Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

The next afternoon, Luo Yun found the shop in the east of the city according to the address given by Master Fang.

Pushing open the door, I saw Master Fang standing in front of his worktable, with several pieces of metal in front of him.

"sit."

Luo Yun sat down.

Master Fang pointed to the pieces of metal: "Let me first tell you about the common materials."

He took a dusty piece of iron from the shelf and threw it on the table.

"This is ordinary iron, smelted directly from iron ore. If you put soul power into it, almost all of it will dissipate, making it practically unusable. It's mostly used for outer shells."

He then picked up a piece of iron with a slightly brighter color and textured surface: "This is refined iron. Ordinary iron, after being forged, has some impurities squeezed out and its internal structure compacted, allowing for a soul transfer rate of about 20%. This is the cheapest soul tool on the market, and its structural components are made of this."

He picked up another piece of silvery-white silver: "Mithril. Ordinary silver is forged using a special process, with a soul transfer rate of 40% to 50% and minimal soul power loss, making it suitable for conductive components. It's ten times more expensive than refined iron."

Finally, he picked up a piece of iron with a pale blue sheen: "Cold Iron. It's a special iron ore produced near the habitat of ice-attribute soul beasts. After forging, it can amplify ice-type soul power. You're ice-type, so you'll need it later."

Master Fang arranged the four pieces of metal in a row.

"The key to forging is not to hammer the iron block into an iron sheet." He picked up the piece of refined iron, turned it over so Luo Yun could see the surface, "It's to make the grains inside the metal uniform, squeeze out the impurities, and allow the soul power to pass through smoothly."

He took a polished piece of refined iron from the tool rack, and then took a piece of unforged raw iron.

"Touch it."

Luo Yun reached out and touched it. The surface of the raw iron was rough and felt sticky to the touch. The refined iron was smooth and had fine textures.

"The grains inside raw iron are chaotic, some large, some small, some loose, some tight. When soul power enters, it detours when it encounters large grains, and leaks through loose grains, dissipating halfway through," Master Fang pointed to refined iron. "After forging, the grains are compressed evenly and compactly, allowing soul power to flow straight forward. A good forging master can double the soul transmission rate of an ordinary piece of iron."

He took two hammers from under the worktable, one large and one small.

"Use a large hammer to break up the rough shape, and a small hammer to shape it. Since you're just starting out, use a small hammer."

Then another anvil was placed in front of Luo Yun.

"Today we'll practice this. We'll forge this iron bar into a sheet of iron."

After saying that, Master Fang sat down to the side, picked up a book and started flipping through it.

Luo Yun took a deep breath, clamped the iron bar onto the anvil, and raised the small hammer.

"clang."

The first hammer blow left a small dent in the iron bar.

He adjusted the angle and struck again.

With each hammer blow, the iron bar slowly flattened. However, its thickness was noticeably uneven; some parts were so thin they were almost translucent, while others remained the same thickness.

Half an hour later, he handed the hammered iron sheet to Master Fang.

Master Fang glanced at it and tossed it aside.

"Uneven force. When you're hitting it, you need to feel the changes in the iron, where it's thick and where it's thin, and keep track of that. Try again."

Another iron bar.

This time, Luo Yun slowed down his pace, carefully aiming each strike before hitting the target. He would flip the item after a few strikes, trying to distribute the force evenly.

After an incense stick had burned, the second piece of iron was handed over.

Master Fang glanced at it again and tossed it aside.

"Wrong angle. The hammer needs to fall flat, not off-center. If it falls off-center, it'll create a dent, which is hard to fix later. Let's try again."

The third one, the fourth one, the fifth one...

As the sun began to set, a dozen or so broken iron bars were piled up in front of Luo Yun.

Master Fang finally put down his book, walked over to him, and picked up a new iron bar.

"Watch closely."

He clamped the iron bar onto the anvil and raised the small hammer.

"Clang—clang—clang—"

After three hammer blows, the iron bar became flat and of uniform thickness.

"Clang clang clang clang—"

After a few more hammer blows, the iron sheet was shaped, with a uniform thickness and a smooth surface.

The whole process took less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Master Fang handed the sheet of iron to Luo Yun: "Try this thickness, see if you can engrave lines."

Luo Yun took the metal sheet and picked up the carving knife to try carving it. The knife tip moved smoothly, and the depth was just right.

"What you lack isn't strength, it's a feel for things." Master Fang sat back down. "Continue."

---

Another half month passed.

Luo Yun stood in front of the workbench, his hammer rising and falling, and an iron bar slowly flattened in his hand. He flipped it over, hammered it again, flipped it over again, and hammered it again. After a stick of incense had burned, a piece of iron of uniform thickness was formed.

Master Fang took it, glanced at it, nodded, and put it aside.

"We'll start talking about magic circles tomorrow."

The next day, Master Fang took a blueprint off the shelf and spread it on the table.

That was the complete diagram of the core magic array of the lighting lamp, about the size of a palm, with densely packed patterns.

"What is a magic circle?" Master Fang pointed to the blueprint. "It's a circuit that transforms soul power into the effect you want. Soul power enters from the input port, travels along the patterns, passes through different nodes, is transformed, amplified, and adjusted, and finally exits from the output port, becoming light, heat, or thrust."

His fingers traced the diagram: "This is the main route; the soul power primarily travels through here. These are branches, used for regulation. These are nodes, each with its own function—some stabilize pressure, some amplify, and some transform attributes."

He took out another blank sheet of paper and drew a very simple loop on it.

"A complete magic array consists of three parts. The patterns are the channels through which soul power travels. The nodes are where soul power is altered. The core is the central hub of the entire magic array." He drew on the paper. "The most common mistake beginners make is focusing on the patterns and forgetting that the nodes are the key. The patterns are just the paths, the nodes are the intersections. No matter how straight the path is, if the intersections are blocked, soul power still can't pass through."

Luo Yun stared at the diagram, recalling the circuit diagrams he had seen in his previous life.

It's somewhat similar, yet not quite the same.

Master Fang put away the blueprints. "Today, let's memorize these blueprints first."

He pulled three blueprints from the shelf and handed them to Luo Yun.

These are all breakdown diagrams of the core magic array of the lighting lamp: one shows the main circuit, one shows the branch structure, and one shows the node distribution.

Memorize it. There's a test tomorrow.

---

On the third day, Master Fang picked out a carving knife from the pile of tools and handed it to Luo Yun.

"A regular carving knife. Use this one first."

Luo Yun took the carving knife. The handle was made of wood and felt quite heavy in his hand. The tip of the knife was as thin as a hair and gleamed with a cold light.

"Watch carefully how to use the carving knife."

Master Fang picked up a piece of iron and held the knife in a very special way—not like holding a pen, but with the handle against his thumb and forefinger, his thumb pressing on the side of the blade, and his wrist straight.

"A carving knife is not a pen, it's a knife. Holding a pen is for writing, holding a knife is for carving. The wrist must be locked and cannot wobble. It's driven by the arm, not by the rotation of the wrist."

He secured the metal sheet, placed the tip of the knife on it, and gently pushed. A straight line appeared on the metal sheet, consistent in depth from beginning to end.

He handed the knife to Luo Yun: "Try it."

Luo Yun took the knife, gripped it in the same way he did, and the tip of the knife landed on the metal plate.

With a gentle push, it slid out, leaving a crooked, shallow mark.

"The angle is too small."

Luo Yun adjusted the angle and pushed again.

I didn't slip this time, but I went off course halfway down the line.

"The wrist moved. Locked."

Try again.

Master Fang watched from the side, occasionally saying something like "angle," "wrist," or "force," but said nothing more.

By the tenth cut, Luo Yun had finally carved a barely acceptable straight line.

Master Fang nodded, took a stack of iron sheets from under the shelf, and put them on the table.

"Finish carving these. Carve twenty straight lines on each board before you can go back."

Luo Yun looked at the stack of iron sheets; there were at least twenty or thirty pieces.

"Master Fang, these materials..."

"Your father has already paid." Master Fang walked out without looking back. "Lock the door yourself after you're done carving."