Holy body, start with the Five Animal Exercises

9: Liu’s Blacksmith ShopAs the Five Animals Play reached the third-layer peak, new prompts appeared on the panel.

Looking at the prompts on the panel, Qin Jiang didn’t hesitate and directly said ’Yes’ in his mind.

[Insufficient potential points, unable to perform deduction.]

???

He looked at the panel’s prompt with some confusion, ’If it’s insufficient, why are you asking me?’

His consciousness landed on the prompt, and he subconsciously learned that to perform Martial arts deduction, one needed potential points equivalent to the highest level of experience for that Martial arts.

That is to say, to deduce the Five Animals Play, he needed to consume 1.2 potential points.

Still a bit short.

He also recalled the potential points obtained from the Yellow Sky Divine Mother statue during the day.

What do It and that tombstone have in common?

The next morning, Lius Blacksmith Shop in the north of the city.

Qin Jiang stood outside the Blacksmith Shop; this was the best and only Blacksmith Shop in the north of the city.

Last night, he heard those few people in the restaurant say that the CountyLieutenant had led County Soldiers to Dahei Mountain, which gave him a sense of crisis.

In the past, even for some missions outside the city, they were basically handled by members of the Red Tiger Gang.

After all, the Red Tiger Gang had far more members than the County Soldiers.

And if County Soldiers were dispatched, especially led by a high-ranking person like the CountyLieutenant, it represented too much.

This meant that the Red Tiger Gang might no longer be capable of resolving a certain matter!

After all, while the CountyLieutenant himself might not be a match for the Red Tiger Gang leader, the individual combat strength of the County Soldiers was much stronger than that of the Red Tiger Gang members, not to mention the use of combat tactics and formations.

Coupled with the advantage of armor and weapons, it could be said that a squad of ten County Soldiers was enough to rout a hundred members of the Red Tiger Gang.

Whew~~ A troubled time indeed.

Pushing aside the door curtain and entering the Blacksmith Shop, there were several rows of shelves. He didn’t see any forging area, only a few young apprentices wiping various iron products.

Most of them were farm tools and ornaments; no weapons were seen.

A leading apprentice walked over, looked at Qin Jiang’s neat black cloth clothes, flicked the rag from his hand onto his shoulder, and bowed slightly, ”Sir, what would you like?”

”A Dao,” Qin Jiang said.

The apprentice’s eyes lit up slightly. Usually, people who came bought farm tools; very few asked for a Dao, mostly Gang Disciples.

But then again, looking at this gentleman’s attire, it was indeed possible.

”Alright, Sir, please follow me.”

The two walked past the first few rows of shelves and came to the very back, where various types of Dao were displayed: ring-hilted Dao, short Dao, horizontal Dao, and so on.

”Sir, please take a look; is there anything that catches your eye?” the apprentice asked with a smile.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, picked up a horizontal Dao at random; its blade was about two feet long.

He weighed the Dao body, then shook his head, ”It’s a bit light.”

Then he extended a finger and lightly flicked the Dao body, and a trembling sound rang out.

”The strength is lacking,” he said.

His perception was extremely strong now; just from the trembling sound, he could judge that the Dao’s quality was somewhat uneven. It would be fine for normal use, but if it encountered high-intensity combat, it probably wouldn’t last long.

The apprentice beside him smiled upon hearing this, with a hint of sarcasm, ”Sir, you probably don’t know that these Dao are all personally forged by our shop owner, and they are much stronger than those farm tools.

Frankly, very few people can afford them on a daily basis, and they are indeed uncommon on the market.”

Truly ignorant, saying that our Liu Family’s Dao are no good?

Don’t you know that our Liu Family is a century-old Legacy!

Qin Jiang smiled upon hearing this; he naturally understood the apprentice’s meaning, ”How much is this Dao?”

The apprentice bowed slightly, ”One hundred and sixty coins, Sir.”

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, then his eyes half-closed, his fingertips gently stroking the Dao body, and subtle vibrations entered his ears along his fingertips.

Suddenly, a sudden discordant sound rang out amidst the rhythmic trembling.

He suddenly opened his eyes and pointed his fingers at a certain spot in the middle of the Dao body.

Bang~~~

With a burst of rapid trembling, the Dao body suddenly broke, and half of the Dao body, like an arrow, plunged straight into the ground, its tip sinking three fingers deep into the ground!

Hiss~

The apprentice beside him was startled by this sudden scene, taking a few steps back, his eyes full of shock as he looked at the half of the Dao body stuck in the ground.

This...this...this was a Dao personally forged by the shop owner, how could it be broken by a mere finger point?!

He looked up at Qin Jiang, the mockery in his eyes long gone, replaced by caution, ”Sir, what is this?”

”I’ll buy this Dao. Do you have anything better?” Qin Jiang asked.

The apprentice nodded repeatedly, ”Aye, Sir, please wait, I’ll go fetch the shop owner!”

With that, he ran straight to the backyard. After a while, he led a young man in.

The young man was dressed in sky-blue fine clothes, giving off a refined and scholarly impression, not at all like a blacksmith, but rather like a scholar.

However, his exposed hands were faintly black, indicating at a glance that he had practiced some kind of hand technique.

Thinking about it, it made sense; to run a Blacksmith Shop in the outer city, he must have some special skills.

The man in fine clothes walked closer and immediately saw the half of the Dao body stuck in the ground, and his eyes couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

Almost all the Dao here were personally forged by him. Although they weren’t his proudest works, they were considered top-grade in the outer city.

To be able to break the Dao body with a single finger, this young man, who looked even younger than himself, must be a true Martial Artist!

If so, perhaps...

Immediately, he smiled, ”Little brother, since this Dao is no good, how can I charge for it?

I am the owner of this Blacksmith Shop, Liu Yize of the Liu Family. Please follow me to the backyard. I have some ordinary Sharp Weapons; please appraise them!”

Qin Jiang nodded slightly.

”Please!” Liu Yize said with a smile.

The two arrived at the backyard and walked directly into the workshop where weapons were forged. As soon as they entered the room, they felt a wave of heat wash over them.

The clanging of hammers was incessant, several strong men lifting and dropping their hammers heavily, accompanied by sparks flying.

Qin Jiang unbuttoned his clothes and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong and defined arms, which made Liu Yize beside him glance over.

He also took off his outer garment, revealing the vest underneath. His arms were very thick, a full size larger than Qin Jiang’s, and just a slight clench of his fists caused veins to bulge.

”Come, this way please!” Liu Yize gestured inwards.

Passing through the inner hall, the two arrived at a warehouse where various iron blanks were piled everywhere, and two fine iron racks leaned in the corner.

”Brother, take a look, these are the Liu Family’s treasures! Although they cannot be considered Divine Weapons or Sharp Weapons, both the Materials and the forging craftsmanship are considered top-tier among ordinary Sharp Weapons!”

Liu Yize spoke, with a hint of pride in his words. The Liu Family’s century-plus of experience was naturally enough to be proud of in the outer city.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the iron racks. Not only were there various types of Dao, but also axes and swords, and even half a spear shaft was displayed.

That half-spear shaft was about aheight long, with a threaded structure at the end. With just another iron rod, a simple assembly could turn it into a battlefield killing weapon.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but smile. If this were before the chaotic times, just this half-spear shaft would be enough to throw Liu Yize into prison.

This Liu Family, it seems, is not to be trifled with.

”Haha, brother, don’t be surprised. The County Yamen has long since relaxed weapon casting restrictions. Besides not being able to privately forge armor, things like these long spears and axes are no longer considered anything special.

Sometimes, even the officials from the County Yamen will ask our Liu Family to custom-make weapons,” Liu Yize said with a smile.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly and stepped forward to choose a Dao.

Before long, he picked up a horizontal Dao.