Senior Brother Mu Ye, Ruleless Hammer Technique

Zhen Hua's office.

"Grand-uncle, please pass on the Body Sect's secret techniques to our junior brother," Mu Ye said.

"Very well."

Han Tianyi nodded slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He had known that his grand-nephew would never refuse once he understood Fang Lin's talent.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Fang Lin looked at Mu Ye and said solemnly.

"It's nothing."

Mu Ye waved his hand, his tone casual yet crisp and straightforward.

He had already accepted the role of senior brother.

From this day forward, besides being a disciple of Han Tianyi from the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, Fang Lin was also considered a member of his Body Sect.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Han Tianyi slowly turned his gaze toward Zhen Hua.

"Good."

Seeing this, Zhen Hua nodded without further ado.

His gaze fell calmly upon Fang Lin, looking him up and down before he said in a deep voice, "Kid, I won't bother with any formalities."

"Let's start the assessment directly."

Zhen Hua knew in his heart that he did not have much time left.

The backlash endured from long-term Heavenly Forging had long since buried hidden dangers within his body.

Heavenly Forging was a forging technique that drew upon the power of heaven and earth's elemental laws to infuse metal; every success was accompanied by a heavenly tribulation that the blacksmith had to withstand with their own body.

Over the years, even the strongest physique would accumulate incurable internal injuries and wear.

These internal injuries were not apparent on a daily basis, but they were like maggots on rotting bones, slowly eroding his vitality, manifesting externally as his prematurely white hair and increasingly withered complexion.

Of course, with Zhen Hua's cultivation as a Titled Douluo and a Level 9 Divine Craftsman, if he were to stop Heavenly Forging and supplement his life with precious treasures to carefully recuperate, he would have plenty of time to enjoy his twilight years without issue.

Yet he knew better than anyone that what he had pursued his entire life was never just to survive, but the ultimate peak of the path of forging.

If he were to put down his forging hammer to cherish his life, then he, Zhen Hua, would no longer be worthy of being called a "Divine Craftsman."

When Han Tianyi proposed sending his disciple to learn forging, Zhen Hua did not refuse.

Firstly, it was a request from an old friend, and he could not turn down the favor.

He and Han Tianyi had known each other for many years and understood each other well; he could not ignore this friendship.

Secondly, he also wanted to see exactly how much potential this youth, whom Han Tianyi had taken as a disciple, truly possessed.

Now it seemed that since Fang Lin could be personally acknowledged by Mu Ye, it at least showed that his talent as a soul master was indeed extraordinary.

However, soul master talent was one thing, and forging talent was another.

While the two had commonalities, they were not the same thing.

Now, only the final and most important procedure remained.

To confirm whether Fang Lin possessed the aptitude in the path of forging that matched his talent as a soul master.

"Come, follow me."

After saying this, Zhen Hua stepped out first.

He led the group through another door on the side of the office and into his private forging studio.

The security level here was the highest in the Federation, with layers of arrays and restrictions completely isolating the entire studio from the outside world.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were each embedded with intricate soundproofing and protective runes.

The studio was vast, covering at least several hundred square meters.

On both walls stood custom-made metal display racks, cast entirely from alloy and incredibly sturdy.

On the shelves, metal ingots of various colors and shapes were arranged by category.

Some emitted a faint, dim light, like stars in the night.

Others appeared plain and unassuming, yet contained strange energy fluctuations that made one dare not underestimate them.

These were almost all top-tier rare metals that were priceless and unavailable on the market; taking out any single piece would be enough to bankrupt an ordinary blacksmith.

Only someone with Zhen Hua's status and peak-level skills could collect such a scale.

Seeing this, a trace of emotion flashed in Han Tianyi's eyes. "This is the foundation of a Divine Craftsman!"

Although he was the Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda and possessed extensive knowledge, when it came to the path of forging, such a collection could only be seen here at Zhen Hua's place.

I hope this brat can succeed in becoming his apprentice.

Han Tianyi glanced at Fang Lin, his thoughts silent.

"Brother, good luck."

Na'er spoke softly, her clear purple eyes filled with trust and encouragement.

Although she did not understand forging, she believed that Fang Lin would certainly succeed.

"Mn."

Fang Lin nodded slightly, his expression calm.

Zhen Hua walked over to a wide workbench.

The surface was crafted from a single solid block of profound iron, having withstood countless strikes without the slightest deformation. Its surface had long been polished as smooth as a mirror, radiating a cold, metallic luster.

He took a pair of standard-issue forging hammers from the tool rack nearby, though they were made with exceptionally high-quality materials.

The hammer heads were dark and heavy, possessing significant weight in the hand.

Subsequently, Zhen Hua took a metal block with a dull, silver-gray luster from the rack and tossed it onto the forging table.

"Thud."

The metal block landed on the table with a dull sound.

This was Deep Silver.

It was a metal with relatively stable properties and moderate toughness, commonly used for novice practice and testing.

It was neither too soft to lack practice value, nor too hard to discourage beginners.

"I don't require you to forge anything fancy out of it."

Zhen Hua crossed his arms, his gaze sharp as he looked at Fang Lin. "You only need to try striking it so I can see your force application and rhythm."

As a Level 9 Godsmith, he only needed to hear a few strikes to judge the upper limit of a person's talent.

Hammer techniques could be practiced, methods could be taught, and experience could be accumulated, but that innate talent was something that could not be taught.

"Alright."

Fang Lin responded, walked to the forging table, and reached out to grasp the Black Gold Forging Hammer.

He looked down at the Deep Silver, but he was muttering to himself, Blacksmithing? How would he know how to do that?

This was the first time Fang Lin had ever held a forging hammer in his life.

Never mind forging techniques; he hadn't even been taught the most basic way to hold the hammer.

Fang Lin only knew one way: simple, crude, and straightforward.

Forging, isn't it just smashing this thing flat? It's simple enough.

As Fang Lin thought this, the hammer in his hand fell with fluid motion.

He might not have eaten pork, but hadn't he seen a pig run?

Blacksmithing was just swinging it down and smashing, right?

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hammer blow after hammer blow fell continuously.

Fang Lin was swinging the hammer and outputting wildly, as if he were playing Whac-A-Mole.

His movements were simple and crude, consisting entirely of straight, vertical, hard smashes.

Every strike relied purely on the brute force of his arms, and the collision between the hammer head and the Deep Silver made the entire forging table hum with vibration.

"???"

Zhen Hua's brows furrowed, and the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

You call this blacksmithing?

There was no technique, nor was there any rhythm.

His method of applying force was completely wrong; he gripped the handle too tightly, his wrists were stiff, and he didn't use a shred of power from his waist or abdomen, relying entirely on brute force to smash.

Forget about forging talent; this didn't even qualify as the most basic "knowing how to blacksmith."

This was simply chaotic, lawless battering...