He was born as a blacksmith, but he dominated the world

Chapter 82 The Rightful First Place

Re-igniting the fire and forging the art is no problem for Jiang Lin.

But there were so many people surrounding him that he felt helpless and felt like a giant panda in a zoo.

Many apprentices knew they had no hope of becoming regular employees, so they came to watch the fun.

In fact, many people don’t care whether Jiang Lin cheated or not, as it won’t affect them anyway.

And if you really put aside your prejudices and look carefully, you will find that his skills are truly extraordinary.

When others light a fire, they carefully control the temperature for fear that it is too high or too low, but Jiang Lin is different.

The bellows whirred, raising the temperature so high that the furnace was burning red. Many apprentices could not stand the high temperature and had to step back.

The extremely high temperature causes the pig iron to calcine very quickly, turning into bright red almost at a speed visible to the naked eye.

They all took the pig iron from the basket together, and many people followed along the way, which was enough to ensure that Jiang Lin did not cheat this time.

But then again, if there was no cheating this time, doesn’t that mean there was no cheating on the last piece of iron either?

Seeing Jiang Lin use the tongs to pick up the perfect piece of cherry-red pig iron, some apprentices who had previously shouted that this was cheating fell silent.

Obviously, this is a gap in skills.

But... the gap is too big!

Even our own official blacksmith has never had such amazing fire-making skills!

At this time, Jiang Lin had already picked up the sledgehammer and started smashing. The sound was still extremely monotonous, and to many people it seemed that there was no sense of rhythm at all.

But it was this monotony that allowed the piece of pig iron to be quickly molded into the shape of a long sword.

Then use a small hammer to level it, put it in cold water to quench it, and then sharpen it.

It was as smooth as flowing water and so skillful that it was hard to believe that this was something only an apprentice could do.

An apprentice gnashed his teeth and said, "The Southern Blacksmith Camp is too much! They sent someone like this to take the apprenticeship test. Who can beat him?"

"That's right, this is definitely the top apprentice!"

"It's really infuriating, but to be honest, if he really only studied for two months, it's really admirable. This person's talent is probably enough to be compared with the Grandmaster!"

"To be compared with the Grandmaster? Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

The apprentices were talking about this, and similar voices were heard among the formal blacksmiths.

When the long sword was completed, Jiang Lin walked to the testing platform under the gaze of thousands of people.

Many apprentices were still in the training stage at this moment. When they saw Yuan Gaohao pick up the shiny black long sword, their strength suddenly weakened.

Discouraged, frustrated...

Compared with Jiang Lin, am I really qualified to become a regular employee?

He waved his hand and chopped on the knife-testing stone. Looking at the mark left one inch into the stone, Yuan Gaohao nodded and announced the result loudly.

It was not surprising. The outcome was already determined from the moment Yu Maoming personally came forward to testify for Jiang Lin.

Although Jiang Lin ruthlessly rejected his two attempts to recruit him, Yuan Gaohao did not bear a grudge.

For such a genius, even if we cannot win him over, we must never make him our enemy.

They are just blacksmiths, there is no need for too much intrigue. On the contrary, the more skilled a person is, the more respect they deserve.

Yuan Gaohao smiled slightly and said, "Jiang Lin, don't go back. Just stand here."

Jiang Lin hummed, and obediently walked to his side and stopped.

Yuan Gaohao's meaning was very clear. With Jiang Lin's skill level, he would climb up sooner or later. He might as well take the opportunity of this regular test to make himself familiar to everyone and let everyone know what he looks like.

In this way, it can be considered as doing a small favor, so why not do it?

Looking at the tall and strong young man standing next to Yuan Gaohao, Zhao Yangkui's face was full of smiles and pride.

This is his apprentice!
Looking at the four major blacksmith camps, whose apprentice can have such an honor? Not long after, other apprentices came one after another to participate in the test. When everyone arrived here, they would look at Jiang Lin first.

There is envy, admiration and jealousy in his eyes.

Those who are narrow-minded and care too much about their reputation say nothing.

Those who were open-minded and quick-witted took the opportunity to greet Jiang Lin and say a few polite words to establish a friendship with him.

When someone speaks up, you can't just not respond.

For a while, Jiang Lin was actually much busier than Yuan Gaohao in front of the testing table.

However, he did not act arrogantly because of his high level of skills. His attitude was always calm and polite, which made it difficult for people not to like him.

Yan Tianrong on the stage saw this scene and secretly approved in his heart.

He has extraordinary skills and is calm enough, making him a good talent worth cultivating.

An idea suddenly occurred to the eighth-rank steward at this moment.

Although Yu Maoming was loyal enough, his loyalty was to the Blacksmith Camp, the Foundry, and the Daqian Dynasty, not to himself.

Faced with such a senior and prestigious master craftsman, even Yan Tianrong had to show some courtesy.

Even when there were differences of opinion, he had to listen to Yu Maoming.

Although he appears calm on the surface, he actually feels unhappy on the inside.

Therefore, Yan Tianrong has always wanted to cultivate a real confidant in the Foundry Department, but he just hasn't found a suitable person.

Jiang Lin's appearance made this idea quickly become clear.

Glancing at the tall, gray-haired Yu Maoming, Yan Tianrong rubbed his index finger back and forth on the armrest.

Soon, the apprenticeship test deadline was up, and the apprentice who failed to complete the casting in time beat his chest and stamped his feet, wondering why couldn't he move faster!
Those who finished the task stared at the order of their names on the iron plate. Some were delighted, while others were annoyed.

Only Jianglin is as stable as a majestic mountain.

"Jiang Lin, Song Binghui, Tang Cheng, Xu San..."

Yuan Gaohao read out a bunch of people's names, probably dozens of them, and took them off the stage.

He bowed his head and said, "Reporting to the steward and the master craftsman, fifty-three people can be promoted to regular apprentices in this apprenticeship test. The first one among them is Jiang Lin from the Southern Ironsmith Camp!"

Yuan Gaohao did not pause, he continued to describe the subsequent rankings, but no one was listening.

Even the apprentices ranked second, third, and fourth were looking at the figure in the front who was much taller than themselves, with complicated feelings.

In the Southern Blacksmith Camp, Blacksmith Qi laughed and said, "Congratulations, Master! Your beloved disciple won first place. You must celebrate well when you return!"

The other blacksmiths also echoed and bowed to congratulate him. The atmosphere was as warm as a young girl's wedding.

"Of course, of course!" Zhao Yangkui laughed out loud.

"Jiang Lin." Yu Maoming waved his hand, and when Jiang Lin walked forward and bowed, he smiled and held the iron plate in his hand.

There was silver, familiar Qi and Blood Pills, and a low-grade sledgehammer on it.

"This is a reward from the Foundry, please accept it." There were no polite words, just very straightforward.

However, Jiang Lin had no intention of accepting it. He bowed his head and said, "Master Master, can I exchange these rewards for something?"

"Oh? What do you want to change?" Yu Maoming asked.

Jiang Lin's voice was steady and clear to the ears.

"I have received the kindness of Master and the other masters of the Southern Blacksmith Camp, and I have no way to repay them. Today is a regular test, and I would like to help Master and the others light the fire. Please grant me your permission, Master Craftsman!"

　Happy National Day, dear readers. There will be another chapter around 12:30 after dinner.

　　Please continue reading, vote for me, and collect me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)