News of the Durability Clash at the Central Testing Grounds spread through the Heavenly Forge Division like wildfire.
The image of a newly promoted Rank 2 Core Smith shattering a premium, array-forged wind sword with nothing but raw, unadorned kinetic density was a spectacle that could not be easily ignored.
However, fame in the Black Tortoise Sect was rarely unopposed.
Within days, the rival array-carving faction—deeply humiliated by the public destruction of their weapon—launched a quiet but aggressive counter-narrative. They whispered through the courtyards and dining halls that "Mu Tie" was nothing but a meathead. They claimed the clash was a fluke; that swinging a ten-thousand-pound block of magma iron into a slender sword wasn't a display of forging mastery, but simply a crude execution of physics.
*"Anyone can compress metal if they hit it hard enough,"* the rumors sneered. *"But can he forge a balanced weapon? Can he meet a client's specific demands without relying on spiritual arrays? A heavy lump of iron is useless in a real battle of arts."*
Many in the combat divisions, particularly those who relied on speed and technique, bought into the skepticism. A true artifact required harmony between material and array. Mu Tie's brutal method seemed barbaric, lacking the nuance required to forge weapons for others.
Fang Lin, entirely secluded within the absolute privacy of Peak 74's concealing formation, didn't care. He spent his days familiarizing himself with the terrifying weight of *Magma & Ash*, completely ignoring the sect-wide gossip.
The political maneuvering, however, did not ignore him.
A week after the clash, Elder Huo summoned Fang Lin to Ember Peak.
When Fang Lin arrived, he expected to see a mountain of commissions. Instead, there were only three jade slips resting on Elder Huo's anvil, alongside three distinct piles of raw, high-grade Core Formation metals.
"The array-carvers are working hard to paint you as a fluke," Elder Huo grunted, tossing a hammer between his massive hands. "They say your heavy forging is a parlor trick. No one is going to hand over a life's savings in rare metals to a man they think is just a lucky brute."
Elder Huo pointed to the three jade slips. "These are test commissions. Arranged by your Senior Brother, Ma Teng. Three body cultivators from the Ironblood Faction who are willing to risk their materials to see if the rumors about you are true. A heavy shield, a spiked mace, and a set of weighted greaves. The materials are incredibly stubborn. If you fail, the rival faction's rumors become the truth."
Fang Lin looked at the raw metals. "And if I succeed?"
Elder Huo grinned, his teeth flashing in the forge light. "Then you become a legend."
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Fang Lin swept the three massive piles of raw metal into his storage ring with a wave of his hand and returned to Peak 74, emptying them into his private courtyard.
Once the Dark Flame Spirit's concealing ward sealed the area, Fang Lin dropped his unremarkable "Mu Tie" disguise. His Asura Flesh swelled, the green-gold vitality humming beneath his skin as he ignited the furnace.
Normal Core Smiths were fundamentally limited by their Qi. Forging a Core Formation weapon required immense spiritual focus and physical energy. After a single day of intense hammering, a typical smith would need a week of deep meditation to replenish their dantian and soothe their strained meridians.
Fang Lin didn't have that problem.
His Asura Flesh did not tire like mortal muscle. His physical stamina was boundless, constantly rejuvenated by the terrifying vitality of his Perfect-Grade Cores.
For seven continuous days and nights, the sound of the *Nine-Fold Titan Strike* thundered ceaselessly from Peak 74. Fang Lin didn't sleep. He didn't meditate. He simply stood before the blazing furnace, his hammer raining down like a localized meteor shower.
He compressed a slab of Deep-Sea Tungsten into a massive, impenetrable tower shield. He beat a chunk of Earth-Core Magma Iron and a Demon-Ape Femur into a bone-crushing mace. He folded heavy Void-Silver into dense, gravity-anchoring greaves.
He finished all three commissions in exactly one week—a turnaround time that defied the physical limitations of normal forging. And just like *Magma & Ash*, every single piece was utterly devoid of arrays, relying entirely on a terrifying ninety percent material purity.
***
When the three clients arrived at Ember Peak to collect their weapons, they were skeptical. A one-week turnaround for three custom Core Formation artifacts was unheard of.
But the moment the shield-bearer strapped the Tungsten tower shield to his arm, the skepticism vanished.
"The density..." the cultivator muttered, his eyes widening as he struck the shield with his own fist. The kinetic shockwave simply died against the hyper-compressed metal. "There are no arrays... but the metal itself is flawless. It's indestructible."
The delivery of the three weapons was the spark that ignited the powder keg.
When the three Ironblood cultivators returned to their respective combat peaks and demonstrated the absurd durability and kinetic weight of their new equipment, the rival faction's rumors were instantly shattered. A fluke could not produce three perfectly balanced, ninety-percent purity artifacts in seven days.
The dam broke.
Over the next month, the deluge began. Fang Lin's private peak became the most talked-about location in the division. Commission requests flooded Elder Huo's courtyard, specifically demanding the "brutal heavy style" of Mu Tie.
Fang Lin accepted them all. The assembly line of brutality continued. His Asura Flesh allowed him to churn out high-purity heavy weapons at a borderline unnatural pace. With every completed weapon, his wealth of sect contribution points skyrocketed, and he quietly skimmed rare, leftover materials from the client deposits, hoarding them in his spatial ring.
"Mu Tie" was no longer a rumor. He was the undisputed rising star of the Heavenly Forge Division.
***
Two months into his relentless forging schedule, the wards around Peak 74 chimed.
Fang Lin, currently hammering a broadsword blank, paused. He quickly re-engaged his Qi suppression, shrinking his aura back to the unremarkable Peak Spirit Foundation level, and wiped the soot from his face.
He opened the courtyard array.
Standing on the stone path was Senior Brother Ma Teng, his usual boisterous grin plastered across his face. But it was the person standing next to him that caught Fang Lin's immediate attention.
It was a woman. She possessed an elegant, almost ethereal beauty, draped in flowing, pale-green robes that seemed entirely out of place against the soot and ash of the forging peaks. Her aura was restrained, but Fang Lin's sharp senses detected a deep, terrifyingly dense foundation of Late Core Formation Qi.
"Junior Brother Mu!" Ma Teng laughed, stepping into the courtyard. "Apologies for the unannounced visit, but standard commission channels are too slow for this one."
Ma Teng gestured to the woman. "This is Senior Sister Lin Wan from the Earth Guardian Division. She has a problem that only you can solve."
Lin Wan stepped forward, her elegant eyes scanning the brutal, unadorned environment of Peak 74. She didn't look disgusted by the soot; instead, she looked analytically at the heavy anvil and the massive hammer resting beside it.
"I have heard the rumors, Mu Tie," Lin Wan said, her voice smooth but carrying an undeniable weight. "They say you do not carve arrays. They say you rely entirely on the absolute physical limit of the metal itself."
"That is my path, Senior Sister," Fang Lin replied calmly, leaning on his hammer.
Lin Wan reached into her spatial ring. With a heavy *thud* that cracked a stone tile, she placed a massive, deep-purple cylindrical ingot onto the ground.
"This is Thousand-Year Violet-Iron," she said softly. "It is notoriously resistant to spiritual arrays. The rival faction has tried and failed to carve wind arrays into it three times. It simply shatters their tools."
She looked Fang Lin directly in the eyes, her elegant demeanor contrasting sharply with the violent request she was about to make.
"I don't want arrays," she said. "I want a heavy staff. A customized, perfectly balanced staff that can crush a boulder with a casual swing. I was told you are the only smith brutal enough to force this metal into submission."
Fang Lin looked at the incredibly rare Violet-Iron, a faint smile touching his lips.
"I shall try my best, Senior Sister."
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