The afternoon wind swept across the basalt ridge of Caldera Peak 9, carrying the faint scent of sulfur and cooled lava.
Elder Huo finally released Fang Lin from his crushing bear hug. The barrel-chested blacksmith wiped the joyous tears from his soot-stained cheeks, his chest heaving with laughter that still rumbled like distant thunder.
"Calm down, Huo. Calm down," the old master muttered to himself, pacing back and forth across the stone terrace, his thick beard bristling with wild energy. "If I keep screaming like a madman, the entire mountain will think I've suffered a cultivation backlash."
He stopped abruptly, turning back to Fang Lin. His fiery eyes scanned his disciple from head to toe, filled with undisguised affection and awe.
"Brat... no, Mu Tie," Elder Huo said, his voice lowering into a gravelly rumble. "Do you know what it truly means to forge Spirit Manifestation Realm weapons on our mountain?"
Fang Lin dusted off the shoulders of his grey robe, keeping his posture humble and attentive. "Disciple is only familiar with the basic rankings of the Heavenly Forge Division."
Elder Huo snorted with deep pride, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
"In the outside world, any fool who can hammer a decent piece of low-grade iron calls himself a smith. But within Black Tortoise Mountain, our forge is governed by an ancient, unyielding structure."
Elder Huo pointed a thick, calloused finger toward the central peak that pierced the heavens.
"At the absolute summit sits **Grand Domain Smith Elder Duan**. He is a living legend over three centuries old, a Rank 4 Grand Domain Smith at the Domain Forging Realm. He does not belong to any petty faction. He is the sovereign authority of our division, holding up the ultimate ceiling of our sect's crafting dao."
Fang Lin nodded respectfully. Elder Duan's legendary status was well known; during the Annihilation Analysis Gathering, it was Elder Duan's spiritual quartz resonance rod that had validated his analysis of the mace.
"And beneath Elder Duan," Elder Huo continued, his voice swelling with weight, "there were exactly **seven Master Smiths**."
"Seven?" Fang Lin asked, matching the expected curiosity of an apprentice.
"Seven," Elder Huo confirmed firmly. "All seven of us are Rank 3 Master Smiths. Each one oversees a distinct crafting lineage of the Heavenly Forge Division. There is Tie Peng of the Mountain-Core Division, who crafts heavy earth-anchor armors. There is Shen Yu of the Jade-Heart Hall, who refines spirit jade and cooling resonance matrices. There is Lu Feng of the Gale-Blade Division, Qian Han of the Glacial Forge, Bai Mo of the Inscription Scribes, and Yan Gu of the Mountain-Fire Hall. And, of course, myself, leading the Ironblood Faction."
Elder Huo grinned broadly, stepping forward and clapping a heavy hand onto Fang Lin's shoulder.
"For nearly a hundred years, that number has not changed. Seven lineages. Seven Master Smiths. When Sect Master Xuan Yuan and Elder Duan rewarded you with the title of Rank 3 Master Smith after the tournament, the sect honored your peerless intellect. But every elder knew in their hearts that you were an honorary master, because an Early Core Formation apprentice simply lacked the spiritual fire to craft high-grade weapons."
Elder Huo leaned in, his eyes blazing with fierce light.
"Now, you have reached Mid-Stage Core Formation, and you can physically forge Spirit Manifestation Realm weapons with your own hands. You are no longer just an honorary scholar. You are officially **The Eighth Master Smith of Black Tortoise Mountain**!"
Fang Lin bowed slightly. "Disciple only achieved this through Master Huo's guidance and the geothermal vein of this caldera."
"Nonsense! That is your own monstrous talent!" Elder Huo waved his hand dismissively, his grin stretching wide. "And an Eighth Master Smith cannot remain an ordinary disciple. Under the sacred founding laws of our Heavenly Forge Division, any smith capable of physically crafting Spirit Manifestation Realm weapons qualifies to be an Elder of the sect!"
Fang Lin's brow twitched slightly. "An Elder?"
"An official **Crafting Elder of Black Tortoise Mountain**!" Elder Huo barked, his voice filled with fierce resolve. "Full voting rights on the Grand Council! Total territorial sovereignty over Caldera Peak 9! Complete exemption from menial sect duties and military conscription! Come! We are going to the Grand Ancestral Forge right now. I will convene the council and demand your promotion!"
Before Fang Lin could offer a modest reply, Elder Huo caught his sleeve in a fiery grip, kicked off the basalt pavement, and rocketed into the clouds like a streak of scarlet lightning.
***
Deep beneath Sacred Flame Peak, the **Grand Ancestral Forge Hall** stood solemn and silent.
Massive basalt pillars supported a vaulted ceiling carved with ancient furnace motifs. In the center of the hall, a long conference table made of ancient ironwood was surrounded by heavy stone seats.
Within half an hour of Elder Huo's urgent summoning bell, the heavy bronze doors opened.
Six figures filed into the hall, each radiating the thick, seasoned aura of a master craftsman.
First came Master Smith Tie Peng of the Mountain-Core Division, a broad-shouldered elder clad in heavy bronze-plated robes. Beside him walked Master Smith Qian Han of the Glacial Forge, a pale man surrounded by a chilling frost mist, followed by Master Smith Shen Yu, Master Smith Lu Feng, Master Smith Bai Mo, and Master Smith Yan Gu.
Finally, walking with slow, measured steps, came **Grand Domain Smith Elder Duan**.
The silver-bearded living legend held a dark wooden walking staff. His eyes were calm, ancient, and deep as an abyss. As the Rank 4 Grand Domain Smith of the sect, his presence alone naturally quieted the room. He took his seat at the head of the table, while the seven Rank 3 Master Smiths took their respective places.
Fang Lin stood quietly behind Elder Huo, his hands folded neatly within his sleeves, looking like an unassuming attendant.
"Huo," Master Smith Tie Peng spoke first, his deep voice echoing through the stone chamber. "You rang the Ancestral Bell with five strikes. In our division, that indicates an urgent matter concerning the governance of the lineages. What has happened?"
Elder Huo stood up, puffing out his barrel chest. He slammed his heavy, iron-like palm onto the table.
*BANG!*
"I have gathered you all here today to exercise our division's founding charter," Elder Huo announced loudly, his voice reverberating off the stone pillars. "I propose that my disciple, Mu Tie, be formally recommended to the Sect Master and the Grand Council to be elevated to an official **Crafting Elder of Black Tortoise Mountain**!"
*Silence.*
For two breaths, the grand chamber was so quiet that only the crackle of the subterranean fire vents could be heard.
Then, Master Smith Qian Han let out a dry, cold scoff.
"Huo, have you been inhaling too much sulfur down in your forge?" Qian Han said, shaking his head. "Mu Tie is exceptionally talented. His theoretical analysis of the mace at the gathering was magnificent, and we gladly recognized him as the eighth Master Smith in name. But an Elder?"
Master Smith Tie Peng leaned forward, his brow deeply furrowed. "Huo, this is completely inappropriate."
"Inappropriate?!" Elder Huo's temper flared instantly. "How is it inappropriate?!"
"He is barely in his thirties!" Tie Peng replied sternly, his tone uncompromising. "To become a Sect Elder requires immense prestige, centuries of service, or at the very least, a cultivation base at the Spirit Manifestation Realm. Promoting a Core Formation apprentice to full Elder defies all sect precedent. The other divisions would laugh at our Heavenly Forge for acting recklessly!"
The other master smiths nodded in agreement. Shen Yu and Lu Feng also voiced their doubts, finding the proposal utterly premature.
Elder Huo did not back down. Instead, a savage, triumphant grin crept across his face.
"Sect precedent?" Elder Huo chuckled darkly, his voice dropping into a dangerous rumble. "You old fossils seem to have forgotten the third article of our Heavenly Forge Division charter. An exception exists for those who wield the true flame of heaven and earth. And my apprentice... can now physically forge **Spirit Manifestation Realm weapons**!"
*CLATTER!*
Master Smith Bai Mo knocked over his porcelain teacup.
Tie Peng froze, his eyes widening in shock.
"Nonsense!" Qian Han snapped, standing up abruptly. "Absolute nonsense! He broke through to Core Formation barely five and a half years ago! Even if he reached the mid-stage, how could a mid-stage core cultivator possess the spiritual lung capacity and flame stamina to sustain the forging of a Spirit Manifestation vessel?! It requires tens of thousands of cycles of high-density spiritual flame! It is physically impossible!"
"Are you calling me a liar, frost-face?!" Elder Huo roared, flames rising from his shoulders.
"Enough," a soft, ancient voice cut through the shouting.
Grand Domain Smith Elder Duan spoke. The silver-bearded master did not raise his voice, yet the fiery temperature in the room settled instantly.
Elder Duan looked across the table, his ancient eyes resting upon the calm, unbothered youth standing behind Elder Huo.
"Huo speaks with conviction, but crafting cannot rely on words alone," Elder Duan said calmly, his gaze steady and penetrating. "In our craft, the metal speaks for the smith. Mu Tie, do you have proof?"
All eyes in the council immediately locked onto Fang Lin.
Fang Lin did not panic, nor did he puff his chest out in arrogance. He stepped forward with steady, measured grace, bowing respectfully to Elder Duan and the six Master Smiths.
"Senior Duan, respected elders," Fang Lin spoke with quiet clarity. "During my recent six-month seclusion on Caldera Peak 9, disciple utilized the pure earth-core magma conduit to temper my core and harmonize my hammer cadence. I forged a few practice pieces to test my flame control."
Fang Lin made a simple gesture toward his leather spatial pouch.
He was exceedingly careful.
Inside his private storage rested ancient, terrifying treasures—weapons forged with the *Myriad Origin Artifice*, weapons bearing supreme law domains, and weapons completely devoid of array runes. If he brought out anything resembling even a little of the *Volcanic Annihilation* or a peak-grade masterwork, it would immediately trigger uncontrollable suspicion and intense scrutiny.
Therefore, Fang Lin deliberately selected an **ordinary, baseline Spirit Manifestation weapon**. A piece with simple geometry, standard spiritual channels, and basic balance.
With a soft rustle of spiritual Qi, Fang Lin withdrew a heavy blade and laid it gently upon the ironwood conference table.
It was a broad, four-foot-long **Crimson Cleaving Blade**.
Its spine was thick, forged from dark volcanic iron and refined basalt slate. The blade had no dazzling glow or flashy elemental runes; it looked plain, dark, and heavy.
"Disciple forged this practice piece during my six-month seclusion," Fang Lin said modestly, stepping back. "Please inspect it, elders."
Master Smith Tie Peng leaned over, squinting with skepticism. "A common cleaver? It looks completely ordinary—"
"Quiet," Elder Duan murmured softly.
Elder Duan slowly rose from his seat. From his sleeve, he produced his long spiritual quartz resonance rod.
The silver-bearded Grand Domain Smith gently touched the tip of the crystal rod to the flat edge of the dark blade.
*Ding——!*
A clean, crystalline chime rang out through the Ancestral Forge Hall.
In the next instant, the plain Crimson blade shuddered. A thick, suffocating wave of heavy spiritual pressure rolled out from the metal, filling the entire council chamber!
It was not the weak, fragile aura of a Core Formation weapon.
It was the dense, unyielding, and terrifying weight of an authentic **Spirit Manifestation Realm weapon**!
*WUMMMM——!*
The six Master Smiths stiffened as if struck by lightning.
"By the heavens..." Master Smith Shen Yu gasped, lunging forward with a glowing appraisal lens.
Master Smith Tie Peng grabbed the hilt with both hands, his eyes bulging as he poured his divine sense into the blade. "The grain... the internal density... it has undergone forty-nine cycles of folding! There are no trapped cold spots! The spiritual conductivity is completely seamless!"
"Look at the hammer cadence," Qian Han whispered, his hands trembling as he touched the spine. "Seventy-two micro-vibrations per layer... This is the pure Ironblood heavy-forging method! And the spiritual flame imprint locked inside the steel... it matches Mu Tie's exact core signature!"
Qian Han looked up at Fang Lin as if looking at a ghost. "He really forged it... During six months of seclusion... with Mid-Stage Core Formation Qi..."
The six Master Smiths stood crowded around the table in complete, breathless hysteria.
To Fang Lin, this was merely a rough, ordinary practice piece discarded in a corner of his storage. But to these veteran masters who had spent centuries forging, seeing a youth barely in his thirties physically craft an authentic Spirit Manifestation weapon was an earth-shattering impossibility!
All their previous objections about "inappropriateness" and "lack of precedence" evaporated like water dropped onto red-hot iron.
At the head of the table, Grand Domain Smith Elder Duan lowered his crystal rod.
Elder Duan did not join the frantic shouting. Instead, the ancient master looked up, staring deeply into Fang Lin's dark, calm eyes.
For centuries, Elder Duan had overseen countless prodigies rise and fall. He had seen arrogant geniuses who burned out, and cautious smiths who lacked courage. But looking at the youth before him—who stood calmly amidst the hysteria, showing neither arrogance nor fear, possessing monstrous talent while keeping his aura completely restrained—Elder Duan felt a profound stirring in his ancient heart.
Elder Duan began seeing Mu Tie in a completely new light.
*This youth's ceiling... does not stop at Master Smith,* Elder Duan thought, his heart beating with rare excitement. *His foundation is so deep, his composure so unshakable... He may truly possess the destiny to touch the Grand Domain realm.*
Elder Duan tapped his walking staff against the stone floor.
*THUD.*
The council hall immediately fell into absolute silence. The six Master Smiths stepped back, holding their breath.
Elder Duan looked around the table, his deep voice carrying unquestioned authority:
"The weapon is genuine. The craft is pure. The signature belongs to Mu Tie alone."
Elder Duan raised his hand. "Under the third charter of the Heavenly Forge Division, I cast my vote to recommend Mu Tie as an official **Crafting Elder of Black Tortoise Mountain**. Who objects?"
Elder Huo raised his hand instantly with a triumphant smirk.
Master Smith Tie Peng swallowed hard, looking at the basalt blade, and slowly raised his hand. "The Mountain-Core Division... approves."
"Glacial Forge approves," Qian Han stammered, completely subdued.
"Jade-Heart Hall approves."
"Gale-Blade Division approves."
"Inscription Scribes approve."
"Mountain-Fire Hall approves."
**Unanimous.**
Elder Duan smiled warmly, nodding toward Fang Lin. "Congratulations, Elder Mu. From this day forth, you sit among the elders of Black Tortoise Mountain. Your Caldera Peak 9 is your sovereign domain; no elder or deacon may infringe upon your forge without your express permission."
Fang Lin bowed deeply, his expression composed and respectful. "Disciple Mu Tie thanks Grand Domain Smith and all elders for their trust."
He paused, then added with a calm, polite tone:
"Since disciple must still stabilize my cultivation and focus on refining my craft, I cannot take on excessive forging duties. If any elders of our sect wish to commission a custom Spirit Manifestation weapon from Caldera Peak 9, disciple has only one condition."
Master Smith Lu Feng leaned in. "What condition?"
"I do not wish to accept common spirit stones, or standard sect trade goods," Fang Lin replied smoothly. "Payment must strictly be made in **extinct or endangered dark-attribute herbs, raw void-spatial ores, top quality materials or high-grade spirit stones**."
The master smiths blinked, but quickly nodded in understanding. A true crafting master had the absolute right to set their own terms, and demanding rare heavenly materials only reinforced his grandmaster status.
***
An hour later, outside the Ancestral Forge Hall.
Fang Lin walked down the grand mountain path alongside Elder Huo, whose chest was puffed out so high that his chin pointed toward the sky.
Suddenly, a loud, panicked shout came from down the path:
"Junior Brother! Junior Brother Mu!"
Senior Brother Ma Teng came sprinting up the stone stairs, gasping for breath, his heavy leather apron flapping wildly. He had received the transmission that the council had been convened, and had run all the way from the lower forge.
"Junior Brother! I heard the deacons shouting... they said you unsealed the peak... and Master Huo called the seven masters..."
Ma Teng stopped, panting heavily. Then, his eyes caught the dark-gold elder insignia pinned to Fang Lin's chest, alongside the official Crafting Elder jade medallion.
Ma Teng's jaw dropped. His eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"E-Elder... medallion?!"
Ma Teng froze completely. The poor, honest blacksmith began trembling, his face turning pale with terror and awkwardness.
According to sect law, an apprentice encountering a Sect Elder was required to perform a full bow and address them with supreme formality. But this was his junior brother! The same junior brother who had shared tea with him and hammered iron beside him!
Ma Teng awkwardly began to bend his waist, stammering with cold sweat dripping down his neck: "D-Disciple Ma Teng... greets... greets Elder Mu—"
Before Ma Teng's waist could bend, a warm, firm hand caught his arm, effortlessly lifting him back to his feet.
Fang Lin smiled warmly, his eyes filled with sincere, grounded warmth.
"Senior Brother Ma, what are you doing?" Fang Lin said softly, shaking his head. "No matter what medallion hangs on my robe, you will always be my Senior Brother. Address me as Junior Brother, just as you always have."
Ma Teng looked into Fang Lin's familiar, calm eyes.
There was no arrogance. There was no cold distance. It was the exact same junior brother who had stood beside him in the outer forge.
A sudden, overwhelming wave of emotion surged through Ma Teng's chest. The burly blacksmith sniffled loudly, hot tears welling up in his eyes as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.
"J-Junior Brother..." Ma Teng choked out, his voice cracking with gratitude and pride. "You... you really became an Elder!"
Elder Huo threw his head back and laughed uproariously, slapping Ma Teng's back hard enough to stagger him. "Look at this useless lad, crying like a maiden! Today, our Ironblood Faction drinks the finest aged spirit wine on Sacred Flame Peak! Hahahahaha!"
Beneath the glowing sunset of Black Tortoise Mountain, Fang Lin walked beside his master and senior brother, a peaceful smile on his face.
His identity as an Elder was secured. His isolation on Caldera Peak 9 was absolute. And the entire sect would now scour the continent to deliver extinct herbs and spatial ores directly to his doorstep.
-