Chapter 8: The Forgemaster's Study of Pattern Theory!
Early the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight spilled through the window, Jiang Lin opened his eyes in the cold medicinal bath, feeling clear-headed and refreshed.
Since he had no official duties at Wan Yao Pharmacy, Jiang Lin decisively chose to continue focusing on training his Dou Techniques.
Thus, under the envious gazes of Xiao Yi Xian and the other staff, Jiang Lin spent his days diligently practicing, pushing his body to the brink of collapse, then soaking in Mr. Yao's specially prepared medicinal baths each night to recover.
He had asked Xiao Yi Xian about the value of the medicinal baths. Her answer? Though the ingredients weren't refined into a ranked pill, each nightly soak cost around a thousand gold coins in raw herbs. Given the pharmacy's business model, even its daily income didn't always reach that amount—meaning that ever since Jiang Lin began training, Wan Yao Pharmacy had been running at a steady deficit.
And the morning after Jiang Lin asked about the cost of the baths, Mr. Yao came to find him and said, "Lin'er, don't worry so much. Just focus on your training. Consider this an essential early-stage investment. Once you're stronger, you'll be able to forge better weapons, right?"
Clearly, Mr. Yao was concerned Jiang Lin would feel guilty, so he came personally to ease his burden.
Moved by this gesture, Jiang Lin stopped overthinking and immersed himself in training. So time passed—until a month had gone by.
One month later, outside the forge in Wan Yao Pharmacy's inner courtyard—boom! A muffled thunderclap echoed as a dark figure shot forward. In a blink, he appeared before a wooden training post, his arm blazing with red light. Bam! A punch slammed down, snapping the thick post clean in half!
Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian, observing nearby, couldn't help but flash surprised expressions.
At first glance, Jiang Lin's move looked like Flame Fist, but there was clearly a hint of Burst Step embedded in it.
"…His Dou Qi cultivation might be low, but that brute strength is rare." Though impressed by his mastery, Xiao Yi Xian still commented with a straight face. She had clearly seen that most of the destructive force came from Jiang Lin's physical power—not Dou Qi.
Over the course of the month, Jiang Lin's Dou Qi hadn't improved much, but his physical strength had grown immensely thanks to the Forging Fire Art and the medicinal baths. At just ten years old, he now possessed strength comparable to a grown man. Of course, the side effect was that the baths were becoming less effective—only accelerating his physical recovery at this point.
"When Lin'er said it would take half a month to learn a technique, I had my doubts. With his potential, that didn't seem right. Turns out, what he meant by 'learn' was this kind of integrated, fused mastery." After Jiang Lin finished executing the dual-technique combo and slumped to the ground, exhausted and out of Dou Qi, Mr. Yao could only shake his head and laugh.
Most people could grasp a Yellow Rank Dou Technique in just a few days. Mr. Yao had never believed Jiang Lin to be dull—and the results proved him right. Jiang Lin's "learning" simply wasn't the same as everyone else's.
After all, the level of "basic understanding" between a top student and a failing one can't possibly be the same.
After resting a while, Jiang Lin grinned and ran up to Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian. "Well? Mr. Yao, wasn't that amazing?"
Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes at his eager face, but Mr. Yao responded with a gentle smile: "Truly impressive. Even across the Dou Qi Continent—even in the Jia Ma Empire—you'd be among the most gifted I've ever met."
"Oh, by the way, the Firegold Ore, Bluegold Ore, Floating Cloud Stone, and that Grade One mid-tier Fire-Devouring Sparrow core you asked for—I've managed to gather them all. They're in that wooden chest on the cart over there. If you need more materials, just tell me—I'll do what I can to get them." Mr. Yao pointed to a wooden cart in the corner. Jiang Lin's eyes lit up, and he rushed over to pull it over and opened the chest in front of them.
Inside, the fire-type magic core was stored separately in a small wooden box, while the rest of the materials were all roughly processed raw ores.
Jiang Lin didn't hesitate to display everything out in the courtyard and began inspecting the quality. A hint of joy appeared on his face. "Mr. Yao, you're amazing! These are all top-grade ores. Just this batch is worth over ten thousand gold coins!"
Xiao Yi Xian pouted slightly at the number.
Mr. Yao just chuckled. "I'll keep gathering magic cores too. If you're really that worried about bankrupting this pharmacy, just forge more Dou Qi weapons and sell them in Wu Tan City to help me recover the costs."
"Hahaha, of course! You've got it!" Jiang Lin nodded eagerly.
Mr. Yao continued, "Here in Qingshan Town, you should occasionally forge some high-quality weapons as well. If Wan Yao Pharmacy keeps buying ores and materials without selling anything, it'll start to raise suspicions."
"I understand, Mr. Yao." Jiang Lin nodded. The past month had been dedicated to training, and he'd originally planned to forge more tools. But Mr. Yao had advised him to focus first on refining his techniques.
Now, with deeper insights, Jiang Lin was ready to resume his research on Dou Qi weapons.
Excited, he immediately began a new round of metallurgy right in front of Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian. After a while, seeing that he was doing repetitive smelting and hammering, Mr. Yao quietly took the sleepy Xiao Yi Xian and left. Purifying ore, separating impurities, repeated hammering—this was time-consuming, and even Mr. Yao, curious as he was, chose to return to his loft and drink tea instead.
No wonder alchemists always look so refined, Mr. Yao thought silently.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin—drenched in sweat—worked tirelessly.
"The books say that during alchemy, the alchemist controls flames to refine medicinal essences, blending them together. This process requires immense spiritual sensitivity, or else one small mistake can ruin everything."
Beside the blazing furnace, bare-chested and bronze-skinned, Jiang Lin pulled out a glowing red metal piece, inspected it, then sprinkled it with metallic grit and placed it back into the fire.
"Actually, forging follows the same principle. The main difference between a blacksmith and a true forgemaster is the ability to sense the resistance between different metals, enabling them to refine materials into complex circuit-like patterns on the same surface."
"But… why go to such lengths to refine intricate patterns?"
"…And could these patterns somehow relate to the flow of Dou Techniques through the human body?"
(END CHAPTER)
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