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墨書 Inktalez
Guo Yunhua had already arranged the Nine Blacksmiths, which included Vice President Stone Lei and Director Xu Shi from the Blacksmith Guild, as well as seven of the top blacksmiths in Winter City. The blacksmiths from his own family were also excellent craftsmen specially brought in from other cities due to Guo Yunhua's involvement with Zhang Yuru. Among these seven blacksmiths, five were Senior Artisans from the New Home Chamber of Commerce, whose skills were on par with those of the Directors from the Blacksmith Guild. In total, there were only eight such esteemed artisans serving the New Home Chamber of Commerce.
This also highlighted how spoiled Guo Leigang was with his only son. To ensure that Guo Yunhua could marry Zhang Yuru, Guo Leigang had invested heavily; otherwise, Guo Yunhua would not have dared to challenge so easily.
Furthermore, according to information obtained by Guo Yunhua, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was established based on Huang's Blacksmith Shop from a former fishing village. Although Huang Tie had some skill in blacksmithing, he still fell short compared to Director Xu Shi.
Seeing such a formidable lineup, Guo Yunhua felt very confident. He believed that as long as the President of the Blacksmith Guild did not intervene, there was almost no chance of failure.
Liu Guanfeng approached his forge and said, "According to yesterday's agreement, we will proceed with the competition. The order will be Tiger Tail first, Tiger Head second... Senior Brother Qi, you will take the last spot for us; it seems you won't have a chance to show off."
Qifeng Ge scratched his head and replied, "I don't think I'll need to step in. Hehe, you all better work hard. Otherwise, hehe..."
Qifeng Ge did not finish his sentence, but all the competitors, including Dragon Ring, involuntarily shivered. Qifeng Ge had learned nothing else from Xuanwu but how to whip people with a vine; he was quite adept at it. His punishment was simple: no food for an entire day while forging for twelve hours straight, and any breaks would be met with a whipping.
At this moment, under Liu Guanfeng's direction, two tables were set up between the two forges, each holding a contract.
On the other side, under Guo Yunhua's leadership, he and his Nine Blacksmiths signed their names on both contracts. Liu Guanfeng also led his eight blacksmiths to sign their names on the contracts.
Noticing that Liu Guanfeng's side only had eight participants, Guo Yunhua asked, "Liu President, why are there only eight blacksmiths on your side? Can't you find anyone else to fill in?"
"The key to doing business in weapons and equipment is that one must understand the craft themselves; I am also a blacksmith. As a blacksmith representing the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, how could I back down from this competition? So I am one of the participants," Liu Guanfeng confidently replied.
"Then what if you lose?" Guo Yunhua teased Liu Guanfeng.
"What else can I do? Like the other blacksmiths, I would become part of your New Home Chamber of Commerce. I would even hand over the Merchant Guild to you directly. Wouldn't that be quite a deal for you?"
"Since you're so confident, let's stop with the small talk and get started," Guo Yunhua said with a mischievous smile at Liu Guanfeng.
"Of course! I'm ready whenever you are."
At this point, someone was randomly selected from among the spectators to act as the referee. Their task was simple: draw lots and announce the start of the competition.
The blacksmithing contest was straightforward: each participant would forge an item and then compare them to determine their quality through direct confrontation. If both participants chose defensive weapons, they would need to select again.
At this moment, two large carts loaded with a significant amount of ore arrived at the center of the competition venue. Liu Guanfeng stepped forward to the center and clasped his fists towards the crowd, saying, "Everyone, welcome to witness the challenge between our two Merchant Guilds. To show our gratitude for your support, I have decided that the winning piece crafted by our two guilds will be gifted to all of you present here. The ore used for this competition is provided entirely by my Chinese Chamber of Commerce. I wonder if President Guo is willing?"
"Since Liu President is being so generous, what else can we say? Let's proceed as Liu President wishes," Guo Yunhua replied from his seat, showing no concern about the outcome of this assured victory.
Liu Guanfeng returned a salute to Guo Yunhua and stepped back into his formation, taking his position. A selected referee stepped forward, appearing somewhat reserved. After clearing his throat, he addressed both sides: "Now, please send out your first contestants."
On Liu Guanfeng's side, Tiger Tail was designated as the first to compete. Upon hearing the referee's command, Tiger Tail strode confidently to the center of the arena. Guo Yunhua, having a good understanding of Liu Guanfeng's team's strength, smirked at Tiger Tail's appearance and said to Xu Shi, "So it turns out it's just a newly initiated apprentice. Zhao Si, you go first."
At that moment, a figure emerged from behind Xu Shi and clasped his fists in acknowledgment: "Yes."
"The opponent is an apprentice who has only been learning blacksmithing for three years. I believe your skills should be sufficient," Xu Shi remarked.
"Director, don't worry. Dealing with such a young lad is no problem for me," Zhao Si replied confidently.
Among the blacksmiths present from the New Home Chamber of Commerce today, Zhao Si was one of the weaker ones. Xu Shi sent him up mainly to gauge the opponent's strength. For an apprentice with only three years of experience, defeating a blacksmith with over ten years of experience was not something to be concerned about.
The referee saw both contestants had arrived at the center and held up two boxes while addressing Tiger Tail and Zhao Si: "Both contestants will now select their topics."
After feeling around in their respective boxes, they each pulled out a slip of paper. The referee set the boxes aside and announced after reading the slips: "The contestant from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is Golden Tail with the forging topic Steel Blade; the contestant from New Home Chamber of Commerce is Zhao Si with the forging topic Chest Armor. Please prepare."
Next to the Furnace, each contestant's assistants were already seated by the Bellows as Tiger Tail and Zhao Si returned to their respective workstations.
The referee looked around and confirmed both blacksmiths were ready before clearing his throat again: "I declare the competition begins."
With that announcement, flames erupted from both Furnaces. In no time, the ores inside began to glow red as they were doused with Kerosene, sending waves of heat surging forth.
Tiger Tail swiftly retrieved his iron ore from the Furnace, and the clanging sounds echoed throughout the village. Seeing Tiger Tail's fluid movements made Xu Shi's heart sink; he realized that Tiger Tail was far more skilled than just a three-year apprentice. It seemed that Tiger Tail had at least twenty years of experience in blacksmithing; otherwise, such proficiency would be impossible. In comparison, Zhao Si appeared like a novice.
The credit for this skill belonged to Qifeng Ge. Since Qifeng Ge arrived, he had taken a liking to his three apprentices—Huang Tie, Tiger Head, and Tiger Tail—and cared for them greatly. They spent all but one hour for meals and eight hours sleeping solely on blacksmithing for fifteen hours each day without engaging in anything else but crafting Refined Iron. The amount of Refined Iron produced by these three was so substantial that even they could not keep track. Thus, although Tiger Head and Tiger Tail had only been learning for less than three years, their time management had surpassed many seasoned blacksmiths.
Moreover, under Qifeng Ge's constant guidance, their forging techniques were exceptional compared to ordinary blacksmiths. Within the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Huang Tie’s foundational skills placed him just below Dragon Ring and Long Huan in terms of forging ability; Tiger Head and Tiger Tail were not inferior to Dragon Ring's apprentices either. Such rapid progress drew continuous praise from Qifeng Ge in front of Liu Guanfeng, highlighting Liu Guanfeng's keen eye for talent—though not exactly rare geniuses, they were certainly exceptional.
Seeing Tiger Tail’s performance prompted Xu Shi to approach Guo Yunhua with a somewhat displeased expression: "President Guo, what kind of information do you have? Does that look like an apprentice who has only studied for three years?"
Guo Yunhua was not well-versed in blacksmithing; he simply stared blankly at the two competitors and could tell from their movements that Zhao Si lacked the proficiency displayed by his opponent.
At this moment, Stone Lei nodded and said, "That kid called Golden Tail over there definitely hasn't only been training for three years. His movements are far more skilled than Zhao Si's. This means that kid must have been forging for at least a decade. But looking at his age, he doesn't seem that old. Could that boy named Tiger Tail be a genius? If that's the case, I want to take him as my apprentice after they lose the competition. However, President, you better have your people investigate thoroughly; otherwise, it will be difficult for us to make arrangements. Losing the competition would be troublesome."
Although he spoke of fearing a loss, Stone Lei showed no signs of worry in his tone. With himself as the Vice President of the Blacksmith Guild present, who could possibly be his opponent? On the entire Luo Heng Island, aside from the Vice President, the other Vice Presidents were all of similar strength; no one could claim superiority over the others. This was the source of Stone Lei's confidence.
Around noon, after continuously forging six pieces of ore into an Iron Ingot, Tiger Tail stopped adding more ore. The next task was to slowly forge the refined Iron Ingot into a Steel Blade. To ensure a stunning victory, Tiger Tail deliberately made the Steel Blade thinner to better showcase his blacksmithing skills.
After an hour of polishing, a Steel Blade gradually appeared before everyone. As sparks flew, the blade became thinner, and with the rising white mist from quenching, it signaled that Tiger Tail's work was complete.
On the other side, Zhao Si's work was also nearing completion. To save time during the blacksmithing competition, it was stipulated that only the front part of the Heart Shield would be made when crafting armor. This significantly shortened the time required; completing an entire suit of armor would take at least two or three days.
Zhao Si was very satisfied with his work. It could be said that today was Zhao Si's best performance since joining the New Home Chamber of Commerce; he had put in all his effort.
However, aside from Zhao Si, all the blacksmiths from the New Home Chamber of Commerce were not optimistic about him. From observing his forging techniques and skill level, they considered Zhao Si to be at a disadvantage—this is what experts can discern.
But when everyone saw Tiger Tail's Steel Blade, a glimmer of hope ignited in their hearts for Zhao Si. To ensure the thickness of the Heart Shield, Zhao Si added four layers at that position; this could also be seen as a bit underhanded. Meanwhile, Tiger Tail's Steel Blade was much thinner than a normal Steel Blade, which was what those blacksmiths were hoping for.
Seeing that both blacksmiths had finished preparing their works, two guards stepped out from each side's camp. Both guards were Intermediate Knights. After exchanging their works for inspection and checking them over again, Zhao Si and Golden Tail handed them back to their respective guards.
During this inspection, Tiger Tail felt even more confident about his work. He approached his testing guard and said, "You only need to use seven-tenths of your strength; too much force will hurt your opponent."
The guard nodded and gripped the Steel Blade. On the other side, Zhao Si's guard donned the Heart Shield and stood ready. Once both sides were prepared, the referee announced, "The weapon test begins."
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