140: Chapter 140 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Eighty-Eight)

"That is Senior Brother Zhang, Zhang Tieshan."

A familiar voice rang out behind Chu Shi.

Chu Shi turned around and saw Liu Quan running over, drenched in sweat, his face still wearing that same enthusiastic smile.

"Senior Brother Chu, why are you wandering around here by yourself? It's rare not to see you continuing to forge at Elder Jin's place today," Liu Quan said, panting.

"I'm taking a day off today," Chu Shi said indifferently.

"So that's how it is." Liu Quan realized, then asked eagerly.

"If you want to look around, Senior Brother Chu, shall I show you the way? This valley is huge, and you aren't familiar with many places, so it's easy to get lost. Besides, the rules in each area are different. Let me give you an introduction so you don't accidentally offend anyone."

Chu Shi glanced at him, neither refusing nor agreeing, simply turning around and continuing to walk forward.

Liu Quan immediately understood, quickly catching up and introducing things in a low voice as they walked.

"Senior Brother Chu, look here, this is the Elite Area. Those who can forge here are all disciples with the best forging talent at our Lieyang Peak. That Senior Brother Zhang Tieshan from earlier is the one with the highest forging skills among these disciples; it's said he can already craft Profound-Grade Mid-Tier treasures."

"Over there is the Material Processing Area. All the ore transported from the mines must first undergo preliminary screening and refining here before being sent to the various forging rooms."

"Walking further in, that's the Core Area, which is the independent forging area for the Elders. Besides Elder Jin, there are three other Elders forging there as well. However, they are rarely seen; they each stay in their own forging rooms and barely come out once in a whole year."

Liu Quan kept talking incessantly as they walked. He knew the entire Forging Valley like the back of his hand; he could tell you everything about every area, every furnace, and even every disciple with a bit of fame.

Chu Shi listened quietly, occasionally stopping to take a look at a disciple's forging technique or to observe the structure of a furnace.

His comprehension in this life was extremely high; after watching for a while, he had already grasped quite a few nuances. He discovered that different disciples used completely different forging techniques. Some were fierce and domineering, relying on immense strength to forcefully hammer the iron blanks. Others were delicate and precise, using finesse to remove impurities bit by bit. Still others combined hardness and softness, perfectly blending strength and technique.

The technique Elder Jin used clearly belonged to the fierce and domineering category, yet it contained extreme precision within that dominance. Chu Shi watched and silently compared them in his mind, committing these techniques to memory.

The two walked along, quickly passing through the Elite Area and arriving at the edge of the Core Area. It was noticeably quieter here. The deafening noise from outside was gone, replaced only by the occasional heavy and monotonous sound of hammering from the distance—clank, clank—as if striking against one's heart.

The air was also much hotter, and the ground was baked until it was scorching; even through the soles of his shoes, he could feel that searing temperature. There were very few furnaces here, only a handful, but each one was exceptionally large, with the furnace mouths spewing blue flames several zhang high, burning the surrounding air until it distorted.

"Senior Brother Chu, up ahead is Elder Jin's forging room." Liu Quan stopped and pointed to an independent stone house not far away. "Elder Jin should be inside forging right now. Would you like to go over and greet him?"

"No need," Chu Shi shook his head. "Let's walk over there." He pointed to the other side of the valley.

There was a small lake there, the water ink-green and steaming with wisps of heat. By the lakeside were a few simple wooden huts and a large pool built of stone.

"That is the Body Tempering Pool," Liu Quan explained. "Our disciples at Lieyang Peak forge in high-temperature environments for long periods, so a lot of fire poison accumulates in their bodies. The water in this Body Tempering Pool is cold spring water drawn from deep underground; soaking in it can dispel fire poison and also strengthen the body."

"Those wooden huts nearby are where the disciples rest. There is also a cafeteria and a bathhouse."

Chu Shi nodded and walked toward the Body Tempering Pool. It was noon, and many disciples had finished their morning forging and come to the side of the Body Tempering Pool to rest.

Some were soaking in the pool, eyes closed, enjoying the rare coolness. Others were sitting on the rocks by the pool, gnawing on dry rations and drinking water; still others were gathered together, discussing their insights on forging.

Seeing Chu Shi and Liu Quan walk over, most of the disciples just looked up once and then went back to what they were doing. Only a few disciples who knew Liu Quan nodded at him, which counted as a greeting.

No one noticed Chu Shi. Or rather, no one cared about him.

Here, no one would look at you differently just because you were the Peak Master's direct disciple. Everyone only recognized forging strength; they only recognized the weapons you crafted.

Chu Shi found a clean rock to sit on, watching the disciples playing in the pool, looking at the furnaces in the distance spewing raging flames, and listening to the ceaseless sound of hammering, when a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart.

This place lacked the leisure of Tingyang Courtyard, the bustle of the front peaks, and the scheming of other places in the Holy Land. Here, there was only fire, only steel, and only sweat. It was simple, pure, yet filled with power.

Chu Shi suddenly felt that perhaps his Master, that old coot, had tricked him into coming here to forge for his own good.

Forging is not just about forging iron; it is about forging the heart. Only after tempering a thousand times can impurities be removed and steel be forged. Just like the Copper Bone Realm he was about to break through to.

Chu Shi stood up and brushed the dust off his body. "Let's go, time to head back."

"Ah? Senior Brother Chu, aren't you going to look around anymore?" Liu Quan asked with some surprise. "There's still the mine and the weapon vault further back."

"No," Chu Shi shook his head. "I've seen enough for today." He already had a sufficient understanding of this place. All that was left was to be down-to-earth and practice, one hammer strike at a time.

Afterwards, Chu Shi turned and walked toward Elder Jin's workshop. He was going to continue forging and complete the remaining assessment.