Chapter 27: Terrifying Power, One of the Thousand Forgings? No!
"Teacher, it's really you."
"What a coincidence! I thought you were back at the Blacksmith Association."
Na'er forced a smile at the figure behind her, staring intently at her. But no matter how she looked at it, she felt a sense of hardship.
"Huh? Just because the teacher's not around, you can slack off? Na'er, look at Xiaoxiu, and then look at you. You're the worst class I've ever taught."
The figure glared and scolded, but more than that, there was a hint of resentment at their lack of fighting spirit.
The figure wore a plain white robe, streaked with luxurious golden lines. Nine strange symbols adorned his shoulders. He was thin, his cheeks devoid of flesh, but his eyes sparkled with a brilliance, giving him the air of an immortal.
He was none other than Zhenhua, the continent's only remaining ninth-level master craftsman, Master Jiang Xiu's best friend, and the president of the continent's Blacksmith Association!
Three years ago, Mu Ye coerced him into Shrek City, and he set aside time every month to teach Jiang Xiu and Na'er forging skills.
"Teacher, Na'er's progress is a little slow, but she's still okay. I'll help her privately,"
Jiang Xiu said with a faint smile. He stepped forward and bowed, his tall figure slightly shielding Na'er behind him.
"Master, you're still the best."
Na'er ducked her head, hiding behind Jiang Xiu like a quail.
"Just pamper her,"
Zhenhua said, smiling helplessly. Na'er's forging progress was a little slow, but she still possessed talent far beyond anything he'd seen in her peers.
"Xiao Xiu, are you ready? Today is the day for you to test whether you can break the continent's record,"
Zhenhua said, a subtle flicker of relief in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Xiu.
"Teacher, I'm ready,"
Jiang Xiu said, his expression straightening with a slight nod.
"Well, then, follow me."
Zhenhua's eyes flickered, and he was the first to walk towards a large room. Above it, three large characters were emblazoned: "Forge."
Over the past four years, the entire compound had been fully utilized by Muye, undergoing a complete renovation from the inside out.
Upon entering the forge, a rich metallic scent washed over him. In the center of the spacious room stood a heavy metal forging table, still faintly covered in iron filings.
"Come here, this is a piece of Deep Sea Silver. Forge it once, once more than a thousand times, and I will award you the Fourth-Level Master Blacksmith Badge."
Zhenhua approached the forging table. A flash of blue light flashed in his hand, and a piece of rare, deep blue metal, half the size of a basketball, was placed on the table. Ripples formed on it, resembling the surface of the ocean, emitting a blue glow.
Jiang Xiu's violet eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the deep-sea silver. His slender hand caressed the storage soul guide in his left hand, and the next moment, two massive, textured dark-gold hammers appeared in his hands.
These hammers were the Kanjin Hammers, forged and named by Jiang Xiu himself two and a half years ago. Each hammer weighed nearly 400 kilograms, yet in Jiang Xiu's hands, they seemed weightless, effortlessly grasped.
"Come on, Jiang Xiu! I believe in you!"
Na'er, standing to the side, clenched her fists, cheered Jiang Xiu on.
"When you're ready, let's begin!"
Zhenhua observed Jiang Xiu, seeing him adjust his posture, and then spoke, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
He possessed supreme forging skills, yet no one could inherit his legacy. However, in Jiang Xiu, he saw hope of surpassing even the legendary master craftsman…
As Zhenhua finished speaking, Jiang Xiu took a deep breath. The massive Golden Hammer danced up and down in his hands, like two ferocious golden dragons, tearing directly into the deep-sea silver.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A series of crisp metallic clashes echoed, sparkling with dazzling fireworks. Layer upon layer of golden hammer shadows, like a sealed wind wall, bombarded the deep-sea silver. Under the blows of the Golden Hammer, the ripple-like patterns on the deep-sea silver instantly undulated, constantly shifting back and forth, forming unique metallic lines.
Zhenhua watched the scene before him, his palm stroking his long beard, his gaze fixed on the forging table.
Deep Sea Phantom Silver, a rare metal, is extremely difficult to forge. This is primarily due to its unique internal and external structure. Before the Thousand Forging Compression, it's constantly changing. A single misstep can render the entire metal useless.
Reaching the Second Grade by the Thousand Forging stage is almost as difficult as achieving the First Grade of Thousand Forging for ordinary rare metals. However, Zhenhua's current target for Jiang Xiu is to forge this metal to the First Grade of Thousand Forging.
Thousand Forging doesn't simply involve a thousand blows; it involves continuous forging to remove all impurities from the metal and increase its density. The most significant benefit of Thousand Forging is its sublimation.
"Still speeding up? How presumptuous! But Master likes it."
As Jiang Xiu hammered furiously, the Deep Sea Phantom Silver shrank, its internal impurities being continuously removed, and the metal's patterns transformed even more rapidly.
But Jiang Xiu's hammerfall didn't slow at all, instead accelerating even faster. Each blow struck the metal's shifting patterns with perfect precision, as if the deep-sea silver had long been understood by Jiang Xiu, constantly changing into his own form.
"Dang, dang, dang!"
At that moment, Jiang Xiu's eyes darkened, and the Kanjin Hammer in his hand suddenly seemed to ignite with a fierce fire. With each blow, three golden afterimages appeared, each strike more powerful than the last.
This was Jiang Xiu triggering the Kanjin Hammer's overlapping strike effect.
Time ticked by, and with Jiang Xiu's continued hammering, the deep-sea silver shrank to a quarter of its original size, its surface gradually brightening, a series of brilliant cloud patterns appearing.
Jiang Xiu's breathing synchronized with the metal. With each blow, a halo of light emanated from the deep-sea silver, then receded into the metal itself.
"Ding!"
With a humming sound, a six-foot-long golden light suddenly erupted from the deep-sea silver.
"Thousand Forgings have a spirit! Xiao Xiu did it!"
Zhenhua was instantly excited when he saw this scene. In the entire Douluo Continent, the record holder for the first level of Thousand Forgings was exactly eleven years, three months and two days old.
And this year, Jiang Xiu just turned ten and he broke the record of the entire continent again!
"No, why hasn't Xiao Xiu stopped yet!"
Just when Zhenhua was excited, he saw that the Kanjin Hammer in Jiang Xiu's hand was still raised and lowered, hitting the deep-sea silver rhythmically.
And with Jiang Xiu's blows, the sound emitted by the entire piece of deep-sea silver was no longer dull, but there was a faint sense of joy, as if welcoming a new life.
"This... is this a step towards the Grandmaster level?!"
Read 100+ Advanced Chapters At Pat Reon
[email protected]/OP PLUS
(End of this chapter)