Na'er asked, "Master Mang, what would it take for you to accept me as your apprentice?"
Mang Di didn't even raise his eyes. "Achieve Hundred Refinement in a short time, and I'll take you on."
Na'er asked, "What's Hundred Refinement?"
Mang Di immediately showed her. With a dazzling series of movements, he forged a piece of tungsten steel a hundred times over, forcing its volume to shrink by half.
Silver light flickered in Na'er's eyes. The movements of Mang Di's hands seemed to slow to a crawl before her, and every motion was laid bare.
She said, "So that's what Hundred Refinement is."
"By hammering the metal again and again, you gradually remove its impurities, increasing its density and causing it to ascend."
"I understand."
Na'er added, "I understand all of it."
When the Silver Dragon got wise and stopped thinking with her heart, her abilities were something else.
Clearly, the kiss Na'er and Li Luo had shared earlier—the Dragon God and the Wife of the Dragon God's kiss across time and space—had awakened a little of the Silver Dragon's power.
Though Na'er wasn't a complete dragon,
she was extraordinary all the same.
Yet Mang Di laughed. "Little girl, what you said is absolutely right. But forging metal is hands-on work. Knowing how to talk and run your mouth is a different matter entirely."
"Give me the hammer!"
Na'er held out her hand.
The hammer in Mang Di's grasp fell into hers.
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Clang, clang, clang."
Once, twice.
Three times.
Countless times.
The black hammer whirled through the air, leaving afterimages in Na'er's wake.
"This... this, this, this..." Mang Di's eyes bulged wider than gongs.
He'd spent half his life forging metal,
only to return to the same old mortal craft.
All because he'd never seen a true divine technique.
Today, though, he had.
Na'er's performance had completely upended Mang Di's understanding. Before this, he hadn't believed what his big brother, Mang Tian, had said—that someone could reach Hundred Refinement in three months.
But now,
he believed it completely.
"Hundred Refinement!" Mang Di's lips trembled.
In less than half an hour, Na'er had already achieved Hundred Refinement.
And her Hundred Refinement was stronger than the ordinary kind.
The piece of tungsten steel she'd forged had shrunk by more than half.
Yet Na'er still hadn't stopped.
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Clang, clang, clang."
The little black hammer danced merrily through the air.
Mang Di unconsciously called out, "Two hundred refinements."
"Three hundred refinements."
"..."
At last, with a crisp clang, Na'er stopped hammering.
Mang Di had gone from shocked to numb.
It wasn't until Na'er asked him,
"How many refinements is that?"
that Mang Di came back to himself. He could barely get out a complete sentence. "A th-thousand refinements."
"Oh, so it's Thousand Refinement." Na'er felt a little reluctant to stop.
If she hadn't sensed that the tungsten steel couldn't withstand any more hammering, she would have gone beyond a thousand.
"Master Mang, you said that if I could achieve Hundred Refinement in a short time, you'd take me as your apprentice."
"Can you take me on now?"
Na'er asked, holding the hammer.
"I'll take you!" Mang Di hurriedly said, then waved both hands vigorously. "No, no, no. I can't take you on."
"You'll have to be my master."
Mang Di explained.
When he'd said "a short time," he'd meant a matter of months.
But Na'er had managed it in half an hour.
Not only had she achieved Hundred Refinement, she'd even reached Thousand Refinement.
If the material hadn't held her back, Thousand Refinement probably wouldn't have been the end.
Her talent was terrifying.
Na'er had the makings of a divine smith.
How could Mang Di dare to take her on?
He was better off becoming her apprentice.
Na'er was very unhappy with his explanation. "Hmph! Don't even think about becoming my apprentice."
"I absolutely won't pay you a salary."
The Silver Dragon had spent three months in the human world and had already acquired a basic understanding of human values.
As Mang Di's apprentice, she'd have to pay him twenty Federation Coins an hour.
If Mang Di became her apprentice, wouldn't she have to pay him twenty Federation Coins? That would be the death of her!
Na'er glared fiercely at Mang Di and thought, My Federation Coins are for buying a Soul Spirit for big brother.
Nobody gets to touch them!
"Hmph!"
At last, Mang Di realized what Na'er cared about.
After weighing things over, he said, "I won't take you on as my apprentice, and you won't take me on as yours."
"You can put your name on the roster at my workshop."
"I'll pay you."
Na'er's eyes lit up. "How much?"
"Thirty Federation Coins an hour."
"Deal."
Na'er agreed readily. The pay was higher than what the job posting had mentioned.
She was quite satisfied.
Na'er asked, "Master Mang, what do I have to do to earn the pay?"
Mang Di said generously, "You don't have to do anything."
"Oh." Na'er replied.
The more she thought about it, the more something felt off. Could this Master Mang be a scammer? Who paid someone without making them work?
No way.
For thirty Federation Coins,
Na'er swung the hammer and spent the entire afternoon forging metal in Mang Di's workshop.
When it was time to go home,
she settled her account with Mang Di.
"Master Mang, I started working here at one this afternoon, and it's now half past four."
"That comes to three and a half hours of work."
"According to our agreement, you owe me 105 Federation Coins."
Mang Di kept his word.
He paid Na'er.
Na'er went home with 105 Federation Coins.
She lay on her bed,
calculating how she could earn around a hundred more Federation Coins every day from now on.
Soon, she'd have enough to buy a Soul Spirit for big brother.
"Giggle."
She let out a laugh as clear as silver bells.
Li Luo, lying on the little bed, asked, "Did something good happen to you, Na'er?"
Na'er replied, "Something good did happen to Na'er."
"But Na'er can only tell big brother later."
"How mysterious." Li Luo pouted. "Whenever something good happens to big brother, he never keeps it from you."
Na'er rolled off her bed.
Then she climbed onto Li Luo.
She faced downward,
her silver hair brushing his face.
Bracing her hands on either side of Li Luo's shoulders, she looked down at him. "Big brother, hurry and tell me. What good thing happened?"
Li Luo felt that Na'er's pose was a little off.
Wasn't this the classic woman-on-top position?
But he'd made a lot of money that day and was in a good mood, so he let Na'er stay like that.
Li Luo said, "Big brother made money today."
Na'er was curious. "How much?"
Li Luo replied, "1.03 million Federation Coins."
"How much?!" Na'er's voice cracked.
Li Luo repeated, "1.03 million Federation Coins." He explained to Na'er how he'd made so much.
But the more he said,
the more Na'er's little face drooped.
Na'er made one last confirmation. "Big brother, you mean you made 1.03 million Federation Coins from filming one promotional video?"
"Yep!" Li Luo nodded, pulled out his Soul Guidance Communicator, and showed Na'er the transfer record for thirty thousand Federation Coins.
He added, "The other million Federation Coins are being held at the Spirit Pagoda. When I need them, I can go there and get them."
Listening to Li Luo, Na'er suddenly felt exhausted.
She'd worked herself to the bone,
forging metal all afternoon,
and earned a little over a hundred Federation Coins.
Big brother had filmed one promotional video and earned over a million Federation Coins—countless more zeroes than she had.
She was tired.
This world could just go ahead and be destroyed.
Before you continue