In a small village, Lu Wei was forging a weapon. He was a transmigrator, a person from Earth, specifically a modern college student. He didn't quite understand what had happened, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself in this new world. His last memory was of returning to his dormitory from college; he couldn't recall whether he had died or not.
Upon arriving in this world, he recognized it as a cultivation realm, where individuals could cultivate their abilities to become stronger and live long lives. In a small library, he discovered some history books that helped him understand this world a little better. Everyone aspired to pursue immortality through cultivation, but to do so, one needed spiritual roots. There were various types of spiritual roots, some advantageous and others detrimental.
Not everyone possessed spiritual roots; in the village where he currently resided, there were only two cultivators. Different sects existed throughout the world, each offering paths to immortality and other powers. Lu Wei was very interested in cultivation—who wouldn't want to be stronger? While many might not share this desire, that was beside the point. Lu Wei wanted to join a sect and test his abilities. He was confident that he possessed a good spiritual root or talent because he was a transmigrator.
In the books he had read, transmigrators often received "golden fingers" that would assist them. Lu Wei had attempted to call upon systems and other such abilities, but he found nothing. Thus, he believed he must have some latent potential, like a strong spiritual root.
It was far too risky to venture out alone, so he had not left the village. It was always dangerous in worlds like this. He tried asking the local cultivators about how to cultivate, but they refused to share any information. They were rogue cultivators, unwilling to provide him with any guidance.
After numerous attempts and ultimately giving up on those pursuits, he became an apprentice to the village blacksmith. The blacksmith, named Liang Chen, was Lu Wei's neighbor and a good friend of his father in this world. Because Lu Wei and Liang Chen were familiar with each other, he quickly became his apprentice.
Lu Wei chose to become a blacksmith because he had enjoyed a show in his previous world called "Forged in Fire." In that show, four contestants competed against each other in three different rounds, with three being eliminated and the winner claiming the prize. Inspired by this show, he wanted to try his hand at making various weapons.
On the first day Lu Wei became an apprentice, Liang Chen took him to his forge and handed him a box. Liang Chen explained that it was a gift for him as his first apprentice. Although Lu Wei wanted to take the box home to open it, Liang Chen was watching him expectantly, so he felt compelled to open it right then and there.
Inside the box lay a seemingly ordinary kitchen knife. Liang Chen began to explain its significance, claiming it was his greatest masterpiece and that he was giving it to Lu Wei. However, Lu Wei couldn't help but doubt this assertion; he knew it was just an ordinary kitchen knife that Liang Chen had made as a gift for his wife. She had obviously rejected it, and Liang Chen was perplexed as to why she hadn't accepted his offering.
Lu Wei recalled a conversation between his mother and Liang Chen's wife from a few days prior, which shed light on the situation. Liang Chen's wife had wanted something special, and a kitchen knife simply wouldn't suffice. No wife would accept a knife as a gift.
Despite this, Lu Wei graciously accepted the gift. He wasn't Liang Chen's wife, and he understood that whatever gift his teacher offered him, he had to accept it with gratitude.
Two years had passed since that day, and now Lu Wei had developed his skills to the point where he could create various items. In the forge, he was currently heating a weapon to a very high temperature. After tempering the weapon, he carefully ground and polished it.
At last, the weapon was ready. Lu Wei set it down gently, treating it as if it were an exquisite piece of art. The weapon was, in fact, another kitchen knife.
In this small village, the forge's earnings primarily came from selling weapons, with a significant portion derived from kitchen knives. There weren't many residents interested in swords or sabers; the most sought-after items were kitchen knives, as every household needed one.
Making knives was solely for business. Lu Wei had developed skills, so he would occasionally make weapons for himself. He now had seven swords, of which only two were usable. Apart from that, he had some daggers, butterfly knives, machetes, axes, and scythes.
Lu Wei wasn't particularly talented, but he was very hardworking. Once he decided to acquire this skill, he didn't stop; day and night, he would make weapons. Most of his creations were knives and other weapons that customers needed, but in his free time, he would try to make unusual weapons. These weapons weren't really unusual in his world, but here they certainly seemed so—or so he thought.
He didn't know whether these weapons were made in this world or not. He couldn't confirm, as the people from this village didn't know about them. The villagers really didn't know many things, having lived their lives in this small place.
Over the course of three years, Lu Wei's strength and stamina had increased considerably. When he started making weapons, he also added exercises to his daily schedule. Naturally, he needed strength for weapon-making. The forge was just beside his home, so he would spend all day there.
Liang Chen had now retired from the weapon-making business. After teaching Lu Wei the craft, Liang Chen decided to take a break. In reality, he didn't want to work anymore, and he thought that he had basically hired Lu Wei as a worker, so he didn't need to do any work. However, since he also had to pay Lu Wei, the money wasn't enough for his family anymore.
Lu Wei was diligent; he could make many weapons in a day, but the demand was very low. It was a classic example of too much supply and too little demand. There were a limited number of people in the village, and they didn't need so many weapons, so the income from the forge remained the same.
Liang Chen then decided to leave the forge and start working as a farmer with Lu Wei's father. Now he had two sources of income.