A Blacksmith

Uncle Bartos was a blacksmith, and not just a regular one either. In the clan, he was one of the top three blacksmiths and a cultivator in the late Soul Realm. This was something Shui already knew, but while talking to Bartos he realised he was also very passionate about his job.

Even after Lilia came back with sandwiches, he continued to talk about blacksmithing. Shui was surprised because Uncle Bartos was normally a man that didn't spend much time on small talk, however when it came to blacksmithing, he was on the same level as gossiping housewives.

"By the way dear, don't you need a new apprentice?"

When Lilia interrupted his stream of words, Shui picked up on what she was trying to do. Though he had read a lot of books, he couldn't always have the knowledge he needed. He was unsure if becoming a blacksmith was the right job for him, but after listening to Bartos he was a little curious and interested in trying. Furthermore, he would be happy to help him out.

"Uh, I suppose."

"Why don't you take in Shui?"

Though Shui had already seen this coming, Bartos was different. When he heard the suggestion from his wife, he couldn't help but look at her in surprise, before changing his focus to Shui. He had personally witnessed Shui's harsh training but appearance was hard to look past. At the age of seven, it would be easy to mistake Shui for a girl due to his soft skin and tender looks.

However, he wasn't completely against the idea either, especially since his daughter had no interest in his work.

"Well, I don't mind but, are you okay with that Shui?"

"Yes, can I try Uncle Bartos?"

Hearing Shui's eagerness, Bartos quickly finished his sandwich and told Shui to do the same.

"Let's go to my forge."

With quick steps that would be hard to follow for a normal child, the two made their way to a medium-sized, one-storey building within sight of Bartos' house. Nearby the building made of red-brown rocks, were similar buildings of smaller size.

"The rest are for my apprentices. I'll introduce you to them later."

Inside Bartos' forge, were tools of many designs and sizes lining the walls and a furnace at the back. Near the furnace, by the wall on the left, was a chest of large size but little decoration.

Once he entered the forge, Bartos' atmosphere changed. Normally, he felt like a kind and simple man, but as he stood in his workplace, he transformed into a veteran warrior who had survived many battles. Noticing this change, Shui stayed quiet and observed him as he picked up a hammer almost as tall as Shui's arm.

Without speaking, Bartos shoved this hammer towards Shui so that he would take it. Though Bartos knew that Shui constantly trained, he thought he would need to work on his muscle strength more before he could start learning this craft. However to Bartos' surprise, Shui managed to hold the hammer with two hands and he wasn't struggling that hard either. Even a normal grown adult would find it hard to swing such a hammer, so merely lifting it up was quite a feat.

But from Shui's standpoint he wasn't that impressive. Anyone who actually studied the topic would know that a mortal's body would quickly decay if nature energy was forced into him, and so it was obvious that a cultivator's body was different from a mortal's even if they were the same in terms of appearance.

According to what he read in the Library, foundational energy automatically mutated any living creature's body it entered. This is why places with high concentration of foundational energy tend to have abnormal flora and fauna. However, everyone had their own limit and if this limit was exceeded then the mutation would go out of control and the person would transform into an abominable form. At the second level of Mortal Realm, Shui's physical ability was on the same level as an adult despite his size, therefore it wasn't that odd that he could hold the hammer. Still, he was reaching his limit.

"Okay, you can put it down now."

The straining expression on Shui's face woke Bartos from his shock. He took his eyes off Shui and took up two bars of grey metal that were lying near the forge.

"Watch."

After that he didn't say another word. He simply turned on the furnace and began the forging process. Shui knew that he shouldn't miss a single detail. From the heat that came blasting through the room, to the pure focus that Bartos had, all of it was captured in his eyes. He saw melted metal being reformed. He watched and listened as the hammer slammed down repeatedly. He engraved in his mind the quenching of the blade and stared absentmindedly at the finished product.

It was a simple kitchen knife, something he had seen countless times before, but this knife was special to him. After witnessing its birth, Shui unconsciously became fascinated by this common tool. He was satisfied by just looking at it, but when Bartos gave him the blade, he eagerly held it. He watched the process from beginning to end so he knew it was no mystical product. It was made with a method that anyone with enough practice could carry out. And yet, he saw much more to the process than the movements. As he 'watched' the knife being created, he sensed that there was something much more intricate hidden in the process.

That was enough to make him decide. He needed money in order to improve himself but that was now secondary to him. Once he wanted to know something, he would work to figure it out. That was a part of him that was even more spoiled and stubborn than other children.

After returning the knife, while bowing with his hands at his side, Shui begged.

"Uncle Bartos, please make me your apprentice!"

Seeing Shui express such passion, Bartos nodded approvingly.

"I won't go easy on you."

"Thank you."

Shui made his decision, aside from the one hundred hours he spent in the Library, he would devote all of his time to this craft.