Immortal Refiner

Ever since Li Qing came to the Wei Family to help forge a Divine Weapon, Patriarch Wei’s personality had become noticeably stricter.

Every day, any young Wei Family disciple who dared to indulge in pleasure and return late would face Wei Cang’s thunderous wrath.

During this period, the young Wei Family members were miserable, forced to tread carefully in everything they did, lest they incur the Old Master’s displeasure.

For Wei Qingqing, however, her daily visits to the blacksmith shop to watch Li Qing forge weapons had become a habit.

After about seven days of relentless hammering and refinement, the iron ingot had taken on the preliminary form of a scimitar.

Wei Qingqing immediately recognized the weapon’s nascent shape: it was the twin scimitars, the Wei Family’s signature weapon!

Initially, she had been astonished that her grandfather would invite such a young man to help forge a Divine Weapon.

But on this day, she finally began to understand why Li Qing commanded such respect from her grandfather.

Inside the blacksmith shop, Li Qing placed two red-hot scimitars on the casting platform simultaneously, preparing for the final round of hammering.

Just as Li Qing was about to turn back to check on the two pieces of Mysterious Scarlet Iron, the other forge, which had been burning fiercely for seven days, suddenly underwent a transformation.

Boom!

The flames surged and rippled, as if something extraordinary was happening within.

Startled, Li Qing spun around, fearing some mishap with the two pieces of Mysterious Scarlet Iron. He had planned to retrieve them today and forge them into the blades of two scimitars.

After seven days of burning, the Crimson Iron had become scorching hot, its temperature reaching terrifying levels.

Within the fiery red forge, the two pieces of Mysterious Iron now resembled two crimson flowers or two fiery clouds, their appearance utterly bizarre.

Li Qing was stunned. He had never seen such a strange metal before.

He didn’t linger in his astonishment for long. He immediately reached for the tongs to retrieve the two cloud-like masses of crimson metal. But the moment the tongs entered the forge and touched the glowing metal, they instantly melted into molten iron.

”After absorbing seven days’ worth of heat, it can still contain such intense temperatures?” Li Qing exclaimed, repeatedly marveling at the sight.

The melting of the tongs momentarily stunned Li Qing again.

However, his mind was incredibly sharp now, and he immediately made a Divine Craftsman’s judgment.

He stopped heating the forge and resolutely placed the two scimitar prototypes, which he had forged for over seven days, into the iron furnace.

Boom!

The two scimitars, hammered and refined for a full seven days, had cost Li Qing immense physical effort and were essentially already prototypes of Magical weapons.

Now, back in the furnace, the two Divine Weapon prototypes melted into molten iron with astonishing speed, completely fusing with the two strange crimson iron masses.

At this point, he couldn’t think of any way to effectively manipulate the swirling black-and-red mixture before him. Any iron tool that touched the cloud-like metal blend would instantly melt.

He could only wait quietly for the furnace’s temperature to gradually cool, allowing it to release the heat it had absorbed over seven long days.

Li Qing didn’t even dare use his Peerless Hammer to strike the two lumps of black-red Mysterious Iron. Though he had great confidence in the Ink Gold portion of the hammer, the rest of it was still ordinary iron.

So, Li Qing patiently waited beside the forge.

The temperature inside hadn’t cooled much. The Mysterious Iron continued to radiate heat, steadily releasing it!

Wait!

To his surprise, he waited for a full three days!

Li Qing, who hadn’t closed his eyes for three days straight, fearing he’d miss the perfect moment to strike, was like an old hunter in the forest, his patience unmatched.

Fortunately, his robust physique allowed him to endure three days without sleep.

Finally, after three days, the temperature in the forge began to gradually cool.

Li Qing cautiously used iron tongs to touch the two lumps of black-red Mysterious Iron. They were still somewhat soft, but the tongs didn’t melt into molten iron.

This was his chance!

Li Qing pulled the two lumps out and immediately began hammering them into shape.

At this moment, the Peerless Hammer truly lived up to its status as a Divine Weapon, each strike carrying immense power.

As the hammer fell, no sparks flew this time. Instead, a genuine flame erupted with each strike.

Every time the shape of the black-red Crimson Iron changed, a burst of flame would erupt from it, creating a dazzling spectacle that reminded Li Qing of fireworks from his past life.

But he had no time for such romantic thoughts now. Li Qing was forging two scimitars simultaneously, fearing that if he only worked on one, the other would miss its optimal forging moment.

”Dual blades, dual blades”—while they appear as two separate weapons, the closer they are in similarity, the more comfortable they will be to wield.

Forging both blades at the same time, as Li Qing was doing, perfectly embodied the true meaning of ”dual blades”!

Repeating this process, under Li Qing’s deliberate hammering, the rough forms of the two scimitars gradually emerged once more.

The overall blade was black, but along the edge, a strange, crimson hue naturally appeared, as if it had always been there.

It resembled the last fiery sunset before the long night descended.

Absolutely stunning!

That was Li Qing’s first thought. He didn’t even need to test them; he knew these were two exceptional blades, destined to be a perfect pair.

Seizing the moment while his condition was optimal, Li Qing didn’t stop. He began repeatedly quenching the two blades.

After seven rounds of quenching, the blades had become even more solid and refined, their perfection visible to the naked eye!

”Perfect!”

Yes, that was Li Qing’s assessment: perfect!

The word ”excellent” simply couldn’t capture the essence of these blades. Only ”perfect” would suffice.

Next, Li Qing retrieved the handles he had prepared earlier, completing the penultimate step in the forging process.

The handles were made from century-old peach wood and finely crafted cowhide, materials specially provided by Old Man Wei Cang. They felt incredibly comfortable to hold.

The intricate carvings on the handles matched the patterns on Old Master Wei’s current pair of blades exactly.

”I’ll call these blades ’Lingering Embers’,” Li Qing murmured, before beginning the final sharpening process.

Sharpening the blades of the twin swords was actually easier than forging the Qing Hong Sword, which had been made entirely of Ink Gold. Compared to Ink Gold, Li Qing clearly preferred the Mysterious Scarlet Iron.

With Li Qing’s immense physical strength, it didn’t take long for the edges of the two blades to become razor-sharp.

Buzz! Buzz!

Two consecutive resonant twangs, produced by flicking the blades with his fingers, signaled the completion of the ”Afterglow” swords. Corresponding system notifications immediately appeared.

[Successfully forged a Superior mundane tool: Lingering Embers. Reward: Four years of lifespan!]

This simple message sent a flurry of thoughts through Li Qing’s mind.

Four years was actually one year longer than the lifespan reward for the Qing Hong Sword. This was likely due to the fact that it was a pair of swords.

Two years per blade, though less than the Qing Hong Sword’s reward, added up to more in total because there were two of them.

Hmm, that makes sense!

Li Qing picked up the Afterglow swords with great satisfaction, gripping the two divine weapons that had consumed so much of his effort.

Swish!

Li Qing didn’t understand sword techniques. He merely swung the twin blades casually in the air, yet two crimson blade shadows materialized, a breathtaking sight.

”Phew, what magnificent blades!” Li Qing exhaled deeply, a smile tugging at his lips. The more he looked at these masterpieces, the more he loved them.

But ultimately, he had to hand them over to someone else. Sighing, Li Qing called out to the door, ”Go, fetch your grandfather.”

In truth, Li Qing had known all along that Wei Qingqing had been secretly watching him forge the blades. He simply hadn’t bothered to call her out on it. Don’t underestimate the keen senses of an Inner Strength expert.

Besides, forging blades wasn’t something you could learn just by watching. Li Qing didn’t mind letting her observe for a moment or two.

Hearing the call, Wei Qingqing froze, then stepped inside. Her eyes remained fixed on the twin blades in Li Qing’s hands.

As a granddaughter of the Wei Family, though her Martial Arts skills were modest, she had learned a few moves from the family’s unique twin-blade technique.

She knew all too well how precious the blades in Li Qing’s hands truly were!

”Did you forge these two blades for our Wei Family?”

Wei Qingqing’s words were slurred, her voice wavering with barely concealed shock.

She had been sneaking over to watch Li Qing forge the blades for weeks, witnessing their creation firsthand.

”Yes. I call these two blades ’Lingering Embers.’ Go fetch your grandfather, but keep this a secret. Otherwise, he might scold you,” Li Qing said with a half-smile, uttering a remark that left Wei Qingqing puzzled.

Wei Qingqing nodded repeatedly, hurrying to find her grandfather.

Li Qing’s warning to Wei Qingqing was no exaggeration. These two blades were exceptional, each worthy of being called a Magical Weapon on its own.

But the Wei Family was aging. Wei Cang was already quite old. After his death, without an Inner Strength expert to protect them, the family might struggle to hold onto such treasures.

(End of the Chapter)

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