88: Chapter 88 Steel

The red flames in the furnace roared, and before long, the iron Ore softened.

Hu Gualing picked it out with fire tongs and began hammering it with an iron hammer.

Wang Dachui saw that he couldn't dissuade him, and since Hu Gualing insisted on putting on a show, he had to watch from the sidelines.

Since he had already collected the fee for the Materials, it didn't matter what Hu Gualing did; he might as well see what kind of tricks he could pull.

However, after watching for a while, he realized that although Hu Gualing's basic skills were decent, he had been processing the iron ingot in a conventional way, and the Materials he brought himself hadn't been used at all.

It wasn't until more than ten pieces of iron Ore had been fired and forged countless times, finally removing most of the Impurities and fusing into a long iron bar, that Wang Dachui nodded secretly: "The quality of this iron bar is already above the passing line; whether it is used to Forge a knife or a sword later, it is more than enough."

It seemed this kid was not bad.

But why hadn't he used the bucket of clear oil and the jar of soybean paste he brought? Had he forgotten?

Just as Wang Dachui was thinking this, he saw Hu Gualing put down the iron bar and walk towards the jar of soybean paste placed against the wall.

He saw him bend down to lift the jar of soybean paste, open the lid, sniff it, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

This wasn't even the main thing.

What really opened Wang Dachui's eyes was Hu Gualing placing the jar of soybean paste on the anvil and using toilet paper to dip into the paste and smear it onto the iron bar.

He recognized that paper; it was the kind used for wiping one's rear—very thin and prone to tearing if one wasn't careful.

The color of the soybean paste was yellowish and gooey... coupled with the smell the paste emitted under high heat, it was hard for Wang Dachui not to associate it with that, and he felt like retching.

Yet Hu Gualing was enjoying himself; he didn't care if the paper tore or if the paste got on his hands, he just focused on smearing it carefully.

Until the entire iron bar was wrapped in the yellowish soybean paste, he took out saltpeter, carefully ground it into powder, sprinkled it evenly on the iron bar, and then picked up some charcoal, crushed it with a small hammer, and spread it on top.

Finally, he took out the toilet paper and wrapped the iron bar layer by layer.

Wang Dachui was completely baffled.

He had never seen anyone forge iron like this in all his life.

This iron bar was already a decent finished product; all it needed was to be hammered into shape, so why wrap it in these things?

Was it for coloring?

"Whose weapons are colored with soybean paste!"

But if one were to say Hu Gualing was just messing around, his process looked quite professional; perhaps there really was some method to it.

Wang Dachui couldn't figure it out, so he focused on watching Hu Gualing's next moves.

He saw Hu Gualing place the wrapped iron bar steadily on the anvil, then suddenly strike it with a small hammer.

"Clang!"

With one hammer blow, the paper shattered and the soybean paste splattered everywhere.

Wang Dachui felt something cool near his mouth and licked it with his tongue.

"Ptooey!"

"Damn it, it's soybean paste."

"But... it doesn't seem as smelly as it smells; instead, it has a salty, savory taste..."

Hu Gualing hammered away, and although many of the Materials wrapped around the iron bar were splattered away, he didn't care much.

Because, according to Teacher Zhang, these Materials served an auxiliary role, helping the carbon element precipitate from the charcoal and then penetrate into the iron bar.

However, this was all theory; it was simple to say, but the actual operation was completely different, because he didn't know if the carbon element had actually precipitated from the charcoal.

Although he could see that the iron bar was pitch black, there was no way to judge if it was the carbon element penetrating or just being stained black by the charcoal; he could only keep hammering.

The clanging sound of the small hammer echoed in the Forging room, seemingly without end.

The soybean paste and paper pulp splattered everywhere—on the anvil, the water jar, the walls, everywhere.

The way Wang Dachui looked at the iron bar gradually changed.

He could feel that under Hu Gualing's bizarre yet ritualistic operation, the iron bar had become somewhat different.

Although he didn't know what specific changes had occurred, it at least showed that the soybean paste and charcoal had produced an effect.

Could he really be a Genius?

On Hu Gualing's side, although he couldn't tell with the naked eye whether the carbon element had penetrated, at this point, he found that no matter how much more he hammered, the iron bar showed no further changes; it seemed this was already the limit state.

System Prompt: You have crafted [Inferior Steel * 3 jin 2 liang], [Forging] EXP +320.

"Inferior Steel?"

Hearing this System prompt, Hu Gualing stopped hammering, put down the small hammer, wiped the dirt off the surface of the iron bar, and checked the item attributes.

[Inferior Steel * 3 jin 2 liang]: Metal, Forging Materials, Construction Materials. Iron that has undergone simple Carburizing treatment; its hardness has been improved, and it contains trace amounts of carbon, barely meeting the standard of steel.

Hu Gualing was secretly delighted; although it was classified by the System as inferior quality, the System also acknowledged that this piece of metal had completed the transformation from iron to steel.

Even inferior steel is harder than top-quality iron!

This point could also be seen from the increased [Forging] EXP.

Usually when Forging, the [Forging] EXP bar rises bit by bit; smelting an iron ingot yields variable EXP based on the size and purity of the ingot, but it is usually under ten points; crafting a finished product like a sickle can yield dozens of EXP points at once.

And this steel bar gave a full 320 [Forging] EXP points at once; just from this point, one could see its value!

Hu Gualing wiped the three jin two liang steel bar clean with a rag and showed a satisfied smile on his face.

Wang Dachui also came over, his eyes constantly examining this pitch-black steel bar. "This iron bar, why does it seem different from anything I've seen before? I don't know what the quality is like; should we test it?"

Hu Gualing saw the anticipation in his eyes and couldn't help but smile secretly. This was just the beginning; the main event was still to come. But if Wang Dachui wanted to test it, let him; let him open his eyes first.

With Hu Gualing's nod of permission, Wang Dachui couldn't wait any longer and casually pulled a Pu Dao from the side.

The Pu Dao is a very simple blade, with a narrow, long, and thick body, and it doesn't have as sharp an edge as other blades. It doesn't look high-class from its appearance, and in fact, it is exactly that. If the long handle of the Pu Dao is removed, it can be easily hung by the waist. In the countryside, it is used for clearing brambles and opening up land for farming. However, from this, it can also be seen that although the Pu Dao doesn't look good, it is extremely durable; otherwise, if it were any other blade, it would chip if it hit two stones.

The Pu Dao can also be fitted with a long handle, bringing the total length to between four and five feet. The wielder holds the handle with both hands, using the thick weight of the blade to hack enemies.

In other words, the Pu Dao can be used for clearing paths and hacking people, so although this thing is simple, it doesn't worry about sales in this world.

The one in Wang Dachui's hand was one he had just forged, without a handle attached yet, which was perfect for testing the quality of the iron bar.

He saw him hold the Pu Dao and hack fiercely at the iron bar on the anvil.