Chapter 102: Tier-6 Forging Cauldron · Crimson Dragon Cauldron!
The Blacksmith Guild's standard for a Tier-3 Blacksmith was clear: given a blueprint and materials, one must comprehend the blueprint and successfully forge a Tier-3 Dou Weapon within half a month. Meeting that deadline qualified as a proper Tier-3 Blacksmith.
Exceeding the deadline still earned the rank, but such people were silently labeled as "trash" by the guild. Yuan Bao didn't want Jiang Lin, on his first visit to the guild, to lack a sense of time. He directly imposed a qualified time limit. If Jiang Lin could complete it on time, it would mean he had the comprehension, insight, and forging talent to eventually break through and become a Profound-grade Blacksmith.
While Yuan Bao went to prepare the materials, Jiang Lin placed his palm on the bronze cauldron in the center and noticed the small inscription: Crimson Dragon Cauldron.
Jiang Lin tried injecting a little Dou Qi, and the cauldron's bronze-colored surface began to glow with golden-red dragon scale patterns. At the same time, a faint crimson-gold dragon flame began rising within the cauldron. What surprised Jiang Lin was that this dragon flame seemed to respond to his soul force, changing size at will, and swirling rapidly within the cauldron under his control, eventually forming a dazzling crimson-gold dragon-shaped vortex above!
Even more surprising was that his internal Dou Qi consumption was minimal. Realizing something, Jiang Lin squatted down and touched the large foot of the Crimson Dragon Cauldron, a flash of understanding and amazement in his eyes.
"So it's geothermal fire… the earth flame powers the cauldron, and the blacksmith only needs to use a little Dou Qi to control the flame endlessly… This is way better than my furnace... If I could bring one of these back, that'd be amazing." Jiang Lin crouched by the cauldron's base, caressing the beautiful dragon-scale patterns on the surface like an obsessed fan, murmuring softly.
"Jiang Lin, the materials and scroll are all inside here." As Jiang Lin was still exploring the cauldron, Yuan Bao returned with a silver ring. "The rest is up to you!"
Jiang Lin took the silver ring, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Inside the spatial ring, three neatly arranged sets of Tier-3 materials lay ready, along with the forging scroll. The ring itself had a space of ten cubic meters.
"Can I keep the leftover materials?" Jiang Lin asked.
"If you successfully pass the assessment, they'll be your reward as a Tier-3 Blacksmith," Yuan Bao said with a smile. Then he exited the Heaven-class forging field, stepping into the corridor. He sealed the metal railings and inserted a pure-colored magic core into a specially designed socket. A transparent barrier rose around the site, plunging the interior into a tranquil silence.
"This is… a barrier? Looks like coming to the Blacksmith Guild was the right call. Without this, who knows how many years I'd have to fumble around to gain the insights I've already gained today?" Jiang Lin shook his head in amazement. He retrieved the Tier-3 forging scroll from the ring and pressed it to his forehead. With a spark of soul force, a flood of information exploded in his mind.
"Hm? Teacher, you're here?" In the corridor, Yuan Bao had dragged out a chair from somewhere and was now lying on it, sunbathing. The forging barrier was two-way—no noise entered or exited. Part of Yuan Bao's motivation for setting Jiang Lin up with such a nice space was so he could enjoy the sunshine without interruption.
However, he had barely gotten comfortable when the sunlight in front of him was blocked. Opening his eyes, he saw an old man with silver hair—tall, broad-shouldered, standing with hands behind his back, eyes focused on Jiang Lin, who was still absorbing the blueprint's information inside.
The old man turned around. His short silver hair gave him a sharp and energetic appearance, lacking the usual gentleness of the elderly. In fact, he radiated a stern authority. He looked at the lounging Yuan Bao and said irritably, "You closed the main gate this early in the morning and locked Old Man Han outside. That old coot's been yelling his head off out there. Want to go hear it for yourself?"
Old Man Han—Han Yu, a seven-star Dou King, Tier-5 Blacksmith, and Vice President of the Blacksmith Guild.
"What?! Old Man Han ran off to play again?!" Yuan Bao jolted up instantly, scrambling toward the entrance in a bear-like rush.
The silver-haired elder watched Yuan Bao tumble away like a rolling bear. The sunlight from the corridor happened to shine on his silver-white robe, which bore no medal—only six golden flame patterns.
Tier-6 Blacksmith, Guild Master of the Blacksmith Guild—Hu Lei.
The Blacksmith Guild had so few people that when the restriction on the Heaven-class Forging Field activated, Hu Lei sensed it immediately. Curious, he came to check.
Seeing an unfamiliar face, Hu Lei's curiosity grew stronger.
Hu Lei possessed a talent even the Alchemist Guild Master Fa Ma couldn't match—he could recognize every blacksmith registered with the guild.
Yes… in this respect, Hu Lei had an unparalleled advantage.
Hu Lei was certain he had never seen Jiang Lin before. If it had been a Tier-1 assessment, he might have brushed it off. But this stranger was attempting the Tier-3 assessment right from the start, which naturally drew more of Hu Lei's attention.
Before long, Jiang Lin inside the field had finished absorbing the Intent-Focused Gauntlets' blueprint. He scratched his head, then took out all the materials at once. From each batch, he pulled out a small sample and threw them into the Crimson Dragon Cauldron, clumsily beginning the purification process.
If he were still at the Forging Valley, this step would have required slow hammering with a small mallet. But with the Crimson Dragon Cauldron, Jiang Lin now purified materials like an alchemist—directly within the cauldron. As expected, blacksmiths and alchemists shared more similarities than he'd thought.
"First time using a forging cauldron? Where'd this wild blacksmith pop up from?" To Hu Lei, anyone capable of producing a Tier-3 Blacksmith usually had access to a Profound-grade forging cauldron.
Forging cauldrons were similar to alchemy cauldrons. A good one was generally a Profound Artifact—Tier-4 or above.
The Crimson Dragon Cauldron was a Tier-6 Profound Artifact. Hu Lei had forged it himself at the Heavenly Craft Pavilion and brought it back when he took the Guild Master post—along with many other fine tools.
In the Blacksmith Guild, a Tier-3 Blacksmith normally qualified to exchange for a Tier-4 forging cauldron. But Jiang Lin's style clearly screamed traditional, wild-forged roots.
Soon, Hu Lei noticed that Jiang Lin had begun testing the properties of each material with Dou Qi—its hardness, ductility, and more—carefully documenting everything on paper.
After that, Jiang Lin performed an action that made Hu Lei's eyes light up: he conducted a comparative analysis between the blueprint of the Intent-Focused Gauntlets and the meridians in his own palms!
"Good kid! That single move shows he's already touching upon the essence of the 'Profound'!"
(END CHAPTER)
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