Chapter 7: The Hero Offends with Strength, the Forgemaster Conquers with Craft!
Jiang Lin hadn't expected that one day, his own cleverness would backfire on him.
Practicing Burst Step while putting iron plates in his shoes made sense in theory—after all, at higher levels, when Dou Qi could leave the body, the plates would help reduce the pressure on his soles.
But here was the problem: Jiang Lin was just a measly Second Stage Dou Qi rookie. He couldn't even project his Dou Qi externally, and yet he put metal plates in his shoes? That was asking for trouble. When the fire-element Dou Qi exploded from his soles, it got blocked by the iron plate and rebounded, scalding his feet and making them go numb from the shock.
Thankfully, most Dou Technique manuals included a kind of "fool-proofing" system. Training began with very low energy output, slowly increasing over time. So even after that backfire, Jiang Lin wasn't bedridden for weeks.
Since he wasn't seriously hurt, he resumed his training in the small courtyard after resting for a bit.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
From the far back of the Wan Yao Pharmacy's rear courtyard—near the outskirts of town—dull thudding sounds echoed intermittently. A dark silhouette darted across the training ground in short bursts, pausing between movements to rest before releasing another Dou Technique. Over and over again.
Late into the night, Jiang Lin dragged his battered body back to his room, ready to collapse. But to his surprise, he found a large wooden tub had been placed inside. Xiao Yi Xian stood next to it, mixing in various medicinal herbs.
"Oh, back already? Not very talented, but at least you're diligent." Xiao Yi Xian smirked slightly as she turned to see the dusty, limping Jiang Lin pushing open the door. Her expression quickly returned to neutral as she spoke with a teasing tone.
"Mr. Yao was worried your bones would break from training like that, so he found some old prescription from who-knows-where and made you this medicinal bath. Whether it works or not is debatable, but at least you won't be paralyzed in bed tomorrow."
"Honestly, Mr. Yao spoils you too much. Sooner or later, you'll be ruined." She huffed and shot him a glare. Ever since Mr. Yao brought Jiang Lin back from his herb-gathering trip six months ago, he'd been showing increasing favoritism…
Of course, Xiao Yi Xian—still young herself—didn't yet understand that her awareness of Mr. Yao's bias also meant their relationship had grown more intimate.
"All right, get in the tub yourself! And clean up the herb dregs tomorrow! I'm not your maid! Studying medical texts all day is already exhausting, and now I'm making you a medicinal bath at night? Unbelievable." Xiao Yi Xian gave him a light punch in the chest. Seeing Jiang Lin wince in pain, she instantly felt much better and walked out without looking back.
Just as she left, the moonlight fell gently upon her long, silvery-white hair, like a gauzy robe of moonlight, giving her retreating figure a dreamlike beauty.
Bathed in silver moonlight, the girl, hands clasped behind her back, skipped away like a moonlit spirit, slowly vanishing into the night.
Only then did Jiang Lin look back and, with a twisted expression, rub his chest. "Damn, she didn't hold back!"
Still, as he looked at the fragrant medicinal water in the tub, he decided that being magnanimous was the right move… unless, of course, he chose not to be human anymore—then revenge could wait.
He shut the doors and windows. Leaving only the pale yellow jade at his chest, he stripped off his clothes, revealing a faintly muscular young body, and slowly lowered himself into the tub.
Tsssss…
The herbs had anti-inflammatory properties and stung a bit when they touched his wounds. At first contact, Jiang Lin's face twitched slightly, and he let out a cold breath like he was contributing to an ice age on the Dou Qi Continent.
Still, he didn't make a sound, submerging himself until the water reached his neck. Leaning his head on the edge of the tub, he rested for a moment before beginning to circulate the Forging Fire Art. Soon, his body began to heat up again, and the pale yellow jade at his chest—the only thing he still felt cool against his skin—began to glow faintly.
The heat from cultivating Forging Fire Art would make Jiang Lin's whole body burn, but the jade gave him a sliver of coolness, helping him stay calm and focused during the otherwise exhausting process.
After about half an hour, Jiang Lin completed a full energy cycle and finally stopped, resting with his head against the tub edge, eyes closed.
"I think my cultivation speed's slightly faster than usual… And this is just a basic, unranked herbal bath. I wonder how strong the effect must be for those noble families with alchemists—how much stronger their elite youth must grow with the aid of their medicinal baths."
What Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian had prepared for him didn't even count as Grade One pills—just basic recovery. But Jiang Lin was already very grateful for it.
"I'm starting to get a feel for Burst Step… maybe in half a month I'll be able to use it as fluidly as the manuals describe—mind and movement as one."
"Half a month just to learn a Yellow Rank technique? Damn, I feel like trash…" Jiang Lin sighed inwardly.
Indeed, taking half a month to learn a Yellow Rank Dou Technique was average—but from his tone, it was clear that "learning" meant something more.
"…I'll try to master Burst Step and Flame Fist soon. I think I've gained a new understanding of Dou Techniques… but I need more hands-on practice and more manuals to compare with."
Submerged up to his head in the herbal bath, Jiang Lin continued pondering all things Dou Technique—until he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, in another room of Wan Yao Pharmacy's inner courtyard, under the dim moonlight, a candle still burned.
"A Low-tier Yellow Rank Water-Patterned Golden Dagger… able to pierce the defense of a mid-tier Grade One magical beast like the Earth Armor Pig?" Mr. Yao, sitting neatly at his desk under the candlelight, rubbed his forehead as he read the letter in his hand.
Though iron weapons with Dou Qi enhancement could achieve similar results, those were wielded by people who hadn't even become Fighters. It was clear now: Dou Qi weapons couldn't be spread lightly in Qingshan Town.
In that moment, Mr. Yao seemed to glimpse the deeper truth about why high-tier forgers were so rare in this world—
A month of forging… how can that compare to a hundred years of cultivation?!
Compared to alchemists, forgers naturally carried the rebellious potential of striking down the strong while still weak.
The hero offends with strength, the forgemaster conquers with craft!
(END CHAPTER)
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