When Shi Fen had first arrived here, he had found it hard to believe. He often questioned his own sanity and couldn't bring himself to believe any of it was real. He even wondered if he hadn't really died and was still trapped inside an Illusion Mirror.
After Shi Fen had "died" back then, he had "seen" his own "soul leave his body."
His soul had shimmered with colored light as it left his body.
In that moment, he had felt more relaxed than ever before. His soul seemed to be merging with the universe. That feeling of utter bliss hadn't lasted long before his soul suddenly began to sink. It was as if it had fallen into an endless abyss, plummeting without end.
His soul seemed to be falling into "the hell of Reincarnation."
He didn't know how long he had been falling when he saw a dazzling golden light. At last, the sensation of weightlessness ended, and he completely lost control of himself.
When Shi Fen regained consciousness, he found himself lying in a crib. Many babies were crying around him. Looking at his tiny "hands," he was shocked to realize that he had been reborn.
When Shi Fen discovered that this was the Swallowed Star World and that he was neighbors with Luo Feng, he questioned his sanity even more.
He hadn't been here long before he finally managed to accept reality and prepared to sort out the timeline of events in this world in his Memory Palace. Then, the inheritance unexpectedly began.
The "Memory Palace Method" was a special way of remembering things.
It was a method he had been forced to learn in his previous life because of an unusual illness.
The "Memory Palace Method" was a powerful memorization technique. It used a place one knew well as a framework, linking the things one wanted to remember to that place, creating a systematic way to retain vast amounts of information. It was an efficient method of memorization, and mastering it could turn someone into a "memory superhuman."
Put simply, you built a familiar scene in your mind and stored a great deal of information inside it. It was like constructing a special "database" in your brain.
Some people stored their memories in books; others kept them in an imagined "computer."
The form differed, but the result was the same.
That day.
Just like any ordinary day in his previous life.
An old man had finished inspecting the "warehouse" of technological achievements at a research base and wanted to enter the deepest part of his "Memory Palace"—the "study"—to work on one unfinished project after another.
That was because there was no entertainment information stored in the "Memory Palace."
Relying on his astonishing memory and having reviewed it countless times, Shi Fen recalled every detail. He couldn't claim to remember absolutely everything, but he still recalled eight or nine tenths of the original plot of Swallowed Star.
When he entered the door to the study at the very back, Shi Fen was shocked to discover that he had somehow entered the depths of his mind.
There, he saw a golden light sphere illuminating his Sea of Consciousness, surrounded by nine small, solid, dark golden spheres of Spiritual Force.
In his mind, Shi Fen's body changed from the appearance of an old man into that of a young man, and his consciousness seemed to regain its youth. Before he could even feel happy—
A sudden change erupted!
A huge golden vortex appeared on the surface of the golden light sphere. A powerful suction force seized Shi Fen's conscious body, drawing his consciousness inside the golden light sphere.
The inheritance journey had officially begun!
"Shi Fen, I've sent you to the Swallowed Star World.
"You've also brought along a portion of my inheritance. The day you complete all the inheritance trials will be the day we meet.
"Do your best. Good luck."
This message, written in "Huaxia Script," began Shi Fen's eighteen-year hellish journey.
Inside the golden light sphere was a mysterious virtual space.
It seemed to be the interior of a grand palace. The four walls, ceiling, and floor all shimmered with a faint, milky-white light. The "hall" was at least one kilometer long and wide, and at least one hundred meters high.
One kilometer long and wide—that was an area equivalent to 130 standard soccer fields.
It was practically a "small city"!
All sorts of strange "tools" lay across the floor of the "small city." Some were arranged on tables of varying sizes, while others had been placed directly on the ground. The tools came in all kinds of bizarre shapes, and there was a huge range of designs.
Though the tools differed greatly in appearance, they were all primarily silver, accented with other colors. Their style was like that of the dazzling futuristic gadgets found in "science fiction movies."
Near the teleportation point was a bookshelf, along with two sets of "ultramodern," spacious and enormous "sofas" and "coffee tables," brimming with a high-tech feel.
The bookshelf wasn't very wide, only about forty centimeters, but it was at least ten meters long. Its height wasn't as impressive, only about two meters.
Many books of varying thicknesses were neatly arranged on it. The thickest were over twenty centimeters, while the thinnest were only two or three centimeters. The bookshelf had four shelves, each filled with books nearly half a meter tall, packed into place with no gaps.
On the spines of the books were four conspicuous, intricately written square characters. Many tiny characters of varying sizes were also written there, and they were just as intricate.
Shi Fen had some knowledge of ancient writing. He bent over the books and studied the characters for a long time. They looked a little like the large and small seal scripts of ancient Huaxia, only more complex and even more elegant.
Each character was a pleasure to look at, like a beautiful painting.
The instant Shi Fen reached out and touched a book, countless colored lights illuminated the entire space.
The colored lights appeared suddenly and vanished just as quickly.
When Shi Fen looked at the book again, he froze. The writing on it had all turned into Huaxia Script.
The book's title had become <Fundamentals of Patterned Steel Forging in Extreme Forging>, written in Huaxia Script. At the upper-left corner of the bookshelf, Shi Fen spotted a book titled Qualification.
The book was at most five centimeters thick. Two large characters, "Qualification," were written on its cover in bold, striking strokes.
The moment Shi Fen opened the book, his nightmare began in earnest.
A powerful flood of information forcefully surged into his consciousness, imprinting itself deep within his heart.
"Shi Fen, welcome to the Qualification Trial.
"To help you memorize all the content quickly and complete the trial as soon as possible, I've transmitted the information from every book on the shelf into your mind while you read this one. Once the transfer is complete, your consciousness will return to the real world.
"You'd better organize all the information before coming back here. With the foundation you built in your previous life, most of the early material shouldn't give you any trouble. The final stages will test your comprehension, though. Still, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you succeed. After all, your soul is very...
"Eh? Why am I saying this? Uh...
"Forget it. I'm not recording this again. It'll do. You'll discover your talent eventually anyway. If you didn't have that talent, I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble.
"Ahem. In short, the faster you complete the Qualification Trial in this world, the sooner you can move on to the next stage of trials. I've left a few things for you in the next stage. They should be more or less suitable as resources for you to explore the universe and build up your people. Once you complete the next stage of trials, they'll all be yours. Hahaha.
"This Qualification is the Control Core of this Virtual Trial Space. I even added a 'One-Key Reset' function for you.
"I wonder whether, with all these conveniences, you can meet the requirements before you turn eighteen.
"All right, I've said enough.
"Whenever you want to enter the Virtual Trial Space, calm yourself and focus your consciousness on your brain. Once it enters your Sea of Consciousness, enter through the golden light sphere just as you did this time.
"Complete the Qualification Trial before you turn eighteen, and I'll give you an extra little reward. Hahahaha!"
After this irreverent message, brimming with carefree abandon, came an enormous amount of text and illustrations.
At the time, Shi Fen had only read the opening of the message before he completely lost consciousness and passed out.
Several days later, he finally woke up in a daze. His head felt as if it were splitting apart.
From that day on,
his inheritance, which would last nearly eighteen years, officially began.
Shi Fen spent nearly a year organizing the basic information.
Most of the books on the shelf contained the "key knowledge" for Shi Fen's "Qualification Trial." The rest were "instruction manuals" for the tools across the "Forging Plaza."
He organized and summarized all the information in his "Memory Palace." After enduring a great deal of stimulation, he completed the initial process of digesting the knowledge. Once he was done, Shi Fen completely "tore down" his "Memory Palace."
Shi Fen discovered that when he entered the Memory Palace, his conscious body still looked like an old man. In the Virtual Trial Space, however, his conscious body took the form of a young man.
Shi Fen had a vague feeling that this contrast would cause problems if it continued.
So he hardened his resolve and tore it all down!
After organizing the information, Shi Fen spent nearly another year learning how to use the various tools on the plaza.
Shi Fen encountered many incredible technological tools. The experience was a huge shock and forcibly broadened his "horizons." His trial tasks didn't require any of those "incredible technological tools" at all.
In fact, the tools Shi Fen used were all super-simplified versions.
Take tools like the anvil and hammer, for example.
The incredible versions could change shape, alter their size, adjust their weight, and so on. They were extremely convenient and effective. Unfortunately, without authorization to claim them, he could do no more than pick them up and stare at them helplessly.
The "super-simplified" tools Shi Fen used came in almost a thousand varieties of hammers alone. Each variety was further divided into a dozen or even several dozen models of different sizes and weights.
During that year, Shi Fen learned how to use countless tools. He could just about manage to use them, but becoming proficient would require a long period of practice and adjustment.
With the fundamentals of operation firmly established, Shi Fen formally began the core of the "Qualification Trial."
Extreme Forging!
Extreme Forging could be divided into three major stages, each of which was further divided into three minor stages, for a total of nine.
The first major stage was basic forging.
Based on the degree of progress, it was divided into three minor stages:
One: purifying pig iron.
Two: forging fine steel through a thousand hammer blows.
Three: forging God Iron through a hundred refinings.
The second major stage was patterned steel forging.
Based on the internal patterns in the metal, it was divided into three stages:
One: "Rope" Pattern.
Two: "Cloth Pattern."
Three: "Star Sea Pattern."
The third major stage was the forging of metal's "basic structure," also known as "transcendent forging."
Based on how much the metal was compressed, it was divided into three stages.
One: compressing the metal threefold.
Two: compressing the metal ninefold.
Three: compressing the metal a hundredfold.
The first major stage.
It involved purifying pig iron into ordinary steel, then refining it through a thousand hammer blows to turn it into top-grade fine steel.
The second major stage.
Although this stage was called patterned steel forging, the actual patterns were inside the metal. They referred to the arrangement of the metal's atoms as a whole, the patterns formed at the atomic level. The metal's surface could have patterns of any shape.
At this major stage, the forged metal didn't display any special patterns or marks. Its internal patterns didn't stand out, and its luster remained unchanged.
"Rope" Pattern, "Cloth Pattern," and "Star Sea Pattern."
They were three states describing the overall arrangement of the metal atoms inside the metal.
Put simply, the metal atoms were crystallized through forging, condensed into "ropes," woven into "cloth," and gathered into an inseparable "star sea" in the universe.
This major stage drew the metal atoms together, binding them incredibly tightly and forcibly improving the metal's strength and performance.
At the "Star Sea Pattern" level,
the metal's internal structure was evenly and tightly packed with crystalline metal atoms. The atoms were like stars in a sea of stars, firmly connected to one another, with astonishing atomic cohesion.
The metal properties of steel far surpassed the limits of what "steel" should be capable of.
For the first two major stages,
Shi Fen only needed to use an "ordinary" Forging Hammer. This Forging Hammer could detect the internal arrangement of metal atoms. With it, Shi Fen could sense the arrangement of atoms inside the metal and use that information to assist his forging.
For the third major stage,
Shi Fen needed to use a higher-grade "Vibration Hammer" to make up for his lack of ability. Only with the "vibration waves" of the Vibration Hammer could he carry out this stage of forging.
Building on Star Sea Pattern steel, this stage used forging and the Vibration Hammer's miraculous properties to change the state of metal atoms. It broke the "metallic bonds" between atoms and "fitted" the atoms together one by one, forcibly "compressing" the metal to increase its density and strength.
This was the treasure-refining method of "turning decay into something miraculous." It could forge "mortal iron" into "God Iron."
Besides mastering the main content of Extreme Forging, Shi Fen also had to master the Miscellaneous Techniques section of Extreme Forging to pass the Qualification Trial.
Miscellaneous Techniques
It covered many subjects, over a thousand in all, all related to treasure refining or forging.
For example: how to use various technological tools and hand-forging tools.
Iron ore smelting. Purifying iron to a purity of 100.
Shaping and processing tools. Various casting techniques.
Quenching, annealing, tempering, normalizing, and other processes.
Cutting, filing, drilling, tapping, machining, grinding, welding, complex precision engraving, and other processes.
Powder metallurgy, pattern welding, laminated steel, clay tempering, custom patterned-steel designs, and other special forging techniques.
Pickling, sharpening, and other processes for revealing a blade's appearance and giving it an edge.
Inlaying, engraving, chasing, setting, antiquing, and other decorative techniques.
Manufacturing protective casings for weapons.
And those were only the techniques Shi Fen had heard of. The Miscellaneous Techniques section also contained many procedures he couldn't even imagine. Altogether, they numbered well over a thousand.
Although the Miscellaneous Techniques section covered a great many subjects,
the accompanying tools were absurdly efficient and powerful. Shi Fen only needed to use them like "idiot-proof machines," pressing a few buttons or, at most, setting a few additional requirements himself, to easily complete most of the tasks in the Miscellaneous Techniques section.
To Shi Fen, these tasks were practically "recreational activities" designed just for him. He couldn't bear to finish them all at once, preferring to save them and enjoy them gradually, easing the pressure he faced in other areas.
Aside from these simple tasks,
everything else required Shi Fen to work things out himself. These tasks were all related to Extreme Forging, to a greater or lesser degree. In general, they were all meant to improve Shi Fen's ability to forge cold weapons.
The most important skill in the Miscellaneous Techniques section
was custom patterned-steel design.
It was an introductory technique for patterned-steel forging, the second major stage.
It explained the principles behind how patterns formed on a macroscopic level.
After initially mastering this technique, Shi Fen could try his hand at forging in the second major stage. Once he had mastered it completely, he could give weapons all kinds of decorative patterns while preserving the material's quality, such as wave patterns, spiral patterns, feather patterns, fish-gut patterns, chrysanthemum patterns, ladder patterns, and so on.
The requirements of the "Qualification Trial" were extremely demanding.
Shi Fen had to complete hundredfold compression forging and every task in the Miscellaneous Techniques section to pass the "Qualification Trial."
Some of the "tasks" involved techniques similar to ones Shi Fen had encountered in his previous life, so he felt fairly confident about them.
What Shi Fen felt least confident about was forging metal's "basic structure" in the third major stage.
It was an incredible "divine art" that completely upended Shi Fen's "understanding of technology."
If he compared the scientific knowledge Shi Fen had accumulated in his previous life to a technology tree, what he had witnessed here was like digging straight down to its roots. It completely overturned his understanding of science.
His "Memory Palace from his previous life" had been dismantled, but the technology tree in Shi Fen's heart hadn't disappeared with it.
Originally, the technology tree had to grow through his own gradual learning and accumulation. But the scientific technology he encountered in the "Qualification Trial" had forcibly accelerated the growth of the tree in Shi Fen's heart by countless times.
It opened the door to a whole new world of understanding technology for Shi Fen.
Thanks to the advantages of growing up in a blacksmithing family, Shi Fen stood on the shoulders of Shi Tie and Old Master Shi and made rapid progress.
At age eight, he completed the first major stage.
At age twelve, he completed the second major stage.
Before he was sixteen, he broke through to the eighth minor stage, then hit a bottleneck and could make no further progress.
At age seventeen, he completed the entire Miscellaneous Techniques section.
He broke through before turning eighteen, only to be drained dry by the Black Mirror.
"What a shame I never got to see those incredible technological tools in the Qualification Trial unleash their full power."
As a technology fanatic, that was Shi Fen's deepest regret.
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