Testing Strength

At noon, after enjoying the feast Lin Ximeng had prepared with Na'er, the two returned to their respective rooms for an afternoon nap.

That afternoon, as usual, Yao Xuan escorted Na'er to Red Mountain Academy for class. After school, he first took Na'er home, then changed into his work clothes and hurried to Mang Tian's Workshop.

"Yo, Yao Xuan, you're here."

Seeing Yao Xuan enter the workshop, Brother Long, who had been resting inside, walked over and patted him on the shoulder, greeting him warmly.

"Yes, Brother Long. Good afternoon. By the way, is Master free right now?" Yao Xuan asked as he returned the greeting.

"Mm, Master isn't forging at the moment. He's resting. Why? Do you need something from him?" Brother Long asked curiously after hearing Yao Xuan's words.

"Yes. This morning, I successfully fused with a Soul Spirit and broke through to the Soul Master realm. Master previously said that I had already mastered Hundred Forging, and that once I became a Soul Master, I could begin trying Thousand Forging. So I wanted to report it to him."

Seeing Brother Long ask, Yao Xuan answered honestly.

"Oh? You've already become a Soul Master? Congratulations! Come on, I'll take you to Master."

As he congratulated Yao Xuan, Brother Long led him toward Mang Tian's workshop, his heart filled with envy.

As Mang Tian's first disciple, Brother Long had begun learning forging at the age of twelve. He had only started learning Thousand Forging at twenty, and it was not until he was twenty-five that he finally forged his first Thousand Forging piece. Yet his junior brother could already attempt Thousand Forging at seven and a half years old. It truly made him feel inferior.

Of course, he also knew that Yao Xuan was indeed qualified to learn Thousand Forging. To master Hundred Forging proficiently in just a year and a half, coupled with immense strength beyond the reach of ordinary people—his junior brother was simply a born forging prodigy.

"Master, I've successfully broken through to the Soul Master realm."

After entering Mang Tian's workshop, Yao Xuan first bowed respectfully to Mang Tian before speaking.

"The Soul Master realm? Good, very good! After becoming a Soul Master, your strength should have increased further as well. You can try Thousand Forging now. But before that, I'll first help you test your strength."

With that, Mang Tian took Yao Xuan by the hand and led him before a device specifically used to measure a Forging Master's strength, then activated the Strength Tester.

This Strength Tester consisted of three parts. At the bottom was a square metal platform, no different from an ordinary forging table. Mounted atop it was a thick cylindrical metal body, while behind it stood a cylinder about one and a half meters tall, containing a slender mercury column.

To test their strength, a Forging Master only needed to strike the metal cylinder with a fifty-kilogram test forging hammer. The mercury column behind it would change according to the force of the blow, displaying the striking force while automatically deducting the weight of the test hammer.

"Begin. Test your right hand first," Mang Tian instructed calmly as he handed Yao Xuan the test hammer.

"Yes, Master."

Taking the forging hammer, Yao Xuan tightly gripped its spiraled handle with his right hand, set his stance, and took a deep breath before raising the hammer high.

He gathered all the strength in his body into his right arm, lowered his center of gravity, and borrowed the downward momentum to viciously smash the forging hammer toward the cylinder, producing a shrill hum as it tore through the air.

Bang!

With a thunderous boom, the entire forging room trembled slightly. Both Yao Xuan and Mang Tian felt a faint ringing in their ears. At the same time, the mercury column shot upward, and the display beside it recorded the maximum force of the strike.

"Nine hundred and sixty kilograms? How is that possible? Could the device be malfunctioning? But that can't be right!"

Staring at the test result, Mang Tian's face filled with utter shock. His mouth hung so wide it seemed large enough to fit a fist inside before he finally spoke in disbelief.

Even Brother Long, an adult, could only produce a striking force of around two hundred and fifty kilograms without using his martial soul or channeling Soul Power. The strength Yao Xuan displayed now was nearly four times Brother Long's. It was truly monstrous.

Mang Tian still remembered testing Yao Xuan's strength on his seventh birthday. At the time, Yao Xuan had already possessed nearly five hundred kilograms of strength, leaving Mang Tian dumbfounded and proclaiming that he had found an unprecedented genius. That was also why Mang Tian had been willing to teach him Thousand Forging techniques as soon as he broke through to the Soul Master realm.

Yet only half a year had passed since Yao Xuan's seventh birthday, and his strength had nearly doubled. Mang Tian found it hard to believe.

"Master, after breaking through to the Soul Master realm, I did indeed feel my strength increase by a great deal. The result from this device should be correct. How about this, Master? Let me test it once more."

Seeing Mang Tian's astonished expression, Yao Xuan secretly found it amusing. Naturally, though, he could not laugh aloud and instead offered a well-meaning explanation.

"Mm, try again."

Hearing Yao Xuan's words, Mang Tian's expression gradually returned to normal, and he nodded in instruction.

Having received Mang Tian's order, Yao Xuan lifted the forging hammer just as before, gathered his strength, and then brought it down with all his might!

Bang!

With another booming crash, the powerful force made the entire forging room tremble once again. Mang Tian promptly covered his ears, then looked toward the result on the Strength Tester.

The facts proved that the Strength Tester was indeed functioning perfectly. This time, Yao Xuan's result settled at nine hundred and sixty-four kilograms, four kilograms higher than before.

"Good, good, very good! Yao Xuan, try your left hand as well."

Looking at Yao Xuan's score, Mang Tian said "good" three times in succession. His face shone with undisguised delight and admiration as he nodded slightly and gave another instruction.

"Alright, Master."

As he agreed, Yao Xuan switched the forging hammer to his left hand and repeated the process, delivering a fierce blow to the strength-testing forge table.

"Nine hundred and thirty-two kilograms. Not bad, very good!"

Seeing the strength of Yao Xuan's left arm, Mang Tian's smile widened further, the corners of his mouth nearly blooming into flowers.

For a Forging Master, the more balanced the strength between their left and right hands, the more it benefited the stability of forging. Generally speaking, the difference in strength between a person's two hands was at least around ten percent.

Yet for Yao Xuan, the difference between his left and right hands was only 3.5 percent. He was simply born to be a Forging Master. Thinking of how fortunate he was to have accepted Yao Xuan as his disciple, Mang Tian could not help but feel grateful.

"Good, very good. With one thousand kilograms of strength, you fully meet the requirements for Thousand Forging. Now, I will explain the secrets of Thousand Forging to you in detail."

Doing his best to calm his delighted emotions, Mang Tian found a piece of golden metal emitting a faint golden glow from the metal storage rack behind him and placed it before Yao Xuan.