Quick answer: The river beneath the Rustblade Pavilion Bell in Weeping Creek Valley contains a pair of Forged Metal. You can also buy it from Quick Hand Zhang for 1,040 Remnant Dust.
Forged Metal is a Weapon Upgrade Material in Phantom Blade Zero. It is what you spend to raise One-Handed weapons to Lv. 10. You can find a free pair in Chapter 1 (“AGAINST THE FLOW”) in Weeping Creek Valley. The pickup below is on PATHBREAKER, the default difficulty.
Forged Metal location under the collapsed bridge in Weeping Creek Valley
That one glow counts as a single pickup, but it puts two ingots in your inventory. The card lists the item under “Weapon Upgrade Materials” and carries this description: “Ore mined from deep within a mineral vein, repeatedly refined in the furnace into this unassuming ingot. Many of the Wulin’s famed single-edged blades began with an ingot such as this.”
Buy Forged Metal from Quick Hand Zhang
If you need more than the river pair, Quick Hand Zhang stocks Forged Metal for 1,040 Remnant Dust. Only three of his hideouts carry it. The Meigu Village hideout does not sell it, though Meigu Village does stock the next tier.
| Item | Use | Price | Hideouts |
|---|---|---|---|
 Forged Metal | One-Handed weapons to Lv. 10 | 1,040 Remnant Dust | Crimson Forest, Village of Lu, Pangzhen |
 Polished Forged Metal | One-Handed weapons from Lv. 10-20 | 1,240 Remnant Dust | Pangzhen, Meigu Village |
Polished Forged Metal’s card reads “Required to upgrade One-Handed weapons from Lv. 10-20.” Pangzhen is the one hideout that sells both tiers.
What Forged Metal is used for
The item card is direct about it: “Required to upgrade One-Handed weapons to Lv. 10.” That covers any blade in the One-Handed class, such as Jagged Steel. The full weapons list shows which others belong to the class.
Leveling a weapon is how you unlock its weapon skills. Jagged Steel, for example, opens new skills at Lv. 5, 10, 15 and 25.
