chapter 76: 100 strikes of cleansing

Qin Weng was currently in is dwelling. He managed to get under the tutelage of Qin Wentian, but his master had denied any sort of favoritism to him. This put Qin Weng directly from being the Grand elder's disciple to being an outer disciple of the sect. Even the servant that accompanied him was surprised on knowing Long Tao to be starting from the outer sect. The master could have at least settled him in the inner sect. He didn't think about it any longer and bid farewell to Long Tao as soon as he dropped him at the location of his dwelling. The cabin was the one Long Tao's being allotted. Long Tao settled down and took out the manuals given by his master. The basic manuals were, of course, the knowledge about various types of metals found in nature. The encyclopedia had the information regarding, material, natural oddities, and general knowledge one should know about the art of forging.

The first month went by reading the encyclopedia and training in cultivation. Qin Weng broke into Qi master after opening all the secondary meridians and went to visit his master after the break-through. Qin Wentian was sitting in his original seat, in meditation when the guard reported that Qin Weng has arrived. Qin Wentian allowed the entry and seeing the figure of Qin Weng, he was satisfied. His disciple broke-through the QI master realm. This was a great piece of news. Now he could start training in the art of forging metals. But as Qin Wentian pointed out before, the cultivation and forging should go side by side. As Qin Weng took his seat, Qin Wentian started the conversation" I Hear that you have a senior brother who is the disciple of Bu Puti, The discipline/punishment hall elder of the Thundergod hall.".

"Yes, master. My elder brother Li Wentian is the disciple of the Thunder God Hall elder Bu Puti. How did master get to know about it."? "Me and Bu Puti are old acquaintances and hence he asked me to forge a set of weapons for his new disciple. I went to deliver the sword and hammer set for your elder brother. Qin Weng nodded in understanding. "I also got to know about the ½ year agreement between you brothers to see who grew the strongest among you three.". "The agreement was a simple one. The winner takes half of the belongings of the losers. Since we are 6 people, the fight was a simple even one, and the last showdown would be a triple threat." Qin Wentian managed to understand the whole arrangement. He had his own pride regarding the disciple he take. Although e was not going to give out any resources, arts and cultivation tips were something he would provide.

"What set of hammers did you choose in the weapon hall.". Long Tao took out the huge casket which was given to him by the servant at weapon hall, his other master. Seeing the casket Qin Wentian was shocked. Junior brother gave his most precious invention to you. What sort of spell did this boy manage to cast? He looked at Long Tao and said" tell me the truth of how you managed to obtain this hammer from that guy. ". Qin Weng said" The elder asked me to tell him my body cultivation realm, and then he asked to try and lift this. He said if I could manage to do it, he would let me have it. Fortunately, I was able to lift the casket and hence he gave it to me." Qin Wentian introspected, and ran the analysis in his brain. He knew how much power one would require to lift the hammer. "You are to tell me the truth. When you went to get the hammer. What was your realm in body cultivation?". Qin Weng was ashamed to hide his from his master, but he decided to tell the truth.

"I was at the opening stage of my 20th secondary meridian." Qin Wentian was spellbound. This bastard was already so proficient in body cultivation when he took him as his disciple and he didn't think of reporting it to his master. "What is your realm in body cultivation at this moment?". "I have opened all the secondary meridian and am at the opening stage of the 5th tertiary meridian." Qin Wentian was silent for a period of time. He was elated, that he managed to take in such a talented seedling. A horde of thought ran in his brain. Maybe he had hope for his disciple winning that competition. Only when he manages to do that will Qin Wentian return to that place. He waited for such a long time to find a good seedling, and just got one, who was monstrous. Just into the QI master stage and at 5th tertiary meridian. He struck gold this time. "you will continue the body cultivation. Here is another set of resources. You can come to me when your resources of body cultivation vanish. I will give you more. As per your training. A little more proficiency and you would be able to lift the hammer easily. "

"You will start training with the hammer after today. For some time, until you are able to lift it up even in your sleep, you will carry it with you, tied to the back. You will eat, sleep, walk, run, bath, all with this hammer. After you manage to complete the training, you will start training in the arts that I gave you. Come to me after you are able to master the 100 shots of refinement completely. ". Qin Went left the dwelling, leaving a lonely Qin Wentian tied within his own thoughts. I hope this boy manages to stand up to my expectations. I will give him all kinds of help and resources; all he has o do is advance in the way of forging. There is still a year until the competition at that place begins. I will have him participate there if he manages to enter the 2nd-grade advanced refiner.

Qin Went started his training according to the instruction of his master. He started to eat sleep and live with the hammer tied to his back. He continued his reading and cultivation. By the time he reached the 20th tertiary meridian, he was able to lift the hammer with ease. He could finally start the training in the set of arts his master gave him. He started to read the 100 shots of refinement technique.

The 100 shots of refinement started with the user practicing hammer shots first. The user needs to get acquainted with the motion of the hammer and strike on the metal as per the instruction of the manual. Long Tao took a lot of time just to get the strikes proper. Sometimes it went awry. Sometimes it was too heavy, sometimes too light. To get to the perfect stage, Long Tao had to spend a lot of time within the refining section of his room, just beating the metal with his hammer. Finally, after around 5 days (20 days in the crimson lord world), he was able to get the strike right. The next section was even more difficult. He had to regulate his breathing when he was striking a piece of metal for refining it. The breathing regulation technique was provided, with some handwritten tips from Qin Wentian. The keeper of the weapon hall also tutored Long Tao a lot, correcting his mistakes.

After a whole 10 days (40 days in crimson lord world) Long Tao got the rhythm correct and managed to compile it with the hammer strikes. The next part was called the 10 shots of refinement. It was the intermediate level technique where you have to do 10 strikes with a perfect breathing rhythm in a single instance. It took another 10 days to get it right. Finally, Long Tao was able to get the 10 strikes to happen perfectly in the same instance. The piece of metal gave out a purified luster. This was an incredible achievement on Long Tao's part, who basically had no talent in the forging area, but wanted to learn it. The next stage was like the final act/phase to completely master the technique properly. Long Tao rested for a bit before getting up to start the final phase of training.

The last part, 100 strikes in the same instance, with breathing regulation. Long Tao was a step away from getting to the endpoint, but the step was like a huge mountain, difficult to cross. He started training within the crimson lord world. A month went by inside. Long Tao was at 40 strikes. Each increasing strike made it more difficult. He continues the endeavor. Finally, at the end of 1 month in the outer world (Nearly 4 months in the Crimson Lord world), Long Tao finally mastered the 100 strikes to refine a metal completely. He was formally able to start the metal refinement training with his master.