A Terrifying Talent

Mu Xi's face was etched with anger; two Soul Ring suddenly descended around her, and the fire element in her hands began to condense.

Just as she prepared to attack Li Ang, his calm gaze swept over her, and an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure instantly descended.

This was not a normal display of aura, but a manipulation of gravity itself.

Possessing the Geo Archon Rex Lapis template, Li Ang could now control the Geo element, thereby altering the surrounding elements or gravity.

Under this gravitational suppression, Mu Xi plopped onto the ground. She tried to raise her hands, only to find them completely immovable.

Seeing his daughter suddenly lash out, Mu Chen was about to intervene, only to see her instantly suppressed.

This left Mu Chen feeling a mix of amusement and frustration.

Though he doted on his daughter, the metal purification technique displayed by the youth before him was of incalculable importance.

"Alright, Cen Yue, take my daughter away. I need to have a word with this kid."

"Remember, do not speak of today's events to anyone, understand?"

"This matter must be buried deep."

Mu Chen looked at Cen Yue and gave a stern instruction.

Cen Yue was stunned for a moment before nodding hurriedly.

He naturally wouldn't speak of this; once the secret of such metal purification was exposed, it would have a massive impact on every industry, especially in the field of technology.

Once purer metals could be obtained, the strength of equipment would increase significantly.

And that was not necessarily a good thing.

Watching Cen Yue lead a reluctant Mu Xi away, Mu Chen sat down beside Li Ang and let out a long sigh.

"These are my forging notes. They explain what Hundred Refinement is, what Thousand Refinement is, and various forging techniques."

"This book is yours now."

"And every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you will learn forging from me."

Mu Chen was direct. As an old fox, he had judged the boy's personality with a single glance.

The youth's temperament might be a bit eccentric, but it was clear that he was extremely focused on his goals.

Since his purpose in coming was to learn forging, he had no patience for useless chatter.

Grasping this, Mu Chen pulled out the notes he had meticulously compiled, which included techniques for Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement.

He had originally intended these for his daughter, but since Mu Xi couldn't grasp them, they had simply sat there.

As expected, Li Ang's eyes lit up the moment he saw the two forging books.

Without hesitation, he took the books and began to flip through them carefully.

They contained all sorts of basic forging techniques, as well as methods for forging Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement metals.

What was recorded inside matched Li Ang's own deductions; his purification method could be applied to ordinary metals.

It would make these metals much easier to process during Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement.

With just a few simple adjustments, he could directly forge the metal into a Thousand Refinement state.

This means I can drastically reduce forging time while increasing the metal's quality and inherent properties.

Li Ang fell silent for a moment.

His gaze swept across the page, and he immediately pulled out a pen and paper to start writing.

Mu Chen didn't stop him, watching the boy before him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

Li Ang finished his brief notes, then, without a moment's delay, rushed toward the elevator.

Watching Li Ang dash out, Mu Chen followed behind, seeing him arrive at the seventh floor and enter the forging room once more.

The forging began, and Li Ang casually pulled out a piece of Black Iron.

Black Iron was the most basic of metals, and also the cheapest.

He placed his palm over the Black Iron, and the primary black substance was condensed out, forming a brand-new piece of metal.

Li Ang stared intently at the metal, then picked up the forging hammer, lit the furnace according to the techniques Mu Chen had taught him, and began to forge.

Seeing Li Ang start forging so skillfully, Mu Chen was somewhat bewildered.

He hesitated, wondering whether he should stop him, but after a moment's thought, he ultimately remained still.

Li Ang's speed, however, was not slow in the slightest.

As the first hammer blow struck the metal, the black substance began to change, and the materials within began to purify once more.

After just a few simple strikes, the Hundred Refinement that usually required tedious purification was already complete, and Li Ang immediately proceeded to Thousand Refinement.

Mu Chen stood to the side, staring blankly at Li Ang; the boy had no prior understanding of what Hundred Refinement or Thousand Refinement actually entailed.

He was simply following the contents of the forging book, attempting a complete imitation.

But to his astonishment, the metal Li Ang had purified was genuinely on the verge of completing a Thousand Refinement.

It was only at the very end, perhaps due to an inability to control the heat, that the Thousand Refinement ultimately failed.

The problem, however, was that the failure had nothing to do with the metal itself; it was entirely because Li Ang was unfamiliar with forging techniques.

Once Li Ang's proficiency in forging techniques improved, he would be able to complete Thousand Refinement directly.

He might even be able to achieve Thousand Refinement Grade One with a hundred percent success rate.

That was simply too monstrous.

Watching Li Ang calmly writing things down, Mu Chen was uncharacteristically silent.

As he looked at Li Ang, his first instinct was to wonder whether he should just get rid of the kid.

After all, the appearance of this boy would have a massive impact on the entire world of forging.

But his second instinct was that he might be about to strike it rich; based solely on the talent and comprehension this child had displayed, he truly had a chance to challenge the rank of Divine Craftsman.

In particular, his method of Metal Stripping could very likely reduce the difficulties associated with Spirit Refinement and Soul Refinement.

To explain it in more detail, if one wanted a piece of metal to develop spirituality, the prerequisite was that the metal had to be pure.

For instance, if a person had a human body but the legs of a horse, they could not be called a human.

If one wanted such a creature to become human, they would need to strip away the horse's body and replace it with a human one.

The same applied to metal.

This was why Spirit Refinement almost exclusively required metal of Thousand Refinement Grade One; only metal of that purity could potentially undergo Spirit Refinement, let alone the final stages of Soul Refinement and Heavenly Refinement.

Yet, if Li Ang could directly strip out the core metal, complete Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement, and then proceed to Spirit Refinement—

While there might not be a significant advantage for Spirit Refinement, once he reached Soul Refinement, it would not be difficult to instill spirituality into a piece of metal that recognized him completely.

Even when reaching Heavenly Refinement, the metal's extreme purity meant its capacity to withstand the Heavenly Refinement Lightning Tribulation should be much greater.

As a Level 8 Blacksmith, Mu Chen's reaction was swift, and he realized this point very clearly.

This was exactly why his expression was so conflicted.

Mu Chen didn't know about other aspects, but in terms of forging technology alone, this child would definitely be a national treasure in the future.

He might even be the reason the forging world was propelled to the next level.

Yet, for the Federation, or perhaps for the entire world, that might not necessarily be a good thing.