Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

Chapter 10 Becoming a Blacksmith

After three months of working as a blacksmith's apprentice, Lin Daniu found Yang Ping'an one day: "Ping'an, I know you work very hard and diligently. In addition to being an apprentice in the blacksmith shop, you also need to cultivate and study every day, and your life is very difficult."

"I've seen all your hard work these past few days. In terms of strength and stamina, you're good enough to be an apprentice. Starting today, I'll teach you blacksmithing and how to become a real blacksmith."

Yang Ping'an was overjoyed upon seeing this: "Thank you very much, Master Niu. I will definitely study hard."

Lin Daniu simply nodded and began teaching Yang Ping'an the basics of blacksmithing.

However, with Yang Ping'an's current skills, his blacksmithing and forging abilities are practically zero, so he has to start from the basics.

Under Lin Daniu's instructions, Yang Ping'an began the basic process of raw stone processing, which involved repeatedly processing the purchased iron ore to remove impurities.

After being hammered for a long time, the iron ore, which was originally the size of a football, gradually became long and thin, and its color changed from its original dark black to a grayish-black with a certain luster.

Once the ore was shaped into a long strip, the rest was up to Lin Daniu. He took the iron ore with tongs and quickly hammered, processed, and quenched it, eventually turning it into the desired product.

From that day on, Yang Ping'an began hammering away with a thirty-pound casting hammer every day, constantly processing the raw stone. Although he didn't know how to forge yet, he was already starting to look like a blacksmith's apprentice.

However, blacksmithing is much more tiring than odd jobs. Not only do they have to swing a 30-pound hammer to hammer iron continuously, but they also have to face the high temperature in the furnace. You can imagine the intensity of the work for a six-year-old child.

Time flies. After a year of hard work, Yang Ping'an was finally able to become a blacksmith, able to forge some simple farm tools. However, compared to real blacksmiths, especially Master Lin Dali and Master Tie Lin, he was still far behind.

As for the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique mentioned in the original work, Yang Ping'an had neither Tang Hao's guidance nor the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, so he had no way to cultivate it in the short term. Normally, if one could fully master the Clear Sky Sect's Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, one could basically reach the level of a master blacksmith.

There are only three master craftsmen on the entire continent, which shows how profound the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique is. It is certainly not something that Yang Ping'an, a novice blacksmith, could master.

According to the original novel, the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique is a continuous hammering method of forging, which utilizes the opponent's force to perfectly unleash the blacksmith's power. Even Tang San, after becoming a Soul Master, practiced diligently for nearly two years before he was able to unleash eighty-one consecutive hammer blows.

Yang Ping'an also tried to use the method of borrowing strength to forge according to the original work, but after less than ten hammer blows, his strength was completely exhausted.

This also made Yang Ping'an realize that his innate conditions and physical qualities were really too poor, and he could only start practicing the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique after he became a Soul Master.

Because Yang Ping'an usually focused on his cultivation and didn't communicate with anyone else, not even his teachers, he gradually became known as an oddball in the school.

As a primary school student, Yang Ping'an's perseverance and willpower were completely unlike those of a child. Every day, he went between the blacksmith shop, the dormitory, and the classroom, almost living a three-point line. At most, he also went to the library, the playground, and the canteen. He didn't care about anything else.

Moreover, Yang Ping'an cultivated almost day after day without any breaks, never interacting with or playing with anyone.

The only time Yang Ping'an spoke was when he encountered problems while reading and asked the teacher directly. The questions he asked were all kinds of strange and unusual, which were not something an elementary school teacher could grasp, or rather, not something a low-level soul master could grasp.

Dean Wu and Director Su occasionally caught glimpses of Yang Ping'an's busy work, but each time Yang Ping'an would simply greet them and then quickly leave.

Director Su looked at Yang Ping'an's busy appearance and couldn't help but sigh: "Dean Wu, this child is really good. If his innate soul power were a little higher, he would probably have a bright future. It's a pity that his innate soul power is only half a level. I'm afraid he can only become a Great Soul Master at most in this life."

Dean Wu also looked a little regretful: "Although this child is all alone, he studies exceptionally hard. I once visited his blacksmith shop where he works. He works very diligently there and is now a qualified blacksmith. His future achievements in blacksmithing may even surpass those of a Soul Master."

After hesitating for a while, Director Su finally spoke: "Dean, judging from this child's temperament, hard work, and the questions he asks, he clearly has a good aptitude for martial spirits and soul masters. If that master were to take him as a disciple, he might become a soul master theory expert."

Dean Wu shook his head: "There's no need to say that anymore. My friend may seem a bit down, but he's proud and arrogant. Anyone who isn't a top genius probably won't catch his eye."

Director Su remained silent upon hearing this.

Yang Pingan would occasionally run into Yu Xiaogang within the academy, but each time he would leave quickly without even saying hello.

This Yu Xiaogang is neither a teacher at the academy nor has he taught me a single class. He is also not a leader at the academy. On the contrary, he is the son of my enemy. It would be a waste of time to greet him.

Every time Yu Xiaogang saw Yang Ping'an, his eyes would look strangely filled with rejection, disgust, and even a hint of jealousy.

Looking at the child in front of him who had the same martial soul as him, especially since their innate soul power levels were the same, he was practically a younger version of himself.

But Yang Ping'an is completely different from himself. Although he comes from a poor family, he works hard to cultivate and has no trace of his own decadence and despair, nor does he suffer the pain of being kicked out of his family like he does.

In short, Yang Ping'an and Yu Xiaogang are like opposite sides of a mirror: one is hardworking and diligent, while the other is decadent and disappointed.

Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but sigh, muttering to himself, "Youth is truly wonderful. If you had experienced countless setbacks like I have, and your soul power couldn't improve no matter how hard you cultivated, would you still be able to maintain this level of success?"

The biggest advantage of becoming a blacksmith is the increase in salary. Since Yang Ping'an became a blacksmith, his monthly salary has increased to three silver soul coins, a direct three-fold increase. In addition, there are certain bonuses based on the number of forgings and the blacksmith shop's profits. Overall, he can get about four to five silver soul coins every month, which can at least solve his financial problems in the short term.

Every time there's a holiday, Yang Ping'an would go back to the village for a few days. Although the time was short, it at least showed that he was still there and that it was still his home, preventing other villagers from coveting his house.

(End of this chapter)