All Divine Smiths Come from Clear Sky

After a moment of hesitation, Tang Xiao finally shook hands with Tian Hao.

Regardless of how much suspicion and wariness he felt toward this man, one should not slap away a smiling face. Besides, Third Sister Ah Yin was watching from the side. He could not afford to be discourteous.

Tang Hao, however, remained cold and ignored him.

Tian Hao did not care. Sensing another force in the Sea of Spirit of his Martial Soul being faintly stirred and radiating a destructive aura, the smile on his face grew even broader. His earlier guess had been confirmed.

"This is a Forging Hammer I forged myself, made from Thousand-Forged Tungsten Steel. Lord Tang Hao is the current Divine Craftsman, so please examine it."

Tian Hao took two Forging Hammers from his Storage Belt and handed one to each of the Tang brothers.

"You forged these?"

Tang Hao only showed a little interest when forging was mentioned.

He took the Forging Hammer and weighed it in his hand before circulating Soul Power into it. Feeling almost no resistance, he was quite Astonished, and Tang Xiao also studied the youth again in surprise.

"For that piece of Tungsten Steel, I spent three full years hammering it continuously. Only then did it reach the Thousand Forging level, with all impurities removed."

As he spoke, Tian Hao sighed. Back then, forging that huge piece of Tungsten Steel had required tremendous effort, especially since it became more difficult the farther he progressed.

Thousand Forging did not mean folding and hammering the metal a thousand times. It was a standard of purity. Only after all the impurities in the material had been hammered out could it be called Thousand Forging.

He had nearly finished forging the Tungsten Steel in the first year, but that final bit took a full two years.

After successfully completing the forging, however, he had realized the trick behind it. Thousand Forging became much easier, which was why he had forged those three Scythes for Bibi Dong.

Now he was advancing toward Perfect Thousand Refinements, which meant drawing out the material's power—the phenomenon commonly known as Spiritual Light Flash, just like the reaction of the Thousand-Forged Tungsten Steel Sword when he had clashed with Cheap Teacher last time.

That encounter had allowed him to grasp a little of the trick. With some more research, he believed he could figure it out.

"Three years!"

Tang Xiao was also quite moved. That perseverance alone was enough to earn anyone's respect.

"By accomplishing this, you have already surpassed ninety percent of the blacksmiths in the world. If you can perfectly forge and fuse two different materials, you will become a Divine Craftsman. But that is impossible."

Tang Hao thought more highly of Tian Hao, but he did not believe the other could become a Divine Craftsman.

That was because, besides talent, what Divine Craftsmen valued even more was inheritance.

Even their Clear Sky Sect had spent many years exploring before mastering the method of perfectly fusing multiple Special Metals. To date, they had passed it on externally to only one person: Tai Tan, the young clan leader of the Strength Clan.

As for Divine Craftsman Lou Gao, he relied on the characteristics of his own Martial Soul to fuse Special Metals, so his method could not be passed down.

Therefore, the world's Divine Craftsmen could only come from their Clear Sky Sect.

"Where there's a will, there's a way!"

Tian Hao took back the two Forging Hammers and smiled.

The standard for a Divine Craftsman in Douluo 1 was to fuse different Special Metals on the foundation of Thousand Forging while perfectly preserving their characteristics. It was more or less similar to the alloy-fusion forging in Douluo Sequel.

However, Thousand Forging was not simply the limit of metal. Even the current understanding of Thousand Forging was incomplete. There was still the step of Spiritual Light Burst—that was what counted as Perfect Thousand Refinements.

And he was now constantly advancing along that path. His future was far brighter than that of the Clear Sky Sect's.

"People must know their own limits. Some things require time to accumulate."

Tang Xiao shook his head. He likewise did not believe Tian Hao could become a Divine Craftsman. Even if he joined their Clear Sky Sect now, it would not help.

After all, the reason Tai Tan of the Strength Clan had been able to receive their Clear Sky Sect's Forging Secret Technique was mainly that the Strength Clan had pledged allegiance to them for many years and remained utterly loyal. In addition, Tai Tan truly possessed great talent for forging. Only for those reasons had their Clear Sky Sect decided to make an exception and teach him.

But it was limited to Tai Tan alone. Tai Tan could not pass it on to anyone else, either.

After being rejected once again, Tian Hao merely smiled without speaking.

He could see the brothers' pride. But they did indeed have the capital to be proud. In the past, the Divine Craftsmen on the continent had basically all been people from the Clear Sky Sect. Only in this generation had Lou Gao and Tai Tan of the Strength Clan appeared.

But Lou Gao had achieved it through the characteristics of his own Martial Soul, while Tai Tan had received the Clear Sky Sect's Forging Secret Technique. The Divine Craftsman of the previous generation had been none other than Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen.

It was not an exaggeration to say that all Divine Smiths came from Clear Sky.

But you were only the Divine Craftsmen of this era.

As they spoke, a thin, gaunt deer-like Soul Beast came stumbling over. It was the first volunteer persuaded by the Blue Silver King.

"This is a Phantom Deer with a cultivation of one hundred and seven years. It has excellent aptitude and possesses two Innate Abilities. One is leaving behind an illusion to deceive its opponent, and the other is high-speed leaping."

The Blue Silver King explained the Phantom Deer's species, age, and Innate Abilities.

"Soul Beasts grow old, too."

Tian Hao sighed and manifested golden Sacred Light Soul Power before stepping forward and slowly injecting it into the Phantom Deer's frail, emaciated body.

Sensing the effect of the Sacred Light Soul Power on its body, the Phantom Deer did not resist. It even turned its head and rubbed against Tian Hao's arm.

With this Soul Power entering its body, the pain it suffered was reduced considerably.

"A Soul Beast's lifespan is not infinite. Only those with a sufficiently high Bloodline Level can continue cultivating indefinitely, or those who encounter some other opportunity.

"But this Phantom Deer is not suffering from old age. It was poisoned, and the poison has reached its marrow. It cannot be saved. Other Soul Beasts will not hunt it, either, so it has struggled on until now. For it, today is also a form of release."

The Blue Silver King explained. Every Soul Beast he managed to persuade had its reasons. He could not truly let the Soul Beasts in his territory sacrifice themselves freely just for an experiment, unless one happened to be at the stage of being hunted.

Tian Hao understood. He then took out a blade of grass and gestured for the Phantom Deer to eat it.

"It will make your departure a little more comfortable."

The Phantom Deer, which had communicated with the Blue Silver King beforehand, did not refuse. After eating the blade of grass, it soon closed its eyes. Its heartbeat gradually weakened until it stopped completely. Then, a Yellow Soul Ring emerged.

Tian Hao sensed a certain connection between himself and that Soul Ring. Clearly, the Heavenly Rules had judged that he was the one who killed it.

"Sister Ah Yin."

Tian Hao gestured to Ah Yin. Next, he needed her to try separating the Soul Ring with Spiritual power.

Ah Yin said nothing. She gave the Phantom Deer, which had lost all signs of life, a sorrowful look before turning and using her vast, concentrated Spiritual power to try to separate the Soul Ring.

She had never done this before, so she could only attempt it slowly.

Tian Hao did not remain idle, either. Through the connection formed by that rule-based judgment, he injected his own Attribute-less Soul Power into it, continuously expanding the Soul Ring.

The rule-based judgment had already been established. Even though his current Soul Power Level was only twelve and insufficient to add a second Soul Ring, that connection still existed. It simply could not be refined. Injecting Soul Power into it, however, was no problem.

Moreover, his own Soul Power had no attribute, so it would not conflict or repel any Soul Ring.

Thus, as Soul Power continued pouring in, the White Soul Ring kept expanding until it eventually reached a diameter of ten meters.

Once the Soul Ring expanded, many things became much easier to handle.

Tian Hao mobilized his own Attribute-less Soul Power from within the Soul Ring to assist Ah Yin in separating it. Soon, the Soul Ring shattered, revealing two clusters of Origin power.

"Is it an Origin that can exist independently and Perfectly?"

Tian Hao asked. Success or failure hinged on this one move.

Tian Hao: Regarding the blacksmith system in Douluo 1 and the forging master settings in the original novel's Douluo Sequel series, this is the only way I can compare them. Otherwise, that hole would be impossible to fill. Don't mind it, fellow readers.