A Thousand Hammerings, a Hundred Refinements: The Beginning of Thousand Refinements

"For example, the Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammer we'll be using now is already extremely strong. After a thousand refinements, its volume will shrink by one-third, while its strength will increase by two hundred percent."

"Its evolved effect is a thirty-percent increase in weight. Only when the same piece of metal undergoes a qualitative transformation can its weight increase, demonstrating its extraordinary strength."

The evolution of a Tungsten Steel Hammer could be considered relatively simple. However, exceptional Thousand Refinements could also produce certain special evolved effects. The better the evolution, the more valuable the metal refined through Thousand Refinements became.

At the Thousand Refinements level, one had to first refine the metal itself through Thousand Refinements before using the same method to forge it into shape.

Therefore, anything made from Thousand Refinements metal was worth more than a hundred times as much as something made from Hundred Refinements metal. Only upon reaching the Thousand Refinements level could a Forging Master be considered to have truly entered the profession.

For ninety percent of Forging Masters, this was something they could never achieve in their entire lives. Thousand Refinements did not merely require strength; what mattered more was talent, especially one's understanding of metal.

Thousand Refinements had another name: Intent Forging. When carrying out Thousand Refinements, one had to regard the metal as a living being.

Likewise, many things were the same. You could not treat them as lifeless objects. Heavy Silver was no exception.

"Oh, right. We need to test your strength before you can begin Thousand Refinements!"

As he spoke, Mang Tian found the strength tester specifically used in the forging room.

When Forging Masters tested their strength, they only needed to strike the metal pillar with a forging hammer. The mercury column inside would rise according to the force of the blow, thereby measuring the power of the strike.

The forging hammers used for testing were uniformly set at one hundred jin. The strength tester would automatically deduct the force contributed by the hammer itself.

"Left hand first, then right hand," Mang Tian said.

"Wulin, you go first?"

"Oh, okay."

Tang Wu Lin picked up the forging hammer and steadied himself...

Bang!

He took a deep breath, turned halfway to the side, and fiercely swung the forging hammer. In that instant, it seemed as though all the strength in his body had gathered in his arm.

The mercury column inside the testing device shot upward in an instant. The enormous boom left the others briefly ringing in their ears.

After coming back to his senses, Mang Tian rubbed his eyes. Once he confirmed that the instrument had not malfunctioned, he was stunned.

"Strike! Four hundred and ninety kilograms."

In just one year, his strength had increased by so much. And that was only his left arm... A nine-year-old child could deliver a full-force blow of nearly five hundred kilograms with one arm. This was true Innate Divine Strength.

And that was only his left arm. Who knew whether his right arm—or Wu Yang Jin—would be even more monstrous?

Tang Wu Lin took another deep breath. Again, he turned sideways and swung his arm. The same warm current surged from his spine once more, and the shriek of the forging hammer cutting through the air became even sharper. A series of faint air bursts could also be heard.

Boom!

This time, Mang Tian had the foresight to cover his ears first. Yet the violent shockwave still made the forging room tremble slightly.

"Strike! Five hundred and sixty kilograms."

"Five... five hundred and sixty?! He broke five hundred kilograms?"

And... and he had exceeded five hundred kilograms by so much!

With Innate Divine Strength at this level, why was his Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass? It should have been a strength-type Martial Soul. If his Martial Soul had also been something like a hammer, he would truly have been a genius.

"This... what a genius."

"Eh? Uncle Mang Tian, does that mean I can learn Thousand Refinements now?"

"Ah, of course! More than just can."

Indeed, at nine years old, how many people could achieve this? Or even surpass it?

"Yang Jin... y-you try."

As he spoke, Wu Yang Jin had already assumed his stance. Then... he smashed down with all his might. In that instant, a flash of black-red light flickered across his eyes like lightning, ever present around him.

His momentum was immense, as though a colossal beast were bringing down the hammer.

"Strike! Five hundred and twenty kilograms!"

Left hand! This was his left hand! Five hundred and twenty kilograms...

"This... only thirty kilograms apart. Two children..." Mang Tian muttered.

He gathered the strength of his entire body into his right arm, sank down with all his might, and unleashed a plunging strike that tore through the air!

The forging hammer in his hand viciously smashed down onto the cylindrical target, producing a piercing hum as it ripped through the air.

With an enormous boom, the entire forging room trembled this time. The mercury column likewise shot high into the air.

The display on the nearby instrument recorded the maximum force of the strike—a remarkable number for a nine-year-old child.

"Strike! Six hundred and sixty kilograms."

Six hundred and sixty kilograms. That was the force of his right arm... achieved by a nine-year-old child, one hundred kilograms greater than Tang Wu Lin's right arm.

"Six hundred and sixty... six hundred and sixty kilograms!" Mang Tian exclaimed in shock.

This time... he had definitely found two monstrous prodigies!

After that, Mang Tian did not feel like saying much more. There truly was not much left to say.

Still, there was something he needed to tell the two children.

"Remember, there are no techniques that can be taught for Thousand Refinements. But you must treat metal as a living being. Communicate with it during the forging process, merge with it. Make it truly acknowledge you. Find its secrets, find its patterns. Thousand Refinements is also called Intent Forging. Every Forging Master has a different method of completing Thousand Refinements, each with its own characteristics. Forge with your heart, and comprehend."

Afterward, each of them began their forging journey with their own thoughts.

After pondering for a moment, Wu Yang Jin swung his left-hand hammer down onto the Heavy Silver, while his right-hand hammer had already fallen like lightning onto the other side, swift as the wind.

He had not... that was right, he had never performed Thousand Refinements before. Yet he had already produced quite a few Hundred Refinements metal components.

And Thousand Refinements seemed easy to grasp somehow. That was the feeling he had.

But before truly attempting Thousand Refinements, he had to first complete Hundred Refinements purification on this piece of metal, comprehending its characteristics throughout the process.

In an instant, sparks flew everywhere. The pounding sounds seemed to suppress everything around them, suppressing Heavy Silver's faint resistance as they echoed through the forging room.

After several hundred hammer strikes, Wu Yang Jin sensed the toughness of this rare metal.

First of all, it was extremely elastic. The instant a hammer struck it, a rebounding force surged back, as though the Heavy Silver were resisting his strength.

But soon, like a massive beast encountering its prey, he quickly suppressed it, as though gripping the throat of its fate. He restrained that elasticity, leaving it unable to resist too fiercely.

Behind him, Tang Wu Lin seemed to sense Wu Yang Jin's aura as well. A golden-red aura spread from him as he hammered the Heavy Silver, while time slowly passed.

However, the two powerful yet distinctly different auras belonging to Wu Yang Jin and Tang Wu Lin had already determined the victor from the very beginning.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time had passed—though certainly not a short while...

The dull-gray Heavy Silver, now covered in fine, dense patterns like ocean waves, appeared before them.

Wu Yang Jin had completed his forging... Thousand Refinements achieved!

Tang Wu Lin completed his forging shortly afterward as well, then plopped down onto the ground and lay back.