Tang Wulin was serious in his forging and was not the least bit affected by the life granted to the metal on the other side. Every strike he made with the Heavy Silver Hammers contained his focus and with it brought out the life in the metal.
He was in no hurry. He was communicating with the Blue Coppertite as he slowly brought out the life within it, bit by bit. Instead of pushing it too hard, he allowed it to awaken by its own volition.
Ten minutes passed. Then, thirty minutes passed. He had used up twice the amount of time compared to his opponent. Finally, the Blue Coppertite before him began to glow with a gentle light.
A revolving spiral pattern could be seen on the block of metal but it was not present on every facet. There was only that single pattern on the front. As the spiral pattern slowly surfaced, the clear and translucent blue it gave off seemed to contain no impurities, giving off a refreshing feeling. The metal showed no sign of being artificially condition, it was full of life.
‘This is?’
After Lin Yuhan finished forging, she had been watching Tang Wulin forge intently. From what Tang Wulin had demonstrated earlier, she could tell that he was a formidable opponent. Of course, she did not think that Tang Wulin could win against her, especially in this competition. He had used twice the amount of time compared to her. Even if he managed to complete Spirit Forging in the end, the quality of his metal would certainly not be as good as hers. Moreover, his marks would be severely deducted since he took this long. With so many people looking at them, it was not possible that he would act shamelessly.
However, when she saw Tang Wulin’s display of ability before her, her heart shook silently. If she was imbuing life through Spirit Forging, then Tang Wulin was currently summoning life.
He did not directly imbue life into the Blue Coppertite by means of infusing his soul power into it through forging. Instead, he used the tiny bit of energy present during the Thousand Refining process to slowly awaken the Blue Coppertite.
There were many ways to go about Spirit Forging. The method he was using right now was one of the most difficult ones. However, when a metal was Spirit Forged through this method, it would have the most vigorous amount of energy and with that, it would obtain the highest amount of intelligence. However, this method required the support of formidable soul power. The blacksmith would have to continuously infuse the Spirit Forged metal with life energy.
Their martial soul would have to be something related to life energy or they would not be capable of performing such a feat. Most soul masters would be unable to do this unless they were willing to expend their own life energy.
Naturally, if Lin Yuhan managed to notice this fact, Changgong Yan would have noticed it as well. His brows were tightly knitted as he observed Tang Wulin forge. The method chosen by Tang Wulin was significantly more difficult, so it would be quite difficult for him to succeed. He only had a cultivation base of three rings, could he endure it?
However, they quickly noticed that Tang Wulin’s soul power seemed to be extraordinarily vigorous, and was ceaseless as he continued pushing forward. His forging was not even the least bit affected.
After ninety minutes had passed, Tang Wulin’s hammers finally struck downward in a quick motion. When he drew his breath, a clear and excited buzz resounded from within the Blue Coppertite. It was the sound of joy, like the one made by a child who had just woken up. The intense life energy then turned into a bluish glow and entered Tang Wulin’s body.
Life Feedback!
Creation Spirit Forging!
These were the unique properties only attainable by those with the highest-level Spirit Forging!
‘Has his Spirit Forging attained such heights already?’
Cheers and whistles filled the entire lobby in an instant. A faint smile also appeared on Tang Wulin’s face.
Although his soul power was still some ways away from rank-40 after cultivating for such a long time, he had the advantage of being endowed with a formidable amount of soul power and endurance. This was possible since he was under the influence of the Mysterious Heaven Method and his own bloodline. Combined, these things afforded him an especially profound understanding of life.
He had not spent his contribution points in the special cultivation venue in vain. Every single day he was there, he would feel the life force contained within the flora, giving him a deeper understanding of it. He incorporated all of it into his own cultivation and his forging as well, leading to the leaps and bounds he made in his forging.
The success rate he had with his Spirit Forging far exceeded most rank-5 blacksmith. He had also achieved the coveted Creation Spirit Forging.
Although he took quite some time, the quality of his product was different compared to his opponent. Creation Spirit Forged metals could still be modified. However, it would not be able to undergo Soul Forging since it was not completed in one go, but it could still be fuse forged. This alone made the value of his Creation Spirit Forged metal far exceed the value of a regular Spirit Forged metal.
The gentle buzz continued for thirty seconds before it slowly subsided. Although this Spirit Forged Blue Coppertite was not as dazzling as Lin Yuhan’s, it was slightly transparent and had a rhythmic flicker of lights within it. It was moving, like the still-beating heart of a human.
Lin Yuhan’s mouth was agape. Although there was still dissatisfaction within her eyes, she held her tongue.
Zhen Hua smiled, walked to Tang Wulin’s side, and picked up the Spirit Forged Blue Coppertite.
“Not bad, you’ve improved.”
Tang Wulin grinned, then he sat down cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes and rested his spirit. Continuously forging for more than an hour had taken a great toll on his spiritual and soul power.
“Brother Changgong, how should we judge this?” Zhen Hua asked Changgong Yan.
Changgong Yan replied matter-of-factly, “They’re of different levels. You guys win this round.” His gaze was somewhat dismal. He had been so confident of winning this round, but the opposite happened.
Just as he had said, both of the forged metals were on different levels. Both went through the Spirit Forging process, but imbuing life and nurturing life were vastly different things. Creation Spirit Forging was the highest level one could hope to achieve in Spirit Forging a metal. Heck, even he could not achieve Creation Spirit Forging, let alone Lin Yuhan. This was not because of one’s cultivation base or forging abilities. Instead, it was a matter of the characteristics one’s martial soul possessed. If one’s martial soul did not possess the ability to create life, it would be impossible for one to achieve the highest level of Spirit Forging.
However, Zhen Hua shook his head and said. “No, it’s we who have lost. Although Tang Wulin’s Spirit Forging quality is superior, your disciple used significantly less time to finish her Spirit Forging. To top it off, the lightning she infused bestowed a special property into her Spirit Forged metal. It’s certainly superior to a regular fuse forged metal. If we judge efficiency, it would be difficult for it to surpass the practical functionality of your disciple’s metal unless Tang Wulin can find a Spirit Forged metal of similar quality with this Blue Coppertite to carry out fuse forging. He also used up three times as much time. To judge fairly, Wulin’s performance was slightly inferior.”
Changgong Yan was astonished. “But Yuhan had the advantage of her hammers in forging Blue Coppertite.”
Zhen Hua smiled. “Each side was given the chance to pick a metal, it’s only natural to pick one that’s favorable to one’s side. I believe Wulin would make such a choice in the second round as well. You’ve won the first round. The second round will commence after ten minutes. Let’s get ready.”
Changgong Yan’s eyes lit up. Now, his gaze towards Zhen Hua was no longer as sharp as it was before. Zhen Hua had already given him much face. The world of forging has its own set of rules when judging the refinement effects in metals. Even if Lin Yuhan’s Spirit Forged metal was superior in its practical functions, the results were still on vastly different levels. Strictly speaking, she would not have won no matter what.
However, since Zhen Hua had put it that way, he did not refute him. He wanted to win the first round too badly.
Also, Zhen Hua said that both parties would only take a ten-minute break. Tang Wulin had undoubtedly expended more energy during the forging process earlier. How much soul and spiritual power could he recover in a mere ten minutes? Even if he picked a metal he was familiar with in the second round, the results would still be the same. He would not be at much of an advantage, and the difference in soul power might result in some complications in the refinement of the second metal. Yuhan’s would still have a significant chance of winning.
Although he knew that the other party was unwilling to gain an advantage by unfair means, Changgong Yan was still secretly impressed with Zhen Hua. As expected of the Blacksmith’s Association’s president, he was truly generous.
Ten minutes later, the second round began.
“I choose Heavy Silver.” Tang Wulin made the decision without hesitation. He did not, as Lin Yuhan and Changgong Yan imagined, pick a high-quality rare metal. Instead, he picked the ordinary Heavy Silver.
The unique properties of Heavy Silver were simple, and it was the most commonly used metal each blacksmith would use when they began their blacksmithing journey. Nobody was unfamiliar with Heavy Silver. ‘He picked Heavy Silver… Was it to make it easier for him to Spirit Forge?’
‘It’s impossible for him to achieve another Creation Spirit Forging in this round!’ Lin Yuhan thought to herself. It was extremely difficult to achieve Creation Spirit Forging. The immense toll it took on one’s spiritual soul powers were great. Unless he had achieved the level of a Saint Craftsman, it would otherwise be impossible for him to achieve two consecutive Creation Spirit Forged metals.
The Heavy Silver burned as Lin Yuhan stared silently at the teenage boy before her. Tang Wulin noticed her gaze and flashed a smile at her.
His smile was warm and clean. Lin Yuhan’s heart stirred ever so slightly, and she immediately lowered her head. They were about to start forging soon, she could not allow her emotions to be swayed in any way. For a blacksmith, their focus was of utmost importance.
The calcination ended, and the two blocks of Heavy Silver rose slowly.
Lin Yuhan drew a deep breath. Like before, her left hammer struck the metal silently. ‘Heavy Silver?’ It would not be a problem for her to Spirit Forge this. More than anything, she wanted to see if he could successfully Spirit Forge.
“Boom!”
Her left hammer had barely touched the Heavy Silver when a roar was heard from the opposite side.