Raging Bull

A day later, the Frost Giant Axe, weighing over eighty pounds (the weight of the axe was adjusted here), finally turned a uniform orange-red. William gripped the axe body tightly with a pair of large, wide-mouthed tongs and deftly dragged it out of the furnace. Nanfudo the gnome, waiting nearby, quickly unscrewed a vial and poured a blue-black retardant over the giant axe. With a hiss of billowing white steam, the Cold Star Iron, now coated in the retardant, revealed an even brighter, more intense glow.

William clamped the axe body and brought it down heavily onto the anvil. Singers gripped the steaming giant axe with another pair of wide-mouthed tongs, holding it firmly in place. William grabbed a long-handled sledgehammer and struck the axe face with a thunderous "Clang!" Sparks showered everywhere as the axe was hammered, leaving a bowl-sized dent on its surface. The dwarf and the gnome were left nearly deafened by the shock.

"Damn it! William! Don't use so much force! You've deafened me!" The one-eyed dwarf released one hand from the tongs and vigorously dug at his ear with a thick, stubby finger. Nanfudo also grumbled and shook his head.

William ignored their complaints and continued to hammer the axe body with great force. With each strike, the Cold Star Iron gradually lost the shape of a giant axe. With Singers adjusting the angle of the clamps from time to time, the material was transformed into a thick, long square block.

Eventually, when the basin-sized axe head had been reduced to a billet over two feet long, the originally fiery red Cold Star Iron began to dim. William clamped it once more and placed it back into the furnace to heat.

When the Cold Star Iron block turned orange-red again, William pulled it out of the furnace. Nanfudo promptly applied the retardant, the dwarf took his turn, William continued his heavy forging, and then it was back into the furnace. This process was repeated until the Cold Star Iron became a thick bar over four feet long. William then began to focus his strikes on the center of the bar. Once the middle had thinned, Nanfudo stood a cutting chisel upright on it, and the dwarf struck it with a hammer to sever the iron bar into two pieces. This was repeated until the Cold Star Iron was divided into four sections and forged into long, thin iron bars. The work lasted for two days and a night, during which Torg also arranged his city affairs to join in the rotation.

On the morning of the third day, the small pieces of Adamantine being calcined finally turned a crystalline pale blue. Nanfudo the gnome alchemist carefully removed them one by one, coated them evenly with flux, and placed them back into the furnace. Having an excellent alchemist around certainly saved a lot of trouble, though William thought it would be even better if he and the dwarf didn't bicker so much.

By the fourth day, the Cold Star Iron had been forged into bars, the flux-coated Adamantine was still burning, and the largest piece of Adamantine had only just begun to change color. Leaving one person to watch the furnace, the remaining three took the time to sleep and recover their strength and spirit.

At midnight, several small pieces of Adamantine gradually turned golden-yellow. Torg, who was on watch, quickly woke the others; the real challenge was about to begin. Having absorbed enough heat, the Adamantine seemed to turn into a weightless, golden-yellow jelly. Singers carefully clamped a smaller piece, holding the tongs in one hand and a short hammer in the other, while Torg held a heavy sledgehammer. The two began to forge, one light and one heavy. Nanfudo clamped another piece of Adamantine, and William used a heavy hammer to assist. "Ding! Clang! Ding! Clang!" The sounds of the hammers intertwined in a rhythmic cadence.

Under the scorching sun, William felt that what was oozing from his body wasn't sweat, but a slick, oily substance. By now, the four of them had begun rotating in pairs; no one could withstand continuous, non-stop work, including William, who possessed an incredibly long stamina bar.

Having not seen William for several days, Phinia and the little girl couldn't stay in the city any longer, so the elf's "tutoring location" was moved to the forge. In reality, the so-called "tutoring" had long since existed in name only; the two little ones circled the furnace, peering here and there, proving themselves quite capable of causing trouble.

At this time, the north of Faerun had entered the summer month of July, and the weather had become sweltering. Phinia would occasionally fetch a bucket of icy water from the River Mirar and pour it into a wooden barrel. Once the water in the barrel wasn't quite so freezing, she would pour it over the heads of the four men, though it seemed Phinia poured water over her own head more often than anyone else.

William and Nanfudo were forging a rapier for Aelf. Because none of them had ever forged a weapon made entirely of Adamantine, even the gnome had only experimented with small amounts of Adamantine alloy in his alchemy lab. Thus, although they knew the forging method, the inexperienced group had to feel their way through the practice, and the rapier requested by the little elf, who had the least "say" in the matter, became the first test subject.

Adamantine has excellent ductility, but making this golden "jelly" change shape was somewhat difficult and required constant, prolonged hammering. William felt a bit frustrated as he struck the "stubborn fellow" on the anvil; despite his terrifying strength, nearly a hundred heavy blows had only made the little thing look slightly flatter.

Just treat it as training! William consoled himself inwardly. He began to coordinate the muscles throughout his body, pressed his tongue against his palate, focused his mind, and inhaled. The heavy sledgehammer, weighing dozens of pounds, instantly transformed into a meteor falling from the nine heavens. "Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—!" The swung hammer struck the Adamantine rapidly and fiercely. Every bit of recoil was absorbed by William's muscles and channeled into the next, even more savage blow. Nanfudo, responsible for stabilizing the billet, was completely terrified by the fierce wind of the hammer; covered in cold sweat, he squeezed his eyes shut in horror, not daring to even look.

Although he had the experience accumulated from his past life to avoid early detours, the cultivation of internal martial arts is not like leveling up by killing monsters; it requires not only hard work and a certain state of mind but also opportunity. Just as a person in a moment of crisis might suddenly lift a heavy object they could never normally move or climb an insurmountable wall, turning the impossible into the possible in an instant—this is opportunity. When ordinary people encounter such an opportunity, they not only fail to maintain it but may even injure themselves. A practitioner of internal martial arts, however, seeks to excavate their own potential, using cultivation to turn such an opportunity into instinct, or even to transcend the limits of the human body.

But to truly achieve this, one must first experience it. It is like someone learning to swim: they can listen to a pile of tips and techniques on the shore, but the first time they jump into the water, they can only swallow "clear soup" and scream for help. Conversely, someone who knows how to swim, even if they haven't been in the water for decades, can still float the moment they fall in; this is the instinctive memory of the body. Therefore, some martial artists choose to train in dangerous places like cliffs, beaches with crashing waves, or by challenging others to duels, using dangerous encounters to stimulate their potential—this is also called "bumping into opportunity."

(Side note: A certain martial artist was training on the edge of a cliff, trying to break through a bottleneck, when he accidentally slipped and fell. But he was lucky enough to survive, and this adventure suddenly stimulated his potential, greatly increasing his power, leading people to think he had obtained some divine martial arts manual. After becoming invincible under heaven, the martial artist, having lost his motivation and encountering another bottleneck, returned to the cliff where he had previously broken through, attempting to jump again to achieve another breakthrough. Unfortunately, this time he fell and smashed his brains out. A guy following behind him secretly climbed down the cliff and found the martial artist's personal training notes on his body. Years later, this person, now a formidable figure, accidentally revealed the origin of his martial arts while drunk, was hunted down, and jumped off a cliff himself. Thus, the tradition of jumping off cliffs to obtain secret manuals was spread. o(∩_∩)o)

Some martial artists might encounter such an opportunity inadvertently while doing something else, and William had clearly stumbled into such a situation. To advance from Dark Force to Transformation Force, one must train the power of the entire body's skin and hair, becoming so subtle and minute that every pore can be controlled at will. Dark Force must be able to erupt from every part of the body, being hard when it needs to be hard and soft when it needs to be soft. It looks as if one is breathing through their pores; not even a feather can be added, and no fly or insect can land.

Although William had not yet reached this stage, he was not far from having his Dark Force permeate his entire body. However, a major problem had always plagued him. In his past life, William did not pay attention to maintaining his body during the initial stages of his cultivation, leading to an accumulation of internal injuries that were difficult to heal. Later, although he obtained a supreme health-cultivation technique, the [Wild Ox Force], it was already too late. Despite forcibly pushing to the peak of Transformation Force, his body's early vitality had been damaged and his foundation was unstable, ultimately leading to failure in forming the Dan. In this life, the interference of an abnormal bloodline power prevented him from using the [Wild Ox Force] to strengthen his physique and nourish his vitality. Although William had outstanding physical talent and used his past experience to manage to erupt Dark Force from everywhere except for the most difficult areas like his face, groin, and the back of his head—injuring others invisibly—without the support of the [Wild Ox Force], he was like duckweed without roots and his achievements would inevitably be limited.

While William appeared to be hammering the Adamantine frantically, his inner focus had long since shifted to his body. With the pulsing of his muscles, he always felt as if a thin membrane was blocking him. William understood this was because his force had not yet permeated his internal organs, preventing the effect of internal vision. However, he used this to touch upon the changes in his bloodline power. The scorching heat flowed slowly through his body, burning and refining every inch of flesh and blood. Unable to help himself, William let out his second "Wild Ox Roar" since coming to this other world. "Moo—!" A low, far-reaching roar of a wild ox reverberated through the heavens and earth.

The bloodline power within him surged violently, and its circulation speed began to increase. As William roared, he tried his best to suppress the riot of his bloodline, subconsciously channeling the excess heat into the hammer in his hand. The surface of the hammer instantly erupted with raging flames, turning into a flying meteor that struck the anvil incessantly. The rolling heat waves completely terrified the gnome assisting him; he let out a scream, dropped his needle-nose pliers, and scrambled away.

Even without the gnome to hold it in place, William, who could control every ounce of his power almost perfectly, made the Adamantine being struck seem as if it were rooted to the anvil, remaining motionless under the relentless heavy blows of the "flaming hammer."

"Moo—!" Every exhale of William's was accompanied by a roar, like a bull as sturdy as a mountain bellowing at the moon. Gradually, after the bloodline power reached its boiling point, it began to sink slowly and stabilize. His muscles, bones, and internal organs felt hot and itchy, as if being roasted over a low fire. In his near-intoxicated state, William couldn't help but let out a long howl, though the sound that emerged remained the roar of a wild ox.