The heart of Star Dou.
Above the lake, countless demon-eyed vines spread in agitation, full of terror.
A pair of golden eyes opened.
"Ten Thousand Demons, why are you so alarmed? Has something happened to Na'er?"
The demon-eyed vines converged, and the Myriad Demon King bowed low. His gaunt figure resembled a length of dead wood, his skin dry and shriveled, his eyes gleaming with an eerie green light.
"Lord Di Tian, Na'er is unharmed. I fear, however, that I will no longer be able to keep watch over her."
"That Leng Yaozhu appears to have not only quietly broken through to the Limit level."
"Today, her state of mind underwent some unknown transformation as well, and her spiritual power reached a new height."
"My abilities can no longer conceal me from her."
Di Tian's expression shifted repeatedly as he listened.
Leng Yaozhu had been stuck at level 98 for years. Why had she made such successive breakthroughs in just three short years?
This was far too strange!
Even Di Tian could not understand it.
But it was already an established fact, beyond changing.
What he needed to consider first was what to do next.
After pondering for a moment, he asked:
"From what you have observed, has Na'er shown any signs of recovering her memories?"
The Myriad Demon King fell silent, then shook his head after a moment.
"She remains as innocent and lively as before. She shows no sign of her memories awakening."
"Moreover, if I did not know the truth, even I would probably think she was merely an ordinary human girl."
"She has also progressed very smoothly through the human Soul Master system..."
"Perhaps I am overthinking it. All of this may simply be thanks to the unique nature of the Master's power."
Di Tian, too, was silent for a time.
The Silver Dragon King held dominion over Lord Dragon God's Creation Godhead.
He was not surprised that the secondary self she had split off could perform this way.
Otherwise, the Master would never have had him send Na'er to Shrek.
That alone demonstrated her confidence: even Yun Ming, hailed as the continent's strongest man, could not possibly see through Na'er's true nature.
After a long moment of thought, Di Tian shook his head slightly.
"The Master is now gradually recovering and will soon prepare to enter the world."
"Let the Master decide exactly what course to take."
"Since you can no longer keep watch, your surveillance mission ends here. Go and cultivate in peace."
The Demon-Eyed Devil Tree bowed.
"Yes, Lord Di Tian."
The Spirit Pagoda.
After returning, Su Xun did not go back to the hundredth floor. Instead, he went to the forty-ninth.
The Blacksmiths the Spirit Pagoda had spent enormous sums training, along with its stores of metals, were all on the forty-ninth floor.
This was where Su Xun had studied forging for the past three years.
His forging teacher was named Jin Yue. His Martial Soul was the Mountain Hammer, and he was an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo and a Three-Word Battle Armor Master.
His forging rank was seven.
A rank-seven Blacksmith might sound unimpressive, but in truth, the only widely known craftsmen above that rank were one Divine Craftsman and four Level Eight Saint Craftsmen.
He was more than qualified to serve as the teacher who helped Su Xun lay his foundations in forging.
Yet Jin Yue always maintained a certain deliberate politeness toward him.
Their interactions felt more like a work assignment, without the closeness Su Xun shared with Leng Yaozhu and Han Tianyi.
Su Xun understood that this was not because Jin Yue failed to appreciate him.
After all, he had recently become capable of forging thousand-refined metals, making him a genuine rank-three Blacksmith.
At nine years old, such talent was already quite frightening.
Jin Yue's attitude was clearly due to Su Xun's status. Perhaps he did not want to become embroiled in the Spirit Pagoda's internal disputes, or perhaps he understood that Leng Yaozhu would certainly have Su Xun study under someone else in the future.
It was just as Su Xun thought.
Jin Yue was indeed behaving this way deliberately.
As a Blacksmith, he knew very well that with Su Xun's talent, even that Divine Craftsman would be overjoyed to take him as a disciple.
Although Leng Yaozhu had never said anything to him.
In fact, because of Su Xun, Her Excellency Heavenly Phoenix-usually so far above him that she would hardly spare him a second glance-would even ask after him when they happened to meet.
Precisely because of this, he constantly reminded himself to know when to advance and when to retreat. Doing his current job well would already earn him the best possible reward. He should not yearn for too much.
"What made you think of coming over at this hour today?"
Jin Yue looked surprised to see Su Xun arrive.
"I made a breakthrough in my cultivation, so I wanted to try taking another step forward."
Su Xun felt he had built up enough experience. Previously, it had only been his insufficient soul power and stamina that had prevented him from completing higher-quality forging.
"You made a breakthrough?"
Jin Yue's eyes lit up. Only then did he realize that in the few days since they had last met, Su Xun's soul power had already reached the realm of a Three-Ring Soul Elder!
It was a considerable improvement over before.
"You've built up enough experience. You really might break through this time!"
"Come with me."
Jin Yue led Su Xun into his private forging room, leaving the space to him while observing from the side.
Su Xun had already adjusted himself to his best condition before coming.
So, upon taking his place before the forging bench, he immediately brought out a rare metal called nether silver.
Nether silver was exceedingly precious. Only one portion would emerge from every hundred portions of magic silver.
Unlike magic silver's elemental affinity, nether silver possessed spiritual affinity, with a unique capacity for carrying spiritual power.
Controlling the power of the six desires depended precisely on spiritual power.
Thus, nether silver was a rare metal exceptionally well suited to Su Xun.
Even before refining, the dark purple nether silver refracted rainbow light beneath the illumination simply by resting on the forging bench, as though it had been treated with a laser.
Su Xun took a deep breath. Silver light flashed in both hands, and a pair of Blood Sacrifice Forging Hammers, likewise made from nether silver, appeared in his grasp.
The unique trait of this pair of forging hammers was called spirit awakening.
It could awaken metal and resonate with it, "read" the metal, then cause it to "actively" cooperate with the forging.
Now, Su Xun raised his hammers. Skipping the heating process, he gently touched both hammers to the nether silver, and a chime echoed through the forging room.
Su Xun, however, closed his eyes and stood motionless. A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and almost simultaneously, the nether silver trembled of its own accord.
Then the twin hammers blurred like afterimages, their ringing weaving a wondrous melody.
In just three short minutes, the nether silver had shrunk by more than thirty percent, and faint cloud patterns rose across its rainbow-refracting dark purple surface.
This was the hallmark of first-grade thousand refinement!
Jin Yue watched in astonishment. Three rings, and he had produced the hallmarks of first-grade thousand refinement in three minutes. This was simply...
But the forging was not over yet.
Su Xun's eyes and ears glowed faintly. Not a single change in the nether silver escaped his perception.
The power of touch desire penetrated directly into the nether silver, letting him truly feel every trace of its feedback.
Clang, clang, clang-
The forging hammers swung without pause, and the cloud patterns on the nether silver's surface grew increasingly distinct.
"Now that this boy's cultivation has broken through, surely he isn't planning to skip rank four entirely and attempt spirit forging!"
The longer Jin Yue watched, the more astonished he became.
Just then, a cool voice suddenly sounded beside his ear:
"How is little Xun's forging coming along?"
Startled, Jin Yue glanced sideways. Leng Yaozhu had arrived without him noticing.
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