tempered by the passage of time.

Shen Chu didn't have time to think and immediately followed Sun Ping's instructions.

He turned the fire to its highest setting, and after the knife blank was evenly heated, he slowly immersed it vertically into the cooling water.

laugh! ! !

White steam shot into the sky, more violently than ever before.

Shen Chu held his breath, staring intently at the blade blank in the water. Only after the steam dissipated did he carefully remove the long blade from the water.

A layer of cool, silvery light shone from the blade, reflecting off a ray of sunlight on the horizon.

The blade's lines are smooth and clean, and the silver patterns have been permanently solidified after quenching, resembling a galaxy flowing in the night sky. The crack was also perfectly resolved under Sun Ping's timely guidance, instead forming a unique water ripple pattern on the blade, adding a touch of ancient charm.

Shen Chu gripped the hilt of the sword, raised it to his eyes, examined it carefully for a moment, and only after confirming that there were no flaws did he breathe a long sigh of relief.

He turned around and solemnly cupped his hands in thanks to Sun Ping: "Master Sun, thank you for your help. If it weren't for your timely reminder, this knife would be ruined."

Sun Ping waved his hand, stepped forward, and his gaze fell on the long sword that shimmered with silver light, a complex expression in his eyes.

He extended his finger and gently flicked the blade, listening to the clear echo. After a moment of silence, he slowly asked, "This material isn't ordinary, is it?"

Shen Chu hesitated for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "This is the silver-patterned meteorite iron that the young master brought back from Qingyang County."

Sun Ping nodded, his gaze still fixed on the knife, but his eyes seemed to drift to a very distant place.

He remained silent for a while before speaking softly with a hint of emotion: "Silver-patterned meteorite iron... The last time I saw this kind of material was thirty years ago."

Shen Chu was slightly taken aback, and a hint of inquiry appeared in her gaze as she looked at Sun Ping.

Sun Ping didn't continue speaking, but simply patted Shen Chu on the shoulder and smiled:

"Now that the knife is finished, put it away. Don't leave it out to dry and attract unwanted attention."

After saying this, he turned and walked towards the courtyard gate.

After taking a couple of steps, he stopped again and added without turning his head.

"Xiao Shen, remember to call me next time you're working on this kind of good material. Although I'm not good at much else, I'm quite experienced in blacksmithing. With me watching over things, I can help out a bit."

Watching Sun Ping's retreating figure, Shen Chu suddenly felt a strange sensation.

This seemingly ordinary old man, who only knows how to bury himself in blacksmithing, seems to have many stories hidden within him.

But Shen Chu had no time to think further. As the longsword was successfully forged, his system panel changed, and a series of text appeared in his field of vision:

[The Swordsmith's skill proficiency has increased; the initial skill "Refined Through Hammering" has been upgraded from lv1 to lv2.]

[The base physique is upgraded from D to C, while strength and endurance are slightly increased.]

Upon seeing this, an indescribable joy welled up from the bottom of Shen Chu's heart.

Needless to say, the improvement in strength and endurance was evident. When Shen Chu clenched his fist, he could clearly feel that the power contained in his arm was much greater than before.

Although the improvement in his physical attributes from "Ding Shang" to "Bing Xia" was only a rank increase, it was a qualitative leap for him.

Physical constitution represents the upper limit of a person's physical fitness!

The higher one's physical constitution, the higher the upper limit of martial arts cultivation and the capacity to carry blood and qi. From Ding to Bing means that he has officially left the ranks of "inferior talent" and entered a new level of "mediocre talent"!

Thinking about this, Shen Chu felt like crying.

Practicing martial arts is finally not so difficult!

Previously, thanks to the buffs of the skills "Twice the Result with Half the Effort" and "Fragrance Takes Away All Beings," coupled with his own diligent training, Shen Chu had barely managed to master the Crushing Stone Fist to a minor level.

This is just the beginner-level boxing technique for ordinary guards!

Only now has he realized how risky it was to go to the meeting alone and kill Han Tieshan!

Fortunately, Han Tieshan was only a mediocre person, so he escaped unscathed and even managed to unlock the [Cultist] profession!

His understanding of the skill "Refined Through a Thousand Hammers" deepened once again.

The skill was exactly as he had guessed!

This skill is not just about increasing forging efficiency.

Each level he advances will simultaneously boost his strength and physical constitution by one level.

As the saying goes, forging a knife is a form of spiritual practice, and hammering iron is a form of martial arts training.

Shen Chu glanced down at the silver-patterned meteorite iron longsword in her hand, then at the words "[Forged Through a Thousand Hammers lv2]" on the panel, and couldn't help but smile upwards.

He made the right choice!

......

The next morning, Shen Chu took the silver-patterned meteorite iron longsword and went to Li Chengwen's courtyard.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Li Chengwen standing in the middle of the yard, arms outstretched, in a rather awkward horse stance.

Shen Chu was taken aback for a moment.

Is Li Chengwen practicing martial arts?

"Young Master, what's wrong?" Shen Chu couldn't help but ask.

Li Chengwen almost lost his balance when Shen Chu called out to him like that.

He quickly composed himself, casually patted his clothes, and coughed twice: "Cough cough, it's nothing, just stretching my muscles."

Although he said that, his ears turned slightly red.

Shen Chu found it amusing, but didn't show it on his face. He simply presented the long sword with both hands, saying, "Young Master, the sword is finished."

Li Chengwen's eyes lit up, and he quickly took the long sword.

As the longsword was slowly drawn from its sheath, the cold, silvery light on its blade shimmered and shifted in the morning light.

The natural water ripples seem to come alive under the refraction of light, so beautiful that it's impossible to look away.

Li Chengwen looked at it over and over again, and then tried waving it a couple of times, his face beaming with delight.