Commanding Wind and Cloud

Killing? There was a well-defined and complete set of laws in the empire. According to the law, it was a tooth for a tooth. No matter who the killer was, he or she had to admit to the crime and would receive the death penalty as punishment.

Although this was the law, Lucas wasn’t that naive to trust the law completely and believe that Fabreidis would be afraid and respect the law.

“Eh?” Fabreidis pinched the crystal-like [Refined Iron] with three of his fingers as he said with surprise. “Is this really a [Level 5 Refined Iron]? There is still some heat on it? Did someone just forge this? Who is it?”

Lucas looked at Fabreidis with a hopeful, begging expression on his face. He wished that this powerful warrior would change what he said. If Franklin said that this [Refined Iron] was Level 5, Lucas could refute it, but what Fabreidis said couldn’t be refuted. It wasn’t just because of his warrior strength; he was also a Level 4 Blacksmith. Lucas just got the confirmation from the mayor recently.

“Is it you?” Fabreidis looked at Lucas as he shook his head. “You don’t have such skills. Who could it be?” Fabreidis didn’t believe in Lucas’ skill at all.

Franklin was thrilled to watch Lucas get overpowered. Although Lucas was mad, he didn’t dare to show that on his face. Franklin jogged to Qian Jin with his two short legs as he raised his voice and said, “Mr. Fabreidis, the person who created the [Level 5 Refined Iron] is him, the student from Oakland Academy, Qian Jin.”

“A warrior student?” Fabreidis’s voice sounded surprised and delighted at the same time. He turned around and stared at Qian Jin who was just standing there, with nothing in his hands.

After hearing Fabreidis’ tone, Franklin knew that his introduction had worked. “What the mayor told me was true. This number warrior in Oakland doesn’t seem to like blacksmiths too much. He has a weird rejection towards the blacksmiths, but he likes warriors a lot.” Franklin thought.

If Qian Jin was only a blacksmith, Franklin wasn’t sure if this powerful man would be willing to help out. But since Qian Jin had another identity as a warrior student...

Fabreidis observed Qian Jin closely; it seemed obvious that he appreciated Qian Jin. “Are you a Grade One student? With your strength, you must be among the top three students in Grade One in that crappy academy. Did you really forge this [Level 5 Refined Iron]?” he asked.

Intimate! Kind! Under the stare of Fabreidis, he had a strange intimate feeling, as if Fabreidis was one of his uncles or something. If this stare came from a girl instead of Fabreidis, Qian Jin would probably suspect that the girl had a crush on him.

“Mr. Fabreidis...” Lucas gathered his courage and notified Fabreidis quietly, “Please pay more attention. This [Refined Iron] was forged using the [Fake Forging Technique]...”

Fabreidis turned around and gave him a cold stare, and Lucas shivered as he shut his mouth. That wasn’t just a cold stare; it was a stare that had murderous intent hidden in it! If someone had not killed a lot of people or creatures before, he or she could never give off a stare like this.

The adventurers, including Wilfred, looked at Lucas strangely; they were all relieved that they didn’t get tricked by this blacksmith.

“This...” Qian Jin rubbed his nose and showed a thankful smile. “Currently, I’m ranked at the eighth seat on the fighting ability ranking in Grade One. Also, I did indeed forge this [Level 5 Refined Iron],” he said calmly.

“Eighth?” Fabreidis’ thick golden eyebrows rose as a surprised expression appeared on his face. “Did the quality of students at Oakland Academy rise this much? Oh, currently? I got it. This [Level 5 Refined Iron] is not bad; it would be considered top quality even among top-tier [Level 5 Refined Irons].”

Although most of the people in the workshop didn’t know who Fabreidis was, after seeing that Lucas, who had the title of the number one blacksmith in the city, didn’t dare to counter what he said, they knew that what this mid-aged man said was true. In an instant, quiet murmurs filled the workshop.

At this point, Lucas was so ashamed that his face became darker than charcoal. Franklin, on the other hand, was in so much joy that his smile almost covered his entire face.

So many unexpected events had happened today. It all started when Lucas came into Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop and showed off his fancy forging skills. Soon, the crowd was shocked by Qian Jin’s barbaric forging skills. The [Level 5 Refined Iron] then turned into a [Level 1 Refined Iron] that was dressed up by the [Fake Forging Technique]. Then, Lucas’ statement was countered by Fabreidis’ words. It seemed like it wouldn’t take long before the title of number one blacksmith shop in Oakland was transferred to Franklin’s Blacksmith Shop!

“Level 5 Blacksmith, Level 5 Blacksmith!” Franklin shouted in his mind again and again. Most blacksmiths would get stuck as a Level 1 Blacksmith and never advance. He didn’t know what kind of luck he had, but he knew that had he randomly hired a warrior student from Oakland Academy, and that student turned out to be a Level 5 Blacksmith! With just this [Level 5 Refined Iron], his blacksmith shop would become invincible in Oakland’s blacksmithing industry!

“You name is Qian Jin, right? Since you can forge [Level 5 Refined Iron], then you could have easily forged [Level 3 Refined Iron].” Fabreidis played with the [Refined Iron] in his hand as he asked slowly. “If a [Level 3 Refined Iron] would give you the win, why would you forge a [Level 5 Refined Iron]?”

Franklin was stunned; Lucas was stunned as well. “Yeah, a [Level 3 Refined Iron] would win him this competition, so why did he forge a [Level 5 Refined Iron]?” they thought to themselves.

“Eh...” Qian Jin pointed his finger at Wilfred. “His is a warrior, and I am a warrior as well.”

The blacksmiths in the workshop didn’t get what Qian Jin was saying as they looked at each other in confusion. However, a bright smile appeared on Fabreidis’ face. To warriors, a good weapon or armor was equivalent to a second life. Qian Jin didn’t become narrow-minded by seeing profits. Although he was young, he had a broad view of the world.

“Interesting. You learned the skill of blacksmithing, yet you didn’t learn the profit-focused mindset of blacksmiths; your heart is not covered by greed.” Fabreidis slightly clapped as he said, “Compared to those bastards who only know how to sell cheap armor and weapons, and don’t care about the lives of warriors, you are more qualified to use the forging hammer!”

Lucas felt Fabreidis’ sharp glance. He backed off two steps as he trembled uncontrollably. “What kind of hatred does this number warrior of Oakland have towards blacksmiths? I heard from the mayor that he addressed the blacksmiths as bastards. It looks like it’s 100% true!” Lucas wondered.

“Qian Jin, you are smart. You knew that you can only rely on yourself, and not on those bastards who only know how to blacksmith and cheat people’s money.” Fabreidis became more passionate and emotional as he continued speaking. Even Qian Jin started to sense the hatred that this warrior, who suddenly popped up, had towards blacksmiths.

Lucas peeked at Qian Jin as he gulped. “How unlucky! The number one warrior of Oakland is showing such affection towards this kid! It looks like I must pay a lot of money to get rid of this kid. However, for the future of Lucas’ Blacksmith Shop, I have to take this risk and get rid of him. I have to make sure that my blacksmith shop is the number one blacksmith shop in Oakland!” he thought to himself secretly..