This smithy's workshop was divided into three parts.
The front reception received customers for orders, and the middle section was where weapons were displayed, while the back section was where the weapons were created.
When Sun walked in, the familiar hammering resounded throughout the building.
A young junior smith welcomed him and guided Sun to the display room.
"Are you here about your commission? I'm sorry to say, but you are very early, the halberd is not done yet."
"I was wondering if I could speak to the Head Smith? There is something that I wish to discuss."
"Oh. I think that should be fine, I will bring him out."
The young smithy went through the door connecting to the back section, the forge. Not too soon after, a man well past his middle age appeared with the junior smith.
The junior smith gave them privacy and returned to the front reception.
"What do you wish to speak to me about? I hope you aren't trying to make changes to your commission..."
The Head Smith had a low, rough voice; paired with his worn skin and the strands of grey in his hair, which stood as a testament to his old age.
His calloused hands and the firm muscles under his uniform proved his experience.
There was another factor that made him different and exceptional among the other blacksmiths.
"Uncle, you must be a Cultivator, no?"
Sun could feel it as he entered this building the prior night.
The air remained clear, clean, and cool despite the environment; Sun could sense a few Dao Art mediums present.
The subtle shifting of Qi in the backmost room and the remnants of Qi lingering on newly made weapons.
This wasn't a mundane blacksmith like the others.
The Head Smith looked at Sun plainly and nodded.
"Yes, I was a Cultivator. You must be one too?"
"Yes, I am currently a First Foundation Cultivator, stepping on the border to the Second Foundation."
"Hahaha! So you are quite the talented youth? I happen to be at the Second Foundation too, I reached this state at thirty years old!"
Dawn was perplexed, but kept his expression solemn.
"Uncle... Senior, I can sense your adept use of Dao Art mediums and the intricacy behind your Dao Arts. They are not simple, you must be an expert at blacksmithing."
"I am, I am also surprised that you could pick up on that. Is there a question that you wish to ask me? I feel as though your mood is not related to your commission."
"You have lived a long life. You have incredible experience with Dao Arts. Why have you chosen this profession?"
"What do you mean?"
Sun paused to think for a moment, quietly reflecting on his own choices in his cultivation journey.
"You have dedicated yourself to the art of smithing. Decades of your life have been dedicated to your art and skill."
"Should you have picked up a sword, you could have surely become a warrior in the fields. Should you have chosen any other profession, you could have succeeded in that field and become a notable figure."
"Why is it that you have chosen to become a blacksmith despite such potential. I am aware that other Cultivators may take up an ordinary profession, but you are the first that I have asked..."
The Head Smith grumbled at Sun.
"So you wish to insult my choices?"
"No... Senior, I didn't mean to..."
He chuckled again as Sun waved his hands.
"It's alright, kid. I am only joking."
The old Head Smith straightened himself as he thought of a response.
Sixty years of his life were questioned by a youth, a Junior who was still yet to walk on his true path.
He did not resent Sun for questioning his choices. He understood that Sun must have been questioning something of himself.
"Why do people fall into an ordinary profession, you wonder? Some people may not be suited for certain professions."
"How many kids can wield a blade so young? How many elders can run on the battlefield?"
"It may be a matter of circumstance that places us into certain roles. As for me? I just wasn't cut out for battle. As for the majority of Cultivators who pick up these ordinary professions? You would have to ask them yourself."
Not everyone is cut out to be a warrior, nor is everyone cut out to be a medical expert.
Whether that be because of your body, your mind, or something deeper, everything is not available for everyone.
"That does not mean that I am discontent with my life."
"Senior, what do you mean?"
"Please, Uncle is fine."
"..."
The Head Smith sighed before gesturing for Sun to follow him into the main forge area.
Walking through the doorway, a formless force brushes over him; heat begins to assault his skin.
It was as if he were standing amidst a forest fire, threatening to char his skin and clothes, not that it would.
The forge was closed; it was currently inactive. The flames of the forge would be conjured by a Dao Art medium, there were also Dao Art mediums within the walls to prevent heat from permeating or harming the infrastructure.
Heat still pervaded the air as it had been previously active.
Sun focused his Qi to circulate his body, protecting it from the heat and cooling himself down.
There, on a dark anvil, laid the head of a halberd. It was still in the process of being properly shaped.
The Head Smith beckoned Sun to stand by his side as he picked up a hammer.
"One's circumstance may not be withholding them from their Way, but instead leads them on the true path of their Way."
"When I was young, I wished to join the cultivation world and fight for my people; that is what I believed my Way to be. Instead, I failed; I couldn't become a warrior."
"However, I would later pick up a hammer and find out that I could help supply the warriors with their armour and weapons."
The Head Smith moved the halberd piece into the forge, activating the Dao Art medium and lit an intense flame.
He dispersed the flame as the metal shone red hot, pulling it out and began to hammer it.
"It wasn't easy at first, forging weapons and meeting the demands. It took months to become adept, years to become an expert, and decades to reach where I am now."
"Yet, through constant tempering and forging, I realised that this is what I enjoyed. I wished to help my people, and now, I could; I continued to help the people around me through smithing."
"My circumstances did not force me to abandon my potential, but to embrace it. I am on the true path of my Way, I do not regret my profession."
Sun watched solemnly as the Head Smith hammered away, utilising Dao Arts to reinforce his hammering and mould the metal to its intended shape.
The fire helped to soften the metal, or to temper it.
This process was not simply deforming the metal's nature, but helping it realise its true potential.
"Uncle... You do not regret your profession, but what of your other skills?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you dedicate your entire life to smithing, what about your ability to cook? Could you pick up a sword in times of need? If someone is injured right in front of you, could you heal them with that hammer?"
"..."
At once, the Head Smith stopped hammering and gazed at Sun.
The aged face carried a plain expression before turning around and pointing with his chin.
"Look over there."
Sun looked at a display of malformed metal pieces, broken pieces, and the highest piece, which was a shattered blade.
"Consider those... my failures. Shields which couldn't defend against an enemy's attack, swords which couldn't break the shell of a tough beast."
"There have been countless failures in my life, yet they do not contradict my Way."
"Look over there."
As the Head Smith pointed out again, Sun saw a long stick of dark wood, fully prepared to become the shaft of a polearm.
"I am a smith who supplies the warriors with weapons. If my weapon fails, I will simply create a stronger one. If my shield shatters, I will simply create a more durable one."
"I am not meant to fight on a battlefield, or save the lives of people with medicine. This is my place in the world, to supply those who can fight."
"Even though I fail, I am content because I am fulfilling my Way, my wish to help people, and this is how I do it."
"Also, what makes you think I can't cook?"
Sun couldn't help but share a laugh with the Head Smith.
...
"Thank you, Uncle, for your time."
The Head Smith waved Sun off. There were still a few hours before the commission was ready.
Sun was content with the answers he got from the Head Smith.
Instead of returning to the Army Hall with Dawn, Sun decided to finally take that final step.
Treading on the border for weeks in confusion, his circumstances did not forbid him from finding his Way.
Realising what he wanted, he takes the final step;
Finally becoming a Second Foundation Cultivator!