The light flowed like rippling water, lingering for several seconds before slowly fading away.
The Heavy Silver now radiated a warm, restrained gray-silver glow. Its surface seemed to have been given life, revealing layer upon layer of exquisitely fine patterns like ocean waves, as if it contained endless power.
Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver!
Success!
And it had taken shape in one go, flawless!
Yao Chuan looked relaxed. He set the hammer aside, his little face faintly red, fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
But his eyes shone brilliantly.
He looked a little excited to have completed the challenge.
But Mu Chen and Mang Tian behind him were completely dumbfounded!
Their eyes were wide, their mouths slightly agape, as if they had seen something utterly beyond their comprehension.
Mang Tian in particular.
He had watched Yao Chuan do it with his own eyes!
That feeling... that metal... the metal had just been cooperating! It had actively responded to the smith's wishes!
This completely defied common sense!
It went entirely against the experience and worldview he had built over decades of forging!
It was absurd! It was shocking!
Mu Chen was just the same.
His head buzzed until the glow around the Heavy Silver finally faded.
Only then did he jolt back to his senses. Suddenly, he understood why Old Li from the Spirit Pagoda had looked like he'd seen a ghost yesterday, and why he'd said, "He couldn't accept it!"
This really wasn't something a human could do!
This forging...
Was this kid even human?!
"Y-You brat! H-How did you do that?!"
"That metal... how did it...?"
For a moment, he couldn't find the words to describe what he had just seen.
How had it become so "obedient," as if it were alive?
Yao Chuan looked at the two elders' faces, which seemed to say, "Tell me right now or I won't be able to sleep tonight."
He blinked.
He had thought of Black Dragon Heaven's story about forging the Blood Spear himself, and it had given him some insight.
But it was all too mysterious. If he told them, they would probably be even more bewildered.
He tilted his head and could only put on an innocent expression that said, "I'm just as baffled as you," before answering earnestly.
"Huh? I just tried what Uncle Mu told me yesterday. I tried 'communicating' with it..."
"And then... it seemed pretty happy?"
"And after that... um... it just... um... turned into the shape I wanted?"
He spread his little hands, looking as if to say, "That's all there is to it. I don't know why, either."
It turned into the shape you wanted?
W-What kind of thing was that to say?!
What an awful line!
What a suggestive way to describe it!
Did the kid really not understand, or was he doing it on purpose?!
Even Mu Chen could barely keep a straight face after hearing that.
But once the shock had passed,
Mang Tian and Mu Chen both wore far more serious expressions than before.
Why?
It was simple: Yao Chuan was just too impressive.
As the old saying went, the tallest tree caught the most wind.
The more capable someone was, the more likely certain people were to set their sights on them.
They had to be careful of the Spirit Pagoda.
They also had to watch out for all sorts of other dangers.
What if some Evil Soul Masters targeted him, abducted him, and led him astray?
Or what if some ambitious schemer used him as a tool?
That would be a great disaster, both for Yao Chuan himself and for everyone else.
So after calming down, Mang Tian and Mu Chen got together to discuss it.
They slapped their thighs in unison and decided that Yao Chuan needed extra training.
No, "extra training" wasn't the right term.
It had to be called "devil training"!
Not only did he need to improve his Soul Power.
Most importantly, he had to learn how to fight, how to protect himself, and how to adapt when trouble arose.
Why? Because they couldn't follow Yao Chuan around all day as his bodyguards.
If he really ran into danger, in the end he would have to get through it on his own.
Mu Chen would personally take charge of this devil training.
He might mainly be a blacksmith, but the combat ability of a dignified Eight-Star Saint Craftsman was beyond that of an ordinary Soul Master.
When Yao Chuan heard how much Uncle Mu was worrying about him, warmth filled his heart. He completely understood his uncle's good intentions.
He wasn't afraid of this devil training at all. In fact, he was looking forward to it.
He immediately declared that once they returned to Eastsea City and the New Year festivities were over, he would start training at once.
He didn't have the slightest objection.
After nodding in agreement,
Yao Chuan remembered that the condition he had mentioned to Uncle Mu earlier still hadn't been settled.
He hurriedly opened his mouth to remind him.
But before he could get the words out,
Mu Chen was already smiling. He beat him to it.
"The condition you wanted to bring up was for that little girl named Na'er, right?"
He had clearly already guessed what Yao Chuan was thinking.
Then he nodded readily and agreed.
He said the information he'd asked an enforcement officer to look into yesterday had come back.
They really hadn't found anything at all about who Na'er's biological parents were. She was an orphan.
It would be such a shame to send a lovely little girl like her to an orphanage.
She could easily be bullied there, too.
It would be better to let her stay with them.
Of course, after discussing the serious matter, Mu Chen couldn't help himself.
He patted Yao Chuan on the shoulder and teased him, half joking and half serious.
"You little rascal. You're not very old, but you sure talk big."
"Getting yourself a child bride at such a young age?"
As soon as he said that,
before Yao Chuan could react,
Mu Xi, standing nearby, couldn't take it anymore.
Her little face flushed bright red in an instant.
"Dad!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Yao Chuan's still a child!"
As she shouted, she pulled Yao Chuan behind her and shielded him completely.
The sight left poor Mu Chen feeling a pang of sorrow.
As for Yao Chuan, he didn't say much about the matter.
Only when he heard that Na'er's situation had finally been settled did a heavy stone fall from his heart.
While they were still talking,
Yao Chuan quickly sat down on the ground beside them, crossed his legs, and began meditating.
He needed to recover the Soul Power he had just used as quickly as possible.
He didn't want to waste a single second.
Although his Martial Soul's Ultimate Attribute allowed him to cultivate much faster than ordinary people in the early stages,
the farther he progressed, the harder it became to improve. Long Yue's Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul was just like that.
So if he really wanted to survive in this Douluo World, he couldn't rely on the strength of his Martial Soul and expect an easy ride.
In the end, he still had to train with all his might.
Seeing how self-motivated and hardworking Yao Chuan was,
Mu Chen's face broke into an even more pleased smile.
Mang Tian, beside him, silently made up his mind, too.
He would take Yao Chuan as an example.
Later, he would tell his own disciple, Tang Wulin, all about him,
and encourage Tang Wulin to work toward the same goal.
As for Mu Chen, he was even more delighted.
He kept gloating to Mang Tian for quite a while.
Only then did he set off back to Eastsea City with Yao Chuan, Na'er, Mu Xi, and the others.
That evening, after they got home, Mu Chen solemnly placed a gleaming silver ring in Yao Chuan's hands.
He said this was the real reward he had intended to give him for their trip to Aolai City.
Before you continue