Chapter 438
The meaning behind this strike...
They turned to look at the judging panel.
“Not bad, you’ve certainly learned the basics, but the next step...”
Du Wufeng murmured to himself, his eyes glimmering with excitement.
Li Mo closed his eyes, yet the flames, the hammer, and the metal danced vividly in his mind, crystal clear.
This was the feeling of holding forty in his hands.
Just swing the hammer; it felt as if divine assistance guided him—this was talent.
Perhaps when Xiao Jiang wielded her sword, she experienced this same sensation while contemplating martial arts...
“Why am I just a hammer?!”
Little Li’s strikes came down one after another.
The onlookers couldn’t help but swallow hard.
The Divine Hammer Little Overlord truly lived up to his name.
If forging iron could ignite such fervor, what would it be like to strike a person?
Moreover, it wasn’t just the impressive display; what was even more astonishing was his technique.
The host, completely out of his depth, handed the floor over to Du Wufeng.
The master craftsman explained:
“What Li Mo is doing now is called the clamping steel method, also known as the Three Elements Fusion.”
“The Three Elements Fusion involves three different types of metals, each with its own strengths, to create the skin iron, core iron, and blade edge, allowing the weapon to be both resilient and sharp.”
“Not only that, after bringing the metals together, he’s also twisting and repeatedly forging them.”
“The final quality of the weapon depends on how many layers he can twist and stack.”
“This is a tremendous test of a craftsman’s skill! At first, one only needs to understand the properties of the metals, but to truly fuse three materials into one requires harmonizing the spirits of the iron!”
“That’s why the masterpiece I forged earlier displayed dragon scale patterns!”
---
Chapter 487: Merging Weapons, You Within Me, I Within You
The clamor of the outside world faded away, leaving only Li Mo’s focused mind.
As the iron materials fused, he could hear the delicate sounds they made, see every vein within, smell the mingling of steel and fire, and understand every texture.
It was as if the various metals were no longer lifeless, but vibrant entities.
Indeed, after learning Du Wufeng’s techniques, his mastery of the Divine Treasure Refinement had reached new heights.
He understood the spirits of a hundred weapons.
He was becoming proficient!
Ten strikes in a breath!
Twenty strikes in a breath!
Thirty strikes in a breath!
The Eight-Nine Profound Art operated silently, supporting his body, allowing the number of strikes in the Divine Treasure Refinement to soar.
The hammer in his hand became a blur.
Yet, the materials he held were not ‘Divine Treasures’; they were common iron, some slightly better, but still born from the mundane.
Enduring such high numbers of strikes was pushing it, but...
“Ice Chunk!”
Li Mo struck the iron blank, sending the glowing hot metal flying before the Ice Chunk.
The bone-chilling cold of the Taiyin enveloped it, creating ripples in the void.
Gasps of astonishment echoed throughout the venue.
Du Wufeng’s eyes widened: “He’s actually using this method... to quench it? And it works, it really works...”
“Master Du, could you elaborate?”
“Quenching is the process of rapidly cooling a hot weapon blank to enhance its quality.”
“Typically, quenching involves using special cold spring water or specially formulated oils, but he’s using the power of the Cold Fairy!”
To be precise, it was the Taiyin power of the Cold Fairy...
Clearly, the quenching effect of the Taiyin power was beyond imagination!
“Ice Sister, that’s enough.”
Princess Xiao Jiang controlled the quenching process and spoke at the right moment.
“Tempering!”
As the Taiyin power dissipated, Li Mo grabbed the iron blank and tossed it back into the furnace for reheating.
After heating, he repeated the high-intensity forging, twisting, stacking, and then quenching and tempering.
The iron blank was heated and cooled repeatedly, its brilliance growing brighter, its patterns becoming more vibrant.
“Good lad, he actually thought of this method!”
Du Wufeng clapped his hands heavily, nearly breaking the table.
“...”
Among the contestants were many skilled craftsmen, but they all fell into deep thought.
They had all honed their skills through hard work, yet never considered that weapon forging could be done this way.
Is hard work truly worthless in the face of talent?
Could he really be a genius in weapon forging?
“This must be a fine sword...”
Jiang Chulong said earnestly, her eyes filled with hope.
“Is this sword forged for Chulong, or for me?”
Ying Bing was pondering when she suddenly noticed the patterns gradually emerging on the sword, resembling wild grass that thrived endlessly, causing her to bite her lip.
Clearly, it was not a mere imitation of the Moon’s Shadow, nor did it bear any relation.
The Moon’s Shadow emitted a resonance that only the weapon’s master could perceive.
Little Yue was a bit puzzled:
“I already have one, why is there such a fixation on a fine weapon?”
Ying Bing lowered her gaze, her expression impassive as she continued to temper the fire.
Before long, a long sword adorned with wild grass patterns, simple yet hiding sharpness, was born. To ensure a comfortable grip, Li Mo even crafted the hilt from a peach branch.
As the sword took shape, its extraordinary nature was evident.
Li Mo wiped the long sword clean and handed it to the eagerly awaiting Princess Xiao Jiang.
【Congratulations, host! You have successfully invested in ‘Jiang Chulong,’ creating a top-quality weapon.】
【You have a pending investment feedback to collect.】
“Familiarize yourself with it for a while; we’ll present it to the judges later.”
“Okay!”
Princess Xiao Jiang’s eyes sparkled with joy, her excitement shining through even behind her sunglasses!
She could feel something within her resonating with the sword; as soon as she held it, she felt a bloodline connection.
This was a remnant weapon, forged from common iron, materials that others deemed trash, yet it had become a fine weapon.
Trash can also shine anew...
Princess Xiao Jiang stared blankly at the sword, then reluctantly placed it on the cloth, ready to send it to the judging panel later.
“...Is this really a fine weapon?”
Princess Yuyang stared at the sword for a moment.
She noticed that the Crown Prince was also fixated on the sword, or rather, on Jiang Chulong, who had just picked it up, revealing a hint of disbelief.
“The sword’s essence... was clearly with me... it’s impossible... absolutely impossible...”
Princess Yuyang asked in confusion, “Crown Prince, what are you talking about?”
“Nothing.”
Jiang Yu quickly concealed his emotional turmoil, though his face bore a barely perceptible pallor.
Among the many blacksmiths, Li Mo was the first to complete his work.
But before the host could approach for an interview...
After taking some breathing and energy-replenishing pills, Li Mo picked up the hammer again, his gaze even brighter than before.
Unlike the other craftsmen.
He was preparing to forge a second sword.
And...
“The Eight-Nine Profound Art might just break through its limits today.”
Li Mo exhaled a breath of scorching air.
He began to repeat the previous process, refining pure iron, continuously stacking and forging, quenching and tempering.
“Is he really going to make another sword of the same kind?”
“What’s the point? Isn’t that a waste of effort? The final score will only take the highest quality one.”
“He’s naturally forging for the Cold Fairy!”
“What a pity; if he focused all his energy on one sword, he might reach the level of Master Du.”
“No, the materials for this weapon are clearly insufficient; at most, he’ll forge a dagger.”
At this moment, aside from the top talents on the Potential Dragon List, few spectators were still paying attention to the other blacksmiths.
Those who didn’t understand the situation thought Li Mo was overly ambitious, attempting to forge swords for two people in one forging competition; they were truly baffled.
The craftsmen lamented the waste.
The forging competition had a time limit; within the same timeframe, pouring all efforts into one sword would surely yield a higher quality.
What was the point of two identical swords?
Moreover, with insufficient materials, the second sword might not even match the first.
“Ice Chunk, let’s merge!”
Suddenly, as Li Mo stacked the sword blank over a thousand times, the Taiyin divine intent behind him surged forth.
Ying Bing was taken aback.
She didn’t know what Li Mo was planning.
But before her doubts could settle, the Taiyin spirit was released as well.
The merging of their divine intents happened in an instant.
At that moment, Li Mo understood the essence of the Moon’s Shadow.
Ying Bing could see the unformed spirit within the sword blank, and also...
His vague thoughts.
She stared at Li Mo, the figure wielding the glowing red forging hammer, surrounded by flames, entering her vision and causing her icy demeanor to ripple.
“I understand now...”
“Law of Heaven and Earth!”
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