Translator: AnubisTL
"Previously, I only tried smelting. This time, I'll attempt high-temperature forging," Li Qing murmured with a slight frown, turning the piece of Ink Gold over in his hands.
His master, Master Gu, also practiced the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art and had successfully forged weapons using Ink Gold before. Moreover, Master Gu had recommended that Li Qing help Chiliarch Qian Hong forge a weapon with Ink Gold.
This meant that Master Gu believed Li Qing had the ability to forge Ink Gold into a weapon!
"The only similarity between my master and me is that we both practice the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art. The key to this likely lies here."
With that, Li Qing placed the Ink Gold on the forging table. The intense heat from below rose in waves, creating a sweltering atmosphere.
Li Qing immediately removed the heavy cotton robe he was wearing. He picked up the hammer and assumed the stance of the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art.
"Hu!"
He took a deep breath and then struck down with force.
Bang! The hammer made contact with the Ink Gold, producing a dull thud that caused the entire forge to tremble slightly.
Following this, Li Qing began to strike the Ink Gold repeatedly, following the techniques of the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art.
Once he entered the state of forging, Li Qing became utterly focused, even losing track of time.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Under the moonlight, the rhythmic sound of forging echoed continuously, unceasing.
Li Qing didn't know how long he had been at it, nor did he count the number of strikes he had made.
Suddenly, he noticed that the Ink Gold was finally beginning to change.
Its originally hard texture was gradually becoming softer and more malleable.
Realizing this change, Li Qing continued to strike while the iron was hot, tirelessly hammering away at the Ink Gold.
"This metal is truly miraculous. With each strike, the Ink Gold absorbs a bit of the furnace's heat."
"No wonder ordinary blacksmiths can't forge Ink Gold. It requires such immense strength. If one isn't a martial artist, an ordinary blacksmith would indeed be helpless against this Ink Gold!"
Li Qing marveled inwardly, also beginning to anticipate just how powerful a hammer forged from this Ink Gold would be.
That Chiliarch Qian Hong actually wanted to forge a Qing Hong Sword entirely from Ink Gold!
At the thought of this, Li Qing couldn't help but sigh. This was undoubtedly a monumental task, no less challenging than building a palace.
Even with his current strength and the specialized forging techniques of the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art, forging a fist-sized piece of Ink Gold was already this difficult.
To forge an entire sword from Ink Gold—it would likely exhaust several blacksmiths to death before completion!
These thoughts flashed through his mind briefly before Li Qing once again immersed himself entirely in the process of forging the hammer.
As the fist-sized piece of Ink Gold gradually became more malleable, Li Qing quickly added other iron ingots into the forge.
He planned to forge the Ink Gold into the hammer's head, while the rest of the hammer would be made of iron.
Time passed silently. Li Qing, engrossed in forging, almost lost all sense of time. In his world, there was only the hammer.
Bang! The Ink Gold was successfully fused into the hammer's head. The originally matte-black surface of the hammer now had a polished sheen due to the addition of Ink Gold.
At this moment, the entire body of the iron hammer still retained a dark red, high-temperature state.
Li Qing did not stop. He fetched cold water and carefully sprinkled it over the nearly completed hammer.
Sizzle~ The high-temperature iron instantly vaporized the cold water, causing a wisp of white steam to rise in the courtyard.
"Excellent, let's call this hammer the Peerless Hammer!" Li Qing muttered to himself with delight. He believed that this hammer, infused with Ink Gold, was truly unparalleled in the world. Since it was a hammer, unlike weapons that required sharp edges, it did not need quenching or sharpening.
After waiting for the cold water to cool the hammer's body, the Peerless Hammer was finally completed.
[Successfully forged a high-quality mortal weapon: Peerless Hammer, reward lifespan: three years!]
Three years!
Seeing the prompt before his eyes, Li Qing's eyes lit up.
Previously, when he forged ordinary weapons, the maximum lifespan reward was only one year. Later, as he forged more and more weapons, the lifespan reward gradually decreased. By the time he forged the last fine iron long halberd, it only gave him five months of lifespan.
He never expected that this iron hammer, infused with Ink Gold, would be a high-quality mortal weapon. Upon successful forging, it directly increased his lifespan by three years! Immediately after, Li Qing glanced at the number representing his remaining lifespan—145!
He could still live for nearly 150 years. Now, at almost seventeen years old, what an exaggerated number! As long as he remained free from illness and disaster, he could live to be over 160 years old. Moreover, as he continued to forge weapons, this number would keep increasing! "This truly means living as long as heaven and earth!" Li Qing could hardly contain his excitement. He placed both hands on the Peerless Hammer and slowly lifted it.
It was a very large hammer, with a handle as long as Li Qing's two arms, almost the height of an average person.
The hammerhead was also substantial, its dark, heavy black color giving the hammer a sense of solidity.
Two hundred and thirty pounds! It was very heavy, the heaviest hammer Li Qing had ever used. Yet, when he held it in his hands, he didn't feel much of a burden.
"Wait... my strength?!"
After completing the forging of the Peerless Hammer, Li Qing discovered that his strength had increased once again. The Peerless Hammer felt as if it were an extension of his arm, extremely easy to handle.
"Have I developed Outer Strength?!"
Li Qing was pleasantly surprised to find that he might have stepped into the ranks of Outer Strength experts.
After completing the forging of the Peerless Hammer, Li Qing felt somewhat fatigued, but at the same time, he felt as if he had an inexhaustible supply of energy. It seemed as if he could forge another Peerless Hammer without any problem!
"Strength naturally generated, vitality surging like tides—this is the unique characteristic of an Outer Strength expert!"
This was the description of an Outer Strength expert recorded in the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art. Now, Li Qing felt that he perfectly matched these characteristics.
"Haha! Today is truly a double blessing—no, a triple blessing!"
He had successfully smelted Ink Gold and forged the high-quality mortal weapon, the Peerless Hammer! Then, he was rewarded with three years of lifespan, which made Li Qing feel even more secure.
Finally, he felt that his greatest gain was developing Outer Strength!
Ever since he entered the military camp, he had been yearning for the realm of Outer Strength in martial arts! "If I return to the Wu Li Army now, I might even be able to secure the position of a Centurion," Li Qing said with a look of delight on his face.
In the Wu Li Army, Centurions were all masters of Outer Strength, while Chiliarchs were great masters at the level of Inner Strength!
As for Grandmasters of Transformed Strength, such individuals were few and far between, even in the entire Maple Country.
It was rumored that the general of the Wu Li Army was at the level of a Grandmaster of Transformed Strength, but this was merely a rumor and had not been confirmed.
Of course, Li Qing, who had already left the Wu Li Army, naturally had no intention of returning at this point.
TL/N: Guys why are there so few organic comments, most of the time it's just bots or people promoting their services. Please leave some comments.
(End of the Chapter)
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