Spirit Forging

Looking at the piece of Thousand-Forged Deep Silver, Huo Yuhao was not satisfied.

First-Class Battle Armor came in two types. One was the ordinary kind meant for temporary use, which had to be completely replaced upon reaching Two-Word Battle Armor.

The other was a sentient First-Class Battle Armor forged from sentient metal, which could be further forged and advanced into Two-Word Battle Armor.

The difference between the two lay in their materials. Sentient First-Class Battle Armor required Spirit Forged metal, while rare metal that could be absorbed into the body even required Fusion Forging.

Ordinary First-Class Battle Armor, on the other hand, could be made directly from Thousand-Forged metal.

After the second awakening of his martial soul, along with the enhancements from the Ice Empress's torso bone and Life Gold, Huo Yuhao's physical condition had long reached the Soul Emperor level required for Two-Word Battle Armor.

Therefore, there was no point in painstakingly crafting ordinary First-Class Battle Armor. If not for the need to hone his crafting skills, Huo Yuhao would have directly begun making Two-Word Battle Armor.

After considering it carefully, Huo Yuhao decided to practice his forging techniques first, then make some ordinary First-Class Battle Armor to sell at the academy.

After all, Teacher Fan Yu's Gold Soul Coins were limited. If he truly practiced without restraint, even several Fan Yus would not be enough to support him.

Soon, the forge rang once more with the sound of clanging hammers.

During the days following the end of the freshmen assessment, Huo Yuhao had been studying forging continuously, making remarkable progress.

Because the commotion Huo Yuhao had caused this time was too great, the freshmen assessment rewards were not handed out publicly. Instead, the freshmen were called one by one to the director's office to receive them privately.

The next time Huo Yuhao met Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao was in Du Weilun's office.

"Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, this is your reward for the freshmen assessment: a soul bone from a Void Demon Leopard."

Huo Yuhao casually glanced at it, then tossed it to Xiao Xiao. "You two decide how to divide it. I'm not interested."

Wang Dong was relatively calm, since a thousand-year soul bone was beneath her notice. Xiao Xiao, however, was thrilled.

Soul bones were actually quite rare. Many titled Douluo had not even managed to equip a full set of soul bones.

Huo Yuhao ignored Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's discussion and continued listening to Du Weilun.

"Alright, calm down first. Next, I will announce the second matter. The three of you will all become core disciples of the Martial Soul Department."

"As for Huo Yuhao, after deliberation by the Sea God Pavilion, you will become Shrek Academy's first-ever dual core disciple."

After making the announcement, Du Weilun had expected to see Huo Yuhao brimming with excitement. Instead, Huo Yuhao's face remained calm.

"This was within my expectations. Director Du, is there anything else?"

Seeing Du Weilun's curiosity, Huo Yuhao gave a brief explanation. He intended to return to his forge and continue forging metal.

"Huo Yuhao, the dean of our Martial Soul Department wishes to see you and discuss something with you."

Seeing that Huo Yuhao was about to leave, Du Weilun hurriedly conveyed Yan Shaozhe's message.

"Alright, I understand. Let's go now, then. I don't know where Dean Yan's office is, so if you have the time, please take me there."

Huo Yuhao roughly guessed why Yan Shaozhe wanted to see him. He had no intention of delaying, so he directly asked Du Weilun to lead him to the dean's office.

Inside the dean's office, Yan Shaozhe looked at Huo Yuhao with a gentle expression. "Yuhao, the dean has a personal matter that requires your help. Tell me whatever you want in return."

Huo Yuhao asked bluntly, "Would a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone be acceptable?"

Yan Shaozhe found that well within his expectations. "Naturally. As long as you are willing to help, a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone are not a problem."

"Then tell me what you need first." Huo Yuhao replied indifferently, guessing it was likely related to Ma Xiaotao's martial soul.

As expected, Yan Shaozhe's next words concerned purifying evil fire.

"I have a disciple whose martial soul has a flaw. She needs Ultimate Ice to suppress the evil fire within her. Yuhao, can you help?"

"I can. However, Dean, I will probably need that hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone from our deal very soon. The second awakening of my Body Martial Soul awakened a trace of fate power in me. There is a high probability that it will not be wrong, so please make preparations in advance."

Thinking of the hundred-thousand-year Snow Empress embryo that would soon appear at the Star Luo Auction House, Huo Yuhao planned to have Yan Shaozhe secure it for him directly.

The Snow Empress was still quite important to Huo Yuhao's development. He did not intend to wait until the attack on the Illustrious Virtue Hall to obtain her. In fact, Huo Yuhao planned to coordinate the matter with the Star Luo Imperial Family before the auction.

Hearing Huo Yuhao agree so readily, Yan Shaozhe also breathed a sigh of relief. He did not care in the slightest about the matter of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone.

It was not that he doubted the fate power Huo Yuhao had mentioned, but rather that investing in Huo Yuhao was guaranteed to bring profit.

Huo Yuhao was now Shrek Academy's heir. The stronger he became, the more beneficial it would be for Shrek Academy.

After arranging a time with Yan Shaozhe to suppress the evil fire, Huo Yuhao resumed his great forging endeavor.

As the amount of Deep Silver Huo Yuhao forged continued to increase, the quality of the metals he forged also grew higher and higher.

By now, the Deep Silver Huo Yuhao forged had basically stabilized at the level of first-grade Thousand Forging.

Next came Spirit Forging, a threshold that could be called a watershed for blacksmiths.

In every aspect, Spirit Forged metal far surpassed Thousand-Forged metal. It was also an essential material for creating sentient First-Class Battle Armor and Two-Word Battle Armor.

With his Purple Demon Eye activated, Huo Yuhao continuously sensed the life aura within the Deep Silver using his spiritual power. As long as he awakened its life aura, the Spirit Forging would be complete.

Through his many previous failures, Huo Yuhao had gradually discovered his problem. He had been too eager to make battle armor, and as a result, he no longer possessed the anticipation of forging sentient metal.

As his forging hammer fell again and again, Huo Yuhao no longer thought about what would happen if this piece of Deep Silver succeeded in Spirit Forging, or what would happen if it failed.

Instead, he adjusted his mindset and began to look forward to witnessing the birth of his first piece of sentient metal.

Huo Yuhao's heart calmed. Then he heard a cry, a sign that the Deep Silver had begun to resonate with him. As that urgent call gradually grew stronger, Huo Yuhao answered it with hammer blow after hammer blow.

A cloud pattern emerged on the surface of the Deep Silver, and Huo Yuhao immediately began using his soul power to replenish the energy consumed by the birth of its spirit.

As his soul power was continuously depleted, the light radiating from the Deep Silver grew brighter and brighter. A layer of icy blue gradually appeared over its surface, the effect of Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice soul power.

With Huo Yuhao's final hammer strike, icy-blue light rose from the Deep Silver. Huo Yuhao had finally completed his first Spirit Forging.

Looking at the blue light that lingered for a long time, Huo Yuhao finally gained confidence in crafting Two-Word Battle Armor.

Spirit Forged rare metal was enough to create Two-Word Battle Armor of an ordinary standard.