“Edward Reed.” Warren Clark raised his voice and called out loudly.

“Teacher, I’m here.”

A young man even sturdier than Warren Clark quickly ran out from the inner room.

“Sean Carter, this is my first apprentice, Edward Reed. He’s already picked up quite a bit of my craft, especially in tempering—he’s shown excellent skill. Maybe this year he should try for the junior blacksmith’s exam.”

Hearing this praise, the surrounding young men all showed expressions of envy.

Edward Reed’s face flushed slightly. He said, “Teacher, I don’t want to take the junior blacksmith exam. Being by your side is good enough for me.”

Although Edward Reed’s words were a bit clumsy, everyone understood what he meant. Warren Clark gently patted his shoulder and said, “Nonsense, Edward Reed. You should strive for what belongs to you—don’t give up. Besides, if you don’t want to leave, do you think I’d drive you away?”

Edward Reed gave a simple, honest laugh, as if he’d let go of his worries.

In any profession, you’re not considered a true apprentice until you’ve obtained the junior qualification. But once you earn that title, it means you can set up your own shop.

For the vast majority of people, this is the day they long for.

But even though Edward Reed already had the skills of a junior, he just didn’t want to take the exam—he didn’t want to leave his teacher, Warren Clark. Likewise, even though Warren Clark scolded him loudly, in his heart he treated him like family.

Watching this pair of master and apprentice, Sean Carter felt a warm current flow through his heart, making him feel cozy and comfortable.

“Edward Reed, this is Sean Carter, my nephew. Now show him what real strength a qualified blacksmith should have.”

“Yes, teacher.”

Edward Reed walked up to a round stump, casually picked up a log and placed it on top, and said, “Sean Carter, watch closely.”

He picked up a huge axe from the ground with one hand and, with a whoosh, swung it down at the upright log.

Sean Carter’s ears twitched slightly, but his gaze wasn’t focused on the axe at all. Just from Edward Reed’s effortless movement, he could already predict the outcome of the swing.

However, in his view, although Edward Reed’s swing was powerful, his form wasn’t standard, and his body wasn’t positioned well. If he had undergone scientific training, the power of that swing could have been increased by at least thirty percent.

Of course, for an ordinary log, Edward Reed’s current strength was more than enough.

With one chop, the log split cleanly in two, the cut surface extremely neat, with only a slight roughness.

“See? This is your goal. If you want to become a qualified blacksmith, you must first have strength—a strong body and the strength of an ox are essential for us.” Warren Clark said loudly to the young men already in the yard.

“Yes, Mr. Warren Clark.” the young men replied loudly, picking up their logs again and continuing to chop.

But it seemed they had used up too much strength, so their movements were a bit off. They couldn’t split a log with a single chop, and even after three or four swings, the result was the same.

What struck Sean Carter as odd was that every time they chopped, they tried their best to aim for the mark left by the first swing. Whenever the second chop landed on the mark from the first, their faces would light up with happy smiles.

After watching for a while, Sean Carter suddenly understood: they were practicing not just strength, but also accuracy.

“You all, go give it a try—show your best.”

Warren Clark pointed, letting the three young men who had followed him in try for themselves.

The three of them knew this was the first round of the interview. Each picked up an axe about half as tall as themselves and swung hard at the logs that had been set up in advance.

They were all from farming families, and since birth had been chopping wood and carrying water. For them, chopping wood was second nature.

But this time was different. With Mr. Warren Clark watching right beside them, the three were clearly a bit flustered.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sean Carter quickly caught a look of disappointment on Warren Clark’s face. It seemed he was very dissatisfied with their performance.

Sure enough, when it was all over, none of the three were selected.

According to Warren Clark, one of them barely had enough strength, but his performance was a huge letdown. He was so nervous that when he swung the axe, he missed the log and nearly hit his own foot.

At that moment, both Warren Clark and Joyce Harris turned pale with fright. If that axe had landed, they’d probably have to take care of him for the rest of his life.

So Warren Clark told him bluntly: to be a blacksmith, you must have a strong mind. If you don’t, then no matter how strong you are, it’s useless.