Demonic Demoness Training Project

As the hammer struck, Lu Li's heart skipped a beat. He cursed inwardly, thinking that what he feared most had come to pass. He looked closely and saw a tiny crack appear on the metal handle of the knife.

call--

Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that the crack was on the hilt, not the blade. He would cover this part with the wooden handle, and as long as it was not discovered, it would be considered a crack.

At that moment, the disciple wasn't looking in this direction, but rather at a pliers master beside him. Lu Li silently used the pliers to clamp the blade blank and secretly flipped it over.

Fortunately, Lu Li had a good understanding of the stamping technique and had been familiar with these tools in the stamping workshop before, so after completing the step of operating the mechanism, the remaining steps became very smooth.

Forging, shaping, annealing, rough grinding, covering with clay... Just as Lu Li was applying soft clay to the surface of the blade, preparing to partially quench it, a cry of surprise rang out from behind him.

Then a young man strode out, holding a knife in his hand, with a confident smile on his face.

The young man circled the aisle between the workstations, as if deliberately walking past him, and proudly smoothed his hair, casting a glance at Lu Li and brandishing the gleaming blade in his hand.

Lu Li curled his lip, revealing a look of disgust as if he were looking at trash. He only regretted that he was too ignorant to compose a poem to express his strong desire to strangle Long Yang.

You dead gay man, who are you trying to fool with this act?

Ugh—just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.

Lu Li really wanted to jump out and shout: I'm a man.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do that in order to conceal his identity.

On the other side, Zou Bufan quickly forged a dagger and was about to hand it over, which attracted a crowd of onlookers.

Some of them exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow, that was fast! It's finished already? No wonder he's a young master from the middle class. His forging skills are so proficient. Just watching him make my blood boil!"

Some people are extremely pessimistic.

"Sigh, we're destined to lose to them. What's there to say? We might as well just give them the seal of the Earth-grade Pliers Master. How can the gap between people be so vast?"

Chapter 42 This woman has a man's tenacity

The woman who was testing the knife took the dagger that Zou Bufan had handed her. She first swung it a few times at the straw figures, and then walked straight towards one of the straw figures.

The straw figure was woven from tiger vine grass, an extremely inexpensive spiritual material. The vine armor woven from it could withstand almost all mortal weapons.

The materials provided for the Earth-grade Fitter assessment were merely ordinary steel shells; it was utterly impossible to forge divine weapons from them.

In addition, the master fitter's examination tests the skill of fitting, and does not allow the engraving of spirit arrays to enhance the blade. To break through the tiger vine straw man's defense, one can only rely on superb forging and stamping skills.

After all, the registration fee for the earth-grade fitter assessment was only five taels of silver, and the organizers couldn't possibly provide the test takers with high-quality materials.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The man testing the blade swiftly unleashed three swift, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal slashes. The blade struck the rattan armor, sparking blinding flashes. Upon closer inspection, the straw man was visibly wounded with three cuts. The first two cuts were two inches deep, while the third cut was the most terrifying, reaching a depth of three inches.

"My God, it actually split open!"

"Could he have secretly mixed some material into the mixed ore? How could that dagger made from a pile of scrap metal actually tear through the tiger vine straw man's defenses?"

After chopping, the person testing the blade looked down at the edge and saw that the edge was slightly curled. It is normal for the blade to curl when using ordinary iron to chop spiritual materials.

Zhong Wenbai stepped off the stage, examined the blade, and then scanned the cracks in the straw figure with his divine sense. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. If this knife were forged from spirit ore, even without the magic array enchantment, it would still be a deadly weapon. I'd give it a score of 90."

Over the next half hour, people submitted their works one after another; these were all local artisans from downstream.

Compared to the impressive performances of Zou Bufan and other mid-level talents, the works of these craftsmen were much weaker. The best of them could only split a crack half an inch deep, and the blades were even more severely chipped. In some cases, the straw figure did not move at all when the blade was chopped down, and the blade broke off on the spot.

The even more alarming gap lies in age.

The downstream craftsmen who participated in this earth-grade fitter assessment were around twenty-five years old on average. Apart from Lu Li, the youngest was twenty and the oldest was over forty.

In contrast, the group from the middle reaches of the river were only twelve years old, and the oldest was no more than eighteen. Although they were young, the gap in their vision, talent, and resources ultimately resulted in an absolute crushing defeat in their pincer skills.

“In previous years, apart from the few whose blades broke, the rest of these craftsmen should have been able to pass the Earth-grade assessment.”

"Yes, it can only be said that we were born at the wrong time. So many mid-level and high-level people came this time, and they immediately occupied the top twenty spots. The number of low-level spots belonging to our Fengxiang City has shrunk by 40%."

"In my next life, I want to be reborn into a middle-class family and be a young master! Humph!"

"With your pathetic appearance, you dare to call yourself a young master? If you're not reincarnated as an insect in your next life, then God will be merciful."

"What you're saying is, how are we any different from insects living like this?"

The truth is often the most hurtful. Upon hearing this, the people downstream fell silent, the young lady in the middle stream pursed her lips, and the young master in the middle stream laughed wildly.

"These bumpkins at least have some self-awareness and know their own limitations; I guess they're smart enough to know what's good for them."

"Haha, don't say any more, or they'll get so angry they'll beat you to death."

"Fight! Come on! My grandma is at the peak of the third stage of cultivation. Who dares to kill me? Who can kill me? Huh? Hahahaha."

While it may be self-deprecating for those at the bottom of society, when these words come from the mouth of a middle-class student, they carry a completely different meaning. This immediately aroused the indignation of many people. They clenched their fists, but in their anger, they held back. What could they do?

In terms of background, they are far inferior.

In terms of talent, nothing beats a single root.

In terms of background and financial resources, they are far superior.

This is a kind of despair.

They could only struggle and toil downstream for years, unable to afford even a ticket to the middle reaches of the river. Even if they did manage to reach the middle reaches, they couldn't afford the prices there.

The same spirit stone becomes like two completely different currencies depending on whether it's placed in the middle or lower reaches of the river.

Downstream spirit stones are downstream spirit stones, while midstream spirit stones are midstream spirit stones. Although they are the same size and have the same spiritual power content, their purchasing power differs by more than ten times.

Downstream test subjects sighed and lamented, seeing no hope of promotion. Some even left without handing over the knives, leaving onlookers sighing with regret.

But only one person kept swinging the hammer, continuing to forge methodically.

clang!

clang!

clang!

Everything outside seemed irrelevant to him. After passing the mechanical stamping stage, he personally handled the remaining finishing work, forging and refining it.

Lu Li was very familiar with this part of the work.

He repeated these movements countless nights in the dimly lit stamping workshop, striking faster and faster, each strike with just the right force, angle, and point of impact.

In an instant, Lu Li suddenly felt dizzy.

Nearly two hours of intense forging had already taken its toll on his frail body, and the furnace fire reflected off his handsome face.

Sweat trickled down his delicate, fair cheeks, landing on the red-hot knife blank with a hissing sound, instantly turning into mist and disappearing without a trace.

Lu Li staggered backward, almost falling to the ground. He took out a premium pear from the bag and ate it whole, peel and all, in a few bites. The sweetness stimulated his tongue and then went down his esophagus, making him feel a little better. Then he picked up the hammer again and continued forging.

Not far ahead, Zhong Wenbai saw this scene and couldn't help but cast an approving glance at it, silently murmuring to himself.

"Although this Lu Li is a woman, she has a tenacity unique to men. With such temperament and understanding, if she were born in the middle class, she would definitely crush these spoiled brats."

"Even if she were born into a lower social class, if she had any background and could receive a complete private education, she might not be much worse than those spoiled brats."

"What a pity, what a pity... My White Moon Palace is in dire need of talent right now. Once this matter is settled, we can take her into the Yushui Academy. After some training and refinement, she can become a pillar of my White Moon Palace in time."

Just as he was thinking this, Lu Li struck the hammer for the last time. He took out the wooden strip he had chosen earlier, as well as the carving knife that the test taker had held before the exam.

The carving knife had been heated by the stove, and the soft clay on its handle had long since dried and hardened. Lu Li easily removed it and began to carve the wooden handle in his hand, following the shape of the clay.

Seeing this, Zhong Wenbai nodded slightly, his eyes showing even more approval.

"This woman not only has the tenacity of a man, but also the meticulousness of a woman."

One, two, three...

The carving knife flew up and down in Lu Li's hands, as nimble as a butterfly, with wood shavings falling in the air, and a wooden handle was gradually taking shape.

Chapter 43 They All Lived Once [Happy New Year]

As dozens of participants left the room one after another, everyone's attention gradually shifted to Lu Li.

After carving the wooden handle, Lu Li inserted the blade into it and secured it with a pin. Then he completed the sealing and polishing steps, and the job was officially finished.

"Wait, did he not sharpen the knife? If he didn't, its sharpness might be limited."

"Take another look. I don't think it's that simple. There's probably more to it than meets the eye."

Lu Li handed over the dagger he had forged. The person testing the dagger took it and, as usual, first swung it a few times in the air, then his eyes lit up.

"A fine knife."

These two short words represent the highest praise she has given since she began testing her knife.

"What? It hasn't even been used to cut the scarecrow yet, how can it be considered a good knife?"

"You don't understand. The quality of a dagger also depends on how it feels in your hand. A dagger with a good feel is very difficult to slip out of your hand in actual combat, and it is also less likely to hurt yourself. It also allows you to exert more force."

How could it not be good?

Lu Li's handle was custom-made based on the hand of the person who tested the knife. Getting the other party to sign and engrave it at the beginning was just a pretense. Lu Li's real purpose was to obtain the shape of the other party's hand.

Smart fitters know that they need to customize the handle according to the customer's hand shape. Among the people present, there are no more than two types.

One type is a handle forged according to one's own hand shape, which is comfortable for the user, but the person testing the knife may not be satisfied.

Another type takes into account that the person testing the knife is female, with smaller hands and fingers, so a smaller handle was forged.

But that's far from enough. You don't know until you see it, and the moment Lu Li saw the grip marks, he was startled.

The other person's hands were not only small, but also had five fingers arranged neatly with exceptionally distinct knuckles, and the knuckles left obvious marks on the soft soil.

It's abnormal precisely because the arrangement is too neat. When a normal person clenches their fist in a relaxed state, the depth of the clench marks will vary due to the different unconscious forces exerted by the fingers.

There are currently four grip marks, corresponding to the index, middle, ring, and little fingers respectively. These grip marks seem to have been carved from the same mold, which is completely unlike the work of a human.

At that moment, a conjecture arose in Lu Li's mind.

The hands of the person testing the knife were not human hands at all, but hands that had been modified by a magical artifact. Her hands were not as huge as those of the Monkey King, and they looked no different from those of a normal person.

Old Duan chuckled, then said leisurely:

“That’s right, it’s definitely not human, but you’re only half right. To go further, that girl isn’t human at all.”

"what?"

"That was a puppet."

Lu Li looked at the person testing the knife again, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He carefully examined the other person's features, and after Duan Lao's reminder, he seemed to really feel that there was something inexplicably strange about the person's features.

If Lu Ling were to be turned into a puppet, would she look like this?

Behind every puppet that carries a man-made spirit is a living, breathing life.

They all lived.

As for Lu Li himself, he is only alive for the time being.

"No, you're lying to me. How could a puppet be made so realistically? How do you know she is a puppet?"

"rule."

"rule?"

"The rules for the Earth-grade Pliers Master assessment are like this: the tester must be a puppet. This is an inside story, and most of the sect elders know about it. A puppet can precisely control the force and angle of each swing. From beginning to end, every swing of hers is pre-set."

"Does she...do she know that she is a puppet created by someone?"

"What do you say?"

"You should know that, right?"

Lu Li recalled the scene from his previous dream, where two female disciples from the White Moon Palace mocked the puppet disciples who couldn't tell the difference, but he always felt that the two female disciples themselves were also puppets.

"Hey, disciple, what's with that expression? She and you are essentially the same. Don't you both have contrived vessels hidden in your chests?"

Lu Li remained silent. At this moment, the knife tester took the dagger that Lu Li handed over and made three cuts horizontally, vertically, and diagonally on the straw figure woven from tiger vine grass. After measurement, the first two cuts were two and three-tenths inches deep, and the third cut reached a depth of three and three-tenths inches.

Judging by this level of skill alone, he would rank among the top students in the middle tier, but he is still some distance from the very top few.

At this moment, the person who tested the knife picked up the blade again and found that the blade was still intact.

"why is that?"