Forging

The forging workshop still retained the lingering warmth of the furnace in the afternoon.

The air was filled with the distinctive mingled scent of metal, coal, and heated iron. Forging scraps of all sizes lay scattered across the floor, while the various hammers hanging on the walls were still speckled with fine iron filings.

Tang Wulin set down the hammer in his hand, shook out his aching arms, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

A year had passed, and his soul power had already broken through to level thirteen, while his strength had increased several times over.

So although his soul power level was low, he could now defeat a level-twenty Grand Soul Master.

After a year of forging, thick calluses had formed on his palms. Iron filings were embedded between his fingers, impossible to wash away, and several streaks of soot stained his face, making him look like a little tabby that had just crawled out of a coal pile.

He hesitated, his fingers clutching at the hem of his clothes. Then he turned to look at Mang Tian, who was leaning against the doorframe and smoking, and spoke softly.

"Teacher Mang Tian, I want to forge some accessories for my family. Is that okay?"

Mang Tian held a cigarette between his lips, and his beard twitched.

He lifted his eyes and glanced at Tang Wulin's sparkling gaze. He did not ask further questions, merely raising a hand to point at a pile of pig iron blocks stacked in the corner.

They were all high-quality scraps left over from forging larger items. Pure and soft in texture, they were just right for making small accessories.

"That iron should be enough to make gifts for four people."

He spoke in his gruff voice and exhaled a grayish-white smoke ring.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Tang Wulin's eyes instantly lit up, and he was so happy that he nearly jumped up.

He hurried over to the corner, picked up several suitably sized pieces of pig iron, then trotted back to the furnace and carefully tossed them into the blazing red firebox.

Mang Tian leaned against the doorframe, watching Tang Wulin's small figure bustle before the forge. The flickering firelight reflected off his face, making his eyes gleam brightly.

He could not help sighing inwardly. What a good child.

He and Tang Ziran had been colleagues for over a decade, so he knew the couple's circumstances better than anyone.

When Lang Yue was young, she had worked on pharmaceutical experiments at a research institute in the city. Once, sealed equipment malfunctioned, and toxic medicine splashed onto her body, leaving behind a lasting illness and permanently robbing her of the ability to bear children.

The couple had never had a biological child of their own. He had always felt sorry for them, believing it was such a shame that two such wonderful people had no children.

Who could have expected the couple to bring home three children in one go?

Even rarer, not one of those three children had come to burden them. Each was more sensible and filial than the last.

Tang Wulin came here every day without fail to apprentice under him. He kept none of his wages for himself and handed every last bit over to help support the household.

That red-haired Huang Feng'er looked cold and did not like to talk, but she was exceptionally strong-willed and capable. She had gone to City Hall herself and found an apprenticeship organizing files. Every month, she earned even more than ordinary laborers, and she gave all of it to Lang Yue as well.

Even the youngest, Na'er, helped sweep the floor and wipe the tables at home every day. She would stand on a little stool in the kitchen to help Lang Yue pick vegetables and wash dishes, obedient enough to make one's heart ache.

They had no blood relation at all, yet they were closer than many families bound by blood.

Mang Tian shook his head, stubbed out the cigarette in his hand, and turned to attend to his own work in the inner room, leaving Tang Wulin alone to work quietly at the forge.

The orange-red flames in the firebox licked at the pig iron, quickly heating the hard blocks until they glowed red and softened into a state suitable for forging.

Tang Wulin gripped his forging hammer and looked at the heated iron blocks, but he found himself in a bit of a dilemma.

He had long wanted to give everyone in his family a gift made with his own hands, but no matter how much he thought about it, he did not know what would be appropriate.

"Big Brother Jin, then what should I give them?" he asked Jin Qiu inwardly.

"Idiot, what's so hard about that?"

Jin Qiu's voice carried a smile. The next second, four different accessory phantoms appeared in the Spirit Sea to Tang Wulin's left, floating in midair so clearly that every tiny pattern upon them was visible.

"I only have four recommendations. Give them a try."

The four accessories appeared clearly before Tang Wulin's eyes:

A broad bracelet engraved with winding Blue Silver Grass patterns, smooth and weighty, with its edges polished sleek.

A delicate, elegant necklace with a tiny Phoenix pendant, its wings engraved with fine flame patterns.

A simple men's braided bracelet without unnecessary ornamentation, understated and sturdy, suitable for wearing while doing manual labor.

And a tiny ring with a silver flower engraved at its top. It was small and adorable, with a thin band just right for a child's finger.

Jin Qiu had put some clever thought and purpose into the design of each accessory.

Tang Wulin's eyes lit up, and he immediately had an idea.

He would give the broad Blue Silver Grass bracelet to his mother, Lang Yue. It would be just right for her to wear while doing housework and would not get in her way.

He would give the Phoenix necklace to his older sister, Huang Feng'er. It matched her Sacred Flame Phoenix martial soul perfectly.

He would give the simple men's bracelet to his father, Tang Ziran. It was unobtrusive, and he would not need to remove it while working.

As for the most delicate little silver flower ring, he would give it to Na'er. She usually loved shiny little trinkets, so she would definitely jump for joy when she received it.

"Oh, right. When you forge them, remember to mix in a few drops of your blood. I have a use for it."

Jin Qiu suddenly added this, his tone unusually serious and devoid of his usual frivolity.

Tang Wulin did not quite understand why he needed to add his own blood when forging accessories, but he had always trusted Jin Qiu. Without a second thought, he agreed.

"Okay."

He picked up the small carving knife set beside him and unhesitatingly cut a shallow slit across his fingertip.

Several drops of blood carrying a faint golden glow fell, landing directly on the iron blocks blazing red within the furnace.

With a soft sizzle, the blood was instantly absorbed into the high-temperature iron, which erupted with golden light at the same time.

Watching that light, Tang Wulin tightened his grip on the forging hammer, took a deep breath, raised it high, and smashed it down heavily onto the glowing iron block.

Clang—

When the final crisp strike of forging fell, Tang Wulin set down the small hammer in his hand and shook out his aching arms.

He bent down and brushed the iron filings from his pant legs, then wiped the soot from his face with his cuff. He carefully wrapped the four small accessories in soft cloth and tucked them into the innermost layer of his canvas bag. Only after checking with his fingertips that they would not bump against anything did he slowly zip it shut.

He slung the bag over his back and walked to the door, waving to Mang Tian, who was still tidying up tools in the workshop. His clear voice called out.

"Goodbye, Teacher Mang Tian! I'm going home!"

Mang Tian held the filthy towel he always carried with him, wiping the water stains from the anvil.

Hearing him, he glanced up, his thick beard twitching as he gave a gruff reminder.

"Your little sister came by this afternoon. She said she'd be waiting for you at the beach."

"Got it!"

Tang Wulin answered and ran out of the alley with light steps.

The canvas bag bounced on his back, and the accessories inside lightly knocked together, producing faint tinkling sounds that were soon scattered into the air by the wind.

The setting sun dyed the entire street a warm orange-red.

The grilled sausage stall by the roadside gave off sizzling heat, its meaty aroma drifting far away. An old woman selling iced jelly pushed a little wooden cart along at an unhurried pace, the clinking of glass bowls crisp and pleasant.

Children leaving school played and chased one another in small groups, schoolbags slung over their shoulders, their bell-like laughter spilling across the entire street.

The sea breeze grew stronger, carrying a salty, damp scent that lifted the loose strands of hair on Tang Wulin's forehead.

He followed the familiar little path toward the sea, his steps as light as a bird released from its cage.

It was the beach where he and Na'er often played, and the two of them frequently went there together.

His older sister said she did not like water, so usually, only he and Na'er went there to play.

Jin Qiu floated beside him, his translucent golden figure glowing with a faint, gentle radiance beneath the setting sun.

He swung his dangling legs and occasionally reached out to touch the foxtail grass growing by the roadside. The fuzzy seed heads swayed gently, but the passersby saw nothing at all.

As they passed the old, peeling utility pole at the mouth of an alley, Jin Qiu casually swept his gaze over it, then paused.

Three yellowed missing-person notices were pasted crookedly on the pole. Their corners had curled from wind and rain, and the photographs upon them had faded and blurred.

The top notice bore Xiao Chusheng's name, while the two below belonged to the two lackeys he often kept at his side.

All three notices bore the words "reward offered for information," yet even the specific dates of their disappearance were written vaguely. It was obvious at a glance that they had been posted for a long time and left unattended.

They probably won't ever be found in this lifetime.

Jin Qiu thought it indifferently and did not mention it to Tang Wulin.

There was no point in bringing it up. It would only make him feel bad for no reason.

Considering what those three had done, even if something truly had happened to them in the end, they could only be said to have brought it upon themselves. They had already gotten off easy.

He withdrew his gaze and continued following Tang Wulin toward the beach without looking at those three scraps of paper again.

After only a few more steps, Tang Wulin suddenly seemed to remember something. He raised his head, looked at Jin Qiu floating beside him, and asked curiously.

"Big Brother Jin, I remember Phoenixes only existed in ancient myths, right? How can my sister be a Phoenix?"

Jin Qiu had been kicking an invisible little stone through the air. Hearing that, he froze for a moment.

"Didn't I tell you before?"

He frowned and rubbed his chin with his fingertips, feeling as though he had mentioned it at some point.

Tang Wulin shook his head, looking utterly baffled.

"No. I've never heard about it."

"No?"

Jin Qiu stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

Oh, it seemed that when he had first met Huang Feng'er at the eating contest, he had said he would explain Phoenixes to Tang Wulin later. But afterward, there had been Soul Spirit extraction and fusion, and once he got busy, he had completely forgotten about it.

He gave a dry cough to clear his throat. His tone turned serious, shedding its usual flippancy.

"Back in ancient times, the Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan were the two supreme races among soul beasts, standing side by side."

Jin Qiu's voice slowed, as if he were recalling an incredibly distant past buried beneath dust.

"The Dragon Clan occupied Douluo Star, while the Phoenix Clan lived on Blue Demon Star.

At that time, all races coexisted. Although the two sides competed, they lived in peace, more or less evenly matched."

"But later, due to conflicts in ideology on many fronts, the tensions between them grew deeper and deeper. It went from verbal disputes to local clashes, until a long and devastating war finally erupted."

He paused, sighed softly, and continued.

"At that time, our Dragon Clan advocated centralized order. We believed soul beasts should stand above all else and wanted to build a world of soul beasts with the Dragon Clan as its absolute center. We pursued the absolute pinnacle of strength, believing strength was everything.

"The Phoenix Clan, meanwhile, advocated equality among all races and local autonomy for each race. They believed the purpose of strength was to protect, not rule, so they never promoted limitless expansion of power."

"The two ideologies were incompatible from the very beginning. In the end, neither side could convince the other, so they could only settle it through war."

The sun gradually sank lower, stretching their shadows long and longer.

The sound of distant waves grew closer, one after another, as if silently echoing that remote and heavy history.

"The war lasted nearly a thousand years. Corpses covered the land, and countless races declined. In the end, the Dragon Clan won."

Jin Qiu's voice became lower, carrying a trace of barely perceptible heaviness.

"After the victory, the Dragon Clan's war faction, seeking to eliminate all future threats, carried out a horrific genocide against the Phoenix Clan. They scoured every corner of the galaxy and did not spare even hatchlings that had just emerged from their shells."

"However, the Dragon Clan's matriarch at the time strongly opposed that extermination."

He added this, his tone softening somewhat.

"So after the war ended, it was also due to her firm insistence that the Dragon Clan tempered its edge and adopted some of the Phoenix Clan's ideals. Only then did the relatively peaceful order among soul beasts gradually emerge."

As he spoke, Jin Qiu could not help sighing again.

The wind lifted the hem of his golden clothes. He looked at the sunset, half-submerged beneath the distant horizon, orange-red light falling across his face, while an indescribable guilt lingered in his eyes.

"I truly feel sorry for the Phoenix Clan."

He spoke softly, his voice drifting in the wind.

"No matter how intense the ideological conflict was, no matter how cruel the war became, none of that was reason enough to wipe out an entire race."

After hearing this, Tang Wulin also fell silent.

He lowered his head and kicked the little stone by his feet. It rolled far away before landing in the grass by the roadside.

"Mm."

He nodded gently and spoke earnestly.

"No matter what, this kind of indiscriminate massacre is still wrong."