A man approached—a figure not especially tall, but broad-boned and muscular, with sinewy strength evident in every line of his body.
His hair and beard were completely white, yet he radiated vitality, his eyes sharp and penetrating, as if he could see through metal and stone.
He wore an old leather apron streaked with coal dust and metal filings, and in his hand was a small carving knife that glinted with an unusual, cold light, as if he were examining some intricate component.
Most striking of all was the badge on his chest—a hammer encircled by starlight: the mark of a Master Craftsman!
The craftsmen around him immediately paused their work and bowed respectfully.
"President!"
Lou Gao!
One of the Three Divine Craftsmen of the age, and the president of the Blacksmith Association!
The man known as Old Li quickly composed himself. After recounting the conversation he had just had with Lin Xia, he spoke again with deep respect.
"President, this boy claims he wants to join the association, but I think he's far too young… I'm worried—"
Lou Gao's gaze landed on Lin Xia.
His eyes were sharp as an eagle's, seeming to pierce straight into a person's heart.
Lin Xia immediately felt an invisible pressure pressing down on him, yet he forced himself to remain calm, meeting Lou Gao's gaze steadily, neither yielding nor arrogant.
"You want to join the association?"
Lou Gao's voice was low but carried a metallic resonance that rang clearly in Lin Xia's ears.
"Yes, President."
Lin Xia replied respectfully.
"I have a special ability with ores, and I hope to serve the association and learn forging techniques."
"A special ability?"
Interest flickered across Lou Gao's eyes.
He had spent his life obsessed with metals and forging, and anything novel related to ores or metal naturally piqued his curiosity.
"Tell me—what kind of special ability?"
Facing Lou Gao's inquiry and the skeptical gazes of those around, Lin Xia remained completely composed.
He knew the uniqueness and importance of his ability. To gain a foothold in the Blacksmith Association and access resources, revealing part of his talent was a necessary price.
He needed Lou Gao's approval, and above all, a stable source of ore.
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Xia made his decision.
He raised his hand, not pointing to the piles of ore, but to his mouth and, with clear and serious eyes, said.
"President, I can taste the various components in ore with my mouth and tell the quality."
He paused briefly, then added,
"I just need to compare a few, since I don't yet know all the specific details of ores, and I can't name the metals."
At once, the crowd—already in a mood to spectate erupted into louder laughter.
"Hahaha! Did you hear that? He says he can taste the components in ore!"
"This is hilarious. The kid must be starving to talk such nonsense!"
"Tasting ore? Does he think he's a Soul Beast? Or is he some kind of human metal mold?"
"Exactly! Even if he can bite it, what could he possibly taste? Rust or just stone?"
The spark of interest in Lou Gao's eyes instantly faded into deep disappointment.
Shaking his head, he sighed, speaking with the patience of an elder toward a naive child.
"Little one, do you think you have teeth of bronze and iron?"
"Even if you did, some ores are far harder than you can imagine. Without special forging techniques, their structure and properties are extremely stable. How could teeth possibly bite and identify them? Your idea… is far too naive."
The laughter of the onlookers grew even louder, accompanied by murmurs of "absurd" and "overestimating oneself."
Lin Xia paid no attention to the noise, his expression still calm.
He walked straight to a nearby pile of ordinary ore, bending to pick up two pieces of iron ore of roughly the same size but slightly different colors. Holding them, he returned to Lou Gao and asked in a clear voice.
"President, you are experienced blacksmiths. You should be able to tell which of these two ores has a higher iron content, right?"
Lou Gao and Old Li instinctively cast a quick glance; with their eyes, they could roughly tell the difference.
But before they could answer, Lin Xia's next action silenced the entire hall, as if someone had grabbed their throats!
Without hesitation, he raised the ore in his right hand to his mouth, opened wide, and bit down sharply.
"Crack—!"
A crisp, teeth-aching sound of shattering rang out!
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Lin Xia's teeth crushed a fist-sized chunk cleanly from the hard iron ore, as if biting through a brittle cookie.
He didn't pause, immediately biting a chunk from the ore in his left hand as well!
The two pieces were stuffed into his mouth simultaneously, his cheeks bulging as he began to chew vigorously.
The hard ore cracked audibly with every bite, like crunching roasted beans, sending shivers down the spines of the onlookers.
The entire Blacksmith Association hall fell into dead silence.
Only the roaring of the furnaces and the crunching of Lin Xia's teeth echoed.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, unable to believe what they were witnessing.
The boy… he was really eating ore!
And he was biting and chewing it with his teeth!
What were his teeth made of?
What was his stomach made of?
Could a human even do this?
The look of disappointment on Lou Gao's face had long been replaced by sheer shock. He fixed his gaze on Lin Xia's mouth, as if trying to see whether some divine weapon was hidden inside.
Old Li, the steward, was even more terrified, taking a half step back, his face pale.
Lin Xia chewed as if no one else existed, brow slightly furrowed, seemingly analyzing and savoring the taste.
After a short while, he stopped chewing and swallowed the pasty mixture of ore fragments.
Carefully tasting and sensing, Lin Xia then raised the piece of ore he had bitten with his left hand and, in a calm but clear voice, said to Lou Gao.
"This piece has a higher iron content."
He paused, as if concentrating on recalling and sensing further.
"And… it seems to be mixed with another mineral. The taste is somewhat… sharp, distinctive. But I haven't studied it, so I can't name it."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Everyone's mind went blank at this simple yet utterly unfathomable method of identification.
Looking at Lin Xia's perfectly intact mouth and teeth, without a single scratch or blood mark, and then at the two chunks of iron ore he had bitten through, an overwhelming sense of absurdity washed over everyone.
This world… suddenly felt strange and insane!
After recovering from the initial shock, Lou Gao's already sharp eyes suddenly blazed with an unprecedented, almost fanatical radiance!
The look in his eyes was like that of a craftsman obsessed with forging who had just discovered a legendary ore imbued with divine essence!
"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!"