Chapter 163: Chapter 162: Birthday Banquet

The next day, Li Jain continued teaching Li Jingxuan how to refine weapons.

After yesterday’s first attempt, Jingxuan had become more serious. When he came into the workshop after lunch, he did not have the same playful look as yesterday. He washed his hands, tied up his sleeves, and calmly waited for Li Jain’s instructions.

Li Jain didn’t start with theories today, he’d understood from yesterday’s experience that Li Jingxuan’s mind was much more active when his hands were busy. He has a short attention span, and if he sits still for too long, his thoughts would slowly float away.

Li Jain place the materials on the table,

Li Jingxuan’s eyes lit up when he saw the hammer.

"Father, is the hammering method better than yesterday’s?"

"It depends on the person. Yesterday’s method uses spiritual energy to shape the sword directly, it requires strong soul force control. The hammering method is much more straightforward, although slow, it has the highest success rate. Since your Heaven Refining Bloodline responds well to heat, this method should suit you better."

"Father, are you sure it’s not because he’s too reckless and inpatient?" Li Zhang laughed, as he prepared to watch the fun.

The first few steps were done quickly, when the mental was taken out, Li Jain told Jingxuan to hit it with the hammer to shape it.

Jingxuan looked at the big hammer in his hands, then looked at Li Jain with suspicion: "Father, are you sure I won’t flatten the sword into a pancake?"

Li Jain laughed: "That depends on how you hit it."

Li Zhang: "Xuan Xuan, if it becomes a pancake, remember to add sauce."

Li Jingxuan turned his head and glared at him: "Why are you here again?"

"Brothers should witness each other’s growth. I’m here to support you, no need to thank me." Li Zhang replied with a wink.

Li Jingsheng, standing next to him added: "And laugh when necessary."

Li Zhang looked touched, and held his hand: "Sheng Sheng understands me."

Jingsheng ignored him and took a step back.

Li Jain placed the spirit iron onto the refining platform and said: "Hammering is not only about strength. If you hit randomly, you will destroy the material."

Jingxuan held the hammer with both hands and nodded seriously. "So I should hit it gently?"

"Not really, you just need to have a clear picture of what you want. If you want the metal to stretch, strike along the direction it should move."

He took another hammer and demonstrated.

The hammer landed on the heated spirit iron with a clear ringing sound. Each strike landed at a different point, and with every fall of the hammer.

Li Jain explained as he worked: "Look at the color. When it is too red, the metal is too soft and will lose shape easily. When it is too dark, it will resist the hammer and crack. The best moment is when the glow is steady and the spiritual energy inside the metal begins to move."

Jingxuan’s expression became complicated, but he still nodded and tried.

At first, his strikes were uneven. Some were too heavy, causing the metal to flatten strangely, while others were too light and had almost no effect.

However, the hammering method suited him more than the purely controlled flame method from yesterday. Jingxuan’s Heaven Refining Bloodline had always leaned toward melting, forging, and refining materials, and once his body found the rhythm, his movements became smoother.

Li Jain was also correcting his posture. The metal slowly took shape.

It was still not perfect, the blade was a little thick, and the edges were not as sharp as Li Jain’s work, but compared to yesterday’s crooked sword, this one looked much better.

Li Jingxuan stared at it after finishing the quenching step and almost could not believe it.

"This one looks like a real sword. I did it, I actually refined a sword." he said.

"Unlike yesterday’s." Li Zhang said meaningfully

Li Jingxuan grabbed the hammer threateningly: "Brother Zhang, do you want to become tomorrow’s sword?"

Li Zhang moved behind Jingsheng and hide: "Sheng Sheng, protect me."

Jingsheng looked at him coldly: "Why should I?"

"Because if I get refined, no one will praise, or pamper you in the future ."

Li Jingsheng’s expression turned even colder: "Then you should be refined."

"Ouch"

Li Jain shook his head helplessly, then checked Jingxuan’s work: "It is not bad. The energy flow is still rough, but the structure is much better."

Li Jingxuan’s face lit up: "This will make things much easier. Who said I couldn’t refine a sword?"

"Um... nobody said that." Li Jingsheng rolled his eyes.

Li Jingxuan was very happy with his achievements.

...

The next day, he held the sword carefully and went to school with great confidence thinking that he would ace it competition quickly, only to return later with a strange expression on his face.

The moment he entered the courtyard, Li Zhang saw him and immediately asked: "What happened? You look like someone who prepared for a fight and found had been tricked."

Jingxuan sighed: "The competition was postponed."

Li Zhang froze: "Postponed?"

Jingxuan nodded. "The instructor said some materials have not arrived yet, so the challenge will be moved back."

Li Zhang immediately laughed: "Then you suffered for nothing yesterday."

"He didn’t suffer for nothing. He’d learned and will be more prepared for the competition. This way, he might even win the whole thing." Li Jingsheng said, rarely defending his brother.

"Yea, Sheng is right. I only need a little more practice time and winning the competition would be a piece of cake."

Li Jain walked out from the kitchen and heard the last sentence. He smiled and said, "That is good. It gives you more time to practice. Since you already learned two methods, you can use the extra time to become more familiar with them."

Li Jingxuan: "That’s right, I am a genius after all."

Li Jain: "Speaking of practice, Cheng’er and Xiao Zhang, your recent training is lacking. I’m going to need you to put in more time and effort."

Li Zhang’s smile froze, he just grabbed a pastry to eat, now he didn’t know what to do with it.

"Lacking?" Li Cheng, who had just come in from the side courtyard, was slightly surprised.

Even when he was with Zhao Yun, he didn’t dare to slack off. But if his father said he’s lacking, then he’s lacking.

Li Jain nodded seriously: "Yes. You two should go out and train for a while before dinner."

Li Zhang stared at him: "Right now?"

"Yes."

Li Zhang immediately looked at Li Cheng, hoping his twin would say something useful.

Li Cheng only nodded: "Then let’s go."

Li Zhang felt betrayed: "You accepted too fast. Don’t you have any doubts?"

Li Cheng replied calmly: "If Father says we are lacking, then we are lacking."

Li Zhang looked like he wanted to argue, but when he saw Li Jain’s gentle smile, he suddenly felt that arguing would only make the training longer.

Li Zhang slowly placed the pastry down, clearly unwilling to leave it: "Can I finish this first?"

Li Jain smiled: "If you eat more, you will need to train longer."

Li Zhang immediately stood: "Training is more important."

In the end, he could only follow Li Cheng outside with a face full of grievance.

After the two left, the remaining children looked at Li Jain.

Li Yuhan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Father deliberately sent them away."

"If third brother’s skills are lacking then sixth brother should be training twice as hard."

"Dot mentioned me in any bad thing!"

Li Jain smiled and did not deny it: "Your brothers’ birthday is coming soon. It is only a week away."

Li Juanxin nodded immediately: "We know."

Li Juanxin also said: "We are already preparing gifts."

Jingxuan looked very proud: "Mine is going to be very good."

Li Yuhan gave him a sideways glance: "That means you haven’t thought of anything good yet."

Jingxuan’s eyes widened: "How do you know?"

"What can I say? I know you too well."

Li Yujian looked at Li Jain: "Does Father have another plan?"

Li Jain sat down at the table and said: "I was thinking of hosting a banquet."