Gu Yue: I Have a Bad Feeling

After finishing his meal, Zhen Hua set down his chopsticks, stood up, and beckoned to Xiao Mu.

"Follow me."

They walked through a corridor and pushed open a heavy iron door, revealing a forging room. It was larger than any Xiao Mu had seen in the East Sea.

A forging table sat in the center, flanked by rows of shelves stacked with various metal ingots—Deep Silver, Mithril, and Dark Iron—each labeled accordingly.

Zhen Hua walked to the shelves, scanned them, and casually pulled down a piece of Deep Silver. It was the size of a washbasin, its surface glowing with a matte, silver-gray finish, indicating high purity.

He placed the Deep Silver on the forging table with a dull thud.

"Let's test your forging level," he said, stepping back to the wall and crossing his arms.

Xiao Mu walked to the forging table. He didn't rush to start; instead, he weighed the Deep Silver in his palm and leaned in to examine the texture of its cross-section. Then, he nodded, lit the fire, started the furnace, and worked the bellows.

Orange-red flames leaped up, reflecting on his face.

In that very instant, he identified where the impurities in the Deep Silver lay. He could easily complete a Hundred Refinement and a Thousand Refinement after heating it.

Zhen Hua leaned against the wall, watching him skillfully light the furnace and adjust the air vents. "Judging by this proficiency, it seems you were telling the truth."

"Of course," Xiao Mu replied, staring at the furnace fire as the Deep Silver gradually changed color.

The Deep Silver was thoroughly heated in the furnace, glowing a deep, dark red.

Xiao Mu opened the furnace door, and a wave of heat washed over him. He used iron tongs to extract the Deep Silver and quickly returned to the forging table.

Then, he retrieved two forging hammers from his Soul Tool.

The hammer heads were pitch black—not a painted black, but a black that seemed to absorb the light hitting it.

As soon as the two hammers were brought out, the dust on the forging table suddenly settled downward.

The forging hammers' special trait: Weight Increase.

They could be used in conjunction with Xiao Mu's first soul skill.

Sooner or later, he would have a small hammer weighing ten million tons.

"Thousand Refinement Hammers," Zhen Hua narrowed his eyes. "Is this metal Ink Tungsten Gold? It has an innate gravity attribute."

Xiao Mu didn't speak; he raised his right arm and brought the hammer down.

The moment the hammer face made contact with the Deep Silver, the entire forging room trembled.

The impact force was precisely controlled within the Deep Silver. The metal deformed, stretched, and bonded at a speed visible to the naked eye. With every strike, a layer of fine, hair-like patterns appeared on the surface of the Deep Silver.

His left hand followed, the two hammers falling in alternation with a rhythm as fast as drumbeats.

In just three strikes, the Hundred Refinement was successful.

Zhen Hua watched the movement of his hands alternating the hammers, and his expression changed. He unconsciously lowered his crossed arms and stared at Xiao Mu.

"My brother is amazing, right?" Na'er said with her hands on her hips, speaking confidently, as if the person were herself.

"Alright, don't disturb your brother while he's focusing on forging," Mu Ye reminded her.

Na'er obediently shut her mouth and watched Xiao Mu forge.

Xiao Mu was forging with great focus. The two Thousand Refinement hammers fell in his hands with a rhythm as steady as a precision-calibrated machine.

The force of every strike was just right. Too heavy, and it would destroy the internal structure; too light, and the texture wouldn't be refined through. Under the hammer blows, the Deep Silver gradually deformed.

The crystal grains inside the metal were refined, elongated, and rearranged through repeated hammering, with the density stacking layer by layer.

The texture of the Deep Silver began to become delicate.

The silver-gray metal surface began to emit a dark, mysterious luster.

On the forging table, the Deep Silver began to turn black.

That was the Deep Silver being influenced by Xiao Mu's martial soul. Xiao Mu also knew the difference between Hundred Refinement and Thousand Refinement.

It was the communication between the person and the metal.

The next moment, a light erupted from the forging table, surged past the fingers holding the hammers, and shot up to the ceiling.

The black light was over seven feet tall.

Xiao Mu stopped his hammers at this moment. The black light slowly receded, finally shrinking back into the surface of the Deep Silver, leaving behind flowing dark patterns on the metal that seemed to breathe.

Thousand Refinement, awakening of spirit—it was done.

Zhen Hua leaned against the wall, looking at the Deep Silver that was still faintly glowing, and remained silent for a long time.

"Thousand Refinement, first grade. And you clearly still have energy to spare; you even have a chance to touch upon Spirit Refinement."

He didn't want to let Xiao Mu risk attempting Spirit Refinement; once it failed, the backlash would be immense.

"Not bad. Any interest in becoming my apprentice? You could certainly become the second Divine Craftsman."

"Huh?" Xiao Mu blinked. Was he being that direct?

"Don't be afraid. Your talent is unprecedented. You will definitely be able to surpass me and become the youngest Divine Craftsman," Zhen Hua said bluntly.

"Learning to forge is no problem, but I still have many things to do."

"What could possibly be more important than learning to forge?"

"I am going to inspect the Federation's satellite launch."

"Did you use that word correctly? Don't tell me you're actually that genius..."

"Correct. The Federation's metal innovation was also my doing."

After hearing this, Zhen Hua felt that something was wrong with the world. He kept feeling that he, the current number one materials scientist of the Federation and the creator of Heavenly Refinement, was being overshadowed.

Zhen Hua was currently asking the challenger before him if he wanted to take his seat.

It was a strange feeling—a contradictory sense of wanting to watch a junior surpass him, yet not wanting that junior to step on him to reach the top.

"That's all, it's fine. Just keep to the original rhythm. The most important thing is for you to learn Heavenly Refinement from me; in this world, only I can teach you."

Xiao Mu nodded upon hearing this. If it was just learning Heavenly Refinement, he still had the time.

It was time to consider where to build his own laboratory.

Building it in Ming Capital would be too polluting; the main risk of a failed experiment was a leak. Perhaps he should build it in Shrek City instead; the Sea God could handle quite a lot.

The Golden Ancient Tree could also purify wastewater; he truly was far-sighted.

The Golden Ancient Tree could even purify the power of destruction, so mere radiation would surely be a piece of cake.

Then he would proceed with his experiments. After all, he had already collected the correct ores, and the Federation was already searching for more according to his samples.

He would just conduct the experiments in Shrek City, and if there was any danger, he would just blame it on Shrek City's own issues.

At this moment, Ah Yin was under immense pressure. Elder Jin, the Golden Ancient Tree, remained calm and composed; as long as he remained the source of life for Douluo Planet, these things could not harm him.

Xiao Mu thought his idea was brilliant. He would go live in Ming Capital, far away from Shrek Academy, so he wouldn't have to worry about it.

Of course, he didn't say this out loud; he just kept it to himself.

He flipped the Deep Silver blank in his palm, feeling the energy still faintly circulating within the metal, and suddenly looked up at Mu Ye.

"Sect Master, it's rare for Na'er and me to come to Heaven Dou City. We'd like to go for a stroll in the city."

Mu Ye, who was discussing that piece of first-grade Thousand Refinement Deep Silver with Zhen Hua, waved his hand upon hearing this. "Go ahead, just don't cause any trouble."

Zhen Hua also nodded. "Be back before dark."

Xiao Mu turned and walked toward the door, with Na'er skipping along behind him, her silver eyes brightening.

With just the two of them, Xiao Mu and her, the advantage was hers.

As the two pushed the door open to leave, Mu Ye added from behind, "Don't tear Heaven Dou City apart."

"Understood." Xiao Mu paused for a moment but didn't turn back.

Zhen Hua, meanwhile, secretly arranged for two bodyguards to follow them.

Xiao Mu's goal for this trip was clear: take advantage of the Spirit Pagoda's network failure to freeload a few spirits.

At the same time, Gu Yue couldn't help but sneeze, feeling as though a disaster was headed her way.