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Liu Guanfeng widened his eyes, "Is this really allowed? Xuanwu Master, isn't this cheating?"
Xuanwu scratched his head, "There's nothing I can do. I'm not very skilled in other areas, but my expertise is in blacksmithing. What do you expect me to teach Copper Bull if not blacksmithing?"
"..." Liu Guanfeng and the others were at a loss for words.
Liu Guanfeng's eyes shifted, "Since that's the case, Xuanwu Master, we need to ensure fairness."
"What kind of fairness are you talking about? Do you want to learn the Hammer technique too?"
"Not that. I hope you can forge two more pieces of iron for us to observe; I want to study it closely."
"Alright then, pay close attention again. Copper Bull, you continue practicing. Follow the method of the second technique, but increase your strength a bit."
"I understand, Master." After responding to Xuanwu, Copper Bull took out the already heated Iron Ingot and began to strike it again. Liu Guanfeng and the others gathered around Xuanwu, carefully watching his movements.
Xuanwu picked up an Iron Ingot from the pile and placed it into the Furnace. He said to Liu Guanfeng, "Xiaofeng, help me add some fuel."
"Okay," Liu Guanfeng replied and squatted next to the Furnace, vigorously operating the bellows while adding coal into the furnace.
In a short while, the Pig Iron inside began to glow red. Seeing that it was almost ready, Xuanwu took out the Iron Ingot and placed it on the anvil. Once he steadied himself, he slowly raised the large hammer in his hand. Liu Guanfeng squatted nearby, carefully observing Xuanwu's movements. Since Xuanwu mentioned he would strike twice, Liu Guanfeng focused all his attention on Xuanwu's legs.
From his previous experience practicing shot put and discus in college, Liu Guanfeng knew that strength originates from the lower body. His guess proved correct as he noticed that Xuanwu's legs moved with each strike of the iron, starting from his feet. After about thirty strikes, Xuanwu placed the Iron Ingot back into the Furnace while Liu Guanfeng diligently worked the Bellows.
When Xuanwu placed the Iron Ingot back on the anvil again, Liu Guanfeng shifted his focus to Xuanwu's waist. He observed how Xuanwu's waist moved with each swing of the hammer—whether it was a forward motion or a rotation. By the third time, Liu Guanfeng began to watch Xuanwu's arms. After Xuanwu finished forging the first piece of Pig Iron, Liu Guanfeng had basically figured out Xuanwu's forging technique and sequence.
Thus, when Xuanwu started forging the second Iron Ingot, Liu Guanfeng concentrated entirely on the anvil, carefully observing where each strike landed on the Iron Ingot. By the time Xuanwu successfully forged the second Iron Ingot, Liu Guanfeng had nearly grasped Xuanwu's forging method.
In contrast, Bao Rui, Dai, and Iron Bull still did not understand how Xuanwu was forging; they had only learned a broad overview. The specifics would require them to explore gradually with guidance from Xuanwu.
The four individuals returned to their respective forges and began heating their Iron Ingots. Liu Guanfeng recalled the movements of Xuanwu, from the downward swing to the trajectory of the hammer falling.
Through observation, Liu Guanfeng realized that whenever Xuanwu's Hammer struck the Iron Ingot, there was a force generated from his feet. By utilizing the rebound effect created by the impact between the Hammer and the Iron Ingot, he could lift the Hammer without expending much energy. Moreover, the movements were very fluid.
Once Liu Guanfeng understood the technique, he slowly extracted the glowing red Iron Ingot from the forge. Calmly looking at the Iron Ingot in front of him, he took a deep breath and raised the heavy hammer above his head. Aiming carefully, Liu Guanfeng exerted force through his legs, transferring it through his body and arms to the Hammer, which then struck down heavily onto the Iron Ingot.
Sparks flew as the Hammer left the Iron Ingot, but it did not rise above his head as Liu Guanfeng had hoped. He pondered whether something was wrong with his technique.
However, Xuanwu, who had been observing Liu Guanfeng closely, was taken aback. He did not expect Liu Guanfeng to learn so quickly; after only three demonstrations, this young man seemed to have grasped about sixty to seventy percent of it. If he could master using leverage to lift the heavy hammer for continuous strikes, he would have learned the technique. This meant that once Liu Guanfeng mastered this method, he could forge weapons on his own.
Liu Guanfeng was completely focused on the Iron Ingot in front of him and decided to try again. After taking a deep breath, he swung the heavy hammer once more. With a clang and a shower of sparks, Liu Guanfeng's second strike landed with much better results than the first. Given this progress, he believed he could lift the Hammer above his head within three more strikes.
One strike, two strikes, three strikes, four strikes, five strikes—finally, Liu Guanfeng lifted the Hammer above his head. He felt a surge of joy as he placed the now-cooled Iron Ingot back into the forge. While pulling on the Bellows, he contemplated how it would feel for his final strike.
When Liu Guanfeng stood before the forge again, confidence filled him. With a clang and sparks flying, he raised the Hammer above his head once more. The second strike followed closely behind but did not lift as expected. His arms felt somewhat numb.
Rubbing his arms, Liu Guanfeng reflected on why his second strike had not risen properly. He recalled how Xuanwu connected each movement seamlessly.
Placing the glowing Iron Ingot back onto the anvil, Liu Guanfeng struck twice in quick succession this time; however, after two strikes, he failed to lift the hammer again. Looking at the Iron Ingot in front of him, he shook his head in dissatisfaction with his performance.
Meanwhile, Xuanwu observed with a twitching cheek: Was this kid human or monster? He seemed more like a demon than I do! It took me a thousand years to develop this hammering technique. I never expected this kid to learn it in less than half a day after just three demonstrations. How can anyone survive like this?
On another side, Copper Bull increased his striking force as instructed by Xuanwu but could only manage five consecutive strikes at most. However, Xuanwu had taught Copper Bull this technique two weeks prior.
After an afternoon of effort, Liu Guanfeng could now strike four times in succession—his performance rivaling that of Xuanwu's disciple Copper Bull. Meanwhile, Copper Bull had managed to achieve seven consecutive strikes after an afternoon of practice. Iron Bull could only manage two consecutive strikes relying solely on his own strength while Bao Rui and Dai were still limited to one strike at a time.
The next day saw even more noticeable progress for Liu Guanfeng; he was now able to match Copper Bull's performance with eight consecutive strikes. Under Xuanwu's guidance and hints, Bao Rui and Dai had also improved to two consecutive strikes while Iron Bull showed no advancement.
By the third day, both Liu Guanfeng and Copper Bull could deliver ten consecutive strikes; however, after ten strikes, the Iron Ingot had already cooled down. After three afternoons of practice not only had they honed their blacksmithing skills but also Liu Guanfeng noticed that the Iron Ingot was gradually shrinking in size—only slightly away from what Xuanwu required—and he glanced at how everyone else was doing as well.
Fortunately, the other three individuals, under Xuanwu's guidance, have already been able to continuously forge iron, although their quantity is somewhat inferior compared to Liu Guanfeng and Copper Bull. Bao Rui and Dai's comprehension abilities are far superior to Iron Bull's, allowing them to strike six times in succession, while Iron Bull can only manage five.
Despite this performance, Xuanwu is quite satisfied, as these children possess excellent comprehension abilities. According to Xuanwu's assessment: Liu Guanfeng has the potential to become a top-level forging master; Copper Bull can become a senior armor forger; Bao Rui and Dai can become senior weapon forgers; and Iron Bull can become an outstanding miner.
Upon hearing this evaluation, Iron Bull was in tears. After everyone finished dinner, Iron Bull often ran back to the deep pool to practice forging. Each time he practiced, Xuanwu would hide in the trees above, watching Iron Bull diligently practice below. Xuanwu felt gratified; although Iron Bull is slow to react, his persistence is something many children lack.
As long as one perseveres, success is inevitable. This was well demonstrated by Liu Guanfeng and the others. On the fourth day, Liu Guanfeng finally met Xuanwu's requirements by forging a piece of pig iron the size of a shoebox into an iron ingot about the size of a lunchbox. Looking at the iron ingot he had forged, Liu Guanfeng was ecstatic and received envious glances from the other three boys. On the fifth day, Copper Bull successfully crafted the iron ingot that Xuanwu required.
Even more astonishing was that on the sixth day, Bao Rui and Dai were almost finished with their iron ingots. However, Iron Bull completed his task first. As the deadline set by Xuanwu approached, Bao Rui and Dai finished their tasks almost simultaneously. Just as they completed their tasks, Liu Guanfeng also finished his second piece.
Liu Guanfeng was able to complete it so quickly because he could strike thirteen times in succession before the iron ingot cooled down.
Seeing his students working so hard, Xuanwu felt very pleased and said to Liu Guanfeng and the others: "You all can now complete tasks according to my requirements. The next task will be forging weapons. However, before that, you have much more work to do—specifically, forging more iron ingots like this."
"Master Xuanwu, how many iron ingots do we need to forge?" Copper Bull asked casually compared to the other four since he was Xuanwu's martial arts disciple.
Xuanwu thought for a moment: "Let's start by preparing the iron ingots for your weapons. Xiaofeng, you need one Fang Tian Hua Ji and a pair of Twin Iron Halberds. Prepare fifteen pieces for now. Copper Bull, prepare ten pieces; Iron Bull, prepare eight pieces; Bao Rui, prepare five pieces for your Twin Blades. Xiao only needs at least two pieces. But let me make it clear: you must forge these iron ingots with your own hands—no one else can do it for you. Do you understand?"
"Yes," the boys replied with excited expressions once again.
Xuanwu shook his head: It seems that tomorrow these kids will unleash their potential again.
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