Immortal Refiner

Time always flies when one is immersed in martial arts insights. Before he knew it, Li Qing had to return to the military camp.

”Phew!”

Li Qing, whose physique had grown significantly stronger, now found it less burdensome to traverse between the two worlds. He only broke into a slight sweat and took a few deep breaths.

The sky outside was still dim, but Li Qing had already stoked the forge’s fire, his face glowing red from the heat.

”A Mountain-Splitting Axe weighing over two hundred pounds is truly a massive project!”

To put it into perspective, the heaviest weapon Li Qing had ever forged was just over a hundred pounds—a long halberd made of refined iron for Centurion Chen Meng some time ago.

The heavier the weapon, the more challenging it was to forge, and the workload increased exponentially.

A two-hundred-pound Mountain-Splitting Axe was destined to take more than a day or two to complete. Just melting the iron ingots and hammering them would consume a considerable amount of time.

Li Qing placed the stacked iron ingots from the tent onto the red-hot forge and began the melting process.

With each strike of his hammer, the iron ingots began to deform and melt faster.

His gaze was intensely focused, barely blinking.

Although it wasn’t his own weapon, Li Qing approached the forging with utmost seriousness, treating it as if it were a piece of art.

Initially, he had learned blacksmithing out of necessity after joining the military camp. Later, he discovered that crafting weapons could extend his lifespan, so he devoted himself to mastering the craft.

Over time, Li Qing found himself genuinely falling in love with forging weapons.

Even on scorching summer days, with the forge blazing hot, nothing could dampen his enthusiasm.

Bang! With a powerful strike from Li Qing, the handle of the Mountain-Splitting Axe began to take shape.

The handle, resembling a long rod, still glowed red-hot, adorned with intricate patterns that Li Qing had meticulously carved for both aesthetic appeal and to enhance grip friction.

A skilled blacksmith must always consider the weapon’s user when crafting a weapon for someone else.

With the handle complete, the next step was the axe head.

This was the most challenging part, requiring an immense amount of time. In fact, the majority of the two-hundred-pound weight of the Mountain-Splitting Axe lay in the axe head.

The Mountain-Splitting Axe was a single-edged axe, and its blade had to be large to ensure maximum lethality.

The proportions between the blade and the back of the axe had to be precise; otherwise, the axe would be difficult to wield during combat.

Although martial artists possessed extraordinary strength, conserving energy during battle was always preferable.

Having experience in forging axes, Li Qing was well-versed in this. He mentally determined the proportions of the axe head and then fell into deep thought.

”The hardest part is still this piece of Ink Gold. Can it really be melted?” Li Qing frowned as he spoke.

From the beginning, he had placed this fist-sized piece of Ink Gold next to the forge.

But to his surprise, the temperature of the Ink Gold had barely changed, only becoming slightly warm. It seemed completely non-conductive!

If it were an ordinary metal, it would have been scorching hot by now, impossible to hold and rub in one’s hands like this!

Li Qing let out a slight sigh and had no choice but to steel himself and place the piece of Ink Gold into the hottest part of the forge.

Gurgle, gurgle~!

Completely immersed in the forging process, Li Qing lost all sense of time. It wasn’t until his stomach began to growl that he suddenly snapped back to reality. ”Damn, I forgot to eat!”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Li Qing hurriedly opened the tent flap and noticed that the sky was already approaching dusk.

Seeing the blood-red sunset on the horizon, Li Qing quickly grabbed his meal bowl and rushed to the kitchen, silently praying that it was Fatty Wu on duty today.

As he entered the kitchen, feeling dizzy and weak from hunger, Li Qing was overjoyed to see the familiar, portly figure busy cooking.

”Quick, Fatty Wu, give me a couple of buns to tide me over. I haven’t eaten all day!” Li Qing shouted, sounding like a starving ghost.

The busy Wu Chong immediately turned around and, seeing Li Qing in such a state, couldn’t help but tease him. ”You come here begging for food and still act so high and mighty? Change your tone!”

Li Qing quickly grinned and said, ”Brother Wu, my apologies for being rude. Please, give me a couple of buns. I haven’t eaten anything all day.”

The round-faced Wu Chong immediately broke into a smile, chuckled, and then brought out the large, white steamed buns from the top layer of the steamer.

”Hehe, go ahead and eat. I was wondering why you hadn’t shown up all day. Normally, you’re the first one here for meals!”

As he spoke, Wu Chong also grabbed a bun and started munching on it, looking utterly content.

”Don’t even mention it. I’ve been busy with forging lately, and it nearly killed me!” Li Qing waved his hand and then asked, ”By the way, I heard that other battalions of the Wu Li Army are coming to the border. Do you have any news on when they’ll arrive?”

Fatty Wu shook his head and said, ”I’m not sure about the exact timing, but it should be soon. It takes a lot of time to mobilize an entire army.”

Li Qing silently continued to chew on his bun, not saying anything more.

Meanwhile, the sandstorm that had been sweeping across the sky gradually subsided, and the sky began to darken.

A hawk streaked across the sky, moving so fast that it left a faint afterimage in the air.

On the distant Gobi Desert, under the cover of the sand and dust, a cavalry unit of around five thousand men appeared on the horizon to the northeast.

The fully-feathered hawk landed directly on the arm of the leader at the front of the cavalry. His arm didn’t budge, as if the weight of the hawk was nothing.

This was a man with a fierce, scarred face, his eyes marked by a menacing scar.

The man, wearing a fur vest, pulled out a strip of cloth wrapped around the hawk’s talon and began to read the information on it.

”Chief Tuwa Ha’er, have there been any changes in the defenses of Wangyuan City Fortress?” another man, who appeared quite intelligent, stepped forward and asked softly.

Tuwa Ha’er’s grin widened as he excitedly replied, ”Yes, the number of defenders has been reduced by nearly half, and the reinforcements haven’t arrived yet!”

”This is a heaven-sent opportunity. We might just be able to seize Wangyuan City outright!”

However, the man with a wise countenance shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, ”Seizing the city is absolutely out of the question. It would provoke the most fierce counterattack from Maple Country, and our tribe cannot withstand such a blow. We must still let Liang Country take the lead.”

Tuwa Ha’er then retied the cloth to the eagle’s leg and released it once more.

”Hmm, although Maple Country’s army is no match for us, those martial artists are indeed a nuisance.”

”Let’s proceed with the original plan. Plunder grain, cloth, and iron, and also try to seize the Ink Gold that the immortal in our tribe mentioned!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly and savage Tuwa Ha’er sharply spurred his horse, causing it to suddenly burst into speed.

Following him, the more than five thousand cavalrymen behind also began to accelerate.

(End of the Chapter)

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