15: Chapter 15 This kid is really brave
Yue Yun remembered the Steel-feathered Eagle tail feather Mo Yu had.
He asked in a low voice, "The tail feathers of a Steel-feathered Eagle are extremely sharp, hard yet not lacking in flexibility. I feel like they'd be good Materials. Do you think they could be used to forge a weapon?"
The Old Master stopped what he was doing upon hearing this.
He thought for a moment and then smiled as he spoke, "Want to know? There's no point in me telling you more; just bring it over and try it, then you'll know."
He took out a standard steel ingot shimmering with a silver luster and casually handed it to Yue Yun, tilting his chin slightly toward the forge to signal Yue Yun to give it a try.
Yue Yun didn't show any stage fright. Holding the steel ingot, he approached the forge where the flames were rising high and placed the ingot into the fire with great seriousness.
The Old Master shook his head at the sight but did not speak to interrupt.
It wasn't until the steel ingot was glowing red-hot that his voice slowly rang out, "You should make a handle for the material first. Put it in and take it out from a distance, rather than falling in yourself like you're doing now."
"The way you placed this material so neatly—someone who didn't know better would think you were erecting a tombstone. Do you need to stick a stick of incense in and bow to it too?"
"Look at how you placed it. Now it's hard to just pick it up with the tongs, and even if you change the angle, it's hard to get any leverage!"
Enduring the oncoming heatwave, Yue Yun tried to use the tongs to pull out the red-hot steel ingot, but he couldn't get a steady grip. The Old Master's urging in his ear became increasingly frantic.
"Damn it, whatever!"
Yue Yun, for some reason, had a sudden lapse in judgment. He steeled his heart, rolled up his sleeves, and reached out to grab the steel ingot directly.
The Old Master's eyes widened suddenly, his pupils trembling in shock.
"Hot, hot, hot—"
Yue Yun bared his teeth in pain, feeling as if his entire hand was about to melt, but he kept a firm grip on the steel ingot and didn't let go.
While shouting about the heat, he placed the steel ingot under the Power Hammer, stepped on the Mechanical Wrench, and began a series of forging and lengthening.
Since Yue Yun wasn't using iron tongs, the Power Hammer would occasionally strike his hand when it fell, but he only cried out in pain and didn't let go.
The health bar above Yue Yun's head flickered. Although his HP was decreasing, it remained within a healthy range.
Clearly, holding a red-hot steel ingot was nothing to him.
The Old Master opened his mouth but ultimately swallowed the words he was about to say, staring wide-eyed at Yue Yun's every Move.
This kid is truly brave!
Yue Yun didn't stop until the steel ingot had been stretched into a bar.
"Look," he said, placing the steel ingot back on the table.
The Old Master hurried forward, grabbing Yue Yun's still-scalding palm to inspect it, his eyes filled with wonder.
"Good, good, excellent!"
The Old Master looked at Yue Yun as if he were a rare treasure, his smile nearly reaching his ears. "I knew I didn't misjudge you. You, kid, were born for this trade."
Blacksmithing was a dangerous job.
Even with his years of experience, the flying sparks during forging made the Old Master extremely cautious; a slight lapse could result in several blisters.
Yue Yun's special Beast Taming Talent eliminated this risk.
He wouldn't suffer any actual physical damage, nor would he be left with hideous scars. As long as his HP wasn't depleted, he was invincible.
As if remembering something, the Old Master let go of Yue Yun's hand somewhat awkwardly, his attitude becoming even more gentle.
"Do you know how good craftsmanship is born?"
Yue Yun thought seriously about it, one answer after another coming to mind, but he eventually shook his head, feeling none were quite right.
"Good craftsmanship is born from being scolded."
The Old Master gave the answer sheepishly. "I didn't mean to scold you just now. Back then, I was scolded by my master for forty-nine days before I finally forged a decent Wood-chopping Knife."
The Old Master didn't think it was improper to apologize to a junior.
Mainly, this kid was as strong as an ox. If he got angry from being scolded, he might just turn around and give this old man a punch.
The Old Master muttered under his breath.
"I don't even know if I could take it!"
...
Nightfall.
The Old Master casually gestured with some sinister and tricky Moves. "If I had a sword in my hand, I could use it to stab someone's foot while performing a sword salute, crippling them instantly."
"If I'm empty-handed, I can use a sweeping kick. When I squat down, I'll grab a handful of sand and throw it in their eyes as I stand up, catching them off guard."
..."
Yue Yun's eyes twitched involuntarily as he listened.
This wasn't kung fu; these were clearly underhanded tricks!
"However..."
Unexpectedly, the Old Master's tone shifted, saying with expectation for Yue Yun, "If you learn these to roam the Jianghu, the best you'll ever be is a third-rate street performer. You'd be better off taking the key academic exams."
"You have a streak of ruthlessness in you, kid. You should follow the path of a Beast Tamer and fight exotic beasts in the future to make a name for yourself."
The Old Master picked up a thick, long iron rod, holding it like a spear, and let out a low, vigorous shout with eyes wide open.
A sharp light radiated from his aged eyes, and his spirit surged at that moment. From his demeanor to his posture, the Old Master seemed like a completely different person.
Whoosh!
The iron rod suddenly spun, drawing an arc in the air, and thrust forward to pierce the fading twilight, followed by a Phoenix Nod.
The Old Master's Moves were rich, demonstrating spear techniques like stabbing, piercing, slapping, swinging, cleaving, and sweeping one by one. Combining offense and defense, they were fast, accurate, and powerful, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole to strike a vital point.
His footwork was like the wind, his stances shifting unpredictably, as light and flexible as a Dragon or snake gliding, his eyes sharp as a tiger's, possessing both spirit and form.
"Spear techniques emphasize adapting to the enemy and following the flow."
The Old Master treated the night wind as his enemy. During the battle, the straight iron rod seemed to possess flexibility, combining hardness and softness, speed and slowness, void and reality.
Swoosh!
The Old Master finally performed Parting Grass to Find the Snake, blocking the direction of the night wind's flow and thrusting out a flowery spear strike to pierce the thick darkness.
Stretching his gradually warming elderly body, he slowly exhaled turbid Qi, dropped the iron rod, and began practicing boxing with the sharp light in his eyes undiminished.
"Whether it's traditional martial arts, modern combat, or overseas fighting, all the world's countless styles of kung fu eventually lead to the same destination."
"And that is speed and power!"
The Old Master roared.
His fists were even faster than his words, fiercely punching out afterimages that blurred past, stopping just short of impact, leaving only a terrifying wind from the punch lingering.
Yue Yun's eyes widened instantly.
In a daze, he seemed to hear a faint sonic boom.
The Old Master's movements were not like those of an elderly man; the power from his internal and external harmonies was rapid and violent, like a fierce tiger hunting a hundred beasts.
As he snorted and stepped forward, a vibration came from beneath his feet.
"In actual combat, you can't always pull off specific Moves, but the techniques for generating power are real. This is the essence that martial artists pursue!"
The moment the Old Master pulled his arms back, the strength of his entire body was also retracted, causing the surrounding air currents to kick up a significant disturbance.
He slowly calmed his increasingly heavy breathing, shook his head with some dissatisfaction, and laughed with a sigh, "Sigh, I'm old, I'm old. If I were a bit younger, I could still go to the battlefield to fight exotic beasts!"
"You've killed exotic beasts before?"
Yue Yun couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect.
A look of reminiscence flashed across the Old Master's face, but he only smiled and waved his hand. "I have, but that was a very long time ago."