One of the characteristics of the True Spirit Banner martial soul was the ability to freely convert soul power into attributes of summoned beings.
The third summon, Fire Phoenix, had a fire attribute. Although Chu Chengzhou hadn't mastered Phoenix Fire, he could still transform his neutral soul power into a fire attribute.
With mastery skills in hand, Chu Chengzhou's control over his own soul power was like moving his arms and fingers. Simply heating metal was basic stuff—nothing special.
However, the melting point of rare metals like Heavy Silver was very high. Once heated to a dark red state, Chu Chengzhou's fire attribute soul power alone couldn't continue to heat it further.
Even though it hadn't reached the ideal temperature, this condition was sufficient. The craftsmanship of a Master Craftsman could make up for the lack of temperature.
After some thought, Chu Chengzhou also heated the left hammer in his hand to a dark red state.
Forces act reciprocally; using Heavy Silver hammers to create Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver through spirit-refining, as long as the blacksmith controlled it well, the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver hammers would also transition towards spirit-refinment.
If the Heavy Silver hammers were not heated, the entire forging process would be slow. Master Chu, with his exceptional skills, intended to speed up the forging process.
Boom boom boom—
Soon, rhythmic booms echoed through the forge room.
Other people's blacksmithing made 'ding ding ding' sounds, but Chu Chengzhou's blacksmithing was definitely a 'boom boom boom.'
Great force creates miracles; just keep pounding!
Moreover, with mastery skills in hand, Chu Chengzhou had excellent control over his strength. Most of the force from each hammer blow would only affect the Heavy Silver being forged. Otherwise, an ordinary iron forging platform wouldn't withstand such forceful pounding.
Boom boom boom—
Continuous booming sounds filled the forge room.
As time passed, the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver bow body and left hammer on the forging platform had been hammered into a lump of dark red Heavy Silver ingot, and its volume was visibly shrinking.
There were two reasons for the shrinking volume. Through continuous hammering, the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver ingot was transitioning toward spirit-refining while its density increased, naturally reducing its volume.
The other reason was that under Chu Chengzhou's control, every time the right-hand Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver hammer struck, it would absorb some Heavy Silver.
Time gradually passed, and in the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had gone by.
At this moment, only a small amount of Heavy Silver remained on the forging platform.
Boom
Another hammer strike, and a dazzling silver flame over six feet tall suddenly shot up, instantly turning the entire forge room silver.
Hundred-Refining purification, Thousand-Refining essence, Spirit-refining genesis—Spirit-Refined Heavy Silver, complete!
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou clearly felt that the Heavy Silver hammer in his hand had become something akin to an alternative life form.
Of course, saying spirit-refining genesis meant that spirit-refined metal was still far from true life.
Given the energy levels in the world of Douluo, spirit-refining merely endowed the metal with a tiny bit of life characteristics. Even the later renowned Divine Craftsmen couldn't make metal a true living entity.
A long while later, the dazzling silver flame dissipated, and looking at the spirit-refined Heavy Silver hammer covered with cloud patterns in his hand, Chu Chengzhou nodded in satisfaction.
At this moment, Ning Rongrong next to him eagerly released her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul.
Sure enough, as soon as the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul appeared, it radiated a brilliant nine-colored light.
Treasure, an unprecedented rare treasure!
Ning Rongrong could feel that according to her martial soul's treasure-seeking ability evaluation, the Heavy Silver hammer in Chu Chengzhou's hand was a treasure higher in rank than ten-thousand-year soul bones, and it was the most strongly sensed treasure she had ever encountered!
Immediately, Ning Rongrong looked ardently at Chu Chengzhou's spirit-refined Heavy Silver hammer.
Perhaps only the supreme treasure of the soul master world, the hundred-thousand-year soul bone, could cause such a strong reaction from her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul?
Of course, this didn't mean that the value of spirit-refined metal could match that of hundred-thousand-year soul bones. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul judged whether an item was a treasure and its value not solely based on human soul masters' perspective but also took into account the rarity of the item.
For example, a grain-sized piece of Heavy Silver, in the judgment of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, was a treasure, just a little small.
On the other hand, thousands of tons of ordinary iron material, measured in gold spirit coins, naturally far exceeded the value of a grain-sized piece of Heavy Silver.
But in the treasure-seeking ability evaluation of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, even if ordinary iron piled up into a mountain, it was still just a heap of waste.
Previously in the Star Forest, the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver was unique in the world, so the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul gave it a high evaluation.
Now that spirit-refined Heavy Silver had emerged, and the forging level had advanced beyond thousand-forging, the evaluation naturally improved again significantly.
Just as Ning Rongrong prepared to step forward to closely observe the spirit-refined Heavy Silver hammer, Chu Chengzhou made another move.
His True Spirit Banner martial soul manifested, the third soul ring on his body lit up, and amid the surge of soul power, a Fire Phoenix with a shrunken body length of over six feet coalesced.
Subsequently, Chu Chengzhou took out a super heat-resistant shallow crucible and placed the spirit-refined Heavy Silver hammer on it.
"Little Red, burn it for me, melt it into liquid."
Pointing at the heat-resistant crucible with the spirit-refined Heavy Silver hammer, Chu Chengzhou gestured to the Fire Phoenix summon.
The original Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver hammer design was very rough, barely resembling a hammer. Moreover, during the previous spirit-refining for convenience, it was fused into one. Naturally, he needed to re-divide it into 2 hammers.
Additionally, he needed to give his hammers a makeover; otherwise, such ugly hammers would tarnish his reputation as Grandmaster Chu.
"Chirp~!"
The Fire Phoenix summon let out a soft chirp, then a scorching Phoenix Flame spewed onto the crucible.
The heat resistance of Heavy Silver was very strong, with a very high melting point. After spirit-refining, the metal properties improved significantly, making the melting point even higher.
Fortunately, the Fire Phoenix summon wasn't weak either; the temperature of Phoenix Flame far exceeded ordinary flames. Otherwise, melting spirit-refined Heavy Silver wouldn't be an easy task.
The scorching Phoenix Flame continuously spewed out. After half a minute, the spirit-refined Heavy Silver hammer, glowing orange-red under the intense burning, gradually melted into a large puddle of orange-red Heavy Silver liquid.
Waving his hand to signal Little Red to stop, Chu Chengzhou's soul power surged, and he extended his hands toward the scorching Heavy Silver liquid.
Of course, he dared not stick them in unless he wanted to lose his hands; he only approached it.
Subsequently, a bright glow of soul power emanated from Chu Chengzhou's hands. Under the guidance of soul power, the Heavy Silver liquid in the crucible began to split into two parts and gradually gathered into hammer shapes.
In the future, with advanced technology, blacksmiths used professional shaping equipment to shape metals.
But Chu Chengzhou didn't have those conditions. Without an automatic furnace or shaping equipment, he had to take a different approach—melting the metal into liquid and then, relying on his superb soul power control, guiding and manipulating the molten hot liquid metal to shape it.
Anyway, after spirit-refinement, even if the metal was heated and melted into a liquid, it would still be spirit refined metal upon cooling—there would be no downgrade.
Moreover, aside from the high requirements for the operator, the efficiency of this method far surpassed those professional devices.
A long while later, the spirit-refined Heavy Silver liquid, shaped into hammers by soul power, gradually turned dark red.
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou withdrew his soul power control.
The dark red Heavy Silver had already solidified from liquid to solid, no longer requiring him to maintain the shape.
After some thought, Chu Chengzhou took tongs and tossed the two high-temperature Heavy Silver hammers into a nearby iron bucket filled with water.
Instantly, a large amount of steam rose from the bucket, causing it to boil.
Blacksmithing without a final quenching lacked soul!
Quenching newly produced iron hammers with water could make the hammers harder. Presumably, spirit-refined Heavy Silver should be similar.
Of course, none of this mattered; what mattered was the sense of ritual, and now he was going to use the hammers to forge spirit-refined armor and a large bow.
More than half an hour later, with Chu Chengzhou's final hammer strike, another flame ignited in the forge room.
Unlike the silver flame that erupted from spirit-refined Heavy Silver earlier, this time the flame was blue.
"Xiao Wu, quick, bleed!"
Seeing the nearly half-foot square Blue Coppertite on the forging platform erupting with spirit-refining flames, Chu Chengzhou quickly told Xiao Wu beside him.
A nearly half-foot square volume was sufficient to craft a full set of armor for Xiao Wu.
Moreover, the density of Blue Coppertite wasn't very high. A nearly half-foot square spirit-refined Blue Coppertite weighed only about a hundred pounds. While providing powerful defense, it wouldn't burden Xiao Wu, who had a decent physique too much.
"Mhm!"
Blood sacrifice for metal was something Chu Chengzhou had explained beforehand. Nodding, Xiao Wu didn't dare to delay and quickly picked up a prepared small knife, cutting a slit on her arm.
Activating her soul power internally, fresh red blood burst forth from her left wrist, enveloped in the blue flame. The high-temperature spirit-refined Blue Coppertite immediately hissed and steamed.
Soon, when the flame and steam dissipated, Xiao Wu felt a blood-connected sensation with the nearly half-foot square block of bluish-gold metal on the forging platform.
It felt as if the metal had life, and it was even a part of herself.
"Brother, why do I feel like this piece of Blue Coppertite has life?"
Examining it carefully, Xiao Wu curiously asked Chu Chengzhou.
"Has life?!"
Instantly, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing beside them couldn't help but exclaim.
It was just a piece of metal; could it really be so magical?
"It only has a bit of life characteristics, nothing as mysterious as you said.
However, spirit-refined metal is extraordinary in spirituality. You can consider it a martial soul that cannot attach soul rings or upgrade with soul power levels."
Waving his hand, Chu Chengzhou casually replied.
Subsequently, after another hour or so, Chu Chengzhou successively forged another piece of spirit-refined Blue Coppertite and a piece of spirit-refined Sunfire Iron.
Although he used Blue Coppertite to craft spirit-refined armor for himself and Xiao Wu, due to the blood sacrifice ownership, Chu Chengzhou had to forge them separately.
Moreover, he had a deeper grasp of physical tempering techniques, and his physique was stronger than Xiao Wu's despite her higher level. His piece of spirit-refined Blue Coppertite weighed nearly 200 pounds, about double Xiao Wu's.
The spirit-refined materials were ready; all that was left for the two sets of spirit-refined armor and a spirit-refined bow body was the final shaping.
"It's getting late, let's go eat first! We'll continue after eating."
Glancing at the high-hanging sun outside, realizing it was almost mealtime, Chu Chengzhou told the three of them.
"Eat? Brother, finish it first before eating!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu immediately became unwilling.
They had been watching for nearly two hours; they were so close to completion, yet you suggest doing it after the meal?
"Exactly, who cares about eating? It won't kill us to eat later! We're all waiting for the treasures to be born!"
Ning Rongrong chimed in from the side.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, but she nodded in agreement as well.
"Tsk, alright!"
Clicking his tongue, Chu Chengzhou summoned the Fire Phoenix summon again.
The Phoenix Flame burned fiercely, and the piece of spirit-refined Blue Coppertite Xiao Wu blood-sacrificed soon melted into scorching copper liquid in the crucible.
Armor structure was much more complex than a hammer, but this posed no difficulty for Master Chu.
According to the previously measured dimensions of Xiao Wu's body, under Chu Chengzhou's soul power guidance and control, the scorching copper liquid gradually gathered into a high-temperature orange-red armor.
Subsequently, following the same method, not long after, the forging platform held another armor and a bow.
After cooling down, the armor and bow, free of their original orange-red color, turned into two magnificent sets of bluish-gold armor and a four-foot-five-inch-long, flame-patterned red bow body.
Notably, Chu Chengzhou specially added a rabbit pattern to the front chest of Xiao Wu's armor.
"Brother, what name should I give this armor?"
Fondling the bluish-gold armor that seemed to be connected to her bloodline, Xiao Wu looked at Chu Chengzhou.
"You decide, it's just a name, doesn't matter. Even calling it Rabbit Armor is fine."
Waving his hand, Chu Chengzhou didn't care about it.
Xiao Wu: "…"
"Xiao Wu, since you like rabbits so much, why don't we call it Azure Rabbit Armor!"
Glancing at the rabbit pattern on the armor, Ning Rongrong suggested with a smile.
"That sounds terrible, think of a better name for me!"
Glaring at Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu said irritably.
All four of them examined the spirit-refined Blue Coppertite armor but couldn't come up with a suitable name for a while.
Ultimately, it was Chu Chengzhou's suggestion of 'Azure Cloud Patterned Armor' that barely gained unanimous approval.
Subsequently, Xiao Wu's hand glowed with soul power, and the Azure Cloud Patterned Armor crafted from spirit-refined Blue Coppertite was drawn into her body.
The next second, with a flash of blue light, Xiao Wu, who was originally wearing a pink princess dress and knee-length pink socks, instantly adorned herself with a magnificent set of bluish-gold cloud-patterned armor.
"Whoa~, it really can be worn instantly?!"
Looking at her sister's heroic appearance, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but exclaim.
"How does it look?"
Spinning twice on the spot and striking a pose, Xiao Wu happily asked her two sisters.
"Cool!"
Thumbs up, Ning Rongrong praised generously.
"Xiao Wu, how strong is the defense of this armor?"
Compared to the magnificent appearance of the Azure Cloud Patterned Armor, Zhu Zhuqing was more concerned about its practicality.
"I'm not sure. Brother, how strong is the defense of my Azure Cloud Patterned Armor?"
Xiao Wu quickly asked Chu Chengzhou.
"For soul masters below level 60, few should be able to break through its defense. But since we haven't tested it, I can't say for sure.
Besides, this Azure Cloud Patterned Armor is made from spirit-refined Blue Coppertite. Defense is its primary function, but not the only one; it can also enhance your soul power."
If he were solely pursuing defensive capabilities, he wouldn't choose Blue Coppertite to craft spirit-refined armor but would instead opt for lightweight and sturdy Cloud Titanium.
Cloud Titanium, a rare metal, has a density lower than ordinary iron but ranks among the top in terms of sturdiness among rare metals. An armor weighing the same hundred pounds would have several times the defensive capability of Blue Coppertite.
What Chu Chengzhou valued was the soul power enhancement effect of Blue Coppertite.
Donning the other set of armor and activating his fingertip soul power, Chu Chengzhou clearly felt that his soul power was boosted by about 50% under the enhancement of the Azure Cloud Patterned Heavy Armor.
A 50% boost may seem significant, but compared to the spirit-refined battle armor of the future, it still fell short.
After all, possessing spirit-refined battle armor, or two-word battle armor, a six-ring Soul Emperor could rival an eight-ring Soul Douluo, bridging two major levels.
It could only be said that spirit-refined metal engraved with soul-guiding arrays far surpassed the material properties of spirit-refined metal itself.
Of course, this Azure Cloud Patterned Armor actually had another advantage, though Chu Chengzhou didn't mention it.
Remember, in the original story, Xiao Wu's fighting style involved close-range attacks, often using her long legs clad in white stockings to hook opponents' necks for suplexes.
Chu Chengzhou naturally didn't approve of this fighting style.
But with the Azure Cloud Patterned Armor covering her entire body except for the head, the situation was vastly different.
"Soul power enhancement? It feels like it enhanced by about 40%."
Activating her soul power and carefully feeling it, Xiao Wu said uncertainly.
"Enhance soul power by 40%?"
Instantly, Ning Rongrong widened her eyes.
Keep in mind, a 40% soul power attribute enhancement matched the amplification ratio of a three-ring level Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Tower soul master.
And barring any accidents, this soul power attribute enhancement effect should be stackable with the attribute enhancement soul skill effect of her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Tower.
If on the basis of this Azure Cloud Patterned Armor, coupled with the assistance of a Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Tower Soul Sage, wouldn't Xiao Wu's soul power attributes directly increase by 120%, reaching 220% of the original?
Or even the 80% amplified attributes could see a 40% increase, totaling 252%?
Thinking along these lines, Ning Rongrong looked ardently at Chu Chengzhou.
If her Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa could have such formidable armor, wouldn't the two grandpas be able to defeat even stronger opponents?
The variance in soul power enhancement ratios didn't come as a big surprise to Chu Chengzhou.
Energy is conserved, and the Azure Cloud Patterned Armor was an inanimate object. He was a three-ring Soul Elder, and Xiao Wu was a four-ring Soul Ancestor, so naturally, the specific enhancement effects would differ.
Of course, this might also relate to the amount of material used in the two sets of Azure Cloud Patterned Armor.
Moreover, the pure metal armor's defense strength was directly related to the amount of material used. Thicker armor naturally offered greater defense.
If it were as thin as a cicada's wing, forget piercing it, it surely wouldn't serve much purpose.
"Uh, Rongrong, why are you looking at me like that?"
Suddenly, Chu Chengzhou noticed Ning Rongrong's fervent gaze.
Ning Rongrong didn't speak, only staring at him with blazing eyes.
Ask Chu Chengzhou for spirit-refined armor?
No good, I have pride and can't ask for it outright, otherwise, that scoundrel Chu would certainly push his luck, taking advantage inch by inch, and who knows, after the first and second kisses, maybe even the third kiss would be lost.
However, not asking outright didn't mean there was no way to express her intentions.
I've already made it this obvious, scoundrel Chu, did you see it? If you saw it, hurry up and offer it to me!
"Want it?"
Stroking his chin, Chu Chengzhou smiled and asked.
Previously, having taken the little devil's first kiss and seeing her not particularly angry, it showed that his progress in courting the little devil was quite satisfactory.
Presumably, after a few more advances, in a few years when she reaches sixteen or seventeen, if they consummate their relationship, his position as the son-in-law of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect would pretty much be secured.
At this moment, Ning Rongrong, in his eyes, was already half his own person. Spirit-Refined armor? No big deal.
On the other hand, the progress with Big Cat was somewhat low, currently only at friendship. He must work hard to elevate this friendship into love.
"Mhm mhm!"
Ning Rongrong nodded excitedly.
"What about you, Zhuqing?"
Chu Chengzhou then turned to Zhu Zhuqing.
"This seems inappropriate"
Although she desired it inwardly—after all, spirit-refined armor had exceedingly strong defense and could be stored inside the body to wear anytime, undoubtedly greatly enhancing her own strength—but accepting without merit was wrong. Chu Chengzhou wasn't her boyfriend, and Zhu Zhuqing felt awkward accepting such a generous gift.
"No problem, it won't take much effort. Rongrong, go to the Seven Treasures Commerce Guild to get a hundred pounds of Cloud Titanium."
Waving his hand, Chu Chengzhou instructed Ning Rongrong.
The inherent property of the rare metal Blue Coppertite was to enhance soul power, which was decent for soul masters of any attribute.
But the problem was that armor made from spirit-refined Blue Coppertite was heavy. Even if the weight was reduced, it would still be above fifty pounds.
Such weight, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing weren't incapable of carrying, but carrying and enduring it for extended periods were two different things.
Excessive armor weight would severely impact their flexibility. Thus, Chu Chengzhou decided not to use Blue Coppertite but instead opted for lightweight and sturdy Cloud Titanium.
Even two sets of armor wouldn't need a hundred pounds; each set could weigh around twenty to thirty pounds.
Hmm, Big Cat's set needed a bit more weight. Since she was taller than Ning Rongrong and had a larger bust, her body surface area was considerably larger, naturally requiring more material for crafting the armor.
"A hundred pounds? Won't that be insufficient?"
Ning Rongrong blinked, considering Chu Scoundrel's intention to craft a set of spirit-refined armor for her and her sister Zhu Zhuqing. Even disregarding the impurities of the raw metal, splitting a hundred pounds in half left only fifty pounds.
Compared to Xiao Wu's Azure Cloud Patterned Armor, the weight was reduced by half.
"Cloud Titanium is a very light metal. And do you think you can handle how heavy an armor should be?"
Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes.
Instantly, Ning Rongrong's face stiffened.
True, with her current petite build, fifty pounds, no, thirty pounds would already leave her exhausted.
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