Three-Level Leap, Thousand Refinement in One Step

He led Leng Yaozhu and Wang Chuan through another door on the side of the office, entering his private forging studio.

The security level here was the highest in the Federation, completely isolated from the outside world; only here could the sounds of forging be kept from leaking out in the slightest.

The studio was incredibly spacious, with the walls on both sides lined with custom-made metal display racks.

Arranged by category on these racks were metal ingots of various colors and shapes; some emitted a faint glow, while others appeared plain and unassuming yet contained strange, inner fluctuations.

Wang Chuan's gaze swept over them, and his heart tightened slightly.

These were almost all top-tier rare metals that were priceless and unavailable on the market; only someone with the status, position, and skill of Zhen Hua could collect them on such a scale.

Zhen Hua walked over to a workbench and took down a pair of forging hammers from the tool rack beside it—they were standard issue, but the materials used were exceptionally refined.

He then brought out a piece of metal about the size of a human head, dark in color with a shimmering silver-gray luster.

This was Sinking Silver.

It was a metal with relatively stable properties, commonly used for beginners to practice and test their skills.

He placed the hammers and the Sinking Silver on the workbench, looked at Wang Chuan, and spoke in a steady voice:

"Keep hammering this Sinking Silver until I tell you to stop."

Wang Chuan felt a slight sense of surprise in his heart.

This testing method seemed completely different from the one Tang Wulin had undergone when he followed Mang Tian in the original story.

However, he thought about it for a moment and realized that perhaps this was the Divine Craftsman's way of testing—more direct, and better able to challenge a forger's most fundamental intuition and instinct.

Without hesitation, Wang Chuan stepped forward and gripped the forging hammers with both hands.

The hammer handles felt cool to the touch and had a significant weight, but for his strength, they were just right.

He adjusted his breathing, raised his right hammer, aimed at the center of the Sinking Silver, and using his arm to drive the power from his waist, he struck down!

"Bang!"

A dull, solid sound of impact echoed throughout the soundproof studio. The surface of the Sinking Silver sank slightly, leaving a clear hammer mark.

Immediately after, Wang Chuan did not pause. His left hammer followed, his arms alternating, and a rhythmic "Bang! Bang! Bang!" began to ring out continuously, like the beating of war drums, soon filling the entire space.

To the side, Zhen Hua stood with his arms crossed, watching quietly without much expression on his face.

Given Wang Chuan's physique as a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor and the physical attributes brought by his top-tier Martial Soul, it was not surprising that he could swing the hammers continuously with even force.

What he truly wanted to test was whether Wang Chuan, without any systematic knowledge, could touch upon something deeper in forging through pure, instinctive, and intuitive hammering...

That "intent" which communicates with the metal and guides the changes in its internal structure.

Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, an hour had passed.

Inside the forging room, the "bang-bang" sound of hammering had never ceased; in fact, the rhythm had become increasingly stable, and the control of force had grown more refined.

Fine beads of sweat had formed on Wang Chuan's forehead, but his breathing remained steady and long.

The Five Virtues Phoenix Martial Soul within him was quietly circulating, maintaining an incredibly close connection with the surrounding heaven and earth energy.

The physical energy consumed with every strike was replenished by the pure energy pouring in during every breath, forming a perfect dynamic balance.

Let alone an hour, even forging for several days in a row would not be a difficult task for him.

As for that piece of Sinking Silver, under Wang Chuan's continuous and even hammering, it had undergone obvious changes.

Its volume had shrunk by about fifteen percent, the dull color on its surface had become uniform, and its texture was visibly much denser, faintly revealing an inner silver glow—this was already the hallmark of the "Hundred Refinement" level.

For a Soul Master with a qualified physique who understood basic force-application techniques, reaching Hundred Refinement was not particularly difficult.

However, Zhen Hua still did not call for a stop.

His gaze became increasingly focused, even carrying a hint of anticipation.

Hundred Refinement is easy to obtain, but Thousand Refinement is hard to find.

Thousand Refinement, also known as "intentional forging," is the critical step where the forger achieves a deep resonance with the metal, using their own will to guide the internal structure of the metal to undergo a qualitative change.

The way every forger completes Thousand Refinement, and their insights, are unique.

What he wanted to see was whether Wang Chuan could "realize" this crucial step on his own without any hints!

If he could, it would prove that this child's talent for forging was terrifying!

In the future, he would surely be able to become a Divine Craftsman!

At this moment, Wang Chuan's mind was completely immersed in the hammers in his hands and the metal before him.

At first, he had only been mechanically repeating the hammering motion, feeling the feedback of the force.

Gradually, amidst the continuous sound of the strikes and the ongoing interaction between his body and the metal, a marvelous sense of rhythm began to emerge in his heart.

He was no longer just using his eyes to see the landing point or his ears to hear the sound; it was as if he could "feel" the subtle textures, the arrangement of particles, and the flow of energy within the metal beneath his hammer...

He subconsciously adjusted the angle, force, and rhythm of his strikes, no longer just hammering to compress it.

Instead, like a brilliant painter, he was "depicting" with the tip of the hammer, guiding those metal particles to arrange and combine in a more rational, harmonious, and "vibrant" direction.

The volume of the Sinking Silver stopped shrinking.

But its internal texture, under every strike of Wang Chuan's—which appeared identical but actually contained subtle differences—was undergoing a subconscious, extremely precise adjustment and optimization.

An indescribable sense of "connection" quietly established itself between Wang Chuan and the Sinking Silver.

As a Divine Craftsman, how could Zhen Hua's perception be anything but sharp?

He caught that subtle change in Wang Chuan's hammering almost the very first moment it occurred.

It was an "intent" that resonated faintly with the metal, attempting to guide its form rather than merely forcing a change upon it!

A flash of brilliance ignited in his eyes as he held his breath, his heart already churning with turbulent waves of shock.

Could it really be...

To have touched the threshold of Thousand Refinement without any guidance?!

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..."

Suddenly, the rhythm of Wang Chuan's hammer strikes underwent an extremely minute change; it became softer, yet seemed to carry a certain peculiar cadence.

Right amidst this series of special strikes, the piece of Sinking Silver suddenly gave a slight tremor!

Immediately following, a brilliant, pure silver radiance erupted from within the Sinking Silver!

The silver light was intense, instantly breaking through the blockade of the forge fire's glow and illuminating the entire vast, slightly dim forging room until it was as bright as day!

Wang Chuan experienced a flash of inspiration; he raised both hammers high, then brought them down in perfect coordination, striking the Sinking Silver simultaneously with a force that contained every bit of his current realization!

"Boom—!"

A dull thud, far heavier and more resonant than any previous strike, echoed through the room.

Under this blow, the bright silver light did not weaken; instead, it became even more unbridled and agile, flowing and dancing across the surface of the metal as if it had gained a life of its own!

It's done!

The phenomenon of Thousand Refinement!