That Is Not My Sister But Bibi Dong?!

Palace Chief Aude observed Ye Tian's troubled expression, offering a slightly mocking consolation:

"Don't worry, Ye Tian. His Highness is just here to visit the students at East Sea School. He's not here to make trouble for you. Even if you can't produce refined iron, it's understandable."

"What Xiao Shun said was only a joke. With His Highness here, why would he trouble a mere commoner like you?"

To Aude, Ye Tian's troubled face clearly showed fear—fear of embarrassing himself in front of His Highness and being punished. Little did Ye Tian know that His Highness was cultured and kind, never punishing servants on a whim.

Ye Tian, a mere commoner, didn't even have the privilege of being punished by His Highness. He really overestimated himself.

Thinking this, Aude couldn't help but feel touched. His Highness truly was the most compassionate crown prince in a hundred years. If he could inherit the throne of the Heaven Dou Empire, it would be the greatest blessing for the nation!

"Thank you for the reminder, Chief Aude," Ye Tian thanked Aude absentmindedly.

In truth, what worried him wasn't that but the risk of the secret of refining refined iron being exposed. However, the situation had already reached a point where he had no choice.

"Never mind. Even if they obtain the refined iron technique, they can't quickly boost their strength. What does it matter if it leaks?" Ye Tian consoled himself.

Even if Qian Renxue obtained the refined iron technique, she would only use it to make cold weapons. This wouldn't have a significant impact on the overall situation on the Douluo Continent.

With this realization, Ye Tian stopped worrying.

He led Qian Renxue and the others into the elementary department to observe the students' internships.

As they entered the entrance, they were greeted by a large courtyard.

In the courtyard stood a dozen towering blast furnaces.

Thick black smoke was billowing from the chimneys of a few furnaces, while others hadn't yet been ignited.

The elementary students, in groups of seven or eight, were loading coal into the furnaces.

Seeing this, Chief Aude stroked his chin and nodded in approval. "It looks pretty decent."

As the palace chief, Aude had extensive knowledge.

Almost every blacksmith's shop had a furnace like this one

.

The only difference was that the furnaces in the blacksmith shops were generally lower in height.

Next to Aude, Xiao Shun snickered at the sight of the furnace and the students' actions.

Before entering the palace, he was born into a blacksmith family.

The furnace before him looked identical to those in blacksmith shops.

Did they really think such a furnace could produce refined iron?

What a ridiculous dream!

"Heh, Ye Tian, is this furnace made of gold, or is the fuel made of silver?"

"You think this shabby furnace can make refined iron?"

"If that's the case, the price of refined iron would plummet to the ground!"

Hearing this, Qian Renxue's attendants began to jeer along.

"I don't see anything special about this furnace; it looks just like any other iron-smelting furnace!"

"It's not just the same; don't you see, this furnace is actually taller?"

"Haha, so if the furnace is taller, it can produce refined iron? In that case, every iron-smelting furnace on the continent would have to reach the sky!"

"Besides, if your ironworkers are just a bunch of elementary students, how could they possibly produce refined iron? If they manage to, I'll eat... um, something unpleasant!"

"Hehe, hold him to it."

"I never go back on my word!"

Ignoring the taunts, Ye Tian smiled and said, "One of you has actually hit the mark. The secret to refining iron lies in the height of the furnace."

"What you're looking at is actually a new model of a blast furnace."

Eat something unpleasant? Ye Tian chuckled inwardly, ready to fulfill that person's dream.

What he was saying wasn't a lie. The secret to refining refined iron did indeed lie in the height of the furnace.

If the furnace was high enough, it could create a stable chemical reaction chain during the smelting process.

The current iron furnaces on the continent lacked height, failing to generate sufficient carbon monoxide to reduce iron oxide to pure iron, which led to high impurities in the resulting iron.

Hearing Ye Tian's explanation, even the usually reserved Aude burst out laughing.

It was hilarious.

Raising the height of the furnace to solve the refined iron problem?

What a farce!

If he wasn't a well-read palace chief, he might have almost believed the serious nonsense from this commoner.

"Ye Tian, stop showcasing your lackluster skills before His Highness," Aude sneered at Ye Tian.

"Everyone who follows His Highness is an elite of the empire. You, with your nonsense, are only fit to be a petty merchant."

"Stop showing off your cheap tricks before His Highness."

At this point, Qian Renxue, who had been silent, looked at Ye Tian calmly and said, "Why don't you give it a try to see if you can produce refined iron?"

Ye Tian, smiling with squinted eyes, said nothing. He didn't bother explaining the principles of the blast furnace to Qian Renxue.

It would be better if she didn't believe it could make refined iron.

However, Qian Renxue clearly hadn't lost interest and, with elegant steps, walked over to a lit furnace, crouching down to ask a small girl struggling to load coal:

"Is it heavy?"

"It's fine!" The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead, unknowingly smearing coal dust across her face, and eagerly replied, "Big sister, smelting iron ore is so interesting; why don't you join us?"

Aude scolded, "Where did this wild girl come from? This is His Highness! And he's a man!"

Upon hearing this, the girl immediately shrank back, eyes wide in fear.

"It's alright."

Qian Renxue smiled gently, waving her hand.

Children speak innocently. It seems her disguise was a bit too neutral.

Clearly, her disguise skills still needed improvement.

Qian Renxue crouched down, picking up a piece of coal gently, and said to the little girl:

"I'll help you."

"Thank you... big brother," the little girl whispered shyly.

Watching this, Aude felt tears welling in his eyes.

His Highness was truly the greatest crown prince the Heaven Dou Empire had seen in a century, unafraid even of dirty coal! How remarkable!

With Qian Renxue's help, the little girl's group soon finished loading the coal.

Finally, they threw the small, crushed iron ore pieces into the furnace one by one, then firmly shut the furnace lid.

Qian Renxue asked, "Is that all?"

"Not quite." The girl shook her head, quickly running to fetch a manual from her backpack.

Flipping through it, she handed it to Qian Renxue: "Look, big brother, after sealing the blast furnace, you need to blow air in. That way, it will speed up the smelting process."

(End of Chapter)

P.S

Advacne 30 Chapters are up on my Patreon.

pat reon.com/ReidAstrea