Gifts (Part 1)

There was a special little room in the courtyard, a forging room the Old Butler had specifically prepared for Qian Chaoguang back then, allowing him to temper his body through forging even at home.

Starting two years ago, Huo Yutong had also begun setting aside time from her daily routine to learn forging techniques from him. While strengthening her body, it also laid some foundation for her future as a Soul Engineer.

Now, however, Huo Yutong was acting out of character. Rather than cultivating at home, she went out right after lunch.

Qian Chaoguang, meanwhile, was bare-chested in the forging room, drenched in sweat.

The improvement in his cultivation had accelerated his physical development, making him look nothing like a ten-year-old boy.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Two black forging hammers collided with red-hot metal, producing crisp, rhythmic rings.

Forging was a craft that required thought. It was not as simple as the mechanical casting of ten thousand years ago.

Both of Qian Chaoguang's forging teachers had told him to sense the unique structure of every material, adapt to the circumstances, and choose the appropriate forging method.

Only by judging a metal's current grain properties through each strike and altering one's forging technique at any moment could one become a qualified blacksmith.

Originally, Qian Chaoguang had not understood this very deeply.

After all, the worldview he had developed over more than twenty years was not so easy to change. His understanding of metal remained limited to—this is a piece of metal. He could not grasp those subtle details.

Therefore, aside from his improved memory, his exploration of the Spiritual Forging Method had remained at a standstill.

It was not until he began cultivating the Spirit Communication Art and his Spiritual Power improved that he gradually developed a method of sensing metal.

The first time he sensed the interior of a Rare Metal, the worldview he had formed over more than twenty years collapsed.

He even began to wonder whether Blue Star and the Douluo Continent, two worlds so highly similar, had vastly different physical laws due to the influence of elements and Soul Power.

With that mindset, he cast aside the blind confidence of a transmigrator and, for the first time, came to know, examine, and understand this strange world from an entirely new perspective.

It was from that moment onward that he truly worked out the rudiments of Hundred Forgings.

After twenty full minutes of storm-like hammering, the Tungsten Steel on the forge had become an excellent metal billet.

Measured by the standards of later generations, this piece of Tungsten Steel could absolutely be called high-grade Hundred Forgings.

If he sold it to a blacksmith's shop or some low-level Soul Engineers, he could easily exchange it for quite a few Gold Soul Coins.

"Feels like... something's still missing."

Qian Chaoguang set down his forging hammer, wiped the sweat from his brow, and activated Extreme Ice Light to lower the temperature in the forging room somewhat.

Beside the forge lay nine identical ingots of Tungsten Steel.

These were materials ordered from him by the blacksmith's shop.

After the Old Butler passed away, unwilling to simply live off his savings, he had begun taking forging orders from time to time to earn some income.

He had successfully completed the most basic Hundred Forgings within a month of cultivating the Spirit Refining Art.

The rudiments of this technique already existed in this era, but it had always lacked that final step.

Blacksmiths without the ability had only explored its edges, while capable Soul Engineers placed greater importance on inscribing Core Formations and dismissed it as worthless.

Thus, this technique was not unearthed until several thousand years later.

Now, Qian Chaoguang had mastered it ahead of time.

Using forging to optimize the arrangement of certain grains without damaging the metal's internal structure, thereby enhancing the metal's own strength—that was the mystery of Hundred Forgings.

Hundred Forgings was easy, but Thousand Forging was the true starting point for entering the realm of Spiritual Forging.

Only after successfully completing Thousand Forging once could Qian Chaoguang truly be considered beyond the scope of an ordinary blacksmith.

Trying to reverse-engineer this technique from the scant descriptions in the Original Work was truly too difficult.

Ding-a-ling...

Just as Qian Chaoguang was feeling regretful, the bell hanging from the door rang.

A little head cautiously poked in.

"Big brother, are you busy?"

"No. What's up?"

Huo Yutong darted into the forging room, holding up a Rare Metal the size of a human head.

"Hehe, it's your birthday today. I got you a present."

"This is... Azurite Iron?"

Having been in the blacksmithing trade for so long, Qian Chaoguang recognized the nature of the metal in Huo Yutong's hands at a glance.

Even among Rare Metals, this was considered quite a good kind.

A piece of Azurite Iron this large was worth at least several dozen, perhaps nearly a hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Aside from the weekly allowance he gave Huo Yutong, all the household money was under his control.

Where she had gotten the money to buy Rare Metal was already obvious.

He Did Not Know how long this little girl had been saving up.

Qian Chaoguang sighed helplessly.

"You secretly went out to take shady jobs again, didn't you? How many times have I told you? It's very dangerous for you to do that..."

"Hehehe, but it's your birthday..."

Huo Yutong held the Azurite Iron and giggled foolishly, refusing to answer the important part.

Qian Chaoguang had always strictly forbidden her from going out to work alone.

She was still too young, and she had grown up in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion without ever having Had Contact With society. Qian Chaoguang worried that she would be deceived or swindled, and he also worried that Evil Soul Masters would set their sights on her.

A young girl with low cultivation, no backing, and a spiritual-type Body Martial Soul was simply perfect material in the eyes of Evil Soul Masters.

But...

How could he truly bring himself to scold Huo Yutong, who had depended on each other with him for so long?

Qian Chaoguang took the Azurite Iron from her hands and affectionately patted her head.

"Just this once. Don't let it happen again."

"Hehe, Big Brother is the best! Then I'll go make Big Brother a feast!"

With that, Huo Yutong vanished in a flash.

"This girl, honestly..."

Qian Chaoguang shook his head and held the Azurite Iron in his hand.

Feeling the faint warmth Huo Yutong had left on it, something within him seemed to have been touched.

How about...

Trying again?

The instant that thought arose, it grew like wild grass in Qian Chaoguang's heart, impossible to suppress any longer.

He skillfully lit the forge and placed the Azurite Iron at the nozzle.

A few minutes later, the surface of the originally pale green Azurite Iron had been heated to a faint blue. This proved it had reached the proper temperature and could be forged.

Qian Chaoguang secured it on the anvil, adjusted the nozzle, held his breath, focused his mind, and gently swung his forging hammer.

Ding.

The hammer touched the metal, releasing a pleasant chime.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

That strange melody rang out once more as the Hundred Forgings process rapidly advanced.

This time, Qian Chaoguang seemed to enter some strange state. The hammer and metal formed a unique resonance, as though the Azurite Iron being forged had come alive and was communicating with him.

Gradually, the Azurite Iron began to shrink as the refining effects of Hundred Forgings slowly emerged.

Even Qian Chaoguang himself did not know how many times he had struck it.

The sound of hammering seemed to vanish. Before his eyes, the Azurite Iron appeared to emit a faint, indistinct glow.

With every strike, it seemed to breathe once, gradually merging with Qian Chaoguang's own breathing.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his forging speed increased. The strength of his entire body seemed to gather within those two forging hammers.

His Bloodline Power surged at full force, gradually rising from the surface of his body with every hammer blow.

It was a feeling impossible to describe with words, something only those who had truly experienced it could understand.

Now, Qian Chaoguang had only one thought in his heart.

This might work!