Commanding Wind and Cloud

After Qian Jin grabbed onto the new hammer, his arm and shoulder instantly felt they were been pulled downwards. He quickly initiated the Forging Breathe Technique!

The Second Hammer Technique of the Eighteen Blade Elevating Strikes was greater than ten times more difficult to master compared to the First Hammering Technique! Despite the fact that Qian Jin worked hard perfect this strike, he was getting nowhere close from comprehending this strike.

In the Endless World, Qian Jin used the Second Hammering Technique every strike he performed. In Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop, he used the perfect First Hammering Technique to try to forge the Zhanmadao.

The sabre was four feet long, a foot and a half wide, and three inches thick! The blade portion of the sabre was over two and half feet long! During the ten day process, it slowly revealed itself to the crowd. Even though it was still unsharpened, the chilling sensation coming off it was far greater than weapons that were sharpened.

Qian Jin walked around his Warrior Weapon and inspected it; he was feeling very excited. Just to forge this Zhanmadao, Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop had given up about half of its ore and mine assets. Moreover, because of this Zhanmadao forging experience, Qian Jin truly understood that a weapon wasn’t as easy to forge as it seemed. Even if he had gone to Blake’s room to read up about it, he was still far from smoothly applying and mastering it.

All the blacksmiths in Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop surrounded the Zhanmadao and Qian Jin quietly. They chatted and complemented this monstrous weapon. Zhanmadao! Not a lot of warrior used this weapon in the history of human empires, including Zence Empire.

“Qian Jin, is it about time to sharpen it?” Franklin rubbed his hands together as he spoke. After being a blacksmith for more than half of his life, he had still never seen such a threatening weapon! “I’m not sure, but would this be considered a Warrior Weapon that I heard about in the legends?” He thought to himself.

“Almost. I can sharpen it today,” Qian Jin said as he grabbed onto the handle of the sabre and pulled it off the table. A dominating expression slowly appeared on his face as he put the Zhanmadao directly into the fire in the forge.

The crowd as surprised. “What is this? After the blade is completely forged, why would you put it back into the fire? Could there still be places where Qian Jin is not completely satisfied with? He should be sharpening it, so why did he put it back into the fire?” they thought.

The chilling blade of the sabre was slowly heating up. Qian Jin stared at the Zhanmadao that was turning red as he grabbed a normal battle blade with his right hand. The crowd felt like his eyes were turning red, as if they were congested with blood! The chilling murderous sensation instantly filled the room, and it made the crowd take a step back subconsciously.

Blood Ritual! Qian Jin remembered what Blake’s [Forging Techniques and Key Points] had said: top-tier Warrior Weapons all needed to go through a Blood Ritual! After a weapon was finished forging, the only way for a warrior to connect with the weapon as if it were a part of their body was by using their warrior blood to perform the Blood Ritual.

According to the writing on [Forging Techniques and Key Points], almost every Forge Master knew about the Blood Ritual, but only top-tier Forge Masters understood the truth behind it. During the Blood Ritual, the warrior had to mix his presence and temperament into the blood. Only then would it be a perfect Blood Ritual.

After Qian Jin’s murderous intent was mixed into his blood, he cut open his left palm, and hot blood spurted out of this opening under the pressure from his warrior energy and muscles.

The blood landed and the Zhanmadao and made a “Chsiiiii” noise. After the blood steamed off of the blade, no blood mark was left on it. However, the eye-piercing chilling light that reflected off the Zhanmadao seemed to get a lot brighter. The crowd felt like tens of thousands of sharp swords were about to jump out of the blade.

Gasps sounded in the workshop, and many people subconsciously raised their hands to block their eyes. Qian Jin twisted and pulled the Zhanmadao to place it in front of him horizontally, and he then wrapped it in strips of cloth that he prepared ahead of time.

Franklin looked at Qian Jin as he became confused. “Why aren’t you sharpening it? That should be the last step, right?”

“Yeah, that would be the last step.” Qian Jin tapped the Zhanmadao that was already wrapped as he said with a smile on his face, “Therefore, I’m going to use Slide-Cloud Stone to sharpen it!”

“Slide-Cloud Stone?”

Everyone in the workshop shouted out in surprise. The price for this type of grindstone was very expensive. It was even more expensive than a lot of weapons! Also, it couldn’t be bought simply with money! It required a network and high status to buy one of these grindstones! Even the mayor of Oakland probably wasn’t qualified to purchase a Slide-Cloud Stone. “How could this student from Oakland Academy say that he is going to use such a precious grindstone?” they thought.

Franklin was stunned. He looked at Qian Jin and thought, “I thought I had already become numb to all the surprises this kiddo had been pulling off. I didn’t expect that this young man would continue surprise us with bigger and bigger ticket items!”

“Before I go…” Qian Jin looked at a few pieces of Refined Iron that weren’t used and sitting on the ground. “I’m going to forge something small since it is convenient,” he said.

The crowd looked at Qian Jin again curiously. “What can be forged from these metals? Battle blades? There isn’t enough metal to make a battle blade. A polearm’s head? It seems like there are too many materials for a polearm’s head,” they thought.

After a short half hour passed by, the crowd was stunned again.

Kitchen knife! Qian Jin used the rest of the top-tier materials and forged a kitchen knife! “He could have used these metals to make several arrow heads or polearm’s heads. Why would he forge a kitchen knife?” This thought went through the crowd’s minds.

Qian Jin weighed the slightly oversized kitchen knife in his hand and turned around to sharpen it carefully on a grindstone.

“There is no need…” Franklin curled his lips and thought, “It’s only a kitchen knife. A blacksmith apprentice could have sharpened it. There should have been no need for Qian Jin, who seemed like a Forge Master, to sharpen it himself. It’s just sharpening; everyone knows how to do it…”

On the grindstone, a chilling light reflected off the tip of the knife and shined into Franklin’s eyes! In an instant, Franklin felt the temperature of his blood drop by a few degrees, as if a sharp blade was aiming at his throat. He quickly took a big step back, and then he realized that there was nothing coming at him. It was just the light reflecting off the blade portion of the knife.

“Is this really just a kitchen knife?” Franklin looked at the kitchen knife that was slowly showing its ferocity in Qian Jin’s hand, but he became even more perplexed. “Which family has a kitchen knife this sharp?” He couldn’t help but think.

“I’m finished!” Qian Jin found a box and packed the kitchen knife in it. “Before I sharpen the Zhanmadao on the Slide-Cloud Stone, there is another place that I have to go to.”

Franklin looked at Qian Jin with a questioning expression on his face, “Where are you going? What is more important than sharpening your blade?” he asked.

“As long as I sharpen the Zhanmadao before sunset, it will be fine. There is something that I have tolerated for too long!” Qian Jin grabbed the wooden box that contained the kitchen knife tightly with his fingers as he laughed and said, “Franklin, let’s go.”

“You want me to come along?” Franklin shook his head as he felt the curious stares coming from the crowd. He didn’t know why Qian Jin needed him, and his expression said it all.

While walking on the street in Oakland, Franklin asked in a perplexed tone, “Qian Jin, where are we heading to?”

“Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop.” Qian Jin tapped the kitchen knife that was in the box on his waist. “A while ago, they gave me a big present. It made me pay extra attention to everything. I had to return to the academy before it got dark outside, and I could only leave the academy when the sun came up and there were more pedestrians on the street. The whole thing cost me a ton of time. Today, I will return a big present to him. From today onwards, Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop will be the number one blacksmith shop in Oakland.”