IWYTBW - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

When Striking Iron, the Water in Your Brain Evaporates Along with the Sweat.

Golden and red sparks dance and scatter like a heavy snowfall, but this snow burns with a heat that scorches the skin.

Yi Zhen gripped the heavy iron ingot with tongs, pulling it from the fire as it neared the melting point, then swung the hammer down to beat out the impurities trapped within. This step was the most crucial in the early stages of mechanical processing; whether one was a devout blacksmith clinging to handmade craftsmanship or a master adept in full automated assembly lines, they all devoted their lives to studying the metal composition of their materials, experimenting thousands of times to unveil their own unique formulas in the art of purification.

Yet Yi Zhen did not belong to that category. His talent permitted him to accomplish what others couldn’t even fathom. With a mere thought, he could refine absolutely pure metal elements, so pure that even the most renowned mecha-Engineers throughout history would emerge from their graves in disbelief upon hearing this news.

However, he couldn't create concealed weapons using conceptual extraction; pure metal was just as aloof as an emperor wielding a scepter. They remained isolated in a vacuum, untouched by impurities, punishing any intruders harshly. To insert a finger would freeze the bones and flesh; to grasp with a palm would cripple the nerves and tissues of that hand.

Thus, he had no choice but to forge—the pure art of manual smithing—if he wished to create the embryo of his deadly blade.

Sweat beaded on his skin, rolling down, gathering into tiny streams that eventually evaporated in the heat. The 《 Jade Alchemy of the Eastern Sea 》 Transformation Technique hardened his skin like jade, but it did not dissipate the stifling temperature within the workshop.

Yi Zhen's muscles flowed like molten steel, his physique slim yet well-proportioned, straddling the line between youth and young adulthood. With fair skin and delicate features, he resembled a jade statue... one that was currently engaged in blacksmithing.

The hammer rang out—a rhythmic clanging—as he struck the iron ingot over a hundred times, the heat from the forge softening it with each blow. With every strike, his mental tentacles engaged, deftly guiding away the granular iron shavings that fell aside like debris.

After the first round, Yi Zhen reset the bellows, tossing the flattened ingot back into the furnace. This time, the temperature needed to exceed the last.

Flames with a white glow roared to consume everything in the chamber; he relentlessly added fuel, tossing in the Warhorse Nebula’s reknown fire coal. Its intense heat stayed resilient for long durations, and Yi Zhen was generous, liberally adding it to the fire.

The iron ingot emitted a hissing sound as it turned to molten metal. In a flurry, Yi Zhen swiped away the debris from the anvil before swiftly pulling out the now-red ingot and placing it on the surface.

The second round of hammering required greater force, quicker speed, and more strikes. Yi Zhen’s lips pressed firmly together; beads of sweat dripped from his eyelashes, streaking the edges of his goggles before fading slowly down.

After the refining, the ingot transformed, now longer and more resilient. Yi Zhen once more gripped it with the tongs and sent it back into the heart of the flames.

The bellows roared, the third stage of forging commencing, flames now barely showing red as they heated the metal to a bright gold and white hue, the molten iron swirling together elegantly, enveloped by a dazzling brilliance. Yi Zhen seized the moment, calling forth a robotic assistant lying in wait.

The robotic assistant made its way over with pure ice water specifically meant for quenching. Yi Zhen swiftly removed the pendant from his neck, extending his mental tendrils to split off a small shard of deep blue-black conceptual matter, which he tossed into the ice water.

“Faster! Faster!” he shouted over the deafening sound of the blower. “Add more ice without letting it warm up!”

The robot dashed away, and Yi Zhen again retrieved the elongated ingot, placing it on the anvil for further hammering.

For the third round of impurity removal, he did not rush to swing the hammer. Instead, he stepped on a lever, allowing the trough above the anvil to tilt slowly, pouring a thick layer of equally golden-red molten steel over the ingot below.

Infusing other metals would enhance the stability and durability of the final product.

Only then did Yi Zhen swing the hammer again, striking the anvil with the ferocity of a storm. His arms began to tremble, the muscles in his back ached under the strain, but he couldn't pause now; even a brief disruption could ruin all his efforts.

The fourth, fifth, and even sixth rounds came in quick succession. The ingot grew thinner, broader, and glossier, evolving from its original three fingers' thickness to a thickness of mere cardboard.

After several hours of labor, Yi Zhen began to tame the fire, lowering the temperature for the seventh round. He had already swung the hammer three thousand and six hundred times over these four long hours.

In the final round, having completed eight cycles of refinement, his lips turned pale as the ends of his hair curled in the heat. He only had time to gulp down some water, relying on a single breath of internal energy to keep pressing on.

The solid, blocky ingot barely resembled its original form any longer. Irregular sheets of iron with sharp edges lay upon the anvil, glowing red and radiant.

“I need water!” Yi Zhen called, his voice hoarse.

The robot assistant hurried over, holding a bucket of ice water. The conceptual matter had melted into it, tinting the water a deep, eerie blue.

Yi Zhen plunged the hot iron sheet into the dark blue ice water—it screeched in protest, a plume of blue mist bursting forth, obscuring his vision.

But this still was not the final shaping. Yi Zhen pulled the iron sheet up and hammered it dozens of times before submerging it again. He repeated the process eight times, and by then, the water was so tainted one could hardly discern its color. He switched it out for a fresh bucket, focusing intently as he rinsed the heated iron.

The residue of iron shavings and furnace ash flowed down, eventually revealing its original color—clear and pure, dark blue like the deep summer night, shimmering with an eerie luminescence that sent a chill racing down his spine.

Finally, Yi Zhen could rest. He turned off the bellows and extinguished the flames of the furnace before sinking into a tired seat, releasing a sigh of exhaustion.

[Congratulations, player,] Tai’a’s voice broke through the silence; it hadn’t disturbed Yi Zhen earlier, knowing that refining required his utmost concentration. [You have forged an exceptional foundational piece.]

A smile spread across Yi Zhen’s face. “Thank you for blocking communications; working in peace felt really nice.”

[No need to mention it; it’s my duty.]

The irregular alloy sheet was the nascent form of the Blood Tribulus. He intended to cut out thirteen delicate poisoned blades from it; thankfully, the first attempt had gone reasonably well, and the length of the metal sheet promised ample material for numerous Blood Tribulus.

After resting momentarily, Yi Zhen sensed the lethal miasma of the Cold-tongued Lake Vipers filling the workshop and decided against a meal. Instead, he retrieved a pouch of glucose solution. Sucking on the straw, the sweet, thick liquid slid down his throat, restoring some of his energy.

He checked the blueprint dimensions against the design instructions, calculating the areas before maneuvering the laser cutting machine over the alloy sheet, slicing through one by one.

Unlike the time consuming blacksmithing, this cutting process was rapid. In a moment of distraction, thirteen petal-shaped steel blades lay on the table before him.

Grinding, sharpening, drilling, and assembling—within the past month, Yi Zhen had unknowingly practiced countless times. Now, he executed each step with ease, fluidly performing each task.

For the final step, he picked up three kinetic energy springs with tweezers. After compressing them in a small hydraulic press, he arranged them in the mechanism connecting the poisoned blades, tightening down the tiny screws gently.

At last, a thumb-sized, exquisitely deadly blue-black Blood Tribulus appeared before his eyes, a mirror image of the one depicted in the 《 Book of Poisons 》.

Exclusive side mission ③: Blood Tribulus Complete

Quest Rewards:

Lightness Body Technique x1

Mustard Seed Panther Pouch x1

Celestial Wolf Bow Blueprint x1

【Would you like to learn the Lightness Technique: 《Illusory Body of Mo Luo》?
Yes/No】

Yi Zhen perked up. “Yes!”

The long-forgotten chime echoed in his ears as a golden booklet floated into the air. Yi Zhen marveled, “Wow, a legendary gold-rank technique!”

He had no time to peruse it, however, as he heard She Xing’s voice — who had been waiting ever since the bellows had gone silent — calling from outside the workshop. “Yi Zhen, have you finished?”

Yi Zhen closed the book and contemplated. “Just a moment!”

He dismantled the entire mold, sweeping the incomplete blades and scrap into the recently acquired Mustard Seed Panther Pouch, then activated the workshop’s cleaning system.

As for the bucket of toxic water, despite having absorbed nearly all the essence into the alloy sheet, the remaining impurities were beyond standard handling. Yi Zhen extracted the few remnants of toxin and used the remaining liquid to douse the still-warm ashes of the coal furnace, then had the robotic assistant dispose of the bucket.

“All done!” he wiped the sweat off his face, inputted a temporary password, and exited the workshop.

She Xing stood with an unfamiliar old man nearby, engaged in conversation. Upon noticing Yi Zhen’s arrival, She Xing raised his hand towards Yi Zhen. “That’s him! Take a look, sir.”

Yi Zhen guessed this must be the mechanic who had rented the workshop to him.

The old man was filthy, his gloves smeared with grease, and his work clothes indistinguishable in color. The only thing preventing him from being mistaken for a beggar on the streets was a pair of brass goggles adorning his head. He approached, sizing up Yi Zhen, his lips moving as he hesitated to speak.

In his eyes, this young man seemed quite peculiar—delicate and fair-skinned, yet he seemed to have followed the old ways of blacksmithy. The high-tech tools in the workshop had gone seemingly untouched! Having listened to the precise and determined hammering, the old man thought he couldn’t be a novice, yet did those slender limbs truly possess the stamina to handle such a strenuous labor for so long?

He peeled off his gloves to reveal the callused hands of a true craftsman, skeptically slapped Yi Zhen’s sturdy bicep, and grimaced in surprise.

This guy seemed to lack any muscle; how could he feel so solid, these arms felt like pure rock!

Yi Zhen looked on in surprise as the old man patted and prodded him—almost as if he were shopping for a car.

“Uh, you…”

“Igarashi Ichiro e/n: Aha, just like Igarashi Yama’s name back in chapter 17… I’m guessing here, based off different results from mtl. Sorry old man, your name is now Ichiro! At least it isn’t Ichigo okay>>!” the old man barked. “Kid, what did you just make? That ruckus—show me what you’ve gotten up to!”

“Igarashi Ichiro?” Yi Zhen echoed, astonished. “Are you related to the legend Igarashi Yama?”

He couldn’t shake the association off; this old man shared a surname with the grand master who crafted Gram, previously lent to Yi Zhen by Rong Hongxue during his mission to impart moral lessons onto the empire’s finest youngsters. What a curious coincidence!

Ichiro halted his movements, casting Yi Zhen a glance, letting out a snort of amusement that only added to his disbelief. “I didn’t think anyone knew my long-unworthy ancestor.”

“Unworthy? Where does that come from?” Yi Zhen countered. “I had the fortune to see one of the legendary Six Sovereign Seats—it’s truly outstanding, still timeless today even after three centuries.”

She Xing raised his hand in a futile attempt to intervene, his gesture seeming almost painfully slow: “Ah…”

Ichiro’s face twisted, and, suddenly, he burst into furious cursing. “A bet for selfish gains, he made a bet for his own selfish desires and lost ten years when he was at his peak as a mechanic! He also couldn't change his habit of spending money lavishly, so he went off to make toys to please the rich. Can such a guy be considered a master? He has disgraced the Igarashi family! His descendants have carried this shame for three hundred years, three hundred years!”

She Xing silently lowered his hand, and Yi Zhen found himself at a loss for words, offering an awkward laugh, “Sir, you have quite the character… very, uh, Shōwa!Calling someone ‘Shōwa’ can mean calling them old fashioned, or a variety of other things – it refers to the reign (1925-1989) of Japanese emperor Hirohito Haha..”

“Old man Igarashi is going crazy again!” a passing mechanic scoffed.

“What else can he do? The family has fallen to this state… I’m certain the inheritance has been squandered long ago.”

“The Six Sovereign Seats sold for good prices; even the royal family collects them—how can they have fallen?”

“They’re still living in a dream world—best marry off a daughter while there’s still some reputation left!”

Ichiro was ready to explode with rage; meanwhile, Yi Zhen eagerly glanced around, piecing together the unfolding drama. So, the Igarashi family was at a point where even selling off daughters seemed like a viable option to maintain their livelihood?

Main Quest: The Truth Triggered

Quest Content: Eavesdropper! Do you really think you can eavesdrop without taking responsibility?

In the machinery workshop, I unexpectedly encountered the descendant of the renowned mechanical master Igarashi Yama from three centuries ago, Igarashi Ichiro; however, his ancestor's debauched lifestyle has drawn much controversy in later generations.

What on earth is going on? This deliciously juicy gossip is truly irresistible!

I think… no, I must uncover the hidden truth.

Quest Rewards:

Strength Points x5

StarCoins x100,000

As the main quest notification chimed, Yi Zhen first thought: Is there karma for being nosy? This is ridiculously disproportionate for a mere side quest; where could I possibly find a “truly irresistible bit of gossip”? You’ve got to be kidding me, are you trying to push this onto me?

Then, he realized— the offered quest reward was overwhelming!

One hundred thousand credits. The first time that currency had been offered as a quest reward; this had to be taken seriously!

A soft feminine voice broke through his thoughts, clear and melodious. “Daddy, are you alright?”

Yi Zhen turned to see a slender girl standing a short distance away, her delicate brows arching over beautiful eyes, gentle crimson lips forming a soft pout as she rushed to Ichiro’s side. “Don’t listen to them; let’s go home. You shouldn’t be here too long in your condition.”

“Sakura, why are you here?” Ichiro stared at her, perplexed. “Shouldn’t you be in class? Or was… was that person looking for you again?”

Yi Zhen turned to She Xing, asking, “Do you know what’s going on?”

She Xing nodded slowly. “When I got to know Ichiro, he was already fretting over his daughter’s situation.”

He leaned in, lowering his voice mysteriously, “I heard his daughter is involved with a prince from the Azoth royal family.”

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e/n Tyvm to new patron Akiharu for motivating me to work on this novel some more ;a; With 4 episodes of hotel hell in the background, I updated the quest cards for chapter 9 just so I could be sure chapter 9 and 21 matched...