Star Hammer Falls, Spirit Resonance Is Born!

Eastsea City, rooftop landing pad of the Blacksmith Association.

The sea wind was biting, yet it could not disperse the sudden, terrifying pressure.

They had not waited long. Just as Mu Chen finished a cup of tea, a low sonic boom came from the horizon.

A streak of light tore through the clouds, moving so fast that even radar could not track it, before instantly stopping above the landing pad.

It was a crimson god-grade mecha, its streamlined frame radiating suffocating Soul Power fluctuations.

The hatch opened, and two figures leaped out.

The man in front wore a simple gray robe. His features were refined, yet he carried an aura that seemed perfectly fused with heaven, earth, and nature.

He was Zhen Hua, the continent's only Divine Craftsman.

Behind him followed a burly, bearded man in a greasy chef's uniform, still holding half a cucumber in his hand.

He was Mu Ye, master of the Body Sect, as well as Zhen Hua's "personal chef" and bodyguard.

"I say, Old Zhen, are you in such a hurry to reincarnate?"

Mu Ye took a bite of the cucumber and grumbled irritably,

"My soup is still simmering in the pot, and you dragged me here without warning. A nine-year-old capable of Spirit Refinement? I think you've gone mad from wanting a disciple."

"Cut the crap. If this is real, forget one pot of soup—even selling your Body Sect would be worth it!"

Zhen Hua shot him a glare, then looked toward Mu Chen and Cen Yue, who had been waiting nearby.

"Senior Brother!" Mu Chen hurried forward, unable to hide his excitement.

"Old Mu, spare me the formalities." Zhen Hua waved a hand, his gaze blazing. "Where is he? Still in Aolai City?"

"He is." Cen Yue quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Mang Tian just sent word. The child is still at the workshop today and said he wants to try a new forging method."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Zhen Hua acted with decisive efficiency. With a sweep of his hand, a layer of gentle Soul Power instantly enveloped the four of them.

"Cen Yue, lead the way. Old Mu, fly us there. We'll go straight over. Don't alert the local officials—I only want to watch that child forge."

"Why do I have to be the one flying?" Mu Ye complained, but his body was far more honest than his mouth.

Boom!

A terrifying surge of Bloodline Power erupted. The four became a streak of light and vanished from the skies above Eastsea City.

Aolai City, Mang Tian Workshop.

It was remote and dilapidated, utterly at odds with the identities of the four visitors.

Yet when the four landed silently at the mouth of the alley, Zhen Hua's expression instantly turned solemn.

Because he heard a sound.

"Clang—hum—"

It was not the sound of ordinary metal striking metal.

There was a strange tremor within it, like the echo of ancient bronze bells. Every strike stirred the metal elements in the surrounding air into jubilant celebration.

"What a powerful resonance," Mu Chen murmured. "This is the sound of Spirit Infusion unique to Spirit Refinement."

"Shh."

Zhen Hua made a silencing gesture, concealing every trace of his presence. Like an ordinary passerby, he gently pushed open the workshop's half-closed iron door.

The four great figures standing at the pinnacle of the continent slipped silently into the humble, smoke-filled little room like thieves.

Inside, the furnace blazed.

A black-haired youth in gray work clothes stood with his back to them before the main Forging Table.

In his hands, he held a pair of completely black hammers with starlight flowing across their surfaces.

The instant Zhen Hua saw those hammers, his pupils contracted sharply.

[Spirit-Forged Star-Sky Black Iron Hammer]!

Those hammers were themselves Spirit Refinement products! And they were top-grade pieces with extraordinarily high spirituality!

The air around the hammerheads warped slightly, as though they were not dead objects but two black beasts poised to devour metal at any moment.

A fist-sized piece of Sinking Silver sat on the Forging Table.

Tang Linyuan did not turn around. His mind was wholly immersed in the hammers in his hands and the Sinking Silver before him.

"Rise."

The youth gave a low shout.

There was no gathering of strength. He merely flicked his wrist.

The pair of Star-Sky Black Iron Hammers seemed to teleport, tracing mysterious black afterimages through the air.

Boom!

The first hammer fell.

This strike was called Mountain Collapse.

The terrifying force of Qian Jun was amplified tenfold by the unique "vibration" property of the Spirit-Forging Star-Sky Hammers the instant it touched the Sinking Silver!

The originally incomparably hard Sinking Silver went limp like dough beneath that single strike.

All impurities within it were forcibly shaken out by the extreme vibrating force in that instant, turning into black smoke and dispersing.

One strike, Hundred Refinement complete!

There was no pause.

Borrowing the rebound force of the first strike, Tang Linyuan half-turned. His twin hammers crossed as they swept out like spinning wheels of wind and fire.

Clang! Clang!

The two crisp rings nearly overlapped.

This was the combination of Sea Severing and Void Splitting.

The Sinking Silver that had just completed Hundred Refinement instantly shrank to half its original size under the compression of those two strikes!

Cloud-like patterns blossomed across the metal's surface like ripples in water, and silver light shot into the sky.

Two strikes, Thousand Refinement Grade One!

"Hiss—"

Cen Yue at the doorway nearly bit his tongue.

Even the well-traveled Mu Ye dropped the half-eaten cucumber in his hand to the floor.

"What kind of monstrous strength is this? And what kind of divine hammer technique is that?" Mu Ye stared wide-eyed. "No reheating? No folding? He just hammered it straight into Thousand Refinement?"

"No, it wasn't brute force."

Zhen Hua stared fixedly at the youth's hands, unprecedented fervor exploding in his eyes.

"It was borrowed force! He used the 'spirit' of those Spirit-Forged Hammers to suppress the 'nature' of the Sinking Silver. This is... the art of using violence to subdue violence!"

And atop the Forging Table, the performance had only just begun.

After completing Thousand Refinement, Tang Linyuan's movements suddenly slowed.

They were no longer a raging storm, but became gentle caresses.

Clang... clang... clang...

Every strike came with a long, drawn-out breath. The starlight on the Star-Sky Black Iron Hammers began seeping into the Sinking Silver bit by bit.

This was Awakening.

The Sinking Silver trembled, as though it sensed the domineering yet gentle will transmitted by the hammers.

It began to actively respond to the strikes, began releasing its own vitality.

With the final hammer strike sealing the note.

Hum—!

A dazzling silver pillar of light broke through the workshop roof and shot into the heavens.

Within that pillar, the piece of Sinking Silver rose into the air, transforming into a silver heart that beat powerfully.

Spirit Refinement: Spirit Awakened!

The entire process was smooth and flowing, without the slightest hesitation or wasted movement.

From ordinary Sinking Silver to Spirit Forged Deep Silver, it had taken no more than the time needed to drink a cup of tea.

Tang Linyuan put away his twin hammers and slowly exhaled a stream of white vapor.

He did not turn around. Instead, he spoke calmly, his voice cool and clear.

"Since you're here, how much longer do you intend to watch, Seniors?"

At the doorway.

Zhen Hua, Mu Ye, Mu Chen, Cen Yue.

The four stood silently. Not one of them spoke.

There was no longer scrutiny or doubt in their eyes, only pure appreciation for the pinnacle of craftsmanship.

After a long while.

Zhen Hua slowly began to clap, the applause echoing through the silent workshop.

"Magnificent."

The Divine Craftsman stepped forward, his gaze bright as torches as he looked at the youth who had turned around, as though he were looking at an incomparable treasure.

"In my life, I have seen countless geniuses. But you are the first to turn smithing into art and violence into aesthetics."

"Kid, I am Zhen Hua."

"That hammer strike struck straight into my heart."