Chapter 8: Ambition
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Zhu Rong's skill demonstration was more than enough to secure him the position of blacksmith.
Han Tiezhang was impressed by the boy's abilities, especially considering his age, which didn't seem to exceed 17 years.
Bao Dashi, on the other hand, was getting too attached to the newly forged hammer and was almost about to buy it from Zhu Rong, but decided to hold back when he heard the price.
"One low level spirit stone, and it's all yours," said Zhu Rong, with a pained expression on his face.
Bao Dashi: "..."
Damn, Why are you making it seem like you're selling your own son? And what's with that price?
One low-level spirit stone?
You might as well just rob me directly.
He realized the other party had no intention of selling the hammer so easily, so he stepped back and went back to what he was doing with an irritated look.
Han Tiezhang, watching this interaction, didn't quite know what to think.
He was beginning to reconsider hiring the boy.
If he was that greedy, how would he manage to sell the products?
And what if he ended up offending someone because of it?
He decided to put the matter aside for the moment.
The boy seemed to know his stuff when it came to forging, but Han Tiezhang could see that all the work he'd just demonstrated was too much for his body to handle.
Even Zhu Rong had noticed this and couldn't help but complain internally about his untrained physique.
He might not show it, but his arms were hurting at that moment, and even the slightest movement could increase the pain.
The feeling was similar to when someone who has never trained suddenly runs full speed and ends up with leg muscles aching from the sudden, intense effort they're not used to.
'As soon as I fix the meridian problem, I'll have to start a strict body training regimen.'
If his past self had discovered the training plan he had in mind now, he probably would have committed suicide to end his life before it became a living hell.
"Not bad, kid. Tell me, have you ever had a master before?
Clearly, your skills are way beyond a beginner's," Han Tiezhang asked, curious.
"My family specializes in forging, so I had basic training in forging techniques," he said.
He couldn't really tell him he had many masters, and one of them was himself, right?
As an explanation, it wasn't very strong, but it was enough, after all, his family had some reputation in the city, even if in recent years they had been declining.
And given what had happened in his past life, he knew they weren't headed for a good end.
"A blacksmith family?" Han Tiezhang wondered which family it was, then noticed something and said,
"I see, so you're from that Zhu family."
He'd ignored the surname before because not everyone with that surname was from that family,
there were many other families with the same surname, so it wasn't rare to find some not connected to the Zhu family of the capital.
That said, it made him think of a question:
Then why was he looking for a job here?
Wouldn't it be easier to work in his family's own forges?
He wanted to ask more but decided to hold back.
He figured the boy must have his reasons; being from a prestigious family didn't mean he enjoyed all the benefits.
He himself, coming from a renowned family, knew how things worked internally, and so he thought maybe the boy wasn't highly regarded.
'To think they decided to discard such a talent,' he thought, shaking his head.
Zhu Rong had no idea what Han Tiezhang was thinking, but didn't dwell on it and asked:
"So, what's my first assignment?"
Now that he had his personal hammer and a job, he couldn't wait to get back to work.
He needed to earn money as soon as possible.
The sooner he did, the sooner he could fix the problem with his meridians.
He was eager to get rid of this deformity, which was like a curse that had haunted him in his previous life, and finally start a real cultivation journey.
Inside him, he could feel that flame of ambition, long extinguished, reignite and burn fiercer than ever.
He had endured others' ridicule and the despair of being unable to advance beyond a certain level for too long.
He had no intention of living the same life again.
In this one, he intended to settle his grudges and travel as far as he could in his path of cultivation,
reaching ever higher peaks, peaks he had only been able to imagine before.
And this time, not even the heavens would stop him.