Page 97: Disembarkation

Four days have passed since their departure from merchant city. Things got calm and peaceful for everyone even though a commotion had ignited from the last skill display during that one dinner. No one also tried to bother them during the last days as they have announced that they have entered a meditative state. Only when food is to be delivered that someone was allowed to pass by their cabins.

In this night of the fourth day, everyone was informed that the ship would be able to reach the destination in the noon of tomorrow. With this, all they need to do is wait until they reach the place. It is said that the area where they would be going is close to an old open pit mine. During the establishment of the Iron armor school in the Cup Island, it was said that the mine had already been there. It was believed that the mine was abandoned by some sect of the ancient times. After thousand years of being mined, all that's left are low grade ores that can only be used to forge grade 1 up to grade 4 weapons which is why it was abandoned. In the entire union islands, the iron armor sect is the only one that provides precious metals to the other cities. This also tell us that the students in that school are weapon forgers and refiners.

Although they have a mine as a source of precious minerals, their capabilities are limited due to the place being isolated. Disciples and students who study the art of refining and reforging metals have only reached the third grade. The highest rank of teachers they have in the iron armor school are grade 4 weapon smiths.

Just like pill alchemy, weapon smiths or also called metal alchemy follow sets of steps but comes with a bigger furnace and with hotter environment. In pill alchemy, they would only need a single chambered furnace since all the process or steps on refining pills can be done in there. On the other hand, metal alchemy requires two or three chambers in one furnace. During the metal refining, the ore would first be melted in the lowest chamber where the temperature is greatest. Since a cultivator doesn't have his own flame, they mostly borrow the earth flame from the underground. At the iron armor sect, the mine serves as a source of metal resource and at the same time it's deepest region provides the hottest earth flame they can use in the smelting process.

In the first chamber, the metal is melted until it turns into a liquid blob. The metal alchemist needs to suspend the melted metal and use his essence to separate the other impurities from it. This first process called extraction takes the longest time and causes a lot of mental stress since the person needs to take out impurities as much as he can. For best results, the first process are kept for days and even weeks just to completely separate the desired metal from the other substances. During this first process, it already dictates the possible grade of the weapon to be reforged. That is why a metal alchemist's skill is determined from this early point. Even if the next steps would be perfect, the product won't be any great if the first step is mediocre.

The second step is reinforcement. Using the second chamber, additional materials that will be used for the other parts of the weapon or armor is added and melted. During this process, the secondary materials must have undergone purification or the first step of metal extraction in order to have the process continuous. Some metal alchemists purify all the materials first and then melt them at the same time for the second process. This kind of refining process requires a furnace with only two chambers. As for the common three chambered furnace users, after melting the secondary materials, they bring all the extracted liquid metal blobs into the third chamber which is the highest.

In the third chamber, the temperature has significantly dropped allowing the metal to solidify. During this condensation process, the shape of the weapon or armor must be formed using the essence like a molding pan. For a sword, first is to mold the blade and use the secondary materials to fuse with a part of the solidifying blade to make the handle. Some who makes fancy swords add the gems during this phase to make it more presentable.

All in all, the process is more arduous and time consuming compared to a pill alchemy. On the other hand, pill refining might take less time but the success rate is lower compared to metal alchemy. Each have their own ups and downs but both profession is praised in the cultivation world. Merchant city makes the pill alchemy center of the union islands while the Cup island holds the title of metal alchemy.

The next day came and almost everyone were excited to see the new place. Some already made their own itinerary since they have the whole day to stay in the city before heading to the Iron armor sect. Long Bai's group, the four of them asked their old masters permission to have the day as their day off and do whatever they want. Since the old fogeys trust in their capabilities, they were granted to roam the city with a condition that they will return to their accommodation before the sky gets dark. The others were not able to join the group because they were needed for meetings and at the same time, they were strictly asked to train while they still have time.

When everyone went out of the ship, they went to their own businesses. Some were met by their own relatives while others were met by guides from the iron armor school. After Long Bai and the group were oriented by their carefree masters on where they should go after roaming the city, they were given an identity token in case they would be asked to identify themselves. After a short deliberation, the four decided to not wait for the escort and instead they wanted to go to the city themselves immediately.

After asking some directions from the people on the port, they learned that the central city was just 2 kilometers away from the port which they could just traverse in a few breaths. Using their movement skill, the distance of two kilometers felt like just a few meters away. Upon reaching the city toll gates, the four followed in the queue to pay the toll and undergo some light inspection. The queue was not that long considering that the people just need to pay a certain amount. On the sides of the gates, there were kids who were begging, asking some people on the cue for some alms. On one side, Long Bai was particularly interested in a young child who was holding a kind of rock which she was trying to sell of a few shards.

[Purple Hematite Ore

90% purity

High grade ore

*Hardest among the hematite based minerals. Placed 5/10 in terms of hardness among the known hardest minerals. ]

'Hm? How come it's identified as a high grade ore when it looks like an ordinary stone. Could the system be wrong?...but that's impossible. I'll try to buy this and see for myself.' Long Bai's thoughts were focused on the rock but his actions were misinterpreted by the people around. When he went out of the line and approached the young kid, many warned him of not being scammed. Yue and the other two on the other hand thought differently. They remembered their previous living conditions and thought that Long Bai felt the need to help this young kid. They followed Long Bai and watched how things would go from behind.

"Little one, how much for that rock on your hand?" Long Bai asked.

"Esteemed cultivator, this little one wants to sell this for ten red shards. My big brother said that this rock is precious and that I can sell it. Because he's injured and can't work, I have no choice but to sell this on my own. Esteemed one, please believe this little one, my brother would never lie. I just want to bring home food for my big brother" The little kid was practically begging him to buy the rock.

"Hey, brother. Be careful when dealing with the slum kids. A lot of tourists were scammed by them already so if you entertain them, don't blame the people of Cup city since you've been warned." A person on the queue yelled. Long Bai looked at the other people and they had the same expressions. It seems that the people of the slums are already labeled as scammers by the city people. Of course, if it was a scam, he would know it since he have the system. Since he knew that it wasn't, he doesn't have a problem buying it.

"Alright little one. Did your brother really said that this stone is just worth 5 red shards?"

The little kid averted her eyes and spoke in a lower tone.

"My brother said it's at least worth 50 red shards."

A man on the sides still heard the young girl's words and gave a scolding.

"Hey, young girl, you're that one with a brother who was forced to retire from the mines and chose to pick some rocks over some shards am I right? Haha! I don't know what happened to your brother's head as to chose some rocks over a retirement payment of 100 shards. What an idiot."

"My big brother is not an idiot! He is very sane! He's not crazy. How many should I tell you!"

After hearing such words, the kid's eyes turned red but no tears fell from it. She must have heard this thing a lot which is why she was able to control herself from crying. She must have started to feel numb from the people's words and humiliating remarks. The person who gave the remarks already moved forward and entered the city.

Long Bai was thinking about the rocks that this young girl's brother chose over some retirement pay. If her brother did actually picked a few number of this rock, he could have gained more shards than the offered value of a retiree. Since the system recognized the value of the mineral, he might be able to use it on the future. He was also thinking of exploring the possibilities of metal alchemy that is why he placed interest in the rock on the girl's palm.

"Don't mind them. I want to buy this rock but would it be alright to do the transaction in your house?" Long Bai was hoping that the girl won't think of them like those people who tried to bully them. If he would be able to talk to this girl's brother, he might be able to get more of the ore he had. In addition, the transaction would even be legit since the guy would make the pricing for him.

The little girl agreed to Long Bai's condition and asked Ah Mu and Ling Tian if they could enter first the city and procure some food that they can being to the girl's house. As a custom, Long Bai back on earth was used to an old tradition that every time you visit someone's house, you should at least something you can leave in that place. Mostly that people bring would be food which is practical and at the same time, not awkward. There are times that he experienced bringing souvenirs which later, he learned that it was just left in a corner to collect dust. At least if it's food, they can even share it while they are on stay.

After waiting for Ah Mu and Ling Tian for not more than an hour, they came back with a bright smile telling him that they brought a lot. The group followed the little girl to a small house not so far from the city wall. There were also other houses on the area but they were at least ten meters away from each other. This place must be a newly developing squatter area for those who doesn't have a stable financial standing.

The little girl first announced herself before opening the door. After greeting her brother, she asked the four to enter their abode.

"Little Mei, who are these youngsters. Why did you bring them to our house?" the big brother was anxious about the current development. There are four strangers inside their home and with his current condition, he felt helpless in case there will be trouble.

"Brother, they want to buy your rocks. This good brother here said he is willing to buy one for 50 shards. Isn't that great?" Her innocent smile shined with her bright attitude.

The big brother looked at Long Bai in the eye and tried to ascertain if there is some hidden malice in him. Of course he doesn't have any means to know but at least he trusts his feelings saying that the three guys and one young lady don't have a bad predisposition.

The big brother tried to get up but he was just shocked by the pain he had from the back. In addition, his lower leg can't be lifted properly like he was having a partial paralysis. Long Bai noticed this and warned him.

"Brother, it seems that you are suffering from a spinal injury. You don't need to bother yourself standing while having a misaligned spine. If you move even more, you'll just experience more pain." That was Long Bai without the system. Since he had some previous background on human physiology, he knows when a bone is misaligned.

"Then I thank you brother for allowing this kind of welcome. You said you wanted to buy my rocks? Why would you do that? They are just rocks. What if I'm scamming you?"

"I heard your story from this little girl and since you valued the rocks more than your resignation pay, I bet that those rocks are valuable. How many can you sell me? I'll take them."

"I have here five of these rocks. Since you know that they are valuable, I want to change the price to a hundred shards for every rock."

"Hm? Do you know what mineral is in that rock for you to say that?"

Long Bai felt that the man was becoming greedy. Considering his situation, he must have been feeling that he hit the jackpot when he took the rocks out of the mine. The big brother became silent after hearing the question.

"Figures. Look, you may have those rocks that may contain some precious minerals inside but consider your situation. You're thinking of selling these for a high price to alleviate your living conditions but look at yourself. Do you think you will be able to protect your family when people will learn about the you holding a huge amount of treasure?"

After saying those words, the man looked at his little sister and lowered his head due to embarrassment. He was being eaten by guilt after realizing that made stupid move. Being tongue tied, Long Bai offered something he can't refuse.

"How about this? I'll buy them all with the first price I have agreed on. In return, I'll fix that back of yours so you will be able to walk again."