Talent in Forging

Shen Ming spoke quite casually; it was clear that he had little interest in blacksmithing and didn't care much for it at all.

Li Ang, however, did not refute this, as he was currently unsure whether he possessed any talent for blacksmithing himself.

Although, logically speaking, possessing the template of the Geo Archon Rex Lapis meant he had absolute control over the Geo element.

And when it came to metal, he should theoretically have a very strong grasp of it as well.

Yet, he could not be certain of the specifics.

As the vehicle drove slowly, the first thing to come into view was a towering building.

As the organization in Eastsea City second only to the Spirit Pagoda and the Tang Sect, the Blacksmith Association was certainly not lacking in funds.

After all, while the Spirit Pagoda was responsible for the soul spirit supply of all soul masters, the Blacksmith Association provided raw materials for powerhouses and the military; they were equally wealthy.

Shen Ming walked over with practiced ease; it was obvious that he and Cen Yue of the Blacksmith Association were on very good terms.

Seeing him approach, the front desk staff, who seemed to recognize the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda, did not stop him.

Shen Ming stood on no ceremony, pressing the buttons himself and taking Li Ang directly to the seventh floor.

This was the testing area. As soon as he stepped out, he saw a handsome middle-aged man waiting there quietly.

To call him middle-aged was perhaps an exaggeration; the man looked to be in his thirties, and with his handsome face, he had the air of a pretty boy.

However, Li Ang was not one to be impressed by good looks, so he merely glanced at him before following behind Shen Ming.

At the entrance, Cen Yue's gaze fell upon Li Ang.

Li Ang's appearance could only be described as ordinary, and with his somewhat dull expression, he was not a particularly charming sight.

Yet, his eyes held a rare sense of calm and composure; even when looking at this Level 6 Blacksmith, his expression remained unruffled.

"Is this the disciple you mentioned? Are you sure you want him to learn blacksmithing from me? Blacksmithing is a great waste of a soul master's time."

Cen Yue said, casting a glance at Li Ang.

He had heard from Shen Ming that this disciple of his was supposedly very talented.

Not only did he have Innate Full Soul Power, but his combat prowess was also said to be quite impressive.

"It's fine, it won't waste any time. Let him learn from you; learning blacksmithing is good. It can be a path for his future."

"Fine, then have him come over!"

Cen Yue pointed to the door behind him, then pushed it open and turned to walk inside.

Shen Ming and Li Ang followed behind Cen Yue, entering as well.

It was a large blacksmithing room, and on the table sat a piece of metal that had just come out of the furnace.

This metal had not yet undergone basic quenching and was still irregular in shape.

Cen Yue sat in a chair to the side and pointed casually at the metal.

"The test is very simple: just take a hammer and strike that metal."

"Strike it however you like, following your own rhythm."

Cen Yue spoke casually, though he emphasized the word "rhythm."

Shen Ming also sat to the side calmly, watching Li Ang.

Li Ang's gaze swept over the metal, and he quickly created a simple cutting model in his mind.

He determined how to turn this metal into a flat square, though he did not act immediately.

He paused for a moment, then picked up a hammer from the side and walked forward slowly.

Li Ang's current strength was immense, reaching as much as one ton—a level of power many three or four-ring soul masters did not possess.

However, if this power could not be fully controlled and utilized with precision, it would be of no use for blacksmithing.

But as Li Ang approached, and as the gazes of both Cen Yue and Shen Ming fell upon him, Li Ang's footsteps faltered slightly.

He stared at the metal, then silently tossed the hammer aside.

This scene left both Cen Yue and Shen Ming stunned, but before they could react—

As Li Ang raised his hand, a wisp of pure Geo element condensed in his palm.

As the power of the Geo element slowly coalesced, the metal in front of Li Ang began to tremble slightly.

Then, it began to differentiate—or rather, purify—on its own.

This scene was so sudden that both Cen Yue and Shen Ming were momentarily frozen.

Then, they watched as the metal, which contained many impurities, began to purify itself automatically.

All the core metals contained within were easily extracted by Li Ang.

Watching the volume of the metal begin to divide, a piece of metal that was pale red throughout was extracted.

Subsequently, as it slowly condensed into a small, flat square, Cen Yue's mouth hung open, and he stood up abruptly.

Cen Yue's eyes were filled with disbelief; he looked at Li Ang as if he were a monster.

One had to know that after normal blacksmithing, quenched metal usually contained over 50% impurities.

In metal forging, the initial Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement are merely processes to remove impurities and extract metal of true high purity.

Only upon reaching the levels of Spirit Refinement and Soul Refinement does one begin to imbue the metal with properties.

Spirit Refinement grants the metal vitality, while Soul Refinement allows the metal to possess spirituality.

Beyond Heavenly Refinement, the metal even possesses emotions similar to those of a human.

This is the essence of forging, and the true mystery behind the craft.

Yet at this moment, Li Ang merely raised his hand, and he stripped away the purest Dragon Blood Iron.

This piece of metal was a non-standard Dragon Blood Iron; only after the tempering of Hundred Refinement could one extract Dissolved Blood Iron with a purity of over 75%.

And only by reaching Thousand Refinement or even Thousand Refinement Grade One could one produce Dragon Blood Iron with less than 50% impurities.

Yet Li Ang had not performed any forging at all, and he had already extracted this Dragon Blood Iron.

"How is this possible? What is this kid's Martial Soul? Is it related to metal types?"

"How on earth did he strip out the Dragon Blood Iron?"

Cen Yue watched Li Ang with a look of shock, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

Although metal is ostensibly just metal, everyone knows the truth.

These so-called metals contain various elemental substances, primarily Geo and Iron elements, while Dragon Blood Iron is mixed with other materials.

Under such circumstances, even a true master of metal could not possibly strip out the Dragon Blood Iron.

Because the operational requirements are extremely high, yet Li Ang had done it so easily, and there wasn't even much emotion on his face.

Because to him, this was simply too easy; he had even subconsciously raised his hand.

He had stripped away the other elements contained within.

Looking at the small, complete piece of material in his hand that consisted only of Dragon Blood Iron, Li Ang's expression became somewhat complex.

He suddenly understood why, in the ancient era, the Geo Archon Rex Lapis, or Morax, could forge weapons on such a massive scale.

With this kind of method, forging weapons was not a difficult task at all.

He didn't even need the forging techniques of those blacksmiths to easily create weapons that suited his own will.