Douluo: Version Prodigies Gather, but the Eras Are Misaligned

Before fusing with the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear Right Palm Bone, under the enhancement of the Overlord Domain, he had already been able to contend with power-attack Soul Ancestors. Now, with the boost of a soul skill, even power-attack Soul Kings would not dare claim they could surpass him in strength.

Only Bai Chen himself knew how terrifying that was.

Feeling the seemingly inexhaustible power within his body, Bai Chen's gaze sharpened as he swung the forging hammer down again.

Clang!

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

In terms of strength and physique, humans were theoretically inferior to Soul Beasts. Humanity's advantage lay in creating all kinds of techniques and tools; competing with Soul Beasts in strength was simply using one's weakness to attack 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 bounds of ordinary humans.

Hammer after hammer fell. The sudden surge in strength had only troubled Bai Chen briefly. Before long, he adapted to his new power and once again took hold of the rhythm of forging.

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

Thousand Forging. This was the first time he had completed the forging of Thousand-Forged Metal in this era.

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

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

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

Once he became a fifth-rank blacksmith in the future and could forge Spirit-Bearing Metal, he would even be able to artificially produce super metals.

Bai Chen still did not know what kind of changes this would bring to the world, but he was certain that his current self was more suited to being a 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, though there was 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 previous one.

He himself had not changed much, so the reason for the difference clearly lay in his Martial Soul.

Seeing Bai Chen stop moving, Ning Tian curiously stepped 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 Guide Devices are all made of metal, and the quality of the materials is closely tied to the power of the Soul Guide Device itself. So, I want to improve the quality of Soul Guide Devices by enhancing the metal itself."

"I see... Then you're really amazing."

Ning Tian nodded vaguely.

By now, she was already somewhat used to Bai Chen's unusual displays.

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

She always felt that no matter what he did, it would not be strange.

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

The process he had just gone through proved one thing: although the forging levels of his two selves from different eras were not entirely the same, their insights into forging were shared.

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

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

Divine Artisan Zhen Hua

Douluo III Era, Skysea City.

A man hurried into the Skysea City Blacksmith Association.

Ignoring the astonished looks 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 Zhen Hua, the only Divine Artisan on the continent. The moment he received his teacher's order, he had rushed over without stopping.

However, the instant 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 say succinctly:

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

"Oh..."

Thinking of why Duan Xuan had summoned him this time, Zhen Hua immediately understood what was going on.

"This is that child's first Thousand-Forged piece?"

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

Duan Xuan nodded.

"Forge it carefully. If you make an inferior product, I'll hold you accountable."

"Leave it to me!"

Zhen Hua readily agreed.

What a joke. Could a Divine Artisan like him really fail at making a mere 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 rather ordinary."

He weighed the metal in his hand and found it rather strange.

"Teacher, what special quality does that child possess for you to specifically call me over?"

The last time he had seen Duan Xuan so excited was when he himself became a Divine Artisan.

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

Duan Xuan shot him an irritated glare and asked:

"Do you know how old that child is?"

"Hmm... Nine?"

After pondering for a moment, Zhen Hua gave an answer he considered absurd enough.

"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 the corner of his mouth.

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

He simply felt that his teacher was talking nonsense.

But Duan Xuan said irritably:

"Think about it properly. If it weren't that outrageous, would I have given up such a good seedling and specifically called you here?"

"Uh..."

Zhen Hua blinked, his eyes growing somewhat 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 here tomorrow. Hurry up and finish that forging hammer! How can a teacher not prepare a greeting gift for his student?"

"..."

Zhen Hua was speechless.

He was the continent's only Divine Artisan. What greeting gift did he need to prepare to take on a student? Countless blacksmiths would be willing to pay astronomical prices just to become his disciple.

Yet as he looked at the Thousand-Forged Metal in his hand, a trace of heat rose in his heart.

If, if that child truly was a genius who had completed Thousand Forging at the age of six...

"Hiss..."

Zhen Hua sucked in a breath and nodded heavily.

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

If that child really was that talented, then flattering him a little would be worth it.

Watching Zhen Hua's hurriedly departing back, Duan Xuan smiled and shook his head.

"Hmph, brat. You still didn't believe me."

Bai Chen knew nothing of all this. Whether in the Douluo II Era or the Douluo III Era, he took advantage of this period to intensify his forging practice.

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

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

Duan Xuan walked forward with a smile and introduced him:

"Come, Bai Chen. This is the current president of the Blacksmith Association, Divine Artisan Zhen Hua. At my request, he has come to assess your forging ability. If you qualify, 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, Old Duan says your forging talent is exceptional, so let me witness it properly."

"Yes."

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

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

"Here, use these two hammers."

Bai Chen accepted the forging hammers, and a strange sense of familiarity immediately rose within him.

Combining that feeling with the color of the hammers, Bai Chen instantly understood what had happened 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 he had officially begun forging, Bai Chen had a premonition that this finished product would definitely be of excellent quality.

Clang!

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

When Zhen Hua saw the two Soul Rings rise beneath Bai Chen's feet, his expression changed abruptly.

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

But seeing Bai Chen's focused expression as he hammered away, he was too embarrassed to interrupt and ask. He could only bury the question in his heart and continue watching.

Very soon, just as Duan Xuan had three days earlier, Zhen Hua's eyes filled with shock.

This rhythm of hammering... wasn't this Duan Xuan's self-created hammer technique?

This child had actually learned even that?

And that strength... 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 someone who had witnessed Bai Chen's entire forging process last time, Duan Xuan could say with certainty that this child had practiced extensively over the past three days.

Whether it was his control over strength or his understanding of metal, Bai Chen felt like a completely different person.

Three days ago, Bai Chen's hammer technique had merely been a simple imitation of Duan Xuan's. Now, however, his own understanding could already be seen 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 made in the past few days.

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

Meanwhile, his Douluo III Era self was using not only Thousand-Forged forging hammers, but Thousand-Forged hammers he had personally made. Their compatibility with him was simply incomparable to the pair of forging hammers used by his Douluo II Era self.