Xie An continuously sensed the changes within himself and the state of the elements of heaven and earth.
Ever since Xie An had become a Limit Douluo and even a Quasi-God, he had tried countless times to attempt Heavenly Forging.
He had a feeling that his forging skills had long been sufficient, but whenever he reached a critical moment, an invisible will descended upon him, preventing him from performing Heavenly Forging and even causing his attempts to fail.
Xie An knew that the Douluo Plane was probably deliberately restricting humanity from growing too powerful, allowing only one God Craftsman to emerge in each era.
As for killing Zhen Hua to become a God Craftsman himself, he would never consider such a thing.
How would that be any different from an Evil Soul Master?
Besides, Zhen Hua had contributed to the Douluo Continent and done no wrong.
Neither morality nor reason gave him any grounds to kill Zhen Hua.
Over time, he had given up on Heavenly Forging.
Now, with his strength having risen once again, he wanted to try Heavenly Forging once more.
At a certain moment, he felt that both the elements of heaven and earth and his own condition had reached their peak.
A spear intent burst forth, ripping the roof off the secret chamber.
Xie An's aura abruptly changed.
"Why can't I sense the Temple Master's aura anymore?"
A crowd had gathered outside the secret chamber to watch. Yuanen Zhentian, the people of the War God Temple, and countless members of the Yuanen Clan were all curious whether the Heavenly Forging would succeed.
"He's in a state of unity between heaven and man." Yuanen Zhentian, a Limit Douluo, answered the question.
From entering the secret chamber to reaching a state of unity between heaven and man, Xie An had taken less than half an hour.
Yuanen Zhentian now had a clearer understanding of the War God Temple Master.
A pair of Forging Hammers appeared in Xie An's hands, and he took out a piece of excellent Gold-Water Interfusion.
He had snatched this piece of Gold-Water Interfusion from Zhen Hua after becoming a Saint Craftsman.
There was no flashy display of skill. Xie An simply infused his spear intent into the Forging Hammers and brought one down on the metal.
With a clang, everyone felt the metal undergo an indescribable change.
Three more clangs rang out. To their astonishment, a purple energy radiated from the metal, and it had also taken on an indescribable sharpness.
In an instant, the metal erupted in dazzling light. The shadow of a dark-purple World-Breaking Spear appeared in the sky, stretching more than a zhang long, while the elements in the air seemed to cheer for it.
First-Grade Thousand Refinement, a radiance one zhang long.
Xie An was now completely absorbed in the task, striking the metal again and again.
"Four strikes! He seems to have taken only four strikes to forge the metal to this level." A blacksmith from the Yuanen Clan cried out in shock.
He was a Grandmaster Craftsman, the most skilled blacksmith in the Yuanen Clan.
Yet even seeing the War God Temple Master forge, he couldn't help crying out in astonishment.
Xie An's aura continued to rise. An indomitable will radiated from him, as if it could shatter all things and surpass everything.
"So this is your Dao?"
Yuanen Zhentian's expression grew complicated. As someone who had comprehended the Law of Strength, he had once dreamed of Proving the Dao through Strength, of Breaking Ten Thousand Laws with One Force.
Unfortunately, the dream was beautiful, but reality was harsh.
He had languished at the Demigod realm for nearly thirty years. In another ten, his potential would be nearly exhausted.
If he couldn't even break through to the Quasi-God realm, how could he talk of Proving the Dao through Strength?
Xie An didn't notice the complicated emotions of the Yuanen Clan's patriarch. He simply kept striking the metal, refining it again and again in an effort to bring it to its most perfect state.
The Forging Hammers rose and fell. Amid a blur of afterimages, a hint of golden-purple light seemed to be taking shape.
The two hammers danced, weaving up and down as they struck the metal without pause.
Clang, clang! By the time the Thousand Refinement was complete, the metal had shrunk from the size of a volleyball to that of a shot put.
Now, with every ringing strike, the shot-put-sized metal continued to shrink.
A purple glow flashed. The sparks that had appeared with each strike gradually dwindled and then disappeared.
The metallic sheen continued to draw inward, as if something were about to be born.
"This metal is about to give birth to life."
The blacksmith who had cried out earlier had calmed down and was explaining to the others.
Though he was only a Grandmaster Craftsman, he had the knowledge to recognize this.
A soft crack came from inside the metal, like a chick breaking out of its shell.
The metal had developed a trace of self-awareness.
No explanation was needed. Everyone could see at a glance that this was Spirit Forging Creation.
Long Tianwu swallowed and turned to Dark Phoenix Douluo. "Dark Phoenix, did you know the Temple Master could forge like this?"
Dark Phoenix Douluo's eyes were just as dazed, but she still nodded.
"I saw him forge back when we were training together. I just didn't know his skills were this good."
Dark Phoenix Douluo's thoughts went back to the time before Xie An had become the War God Temple Master.
"Xie An, why are you always studying forging?"
"The most important thing for a Soul Master is Soul Power cultivation. Come outside and fight me."
Twenty-year-old Leng Yulai watched Xie An, who was hunched over his forging, and spoke with an amused smile.
Xie An didn't reply at all. He just kept forging.
Only when she used a Soul Skill to burn down Xie An's forging table did he finally bring out his World-Breaking Spear, a weapon that rivaled the Sky-Propping Spear.
The result was obvious: Leng Yulai was soundly beaten.
Later, Xie An chose to join the Federation's army, and they didn't see each other for forty or fifty years.
They met again only when she was on the verge of falling into the path of Evil Soul Masters.
She had thought he had long since faded into obscurity, but Xie An defeated her with a single thrust of his spear.
At the time, Leng Yulai had just become a Level 94 Titled Douluo and was only one step away from becoming a Super Douluo.
After that, Xie An helped her resolve her inner turmoil, and she joined the War God Temple.
The forging continued. Xie An could feel the metal's affection for him, but he still didn't dare relax for even a moment.
The heavy strikes, interspersed with occasional crisp ones, formed a symphony full of beauty.
The metal visibly began to shrink, as if proving the saying that the essence was concentrated.
Pale-purple light continued to gather on the metal, and waves of sharpness leaked from it.
Finally, as the purple deepened until it was almost black, everyone present felt a hint of joy.
Soul-Severing Enlightenment awakened the metal's intelligence.
No one was surprised anymore. All that remained was admiration and awe.
Suddenly, spiritual power gathered behind Xie An, and the World-Breaking Spear appeared once more, releasing an unparalleled spear intent, as if it would pierce through heaven and earth.
Then the World-Breaking Spear vanished, and his spiritual power turned into points of light that drifted toward the metal.
"You can forge like this too? A marvel of skill, an absolute marvel!"
Yuanen Zhentian was the first to react. The War God Temple Master had used his powerful spiritual strength to force his own Dao into the metal.
The blacksmith beside him was already stunned. He had seen Soul Forging before, but never anything like this. He had never even heard of such a technique.
Long Tianwu tugged at Ao Rui and whispered, "Old Ao, you've seen Zhen Hua, the God Craftsman. Could he forge to this level?"
"I don't know." Ao Rui shook his head gently.
"Hey, why do you always say those three words?"
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