138: Chapter 138 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Eighty-Six)

"Hmm, not bad."

Elder Jin had appeared behind him at some point, watching the piece of iron with a faint, almost imperceptible glint of approval in his cloudy eyes.

"Go back and properly consolidate today's insights, then come back tomorrow."

Having said that, Elder Jin waved his hand and returned to his furnace, continuing to hammer the iron billet strike by strike.

The monotonous sound of forging in the quiet night felt exceptionally comforting.

"Yes, thank you, Elder." Seeing this, Chu Shi bowed solemnly to Elder Jin before taking his leave.

By the time he walked out of the forging room, the moon had already climbed to its zenith.

A mountain breeze blew by, carrying a hint of coolness that dispelled the heat from his body.

Chu Shi looked down at his hands, which had been gripping a hammer all day, then looked up toward the summit of Lieyang Peak, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Old man, is that it?

It's just forging; it doesn't seem that difficult.

A perfect breakthrough to the Copper Bone Realm is something I am determined to achieve.

In the darkness of night, Chu Shi's figure gradually faded into the distance, while the forging workshop behind him remained brightly lit, the sound of hammering continuing throughout the night.

The next day, just as the sky began to brighten and the morning mist in the back mountains had yet to disperse, Chu Shi was already standing before that mottled wooden door.

He hadn't expected Elder Jin to arrive earlier than him.

The old man was crouching on the stone steps at the workshop entrance, rubbing a piece of dark ore in his hands, his fingertips stained with fine iron filings.

Upon seeing Chu Shi, he lifted his eyelids and casually tossed over a yellowed, thread-bound booklet.

"Your forging yesterday was decent enough. But if you can only hammer ready-made iron billets, you will ultimately be at the mercy of others."

Elder Jin's voice was hoarse, carrying the dryness of someone who had spent years dealing with furnace fires.

"A true forging master needs to extract materials from stone."

"This is the 'Introduction to Mineral Scriptures'. It records the twelve most common types of iron ore, along with their quality, origin, and iron content."

Having said that, he pointed to the pile of ore on the west side of the workshop that was stacked like a small hill, and continued.

"That was prepared by my orders yesterday; all kinds of ores are mixed together.

You are to identify and study them according to the booklet. Once you understand them, use the furnace you used yesterday to smelt the ore into iron billets, and then forge them into refined iron of the same quality as yesterday."

The old man stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

"I'll give you half a month. If you can't produce ten pieces of qualified refined iron by the deadline, then get out. I don't keep trash here."

After saying this, Elder Jin turned and walked back to his own furnace, leaving Chu Shi standing there alone.

Chu Shi bowed respectfully to Elder Jin before opening the 'Introduction to Mineral Scriptures' in his hands.

The handwriting in the booklet was vigorous and powerful, with many small notes annotated in cinnabar on the side, clearly written by Elder Jin himself.

Chu Shi read very carefully, memorizing every word and sentence in his heart.

Half an hour later, he closed the booklet and walked over to the pile of ore.

The pile of ore was huge, with stones of various colors mixed together—red, black, brown—appearing extremely chaotic.

Chu Shi casually picked up a stone glowing with a rusty red hue, weighed it in his hand according to the method written in the booklet, and examined the texture of the cross-section.

Knowledge gained from books is always superficial.

Even though it was clearly written in the booklet, when it came to actual identification, Chu Shi was still a bit uncertain.

Many ores looked similar, but in reality, their iron content was vastly different.

He frowned and circulated the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method.

A faint stream of true energy surged from his dantian, flowing down his arm to his fingertips.

Chu Shi's fingertips grew slightly warm as he pressed them against the ore.

Blazing Sun Body; fire and metal share the same root.

The ability to sense metal was an instinct engraved in his bones.

As his true energy slowly seeped into the interior of the ore, Chu Shi closed his eyes and could clearly "feel" the internal structure of the stone.

Which parts were dense iron cores, which parts were loose slag, and which parts were mixed with useless quartz—it was all clear at a glance.

"So that's how it is."

Chu Shi's eyes lit up.

Just then, a very light sound of footsteps came from behind him.

Chu Shi turned around and saw three youths dressed in gray cloth tunics standing not far away, peeking at him.

They were Utility Disciples in the workshop, responsible for tending fires, moving ore, and clearing iron slag; they were the most inconspicuous beings in the workshop.

Seeing Chu Shi look over, the three youths shuddered in fear, hastily lowering their heads and not daring to breathe loudly.

They had worked in this workshop for over two years and had never seen Elder Jin take on an apprentice personally.

They didn't know which sect prodigy or noble family descendant this was.

But regardless, he was a big shot they couldn't afford to offend.

A single thought from him could decide their life or death, their stay or departure.

Chu Shi didn't pay them any mind, continuing to select and identify ores at his own pace.

After a long while, the tallest and darkest-skinned of the three youths finally couldn't hold back anymore; he gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and bowed deeply to Chu Shi.

"Disciple Shi Tie greets Core Senior Brother." His voice trembled slightly, but his eyes were firm.

"This disciple has worked in this workshop for over two years, dealing with these ores every day. If Senior Brother has any needs, this disciple might be able to help a little. I beg Senior Brother to give me a chance."

The other two youths also hurriedly followed suit, bowing even lower.

Hearing this, Chu Shi finally looked up at them.

He looked at the youth named Shi Tie before him, whose hands were covered in calluses and burn scars, with a hint of humility in his eyes, but more of an ambition that refused to be mediocre.

"My name is Chu Shi, speak." Chu Shi's tone was very calm.

He didn't mind giving this youth in front of him a chance, and it could also save himself some time.

Shi Tie breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly stepped forward, and picked up a black stone that looked no different from an ordinary rock.

"Senior Brother Chu, this is called magnetite; it is the best iron ore, with an iron content of over seventy percent. It is heavier than other stones and can attract iron needles."

Having said that, he picked up a reddish-brown stone, "This is hematite, the most common, with an iron content of about fifty percent. And this is limonite; it looks loose and crumbly, has the lowest iron content, less than thirty percent, and is the most troublesome to smelt."

As he spoke, he picked up different ores to demonstrate for Chu Shi, speaking with great clarity and expertise.

These were experiences he had gained over more than two years through countless failures, and now he was imparting them to Chu Shi without reservation, hoping to earn a shred of pity in return.

"Also, when Senior Brother selects ore, don't pick those with cracks. The cracks mostly hide dirt and slag, which results in more impurities in the molten iron. You should pick the ones that are heavy and have dense, shiny cross-sections."

Chu Shi listened intently and nodded.

"Many thanks."

Upon hearing these two words, Shi Tie's eyes lit up instantly.

He hurriedly waved his hands, "I dare not, I dare not! Being able to share Senior Brother's burdens is this disciple's good fortune!"

With Shi Tie's experience, combined with the sensing ability of Chu Shi's own Blazing Sun Body, the progress of identifying ore suddenly accelerated.

In just two days, Chu Shi was able to accurately distinguish all twelve types of iron ore, and could even roughly estimate the iron content of each piece of ore with an error of no more than half a percent.

This left the three youths, including Shi Tie, astonished.

When they first learned to identify ore, they spent a whole month just memorizing the booklet, and it took them over three months to truly become proficient at it.

"As expected of a prodigy..." one Utility Disciple muttered softly, "People really cannot be compared with one another."