Thousand Refinements Special Effect

Mang Tian turned his gaze back to his two disciples.

"Do you understand what Thousand Forging is now?" Mang Tian's tone returned to its usual calm.

His method of teaching the two was different from that of ordinary teachers. Usually, he did not teach them too much directly; only when his disciples gained insight through actual practice would he offer guidance.

Tang Wulin nodded first. "Near the end, the Sinking Silver felt as if it had come alive."

Tang Wuyang added, "Mm. With every hammer strike, I could hear its joyful cries."

The corners of Mang Tian's mouth lifted once more, and he nodded. "That's right. You're both correct."

"As the saying goes, Thousand Refinements Become Spirit."

"Hundred Refinements Purification removes impurities from metal, while Thousand Forging is the process of granting metal life."

"Only after Thousand Forging gives it life can the metal itself undergo a qualitative transformation and evolve its own unique properties."

Hearing Mang Tian's words, Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin both murmured the four words "Thousand Refinements Become Spirit," repeatedly recalling what Mang Tian had just said.

Ignoring their reactions, Mang Tian continued, "This is your first Thousand Forging work. There is a tradition in the Forging World: whenever a Forging Master completes their first Thousand Forging product, they perform a Blood Sacrifice on it, allowing that piece of metal to remain their personal collection forever."

Blood Sacrifice?

This brand-new term immediately caught both of their attention.

Before they could ask, Mang Tian explained, "Blood Sacrifice creates a Bloodline Connection between you, making it like a part of your body. It can also allow a Thousand Forging product to evolve even stronger properties."

Tang Ziran, standing nearby, could not help but interject. "Brother Mang, if every Thousand Forging work needed a Blood Sacrifice, how much blood would you Forging Masters have to lose?"

Mang Tian rolled his eyes at him speechlessly. "Don't talk nonsense when you don't understand. Do you think every Thousand Forging product is worth a Blood Sacrifice?"

"A Forging Master's first Thousand Forging product must undergo a Blood Sacrifice. That is a rule of the Forging World. Other than that, few Forging Masters use the Blood Sacrifice method."

"Normally, only when a Forging Master creates a work they are extremely satisfied with and intends to use personally will they perform a Blood Sacrifice."

"After all, once a Blood Sacrifice is performed, that piece of metal can only be used by the Forging Master who performed it. If anyone else uses it, regardless of its purpose, the metal itself will not acknowledge them. Forcing its use could easily cause the metal to collapse outright."

"A Blood Sacrifice is essentially a ritual of acknowledging an owner."

"Therefore, Forging Masters normally do not perform Blood Sacrifices on Thousand Forging products."

"Unless a client requests a Blood Sacrifice for themselves, the ritual will not be performed on the metal."

"Wulin, Wuyang, this is also what I want to emphasize to you. Unless it is metal you truly need for yourself and have forged exceptionally well, do not use Blood Sacrifice lightly. It will damage your vitality."

"Yes, Teacher Mang Tian!"

Although the two answered earnestly, their gazes never left the Sinking Silver before them.

"Now, these two pieces of Sinking Silver are yours." Mang Tian smiled.

The two turned around at the same time. Tang Wulin hesitated slightly. "But, Teacher, we can't afford them."

The surprise and joy in Tang Wuyang's eyes instantly vanished upon hearing those words. He lowered his head slightly, looking quite dejected.

Mang Tian said, "You don't need to buy them. You've earned them."

"Besides, there is a rule in the Forging World. No matter who provides the materials, the first Thousand Forging product must belong to the Forging Master."

"Now that you can perform Thousand Forging, the pair of Tungsten Steel Hammers in your hands are no longer suitable. These two pieces of Sinking Silver are too small to be used for making parts, but they are just right for forging new Forging Hammers."

"Before you report to the Intermediate Academy, forge your own hammers first."

"At the same time, I want to see exactly what evolution effects your first Thousand Forging works will have."

"Teacher, are you really giving these two pieces of Sinking Silver to us just like that?" Though he said that, Tang Wuyang's eyes were already filled with excitement.

Tang Wulin also looked at Mang Tian in disbelief, as though confirming whether his teacher's earlier words were true.

"Would I lie to you?" Mang Tian said irritably.

"It's getting late. Go home for today and get some rest. Come back early tomorrow morning to forge your own Sinking Silver Hammers."

After receiving a definite answer, a brilliant smile instantly appeared on Tang Wuyang's face. Together with Tang Wulin, he gave Mang Tian a deep bow.

"Thank you, Teacher!" After thanking him in unison, the two excitedly picked up the Sinking Silver in front of them.

The Thousand Refinements Deep Sea Silver felt utterly unlike its appearance suggested the moment he held it, its immense weight pressing down through his arms.

Tang Wuyang silently estimated that although this piece of Sinking Silver did not look particularly large, it probably weighed close to three hundred kilograms.

The instant he touched the metal, he immediately felt the Bloodline Connection his teacher had mentioned. It was as if it should have been a part of his body from the start. The feeling was quite strange.

Tang Wuyang glanced at his older brother beside him and saw the same fondness in Tang Wulin's eyes as he looked at the Sinking Silver in his arms. Clearly, Tang Wulin was feeling the same thing.

Looking back at the Sinking Silver in his arms, Tang Wuyang could not help feeling full of anticipation. What would it feel like to use a Forging Hammer made from this piece of Sinking Silver?

Over the following days, Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin devoted themselves wholeheartedly to Forging. Every day after school, they went straight into the room where the two of them could forge at the same time.

The joy of completing Thousand Forging filled them with motivation.

What Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin did not know was that only after both of them completed Thousand Forging did Mang Tian truly acknowledge them as his inheritors.

At times, he even stopped doing his own work and focused entirely on carefully teaching them.

The reason he had them carry out the later steps in the room where they had completed Thousand Forging was also so Mang Tian could conveniently guide them both through their Forging problems at once.

Three days later, the two pairs of Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammers, tempered through countless strikes, were finally completed.

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin each looked at the pair of hammers on their own forging table, their hearts filled with satisfaction.

Forging Thousand Refinements Deep Sea Silver did not count as completion. That was only the blank.

Only now, after the Sinking Silver had been shaped, did it count as the two boys' first Thousand Forging products.

Since the Thousand Refinements Metal they used was all Sinking Silver, Tang Wuyang's and Tang Wulin's Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammers looked extremely similar, differing only in small details.

A careful look would reveal that both pairs of Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammers were covered in wave-like dark patterns across their hammerheads and handles, as if they contained inexhaustible power.

In terms of design, they were not even much different from the Tungsten Steel Hammers the two had owned before. Even their size was exactly the same as before.

Although the Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammers looked no different from their former Tungsten Steel Hammers at first glance, they were several times heavier.

If the two had not experienced a considerable increase in strength after becoming Soul Masters, swinging their respective Sinking Silver Hammers would truly have been no easy task.

Looking at his finished product, Tang Wuyang held it in his hand to feel it, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Mang Tian suggested, "Try them both. Let's see what Thousand Refinements Special Effects they have."

A rare look of anticipation appeared in the eyes of this Master Craftsman Level Forging Master.

The brothers exchanged glances. Before Tang Wuyang could yield the turn to him, Tang Wulin spoke first. "Wuyang, you go first."

Tang Wuyang did not refuse. After nodding, he gripped the hammer handles tightly with both hands. Soul Power instantly surged through his body, and that feeling of Bloodline Connection appeared again.

A piece of metal that had already been smelted was placed on the forging table before him.

Tang Wuyang's eyes narrowed as he instantly became serious. Out of habit, he lightly tapped the metal before him with his left-hand hammer.

However, a strange scene unfolded.

Tang Wuyang had clearly only lightly touched the metal once with his left hammer, yet three crisp chimes rang out. "Clang, clang, clang."

Tang Wuyang, as if he had not yet understood what had happened, froze. Tang Wulin tilted his head beside him in confusion, completely unable to understand what was going on.

But Mang Tian, standing beside him, abruptly contracted his pupils and said eagerly, "Wuyang, quick, try it again!"

Obediently, Tang Wuyang lightly tapped it again with his left-hand hammer.

"Clang, clang, clang." It was still three crisp chimes.

"Strike it hard!" Mang Tian barked in a low voice.

Tang Wuyang's right hand followed, swinging the hammer down viciously onto the metal.

"Bang, bang, bang!" Three muffled impacts rang out again.

This time, because his swing had a greater range, all three people in the room clearly saw that the instant the hammerhead struck down, two afterimages were dragged out behind the Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammer.

The latter two booms should have been caused by them.

"What is this?" Tang Wuyang looked blankly toward Mang Tian in the distance.

Mang Tian was somewhat stunned as well. He murmured, "Stacking Hammer effect."

"Stacking Hammer?"

Before Tang Wuyang could ask further, Mang Tian shifted his gaze to Tang Wulin beside him.

"Wulin, your turn."

Tang Wuyang did not continue asking. Instead, he picked up his Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammer and obediently stepped aside.

"Yes."

Gripping his own Sinking Silver Hammer tightly, Tang Wulin walked to the spot where Tang Wuyang had stood earlier.

Just like Tang Wuyang before him, he raised his left hand and lightly tapped the metal.

"Clang." A crisp ringing sound hummed through the room.

Although it did not ring three times in succession like Tang Wuyang's, this strike was clearly different as well.

Mang Tian had completely forgotten to manage his expression by now. He swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "S-strike it hard."

With a low grunt, Tang Wulin swung up his hammer with his right hand and smashed it down fiercely.

Boom!

The instant the Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammer struck down, Tang Wulin could clearly feel that the Forging Hammer in his hand seemed to be vibrating subtly and rapidly. His right arm trembled slightly without his control as well, while the entire forging table emitted waves of humming.

Vaguely, fine powder seemed to seep out from the metal that had been struck.

Only after quite some time did Mang Tian force out two words from his throat, his voice trembling slightly from extreme shock. "Vibration Hammer?!"

Suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart, Mang Tian could not help giving his two disciples a strange look.

"You two brats really are Little Monsters!"

"Even I have never forged a Forging Hammer with either a Stacking Hammer effect or a Vibration Hammer effect."

He calmed his somewhat hurried breathing, which had quickened with excitement.

Although Mang Tian had vaguely guessed earlier that Tang Wuyang's and Tang Wulin's first Thousand Forging products might develop decent special effects, he never imagined they would be these two exceptional effects.

Seeing that the two still did not understand what had happened, Mang Tian explained, "The main reason a Forging Master's first Thousand Forging work undergoes a Blood Sacrifice is that it will usually develop a high-quality special effect."

"A Blood Sacrifice allows the metal to form a Bloodline Connection with the Forging Master, raising its special effect to the utmost limit."

"Therefore, the overwhelming majority of Forging Masters turn their first Thousand Forging work into Forging Hammers that accompany them for their entire lives."

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin immediately understood. When their teacher had taken out those two pieces of Sinking Silver earlier, he had already decided to give them to the two of them.

They did not know the exact value of Sinking Silver, but they could guess that it was certainly extremely valuable, especially such large and intact pieces of purified Sinking Silver.

Mang Tian paid no attention to their slightly moved expressions and continued, "Among Thousand Forging metals, there are some exceptionally outstanding special effects. However, these superior effects can only be perfectly utilized in suitable forms."

"I have told you before that Thousand Forging Metal is in its best state only during its first shaping. Once it is reshaped into another form, it will inevitably damage the metal's internal structure and affect its quality."

"Thus, Thousand Forging products that possess exceptional special effects in a suitable form upon their first shaping are exceedingly rare in the Forging World."

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin exchanged glances. "Teacher, do you mean that my Stacking Hammer and my brother's Vibration Hammer are both superior special effects?"

Tang Wulin added, "And they are both especially suitable for Sinking Silver Hammers?"

Mang Tian smiled and nodded. "That's right. I'm even a little jealous of you two brothers. After the Blood Sacrifice, Sinking Silver Hammers with such superior special effects can only be used by you."

As he spoke, he looked at the Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammers hanging from Tang Wuyang's hands at his sides.

"The so-called Stacking Hammer effect means that after a single hammer strike, the metal itself resonates and produces a second, or even third, hammering effect."

"The ones in Wuyang's hands have a triple Stacking Hammer effect, the strongest of all Stacking Hammer effects."

"Simply put, when you perform Hundred Refinements Purification on metal, a triple Stacking Hammer effect can save you at least half the time."

"The two additional Stacking Hammer strikes possess seventy percent and fifty percent of your initial force respectively."

Then, Mang Tian shifted his gaze to Tang Wulin's Sinking Silver Hammer.

"As for Wulin's Vibration Hammer effect, it generates high-frequency vibrations when the Forging Hammer strikes metal, shaking impurities out of the metal."

At this point, Mang Tian paused. Only after looking at the two did he continue, "But whether it is the Stacking Hammer effect or the Vibration Hammer effect, as long as you control them properly, they will allow you to achieve twice the result with half the effort in any future Forging work."

Tang Wulin asked, "Teacher, are the Stacking Hammer and Vibration Hammer effects easy to control?"

Mang Tian said, "They normally aren't easy to control, but each of your pairs of Sinking Silver Hammers has undergone a Blood Sacrifice."

"The greatest characteristic of a Bloodline Connection is that it merges with the Forging Master as one. Naturally, controlling them will not be too difficult."

"So, you must practice diligently and gain control over your respective Forging Hammer effects as soon as possible."

Mang Tian's expression instantly became serious as he said solemnly to them, "Also, try not to use these two pairs of Forging Hammers in front of others. Although the Forging World is not like the world of Soul Masters, competition is just as fierce."

"Until you are strong enough to protect yourselves, do not casually reveal Blood Sacrifice Forging Hammers of such exceptional quality. Understood?"

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin were both somewhat bewildered. Though they did not know why, they knew their teacher was saying this for their own good.