Chapter 250: Tempering, Forging, and Engraving - The Competition in Three Fields

Chapter 250: Tempering, Forging, and Engraving - The Competition in Three Fields

In the Gem Workshop, Su Muyu sat at her workbench, a gemstone in her left hand and an engraving pen in her right, meticulously carving rune circuits.

However, there was something peculiar about her.

Her eyes were closed as she engraved.

Yes, both her eyes were shut tight, which was very odd.

Behind her, a Celestial Phoenix stood motionless, its crimson energy feathers gently floating, also focused and unmoving.

Lu Heng immediately understood what was happening when he saw her.

Her innate talent was [Summon Visual], which meant the vision of the Celestial Phoenix was the same as her own.

Moreover, the Phoenix's eyesight was even stronger.

In front of the Phoenix, a specialized microscope was mounted.

The microscope's purpose was to magnify vision, and combined with the Phoenix's already powerful eyesight, it allowed her to see the fine lines on the gemstone's surface with absolute clarity.

The art of engraving runes was somewhat similar to the human art of micro-sculpting.

Both involved carving intricate patterns on the gemstone's surface while ensuring the integrity of the rune circuits.

This process was challenging.

It required a high level of perception from the engraver.

The entire gemstone had to be engraved with intricate rune circuits, and even the slightest mistake would render the gemstone useless.

Initially, Su Muyu had a high failure rate, but as her skills improved, she gradually became more proficient.

Lu Heng was well-versed in the art of engraving and knew that it was crucial not to disturb an engraver while they were working.

So, he stood quietly at the doorway, observing her profile.

The familiarity of the moment struck him—in his past life, Su Muyu had also been an engraver, but not at this point in time; it was half a year later.

She indeed had a talent for this secondary profession, able to sit quietly and focus for an entire day.

As Lu Heng leaned against the doorframe, waiting patiently.

Suddenly, Guru Master rushed over, beaming with excitement. "Su, let Lu Heng show you the Aurora Blade. We've forged a divine weapon!"

After shouting, he turned and ran out, telling everyone he had forged an S-Class divine weapon.

His earlier composure and thoughtfulness from the inheritance room were gone.

Lu Heng thought Su Muyu might be startled, causing her to ruin the gemstone in her hand.

Instead, she calmly put down the engraving pen, placed the gemstone back in its box, and made a note on the engraving blueprint with a ballpoint pen, planning to continue later.

She gathered her things, stood up, and shot Lu Heng a glare. "You've been standing behind me for so long. Why didn't you say anything?"

Lu Heng shrugged. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"I already knew you were there," Su Muyu said with a smile. With the Celestial Phoenix's reconnaissance ability, she was aware of everything around her.

She had even seen Guru Master's excited dash.

"You've forged an S-Class weapon, and you're not showing it off?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lu Heng flipped his hand, revealing the Aurora Blade, and passed it to her. "It's better than expected, but we used up both Dragon Horns. I wanted to save one for you."

Su Muyu arched an eyebrow. "It's impressive that it was forged successfully. I'm not worried about saving materials; my weapon can wait."

She valued attribute-enhancing gemstones more.

She glanced at the attributes and her eyes lit up. "Is this Dragon Breath Slash a new ability? It's so powerful; it can rival the Solar Wind."

At that moment, Guru's voice echoed from downstairs. "Lu Heng, come down quickly and test the sword's power. I've gathered everyone."

Lu Heng stepped into the castle's front courtyard and was amazed. Guru had called everyone from Forge Castle.

The tempering masters who had obtained the Forge Castle access pass were almost all present.

Gao Yuan Kui, Yuan He Cheng, and his daughter, Yuan Yao Yao, were also there, summoned by Guru.

With the emergence of the second tempering furnace in the Lionheart Empire, the Forge Castle furnace was no longer the only one of its kind.

To enhance the competitiveness of Forge Castle, Lu Heng had instructed the Flame Seal Club to expand its recruitment of tempering masters, and now there were over twenty of them in the castle.

These masters spent almost all their time in Forge Castle, except when eating and sleeping.

Guru had gathered them all in the courtyard, waiting to witness Lu Heng's sword test.

Lin Ze Yu, upon hearing the news, rushed back from outside, equally excited.

"How is it? Has it started? Is it really an S-Class weapon?"

Guru began directing the crowd. "Move back, everyone! Stay behind this line, or you might get hurt."

The onlookers exchanged glances, as they had already retreated into the corridor.

The castle's front courtyard was quite spacious, covering an area of four to five hundred square meters, but according to Guru, even at that distance, it could be dangerous.

After pushing everyone into the corridor, Guru waved Lu Heng over. "Come on, try it out. Aim at the stone golem ahead."

In the courtyard stood a stone golem with a sword embedded in it.

Lu Heng was unsure of the Dragon Breath Slash's power and signaled to Su Muyu to be ready with her defensive skills.

Su Muyu nodded in understanding. She stepped forward, standing in front of the crowd.

Lu Heng took three steps forward, raised the Aurora Blade high, took a deep breath, and with a mighty shout, unleashed the Dragon Breath Slash.

A roar echoed as an Infernal Wyvern's shadow appeared behind Lu Heng, letting out a thunderous bellow.

A burst of dragon breath erupted from the blade, forming a sword beam that slashed horizontally.

In an instant, the dragon breath engulfed the front twenty-foot fan-shaped area, turning rocks, ground, and walls to ash.

The terrifying heat wave from the dragon breath swept through, and although the corridor was out of the Dragon Breath Slash's range, the oncoming heat almost set their clothes and hair ablaze.

Everyone gasped in astonishment, their faces filled with shock.

Su Muyu quickly raised her hand and unleashed the Prism Field to block the heat wave.

After the Prism Field ended, the heat wave from the Dragon Breath Slash continued, and other metahumans quickly activated their defensive skills to withstand the scorching temperatures.

Everyone was shocked to find that the heat wave was not the power of the Dragon Breath Slash, but merely its lingering aftermath.

If the full force of the Dragon Breath Slash was this terrifying, then anyone within its range would surely be reduced to ashes like those stones. The heat wave from the Dragon Breath Slash's aftermath lasted for three minutes before it was finally dispersed by the metahumans' raging winds.

After the residual heat dissipated, the entire Forge Castle's courtyard was left in ruins.

Guru Gru, far from being upset, clapped excitedly, "Excellent! The Black Iron Clan has finally forged a divine weapon!"

Several of the onlookers who had been present were using their phones to record the spectacle.

Once this news spread, Forge Castle would once again become the center of global attention.

Lu Heng, gazing at the courtyard now reduced to a charred mess, frowned and said, "We should have chosen another location for the test."

Guru Gru had specifically chosen to conduct the test at Forge Castle because he didn't want to leave.

He waved his hand dismissively, "It's no big deal. This level of damage is insignificant to Forge Castle."

Lin Ze Yu chimed in, "Don't worry, Master. I'll have people come to repair it immediately, and I guarantee it will look even better than before."

"Then I'll leave it to you. I'm going back to continue researching forging techniques," Guru Gru said, now brimming with confidence. He turned and hurried back to his research, determined to push his forging skills to even greater heights.

...

The following day, news of Forge Castle's successful forging of an S-class divine weapon swept across the globe like a storm.

Videos of the Dragon Breath Slash were shared online, showcasing its terrifying power, which even surpassed that of Flame-type job abilities.

What made it even more fearsome was that this was an innate divine trait of the weapon itself.

In other words, it didn't occupy a job slot or skill slot, yet its power was immense.

The mere fact that a weapon possessed this unique trait made it priceless.

For the old money of the ASE All-Seeing Eye Alliance, money was just a number, and any combat power that could be bought with money was immediately available.

However, when it came to jobs and skill cores, there were limitations for metahumans to acquire them.

For instance, a metahuman could only possess one job of the same rank.

Skill slots were similarly limited, restricting the number of skills a metahuman could obtain.

But weapons were different; they could be used immediately upon acquisition.

Moreover, a metahuman could possess multiple weapons.

This was the advantage of equipment.

After this news spread, global-level conglomerates began seeking channels to invest heavily in weapon forging.

Consequently, the prices of forging materials skyrocketed once again.

However, despite their financial might, these conglomerates found it challenging to forge even an S-class divine weapon, let alone an A-class one.

It seemed as if only Forge Castle could forge S-class divine weapons.

In reality,

S-class divine weapons required divine materials for their creation. Even a master forger like Guru Gru couldn't forge an S-class divine weapon without materials like the Infernal Wyvern Horn.

Therefore, no matter how much money these conglomerates poured in, the results remained the same.

This prompted more and more conglomerates to seek ways to invest in the Flame Seal Club.

Some even offered astronomical sums to acquire the club.

Lin Ze Yu was even considering selling it, as he would be selling the Flame Seal, not Forge Castle.

He discussed this matter with Lu Heng.

Lu Heng, finding it troublesome to sell the Flame Seal and then establish a new club, declined.

Now, with his mastery of the three sub-professions of tempering, forging, and engraving, he would soon be making money hand over fist. Saving time would allow him to focus on enhancing his combat power.

Only by holding onto this power could he safeguard his newfound wealth.

If Lu Heng and the others were still low-level lackeys, Forge Castle might have already been taken over by those bandits.

"Are you still accepting forging and tempering orders? I've increased the prices tenfold, and these conglomerates don't even bat an eye," Lin Ze Yu, who came from a good background and had seen his fair share of the world, had never witnessed such extravagance.

Lu Heng had given this matter some thought.

"Let's bundle the forging and tempering orders together, and allocate tempering services proportionally to the forging orders. We won't accept orders from those who disagree," Lu Heng proposed.

Lin Ze Yu's eyebrows shot up as he asked, "You mean..."

"Yes, we're going to squeeze the Lionheart Empire's tempering market," Lu Heng confirmed with a nod.

The tempering furnace in the Lionheart Empire had been stolen by those bandits from the Black Iron Dwarves.

This was a delicate matter.

Given that the Lionheart Empire was a lackey of the White Eagle Federation, from their perspective, retrieving the tempering furnace was aiding the development of human civilization.

The distinction between right and wrong had become blurred, with the line drawn by their own interests.

From a civilizational perspective, human civilization and Black Iron Dwarf civilization were two distinct entities.

Therefore, the banditry of these nations would find support from many.

Setting aside the question of right and wrong,

Lu Heng held no favorable view of the business practices of Western nations.

In his previous life, after the Lionheart Empire obtained the tempering furnace, they employed various means to dominate the Daxia tempering market, even resorting to the despicable act of assassinating tempering masters.

Once they monopolized the market, Western nations began controlling market prices and reaping the wealth.

In his previous life,

Due to the loss of the tempering market in Daxia and the assassination of tempering masters, many tempering masters from Daxia chose to join foreign tempering companies when invited by conglomerates of the ASE League.

This further led to a talent drought in Daxia's tempering field, leaving it barren of both market and skilled workers.

Knowing full well the intentions of those bandits, Lu Heng was determined to prevent a repeat of history and establish Daxia's dominance in the tempering field.

Lu Heng added, "Once the engraving market takes off, let's bundle engravings as well. I aim to establish dominance in all three fields. If the Academy of Sciences wants to get involved, we can cooperate. You handle these matters."

Lin Ze Yu's eyes lit up at this grand vision.

He hadn't thought this far ahead, focusing only on how to make money and enhance his strength.

Establishing dominance in the tempering field seemed like a distant goal.

However, he understood Lu Heng's reasoning and asked, "Have you told Guru Gru about the origins of the Lionheart Empire's tempering furnace yet?"

Lu Heng nodded, "No, I haven't told him yet."

Lin Zeyu scratched his head and complained, "When I saw the photo of the Tempering Forge in the newspaper, I thought the Lionheart Empire's Tempering Forge looked very similar to the one in Forge Castle, almost identical."

"It turns out that both Tempering Forges were built by the Black Iron Dwarves, so of course they look the same."

When the Lionheart Empire began promoting their Tempering Forge, they made a big fuss and spent a lot of money to recruit Tempering Masters.

At that time, media from various countries around the world were reporting on this Tempering Forge, and its photo could be seen on any newspaper.

So, the nature of this matter was a bit delicate.

It was as if the Lionheart Empire had taken a Tempering Forge from Guru's clan, which wasn't much different from taking it from him.

Lu Heng hadn't figured out how to break the news to Guru, as it was a tricky situation.

Regardless, establishing Daxia's dominance in the tempering field was necessary.

Currently, in the forging field, there was only one Forging Master, Guru.

It would take more time for the apprentice forgers among human metahumans to reach Guru's level.

In comparison, in the rune field, foreign metahumans had more competitiveness.

According to the timeline, it was around this time that runesmiths would begin to emerge.

Currently, in Forge Castle, only Su Muyu was a runesmith, and she was still an apprentice. She was on the same starting line as foreign runesmiths.

So, the competition would be even more intense.

Lu Heng had already considered this and instructed, "Recruit runesmiths under the name of Flame Seal and Forge Castle. I want all three fields covered.

"Initially, use forging and tempering to nurture the runesmiths. Don't hold back on rune materials; let's boost their levels.

"With just Muyu, it won't be enough. Recruit a batch of promising runesmiths.

"With the reputation of Flame Seal, we'll definitely attract runesmiths."

Lin Zeyu took notes one by one, "Alright, I'll take care of it when I get back."

He remembered something and asked, "Oh, about the acquisition of cyber batteries last time, I bought a batch, and the price really went up. Those lunatics, they just follow whatever I buy, and they offer a high premium."

Lu Heng had only mentioned it casually before, "The purpose is to teach them a lesson. Whether they make a lot or a little profit doesn't matter."

Lin Zeyu clenched his fist and said, "We need to hit them hard to make them feel the pain. Hmm, how high should we raise the price before selling?"

"Five to six times the original price should be enough. Any higher, and the conglomerates might get suspicious," Lu Heng replied.

"Okay, I'll sell this batch of cyber batteries when the price rises enough, and make a profit first. What should we buy next?" Lin Zeyu was particularly eager to take advantage of these conglomerates and couldn't wait to make a move.

"You decide based on the situation. As long as they dare to follow, we'll make them regret it. Once they back off, we'll buy what we need. If there's a second wave, we can go for Abyssal Black Iron Ore. There's plenty of this ore, so we can play a bigger game," Lu Heng answered.

"Alright, let's go for Black Iron Ore next," Lin Zeyu agreed.

...

With the news of Forge Castle forging an S-Class Divine Weapon spreading, Flame Seal, representing Forge Castle, began recruiting Tempering Masters, Forging Masters, and Runesmiths.

When accepting orders, they bundled three types of orders in proportion.

This severely impacted the tempering industry in the Lionheart Empire, which had just invested heavily in it, causing tempering orders to shift towards Binhai.

With an abundance of tempering orders, the levels of Daxia's tempering masters also rose.

Lu Heng's Senior Tempering Master job experience increased to (2250/3000), bringing him closer to a promotion.

With a steady supply of rune materials, Su Muyu's Apprentice Runesmith job experience also grew rapidly.

Within half a month, she maxed out her Apprentice Runesmith job experience and became a full-fledged Runesmith.

After her promotion, she took Lu Heng's Psychic Resistance Ring.

Two days later, Lu Heng received a new ring, now adorned with an Energy Crystal, and its attributes had changed.

Psychic Resistance Ring

Item Grade: C-Class

Specifications: Diameter 20mm, Weight 19g

Attributes: +2 Spirit

Engraving: +10% Flame Power

Effect: Psychic Resistance

Psychic Resistance: Increases resistance to spirit attacks and psychic contamination, reducing the effects of psychic contamination and spirit attacks by 50%.

With the ring's level increase, it now provided an additional 2 points in spirit attribute and a 10% boost in flame power, on top of its original psychic resistance effect.

This meant a 10% increase in the power of Dragon Breath Slash, making its already fearsome might even more terrifying.

Seeing the enhanced attributes, Lu Heng smiled and asked, "Did your job level up?"

A proud expression appeared on Su Muyu's face, and she nodded, "Yes, this is a gift for you. Once I reach Senior Runesmith, I'll replace the Energy Crystal with a Dragon Eye Gemstone. I'm not skilled enough yet."

imagines, Lu Heng encourages her, "Keep it up." He puts on the ring, feeling a strange sensation entering his mind, and his spirit attribute rises from 83 to 85.

Even among spirit-type metahumans, few possess a spirit attribute of 85 at this stage.

Lu Heng isn't a spirit-type metahuman, but he gained a spirit-type skill, Mental Control, from a previous world quest reward.

Using this skill requires a psychic verification with the target, and the higher the spirit attribute, the stronger the skill's effect.

So, these two spirit points significantly enhance this skill.

When Su Muyu reaches Senior Runesmith and embeds the Dragon Eye Gemstone in the ring, the spirit attribute bonus will be 8 points, providing an even greater boost.

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