Divine Craftsman Zhenhua

Before fusing with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone, Bai Chen had already been able to contend with assault-type Soul Ancestors under the boost of the Domination Domain. Now, with the added support of a Soul Skill, even assault-type Soul Kings would not dare claim they could surpass him in strength.

Only Bai Chen himself knew how terrifying that was.

Feeling the seemingly endless power within him, Bai Chen's gaze sharpened as he brought down his forging hammer once more.

Clang!

This time, the entire worktable trembled slightly, startling Ning Tian, who stood nearby.

In terms of strength and physique, humans should have been inferior to Soul Beasts. Humanity's advantage lay in creating all manner of techniques and tools; competing with Soul Beasts in strength was simply using one's weakness against another's strength.

But Bai Chen was clearly an exception. As the owner of the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Martial Soul, his strength had long surpassed the limits of ordinary humans.

Hammer after hammer fell. The sudden increase in strength had only caused Bai Chen brief discomfort. Before long, he adapted to his new power and regained control of his forging rhythm.

Then, as naturally as water flowing into a channel, when Bai Chen struck down who knew which hammer blow, a pillar of golden light rose and illuminated the entire laboratory.

Thousand Forging. This was the first time he had successfully forged Thousand-Forged Metal in this era.

At the same time, it was also the first appearance of Thousand-Forged Metal in this world.

Before this, there might have been materials more advanced than Thousand-Forged Metal, but those had all been naturally formed rare metals, gifts from nature.

Yet at this moment, Bai Chen personally completed the sublimation of the metal before him, allowing this once-unremarkable piece of metal to enter the ranks of top-tier metals.

Once he became a Level-Five Blacksmith and could forge Spirit-Bearing Metal, he would even be able to artificially produce super metals.

Bai Chen did not yet know what changes this would bring to the world, but he was certain that his current self was more suited to the profession of blacksmith than his self from the Douluo III Era.

Unlike his Douluo III Era self, who would be exhausted after forging a single piece of Thousand-Forged Metal, he showed no signs of exhaustion now. He could repeat the same process at least five more times.

At the same time, although he had no concrete proof, Bai Chen had a feeling that the Thousand-Forged Metal he had forged this time was clearly of much better quality than the last.

There had not actually been much change in Bai Chen himself. The reason for this difference clearly lay in his Martial Soul.

Seeing Bai Chen stop, Ning Tian curiously moved closer, picked up the metal he had forged, and asked:

"Bai Chen, what are you doing?"

"I'm enhancing the metal's inherent properties."

Bai Chen explained:

"Soul Tools are all made from metal, and the quality of the material is closely tied to the power of the Soul Tool itself. So I want to improve the quality of Soul Tools by improving the metal itself."

"I see... Then you really are amazing."

Ning Tian nodded blankly.

By now, she had become somewhat accustomed to Bai Chen's extraordinary displays.

Children were highly adaptable. After spending this time with him, Bai Chen had practically become synonymous with being capable of anything in Ning Tian's eyes.

She always felt that no matter what he did, it was not worth being surprised about.

After answering Ning Tian's question, Bai Chen placed another piece of metal before him, adjusted his breathing, and began another round of forging.

His previous forging process had proven one thing: although his forging levels in the two eras were not entirely identical, their understanding of forging was shared.

In other words, if his self in this era practiced forging, his self in the Douluo III Era would also improve in forging.

Zhen Hua would be arriving soon. Bai Chen intended to use this opportunity to put on a good performance before him and leave a deep impression on this Divine Artisan!

The Divine Artisan Zhen Hua

Douluo III Era, Skysea City.

A man hurried into the Skysea City Blacksmith Association.

Ignoring the astonished gazes around him, he went straight to the top floor of the Blacksmith Association and arrived outside Duan Xuan's room.

"Teacher, I'm here!"

The man was none other than Zhen Hua, the continent's only Divine Artisan. Upon receiving his teacher's summons, he had rushed over without stopping.

However, the moment he pushed open the door, a piece of metal flew straight toward him.

Zhen Hua hurriedly raised a hand to catch it. Before he could ask anything, he heard Duan Xuan speak concisely:

"Forge this piece of metal into a forging hammer for me."

"Oh..."

Thinking of why Duan Xuan had called him here, Zhen Hua instantly understood what was going on.

"Is this that child's first Thousand-Forged creation?"

Generally speaking, a blacksmith's first Thousand-Forged finished product would be made into a forging hammer. This was because a blacksmith's first Thousand-Forged product often possessed excellent properties, and with the Blood Sacrifice ritual, those properties could be utilized to their fullest.

Duan Xuan nodded.

"Forge it carefully. If you make a defective product, I'll hold you accountable."

"Leave it to me!"

Zhen Hua agreed readily.

What a joke. Could a Divine Artisan like him really mess up something as simple as a small forging hammer?

Compared to the task Duan Xuan had assigned him, he was more curious about something else.

"Hmm... Thousand Forging, four grades. The quality is fairly average."

He weighed the metal in his hand, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Teacher, what kind of special trait does that child have for you to specifically call me here?"

The last time he had seen Duan Xuan this excited had been when Zhen Hua became a Divine Artisan.

He had thought he would see some earth-shattering finished product, but this was merely ordinary.

Duan Xuan rolled his eyes at him and asked:

"Do you know how old that child is?"

"Hmm... Nine?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhen Hua gave an answer he considered absurdly outrageous.

"Heh." Duan Xuan sneered twice. "Wrong. He's six!"

"...Teacher, can you stop joking at a time like this?"

Zhen Hua could not help twitching his lips.

A six-year-old child would have only just awakened his Martial Soul, right? What could a child that age possibly do?

He only felt that his teacher was talking nonsense.

But Duan Xuan said irritably:

"Think carefully! If it weren't this absurd, would I give up such an outstanding seedling and specifically summon you here?"

"Uh..."

Zhen Hua blinked, his gaze gradually turning vacant.

"So, Teacher, you weren't joking with me just now?"

"Of course not!"

Duan Xuan snorted and waved his hand.

"You'll know what level he's at when he comes tomorrow. Hurry up and finish that forging hammer! How could a teacher not prepare a meeting gift for his student?"

"..."

Zhen Hua was somewhat speechless.

He was the continent's only Divine Artisan. Why would he need to prepare a meeting gift to become someone's teacher? Countless blacksmiths would be willing to pay astronomical prices just to become his students.

But as he looked at the Thousand-Forged Metal in his hand, a spark of excitement rose in his heart.

If, if that child really was a genius who had completed Thousand Forging at six years old...

"Hiss..."

Zhen Hua sucked in a breath and nodded heavily.

"Understood, Teacher. I'll go right away!"

If that child really was such a genius, then a little fawning was more than worth it.

Watching Zhen Hua's hurriedly departing figure, Duan Xuan shook his head with a smile.

"Hmph, brat. You still didn't believe what I said."

Bai Chen knew nothing of any of this. Whether in the Douluo II Era or the Douluo III Era, he was taking advantage of this time to intensively practice forging.

Three days was not a long time, but for a beginner, three days could change many things.

When Bai Chen arrived at Duan Xuan's forging room again, he was far more confident than before.

Duan Xuan approached with a smile and introduced him:

"Come, Bai Chen. This is the current president of the Blacksmith Association, the Divine Artisan Zhen Hua. At my request, he has come to assess your forging ability. If you pass, he will take you as his disciple."

Hearing this, Bai Chen bowed to Zhen Hua.

"Greetings, Divine Artisan."

Zhen Hua smiled faintly.

"No need for such formalities. Come, Elder Duan says your forging talent is exceptional. Let me witness it properly."

"Yes."

Bai Chen walked to the forging table and picked up a piece of metal.

Before he could make a move, two hammers were suddenly handed to him. Zhen Hua said gently:

"Here, use these two hammers."

Bai Chen accepted the forging hammers, and an unusual sense of familiarity immediately arose within him.

Taking in the color of the hammers, Bai Chen instantly understood what was happening and bowed to Zhen Hua again.

"Thank you, President."

There was a certain connection between blacksmiths and the finished products they forged. This was also one of the reasons blacksmiths held a higher status than other professions.

Holding these two forging hammers, even before formally beginning, Bai Chen had a premonition that the finished product of this forging session would definitely be excellent.

Clang!

Thus, beneath the joint watch of a Saint Artisan and a Divine Artisan, Bai Chen began forging.

When two Soul Rings rose beneath Bai Chen's feet, Zhen Hua's expression abruptly changed.

Wasn't this child only six? Where had his second Soul Ring come from?

But seeing Bai Chen's focused expression as he hammered, Zhen Hua felt too embarrassed to interrupt with a question. He could only bury his doubts in his heart and continue watching.

Very soon, just like Duan Xuan three days earlier, a shocked expression appeared in Zhen Hua's eyes.

This striking rhythm—wasn't this the hammer technique Duan Xuan had created himself?

This child had actually learned even this?

And that force... even ordinary Soul Elders could not compare to him, could they?

What he did not notice was that Duan Xuan, standing beside him, was also glowing with excitement.

As an observer who had witnessed Bai Chen's entire forging process last time, Duan Xuan could say with complete certainty that this child had practiced relentlessly over the past three days.

Whether it was his control over strength or his understanding of metal, Bai Chen seemed like an entirely different person to Duan Xuan.

Three days ago, Bai Chen's hammer technique had merely been a simple imitation of Duan Xuan's. Now, his own understanding was already visible within it.

Duan Xuan had never seen a genius of this caliber in his entire life.

Finally, as a flash of light rose, Bai Chen let out a long breath and lowered his hands.

He could guarantee that this was absolutely the highest-quality finished product he had forged in the past few days.

Although his Douluo II Era self possessed an advantage in strength, the forging hammers he used were ultimately the most ordinary kind, the sort every student at the Sun-Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had one of.

Meanwhile, his Douluo III Era self was using not merely Thousand-Forged forging hammers, but Thousand-Forged hammers he had personally forged. Their compatibility with him was something the pair of forging hammers from the Douluo II Era could not possibly match.