Clang!
As the metallic crash of a massive hammer striking metal rang out, countless sparks flew in every direction.
Once, twice, five times...
At first, Xu Yue's hammering was clumsy and stiff.
But gradually, his movements became smoother and smoother.
Every strike came with visible progress.
Beneath the Black Gold Hammer in his hand, the metal being forged visibly shrank.
The impurities within it were continuously tempered out by the furnace flames and hammer strikes.
Faint splendor slowly bloomed across the metal.
At the sight of this, Mu Xi, who had already prepared words of comfort, slowly parted her red lips until they formed an O.
Beside her, the light in her father Mu Chen's eyes grew increasingly fervent.
If he had not been afraid of disturbing Xu Yue's forging, he would have burst into laughter already.
A genius—an absolute genius in blacksmithing.
Such efficiency could absolutely not be explained by Ultimate Strength alone.
"Could it be because of his Second Martial Soul? Does it enhance his learning speed that noticeably?"
Clang, clang, clang...
The forging continued, and the splendor on the metal became increasingly distinct.
"Hundred Refinement."
Mu Chen's voice was extremely soft.
In an instant, Mu Xi's heart shook violently.
Just two or three minutes ago, Xu Yue had been a beginner who had only just come into contact with forging.
But now, he could already be called a Level 1 Blacksmith, standing on the same level as her.
And the shock continued to ferment.
Another three minutes later, the metal had shrunk by more than thirty percent.
"First Grade Hundred Refinement, Level 2 Blacksmith!"
Mu Chen spoke again, yet Xu Yue's forging had still not ended.
The crisp hammering rang without pause, like a magnificent melody being played.
When the final hammer fell heavily.
A dazzling radiance shot skyward from the metal.
Metal possessed spirit; Thousand Refinement Essence.
Level 3 Blacksmith!
Before the Forging Table, Xu Yue panted softly as he looked at the metal before him, which gave off a faint spiritual glow.
At first, he truly did not know how to forge, but the Authority of the Herrscher of Reason had quickly taken effect.
The scenes of Mu Chen teaching Mu Xi replayed again and again in his mind. That knowledge and experience, imparted through earnest instruction, quickly allowed him to grasp the patterns.
"Haha... Little Yue, you were born to be a blacksmith!"
At that moment, Mu Chen suddenly pulled Xu Yue into an embrace and laughed loudly.
"Give me twenty years—no, fifteen years—and you will become the next Divine Blacksmith after my senior brother."
At that point, he paused and abruptly changed his words.
"No... no! You will become someone who surpasses my senior brother! Haha..."
"My senior brother was only Level 2 at eleven, while you are already Level 3 at six! There is no comparison, no comparison at all!"
Mu Xi also broke into a smile. "Congratulations, A-Yue! You have become a Level 3 Blacksmith!" Yet deep within her eyes, there was a trace of dimness.
Although Mu Chen could not have been more satisfied with Xu Yue's performance, Xu Yue himself felt that he could go even further.
"Uncle Mu! I want to try again!"
Mu Chen's laughter stalled at those words, but he soon resumed laughing and patted Xu Yue on the shoulder.
"No problem. You can try as many times as you want."
Seeing Mu Chen agree, Xu Yue swept his gaze over the pile of metals nearby and eventually chose a piece of somewhat black rare metal.
It was pitch-black all over, with tiny golden specks flickering beneath the furnace light, much like stars in the night sky.
Xu Yue had heard Mu Xi mention it during her lessons. It was called Star Meteor Iron, a top-grade rare metal left behind by meteorites from beyond the heavens.
Although the piece of Star Meteor Iron before him was only around twenty centimeters in diameter, it weighed a shocking one hundred and fifty kilograms or more, and was incredibly dense.
Next, Xu Yue selected a Sixth Grade Fusion Forging Hammer from the hammer rack nearby.
The Sixth Grade forging hammer was astonishingly heavy, no lighter than the Star Meteor Iron from before. It already amounted to half of Xu Yue's own arm strength.
Using it for forging would be extremely difficult and might even injure him.
Seeing this, Mu Chen was just about to offer a warning.
When a faint azure light appeared beside Xu Yue.
It was the Star of Eden.
The next moment, black-red light rippled across the Star of Eden's surface, and an invisible Gravity Domain instantly descended.
After breaking through to become a Soul Master, the Gravity Domain's multiplier had increased from onefold to twofold.
And now, Xu Yue intended to use it in forging.
Gravity Domain: Twofold Weakening!
Target: Forging hammer!
In an instant, black-red light covered the surface of the forging hammer.
Xu Yue's arm, which had been trembling slightly, immediately steadied with the aid of the Gravity Domain.
Mu Chen's expression turned somewhat astonished. He had not expected Xu Yue's Gravity Domain to be usable in such a way.
Walking back to the Forging Table, Xu Yue did not begin forging immediately as he had before.
Instead, he stood quietly in place and slowly closed his eyes.
Mu Chen and Mu Xi were both confused at the sight, but neither of them spoke to interrupt him.
What they did not see was that Xu Yue's eyes beneath his eyelids had already lit up.
Authority of Rock, activate!
This time, Xu Yue was not using it as he had when he gave Azhdaha eyes, but to perceive.
Using metal and stone as his eyes, he saw through the past!
In but an instant, his consciousness completely immersed itself in the Star Meteor Iron, and he saw the story of all it had experienced throughout its life.
He saw an incomparably dazzling light, sensed ultimate heat, and heard a star's eruption at the end of its life.
Thus, amid the supernova explosion, this metal formed through nuclear reactions was ultimately hurled into the boundless depths of space.
After hundreds of millions of years of interstellar travel, it finally fell upon Douluo Continent, where it remained buried for a million years before being mined by a miner.
At that moment, Xu Yue sensed the spirit of the Star Meteor Iron—the emotions contained within those memories.
On the Forging Table.
Without anyone touching it, the Star Meteor Iron resting quietly there suddenly began to tremble, releasing a faint, nearly imperceptible hum.
"This... this is... spirituality?!"
Mu Chen's eyes widened. Faced with the scene before him, he did not know how to understand it or describe it.
That metal possessed spirit was common knowledge among all blacksmiths, but to awaken the spirit within, it had to undergo a blacksmith's hammering.
Yet within ten seconds of Xu Yue closing his eyes, a piece of Star Meteor Iron that had never undergone any tempering had awakened on its own, its spirituality more active than ever before.
The next moment, Xu Yue abruptly opened his eyes.
The Rock Crest in his eyes burst with unprecedented golden light, shining directly onto the Star Meteor Iron before him.
At the same time, he raised the forging hammer high. When it reached its highest point, a black-red gravitational field covered the hammerhead as he violently brought it down.
Gravity Domain: Double Amplification!
The instant the forging hammer fell, an extremely faint cry rang out from the Forging Table.
It was both like being captured by gravity and like a response from itself.
The Star Meteor Iron, which weighed more than a hundred kilograms, actually sprang from the table of its own accord and met the forging hammer crashing down toward it.
It was paying homage to its king, welcoming new life!
Loyalty! Devotion!
Clang! The forging hammer struck down heavily.
The next moment.
A brilliant spiritual light rose up and shot straight into the forging room's ceiling.
One hammer—Spirit Forging!!!
"King... King..."
"King of Casting?!!!"
Before you continue