"Thousand Refinent, 2nd Grade!"
Lou Tai's voice trembled slightly. He hurried forward, his rough fingertips gently brushing the surface of the tal. In his haste, he forgot to shield himself with soul power, and the scorching heat left faint marks on his skin.
The pupils of this Rank 8 Saint Craftsman reflected flowing cloud-like patterns. He carefully ran his fingers over the tal, feeling the unique texture of Thousand Refined tal.
"No cracks, nearly perfect, ductility increased fourfold…"
He abruptly turned around, the hem of his forging apron sweeping across a row of testing instrunts on the workbench. "If you hadn't used brute force at the beginning, it could have gained sentience and beco Thousand Refinent, 1st Grade!"
Lou Tai's calloused hand slapped heavily onto Gu La's shoulder. "Kid, are you sure this is your first ti forging?"
Gu La thought for a mont. Watching Tang San forge a few tis probably didn't count as studying, so he nodded. "I've never studied it before, but my martial soul has a special affinity for tals, and I also possess innate superhuman strength—it was all just accidental."
The old craftsman's bony fingers traced the surface of the Star Silver, green soul power coiling upward and condensing into tiny silver dots between his knuckles. "Forging is the art of awakening tal. Without this affinity, no matter how strong you are, you're just a brute-force blacksmith—not a true forger."
"Your affinity with tal shows that you're a natural-born prodigy for forging!"
What could Gu La say? He simply smiled.
"There's sothing I didn't understand earlier," Lou Tai continued, "when you used three forging hamrs at once—was that one of your soul skills? If you grow alongside this technique, who knows? You might create an entirely new forging thod."
Lou Tai didn't expect Gu La to answer.
His expression grew reflective. Talented forging prodigies were rare indeed. He wanted to take Gu La as a disciple, but glancing at Lady Phoenix Douluo beside them, he wisely closed his mouth and sighed.
"Congratulations to Lady Phoenix Douluo for gaining such an excellent disciple. If this young friend wishes to systematically study forging in the future, my workshop is always open to you."
Zhen Hua, the continent's sole Divine Blacksmith, often shared his insights generously, fostering a cooperative atmosphere among blacksmiths with little rivalry. Influenced by this, even the Saint Craftsn were willing to guide the younger generation.
"Then I'll trouble Master Lou Tai."
Gu La bowed respectfully. To approach the Divine Blacksmith and learn the Heavenly Forging techniques, he needed to first build up enough reputation within the Blacksmiths' Association.
In the anti, training under a Saint Craftsman like Lou Tai was a rare opportunity. Moreover, his willingness to teach was far more effective than a direct order from Leng Yaozhu.
"The most important tool for a blacksmith is their forging hamr. Since you've achieved Thousand Refinent, take today to familiarize yourself and forge your own hamr."
Lou Tai waved his hand grandly, patting his chest confidently. "You can use any tal here. The most important thing is to forge a hamr you're satisfied with. What kind of tal do you want to use?"
Gu La pondered for a mont. "My martial soul has earth and fire attributes, and I plan to fuse them later. For now, I'll forge two hamrs: one made of Heavy Mountain Tungsten Steel for the earth attribute, and another of Blazing Gold for the fire attribute."
Lou Tai's eye twitched slightly. No wonder he was a disciple of Lady Phoenix Douluo—his vision was lofty, and the tals he chose were valuable materials used in crafting high-grade soul-guided devices.
But as a respected Saint Craftsman, once he made a promise, there was no going back. He nodded in agreent.
"Heavy Mountain Tungsten Steel easily triggers the 'Mountain Weight' effect, which enhances its weight, while Blazing Gold improves forging efficiency with its 'Heat lt' effect. Using both together shows that you value efficiency."
"However, pursuing efficiency can lead to failure—even a Saint Craftsman can't guarantee 100% success in soul forging. It takes exceptional skill to ensure the tal isn't wasted. Since you have this ambition, begin forging."
"Alright."
Gu La rolled up his sleeves, picked out a block of Heavy Mountain Tungsten Steel and Blazing Gold, and tossed them into the furnace. While waiting, he practiced by forging other preheated tals.
Leng Yaozhu's delicate brows twitched slightly as she watched Gu La and Lou Tai imrse themselves in the task. She led Gu Yue out of the forging room quietly.
---
Three hours later.
The forging room was filled with waves of crimson heat, the air distorted by the intense heat. Lou Tai's fingertips brushed over a shelf stacked with rare tals; even the steel fra of the shelf was scorched with fine red marks by stray fire elents in the air.
Gu La stood before the forging table, his body surrounded by a red carapace as his soul power surged. His hands shimred with golden-red soul power.
"Heavy Mountain Tungsten Steel weighs over a hundred pounds per cubic inch—difficult even for ordinary Soul Ancestors to wield."
Lou Tai flicked the tungsten ingot lightly, teaching Gu La. The tallic clang resonated through the room, causing the finished tals against the wall to hum. Catching sight of the molten lava-like soul power flowing between the boy's palms, he added, "But with your martial soul traits and innate strength, forging it shouldn't be difficult."
"The real challenge is activating the hamr's special effects. That depends on luck—you don't need to force it on your first try."
Gu La didn't respond. He focused his spirit, energy, and mind to their peak state. The Blazing Gold in the forge had already been heated to a glass-like state.
He made a grasping motion with his left hand, using telekinesis to place the Blazing Gold onto the forging table. The forging hamr descended with a thunderous roar, enveloped in molten lava.
The Chaotic Wind Splitting Hamr Technique.
Lou Tai wasn't surprised. This secret technique of the Hao Tian Sect had been learned by many blacksmiths over tens of thousands of years. However, not everyone was suited to this brute-force hamring thod. Those without sufficient strength couldn't control the hamr, leading to a decline in technique.
"Clang!"
Gu La gradually increased his strength. On the eighty-first strike, the tungsten ingot was purified of impurities, its surface revealing shell-like patterns.
Seeing this, Lou Tai smiled. This piece of tungsten was enough to craft a seventh-rank soul-guided cannon core. But as long as it wasn't wasted, forging it into a hamr served the sa purpose.
Occasionally, Gu La could be quite frugal.
Concerning his own forging hamr, he activated his "Future Sight." The dual perspectives would drive an ordinary Soul King mad, but Gu La adjusted his forging rhythm and techniques with ease, like a fish swimming in water.
Lou Tai's gaze grew increasingly puzzled. "It seems… there hasn't been a single mistake?"
Before his words faded, two more forging hamrs floated in midair, continuously striking down under the control of telekinesis.
The tungsten hamr was wrapped in earth-yellow soul power, while the blazing gold hamrhead danced with flas that seed eternal.
The power of the earth flowed endlessly into Gu La's body, transforming into soul power that infused both hamrs. The Ultimate attributes had a profound effect on the tal.
Under the influence of the sa-origin soul power, the two hamrs forged from different materials seed to resonate, humming on the forging table, both attracting and repelling each other.
"Twin Awakening Resonance?"
Lou Tai's pupils contracted sharply. This was a rare phenonon spoken of only in legends. It could only occur when forging two pieces of tal simultaneously, creating a connection between their spiritual energies. When triggered together, it often resulted in a fusion-like elevation akin to martial soul fusion techniques.
"But isn't this just a baseless legend? How can it actually be achieved?" Lou Tai felt as though he'd been shocked more tis today than in the past few decades combined.
Gu La was equally puzzled about the cause, vaguely attributing it to his Groudon martial soul. But as long as the results showed no errors, he wouldn't stop swinging his forging hamr.
After another hundred strikes, the entire forging room suddenly fell into absolute silence.
The two hamrs floated in midair, their bodies displaying glowing veins of molten lava and mountainous earth. The opposing yet resonating energy fields twisted the flas into a vortex-like shape.
Their hamrheads emitted dazzling yellow and red light, and Gu La felt two inexplicable affinities.
1st Grade Thousand Refinent—with sentience!
Lou Tai's eyes widened as he urgently exclaid, "Quick! Use your blood to form a blood pact!"
The birth of sentience in tal was the foundation of Spirit Forging. At this stage, the tal could be absorbed into the body and fused with the soul master.
Though the two hamrs were still at the Thousand Refinent level, their extraordinary sentience had already crossed the threshold into Spirit Forging.
This seemingly insurmountable gap could be bridged with a blood pact!
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