Genius

Mang Tian led Tang Wulin to push open the workshop's heavy iron door.

A heat wave laced with rust, coal, and scorching metal rushed over them, nearly knocking Tang Wulin off his feet.

The workshop was at least ten degrees hotter than outside, and the air itself rippled faintly from the heat.

A massive forge blazed in the corner, orange-red flames licking the firebox and dyeing the entire room a warm crimson.

Iron chunks, steel ingots, and forging scraps of every shape lay scattered across the floor. The walls were covered with hammers, chisels, and tongs of all sizes, along with quite a few finished farm tools and weapons that gleamed with a cold metallic sheen in the firelight.

The air rang with the clanging of metalwork and the roar of bellows, making their ears buzz.

Several workers in sleeveless shirts, drenched in sweat, were busy at their own anvils. When they saw Mang Tian bring in a child, they merely glanced up before lowering their heads and continuing their work.

Ignoring everyone else, Mang Tian led Tang Wulin straight through the cluttered work area to a separate little room at the very back.

There was no forge in the room, making it slightly cooler. In the middle stood a lone black machine half the height of a man.

The machine was built entirely from heavy steel plates. Its surface was covered in dense scratches and dents of varying depths, making it obvious that it had been used for many years.

A glowing LCD screen sat on the front of the machine. Beneath it was a thick alloy-steel force plate, half a meter square. It was a strength tester.

"Listen, that's a strength tester."

Mang Tian pointed at the machine and spoke in a gruff voice.

"Before we begin today's task, I'll test your basic strength first.

"Only after I know what foundation you have can I make a suitable training plan for you."

After saying that, he casually picked up a small test hammer forged from refined steel from a nearby rack. It weighed roughly two kilograms, and its smooth handle gleamed from having been gripped by hands for years.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it toward Tang Wulin.

The hammer cut through the air at no slow speed.

Tang Wulin instinctively extended his right hand and caught it steadily.

His arm did not even sway. The cold touch of metal reached his palm, while its weight felt as light as a feather to him.

Mang Tian's eyes lit up slightly.

He had thought that, no matter how good Tang Wulin's physical condition was, a six-year-old child would at least stagger a little when catching that.

Yet Tang Wulin had caught it so firmly, without showing the slightest strain. It seemed he had still underestimated the child's strength.

In truth, just that morning, he had been regretting agreeing to let Tang Wulin come at Tang Ziran's request.

His workshop had never accepted children. He felt that children were slow with their hands and feet, had poor eyesight, and often cried and made trouble. Not only could they not help, they were also prone to getting hurt.

If Tang Ziran had not pleaded with him for several days, he never would have relented.

But after testing Tang Wulin's martial soul at home earlier, his thoughts had completely changed.

A genius with innate full soul power and a benign origin mutation in his martial soul—if he could learn forging under Mang Tian, his future achievements would surely be immeasurable.

Now that he had seen Tang Wulin's astonishing strength, Mang Tian had already made up his mind. He would take this child as his student and teach him forging with everything he had.

"Left hand."

Mang Tian did not waste words and directly gave the order, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"Yes!"

Tang Wulin answered loudly.

He switched the hammer to his left hand, gripped its handle tightly, stepped back half a pace, and planted his feet shoulder-width apart in a solid horse stance.

He took a deep breath, slowly raised his arm, then suddenly exerted force and smashed the hammer in his hand fiercely into the strength tester's force plate!

Clang—!

A crisp, resounding metallic impact echoed through the small room.

The instant the hammer struck the force plate, countless golden and purple sparks burst forth like a tiny fireworks display.

The golden sparks were blazing and dazzling, while the purple ones carried a trace of cold tyranny. Intertwining in the air, they scattered across the black force plate and left behind tiny scorch marks.

Tang Wulin could even feel a faint trace of Golden Dragon King origin power travel out through the hammer.

Ding—

The strength tester emitted a mechanical electronic chime.

The number on the screen shot upward from zero before finally stopping at an astonishing figure.

Strike force: 152.8 kilograms.

The cold electronic voice sounded in the quiet room.

Mang Tian's eyes flew wide open, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

The cigarette between his fingers nearly fell to the floor, and even his beard trembled slightly from shock.

He had seen many blacksmiths and tested many people's strength.

This level of strength was nothing remarkable among adult blacksmiths. Any beginner-level blacksmith could achieve it easily.

But Tang Wulin was only six years old!

A six-year-old child's left-hand strike force had actually exceeded one hundred and fifty kilograms!

An ordinary six-year-old could only throw a punch with twenty or thirty kilograms of force at full strength.

Even an adult who regularly did manual labor would have only around one hundred kilograms of single-hand striking force.

This was simply unheard of!

And the golden-purple sparks that had exploded just now made his heart surge even more violently.

That golden glow was warm and heavy, carrying an ancient metallic aura. Even as a blacksmith who had dealt with steel his entire life, he felt an inexplicable affinity toward it, as if his whole body had been immersed in a golden ocean.

"Right hand."

Mang Tian took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the storm in his heart.

His voice sounded no different from usual, and his face still wore its cold expression. Only he knew that his heart was pounding wildly.

"Yes, Teacher Mang Tian."

Tang Wulin obediently replied.

Hearing the word "teacher," the corner of Mang Tian's mouth unconsciously lifted, though it quickly returned to normal.

Tang Wulin switched the hammer to his right hand and gripped it tightly once more.

This time, he held nothing back. He poured the strength cultivated through the Hidden Dragon Formula, along with a trace of Golden Dragon King power hidden deep in his bloodline, into his arm.

He swung the hammer again, bringing it down with an even fiercer howl of wind onto the force plate!

Clang—!

Another, even louder impact rang out.

This time, the bursting golden-purple sparks were even more intense, nearly illuminating the entire small room.

Golden light surged like a tide while purple destruction aura threaded through it, leaving a shallow dent in the black force plate.

Ding—

The electronic chime sounded again.

The number on the screen rapidly jumped once more before steadily coming to a stop.

Strike force: 162.5 kilograms.

Mang Tian's breathing stalled slightly.

Though he had been mentally prepared, he still could not help sucking in a cold breath upon seeing that number. His right hand was ten kilograms stronger than his left, and judging from Tang Wulin's appearance, this was merely his normal state—not his limit.

"It was probably the combined effect of the Destruction Seed, the Life Seed, and the Hidden Dragon Formula."

Jin Qiu floated within the Spirit Sea, watching the test results outside and stroking his chin as he speculated.

The Destruction Seed constantly strengthened Tang Wulin's muscle fibers and bone density, giving him strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

The Life Seed continuously repaired the minute damage caused by cultivation, keeping his body in peak condition. On top of that, the Hidden Dragon Formula tempered his marrow day and night, while a greater and more active amount of Golden Dragon King origin power than in the original work nourished him.

Only the combined effects of all these factors had created Tang Wulin's current, practically monstrous physical condition.

"At six years old, he already had the strength to undergo Hundred Refinements. He was simply a born forging genius!"

Mang Tian screamed wildly in his heart, his whole body trembling with excitement.

He had forged for his entire life, yet he had never seen such an outstanding prospect.

This child had practically been born for forging!

As long as he was properly trained, he would absolutely become a master craftsman in the future. He might even surpass every blacksmith throughout history and reach a realm unmatched anywhere in this world.

Yet his expression did not change in the slightest.

He merely glanced indifferently at the number on the screen, then waved at Tang Wulin and coldly said:

"Come with me."

With that, he turned and headed toward the work area outside. His steps, however, were far quicker than usual, and even his back radiated an urgency he could not conceal.