The clamor of the outside world had already faded from Li Mo’s awareness.
As the iron lted, he could hear the faint, intricate sounds it made. He could discern every vein within the tal, sll the mingled scents of steel and fire, and perceive every texture as if it were laid bare before him.
It was as though the various tals were no longer lifeless objects but living, breathing entities.
Indeed, after studying Du Wufeng’s techniques, his Divine Refinent Art had ascended to new heights.
He understood the spirits of a hundred weapons.
Initial mastery!
Ten strikes in a single breath!
Twenty strikes in a single breath!
Thirty strikes in a single breath!
The Eight-Nine Mysteries Technique silently circulated within him, bolstering his physique and allowing the strikes of his Divine Refinent Art to grow ever faster.
The hamr in his hand beca little more than a blur.
Yet, the materials he worked with were not ‘divine treasures.’ So were re common iron, while others were only slightly better—still born from the sa crude origins.
Enduring such intense refinent was a struggle for them, but...
"Ice block!"
With a swing of his hamr, Li Mo sent the red-hot tal billet flying toward Ying Bing.
The bone-chilling cold of the Lunar Yin energy enveloped it, causing ripples to surge through the air.
Gasps of astonishnt rose from the crowd.
Du Wufeng’s eyes widened. "He’s actually using this thod... for quenching? How is this possible? How can it be done like this...?"
"Divine Craftsman Du, could you explain in detail?"
"Quenching is the process of rapidly cooling a heated weapon blank to enhance its quality."
"Typically, specially prepared cold spring water or treated oils are used. But this sword... he’s using the Frost Fairy herself!"
To be precise, it was the Lunar Yin energy of the Frost Fairy...
Clearly, the quenching effect of Lunar Yin energy was beyond imagination!
"Sister Ice, that’s enough."
Princess Little Jiang carefully monitored the quenching process and spoke up at the right mont.
"Tempering!"
As soon as the Lunar Yin energy dissipated, Li Mo snatched the billet and tossed it back into the furnace to reheat.
Once heated, he resud high-intensity forging—twisting, folding, and blending the tal before quenching and tempering it again.
With each cycle of heating and cooling, the billet’s glow grew brighter, and its patterns beca increasingly intricate.
"That boy... to think of such a thod!"
Du Wufeng slamd his palm onto the table, nearly shattering it.
"......"
Among the competitors were many skilled master craftsn, but now they all fell into deep contemplation.
They had honed their craft through relentless hamring and practice, yet they had never imagined forging could be done this way.
Was this proof that effort paled in comparison to talent?
Could he truly be a genius of weapon forging?
"This will surely be a fine sword..."
Jiang Chulong watched with earnest anticipation.
"Is this sword for Chulong... or for ?"
Ying Bing was lost in thought when she suddenly noticed the patterns erging on the blade—resembling tenacious, ever-growing wild grass. She pursed her lips slightly.
Clearly, this was no imitation of Moonlit Yin, nor did it bear any resemblance to it.
Moonlit Yin emitted a resonance only its wielder could perceive.
Little Moon was puzzled:
"You already have ... why be so fixated on a re nad weapon?"
Ying Bing lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable as she continued quenching.
Before long, a sword adorned with wild grass patterns was born—simple in appearance yet concealing a hidden sharpness. To ensure a comfortable grip, Li Mo fashioned the hilt from peach wood.
Even in its infancy, the sword’s extraordinary nature was evident.
Li Mo wiped the blade clean and handed it to the eagerly waiting Princess Little Jiang.
[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully invested in ‘Jiang Chulong’—a top-grade nad weapon.]
[You have pending investnt returns to claim.]
"Take so ti to familiarize yourself with it. Later, it’ll need to be presented to the judges."
"Mm!"
The excitent in Princess Little Jiang’s eyes couldn’t be hidden, even behind her sunglasses!
She could feel sothing within her resonating with the sword. The mont it touched her hand, it was as if their bloodlines were connected.
This was a nad weapon forged from scrap tal—discarded materials others saw as worthless.
Even trash could shine anew...
Princess Little Jiang hugged the sword in a daze before reluctantly placing it on a cloth to be sent to the judges later.
"...Is that really a nad weapon?"
Princess Yuyang stared at the sword for a long mont.
She noticed that the Crown Prince was also fixated on the sword—or rather, on Jiang Chulong, who had just picked it up—with an expression of disbelief.
"The Sword Bone... it should be with ... Impossible... Absolutely impossible..."
Princess Yuyang frowned. "Brother Crown Prince, what are you talking about?"
"Nothing."
Jiang Yu quickly suppressed his emotions, though a trace of pallor lingered on his face.
Among the many blacksmiths, Li Mo was the first to complete his work.
But before the host could approach for an interview—
After taking a few restorative pills, Li Mo picked up his hamr again, his eyes burning even brighter than before. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on nοvelfire
Unlike the other craftsn, he was preparing to forge a second sword.
And...
"The Eight-Nine Mysteries Technique... I might reach a breakthrough today."
Li Mo exhaled a scorching breath.
He repeated the process—refining pure iron, folding and hamring, quenching and tempering.
"Is he planning to make another identical sword?"
"What’s the point? It’s just a waste of effort. Only the highest-quality weapon will be scored."
"Of course, he’s forging for the Frost Fairy!"
"What a sha. If he focused on a single weapon, he might have reached Divine Craftsman Du’s level."
"Wait, the materials for this one are insufficient. At best, he’ll make a dagger."
By now, aside from the prodigies on the Hidden Dragon Ranking, few spectators paid attention to the other blacksmiths.
To the untrained eye, Li Mo seed overly ambitious—attempting to forge swords for two people in a single competition. How touching.
The craftsn, however, lanted the waste.
The forging competition had a ti limit. With the sa duration, pouring all his effort into one weapon would undoubtedly yield higher quality.
What was the point of two identical swords?
Moreover, with limited materials, the second might not even match the first.
"Ice block, Shared Moonlight!"
Suddenly, as Li Mo folded the billet over a thousand tis, the Lunar Divine Intent behind him manifested.
Ying Bing froze.
She didn’t understand what Li Mo intended.
But before her doubts could settle, her own Lunar Soul also erged.
Shared Moonlight rged their divine intents in an instant.
In that mont, Li Mo comprehended Moonlit Yin.
Ying Bing could see the nascent spirituality within the unford blade—and...
A glimpse of his thoughts.
She stared at Li Mo—the figure wielding a glowing hamr amidst swirling flas—as he burned his way into her vision, stirring ripples in her usual cool detachnt.
"I understand now..."
"Law of Heaven and Earth!"
Li Mo’s right arm suddenly swelled, making the Star Piercer hamr seem tiny in comparison.
The Karmic Flas around him surged, as though reigniting the already-burning Fallen Starfire.
Boom—
The mixed-tal billet rang with a resonant hum under his strike!
Sparks erupted like a volcanic explosion!
Fifty strikes in a single breath!
The hamr swung in an unbroken rhythm, growing redder with each strike. The Xuan weapon showed signs of lting—threatening to fuse with the sword embryo.
The rules of the forging competition were clear: only existing materials could be used.
The blacksmith’s hamr was one such material.
Yet no one had ever conceived of turning the forging hamr itself into part of the weapon being crafted.
Not even Ying Bing had considered it.
He intended to forge a fad weapon from the Xuan steel.
He would lt down the Star Piercer, the staff that had accompanied him day and night, and fuse it with her sword in the heart of the blazing fire.
So that each would dwell within the other.
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