Becoming Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua's Disciple

Han Tianyi simply couldn't bear to look, silently turning his head away.

It was over; he had been too hasty.

He only had himself to blame. He had been so focused on bringing Fang Lin here to apprentice that he had forgotten to prepare a basic forging manual for the kid beforehand.

Fang Lin's talent was ridiculously high, but forging and cultivation were two different things after all; there had to be a gradual, step-by-step process.

Starting off by just swinging a hammer—wasn't this the inevitable result?

"Uh..."

Mu Ye opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself, until he finally managed to squeeze out, "Junior Brother, this is... probably forging, right...?"

His tone was clearly lacking confidence; he couldn't even convince himself.

Fang Lin stopped the hammer in his hand and looked at the piece of Deep Silver before him, which had been smashed beyond recognition, his face filled with bewilderment.

The originally square metal block had been hammered into a crooked, irregular shape.

The surface was pitted and scarred, looking exactly like a piece of scrap metal that had been ravaged by brute force.

This doesn't feel right...

Fang Lin scratched his head. Catching a glimpse of Zhen Hua's increasingly dark expression out of the corner of his eye, his heart skipped a beat.

Forget it, forget it. No more acting.

If he kept this up, let alone becoming an apprentice, he would probably be kicked out on the spot.

"Power of Metal Spirit!"

Fang Lin let out a low shout, his gaze sharpening.

The next moment, a brilliant golden light suddenly ignited on the surface of the Black Gold Forging Hammer in his hand.

It was the trace of the metal elemental power coalescing on the hammer face, like an invisible, sharp plating.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A new round of strikes descended.

The sound this time was completely different. It was no longer the dull thudding from before, but carried a crisp, lingering metallic resonance.

It was as if a strange resonance had been established between the hammer and the metal.

The clanging sounds echoed throughout the forging room, possessing a unique, rhythmic quality.

"Eh?"

Zhen Hua had been ready to call a halt, but he suddenly sensed something, his eyes narrowing sharply.

He felt that with every strike of Fang Lin's hammer, a strange power was permeating the interior of the metal.

It wasn't brute force, but a power that resonated with the metal itself, as if the moment the hammer fell, the internal structure of the metal responded in kind.

What Zhen Hua found hard to believe was that the piece of Deep Silver was actually shrinking in volume and actively expelling impurities under Fang Lin's violent hammering...

It was as if the metal itself was cooperating with Fang Lin's movements, willingly being forged rather than passively enduring the blows.

In all his years of forging, Zhen Hua had never seen such a sight.

"No!"

Zhen Hua's eyes were locked onto the forging hammer in Fang Lin's hand.

His voice held a trace of disbelief, even trembling slightly: "What did you do?"

"Me???"

Fang Lin was stunned by Zhen Hua's sudden shout. He stopped his movements and looked at the other man with a blank expression.

He had only mobilized a bit of the Power of Metal Spirit; was such a huge reaction really necessary?

Zhen Hua took a long look at Fang Lin, then drew a deep breath, suppressing the shock and excitement in his heart.

He said in a deep voice, "Alright, that's enough. Stop."

"Oh, okay."

Hearing this, although Fang Lin was confused, he nodded obediently and gently placed the forging hammer back on the table.

Zhen Hua was silent for a moment, looking at Fang Lin with a complex gaze, as if he were looking at a monster.

He asked, "You... have never studied forging?"

"Correct."

Fang Lin nodded at the question, admitting it frankly, "Before today, I hadn't even touched a forging hammer."

Once these words were out, Zhen Hua's expression became even more complicated.

He looked at the piece of Deep Silver, then back at Fang Lin, his lips trembling slightly as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

With his keen eye, he had seen the trick to it at a glance.

Although this piece of Deep Silver had been smashed into a mess, its surface crooked and devoid of any aesthetic appeal...

However, most of the impurities within the metal had been expelled, and its density had been elevated to a higher level than before.

In other words, the material of this Deep Silver had been forged to be far purer than it was initially.

It was just a bit ugly in shape.

No, it's quite ugly.

He added silently in his heart, his mouth twitching involuntarily.

"Alright, I understand."

Zhen Hua finally spoke, his tone no longer cold as before, replaced instead by a solemn eagerness.

He paused, then asked, "By the way, what did you enchant your forging hammer with just now?"

"Metal element."

Fang Lin said, then thought for a moment and added, "It's just communicating with the power of the metal element between heaven and earth and attaching it to the hammer face."

"I figured that since I'm forging iron, metal overcomes metal; using the power of the metal element to strike the metal should make it easier."

"..."

Zhen Hua thought to himself, his mouth twitching slightly, What kind of humblebrag is this?

Using the metal element to forge iron.

He repeated the sentence in his heart, and the more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

Countless blacksmiths spent their entire lives pursuing how to better control metal, but this kid—he just made the metal obediently listen and actively cooperate with the forging right from the start.

This was no longer a matter of technique; this was a dimensional strike against the entire forging system.

This kid already has the potential of a Divine Craftsman!

Zhen Hua gave him an extremely high evaluation in his heart.

He stared at Fang Lin with burning eyes, as if looking at an unpolished gem, his gaze filled with intensity.

"Kid."

Zhen Hua spoke, his voice steady and powerful, "You have passed your forging examination."

Hearing this, Han Tianyi finally let out a sigh of relief.

The expression on his face shifted from his previous embarrassment to relief.

Mu Ye smiled and patted Fang Lin on the shoulder, "Junior brother, impressive."

"Brother, you're amazing."

Na'er's purple eyes sparkled with a bright light.

"From this day forward, you are the final disciple of me, the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua!"

Zhen Hua declared, his tone solemn.

Final disciple.

Everyone present understood the weight of those four words.

It meant that from now on, Zhen Hua would not take on any other disciples.

Fang Lin would be his last student, and all his heart's blood and experience would be poured into him alone.

Fang Lin straightened his expression and bowed to Zhen Hua, "Disciple Fang Lin, greets Master!"

"Mm, good."

Zhen Hua nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"Let's go, Master will take you to eat something good!"

Zhen Hua laughed heartily, in a great mood.

He looked at Mu Ye, his smile undiminished, and deliberately raised an eyebrow, "Cook, today's meal is on me."

"You just need to be responsible for cooking it."

"Forget it."

Mu Ye sighed helplessly, "Zhen Hua, since my martial uncle and my junior brother are here today, I won't bicker with you."

"But remember, you owe me a meal."

"Fine, fine, if I owe you a meal, I owe you a meal." Zhen Hua waved his hand, agreeing readily.

Immediately, Zhen Hua led everyone out of the forging room, returned to the office, and headed toward the other side.