Smash the Metal Block, Mang Tian Panics

Mang Tian had one foot out the door when his body suddenly trembled. He stopped and turned around.

A glint flashed in his eyes.

Bang, bang, bang...

The pounding continued. Mang Tian pulled back the step he had taken and returned to the Forging Room.

Standing where he was, he looked at Long Yuan and frowned.

The Metal Hammer in Long Yuan's hand seemed as light as air. He raised and lowered it as though it took no effort at all.

His strikes came incredibly fast, so fast that afterimages were nearly appearing.

Bang, bang, bang...

Yet when the number on the screen reached five hundred, it stopped increasing.

At that moment, Long Yuan also set his hammer down on the metal platform.

The pounding came to an abrupt halt.

He rubbed his sore, aching arm. Sweat was already streaming down his face.

He panted heavily.

"Keep going. Why did you stop?"

That was what Mang Tian wanted to say.

The hope that had just ignited within him was instantly doused. Mang Tian's expression darkened.

When he had seen Long Yuan seemingly unable to lift the hammer earlier, he had thought the boy truly could not lift it.

He had already lost interest in him.

But just as he had left in disappointment, Long Yuan had picked up the hammer and struck continuously so many times.

Just when he had become interested in Long Yuan and thought that he might be a Forging Genius like Tang Wulin—

Long Yuan stopped halfway and gave up.

Mang Tian's mood soured completely.

"Hmph. Giving up halfway? Don't bother coming tomorrow!"

Mang Tian snorted. Long Yuan's quitting halfway was truly disappointing.

"Wait..."

But just as Mang Tian stepped through the doorway, Long Yuan called out to him.

He turned back impatiently to look at Long Yuan, but did not say anything.

He could not even be bothered to ask why the boy had stopped him. This brat was just toying with him.

"Um... if the metal block gets smashed apart, can it be replaced with a new one?"

Mang Tian had been about to turn and leave again, but those words froze him in place.

His eyes widened. "What? What got smashed apart?"

Mang Tian's ugly expression changed instantly, replaced by utter shock as he rushed into the Forging Room.

"The metal block. I accidentally smashed it into two pieces!"

Long Yuan raised a hand and pointed at the round metal block on the metal platform, looking utterly innocent.

The round metal block had been hammered incredibly thin. A huge crack split its center, and it was just short of breaking completely into two pieces.

Its surface area had grown considerably larger than before.

The metal block that had originally been ten centimeters thick was now less than one centimeter thick.

Its edges had spread outward like petals, becoming sharp and jagged.

"This..."

Mang Tian stared at the sight before him, his eyes wide and the corners of his mouth twitching.

Was this really something an eight-year-old child had done? What kind of strength was this? The number displayed on the screen was 498.

He completely lost his composure.

A metal block ten centimeters thick had been battered into such a state by Long Yuan in 498 strikes.

What kind of Divine Power was this? "Again!"

Mang Tian's attitude toward Long Yuan made a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. He took a new metal block from the side and placed it on the metal platform.

He tossed the ruined metal block into the scrap bin.

"I'm worried I'll smash this one too. If it gets smashed, I won't have to pay for it, right?"

"Cut the nonsense and start hammering!"

He had not watched Long Yuan strike the metal block from up close earlier.

He was curious just how much strength a little brat like Long Yuan possessed to actually smash apart a ten-centimeter-thick metal block.

Just as he was getting interested, Long Yuan started dawdling.

"Hey, are you doing this on purpose to waste my time? Hurry up and hammer it!"

Seeing Long Yuan still acting hesitant, Mang Tian glared furiously, his impatience finally getting the better of him.

"Alright, alright, alright!"

Long Yuan could hardly contain his delight. That old man had actually stormed off in anger just now.

He had only been surprised by the weight of the metal hammer; it was not that he could not lift it.

With the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, let alone holding a ten-kilogram metal hammer in one hand as though it were nothing—

—even lifting Mang Tian with one hand was something he could do.

Over the past two years, he had drawn the Golden Dragon King Bloodline from Tang Wulin.

Not only had his body become incredibly tough, but his strength had also become terrifying.

On Douluo Continent, if he was not suited for forging, then no one was.

Long Yuan easily lifted the metal hammer and brought it down with a fierce swing.

Bang! The sound startled Mang Tian so badly that it felt as if the blow had struck his own chest.

Standing nearby, Mang Tian could feel the gust from the hammer sweeping across his face as Long Yuan swung it down.

Faint Golden Patterns drifted along Long Yuan's spine.

The blood in his body boiled, and he had strength that seemed inexhaustible.

"Wait!"

Just as Long Yuan raised the hammer to strike again, Mang Tian shouted and hurriedly stopped him.

"My goodness, kid, are you even human?"

Mang Tian's mouth twitched. His hands trembled slightly as he picked up the metal block that had been struck once.

He measured it with a ruler. Good heavens—one blow had flattened the metal block by around three centimeters.

"Continue!"

Mang Tian placed the metal block back on the metal table and motioned for Long Yuan to keep hammering.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang, bang...

The deafening hammer blows rang out without pause. As Long Yuan hammered, he looked as though he was not exerting any force at all, relaxed and composed.

Though he appeared to be using no strength, the ten-centimeter metal block was thinning at a visible rate.

The numbers on the counter screen jumped wildly.

Clang...

When the number reached 456, the metal block shattered again.

One half that had broken off was sent flying by the blow and struck the wall with a clang.

The other half remained stuck to the metal table.

The center of the metal table had caved in.

"It broke again, again, again!"

Long Yuan looked utterly helpless as he tossed the metal hammer onto the metal table.

Rubbing his sore muscles, he turned to Mang Tian and said, "Senior Mang, sorry for disturbing you!"

Then he walked toward the forge room's exit without the slightest hesitation.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Long Yuan's actions left Mang Tian completely baffled.

"Senior Mang, I've disappointed you. I'll never be able to reach a thousand strikes with this. Sigh..."

After saying that, Long Yuan sighed. "I'd better go back and honestly focus on improving my Soul Power!"

As he spoke, he strode toward the exit of the forge room.

Long Yuan's words left Mang Tian standing there in utter confusion.

Earlier, he had indeed said that Long Yuan had to complete five hundred strikes on each side, a total of one thousand strikes, before he would explain forging to him.

If he could not complete it, then he would fail the test.

The first metal block had shattered on the 498th strike.

The second metal block had shattered after only 456 strikes.

By his earlier terms, it truly could not be completed.

The metal block simply could not withstand the hammer.

"Come back..."

Just as Long Yuan was about to leave the forging room, the man panicked. He hurried after Long Yuan, grabbed him, and dragged him back inside.

This kid possessed Innate Divine Power—he was perfect forging material.

He had seen it for himself. How could he possibly let Long Yuan get away now? Besides, Long Yuan had only completed a little over nine hundred hammer strikes, yet he barely looked tired.

Even a grown man would probably be unable to lift his arms after swinging a ten-kilogram hammer a thousand times.

Yet Long Yuan was scratching the back of his head with his right hand.