Chapter 207: A Small Test
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
However, he had better hair density than the first person who came in.
When Wu Mo saw the two of them, he only knew one thing: These two who had appeared before them were definitely the elders whom the young men had been anticipating.
Nevertheless, the two of them seemed a little unreliable to him.
They were late for the test, after all. Who knew if the two of them would be reliable elsewhere?
Anyway, Wu Mo did not have to worry about that. As long as he could exert 80% of his usual skills, it would not be a problem for him to pass the five-star test.
The fact that he could complete such sophisticated work such as the Invisibility Armor was enough to prove that Wu Mo had extraordinary abilities in various fields.
“Teachers, you’re finally here!” the anxious young men immediately said with joy.
“There’s no need to call us teachers. We’ve never taught you anything. Just call us judges.”
Lian Chun waved his hand and corrected him.
However, the students did not seem to buy it and continued. ” Mr. Lian Chun, you are our teacher, just like Mr. Ai Bo. You are more than qualified to be our teacher with your six-star cultivation.
“Alright, Lian Chun, don’t waste your time on these little guys. Let’s hurry up and start the test,” Ai Bo urged as he fiddled with the device.
“Very well… All the blacksmiths who are preparing to take the ranking test, please enter the testing area immediately.” Lian Chun pouted.
Although he was annoyed with the old man ordering him around, he still instructed them accordingly.
The young men who had been waiting for a long time promptly walked to the testing area and approached some work tables covered by curtains.
Wu Mo picked a corner seat and walked over unhurriedly.
Ai Bo subconsciously raised his head to look at Wu Mo. He noticed that this seemingly anti-social young man was much more mature than the others.
After the 14 blacksmiths had taken their seats, the two invigilators immediately stood up.
“The ranking test held by the capital’s Blacksmith Guild and judged by the six-star blacksmiths, Ai Bo and Lian Chun, officially begins now!” one of the invigilators said in a clear voice.
At the same time, Lian Chun, who was standing on the judging platform, smiled and immediately took out a fist-sized timer from a table.
“Although everyone here has already taken the state test several times, I still have to remind everyone of the rules.
“The next ranking test will begin with one star and so on and so forth. The test will only end once everyone is unable to continue further. Any cheating or violation of the rules during the test will result in immediate disqualification. You will be banned from taking this test and obtaining the blacksmith’s certificate for half a year. I hope that everyone will behave and not ruin their future today.”
Lian Chun’s voice was a little hoarse, but it was unusually calm, enough for everyone to hear him clearly.
Wu Mo, who was standing in front of the testing platform in the corner, immediately smiled after he heard the rules.
He had tried to use his spirit power to penetrate the curtains around him, only to discover that a magic circle had been set up around him. It could sense energy fluctuations in its surroundings.
Once he used his spirit power or spirit energy, he would instantly be detected.
That meant if he wanted to cheat, he would have to use physics.
However, the two invigilators were patrolling the testing area alternately. They would even enter the workstation occasionally to check if any prohibited operations were being carried out. Under such circumstances, no one had the opportunity to cheat.
“Now, we’ll conduct the one-star ranking test. All blacksmiths, please forge the silver ore on the table to a hardness of 60 and above within 10 minutes. During this period, you can only use the materials already prepared on the work table.”
Lian Chun, who was standing on the stage, looked around and started the timer in his hand right away as he spoke.
A moment later, the sound of a countdown resounded throughout the entire testing area.
The young blacksmiths who were taking the test immediately began to smelt the metal, each of them wearing a relaxed expression.
The test for the one-star rank was too easy. The silver ore itself already had a hardness score of 45. As long as it was forged a little more firmly and melted into an alloy with some materials that could increase hardness, it would undoubtedly hit 60 points.
In the corner of the testing field, Wu Mo pulled out a chair and sat down. Then, he immediately pressed the switch to start the furnace.
After that, he leisurely picked up the one kilogram of silver ore and observed it for a moment before he threw it into the fire.
A few minutes before the furnace heated up, he began to pick out the materials he would use later.
In the lower right corner of the workbench, there were a few grooves that contained the items that he needed for the test.
There were eight types of setting agents, nickel fragments, pine powder, carbon powder, and so on.
Most of them could increase the metal’s surface hardness. Only some would be useless or give the opposite effect.
One could say that as long as one had read the relevant theoretical books, one could distinguish the actual effects of the items.
Meanwhile, the two invigilators began to patrol the testing area. Occasionally, they would lift the curtain to see the blacksmiths’ forging process.
However, since the task for the one-star ranking was too simple, most of them had already entered the final stages of forging and were almost done with shaping.
Soon, the 10 minutes were up.
All the blacksmiths took the silver they had just cast and walked up to the two judges.
There were many relevant instruments on the judging table, including a computer to record and update everyone’s results.
“Sir, here you go.”
The first young man confidently handed over the rectangular piece of silver in his hand.
Lian Chun took it with a blank expression and immediately placed it into the testing machine.
Beep beep beep beep. [Hardness: 71]
The results quickly appeared on the device, and the first young man passed the test without a hitch.
In just over a minute, most people were done with their assessment.
Their silver ingots were all processed, with the weakest scoring 68 and the strongest scoring close to 80.
“Next. Please wait at the side for the next blacksmith to finish the test and don’t make any noise,” Lian Chun reminded.
Wu Mo immediately handed over a rough piece of silver.
Beep beep beep beep. [Hardness: 91]
The results of the test made the blacksmiths who had already finished the test look at Wu Mo with a hint of confusion. They did not know what he had done to actually increase the hardness of the silver ore to such a high level.
“Yes, you pass. Everyone, take a two-minute break. We will begin the two-star test immediately after.
Ai Bo pushed his glasses up and looked at Wu Mo in surprise.
He was merely curious.
In their field, the improvement of a metal’s hardness was the foundation of forging, and it was regarded as a cornerstone of a blacksmith’s skill tower.