Time Flies

Shi Fen returned from the Australian Continent at dusk.

The moment Shi Tie and Shi Tian saw that Shi Fen had finally returned, they immediately dragged him to the Forging Room to continue their research. When they saw tons of Blue Gold and an entire room full of monster materials, stars practically appeared in their eyes.

They weren't excited because these things were valuable.

In their eyes, they were the best toys imaginable. If Wei Wen hadn't been focusing on training and preparing for the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, he would have been just as wide-eyed if he'd seen a warehouse full of excellent raw materials. Forgers' passion for raw materials was on full display.

Now the Three Stones had the technique and the materials. They also had the strength.

Shi Tie and Shi Tian had spent years immersed in forging, building up a deep foundation. Now their experience was paying off, and their forging skills were improving rapidly.

On the last day of their break, Shi Fen didn't go to the Wilderness Area. He stayed home to spend time with his family, only to be forced to "spend time together" in the Three Stones' Forging Room...

The vacation ended.

Early the next morning.

Shi Fen packed his bags, gathered his weapons and equipment, and boarded a fighter jet bound for Hongning Base City once again. Upon arrival, he met up with Elder Qian in the underground Forging Room.

Elder Qian was in excellent spirits, his eyes gleaming as if they were glowing. After witnessing what Shi Fen could do, Elder Qian was even more eager for Shi Fen to help him break through. Together, they would forge a new future for the world of forging.

"Let's get started!"

Elder Qian was brimming with anticipation. As soon as Shi Fen set down his backpack, the old man dragged him off to start researching the new materials. Shi Fen had figured out his master's personality by now, so he wasn't surprised at all.

The two of them started from scratch, researching the possibility Shi Fen had proposed.

It was certainly possible. After all, everything Shi Fen had described came from Extreme Forging. If this technique didn't work, then nothing in the universe would.

Under Shi Fen's superb performance, he reenacted the experience of learning Extreme Forging: the repeated failures at first, the breakthrough, and finally, success.

Shi Fen concealed the truth perfectly.

In less than three months.

With Shi Fen's covert assistance, the two of them "unexpectedly" completed the experiment.

The technique Shi Fen chose was a special metal-powder forging method. It used the purest Blue Gold, combined with the hardest and finest materials from Emperor-tier monsters, to produce SSS-grade metal.

Because the technique was special, the metal couldn't be mass-produced by machines. It had to be forged by hand. The process involved forging SSS-grade metal while simultaneously forging a weapon blank. Once the forging was complete, the SSS-grade metal and weapon blank would emerge together.

The two of them named the method Integrated Forging. It demanded an exceptionally high level of forging skill. Since only Shi Fen and Elder Qian knew the technique, the supply of SSS-grade metal was extremely limited.

Without Spiritual Force to assist him, Elder Qian had a low success rate, managing only about four successes in ten attempts. Even when the forging failed to produce an SSS-grade weapon, the finished weapon was still high quality—at least on the level of a top-tier SS-grade weapon.

Shi Fen, on the other hand, had Spiritual Force, which was tremendously helpful in forging. His success rate with Integrated Forging was nearly one hundred percent.

Seeing how fierce Shi Fen was, Elder Qian grinned from ear to ear, often saying that he was getting old. Though he said that, he looked anything but old as he swung a forging hammer a meter in diameter and weighing nearly 130 tons.

What Elder Qian felt most was awe that Shi Fen had surpassed him so quickly.

It made him both proud and happy, yet also a little sad and lonely.

Elder Qian could clearly feel that the world of forging no longer belonged to him.

After breaking through with Integrated Forging, Shi Fen immediately set about outfitting Hong from head to toe. He summoned Hong, took his measurements, discussed his needs with him, and forged a custom set of SSS-grade equipment suited to him.

At Elder Qian's reminder, Shi Fen stamped his personal identifier, "Mad Demon," onto Hong's equipment.

It meant: "Without madness, there is no survival!"

Hong was overjoyed to receive the equipment.

He had never imagined Shi Fen was so capable. In just over half a year, Shi Fen had gotten him a new set of equipment. Hong was glad he'd invested early; otherwise, Thor might have snatched up such a talent.

Now that Hong was completely satisfied, he finally called Thor over to get outfitted.

That was how Shi Fen met Second Brother, Thor.

If Hong had the personality of an ice block, Thor was the exact opposite—a warm hearth. Thor was gentle by nature, easygoing about many things, and exceptionally approachable.

Shi Fen liked Thor's personality.

Hong was too aloof. Whenever Shi Fen was around him, he always felt as though Hong was warning everyone to keep their distance. Even when Hong smiled, Shi Fen still felt uncomfortable. Shi Fen knew Hong had been an assassin, so it was understandable that he acted that way.

Facing Hong, his big brother, Shi Fen never felt comfortable chatting or opening up. He always kept things strictly professional. With his newly acquainted second brother, Shi Fen felt much more at ease.

Thor was naturally friendly and thick-skinned, but also especially considerate. Though they'd known each other only a short time, the two of them got along extremely well.

After the two became acquainted,

Shi Fen fired up the forge again and made Thor a custom set of SSS-grade equipment.

To thank him, Hong and Thor gave Shi Fen gifts. Hong gave him a Qiankun-class Intelligent Fighter Jet for transportation, while Thor gave him two mild Spirit of Vegetation.

There was no way Hong and Thor could have missed the improvement in Shi Fen's family's strength. After discussing it, they gave him exactly what he needed most: Spirit of Vegetation to strengthen his family.

After both Hong and Thor had been outfitted, they made a joint announcement to the world's top figures, declaring how formidable Shi Fen was!

Shi Fen, eighteen years old, from Yangzhou City in Jiangnan Base City. He was now the new chief forging master of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's advanced forging department and could forge SSS-grade weapons and equipment. He was the star pupil of former chief forging master Qian Wu. He was a Spiritual Master on the level of an Invincible War God!

The news sent shock waves through the world.

The top figures of every force on Earth were stunned by the shocking, unexpected announcement. They quickly sent people to investigate Shi Fen's background. Countless people flocked to Bright Moon Residential District, and Shi Fen, who had kept a low profile for so long, was now exposed to everyone's view.

Everyone in the residential district was dumbfounded. Who could have imagined that such a powerful figure had been living quietly right beside them?

By then, Shi Fen no longer cared whether he kept a low profile.

There was no need to hide anymore.

Countless people offered huge sums for Shi Fen and Elder Qian to forge weapons for them. Shi Fen consulted Elder Qian, who picked through the requests and selected a few clients he found acceptable, letting Shi Fen take those orders. As for everyone else, they could wait until later.

If everyone got a full set of SSS-grade equipment, it wouldn't be worth anything!

At that moment, Elder Qian was like a "greedy merchant" running a monopoly, waiting for the chance to jack up his prices.

Besides, Elder Qian was busy teaching his disciples Integrated Forging and had no time to deal with them.

There was something amusing about it.

Shi Fen became the "eldest senior brother" among Elder Qian's disciples. Elder Qian had always believed that the capable deserved the highest position. Shi Fen had never imagined that the first time he met his master's disciples, he would appear as their eldest senior brother.

Elder Qian's standards for taking on disciples were extremely high. He demanded not only talent but also good character. He had seven disciples in total, the weakest of whom was a Beginner War God capable of forging S-grade weapons. All seven were elites in the forging world.

None of them resented Shi Fen's sudden appearance. On the contrary, they treated him with great respect. Seeing how sensible they were, Shi Fen was delighted. He took the initiative to teach his junior brothers the new technique alongside his master.

It was now mid-February 2057.

Luo Feng, still the target of a sky-high bounty, was utterly shocked to learn how capable his brother had become.

He had never imagined that Shi Fen would become one of humanity's top forging masters, capable of forging SSS-grade weapons, without saying a word. Shi Fen's strength had also soared, making him an Invincible War God. Most incredible of all, Luo Feng hadn't known that Shi Fen was a Spiritual Master too.

"Shi Fen is so smart. It would be strange if he weren't a Spiritual Master."

After his shock wore off, Luo Feng was thrilled. It meant that he'd be able to get top-tier equipment from then on—and it could still be custom-made. Ever since getting the Youquan Blade, Luo Feng had found himself becoming more and more demanding about his weapons.

Shi Fen had spoiled him!

More importantly, with Shi Fen's connections, getting Life Water would be easy!

Luo Feng contacted Shi Fen right away. Shi Fen seemed a little surprised, but soon managed to get Luo Feng two bottles of Life Water, which he sent to him by fighter jet.

Shi Fen had bought the two bottles for less than twenty billion Huaxia Currency. The American Government had actually wanted to give him a dozen bottles of Life Water to win his favor and build a relationship with him. Shi Fen insisted on paying, so the American Government charged him the cost price.

Luo Feng was even more shocked when he learned that Shi Fen had spent less than twenty billion. He had underestimated Shi Fen's "value."

Anyone would be happy to save money. Luo Feng had 28.8 billion from selling his monster treasures, and he still had some left after buying the two bottles of Life Water. Who wouldn't be happy? Not only could Luo Hua stand again, but Zhang Ke from the Fire Hammer Squad could also have his arm restored.

"Looks like Zhang will never get to rest. I'll have to bring him along the next time I go to the Wilderness Area." With the two bottles of Life Water in hand, Luo Feng grinned from ear to ear and immediately put them to use.

Luo Feng wasn't jealous of Shi Fen, nor did he doubt his own decision to conceal the fact that he was a Spiritual Master.

Just keep moving forward!

"First, I'll deal with Li Yao and his mad-dog family. Then I'll go brag to Shi Fen! I'll tell him I'm a Spiritual Master too. Hahaha!" Luo Feng made up his mind.

After becoming famous, Shi Fen kept out of public affairs and diligently went about his own work.

"I can put forging aside for now and focus on it again once the Ultra-High Temperature Furnace is built."

After months of development, the Ultra-High Temperature Furnace had begun to take shape. Shi Fen estimated that they would be able to build a prototype in a few more months. Progress was much slower than he had expected, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was wait patiently.

Shi Fen's daily routine had become quite regular. He worked in the Forging Room during the day, occasionally forged some weapons, and spent his free time teaching his junior brothers Integrated Forging alongside his master. In the evenings, he rode a fighter jet home, ate dinner with his family, and went to bed.

Most importantly, his study of the Basic Secret Patterns hadn't been affected by all the forging work going on around him. Most of Shi Fen's consciousness remained in the Image World, analyzing the patterns, and his progress was encouraging.

Taking advantage of Luo Feng's purchase of the Life Water,

Shi Fen asked Hong and Thor for information on the various strange substances and creatures found on Earth. He easily obtained important information about Spirit of Vegetation.

There were nine Spirit of Vegetation in Shi Fen's World Ring, and he had never dared to use them.

It was a good thing he hadn't.

One of the Spirit of Vegetation he'd collected turned out to be a terrifying poison. It had given Shi Fen quite a scare. The remaining eight, together with the two Thor had given him, made ten in total.

Shi Fen first raised his physical strength to the War God limit. Then, using the two Spirit of Vegetation from outside as a pretext, he helped Luo Feng, Wei Wen, and the families of all three of them in the same residential district improve their strength.

Shi Fen specially brewed a small bottle of medicinal liquor and gave it to Luo Feng, so that Luo Feng could strengthen everyone in his squad.

This time, Luo Feng didn't refuse. "My good brother is so amazing. Getting some good stuff from him without having to pay is a real bargain!"

It was the first time Luo Feng had taken something from Shi Fen without paying him. Even if Shi Fen had asked him to buy it, Luo Feng couldn't have afforded it. So Luo Feng simply committed the favor to memory. Some things couldn't be bought with money.

Like this bottle of medicinal liquor.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

But one thing left Shi Fen deeply disappointed.

With his high level of clearance, he went to look up information about his parents, full of anticipation.

The results disappointed him. Although Shi Tie had changed his name, his previous name had been completely different from his father's name in his previous life. In other words, his parents in this life were entirely different people from the ones he'd had in his previous life.

The last sliver of possibility he'd been clinging to was shattered.