```
The last heating.
When Bi Fang took the steel bar out of the blast furnace, his entire body was shaking.
From exhaustion or excitement?
Or both?
It was hard to tell. At the moment of harvest, all the hardships turned into the sweetest fruit, a mix of flavors all in one.
The dazzling metal before his eyes could no longer be called iron, but steel!
Stronger, harder, and sharper!!!
Taking a deep breath, Bi Fang steadied himself from the dizziness caused by overexertion. The familiar wooden handle was gripped firmly in his hand, power building from a focal point, dropping from high above, and striking heavily upon the steel bar.
No more black iron scales fell off; all impurities had been artificially removed to the utmost limit.
Under the forceful hammering, the bright orange steel was gradually compressed, deformed, and stretched into a flat, elongated shape.
The embryonic form of a dagger was slowly taking shape.
But steel was far more challenging to forge than iron.
