Li Younan now had a very clear goal, which was to build up his accounts on international platforms as well.
Both his domestic and overseas accounts could make money.
The advantage of running accounts abroad was that the audience was broader and it was easier to capture differentiated traffic.
Compared to the domestic market, there were several billion active internet users in other parts of the world; not only were there more people, but the freedom and flexibility of creation were also higher.
At the same time, monetization models overseas were more diversified and flexible.
Li Younan actually wasn’t someone who liked taking ads. He had a sort of odd cleanliness obsession in his thinking; he still hoped his videos could be squeaky clean, without any impurities, purely for viewers to watch and enjoy.
And that obviously ran counter to making money through ads, something Liu Yu had complained about before.
But abroad, besides standard ad revenue sharing, there were many more monetization paths, such as paid subscriptions and channel memberships, and he could also profit through brand sponsorships, directing traffic to his own store, and other methods. These avenues could make him a lot of money while keeping his video content neat and uncluttered.
As he headed to the town’s blacksmith shop, Li Younan opened his video account to have a look.
At the moment, besides his U.S. TikTok and Twitter accounts, he had also opened an account on YouTube.
The YouTube account was brand new, with only a few hundred followers so far. Judging from the IDs, they were probably all domestic fans
And for Li Younan to gain followers quickly, the upcoming hunting competition would be a very good opportunity.
The rules of this hunting competition required every participant to start a livestream, but the main purpose wasn’t profit; it was purely for fairness, to prevent cheating, and every hunt had to be backed by video evidence.
Therefore, Li Younan could legally turn his hunting footage into content for his own accounts.
The money in his account was being used up even faster than he had expected, so he had no choice but to increase the frequency of taking ads during this period.
Owning a yacht was truly a money-burning affair: crew salaries, ship-related fees, and the upkeep of supplies on board all required cash.
If he could grow his international accounts to the same scale as his domestic ones, then the next step—making money—would be very easy even without taking ads.
With these thoughts in mind, Li Younan had already arrived at the town’s blacksmith shop.
As soon as he stepped inside, what met his eyes were all kinds of discarded steel piled up in the corners, followed by a forging furnace that looked quite professional.
A bald middle-aged man was operating the shop’s only power hammer, working a steel billet.
The man had a cigar clamped at the corner of his mouth. He took a deep drag, then set it aside, picked up the steel billet with tongs, and took it out for a careful inspection.
The glowing billet cast his face in a bright red light, and the sweat on his forehead made it clear that this was not easy work.
He noticed Li Younan, then spoke up, his voice rough and powerful: "Please wait a moment."
Li Younan asked politely, "May I watch from the side?"
"Of course," the man replied casually, then continued to place the billet under the power hammer for further forging.
After a while, the blade had taken on a rough shape.
He took the blade blank out, judged the temperature, and thrust it straight into the oil-based quenching solution.
Seeing this, the corner of Li Younan’s brow lifted slightly, and he let out a quiet sigh.
Once the blank had cooled completely, the man held the blade up in front of his eyes to check it, and he couldn’t help frowning—the transition between the tang and the blade body had a noticeable bend. Clearly, this knife had been forged unsuccessfully.
The man put the blade back into the furnace for a second heating, then finally turned his gaze to Li Younan. Puffing on his cigar, he said, "Sorry about that, I’m in the middle of forging. What can I do for you?"
Li Younan nodded. "Yes, sir, I’d like a hunting knife."
"A hunting knife?" The man wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down on a nearby recliner. "Then that’s really bad timing. The hunting knife I forged before was bought this morning. I heard there’s a hunting contest, and a young hunter bought it from me."
Li Younan smiled. "Actually, sir, I’m also preparing to take part in that hunting contest. In that case, how long would it take you to forge a hunting knife?"
The man shook his head. "Hard to say."
He gestured with his hands. "Sword Forging is something that really depends on your state. It might take two or three days, or it might take a week. There’s no telling."
Li Younan fell silent for a moment. "That’s really a pity. I was hoping to get the hunting knife today."
The man laughed outright. "That’s way too soon, obviously not realistic."
Curious, Li Younan asked, "But I’ve watched the Sword Forging Competition. Don’t they forge a decent knife in just a few hours there?"
The man was left speechless by what he said. "And you still bring up the Sword Forging Competition. The people in that show are all top-tier swordsmiths. Not every swordsmith can reach that level. And even if you can forge a hunting knife that fast, it doesn’t mean it’s going to meet proper standards."
Li Younan nodded.
That was true. On the Sword Forging Competition, too many contestants were eliminated in the first round: either the flaws in their blades were too obvious, or the knives simply couldn’t handle the high-intensity tests.

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