Han Tianyi couldn't bear to watch. He silently turned his head away.
It was over. He'd been too hasty.
He could only blame himself. He'd focused so much on bringing Fang Lin here to become Zhen Hua's apprentice that he'd forgotten to prepare the kid a comprehensive guide to the basics of forging.
Fang Lin's talent was absurdly high, but forging and cultivation were ultimately two different things. There had to be a gradual process.
And this was what happened when you started by swinging a hammer.
"Uh..."
Mu Ye opened his mouth, then hesitated. In the end, he managed to squeeze out, "Junior Brother, this... is probably forging... right?"
His voice held unmistakable uncertainty. Even he couldn't convince himself.
Fang Lin stopped hammering and looked at the piece of Deep Silver before him, which had been battered beyond recognition. His face was just as bewildered.
The metal block, which had originally been perfectly square, had now been hammered into a crooked, irregular shape.
Its surface was pitted and uneven, like a piece of scrap iron ravaged by brute force.
"This doesn't feel right..."
Fang Lin scratched his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhen Hua's increasingly dark expression, and his heart lurched.
Forget it. I'm done pretending.
If I keep this up, I won't just fail to become his apprentice. I'll probably get thrown out.
"Power of Metal Spirit!"
Fang Lin gave a low shout, his gaze narrowing.
The next instant, a dazzling golden light suddenly flared across the surface of the Black Gold Forging Hammer in his hand.
It was the power of the metal element gathering into form across the hammerhead, like a layer of invisible, keen-edged coating.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A new round of hammer strikes fell.
This time, the sound was entirely different. Gone was the dull thudding from before. Instead, each strike rang with a crisp, lingering metallic resonance.
It was as if the hammer and metal had entered some strange state of resonance.
The clang of the hammer echoed through the forging room, carrying an unusual rhythm.
"Hm?"
Zhen Hua had been just about to call a halt, but then he sensed something. His eyes abruptly narrowed.
He could feel a strange force seeping into the metal with every strike of Fang Lin's hammer.
It wasn't brute strength, but a power that resonated with the metal itself. It was as if the instant the hammer fell, the structure within the metal responded in kind.
What Zhen Hua found unbelievable was that the Deep Silver was actually shrinking on its own under Fang Lin's violent blows, actively expelling its impurities...
It was as though the metal itself was cooperating with Fang Lin, willingly allowing itself to be forged instead of passively enduring the hammering.
Zhen Hua had spent most of his life forging, but he had never seen anything like this.
"That's not right!"
Zhen Hua stared fixedly at the forging hammer in Fang Lin's hands.
His voice trembled with disbelief as he asked, "What did you do?"
"Me?"
Zhen Hua's sharp exclamation left Fang Lin dazed. He stopped moving and stared at him blankly.
All he'd done was channel the Power of Metal Spirit. Was there really any need for such a reaction?
Zhen Hua looked deeply at Fang Lin, then took a deep breath, suppressing the shock and excitement in his heart.
He said solemnly, "All right, that's enough. Stop."
"Okay."
Fang Lin nodded obediently, though he was still puzzled, and gently set the forging hammer back on the table.
Zhen Hua fell silent for a moment, his gaze on Fang Lin complicated, as if he were looking at a monster.
He asked, "You... have never studied forging?"
"That's right."
Fang Lin nodded and admitted it frankly. "Before today, I'd never even touched a forging hammer."
Zhen Hua's expression grew even more complicated.
He looked at the Deep Silver, then at Fang Lin. His lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.
With his discerning eye, he could see what had happened at a glance.
The Deep Silver had been hammered into an ugly mess, its surface crooked and entirely lacking in beauty.
But most of the impurities inside the metal had been expelled, and its density had risen by an entire level.
In other words, the Deep Silver itself had been forged to a far purer state than it had been in originally.
It was just a little ugly.
"No, it's very ugly."
He silently added the words in his heart, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.
"All right, I understand."
Zhen Hua finally spoke. The coolness in his voice was gone, replaced by an earnest, fervent warmth.
He paused, then asked, "By the way, what did you enchant your forging hammer with just now?"
"The metal element," Fang Lin replied. After thinking it over, he added, "I connected with the power of the metal element between heaven and earth and attached it to the hammerhead."
"I figured, since I'm working with metal, and metal counters metal, using the power of the metal element to strike it should make things easier."
"..."
Zhen Hua thought to himself, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. What kind of humblebrag was that?
Using the metal element to forge metal.
He repeated the words to himself, and the more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
How many blacksmiths spent their entire lives pursuing ways to better control metal? And this kid had gone straight to making the metal obediently listen to him, willingly cooperating with the forging.
This wasn't a question of skill anymore. It was a whole new level of dominance over the entire forging system.
This kid has the makings of a divine craftsman!
Zhen Hua gave him an extremely high appraisal in his heart.
He stared at Fang Lin, eyes blazing, as if gazing at an uncarved piece of jade.
"Boy."
Zhen Hua spoke, his voice steady and firm. "You've passed the forging assessment."
Hearing this, Han Tianyi finally let out a breath he'd been holding.
The awkwardness on his face gave way to relief.
Mu Ye smiled and patted Fang Lin on the shoulder. "Junior Brother, impressive."
"Big Brother, you're amazing."
Na'er's violet eyes gleamed brightly.
"From this day on, you are the final disciple of me, Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua!"
Zhen Hua spoke with solemnity.
Final disciple.
Everyone present understood the weight those four words carried.
They meant that from now on, Zhen Hua would never take another disciple.
Fang Lin would be his last student, the sole recipient of all his effort and experience.
Fang Lin straightened and bowed to Zhen Hua. "Your disciple Fang Lin pays his respects to Master!"
"Good. Very good."
Zhen Hua nodded, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Come, your teacher will take you out for a good meal!"
Zhen Hua burst into laughter, in high spirits.
His gaze shifted to Mu Ye, his smile still bright. He deliberately raised an eyebrow. "Cook, this meal's on me."
"You just handle the cooking."
"Forget it."
Mu Ye sighed helplessly. "Zhen Hua, with my martial uncle and Junior Brother here today, I'll let it slide."
"But remember, you owe me a meal."
"Fine, fine, fine. I owe you a meal," Zhen Hua agreed cheerfully, waving his hand.
Then Zhen Hua led everyone out of the forging room. They returned to the office and headed toward the other side.