Chapter 432
With a grand wave of his hand, Du Wufeng led the way outside the main hall.
He took a deep drag from his smoking pipe, exhaling a plume of scorching breath that reignited the extinguished furnace.
“This fire seems rather unusual.”
Li Mo’s eyes flickered.
“Many craftsmen have their own sparks. This is the Fallen Star Flame, collected through countless hardships. Open your eyes, kid.”
“Fallen Star Flame?”
A jolt ran through Li Mo’s DNA; the name sounded oddly familiar.
If that’s the case, could his karmic fire be used to forge weapons?
Well, it seemed not just yet. To reach the level of weapon forging, one must connect the inner and outer worlds, reflecting the visions in one’s heart to ensure the karmic fire reaches the right temperature.
“Come on, let me see just how extraordinary you are.”
At that moment, Du Wufeng’s voice rang out again.
Li Mo nodded, shedding his pure Yang robe and handing it to Bing Tuozi.
His strong, lean body was exposed to the furnace flames, resembling a glowing masterpiece.
“Hmm? This kid…”
Du Wufeng, Huo Bingzi, and the other craftsmen couldn’t help but brighten their eyes.
Those in the know could see that this kid not only had a physique that surpassed the peak for his age, but his training methods were also related to weaponry.
“He must be honing himself as if he were a weapon. Anyone who dares to take that path is a tough one.”
Huo Bingzi clicked his tongue in amazement.
Xie Xuan began mentally grading Li Mo’s physique.
In a normal competition, this would probably be one of the first rounds showcasing physical prowess, right?
But no one knew if the competition would proceed normally, as there were always craftsmen who strayed from the path, seeking ways to use forbidden substances.
“Master, what do you think of him…”
Xie Xuan was about to ask Du Wufeng, only to find the master craftsman lost in thought, staring intently at Li Mo.
To be precise, he was looking at the hammer in Li Mo’s hand.
“Master, what’s going on?”
“It’s that… no, it seems it’s not… it should be a divine weapon.”
Du Wufeng suddenly snapped out of his reverie, muttering to himself:
“But this hammer is clearly identical to the Panjie Meteorite wielded by the Heavenly Craftsman. Even a replica couldn’t capture the divine essence carved from the same mold…”
Just then, the furnace roared to life, and a massive cauldron crashed to the ground.
Du Wufeng was stunned again.
This weapon-forging cauldron was no less impressive than his own. Who exactly is this kid?
And it didn’t end there.
There was also that anvil, radiating an aura that was clearly of the same origin as his Fallen Star Flame!
Now wasn’t the time to ask questions, but Du Wufeng was indeed curious.
What kind of weapon could this kid forge with tools that even seasoned craftsmen couldn’t gather?
At this moment, Li Mo’s expression turned serious:
“Heat the oil!”
“?”
---
**Chapter 480: Li Mo’s Way of Relieving Stress**
It was noon, with three suns hanging high in the sky, and the bright, surging flames of the sword furnace seemed to dance in harmony with them.
Li Mo stood before the flames, taking a deep breath.
The temperature of the black sha wood oil was just right; the Fallen Star Flame seemed to burn hotter than the earth’s flowing fire and was even harder to control.
Next, he smoothly tossed in the ore, the fire roaring as he hammered away at the impurities.
Everyone had thought the path of the Divine Hammer Little Overlord might be a bit wild, but no one expected it to be this wild.
Are you a craftsman or a chef?
“But the results seem… pretty good?”
Huo Bingzi noticed the change in the materials, his eyes lighting up with interest.
“Interesting. Hey, this kid, I underestimated him.”
Du Wufeng’s face was filled with excitement, as if he had stumbled upon something novel and entertaining.
“…”
The apprentices at the sword furnace wore strange expressions, suddenly gripped by an ominous premonition.
They wouldn’t have to study culinary arts for a few more years, would they?
“Turn up the heat!”
At this point, Li Mo’s raw materials had been stripped of impurities, shining brightly.
The heated metal was folded, and then he raised the hammer to forge.
Clang—
With that strike, he combined his masterful hammer technique with the enhancement of the divine essence!
Before anyone could praise him, in the blink of an eye, nine more strikes fell, each precise to the tiniest detail, the force synchronized with his breath, showing no subtle differences—he was like a relentless forging machine.
Ten strikes in a breath, divine essence refined!
His hammer technique was divine, forging both weapons and himself!
The Eight-Nine Profound Art also began to show its first signs of progress, taking its first step toward becoming indestructible!
“Beautiful!”
“Great hammer technique!”
If the earlier unconventional method of stir-frying steel had merely intrigued everyone, this hammering technique for forging the sword blank was truly breathtaking.
Even Du Wufeng held his breath, revealing a serious expression.
Clang!!
The hammer fell like a cloak, sparks flying, the force reverberating in all directions.
Li Mo realized that he was now able to strike ten times in a breath with even greater ease than before, but he wasn’t trying to manipulate the heavens and the earth; he was simply increasing the number of forges with divine essence.
Twelve strikes in a breath!
He was still using the Seven Fixed Universe hammer technique, and the sensitivity of the Extreme Weapon Body to the sharpness of the weapon’s killing intent allowed him to precisely control the state of the weapon blank.
“No wonder his swordsmanship is just a hobby. No wonder he’s called… the Divine Hammer Little Overlord.”
Xie Xuan had previously speculated that Li Mo might possess a divine weapon-level hammer.
But now he changed his mind; Li Mo’s hammer technique truly deserved the title of ‘Divine Hammer’!
“If I were to face him…”
Xie Xuan shook his head, realizing that his swordsmanship seemed almost illusory.
The premise of swordplay is that the opponent must engage with you, but how can you engage with a hammer? This is simplifying complexity, using strength to overcome skill.
Using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, employing strength to overcome skill—these are all the subtleties of martial arts, with no superiority or inferiority, just different paths.
He realized that aside from summoning his ancestral wooden sword, he had no other way to respond.
“Could it be that this kid learned to forge iron in the womb?”
Huo Bingzi felt somewhat defeated.
Li Mo had already laid a solid foundation to become a master craftsman; all he lacked was experience and accumulation.
“At least in the Southern Wilderness, Brother Li wouldn’t have known the art of weapon forging.”
Zhong Zhenyue affirmed.
“So, he’s only been learning for a few months?”
“Less than two months.”
Ying Bing looked at the young man immersed in the flames, forging steel, and a flicker of warmth broke through her calm gaze.
In her previous life, during the Qianlong Conference, she had only wielded a mundane weapon.
Now, someone was preparing the weapon she would one day hold, striking the hammer with all his might, time and again.
Clang—
The sound of the hammer was heavy yet crisp.
“Almost there.”
Li Mo began to slow his hammering rhythm.
He wanted to continue using divine essence to enhance the Eight-Nine Profound Art, but while he could endure it, the materials he was forging might not.
After hundreds of layers of stacking, this piece of purple copper had reached its limit.
“Take it out and plate it!”
“…”
Du Wufeng didn’t hesitate over the strange steps; he reached out and inhaled, the Fallen Star Flame enveloping the purple copper into his palm.
“The purple copper has been forged to near perfection.”
Purple copper is often used by apprentices as a practice material, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple; it contains a lot of impurities.
By assessing the remaining impurities, one can gauge the level of skill.
But to achieve this level after just two months of forging, Du Wufeng had never seen or even heard of such a thing.
This kid is a natural-born blacksmith!
“You can indeed forge a fine sword for her. No wonder she’s been so eager for you to forge one…”
Du Wufeng’s expression turned regretful, and he blinked, saying:
“However, since you’ve only recently started on the path of weapon forging, you might not have complete confidence in crafting a renowned piece. Have you really considered…”
“A mundane weapon would be fine.”
Ying Bing looked at Li Mo, her cold eyes softening like a furnace that had yet to extinguish, captivatingly beautiful.
“Being able to forge a renowned piece is naturally the best, so…”
Li Mo cleared his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed as he asked:
“Could I borrow your Fallen Star Flame for a couple of days?”
“?”
You little rascal, you’re trying to take advantage of me.
“I’ll teach you how to stir-fry steel.”
“Just two hours a day.”
Du Wufeng reluctantly agreed.
Then, once they returned to the inner courtyard of the sword furnace, he confiscated Huo Bingzi’s “The Overbearing Empress Fell in Love with Me,” citing a loss of ambition, and decided to start reading it from today.
This book seemed genuinely useful.
Thus, for the next two days, every time Li Mo came to the sword furnace, he would see the old man engrossed in a sketchbook, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Table of Contents
