The Hammering of the Blacksmith Shop, an Unexpected Invitation

Clang!

Bang!

Clang, clang, bang!

A wave of heat mixed with the metallic stench of iron rushed at them.

Han Yuchen narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the shabby blacksmith shop before him.

The lighting was dim, and sparks flew everywhere.

Several burly bare-chested men swung heavy hammers, sweat gleaming over their bronze muscles.

Interesting. It was alive.

It was far more exciting than what he had seen in documentaries in his previous life.

Tang San stood beside him, his gaze somewhat unfocused.

This kid had probably been reminded of his drunkard father again.

Tsk, what a filial child.

The blacksmith shop's owner was a one-eyed man with a face full of flesh. The way he looked at people was no different from the way he looked at iron ingots.

He glanced at the Master's token Tang San handed over, then swept his gaze over the two little brats who were not even as tall as his hammer.

"Wait."

His voice was like a broken gong. After saying that, he turned around and went back to work, not taking them seriously at all.

Heh, this NPC had quite the personality.

Tang San was not in a hurry. He simply watched quietly, his eyes filled with nostalgia and reverence.

Han Yuchen, on the other hand, was purely curious.

He watched a blacksmith swing up a heavy hammer and smash it viciously onto a red-hot block of iron.

Bang!

Sparks burst out like a shower of cheap fireworks.

The iron block deformed, letting out a pained hum.

This forging technique... was truly primitive.

It relied entirely on brute force, with no technique whatsoever.

Ninety-nine percent of the force was wasted, yet the results were still abysmal.

Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer?

The name sounded intimidating, but wasn't it essentially just simple kinetic energy stacking?

Each strike borrowed the force of the previous one, creating resonance and maximizing the impact.

On Earth, a physics teacher could have explained it all crystal clear.

It was too crude.

If it were me...

Compress the Water Element to the extreme, then detonate it within the metal in an instant to remove impurities.

Then use the Power of Stars to guide the metal particles, reconstructing and arranging them on an ultra-microscopic level.

Finally, rapidly cool and set it with the Ice Element.

Wasn't that just a fantasy version of High-Frequency Quenching combined with Powder Metallurgy?

The thing it produced could probably twist the Clear Sky Hammer into a pretzel.

Just as Han Yuchen's thoughts were raging, Tang San moved.

The one-eyed owner had apparently forgotten about them and continued hammering away on his own.

Tang San said nothing. He silently walked over to an abandoned forging table.

He weighed a small iron hammer beside it in his hand.

Mm, it fit rather well.

He drew a deep breath, and his eyes changed.

He was no longer that gentle little boy, but a young lion ready to pounce.

He swung the hammer and brought it down on a piece of scrap iron.

Clang!

The first strike was crisp.

Then came the second, the third...

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The hammering grew denser and louder.

His movements were still immature, and his strength pitifully weak.

But in Han Yuchen's eyes, every strike's point of impact, rhythm, and transmission of force carried a peculiar cadence.

Like an increasingly impassioned battle hymn.

There was something to it, but not quite enough.

Every sound in the blacksmith shop fell silent.

Those bare-chested burly men all stared dumbfoundedly at the child who was not even as tall as the stove.

The one-eyed owner also stopped working. An astonishing light burst from his lone eye.

Hiss...

This little brat was an expert!

After completing a set of basic hammering techniques, Tang San lowered his hammer. His little face was slightly red, and his breathing was faintly uneven.

He did not look at anyone. He simply walked up to the one-eyed owner and said calmly, "Boss, our parts."

The owner's Adam's apple bobbed.

He stared hard at Tang San, then looked at the sickly Han Yuchen beside him, who seemed as though a gust of wind could blow him over.

"What's your name?"

"Tang San."

"Good, what a Tang San!"

The owner abruptly turned around, rummaged through a pile of parts, pulled out an oilcloth-wrapped package, and handed it over.

"Take it."

His attitude had undergone a complete reversal.

Skill was always the best pass.

Han Yuchen gave a mental thumbs-up.

That was realistic.

With the parts in hand, the two turned and left.

The moment they stepped out of the blacksmith shop, a carriage stopped before them without warning.

It was not the sort of rundown cart used for hauling goods.

This carriage was made entirely from precious Golden Silk Nanmu, its body carved with elaborate patterns.

Two snow-white steeds without a single stray hair pulled it.

The striking emblem on the carriage door made Han Yuchen's eyelid twitch slightly.

A longsword and an iron hammer crossed together.

Spirit Hall.

They had come quickly enough.

The words Thousand-Year Soul Ring were an even stronger signal than anything else.

The carriage door opened, and a young man dressed in a Spirit Hall Steward's uniform jumped down.

He was a little over twenty, with decent looks and a professional fake smile on his face.

His gaze swept through the crowd before locking precisely onto Han Yuchen.

He walked over politely and gave a slight bow.

"May I ask if you are Student Han Yuchen?"

His voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly.

The surrounding passersby instantly erupted.

"Someone from Spirit Hall? They're looking for that little brat?"

"Han Yuchen? Which Han Yuchen?"

"Who else could it be? The genius from Nuoding Academy whose First Spirit Ring was purple!"

"Damn, that's him? He looks so frail..."

Han Yuchen rolled his eyes inwardly.

Keep acting. Go on, keep acting.

He put on a timid, flattered expression and even shrank behind Tang San.

"I... I am. May I ask who you are?"

The young Steward's smile deepened, but the scrutiny in his eyes was like two probes trying to pierce Han Yuchen's bones.

"I am a Steward of Spirit Hall in Nuoding City. Our Hall Master, Master Ma Xiuno, has heard of your talent and specially sent me to invite you to meet him."

Ma Xiuno?

Oh, that Hall Master.

Was it simple curiosity, or... had the Power of Stars around me, the power they feared, drawn their attention?

Or was it that cold aura that had always seemed to be watching me from the shadows?

Interesting.

A dungeon delivered right to his door—he would be a fool not to clear it.

Tang San stepped forward, his small body firmly shielding Han Yuchen.

"What do you want?"

He had a natural hostility toward Spirit Hall.

The Steward's smile stiffened for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

"This student, please do not misunderstand. Student Han Yuchen's talent is one in ten thousand. Our Hall Master merely cherishes talent and wishes to meet him. Perhaps he may even offer some guidance and resources for cultivation."

Empty promises, trying to get something for nothing. The same old routine.

Han Yuchen lightly tugged at Tang San's sleeve and shook his head.

Then he poked half his head out from behind Tang San and said in an innocent yet slightly expectant tone:

"To receive a summons from Master Ma Xiuno is my honor."

Tang San froze and looked at him in confusion.

Han Yuchen gave him a reassuring look.

"Little San, go back to the academy first and give the parts to Master. I'll go with this Steward for a moment and be right back."

His voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable force.

Tang San hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Then... be careful."

As they spoke, a small pale hand lifted one corner of the carriage curtain.

A pair of bright, curious eyes was staring fixedly at Han Yuchen.

It was a little girl around their age.

She was rather pretty, too.

The Steward made a welcoming gesture.

"Student Han Yuchen, please."

Han Yuchen nodded and stepped into the carriage.

The inside was more spacious than it appeared from outside.

Soft carpets, comfortable cushions, and a faint fragrance lingering in the air.

The little girl who had been peeking at him sat upright, her large eyes continuing to examine him without pause.

Beside her sat an old man in gray robes with his eyes closed, calmly resting.

Like a stone.

No, like a mountain.

An expert.

The Steward climbed aboard as well and shut the door.

He introduced them to Han Yuchen. "This is Miss Sisi, the granddaughter of our Hall Master. This is Elder Shi, a guest elder of Spirit Hall."

Han Yuchen nodded obediently. "Hello, Miss Sisi. Hello, Elder Shi."

The old man did not even lift his eyelids.

But the girl named Sisi could not hold herself back. She leaned forward and moved closer.

"Hey, are you Han Yuchen?"

"They said you're six years old, and your First Spirit Ring is already a thousand years old?"

"Purple! Is that true? How did you do it?"

The string of questions came like machine-gun fire.

This little girl was quite curious.

You want to know how I did it? Would you even be able to learn it if I told you?

Han Yuchen maintained his sickly, somewhat timid appearance and shrank back slightly.

He coughed twice, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"I was just lucky."

He was stingy with his words.

Yet that mysterious air only made Sisi even more curious.

She wanted to ask more, but Elder Shi beside her suddenly opened his eyes.

They were clouded yet sharp eyes.

He merely glanced at Sisi, and she immediately shut her mouth obediently, like a duck with its neck wrung.

The carriage fell silent at once.

The carriage slowly set off, so smoothly that not the slightest bump could be felt.

Han Yuchen leaned against the soft cushion and closed his eyes, as though resting.

In truth, his Spiritual Power had already spread out silently.

That cold, sinister aura had not followed them.

Was it inside Spirit Hall?

Or had today's incident merely been a coincidence?

No. There were no coincidences.

Every coincidence was an inevitability carefully arranged.

Who knew how much time passed.

The carriage slowly came to a stop.

The Steward's voice sounded from outside, carrying a hint of respect.

"Student Han Yuchen, we have arrived at Nuoding City Spirit Hall."

Han Yuchen opened his eyes.

He pushed open the carriage door and stepped down.

A magnificent building appeared before him.

It was more than ten times as imposing as Nuoding City's City Lord's Mansion.

A massive six-pointed star emblem gleamed with sacred light beneath the sun.

Yet Han Yuchen's gaze passed beyond that sacredness and turned toward the depths of the building.

The instant he set foot on this land—

That familiar, ever-present cold aura...

Suddenly became ten times clearer!

It was inside.