Mu Xi's face was twisted with anger. The two Soul Rings around her suddenly dropped, and fire had already begun to gather in her hand.
Just as she was about to attack Li Ang, his calm gaze swept over her, and an utterly terrifying pressure descended in an instant.
This was no ordinary pressure from one's presence. It was a change in gravity.
With the Geo Archon Rex Lapis Template, Li Ang could now control Rock Element and, in turn, change the elements or gravity around him.
Under the weight of the gravity pressing down on her, Mu Xi plopped straight onto the ground. She tried to raise her hand, only to find that she couldn't lift it in the slightest.
Seeing his daughter suddenly make a move, Mu Chen had just been about to stop her when he saw her instantly subdued.
Mu Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He doted on his daughter, but the purification technique the young man before him had just demonstrated was beyond measure in its importance.
"All right, Cen Yue, take my daughter downstairs. I'm going to talk with this kid."
"Remember, don't tell anyone about what happened today. Understand?"
"This matter must stay buried in your stomach."
Mu Chen looked at Cen Yue and reminded him.
Cen Yue was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly nodded.
Of course he wouldn't tell anyone. If word got out about this metal-purification technique, it would have a huge impact on industries across the board, especially technology.
If purer metals became available, the strength of equipment would increase by leaps and bounds.
And that would not be a good thing.
Watching Cen Yue lead the unwilling Mu Xi away, Mu Chen sat down beside Li Ang and let out a long breath.
"These are my blacksmithing notes. They explain Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement, along with all sorts of forging techniques."
"This book is yours."
"Starting now, come learn forging from me every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday."
Mu Chen spoke frankly. The old fox had only needed one look at Li Ang to figure out what kind of person he was.
The boy might have a somewhat odd personality, but it was clear he had a firm grasp of his goals.
He had come to learn forging, so he had no interest in listening to a lot of useless talk.
Once he'd grasped that, Mu Chen had gone straight to the several sets of notes he'd carefully prepared earlier, including techniques for Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement.
He'd originally made the notes for his daughter, but Mu Xi couldn't understand them, so he'd left them untouched.
Just as he'd expected, Li Ang's eyes lit up the moment he saw the two books on forging.
Without hesitation, he took the books and began poring over them.
They contained all kinds of basic forging techniques, as well as methods for forging Hundred-Refined Metal and Thousand-Refined Metal.
What was recorded inside was much like what Li Ang had already deduced: his purification method could be used on ordinary metals.
It could make those metals easier to work with during Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement.
With just a few simple adjustments, he could then forge the metal straight into Thousand Refinement.
"It can drastically cut down the time spent forging while improving the metal's quality and the properties it possesses."
Li Ang fell silent for a moment.
His gaze swept over the notes. Then he picked up the paper and pen beside him and began writing.
Mu Chen didn't stop him. He watched the boy before him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
After briefly recording the changes, Li Ang didn't linger. He headed straight for the elevator.
When Mu Chen saw Li Ang rush out, he followed him. He watched as Li Ang went up to the seventh floor and entered the forging room again.
The forging began. Li Ang casually took out a piece of Black Iron.
Black Iron was the most basic metal, and also one of the cheapest.
He placed his palm over it, and the primary dark substance within was drawn together, forming a brand-new metal.
Li Ang fixed his gaze on the metal, then picked up a Forging Hammer. Following the techniques Mu Chen had taught him, he lit the furnace and began forging.
Seeing Li Ang begin forging so skillfully, Mu Chen was a little dumbfounded.
He hesitated over whether to stop him, but after thinking it over, he ultimately stayed put.
Li Ang, meanwhile, didn't slow down in the slightest.
As the first hammer blow struck the metal, the dark metal began to change, its substance undergoing purification once again.
After only a few simple strikes, the Hundred Refinement that would normally have been necessary was already complete. Li Ang then started Thousand Refinement.
Mu Chen stared at Li Ang, dumbstruck. The boy had no understanding at all of what Hundred Refinement or Thousand Refinement meant.
So he was simply copying the instructions in the forging book, following them to the letter.
But what astonished Mu Chen was that the metal Li Ang had purified was actually close to completing Thousand Refinement.
It failed at the very end, perhaps because Li Ang couldn't control the heat well enough.
But the metal itself wasn't to blame for the failure. It was entirely because Li Ang wasn't familiar with forging techniques.
Once Li Ang became more proficient in those techniques, he would be able to complete Thousand Refinement outright.
He might even be able to reach Thousand Refinement Grade One with one hundred percent certainty.
That was a little too outrageous.
Watching Li Ang calmly write things down, Mu Chen fell unusually silent.
Looking at Li Ang now, Mu Chen's first thought was whether he should kill the kid.
After all, the boy's appearance would have a huge impact on the entire world of forging.
But his second thought was that he might be about to make a fortune. Judging by the talent and understanding this child had shown, he really could take a shot at becoming a Divine Craftsman.
In particular, his Metal Stripping technique might be able to reduce the complications brought on by Spirit Refinement and Soul Refinement.
To explain it in more detail, if you wanted a piece of metal to develop something like a spirit, the first condition was that the metal had to be pure metal.
It was like a person with a human body and horse's legs: they couldn't be called human.
To turn that creature into a human, you would have to strip away the horse's body and replace it with a human one.
Metals worked the same way.
That was why Spirit Refinement almost always required metal that had reached Thousand Refinement Grade One. Only metal that pure could undergo Spirit Refinement, and eventually Soul Refinement and Heavenly Refinement.
But if Li Ang could directly strip out the core metal, then complete Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement before proceeding with Spirit Refinement—
That might not give him much of an advantage at Spirit Refinement, but once he reached Soul Refinement, imbuing a piece of metal that fully acknowledged him with a spirit would be no difficult task.
And when he reached Heavenly Refinement, the metal's purity would give it a much better chance of withstanding the Heavenly Refinement Lightning Tribulation.
As a Level 8 Blacksmith, Mu Chen reacted quickly and understood the significance of this at once.
That was what made his expression so complicated.
Mu Chen didn't know about the other fields, but as far as forging technology was concerned, this child would absolutely be a national treasure.
He might even take the entire world of forging to the next level.
But for the Federation—or the whole world, for that matter—that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Before you continue