I Think There's a Second Option!

After crossing the lava river, Jiang Chuan arrived at another special area that hadn't been mentioned in the intel.

It was a wasteland strewn with broken weapons.

Snapped swords, cracked sabers, shattered shields...

They covered the ground as far as the eye could see.

They stretched all the way to the horizon, like a graveyard of weapons.

Jiang Chuan picked up a broken sword by his feet and activated Universal Extraction, only to receive a single prompt:

[This item has no extraction value!]

He picked up a shield split cleanly in two.

It had no value either.

Jiang Chuan recalled what Shen Erbiao and the other scavengers had said.

Not every piece of equipment on the battlefield could be recovered. Many gradually lost their spiritual essence over time and eventually became worthless scraps. They must have been talking about weapons like these.

Suddenly.

A gust of wind swept across the wasteland.

Countless tiny metal fragments rode the wind, like millions of miniature flying knives. They pelted Jiang Chuan's body in a dense barrage, producing a rapid series of metallic clinks.

Enhanced by his powerful physique, Jiang Chuan's skin was as tough as iron. The metal fragments couldn't even leave a white mark on it.

But the clothes he had just put on weren't so fortunate.

His sleeves, pant legs, and hem were sliced with long, narrow cuts. Before long, they had turned into beggar's rags.

Jiang Chuan said helplessly, "I shouldn't have bothered getting dressed."

The wind grew fiercer, and the metal fragments became denser. Visibility dropped sharply to less than ten meters.

Squinting, Jiang Chuan sprinted forward at full speed. The longer he stayed in a place like this, the more unpredictable factors there would be. Getting out as quickly as possible was the only right choice.

Ten minutes later.

The metal-shard gale that had swept across heaven and earth finally subsided.

Jiang Chuan wiped his face, came to a stop, and looked back at the wasteland of broken weapons.

"Not a single monster?"

There were no monsters, no rewards. It was as though the area existed solely to stop people from advancing.

The lava river before it had been the same. These two regions were formed far too strangely, completely defying the logic of a secret realm.

It's like someone deliberately set this up.

Jiang Chuan thought.

At the end of the secret realm stood a circular valley shaped like a meteor crater. Dark, raised mountain rock surrounded it, while waves of heat rolled through the valley and distorted the air.

The sight within the valley made him stop.

At its very center stood a massive forging platform with a bluish-black stone surface and a bronze pillar at each of its four corners.

Behind the platform stood a tall figure—a humanoid creature over three meters tall, its entire body radiating a faint golden glow.

Its outline was rugged and powerful, its shoulders as broad as a small mountain, and the muscles in its arms absurdly pronounced.

It gripped an iron hammer and struck the forging platform again and again. Every blow produced a deafening boom.

The instant Jiang Chuan entered the valley, the glowing humanoid stopped.

It slowly turned around and looked down at Jiang Chuan. Its luminous face had no features, only a blazing white radiance, yet Jiang Chuan could feel it watching him.

"Someone has finally come."

The glowing humanoid spoke in a deep, resonant voice, like a great bell tolling through the valley. Every word carried a buzzing echo. "How many years has it been... I can barely remember."

[Soul of the God of Craftsmen: ???]

Jiang Chuan tightened his grip on his longbow. He couldn't see this thing's attributes.

But he could tell.

It was absolutely more than one level stronger than the fifth-tier monsters he had encountered along the way.

Jiang Chuan asked warily, "Who are you?"

The glowing figure's voice buzzed. "I am the guardian of this place. By my master's command, I seek an inheritor of the God of Craftsmen's spirit."

"An inheritor?"

"Yes."

After a brief silence, Jiang Chuan asked directly, "Did you cause the changes in the secret realm?"

The glowing figure said, "Once someone triggers the conditions for inheritance, the secret realm automatically seals itself and forms the final trial. Whoever passes the three trials may inherit my master's legacy and become the new God of Craftsmen."

Jiang Chuan frowned. "Three trials?"

"You have already passed two of them."

The glowing figure raised its iron hammer and pointed toward the lava river. "The first trial: the lava river. Only those born with fire affinity can withstand the scorching lava and reach the other side. This is the most basic qualification for becoming an artificer. Without fire, there can be no forging."

Jiang Chuan seriously considered this. Did he count as someone with fire affinity?

Probably...?

After all.

He had literally swum through the lava river!

The glowing figure pointed toward the ancient battlefield. "The second trial tests your ability to sense weapon spirits. Only those with an affinity for weapon spirits can find the weapon among those countless broken arms that resonates with their heart, then pass through the storm under its protection. This is the qualification for an artificer to advance. Without understanding the soul of a weapon, one cannot forge a weapon with a soul."

Jiang Chuan's expression immediately turned strange.

Weapon spirits?

Broken weapons?

He had brute-forced his way through with his absurd physique. So that wasn't the normal way to clear it?

Jiang Chuan asked, "What about the third trial?"

The glowing figure lowered its hammer and stroked the forging platform before it. "The third trial requires you to forge the broken weapon you brought out of the second trial here."

It said, "This is the final test my master left for the inheritor. You need not forge any high-grade equipment. You only need to prove that you have the talent to become a blacksmith. Hammer technique, temperature control, quenching, shaping—any one of them. As long as you can demonstrate basic forging ability, you will pass."

"You will receive all of my master's inheritance, as well as control over this secret realm." Anticipation entered the glowing figure's voice. "You will become the new God of Craftsmen, inherit my master's unfinished will, and carry the path of artifact forging forward!"

The moment Jiang Chuan heard that, his scalp went numb.

He had speedrun the second trial and hadn't even looked for any so-called broken weapon. How was he supposed to pass the final trial?

Jiang Chuan tested the waters. "...Can I choose to give up the trial?"

"Why?"

For once, the glowing figure's tone carried confusion.

Jiang Chuan spread his hands. "Because I have no interest in becoming an artificer."

The glowing figure fell silent. After a moment, it said, "Then you will die. If you cannot pass the final trial, you will never leave this place—unless you can wait for the next inheritor to arrive."

Jiang Chuan frowned.

The next inheritor?

Wouldn't he have to wait until the end of time for that?

This secret realm was already at fifth-tier difficulty, and now it had two additional trials. Even if another ten million people came, there was no guarantee a second freak like him would appear!

To pass this trial, did he really have to go back and find that broken weapon suited to him?

But even if he found one...

He didn't know a damn thing about forging!

Jiang Chuan sighed and tried to negotiate. "I truly am not suited to inherit this legacy. You don't want your master's inheritance falling into the hands of someone who doesn't even like forging, do you?"

"How about this? Let me out, and I'll help you find a better candidate."

"I'll make sure this inheritance is carried forward too."

"What do you say?"

The glowing figure's voice buzzed. "Once the inheritance ritual begins, no one can reverse it. You can only pass the trial, or die!"

Jiang Chuan's expression changed, and he sighed. "So there's no room for negotiation?"

The glowing figure remained unmoved.

Jiang Chuan suddenly said, "Actually, I think there's a second way to get out."

"What?"

He raised his longbow, nocked an arrow, pulled the string to full draw, and aimed at the glowing figure's chest.

"Kill you."

Whoosh!!

A flash of light streaked through the air.

The glowing figure's body shuddered violently. A burst of brilliant sparks erupted from its chest. It stood frozen for a second, then its entire body turned fiery red, like an enraged god. "Insolence!!"