Chapter 16: Unlocking a Secondary Profession

The next day.

Lin Fan wandered around the area where outer disciples of the Holy Demon Sect moved about. Today was the day of the outer disciple assessment, a relatively major event in the sect. Many outer sect brothers and sisters had gone to watch, curious to see who would become their new junior siblings.

But for Lin Fan, none of this had anything to do with him. With most of the outer disciples off watching the assessment, who was left to hang out with him?

"Sigh..." Lin Fan sighed. "So boring."

He didn't know where he had walked to, but he felt a strong smell of coal in the air.

"Clang, clang..."

Lin Fan heard the sound of hammering. Looking ahead, he saw rows of small huts, each with a chimney on the roof belching thick black smoke.

Lin Fan frowned. These guys were totally ruining the environment.

Even though he thought that, he cheerfully walked over. This was the place where outer disciples could get weapons forged.

Every outer disciple had the chance to receive a brand-new piece of equipment once a month.

The blacksmiths here were all talents specially trained by the sect.

A sect needed not only top-tier combat power but also talents in various fields, and blacksmiths were one of them.

Of course, the weapons used by outer disciples were of relatively low quality, but even these low-quality weapons were top-notch in the subsidiary empires.

They could cut through iron like mud, and a hair blown against them would break—no doubt about it.

He had been at the sect for a while now, but still didn't have a decent weapon. Since he was here, he might as well get a good one.

Lin Fan stood there, lost in fantasy.

In the future, he would go out and do evil—no, wait, uphold justice.

With a long sword on his back, long hair flowing, dressed in clean green robes, he would cut down villains and save beauties in distress. That was definitely going to happen.

"Clang, clang..."

The sound of hammering brought Lin Fan back to reality. He lifted his leg and hurried inside.

Once inside, he saw a burly blacksmith holding a hammer in one hand and a piece of iron in the other, pounding away.

The blacksmith's bulging muscles made Lin Fan's heart race.

Impressive, truly impressive. He was a complete human beast.

The blacksmith noticed someone enter, glanced at the token on Lin Fan's belt, and said, "Pick your weapon yourself."

His voice was a bit hoarse, and he sounded casual, as if he had seen it all before.

Lin Fan smiled at the blacksmith. "The weapon I want isn't here, and you can't forge it either."

The blacksmith, who had been calm, paused at Lin Fan's words. His burly arm trembled slightly, and he stopped hammering.

"Are you looking for trouble?" the blacksmith asked, displeased.

"No, just telling the truth," Lin Fan said.

"Hmph, I've never seen an outer disciple as boastful as you. Fine, go ahead. If you can forge a weapon I've never seen before, I'll give you something I've treasured," the blacksmith said irritably.

He had never encountered such a bragging outer disciple. In decades at the Holy Demon Sect, he had forged countless weapons and knew all kinds of arms by heart. Hearing someone say he couldn't forge a weapon really annoyed him.

"Deal." Lin Fan smiled, glancing at the blacksmith. Could he tell him that his past hobby was blacksmithing?

The blacksmith put down his hammer and stepped aside, his meaning clear: if you're so good, show me.

Lin Fan stepped forward and grasped the heavy hammer, which weighed a hundred jin.

"Haha, you don't even know how to hold a hammer, and you claim to be a blacksmith? What a joke!" A master could tell at a glance. The way Lin Fan held the hammer made the blacksmith sneer.

Lin Fan rolled his eyes. "This is my unique technique, got it?"

"Hmph, that's exactly how a beginner holds it. Blacksmithing is a craft; without decades of practice, you can't master it. You can't even forge a decent weapon. You should..." This blacksmith, in Lin Fan's view, seemed to be a bit of a chatterbox.

He went on and on, as if showing off his knowledge to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan generally despised people like that—those who flaunted their learning without any humility. How detestable.

"Ding, unlocked secondary profession: Artisan."

"Ding, Artisan Level 1 (0/10)."

"Artisan: A master of all things in the world, capable of forging any weapon from anything seen."

Lin Fan was stunned. What was this? A secondary profession? Just by picking up a hammer and listening to this show-off blacksmith ramble a bit, he unlocked a secondary profession? This... this...

Lin Fan didn't want to say anything more. It felt kind of ridiculous.

"Go, go... just pick any weapon and leave quickly," the blacksmith said, seeing Lin Fan was a complete novice. He shooed him away.

"I can forge things!" Lin Fan retorted, now that he was an Artisan.

"Leave now, don't bother me." The blacksmith picked up his hammer and started pounding again, ignoring Lin Fan.

"Hmph, watch me make a divine weapon," Lin Fan muttered.

"Heh, you?" The blacksmith was dismissive.

Lin Fan glanced at the blacksmith. "Heh..."

After leaving, Lin Fan hurried back to his own room without stopping.

Curious about this new secondary profession, Lin Fan wondered what being an Artisan meant.

Could it be that as long as someone explained something to him, he could learn a secondary profession?

This... this...

Lin Fan pulled up his interface and clicked on the Artisan secondary profession. Instantly, a large furnace appeared in his mind.

This thing...

Lin Fan rubbed his chin, feeling he needed to study it more.

He looked left and right but didn't see any good materials.

Eh...

Just then, Lin Fan noticed some discarded bricks in the corner of the courtyard. He quickly picked one up and threw it into the furnace.

"Ding, congratulations on forging a pile of waste mud. Experience +1."

Lin Fan now held a sticky black lump of waste mud in his hand. He laughed. This damn thing could level up! He eagerly grabbed another brick.

"Ding, congratulations on forging a damaged brick. Experience +1."

"Ding, congratulations on forging a pile of waste mud. Experience +1."

...

"Ding, congratulations on leveling up. Artisan Level 2 (0/50)."

"Ding, congratulations on forging a slightly worn brick. Experience +1."

...