Walking into the Qing Province Blacksmith Shop, a wave of heat immediately hit him. Looking around, all he saw were burly men with bare chests, hammering away at iron.
Zhao Li looked around again. Although the layout was similar to the Space within the Stone Chair, the atmosphere was vastly different, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of感慨.
While he was lost in thought, someone noticed him and came forward.
The man wore a thin Short Jacket and had a Pipe in his mouth. Compared to the others, he seemed quite refined.
He took a long puff, and the Tobacco glowed red like a burning Smelting Furnace. After the smoke cleared, he stepped forward and asked,
"What would the guest like to forge? Or are you looking to buy something? How do these look to you?"
He pointed to the Artifacts hanging on the wall.
Zhao Li asked in return,
"Who is the most experienced blacksmith here?"
Before coming, Zhao Li already had an idea. He didn't want to waste too much time and decided to find someone experienced to exchange ideas and learn from. With the experience of predecessors, it would surely be better than fumbling around on his own.
The boss just assumed he wanted to forge something and wanted to see the blacksmith's skill first, so he didn't think much of it. He pointed to a middle-aged man leisurely lying on a chair beside the Smelting Furnace in the distance.
He wore a Vest, his exposed arms bulging with muscle, and his skin was dark. His strength was that of a Dou Disciple. Even beside the Smelting Furnace, there wasn't a drop of sweat on his square face. He could even nap in this noisy environment, which meant he must be used to it.
The boss went over and woke him up, saying a few words in a low voice. Only then did he look at Zhao Li:
"What do you want to forge? Let me see first. If I can't do it, I won't pretend I can. You can go somewhere else."
He was a little impatient. He had been sleeping soundly and was bothered by being woken up and told to show his skill. He cursed inwardly:
Show my skill? What skill? Equipment Refining skill can only be shown through actual Artifacts, not just by hammering a couple of times.
Hearing this, Zhao Li explained his purpose. He wanted to stay here and learn for a few days.
While he was conversing amiably with the two of them, he also subtly revealed a little bit of his strength and was willing to pay a considerable sum of money. The boss and the chief blacksmith happily agreed to let him stay.
In the following days, Zhao Li followed Tie Long, the dark-skinned, square-faced man, to learn. Tie Long was also an honest person and taught him everything he knew.
Zhao Li only took a few days to extract all of Tie Long's knowledge. This was after he deliberately restrained himself, not wanting to draw too much attention or cause a big stir that might lead to other troubles.
After all, while there were many types of metal, only a few were common. Tie Long had never seen or known about other rare and precious materials. It was completely unlike Medicinal Ingredients, which numbered in the thousands, with different types, years, and even Pharmacology conflicts...
On the fourth day, Tie Long had nothing left to teach. Seeing the relatively complete materials in the Blacksmith Shop, Zhao Li's heart stirred, and he decided to try a practical application.
He acted on his impulse. He gathered a pile of scrap material, raised a Flame in his palm, melted it, and then began Shaping Artifacts.
The surrounding blacksmiths stopped what they were doing when they saw Zhao Li's actions and watched him forge with rapt attention, not daring to breathe.
Zhao Li didn't release his aura, but they could all tell he was extraordinary and were afraid of accidentally offending him and then mysteriously disappearing.
Soon, a long sword took shape. With a thought, Zhao Li cut off a piece of Mysterious Iron, turned it into thin threads, and spread them across the sword body, like the veins of a treasured sword.
His smooth and flowing movements astonished Tie Long, who had been watching the entire time. He even thought Zhao Li was a hidden Equipment Refining Master who had come specifically to tease him.
Zhao Li flicked the long sword. The sword body trembled slightly, emitting a clear, resonant hum that lingered for a long time.
"Thank you, Brother Tie Long, for these past few days. I'll give you this sword. Farewell."
With that, Zhao Li left and walked towards the next place...
In The Void, Zhao Li walked slowly. As he walked, he recalled the forging process he had just completed.
It was less like Equipment Refining and more like Shaping Artifacts. He relied almost entirely on his powerful strength to shape the Iron Essence into a sword. Only the final step used the Casting Method, but it was merely leaving a few Mysterious Iron patterns on the sword body to improve its quality and make Dou Qi transmission smoother.
"No wonder there are so few Divine Weapons on the Continent now. Besides the Equipment Refining Legacy, the loss of Talisman Crafting and Formation also has a big impact."
Comparing it to the legacy methods, Zhao Li felt like he possessed the art of slaying dragons, but there were no dragons in the world to slay.
Divine Weapons were those that could be inscribed with Rune Patterns and Formation Patterns to communicate with the energy of heaven and earth. Even more so, like the nameless Medicine Cauldron in his hand, some even contained the Rules of heaven and earth. Only things like that could be considered true Equipment Refining.
Zhao Li thought about how he had never heard of any powerful talismans or formations on the Dou Qi Continent, nor any experts in these fields. He felt a little regretful and sighed:
"Alas, what a pity. I don't know if these things are truly lost, or if no one is researching them and their development is slow."
Zhao Li was more inclined towards the latter.
On the Dou Qi Continent, the cultivation of Dou Qi had reached its peak, almost perfect. But precisely because it was too perfect, with each step linked, one could gain powerful strength by simply following the steps. People became so engrossed in it that they easily overlooked other skills.
Moreover, there were various powerful Dou Techniques on the Continent, which also dazzled cultivators, leaving them with no time to pursue other things.
Over the years, Zhao Li had experienced quite a few battles, big and small, and he had also watched many matches, noticing some common points.
The most obvious was that when the opponents were evenly matched, the combatants almost always slowly used their Dou Techniques, from Yellow Tier to Mysterious Tier, and finally their trump cards.
Zhao Li had complained about this often, but he could also understand. Dou Qi was not a gentle energy after all, and using high-tier Dou Techniques put a heavy burden on the user. No one wanted to use their trump cards if they could defeat their opponent with a small price.
Only because Zhao Li's physical body was strong and his control was meticulous, whether it was over himself or the energy of heaven and earth, he was able to use every move and form with ease, no less powerful than Earth-tier Dou Techniques.
When one possesses powerful abilities, who would still research and forge weapons that are far inferior to themselves?
Only because Zhao Li had been influenced by various novels and myths did he know that a divine axe could split heaven and earth, and an iron rod could pacify the four seas. If not for this, who would have thought that weapons could be so powerful?
Zhao Li thought of the Magic Treasures that could change in size and had various functions, and his heart was filled with longing:
"If I could reach the Realm I saw in my previous life, integrating Talisman Crafting and Formation into weapons and refining them into Magic Treasures, then the path of Equipment Refining would truly be complete. Alas, the road is long and arduous."
With a sigh, Zhao Li withdrew his thoughts and stopped thinking about it.
Thinking about those things now was too far away.
As he traveled, he also investigated. With his current Soul Power, he surveyed the entire Great Qian in two hours. In the end, Zhao Li returned to the Imperial Capital.
According to his investigation, the best and strongest blacksmiths in Great Qian were in Danyuan City. The artifacts they refined had already touched upon the level of Rune Patterns and Formations.
"Unfortunately, they're still just dead weapons."
Although Zhao Li had arrived, he was still unsatisfied in his heart. But there was nothing he could do; this was already the best place, and it would be enough for him to study for a while.
Thinking this, Zhao Li slowly walked towards the Treasure Forging Pavilion.
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