Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered slightly. Facing Mu Chen's sharp gaze, he didn't panic at all but replied truthfully, "My teaching mentor in Forging is indeed Zhen Hua."
As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Wulin, standing to the side, felt his heart suddenly shake!
As a Blacksmith, the name of Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua was naturally like thunder to his ears.
After all, that was an existence standing at the very top of the entire continent's Forging World pyramid. The legendary Rank 9 Divine Craftsman was a legendary goal that all Blacksmiths looked up to and pursued!
He never expected that Huo Yuhao's Forging teacher would actually be this person.
Hearing this, some complex emotions seemed to surge deep within Mu Chen's eyes, but they quickly returned to calm.
He placed the badge in his hand back into Huo Yuhao's open palm.
He then looked at Huo Yuhao and said in a faint tone, "A badge doesn't represent much."
He looked directly at Huo Yuhao, his tone turning cold, "If you want to join my Donghai Blacksmith Association, it still depends on your true ability."
At this moment, in Huo Yuhao's heart, this Donghai Blacksmith Association President Mu Chen was clearly classified as an adversary of his teacher, Zhen Hua.
The other's attitude clearly carried a hint of testing or even making things difficult.
As a Disciple, he represented more than just himself at this moment; it also concerned the face and reputation of his teacher, Zhen Hua.
Huo Yuhao's expression also became completely serious. He put away the badge, met Mu Chen's gaze with a firm look, and responded powerfully, "In that case, I'll ask the President... to prepare a Forging room for me."
Mu Chen gave him a deep look and said no more, simply spitting out three words: "Follow me."
After speaking, he turned and took the lead in walking out of the office.
Huo Yuhao and Tang Wulin exchanged a glance, then stepped forward without hesitation, following closely behind.
After leaving the office, Mu Chen turned right and walked only a few steps along a corridor covered with thick carpet before stopping in front of an unremarkable door.
He reached out and pushed the door open, signaling for the two to enter.
Behind the door was no ordinary room. It wasn't large, but the layout was exquisite. The surrounding walls were almost entirely occupied by transparent glass cabinets embedded in the wall.
Inside the cabinets were not files or books, but various pieces of metal of different shapes and colors, categorized accordingly.
Heavy Silver, Star Silver, Magic Silver, Thousand-refined Tungsten Steel, Jade Silver... these rare Materials shimmered with a charming luster under the soft light.
On both the left and right sides of the room, there were two independent spaces separated by thick transparent glass partitions, each equipped with a standard Forging table.
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over the room. Without any politeness or hesitation, he walked directly toward a Forging table on the inner right side.
First, he glanced at a piece of rare metal already on the Forging table.
It was a piece of star silver about the size of a fist, with fine silver star-like spots on its surface.
Then, Huo Yuhao familiarly activated the Soul Tool energy core on the side of the Forging table and lit the heating furnace.
A deep blue flame rose silently. He didn't rush into action but just stood calmly by the Forging table, watching the furnace fire with a quiet gaze, as if feeling the temperature and rhythm of the flame.
To the side, Mu Chen's eyes moved slightly, showing a trace of hard-to-detect surprise.
The boy before him clearly had only the stature of a ten-year-old child, but when he stood before the Forging table, he naturally exuded a focused and steady aura.
This mysterious and profound aura was something many Forging Grandmasters did not possess.
When the color and temperature of the flame reached a specific state, Huo Yuhao moved.
With a flick of his wrist, he used a specially made metal clamp to steadily place the piece of star silver into the center of the furnace fire and began to heat it evenly.
At the same time, a black light flashed on his hands, and a pair of pitch-black, ancient-looking Forging hammers appeared out of thin air in his palms.
The hammer heads were not bare; they featured complex and mysterious dark-gold patterns, with Spirit Power faintly flowing through them, emitting a heavy yet agile aura.
Mu Chen's gaze was instantly drawn to this pair of Forging hammers.
With just one look, he could tell that this was a pair of genuine Spirit Forging-Rank Forging hammers!
Their main material should be the extremely rare Myriad Soul Iron, which had excellent conduction and amplification effects for mental force and Spirit Power!
A Blacksmith's Forging hammers are mostly forged by themselves; only then can they achieve the most perfect harmony with their own Spirit Power characteristics and exertion habits, exerting the best Forging effect.
The appearance of these Spirit Forging Forging hammers, and the indescribable sense of harmony that instantly arose between them and Huo Yuhao, had silently proven one thing to Mu Chen... that the boy before him was truly a... Rank 5 Blacksmith who had mastered Spirit Refining!
A faint light suddenly flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes as his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul quietly activated.
At the same time, his Mental Detection Spirit Ability spread out like invisible ripples, accurately bringing the star silver on the Forging table, the Forging hammers in his hands, and even the slightest fluctuations of the furnace fire under his absolute control.
In his World of perception, the internal structure, temperature gradient, distribution of Impurities, and even the stress changes of the metal crystals under high temperature became clearer than ever before.
When he observed the star silver being heated to its most active internal structure and the optimal plasticity point where Impurities were most easily separated, a sharp light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes, and he did not hesitate!
His left hand reached out as fast as lightning, using the clamp to accurately take out the red-hot star silver and place it steadily on the special anvil surface of the Forging table.
Almost at the same instant the metal landed, his right hand, which had long been ready with the spirit forging myriad soul hammers, brought a heavy black light and traced a simple yet powerful arc, slamming down fiercely!
"Bang!!!"
It wasn't a piercing explosion, but a deep and heavy boom!
Sparks flew in all directions, and a slight wave of air curled.
Mu Chen's pupils suddenly contracted the moment this hammer blow landed!
With his eyesight, he could naturally see that under that seemingly violent strike, the red-hot star silver had not been flattened or deformed inaccurately; instead, its internal structure seemed to have undergone a heaven-turning, earth-shaking optimal reorganization at the moment of the hammer's impact!
With just this one strike, more than forty percent of the fine Impurities and structural defects within the metal were actually "shaken" out, condensing in the oxidation layer on the surface that was about to fall off!
The overall height of the star silver also compressed by nearly half, visible to the naked eye, yet its texture appeared even more solid and pure!
"Eh?!"
Even with Mu Chen's experience, he couldn't help but let out an irrepressible gasp from deep within his throat!
He knew well what kind of terrifying eyesight, control, and understanding of the essence of metal were contained behind this seemingly simple strike!
Even many Rank 6 Forging Grandmasters who had been immersed in Forging for decades might not be able to complete this "one-strike purification" so accurately and efficiently!
For Huo Yuhao to achieve this, Forging technology was certainly the foundation, but the more critical reliance lay in the unique spirit forging myriad soul hammerss in his hands and the characteristics of his own Spirit.
This pair of Spirit Forging Forging hammers, which he had poured his heart and soul into completing, possessed an unprecedented special attribute, a special effect that even Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua had not anticipated.
Huo Yuhao named it—Ruyi.
The core of the "Ruyi" effect was also very simple: every bit of force Huo Yuhao transmitted through this pair of Forging hammers could be perfectly "perceived" and "freely controlled" by him!
This control not only acted on the hammer body itself but could also penetrate deep into the interior of the metal being forged!
The shockwaves of the hammer strike, the oscillation frequency, the power distribution... all could be finely tuned according to his will, like a direct extension of his volition.
And his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul and Mental Detection provided an incomparable "field of vision."
Every impurity spot, structural weak point, and optimal force conduction path inside the metal was as clear as a lighthouse in the dark to him, with no secrets left.
The combination of the "Ruyi" effect and "Spirit Eyes" was like a Forging divine skill custom-made for Huo Yuhao.
He could see where the "Impurities" were and could accurately deliver the force of the hammer strike to every "node" that needed it, achieving maximum purification and structural optimization at the minimum cost.
That earth-shattering strike just now was the embodiment of the perfect Fusion of eye, force, and intent.
It was a miracle of the combination of technology, Spirit, and exclusive equipment, far beyond what a simple Forging Rank could measure.
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.