Chapter 166 - Lu Ran’s First Time

While Lu Ran was studying nutrition and improving his Culinary Intent, he didn’t neglect his forging studies. Generally speaking, it would be impossible for a normal person to absorb so much knowledge in such a short time.

But, Lu Ran wasn’t a normal person. He was willing to invest crystal coins, so he purchased plenty of Soul Cleansing Fruit to temporarily boost his comprehension. Thus, he advanced in both culinary and forging skills at the same time.

At this moment, on the forging side, Lu Ran had already mastered the basic theory and common knowledge. Once he grasped the fundamentals, he quickly came up with an idea.

He wanted to enchant his Frosty Sky Greatsword with a blood-sucking attribute. Fang Lan needed Diamond Dragon blood to create toxins, and the more, the better.

Although Captain Doofus could break through the defense of the Diamond Dragon and draw a little blood, it wasn’t nearly enough. Plus, it was hard to collect.

But if he had a weapon with a blood-sucking attribute, then every attack from Lu Ran could create a sword bathed in dragon’s blood. With this, the problem would be solved instantly.

Aside from that, there was another reason Lu Ran had this idea. The Legendary Secret Realm could only be cleared once, which was such a waste! Lu Ran wanted to see if it was possible to repeatedly harvest something from the Diamond Dragon.

Of course, if he overdid it, Lu Ran was worried he might accidentally clear the secret realm. After all, the mission for the Legendary Secret Realm only required him to defeat the Diamond Dragon, not kill it. If he accidentally removed a vital organ from the boss and Limitless City considered that mission complete, it would be awkward.

But if it was only a bit of dragon blood, there shouldn’t be an issue, right?

Obviously, just removing a few scales and collecting some blood couldn’t possibly count as defeating it. By then, he could simply fill a bottle with dragon blood, quit the challenge, and re-enter to continue.

With the entry fee being 0 crystal coins, as long as his strength was sufficient, Lu Ran felt that pure Superior-King Species dragon blood might not be Treasure-grade, but it’s still very rare. Most importantly, that blood comes from a mutated Diamond Dragon. If he missed this opportunity, there won’t be another.

Right now, a weapon with a blood-sucking attribute would be extremely important! However, while Lu Ran had understood the theory, this high-difficulty enchanting process was not something he felt confident doing himself. Thus, Lu Ran decisively called for help and summoned Master Lin, who had just finished his lecture.

“To give a weapon the blood-sucking trait, you first need the Rare resource Blood-Sucking Stone as the primary amplifying material. What, do you want me to do it for you, or do you want to try it yourself?” Master Lin asked as he looked at Lu Ran.

“I’ll do it myself, but I’ll need you to guide me, Master Lin.”

At the moment, Captain Doofus barely managed to break through the Diamond Dragon’s defense. Having a blood-sucking weapon too early wouldn’t be much use. It would be better to wait until Captain Doofus’s strength improved further.

After studying basic theory for two days and cooking for several more, Lu Ran was itching to switch gears and study forging again.

“Alright, since I’m free anyway, let’s seize the moment. Today, I’ll guide you through your first forging attempt.” Master Lin crossed his arms over his chest with an expectant expression.

After all, Lu Ran’s beastmaster skill was Flame Spirit. Once Lu Ran delved into the path of forging, he would undoubtedly become one of the world’s top blacksmiths. When that happens, Master Lin would be able to brag that he had been the one to teach Lu Ran.

“Besides forging a sword, what else do you want to make?” Master Lin asked.

“Forging a sword is a bit difficult to start with. How about we begin with something simple?”

“Ah? I also want a Crow Feather Bow,” Lu Ran said.

It wasn’t to improve his relationship with Dark Crow; it was purely because a long-range weapon would complement his poison infusion techniques.

“This...” Master Lin’s mouth twitched.

“Anything else?”

This wasn’t easy either. Forging had its own specializations, and bow crafting was more closely related to tailoring.

“How about a stone tablet?” Lu Ran said.

This was a gift he planned for Mystic Turtle. It would allow it to cosplay as the Baxia and aid in suppressing the nearby sea.

“A stone tablet?” Master Lin asked.

“Fine, let’s start with the tablet. It’s the least difficult. If you have enough talent, I can guarantee you’ll be able to forge a Rare-quality weapon within half a month,” Master Lin assured.

It wasn’t that he trusted Lu Ran, but he trusted Flame Spirit!

“Half a month!” Lu Ran nodded, feeling it was possible.

Then, under Master Lin’s guidance, Lu Ran began his first attempt at forging using the materials provided by Master Lin. Lu Ran was a highly unique blacksmith. He didn’t even need external facilities or tools.

The first step was smelting the materials. After Flame Spirit took over his body, he controlled Energy Projection Manipulation to create fire on his own.

As for temperature control, his culinary fire control skills gave him a solid foundation, so there were no major issues. On top of that, Flame Spirit could sense the optimal temperature for smelting minerals. Lu Ran completed this step with ease.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Lu Ran stood still while the molten liquid, formed from the core and unique materials, floated in the flames before him, sparkling brilliantly.

“Yes, yes, yes! That’s perfect!” Master Lin exclaimed in admiration at the sight.

The second step was formation. Lu Ran used a combination of energy formation and energy infusion techniques, directly controlling Flame Spirit to help shape the molten essence. As long as the design wasn’t too complex, he could shape it directly without relying on molds.

At most, he would polish the final product afterward to refine the details. Under Lu Ran’s control, the ball of molten minerals gradually took on the form of a stone tablet, wrapped in flames.

No wonder Master Lin had said Lu Ran didn’t belong with the forging freshmen. With his skills, he was simply overshadowing the rest.

Next, still under Master Lin’s guidance, Lu Ran embedded the primary materials, like Water Amplifying and Rock Amplifying minerals, into the unfinished stone tablet. After some effort, Lu Ran had forged a massive stone tablet with embedded gems. But it wasn’t done yet.

“Now comes the most important step...” Master Lin said.

“In the textbooks and notes I gave you, there are records on how to engrave inscriptions. I trust you’ve studied them carefully?”

“Of course.”

At the final moment, Lu Ran took out the Inscription Stone. Inscription engraving was the most critical step in forging high-quality equipment.

Even though it was a simple melting reaction, the addition of the main materials formed the appearance, and the equipment could only be considered a semi-finished product.

These forging materials had not yet been fully unified, and their strengths could not interact or link with each other. This would result in weapons that would break down quickly and become unusable.

The role of inscriptions was to use external forces to merge the strengths of the various materials into one cohesive whole. This process required a special natural mineral called the Inscription Stone.

The purpose of the Inscription Stone was easy to understand: it absorbed the user’s physical energy to release a mysterious wave. This wave played a significant role in enhancing the fusion of multiple forging materials.

Only by guiding the Inscription Stone along the appropriate material trajectories could the various energy waves of the materials be connected. Once connected, a high-quality weapon would be complete. Because this process resembled carving inscriptions onto the equipment, it was called inscription engraving.

The final step was challenging because the energy trajectories of different forging materials were not the same. For familiar materials, a blacksmith could easily complete the process by expending a certain amount of physical energy.

It was similar to a chef following a recipe—simple when there were clear instructions. However, if the forging materials or their combinations were unfamiliar and lacked prior references, the process became extremely difficult.

The blacksmith would have to repeatedly experiment during this final stage, consuming large amounts of physical energy and relying on experience; just like a chef experimenting to create a new recipe.

If any major mistakes occurred, they could ruin the equipment or reduce its quality. Luckily, Lu Ran possessed a superior physique, which gave him a considerable advantage during this step.

For this time’s forging, it wasn’t nearly that complicated. Lu Ran simply followed the tutorial step-by-step and completed the inscription engraving with ease.

Thanks to his extraordinary physique, he only broke a slight sweat by the end. Lu Ran completed an Advanced-quality stone tablet capable of amplifying water-attribute and rock-attribute power effortlessly.

“Not bad.”

Master Lin inspected the stone tablet. For a first attempt at forging, this result was already very impressive.

However, as he glanced back at Lu Ran, he noticed Lu Ran was staring at the stone tablet with a dissatisfied expression.

“I feel like it could be even better,” Lu Ran said.

After all, this stone tablet was meant as a gift for Mystic Turtle. Given his current status, anything less than a Rare-quality stone tablet would be unacceptable.

“

Haha

, no need to rush. This was only your first attempt. Jumping straight into something difficult isn’t ideal. You can keep this stone tablet as a keepsake, or if you’re not satisfied, dismantle it and rebuild it to further improve your skills.”

“Dismantle it?” Lu Ran’s eyes lit up.

“I know this process! When I was a kid studying firearms in Hawaii, I learned to disassemble and reassemble guns. It was an excellent way to develop an understanding of firearms. So forging works the same way?”

Master Lin froze in place.

Fucking hell. What kind of family did you grow up in, learning to disassemble firearms in Hawaii as a kid?

“Master Lin, can I also dismantle the four swords you forged for the freshman competition? I want to study them too.”

Master Lin was stunned.

“Fine, go ahead and dismantle them if you’re willing to risk it!”

............

It didn’t even take half a month—it was just one week. Through hands-on practice, dismantling masterworks, and studying the thought process behind their construction—while drawing on the experiences of master blacksmiths—Lu Ran was able to forge Rare-quality weapons. The price? Merely the permanent destruction of a few weapons.

Green Sea City. After ten days, Lu Ran finally fulfilled his promise. He delivered the dragon cuisine he had perfected to Mystic Turtle. Outside Qingwu Lake, Lu Ran walked to the lakeside, with Dark Crow perched on his shoulder.

This time, aside from delivering resources to Mystic Turtle, Lu Ran also wanted to evaluate Dark Crow’s progress in training. Dark Crow had worked hard.

Its projection skill now had an effective range of 50 meters, and its curse range had also reached 50 meters. Compared to its previous 20 meters, it was no longer such a weak ability.

At least the improved food I gave it wasn’t wasted.

[You know...This so-called dragon cuisine smells amazing. It’s been ages since I’ve eaten anything this delicious.]

Meanwhile, Mystic Turtle was moved to tears. It clearly appreciated the dish Lu Ran had prepared.

“How’s the Seven-Star Dragon Fishballs? Pretty good, right?” Lu Ran grinned.

The Seven-Star Dragon Fishballs were pure white, elastic yet not greasy, with a soft, fragrant filling and a sweet, refreshing taste. The dish was made primarily from mutated dragonfish meat, dragon-blooded porcupine meat, and dried dragon lobster, supplemented by various other ingredients.

It was specifically designed to purify dragon blood and enhance scale armor defense. Originally, Lu Ran developed the recipe for Sudden Death King. However, it was also a perfect fit for Mystic Turtle.

Around them, basketball-sized, snow-white dragon fishballs floated across the lake’s surface like stars scattered across the night sky. As Mystic Turtle devoured the dish, faint red energy patterns began appearing on its black shell.

Clearly, this dragon cuisine was subtly transforming Mystic Turtle’s body, gradually pushing it toward the dragon subspecies, Dragon Turtle.

“They’re all yours. Take your time and enjoy them.”

“Oh, and this is for you too.” Lu Ran pulled out a massive stone tablet that matched Mystic Turtle’s size and set it aside.

“This stone tablet is called the Hell Stone Tablet. It’s Rare-quality and has absorption properties. You can strap it to your shell without worrying about it falling off.”

“Huh?”

Mystic Turtle, happily munching on the dragon fishballs, froze as it noticed Lu Ran lifting the giant stone tablet.

Do you really want me to carry this thing? It looks so heavy.

“Don’t underestimate it. This thing will greatly improve your strength and let you dominate the coast! Whether it’s amplifying Water-attribute skills or Rock-attribute skills, this tablet is an excellent tool for the job. Sure, it might seem a bit excessive, but as the saying goes...”

“

Caw!

” Dark Crow interrupted.

It looked at Mystic Turtle seriously and declared, “General Mystic Turtle, even with the Hell Stone Tablet on your back, you will remain unrivaled on the coast. Do not go against the king’s expectations!”

“Get lost! That’s not what I meant! You’re making it sound like the tablet is useless!” Lu Ran scolded, shooing the foolish bird away.

He turned back to Mystic Turtle.

“Ignore that dumb bird. Just remember, this is a good thing.”

Mystic Turtle fell into deep thought.

Am I really okay with letting this kid push me around like this? Whatever... I’ll finish the fishballs first.

***

After arranging things for Mystic Turtle, Lu Ran returned to Sky City. With Master Lin’s guidance, he spent two days completing the final training.

Finally, he successfully enchanted the Frosty Sky Greatsword with the blood-sucking ability by fusing the Blood-Sucking Stone with it. Nearly half a month later, Lu Ran re-entered the Legendary Secret Realm, Dragon King’s Nest!

“

Rawr!!!

”

Two dragons roared in unison as Lu Ran replicated the battle strategy from his first attempt. At present, they still lacked the strength to defeat the Diamond Dragon. However, compared to the last time, they were much calmer and had a clearer goal.

“Captain Doofus, sword control!”

“

Woof!

”

Inside the cave, Sudden Death King tanked a heavy blow to create an opening. Seizing the chance, Captain Doofus sent a flying sword hurtling forward. The sword pierced through one of the Diamond Dragon’s scales, drawing blood and eliciting a roar of pain.

However, as the Diamond Dragon prepared to retaliate, it froze in confusion. Its enemy had already disappeared without a trace. The Diamond Dragon then looked down at its wound and became even more confused as it realized that its blood had disappeared.