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"What kind of blacksmithing technique is this?" At this moment, Stone Lei stared blankly at Liu Guanfeng. Having been a blacksmith his entire life, he had never seen such skills before. On the surface, it seemed like Liu Guanfeng was merely performing, but Stone Lei and the other skilled blacksmiths could tell that what Liu Guanfeng was doing was far from mere showmanship; every strike of his hammer landed with precision.
After witnessing Liu Guanfeng's performance, Stone Lei felt as if his heart had sunk to the bottom of a valley. He internally acknowledged that he had no chance of winning against Liu Guanfeng. This young President not only ran a successful business but also possessed extraordinary blacksmithing skills.
Stone Lei made an effort to calm himself and told himself that what he had just seen was an illusion, that it wasn't real.
He then raised his hammer again, slowly completing his own work strike by strike.
Despite being extremely careful, Stone Lei's mindset was affected, leading to frequent mistakes. When he finally finished with the last strike, he shook his head helplessly. He was not satisfied with his work at all and believed that his steel blade would likely break if held for too long without even needing Liu Guanfeng's blade to chop it.
Meanwhile, Liu Guanfeng's steel blade was nearing completion as well. Soon, the clanging sounds ceased, and Liu Guanfeng's steel blade was officially finished.
Liu Guanfeng looked at the steel blade in his hand with satisfaction before glancing at Stone Lei's creation, thinking to himself: I hope you won't disappoint me.
During the forging process, Liu Guanfeng noticed Stone Lei's unstable emotions and paid closer attention to Stone Lei's techniques. From observing Stone Lei's methods, Liu Guanfeng could tell that Stone Lei was performing far below his usual standard today.
Liu Guanfeng handed the steel blade to a guard from his Merchant Guild and stepped aside. On the other side, Stone Lei also handed his steel blade to one of his guards and closed his eyes, waiting for fate's decision.
The two guards swung their respective steel blades. After a fierce clash of two strikes, the blades produced different sounds, leading to a shocking scene: both steel blades broke into two pieces simultaneously.
Seeing both steel blades snap in half, Liu Guanfeng nodded subtly; everything had been intentional on his part. After noticing Stone Lei's state had been influenced, he began focusing on Stone Lei's techniques and the details of the forging process. From this observation, Liu Guanfeng realized that the quality of the weapon Stone Lei had crafted was quite poor; even Xu Shi’s weapons were better than this steel blade.
Thus, Liu Guanfeng had made some adjustments to his own crafted steel blade. He created a false joint about ten centimeters from the tip of the blade using special techniques to connect the tip and body together. However, this connection was not sturdy; it would break automatically under sufficient external force.
Among everyone present at the competition, only Qifeng Ge and the Dragon Ring brothers recognized this technique. It wasn't that their skills were significantly superior; rather, after studying under Xuanwu for so long, their perspectives had broadened considerably regarding the quality of blacksmithing works and their intricacies. Moreover, this technique had been created by Xuanwu and taught to them through Qifeng Ge, which is why they understood Liu Guanfeng’s methods. As for why Liu Guanfeng chose to do this, it was beyond their concern.
Everyone else remained oblivious to the reasons behind it; even Stone Lei felt something was amiss but could not grasp what exactly had happened.
The referee quickly approached both guards to carefully inspect their weapons. Upon discovering that both weapons had broken, he prepared to announce a draw between the two sides. However, Liu Guanfeng did not want a draw. He stepped into the center of the arena, examined his crafted weapon with a nod before picking up Stone Lei’s creation for further inspection. Finally standing in the middle of the arena, he spoke up:
"Everyone, I, Liu Guanfeng, have lost in today's competition. This is not false modesty; you can see for yourselves." After saying this, Liu Guanfeng raised the two broken blades. The sharp notch on the front half of Stone Lei's broken blade indicated it had been directly cut by Steel Blade, while the back half was uneven, showing it had been torn apart by external force.
The notch on Liu Guanfeng's crafted Steel Blade was very neat, clearly indicating it had been cut cleanly by Steel Blade. After raising the two broken blades, Liu Guanfeng shared his observations, which made the onlookers nod in agreement.
"Therefore, from the broken ends, we can conclude that Stone Lei, Vice President, has superior forging skills. I, Liu Xin, admit defeat here." After finishing his statement, Liu Guanfeng bowed deeply to Stone Lei.
From Liu Guanfeng's words, Stone Lei realized that this young man had intentionally done this to save face for himself and prevent the Vice President of the Blacksmith Guild from losing dignity in front of so many people.
Liu Guanfeng took out the contract signed on the first day of the competition and threw it into the Furnace. On the other side, Guo Yunhua also pulled out that contract and eagerly tossed it into the Furnace. This sudden tie brought joy to both sides; the New Home Chamber of Commerce did not lose five of their best blacksmiths due to failure, and the Blacksmith Guild retained its two leaders. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce not only showcased the strength of its Merchant Guild blacksmiths but also put Stone Lei in a position of obligation.
At this moment, Liu Guanfeng smiled at Stone Lei, who was filled with gratitude towards him. However, Stone Lei still wanted to express his thoughts: he approached Liu Guanfeng and gently patted his shoulder before saying, "I didn't expect you, Liu President, to be so young yet possess both a strong business acumen and exceptional blacksmithing skills. Even an old man like me is quite impressed."
The two exchanged smiles, knowing well what their laughter meant.
Liu Guanfeng turned to the referee beside him and said, "I apologize, referee; both our weapons are broken. You can stay at my Merchant Guild for a couple of days, and I will forge you a new Steel Blade as compensation."
The referee looked at Liu Guanfeng in surprise. "Liu President, you are too kind. Just being able to serve as a referee for both of you is already a memorable experience for me. As for the Steel Blade, I don't need you to forge another one; just give me that half of Steel Blade you have as a keepsake."
Liu Guanfeng was taken aback; he hadn't expected such a request from the referee. He nodded and handed over half of the Steel Blade while lowering his voice to say, "Stay with me for a few less days; as compensation, I will teach you two sword techniques."
The referee was astonished by Liu Guanfeng's gesture and looked at him with confusion while Liu Guanfeng simply smiled.
After resolving matters with the referee, Liu Guanfeng cleared his throat and addressed the audience around him with a fist salute: "Thank you all for your support and attention to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. As President of the Merchant Guild, I invite everyone to enjoy some light refreshments in our backyard today."
With that said, his guards opened a path leading to the backyard. The members from various families and those responsible for the Merchant Guild all stood up and headed towards the backyard of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Some lone wanderers also followed suit into the back of the Merchant Guild. The venue arranged for the banquet by Liu Guanfeng was the largest courtyard within the Merchant Guild; tables had already been set up for fifty or sixty guests. Under Huang Tie's arrangement, everyone found their seats. As for Guo Yunhua, President of New Home Chamber of Commerce who initiated this challenge, he quickly left Chinese Chamber of Commerce with his people; he felt fortunate just to have escaped with his life and had no face left to stay for dinner.
However, as leaders of Winter City’s Blacksmith Guild, Stone Lei and Director Xu Shi were invited to take their seats. Initially reluctant to attend this banquet, Xu Shi only understood what had transpired after Stone Lei's remark and felt relieved enough to sit down while also feeling grateful towards Liu Guanfeng. Regardless of anyone’s capabilities, selling oneself to another always leaves an indelible stain in one’s heart.
Among those responsible for various Merchant Guilds or families were sharp-minded individuals. Although many had favored New Home Chamber of Commerce before the competition began, by its conclusion everyone understood that Chinese Chamber of Commerce had deliberately let New Home Chamber of Commerce off easy; otherwise, New Home Chamber of Commerce would have faced significant repercussions. Not only did seven blacksmiths from their own guild become part of Chinese Chamber of Commerce but they also lost two members from Blacksmith Guild—this would inevitably create unnecessary conflicts between New Home Chamber of Commerce and Blacksmith Guild.
From these two points, neither is something Guo Yunhua can handle. Therefore, after bringing his people back to the inn, Guo Yunhua directly found the Shopkeeper to settle the accounts and left the former fishing village overnight, returning to Winter City.
In the courtyard of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, everyone was joyfully drinking and chatting. The atmosphere seemed to have become much friendlier, even among those who usually had some conflicts; families appeared very polite and harmonious. After all, in this emerging Merchant Guild, they found a common purpose, which required them to show respect to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The strength of this blacksmith was still uncertain compared to the leading Merchant Guild above the New Home Chamber of Commerce. No one could predict when they would replace the New Home Chamber of Commerce's position, but they were all certain that day would eventually come.
After the banquet, Liu Guanfeng specifically arranged accommodations for Stone Lei and Xu Shi. To express their gratitude, both Stone Lei and Xu Shi stayed for some time at Liu Guanfeng's Chinese Chamber of Commerce. This allowed the two blacksmith enthusiasts to become friends with the blacksmiths of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, as both apprentices and masters had interacted with them. During these two days, Stone Lei and Xu Shi also greatly benefited and rekindled their initial passion.
The day after the banquet, Liu Guanfeng called the referee from yesterday's competition into his room: "May I ask your name?" Although he had been his referee, Liu Guanfeng did not know the other party's name, which was also a precaution against any potential bribery.
The referee looked at Liu Guanfeng cautiously: "I am called Hou Chuan."
"I promised you yesterday that I would teach you two knife techniques. Let's start now; follow me to the Training Ground in the backyard," Liu Guanfeng said as he stood up and headed to the Training Ground.
The man named Hou Chuan, an Intermediate Knight, closely followed Liu Guanfeng while holding the broken sword crafted by him. Liu Guanfeng smiled at Hou Chuan and then picked up a Steel Blade from the weapon rack:
"The knife itself is a short weapon, so it requires close-range attacks to be effective. Today I will teach you two knife techniques called Ground Lying Blade. The Ground Lying Blade technique allows you to quickly engage in close combat, maximizing your advantage with the knife, especially since your knife is more broken than others. So I will teach you Ground Lying Blade; pay close attention."
It took Hou Chuan three days to learn both techniques of Ground Lying Blade. After mastering them, he deeply bowed to Liu Guanfeng in gratitude. Once he finished learning the knife techniques, Hou Chuan prepared to leave the former fishing village. At that moment, Stone Lei and Xu Shi also needed to return to Winter City. Thus, Liu Guanfeng specifically entrusted Hou Chuan with helping ensure the safety of two high-ranking members of the Blacksmith Guild.
After sending off the three individuals, Guo Yunhua's challenge was finally over. Liu Guanfeng spent a considerable amount of gold coins on this matter; however, it was all worth it because during the banquet on the last night, many families and Merchant Guild representatives expressed their desire to sign weapon cooperation agreements with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, some individuals involved in mining business proactively requested collaboration with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Liu Guanfeng handed all these matters over to Huang Tie. Although Huang Tie was a blacksmith, he had been a Shopkeeper for many years and was quite familiar with such affairs. To prevent Huang Tie from becoming too exhausted, Liu Guanfeng selected one of his guards named Guan Xiao. This individual also had a good business acumen. Furthermore, Liu Guanfeng shared some commercial concepts from real life with both of them. Although he did not know much, it was enough for them to learn for a while.
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