Chapter 31: Stop, Hammer Time!
The disciple of Mang Tian, Tang Wulin, was able to thousand refined a Heavy Silver to the second grade with wisps of spirit!
What does this mean? It means, he was on the way of reaching the first grade of thousand refinement!
First Grade Thousand Refinement is also known as Half-Spirit Refinement. This is because blacksmiths are able to breathe life and spirit into the metal which they can then shape according to their will, improving the quality of the final product.
Once the spirit is formed from a thousand refining, it signifies that the metal's life-force was on the verge of awakening and only needed one last push to fully awaken.
This meant that spirit refining was practically guaranteed to succeed! This was why it was said that the formation of a spirit would lead to spirit refining.
If Tang Wulin was able to thousand refined first grade, then he would be at the peak of fourth rank blacksmith! Just a hairs away from being a fifth.
There was one person who holds the record of the youngest fifth rank blacksmith, and that said blacksmith is the current generation Divine Craftsman!
'If, if this boy Xiu Ye is more talented than Tang Wulin, then the record of the fifth and possibly sixth would be broken by him!' Cen Yue involuntarily gulped a mouthful of saliva out of nervousness and excitement.
Yes, excitement. After all, he was witnessing the possible rise of not one, but two next generation Divine Craftsmen! Although he felt slight envy at their talents, nonetheless, as a fellow blacksmith he was happy at the event of a new genius blacksmith, especially if it were two.
The surveyor coughed. "A-Ahem, congratulations Tang Wulin! You are now officially a rank three blacksmith! You will receive your badge and benefits as a rank three blacksmith after your cousin's test."
Tang Wulin nodded in understanding, joy and happiness clear in his eyes at being officially a blacksmith. "Okay."
The surveyor turned towards Xiu Ye. "Well then, Xiu Ye, it's your turn. Pick any metal among the remaining fourteen to purify and I'll examine it."
Xiu Ye nodded and walked towards the fourteen metals on the stand, without any hesitation, he went and picked up a certain human head size black metal chunk that shone with a crimson light.
Cen Yue and the surveyor both had their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Their inner feelings of shock and disbelief could be clearly seen on their faces.
Crimson Iron! One of the hardest metals to forge unless one has a top tier fire type martial soul along with a high cultivation rank and almost perfect control of their fire.
Cen Yue turned towards Tang Wulin, who was drinking a bottle of water provided by the surveyor, and asked. "Does that boy have a fire type martial soul?"
Tang Wulin nodded. "Ye has a sword fire type martial soul, but I've only seen its flames and his spirit soul most of the time. I've only seen his sword martial soul once, when he showed it to the entire class when we we're in elementary during introduction."
Cen Yue and the surveyor raised an eyebrow. "Wait, he only showed his martial soul to you once? Why?"
Tang Wulin shrugged. "He never said the reason why."
Cen Yue narrowed his eyes in deep thought. He only saw Xiu Ye's martial soul once, but he'd seen the flames of his martial soul and spirit soul? Something isn't right...
Xiu Ye walked towards the forging table and put down the Crimson Iron on it. He took a slow deep breath, his mind focused and gaze concentrated on the chunk of metal in front of him. Orange with red end line flames appeared around him, engulfing him entirely like he was a fire in a lamp.
Great undulations of red colored soul power radiated out of his body that no ordinary rank 19 Soul Master should have. No one else knew this, but with Xiu Ye's comprehension and connection with Ryūjin Jakka, his soul power had assimilated with the latter's fire energy. Making his soul power turned red and have the characteristics of Ryūjin Jakka's flames.
This level of comparability and comprehension of his martial soul, was something that most soul masters at his rank could never hope to do. This was the one with the sword or any type of weapon ability!
This meant that, even without releasing Ryūjin Jakka, he could use almost all the power of its flames without any side effects.
By his estimation, he was capable of producing 75% of the power of Ryūjin Jakka's flames, which was still the fake version's. So, recalculating, if he had the real one's flames, he was only capable of producing like 30-40% of its true firepower.
But it was enough for Xiu Ye. 30-40% of the heat and power of a sun? If he covered his fists or just any part of his body to attack someone, he was certain that not even a Soul King would easily block his attack. He could even kill one if he/she was caught surprise or had underestimated him.
Heating up Crimson Iron? That was as easy as drinking water.
Xiu Ye raised his right hand by shoulder level, numerous lines of fire element, as thick as a finger, gathered around his right forearm. He bended his right arm towards the Crimson Iron, following that action, the numerous fiery hot lines moved like snakes and covered the metal like a cocoon.
Raising his left arm up to the side, a yellow light momentarily lit up the room and the sound of cackling of lightning was heard.
The wind howled, the air around them lessened, a storm was coming.
In a flash of lightning and the sound of thunder that made Cen Yue and the surveyor both staggered back in shock, while Tang Wulin watched with a smile.
The Thunder Hammer appeared in Xiu Ye's hand, blue lightning cackling around it. A yellow soul ring floated leisurely up and down his body.
Cen Yue's mouth opened. "A... hammer? Kid, you said that he had a sword flame type martial soul right?"
Tang Wulin nodded. "His martial soul is some type of sword flame. That hammer in his hand is his spirit soul."
They were dumbfounded. It was common knowledge to all soul masters that spirit souls around hundred years old and above could be called to battle and helped out its soul master. However, it costs a lot of soul power for the soul master to manually used his/her spirit soul, not only that, but when the spirit soul is destroyed the soul master simultaneously receives a major backlash.
Cen Yue and the surveyor certainly knows this information well, as they had witnessed some blacksmiths in the past who has hammer type spirit souls and used them during forging. Safe to say, they never repeated this kind of action again.
The former himself was slightly embarrassed, as he had also used his hammer spirit soul once to forge and it wasn't a very good memory.
He and the surveyor was about to yell out to stop but Xiu Ye, as the Crimson Iron was finally calcine, had already swung the hammer to it.
*Boom!*
Blue lightning scattered at the moment it hit the Crimson Iron.
In that single hammer strike, the entire chunk of Crimson Iron underwent a dramatic change. It shrunk from 2/3 of its original size, its rough shape turned slightly round and smooth.
One strike, Hundred Refinements!
Both Cen Yue and the surveyor dropped their jaws in shock.
H-He... He didn't even tap the metal to converse with it. He just straight up refined it! What in the hell?!
Xiu Ye raised his arm once more, his hammer hummed like it was in joy, his soul power pulsed. Lightning and fire surged around together like a vortex around his hammer.
Familiar cyan lines appeared around his left arm, it travelled to his spirit soul, and it lit up the dim room. Like a christmas tree in the dark night of a public park.
Xiu Ye strikes the metal once more, it glowed a red light and streaks of lightning surrounded it for a moment. He could hear it.
He could hear its voice, calling out to him. To shaped it to a metal of beauty and glory.
He would indulge it.
❄️
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