"Lin, why do you have such an idea?" Howard asked curiously.

"Master, I plan to develop a machine that can produce power without the need for manpower. These machines can replace manual labor and thus achieve the goal of liberating manpower." Lin Xingchen has been researching the idea of ​​power machines for many years.

"What a genius idea, but why should machines replace human labor? You know, many machines cannot replace human labor." Howard's serious expression proved that he was not joking.

"Master, of course machines cannot replace human labor, but human labor is not as good as machines in some aspects. We just need to master the scale inside, and it will only benefit and not harm the users." Lin Xingchen, who has seen various mechanizations, naturally understands the advantages of industrialization.

"What about machinery? How do you plan to realize your ideas?" Mason was also a little curious.

"Here I'm going to ask the dwarf master, I wonder if the master can teach me about forging." Looking at the dwarf Master Johnny, Lin Xingchen asked him for advice.

"Little guy, forging is not a fun thing. It requires you to study hard for a long time to achieve it." Master Johnny said very seriously.

"To be honest, Master, I have actually learned some forging, but I always feel that there is something wrong with my forging. It's just that I have never had the opportunity to meet a master. Now that I see you, I intend to ask for your guidance."

"Little guy, the hammer won't lie." The dwarf stared at him intently.

"Master, if you don't believe me, I can hide the fact that I'm not trying to make you happy." As he said that, Lin Xingchen put his thing on the spot.

This posture made the big guys stunned, but the dwarf master became interested; "Then let me see how your hammer tells me your thoughts."

Taking out a piece of fine iron from the space, Lin Xingchen skillfully ignited the magic boiler. The powerful flame wrapped around the piece of fine iron, and it quickly softened and turned into molten iron.

While the magic furnace was smelting, Lin Xingchen was not idle either. Instead, he took out a sword-shaped mold that he had prepared for a long time.

After the refined iron was melted into water, it was poured into the mold, and then the rough sword-shaped blank cast inside was taken out. Putting on special silk gloves on his hands, Lin Xingchen began his own forging.

Although the ancestor was not a qualified blacksmith, there were records about forging in the Sky City, and he had learned a lot from it.

The layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details. The dwarf master could tell from Lin Xingchen's first move without saying anything that he had indeed studied forging with great effort.

Just like this, a group of big guys gathered around a newbie who was forging iron, and someone would make a few comments from time to time.

After the final quenching, the sword is almost 80% complete, and what remains is the final sharpening and adjustment of the sword guard.

"Master, please give me some advice." He handed over the sword with both hands.

The dwarf master looked at the sword carefully, then he held it horizontally and asked, "Was your original idea to create a magic weapon?"

"Yes, Master. When I first started learning forging, I did intend to forge magic weapons, but later I changed my mind and wanted to use forging to complete some of my ideas about machinery. However, my skills were not good enough, so I only stayed at forging these weapons."

"Your hammer tells me that this sword can only prove that you made it with great care, but that's just your care. Your skills, materials, and control over the fire are all very shallow. But I can understand why you are like this.

Your teacher said that you are 23 years old this year, which is a very old age for humans, but your life as an elf is just beginning. Forging is a time-consuming craft. It is not like potions or magic circles that can be completed with a little inspiration.

Although forging also requires inspiration, but just like your current situation, I know that you have inspiration but you don't have the skills to turn it into tangible results.

If possible, I think it would be best if you spend 20 to 30 years to systematically learn forging from me. I can tell you responsibly that in 30 years at most you can become an excellent blacksmith. As for whether you can become a master, that depends on your talent."

The subtext of these words is that he intends to accept Lin Xingchen as a disciple, but this twenty to thirty years makes Lin Xingchen very uncomfortable.

"Master, I understand your intention, but thirty years is too tight for me. I have many problems to deal with now, and I am overwhelmed by the various classes every day. I can only say that I have let you down." To be honest, Lin Xingchen also understood his problem. The reason why he wanted to ask him about forging was that he actually wanted to make a deal with the dwarf master, hoping to get some formulas and forging methods of various metals from him.

"My Lord, I wonder if I can make a deal with you. I am very interested in the various metal formulas and forging methods that the dwarves have. I wonder what the price will be for obtaining them."

"Little guy, the formula and forging method are the result of many years of hard work by our dwarves. You will have to pay a huge price to obtain them."

"Master, business is an equal exchange. As long as you give me what I need, I will naturally give you something that satisfies you. As long as I can give it, I will naturally weigh the pros and cons." The dwarves are famous for their stubbornness, so Lin Xingchen feels that he should do his best to get the job done.

"I need the marrow of the Tree of Life, and at least one bottle." The dwarf master shocked everyone as he spoke.

"Master, can I ask how big the bottle in your mouth is? Is it a bottle like the one we use to hold medicine or a bottle like this beaker?" This is a big pitfall and I have to ask clearly.

The dwarf master stared at Lin Xingchen's eyes and thought for a long time: "Just the bottle that looks like a beaker!"

"Master, your request is a bit too much, but it is not impossible to negotiate. What about the formula you gave me? Will you give me some selectively or give me relatively equal ones?" Lin Xingchen did not think that he was an idiot. If he did not talk things out, he would have no place to complain if he was cheated.

"Little guy, if you can really come up with such a large bottle of Life Tree Essence, I can give you all the recipes that we dwarves have used over the years."

"Can you give me a copy of your recipe? If the method in it is only understood by you dwarves, I would be at a real disadvantage."

"Little guy, I told you that you are an elf, not one of those human beings. Would I lie to you?" The dwarf master was a little impatient.

"In business, there is no distinction between races. What matters is whether we can have long-term cooperation. You know the value of the marrow of the Tree of Life. To be frank, I only need to pay half of the price to exchange with Master Howard, and I can still get what I want."

"You're right. How about this, as you said, we can have long-term cooperation. You give me some tree marrow and I'll give you some formulas you need. And I guarantee that you can take these formulas back and learn them. How about that?" This Master Johnny is not at all like the dwarf in the rumors. At least he is very shrewd when it comes to business.

"Deal, Master, I have a territory in the Kingdom of Kurma. I think we can have long-term cooperation." Lin Xingchen was a little surprised that he could get the dwarf's forging formula. After all, in many cases, materials determine the life of the product.

After the transaction between him and the Dwarf Master, the people present no longer looked at him as a newbie. At least they knew that this guy could not be treated like other elves.

"Lin, I just saw you take out a potion bottle. Do you know how to make potions? Seeing that things were a bit cold, Master Howard quickly came out to warm up the atmosphere.

"Well, Mr. Edwin taught me."

"That's perfect. There will be a small potion competition after lunch. You must participate then." At this time, Howard also began to arrange for the masters to have lunch.

"You just went too far. You have to know that the pith of the Tree of Life is calculated by the drop, and it is the kind that cannot be bought with money." Edwin secretly sent a message to his disciple, reminding him not to be slaughtered like a pig.

"Thank you for the reminder, teacher. I understand!" During lunch, Lin Xingchen deliberately hung out with Edwin and the others because he didn't want to be bothered by those girls. Similarly, Edwin also told him a lot of basic common sense about the value of some things.

The time for the potion competition in Howard's mouth will soon be up. The servants have already arranged the scene. Everything is the same and everyone can choose their own seat at will.

He actually didn't want to pretend, but Edwin told him that showing his abilities would help him avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble in many things that would happen in the future.

"This time, the potion competition uses a new potion. I have tried it myself, and it is a bit difficult for you young people. I hope you can perform at your best.

Everyone has three chances to try and fail. If they fail three times, they will be eliminated. The two-hour time limit begins. "As Howard finished speaking, everyone immediately checked the formula on their desks.

After reading the contents carefully, I found that it was indeed difficult. This potion involved a total of nine kinds of herbs and was a very advanced potion.

Lin Xingchen silently went over the process in his mind before starting to work.