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As his words faded, the sound of footsteps arrived punctually from outside.
"Find a seat yourselves." Gu La didn't even look up as he spoke, his forging hammer striking precisely on a piece of Crimson Flame Iron, sending sparks flying. He was adjusting the position of the metal according to his own habits, each strike carrying a unique rhythm.
The door to the forging room opened, and Wu Siduo strode in with brisk steps, her black ponytail swaying gently with her movements.
Behind her followed Zheng Yiran and Luo Guixing, but more surprisingly, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue also appeared at the doorway.
The moment they entered, the five were stunned by the sight before them. In the center of the forging room was a small mountain of rare metals, shimmering with various colors under the soul-guided lights.
These were precious materials Gu La had collected in his original timeline, and he was taking advantage of his free time to re-refine them all.
In the corner, a custom-made soul-guided furnace radiated intense heat, while a display cabinet against the wall held various purified metals, each refined to its optimal state, ready for the next step of forging.
"Why are you here?" Gu La frowned at Tang Wulin, though his hands continued their work without pause, the forging hammer moving rhythmically across the surface of the metal, emitting crisp tapping sounds.
Before Tang Wulin could respond, Wu Siduo quickly interjected: "I invited them. Tang Wulin is the best blacksmith in the class—I wanted him to witness this."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Gu Yue, who stood at the back. "As for Gu Yue… she said she wanted to take a look."
"If you don't agree, I'll ask them to leave."
Gu Yue stood at the rear, her silver-purple eyes calmly fixed on Gu La, her face betraying no emotion. Her slender fingers rested lightly on her storage ring, her entire presence resembling a still painting.
Their gazes met, an unspoken understanding passing between them, as if neither wished to disturb the other.
"Whatever." Gu La averted his gaze, placing the forged metal block into the cooling trough, which sent up a puff of white mist.
He had already planned to gradually reveal his forging level to pave the way for becoming a Divine Craftsman someday. Besides, these two were familiar with him.
"However, remember this." His voice suddenly turned serious, his piercing gaze sweeping across everyone present. "What you see today must not be shared without my permission."
He emphasized this with a pointed look at Wu Siduo and the others. As for Tang Wulin, he trusted his character—at least for now, this honest person wouldn't talk recklessly before being influenced by Tang San and Shrek Academy.
Wu Siduo's eyebrows twitched slightly. "I know what's at stake." Her fingers unconsciously rubbed against her storage ring, clearly both excited and nervous about what was about to happen.
Gu La gave a noncommittal smile and steered the conversation back on track. "Did you bring the materials?"
At this, Wu Siduo immediately retrieved two pieces of metal from her storage ring. The first was pitch-black, with faint ghostly light flowing across its surface, like a hidden black stone in the dead of night. The second sparkled with tiny silver dots, shimmering like a galaxy under the lights.
"Netherworld Iron, a rare dark-attribute metal that pairs well with my martial soul," she said carefully, cradling the black metal as if it were a precious treasure. "And Heavy Silver, known for its excellent malleability, which will help me execute my self-martial soul fusion technique."
"When your forging skills improve, you can add Blue Coppertite later."
She looked up at Gu La, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "According to our agreement, if you can forge spirit-forged alloy with over 90% fusion rate using these…"
"Wait." Luo Guixing suddenly interrupted, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He pulled out an exquisite jade box, opening it to reveal a silvery-white metal covered in fine spatial ripples.
"I've brought materials too." His voice carried a barely noticeable trace of nervousness. The metal in his hand was extremely valuable—it had cost him all his contribution points since the start of the semester just to buy this one piece.
"Thousand-Machine Copper, a rare space-attribute metal with extremely high forging difficulty." He paused. "So, I plan to first forge components using Heavy Silver and Magic Silver alloy, then incorporate Thousand-Machine Copper later."
Standing nearby, Tang Wulin inwardly rolled his eyes. Luo Guixing had once criticized him for aiming too high, but now, upon meeting Gu La, he was eager to seek cooperation.
Tang Wulin subtly pursed his lips, but the movement was caught by Gu Yue beside him, who flashed a faint smile.
Suddenly, the furnace flames surged, and the temperature in the room rose by several degrees. Everyone's faces were illuminated by the flickering firelight.
Gu La raised an eyebrow—this was going to be a challenge. His gaze lingered on the Thousand-Machine Copper for a moment; even in Shrek Academy's inventory, this metal was exceedingly rare.
Gu La secretly rejoiced. With his success rate, he could reasonably accept a significant amount of rare metals. Whether Netherworld Iron or Thousand-Machine Copper, both were difficult to obtain in large quantities, so having others collect them for him made a difference.
"Fine." Unexpectedly, Gu La agreed. He stretched his wrists, the joints cracking audibly. "You know the rules—the forging process doesn't guarantee 100% success. If the materials you provide fail, the risk is yours to bear."
Wu Siduo and Luo Guixing exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously. Zheng Yiran, unable to wait any longer, pushed forward eagerly: "And mine too!"
She took out a box glowing faintly green, opening it to reveal a strange metal with an eerie green light, its surface seemingly flowing like liquid.
"Phosphorescent Copper, also known as Green Phosphorus Copper, carries a highly toxic attribute." Zheng Yiran proudly introduced it, tapping her fingers lightly on the edge of the box.
(T/N: Phosphorescent is such a niche word I literally had to use Google translate and thesaurus.com lmao)
"The challenge in forging it lies in preserving its toxicity and ensuring the forged metal can fuse with the soul master's poisonous attributes."
She pushed the box toward Gu La. "It's all yours."
Even Tang Wulin couldn't help but gasp in awe, looking at Gu La with envy.
Three types of high-grade rare metals, each with distinct attributes—even in the hands of a Saint Craftsman, they would be treasured possessions. His gaze lingered on the Phosphorescent Copper for a long time; he had only seen pictures of this metal in textbooks.
But Gu La smiled, his expression filled with a mix of arrogance and confidence. "Interesting."
He gestured for everyone to retreat behind the safety line, then walked to the forging table and summoned two forging hammers from within his body.
"Today, I'll give you something to marvel at."
This alone indicated that the material of the hammers was at least spirit-forged—otherwise, they couldn't have been integrated into his body.
The atmosphere in the forging room instantly grew tense as everyone held their breath, waiting to witness a performance that might forever change their perception of forging.
Standing before the forging table, Gu La took a deep breath, and his entire demeanor changed, like a sword drawn from its sheath, sharp and radiant.
He didn't bother his avatars—they weren't yet ready to share their secondary profession levels. With their real bodies, they needed time to forge their own hammers and tools.
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