Huo Yuhao's Talent for Forging

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. He fixed his gaze on the Star Iron glowing red atop the anvil, gripped the heavy Hammer Handle tightly in his right hand, drove power through his waist, raised the hammer high, and then...

"Bang!!!"

A crisp metallic clash suddenly exploded within the Forging Room!

The hammerhead slammed solidly into the blazing Star Iron, sending sparks flying in every direction.

Yet as that hammer fell, the light in Zhen Hua's eyes instantly froze, and his Eyebrows drew together slightly.

In the eyes of a Divine Craftsman like him, Huo Yuhao's strike had sufficient force, but its point of impact, angle, and method of exertion were utterly disordered.

It was the most primitive kind of "smashing," without the slightest trace of forging technique.

He realized that he might have been looking forward to this for nothing!

Obvious confusion filled Zhen Hua's eyes as he turned to Mu Ye and Han Tianyi beside him and asked directly, "He... has never studied forging?"

Mu Ye did not know the answer, so he said nothing and merely looked toward Han Tianyi.

Han Tianyi gently shook his head and answered truthfully, "I watched this child grow up. He is only Six Years Old and only awakened his Martial Soul not long ago."

"Before this, I can be certain that he never systematically studied any forging techniques."

"Never studied it?!"

Upon hearing that, Zhen Hua's face immediately took on an expression as though he had seen a ghost.

A six-year-old child who had never come into contact with forging could precisely grasp the ideal time to remove a material as demanding as Star Iron from the furnace during his first practical attempt?

This simply defied common sense!

Had he guessed it? Was it purely luck?

When Zhen Hua turned his gaze back toward the Forging Room, the sounds of "Bang! Bang! Bang!" had already merged into one continuous barrage.

Huo Yuhao swung the hammer again and again. His movements were still childish and awkward, yet the focus and force behind them could not be ignored.

Just as Zhen Hua had judged, Huo Yuhao's forging contained no technique or order whatsoever. He seemed to be relying solely on brute force to smash away.

Forging certainly required strength as its foundation, but that alone was nowhere near enough to qualify him to enter Zhen Hua's tutelage.

Zhen Hua sighed inwardly. It seemed that Huo Yuhao's precise timing with the heat earlier might truly have been nothing more than blind luck.

Disappointment rose in his heart, but at that moment, his gaze suddenly sharpened!

His entire body seemed to have been paused in place. He froze instantly, his pupils contracting slightly at the sight before him.

No!

His gaze locked tightly onto the Star Iron on the anvil, which was continuously changing shape beneath the barrage of hammer blows.

He noticed that although Huo Yuhao's hammering was completely unstructured and appeared to be random pounding, the impurities within the Star Iron were steadily decreasing beneath the relentless strikes of that heavy hammer!

Far more tiny black-gray fragments of impurities seeped out from the metal's surface than expected under the hammering, while the color and texture of the iron itself transformed toward a purer state!

"How is this possible?!"

Zhen Hua's heart shook violently. Holding his breath, he began to observe every detail of Huo Yuhao's movements even more carefully.

As he continued watching, a discovery that made even Zhen Hua, a Divine Craftsman, feel his scalp tingle gradually surfaced in his mind.

Every one of Huo Yuhao's seemingly irregular strikes landed at precisely the critical "nodes" where impurities were distributed within the Star Iron!

Once could be luck, twice could be coincidence...

But the dozens of strikes Huo Yuhao had made now had almost all landed precisely on those subtle "nodes" capable of effectively shaking out impurities!

That could not possibly be luck. This was talent one in ten thousand!

Under the full focus of his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao could clearly see the grain of the metal before him gradually becoming distinct and pure.

However, no matter how great his talent was, it could not bridge the gap created by experience and knowledge.

Hundred Refinement was a systematic craft involving a great deal of knowledge.

Huo Yuhao could not possibly complete Hundred Refinement independently merely by watching Zhen Hua's explanation once.

Therefore, after swinging the hammer another dozen or so times in succession, his right arm aching and numb and his breathing heavy.

Huo Yuhao's right hand trembled slightly as he lowered the Forging Hammer, which weighed several hundred jin. He exhaled a long, turbid breath carrying waves of heat and ended his "demonstration."

At the same time, outside the Forging Room.

The instant Huo Yuhao stopped hammering, Zhen Hua, who had been staring fixedly at every one of Huo Yuhao's movements, shot forward as though launched from a spring!

He moved so fast that he left an Afterimage where he had stood. In the blink of an eye, he had darted into the Forging Room and stopped directly before Huo Yuhao.

His gaze burned with shock, wild joy, disbelief... all sorts of emotions churned violently within his eyes.

Zhen Hua asked once more, "You... really have never studied forging?"

Ten Thousand Years Ago, Huo Yuhao had indeed spent a month hammering iron alongside Master Wu Ming at Wu's Blacksmith Shop, but that had only been the most basic ironworking and could not be considered forging.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao shook his head.

Upon receiving that answer, Zhen Hua's breathing unconsciously became somewhat rushed.

He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the surging turmoil in his heart. His gaze lowered to focus on the piece of Star Iron atop the Forging Table, which had been hammered into a rectangular shape.

Although its shape was somewhat ugly, judging from the efficiency and uniformity of its purification, the quality of this metal had already come infinitely close to the threshold of Hundred Refinement!

A six-year-old child who had never studied forging had actually purified a piece of Star Iron to such an extent?!

Zhen Hua abruptly Lifted Head, his voice carrying a faint, almost imperceptible tremble. "Did you... calculate every hammer strike?"

Confusion flashed through Huo Yuhao's eyes. He did not quite understand what "calculate" meant.

After thinking for a moment, he answered in a matter-of-fact tone that made Zhen Hua's heart race wildly once again, "There was no calculation. It just... felt like it should land there."

His Spirit Eyes Martial Soul could see where the concentrations of impurities were within the metal, so naturally, this was no difficult task.

"Feeling! Just feeling!!"

Upon hearing that, Zhen Hua first stiffened for a moment as if turned to stone. Then he murmured those two words over and over, repeatedly savoring them.

The next instant, an indescribable excitement and wild joy erupted from his chest like a volcano!

"Ha ha ha ha! Good! What a feeling!"

Zhen Hua abruptly threw back his head and burst into booming laughter. It was filled with delight and unconcealed excitement, even making the air in the Forging Room hum and vibrate.

At that moment, Mu Ye and Han Tianyi also came over and stood at the entrance to the Forging Room.

Seeing Zhen Hua so rarely laughing toward the heavens, unable to contain his excitement, how could they not understand that Huo Yuhao had truly and completely "conquered" this lofty Divine Craftsman!

The two exchanged a glance, undisguised shock flickering in both their eyes.

Neither had expected that on the path of forging, Huo Yuhao would display such astonishing talent that even Zhen Hua, who had seen countless geniuses, would lose his composure like this.

Zhen Hua turned back around. The excited flush on his face had yet to fully fade as he looked at his good brother Mu Ye, his voice still carrying the lingering excitement.

"Old Mu! You have not merely sent me a disciple. You have sent the continent a future Divine Craftsman!"

As soon as those words were spoken, Mu Ye and Han Tianyi were both shaken once more. They had not expected Zhen Hua's evaluation to be so high!

Zhen Hua took a deep breath and tried to calm his boiling emotions.

He turned to Huo Yuhao again and asked solemnly, "Xiao Yuhao, are you willing to take me as your master and learn forging from me?"

Huo Yuhao's heart pounded. This was the very moment he had been waiting for.

Without the slightest hesitation, he steadily stepped down from the small stool and stood before Zhen Hua.

Then, facing the continent's foremost Divine Craftsman, he bowed deeply and said, "Disciple Huo Yuhao pays respects to Teacher!"

A smile full of gratification and anticipation appeared on Zhen Hua's face. He reached out and steadily helped Huo Yuhao up.

"Good! Good! Good disciple!"

He said "good" three times in a row and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "From this day onward, you are my final disciple, Zhen Hua's final disciple! I will teach you everything I have learned in my lifetime!"