Sloppy Technique, High-Grade Hundred-Refinement, Mu Chen Panics

"Fine, then I'll take the Sinking Silver." Su Chen barely hesitated, extending his small hand to point directly at the piece of Sinking Silver.

The burly old man was stunned for a moment.

Choosing Sinking Silver—is this kid truly ignorant, or just incredibly daring?

"Kid, Sinking Silver isn't a toy. It has extremely high requirements for strength, and the purification process is incredibly difficult..."

Before the burly old man could finish, Su Chen had already stepped forward, reached out his right hand, splayed his fingers, and lightly gripped the edge of the Sinking Silver, lifting it with ease to toy with it in his palm.

"Hiss—!"

The burly old man gasped, his eyes widening instantly.

What terrifying strength. That's three hundred kilograms of Sinking Silver. Is this kid a beast in human form???

The burly old man was left completely dumbfounded.

Su Chen weighed it a few times, feeling that the density and heft of the Sinking Silver were indeed well-deserved.

He casually placed the Sinking Silver ingot onto the anvil at the center of the Forging Room.

Just then, as if remembering something, he turned to look at the examiner and asked in a natural tone, "By the way, do you have a forging hammer here? I didn't bring one."

"You didn't bring a hammer!"

The burly old man felt utterly absurd. "You're taking the exam without your own hammer?"

A forging hammer is the hands and feet of a blacksmith, an extension of their own body.

Every blacksmith possesses at least one forging hammer they are accustomed to using.

Coming to an exam without a hammer is as ridiculous as a soldier heading to the battlefield without a rifle!

Does this kid even understand forging?

Is he really here for the exam, or just to cause trouble?

The burly old man felt his blood pressure rising.

Su Chen looked at him with an innocent expression, as if to say: Is it strange not to bring a hammer?

After a moment of hesitation, the old man pointed to the rack nearby and said, "There are standard hammers here. See which one feels right."

Su Chen took a look; the hammers on the side were all standard forging hammers, ranging in weight from 10 kilograms to 300 kilograms.

Su Chen chose the heaviest one, the 300-kilogram Sinking Silver Hammer, without a moment's hesitation.

Is this kid... even human...

The old man had become completely numb.

"Begin!"

He took a deep breath and pressed the timer on the side.

Su Chen nodded, saying nothing more.

Su Chen didn't dawdle, placing the Sinking Silver directly on the forging table before adjusting the temperature to heat it.

Half a minute later.

Su Chen swung the heavy hammer and began to strike.

The optimal forging temperature range for Sinking Silver is very narrow; too high a temperature destroys its internal structure, making it brittle.

If the temperature is too low, it is difficult to shape, and forced forging will cause it to crack.

Su Chen ignored all of this; he simply felt it was about right and raised his hammer to get to work.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—"

Deafening roars exploded within the Forging Room.

The massive sound waves battered the eardrums, and the entire forging table seemed to shudder.

Sparks erupted from the point of impact like fireworks, scattering in all directions.

There was no technique, only raw force.

"This technique!! Kid, have you ever studied forging? What kind of garbage technique is this!"

Seeing this, the examiner finally couldn't help but lash out.

Su Chen was clearly a complete novice; he had no technique at all. It was absurd, absolutely absurd!!

He was so angry his hands were trembling. This wasn't forging; this was just smashing iron!

No, even smashing iron would have more method to it. This was the work of a complete layman!

"That is not how you strike Sinking Silver! You are wasting a precious treasure!!"

The old man roared in distress, as if he could already see that precious piece of Sinking Silver being reduced to a pile of scrap under such brutal, mindless force.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!"

The only response to the old man was more terrifying strikes!

Others forged by forcibly purifying the metal and shaping it into what they desired.

Su Chen possessed "Metal Affinity," meaning he only needed to strike the metal casually for it to actively transform into the shape he desired.

As Su Chen hammered away, the Sinking Silver visibly shrank, its impurities constantly purged, clearly becoming increasingly pure.

"No... that's not right!!! The Sinking Silver didn't shatter, and it has clearly been refined. This is impossible!!"

The old man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

With such crude technique and such terrifying force, the Sinking Silver should have been beaten into scrap metal by all logic.

Yet at this moment, the Sinking Silver had truly been refined, a fact that completely subverted his worldview.

Meanwhile.

Outside the Examination Room.

Mu Chen, Mu Xi, Cen Yue, and several staff members were rushing toward the scene.

"A seven-year-old coming to test as a blacksmith? Where did this genius pop out from?" Mu Chen asked, hands behind his back, his tone full of curiosity.

"Seven years old... I don't believe it. Either they're lying about their age, or they're here to cause trouble!" Mu Xi said, pouting.

She was nine years old this year and didn't know how long she had struggled just to barely become a Level 1 Blacksmith.

If the other party could truly become a Level 1 Blacksmith at seven, wouldn't that make her, a nine-year-old Level 1 Blacksmith, look like a total failure?

She refused to believe such a monster existed in this world!

"Boom, boom, boom--"

As soon as the group approached, they heard the hammering coming from the Forging Room; although light, it was very distinct.

Mu Chen and Mu Xi both frowned.

"Which candidate is in that examination room? With such abysmal technique, they dare to come for an examination!" Mu Chen said coldly.

It was like a calligraphy master seeing a pile of messy scribbles; it felt like looking at dog excrement.

This was an absolute insult to the Blacksmith Association!

"Uh... that room, it seems to be that seven-year-old kid..." a staff member nearby whispered.

"Hmph! I thought it was some genius, turns out it's just an idiot!" Upon hearing this, Mu Xi let out a cold snort, the heavy stone in her heart instantly dropping.

A seven-year-old Level 1 Blacksmith—she had almost believed it. Who would have thought it was a false alarm? The other party was a fraud and a small fry!

"Let's go, let's take a look."

Mu Chen quickened his pace, clearly feeling quite displeased.

This was definitely someone here to cause trouble!

The group soon arrived outside Su Chen's Forging Room and entered directly using an authorization card.

"President, Master Cen, Miss Mu Xi, why are you here!"

When the old examiner saw Mu Chen and the others, he hurriedly bowed in salute.

"What is going on here? Does this kid even know how to forge?" Mu Chen asked with a frown.

"Uh, President, why don't you take a closer look?"

The old man pointed cautiously at the Sinking Silver under Su Chen's hands.

At this moment, Su Chen stopped his forging, feeling that this round had already concluded.

Mu Xi and Mu Chen's gazes shifted just in time, landing on the piece of Sinking Silver on the forging table.

Immediately, everyone's pupils constricted.

What were they looking at?

That piece of Sinking Silver lay quietly on the forging table.

Although its shape was irregular, its surface displayed a series of patterns.

They were not cracks from being smashed, but Hundred-Refinement Pattern!

Hundred-Refinement Pattern!

These were the patterns that formed naturally on the surface of metal after it had been repeatedly folded and hammered, its internal structure compressed to the limit, and its impurities effectively expelled!

It was the most intuitive sign that one's forging technique had reached the "Hundred-Refinement" level!

Moreover, these patterns... were high-grade Hundred-Refinement Pattern!

This meant the impurities in this Sinking Silver had been completely removed, achieving total purification!

"This... how is this possible?!!"

Mu Chen stared fixedly at Su Chen, as if looking at a monster.

This was high-grade Hundred-Refinement!

It meant this piece of Sinking Silver had 100% potential to reach Thousand-Refinement or even Spirit-Refinement!

Mu Chen felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

Such sloppy technique, yet it produced a high-grade Hundred-Refinement!

It was as if someone had thrown top-tier ingredients into a rusted iron pot for a chaotic stew, only to end up with the finest delicacy in the world!

He felt as though his decades of forging had been fed to the dogs; the other party's methods had completely shattered his worldview!

"Guild Master, look at the time again..."

The burly old man pointed toward the timer.

Everyone looked over and discovered that only five minutes had passed on the countdown.

"Impossible!! A high-grade Hundred-Refinement in five minutes! Is this kid even human? Is he really only seven years old!"

Even with Mu Chen's unshakable temperament and vast experience, his expression changed at this moment.

The other accompanying blacksmiths also wore expressions of shock, their mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.

"BOOM--"

Just as the crowd was reeling in shock, Su Chen swung his hammer once more to continue the forging process.

Clearly, Su Chen intended to push this piece of Sinking Silver to a Thousand-Refinement!