Zhen Hua had a particular fondness for nurturing younger generations, so he would never turn down their questions.
His keen perception as a forging master allowed him to sense the surging blood energy fluctuations within both Gu La and Tang Wulin.
As the Divine Craftsman of this era, he could confidently assert that both possessed forging talents close to his own.
"It's only natural," he thought. "After all, they are disciples of the Spirit Pagoda's vice-tower master and the Sea God Pavilion Elder, respectively."
With great interest, Zhen Hua watched the flustered young man before him. When Tang Wulin stamred out a question about the key to purifying spirit-forged tals, a flicker of surprise passed through Zhen Hua's eyes.
"Whether it's spirit forging, soul forging, or even heavenly forging, the most important step is awakening the spirituality within the tal. tals inherently lack spirituality, but a skilled blacksmith can imbue them with it. Communicating with the tal is the hardest step to grasp…."
The night grew deep, and the question-and-answer session didn't last long. Soon, everyone returned ho.
---
The next day, the competition continued. Gu La advanced smoothly into the top sixteen, thanks to his four hundred-year-old plant-type spirit beasts—those he had once controlled on the Spirit Ascension Platform: the Two-Headed Man-Eating flower, the Killer Willow, Ghost Vine, and Jade Banyan Tree.
Under the combined effects of Celebi's domain and authority enhancent, these plant-type spirit beasts could unleash combat power equivalent to thousand-year spirit beasts. They were also unafraid of injury, allowing Gu La to avoid personally engaging against a Soul Elder opponent.
---
In the afternoon.
Blacksmith Association.
The high-suspended soul-guided chandeliers illuminated the grand hall as if it were daylight. As Gu La followed Tang Wulin through the crowd, he could feel the curious gazes directed at them from all sides.
They were simply too young, yet both wore the badges of third-rank blacksmiths. Among the competitors, they stood out like two green leaves adrift in a sea of tal.
In truth, Gu La had chosen not to pursue formal certification to remain low-profile. However, he was already a fifth-rank blacksmith, and the third-rank badge he now wore had been hastily obtained just before the competition.
Tang Wulin's cultivation level was relatively low, but with the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, he could consistently achieve thousand-refinent forging. He was only a step away from spirit forging, making him effectively a quasi fifth-rank blacksmith.
Blacksmiths were a group of soul masters who rarely lacked wealth, and the Forging Association's venue reflected this prosperity. On the day of the forging competition, most mbers gathered to watch the event.
Especially enticing was the news that Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua would personally guide the top three finishers. Every competitor was determined to give their absolute best. If registration hadn't closed earlier, there would undoubtedly have been even more participants.
"Are you sure you want to hold back?"
Tang Wulin lowered his voice, glancing sideways as Gu La casually toyed with a piece of tal—a sight he had grown accustod to seeing lately.
"Of course."
Gu La's fingertips traced the erald light patterns on the surface of the tallic sphere. "I've developed a physical-enhancent drug recently. If those heretical soul masters knew I could perform spirit forging at the three-ring level, they'd send a Title Douluo after in no ti."
"I value my life too much to draw attention unnecessarily."
"Besides…" He glanced toward the judges' stand where Zhen Hua sat. The Divine Craftsman's silver-gray robe shimred with a cold tallic sheen under the lights. "A master of his caliber won't fail to see through my abilities."
Tang Wulin felt sowhat reassured. Though he yearned for Zhen Hua's guidance, winning against Gu La by default wouldn't sit well with him either.
Suddenly, Zhen Hua paused in adjusting the soul-asuring instrunt. Through his spiritual perception, he detected two radiant life fields shining like stars: the ancient ferocious aura dormant within Tang Wulin and the vibrant, fiery energy enveloping Gu La, which resonated faintly with the spirit-forged tals displayed in the cases.
"Let's begin the draw!"
The booming voice of Duan Xuan, the president of the Tianhai branch, reverberated through the venue, causing the glass display cases to hum.
This Rank 8 Saint Craftsman resembled a lion king surveying his territory. His brown hair and thick beard lent him an imposing presence as he declared in a thunderous voice:
"Today marks the finals of the Forging Competition, graced by the presence of Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua. I urge all competitors to give their utmost and forge the finest tals possible!"
"Please welco Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua to speak."
Applause erupted among the blacksmiths below. In the world of forging, a Divine Craftsman held a status even higher than that of a Limit Douluo. Many blacksmiths clapped so fervently that their hands turned red.
Zhen Hua raised his hand slightly, and the applause ceased instantly.
"I'm delighted to see so many talented individuals erge in the field of forging. So may think of us as re blacksmiths pounding iron, but we know that forging is the art of listening to the life echoes of tals."
"I sincerely hope that the world of soul masters will produce more talented blacksmiths. After the competition, I will teach a one-day class at the association. I hope you all gain sothing valuable from it."
So blacksmiths trapped in bottlenecks were overjoyed, raising their arms high: "Long live the Divine Craftsman!"
Others joined in: "Long live the Divine Craftsman! Long live blacksmiths!"
Zhen Hua chuckled as he took his seat, pleased to see such vitality among the younger generation of blacksmiths.
"The competition begins."
"Round one challenge: Thousand-refinent Sinking Silver!"
Before Duan Xuan's words had faded, protective barriers rose around all sixteen forging platforms simultaneously.
Gu La touched the cool surface of the forging table as his Groudon martial soul activated. At the bottom of the furnace, dark red veins spread—though he preferred his own extre flas over conventional forge fires.
As Gu La's fingertips brushed the swirling cloud-like patterns on the silver ingot, Zhen Hua's words from the previous day echoed in his mind: "Awakening spirituality isn't about forcing it—it's about resonance."
He closed his eyes, focusing deeply. Abandoning his usual brute-force style, he infused the "spiritual ridians" of his soul power into the tal. Within the silver ingot, he "saw" countless coiled silver dots.
"Spirituality? The vitality of tals differs from that of living beings—it's cold and solid in nature."
"Ding—"
When Gu La struck the first hamr blow, Zhen Hua's eyes snapped open. To ordinary ears, the sound was a crisp clang, but to him, it was a symphony of overlapping vibrations.
Gu La applied his hamr intent to the forging process. The minuscule vibrations, invisible to the naked eye, precisely penetrated the tal's lattice structure, shaking impurities into nanoscale dust that seeped out through atomic gaps.
"One strike, a hundred refinents." If not for the limitations of his soul power, he could have achieved a thousand refinents in a single blow!
"What remarkable spirituality!"
Duan Xuan's score sheet crumpled in his grip as he stared intently at the fluctuating data on the monitor. The spiritual fluctuations of the sinking silver were increasing exponentially, while Gu La's soul power output remained steady at the level of a third-rank blacksmith.
Though the distance made machine readings less accurate, as a Saint Craftsman, Duan Xuan trusted his judgnt.
"A true forging prodigy."
On the other side, Tang Wulin's forging platform suddenly emitted a dragon-like hum. Nearby blacksmiths were montarily dazed, nearly failing their forging attempts. Fortunately, the barrier contained the dragon aura, preventing any serious issues.
The Golden Dragon King's bloodline transford into a pale golden mist, wrapping around the surface of the sinking silver. Each strike left intricate dragon scales imprinted on the tal.
This was Tang Wulin's unique advantage in forging—he could infuse tals with god-tier bloodline energy, making it far easier to awaken their spirituality.
When the silver ingot shrank to two-thirds of its original size, faint golden spiderweb-like patterns began to erge on its surface.
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