The burning duration for meteoric iron was relatively easy to gauge.
Soon after, Gu You pressed a button, and the glowing red-hot chunk of meteoric iron was lifted up.
In the next instant, his eyes snapped open, and his hands gripped his pair of forging hammers.
Gu You extended both hammers evenly over the meteoric iron and began striking it.
But instead of hammering it down with full force as a typical blacksmith would, he kept the hammers hovering above the metal, relying solely on the subtle movements of his wrists to tap lightly and rhythmically against the iron.
What is soul forging? It's the act of imbuing metal with a soul. Simply put, you don't start by beating the metal senseless. If it gains consciousness while you're hitting it hard, it'll end up holding a grudge and its quality will suffer.
Spirit forging grants life and sentience; soul forging, on the other hand, cultivates true wisdom and personality in the metal.
To put it metaphorically, if you hurt a stone during forging and it gains a soul later, it won't have a good temperament. And if the ore isn't in a good mood, its quality certainly won't be high.
That's why every Blacksmith who reaches the rank of Saint Blacksmith treats every piece of metal like a living being. They won't allow a single imperfection. That's the spirit of forging!
Under Gu You's seemingly effortless strikes, the piece of meteoric iron steadily shrank in size. Strangely enough, it also began to glow brighter. If one looked closely, faint, intricate, and rhythmic patterns appeared across its surface.
His wrist movements became faster and faster until his hammering sounded like rain drumming on banana leaves—quick and melodious. The rhythm of the hammering itself was musical, as if playing a percussion instrument.
The meteoric iron was completely shrouded in the afterimages of his hammers. Gu You no longer seemed like a Blacksmith, but more like a sculptor, carefully refining a masterpiece with meticulous precision.
In the past, all forging was about extracting impurities and refining material. But to Gu You, it all revolved around a single theme—life.
What is life? Life is the ability to feel.
When ore develops feelings, you must forge it in the way it prefers. Use the right method, and the quality will soar.
To forge top-quality rare metal, you must treat it delicately from the very start—refine it gently, and observe what kind of forging technique the metal 'enjoys.' Only then can its true potential be realized.
For example, if an energy channel in a human body is clogged, you can force it open violently and remove the impurities. But that may damage the channel. If you cleanse it gradually with a gentle approach, flushing it with purified blood, the impurities will be expelled, and the meridian will remain intact and healthy.
That's the difference in method. Choosing the right one guarantees success—and possibly even a breakthrough.
Gu You had completely immersed himself in the process. What should've been a quick refinement took him three times longer than usual, as he took great care in sculpting the metal. If someone were to measure it precisely, they would find that his refined piece of meteoric iron was slightly larger than standard results. This meant his method preserved more of the valuable material compared to traditional refining.
No doubt about it—Gu You had found the ideal forging path for this piece of metal and was making steady progress.
After a full quarter of an hour, a dazzling black light surged upward.
The moment that black light appeared, a dragon's roar echoed through the forge. The black light rose like a dragon soaring skyward.
A soul-forged metal with spirit!
Normally, if the spirit light rose five feet, that was already impressive. But Gu You's black light shot up over ten feet, swirling in the air like a black dragon dancing in the wind.
Gu You took a deep breath. His twin Life Essence Hammers spread out at either side, and his eyes sparkled brightly.
As the black light rose, he swung both hammers again before it could fall.
The twin strikes landed on the soul-forged meteoric iron with a brilliance far beyond his earlier tapping.
Now, the surface of the iron was covered in dense cloud-like patterns that glowed brightly, flowing with shifting halos as if the metal itself had evolved into a higher form.
Gu You no longer restrained his strength. He no longer needed to worry about the metal's mood—it was time to discipline like a stern father!
His eyes gleamed as he unleashed his full spiritual power, pouring it together with his soul power into the metal through the hammers.
This marked the most crucial part of soul forging—awakening life.
He swung his hammers steadily, no longer delicate, but not brutish either. Just a smooth, precise rhythm of hammering, striking deep into the soul of the metal.
The silver cloud patterns on the meteoric iron began to shift and twist. With his soul power flowing through, the pattern began to pulse rhythmically with glowing waves.
"Hummm—" A soft hum emerged from the metal, followed by a slight tremor. The cloud patterns began to swirl as if alive, forming vague dragon-like shapes. The earlier faint dragon roar now grew clear and resonant.
Joyful, excited emotions burst from the metal!
From soul forging to spirit forging, Gu You took only two minutes!
He paused, a faint smile on his face, as if listening to the joyous cries of a newborn child basking in its parent's love.
In the next moment, his aura changed entirely. A powerful surge of vitality exploded outward. Diamond-shaped scales appeared all over his body, and he radiated an overwhelming aura.
Gu You extended his arms and gave a slight shudder. The blood energy around him surged, and multicolored mists surrounded his body. His eyes also turned multicolored.
Just then, his Life Essence Hammers moved again. This time, they glowed with multicolored energy infused with his bloodline power. The hammers struck down heavily—no longer gentle, but thunderously fierce.
Each strike made the entire forge tremble slightly. The booming sounds were as loud as soul-guided cannon blasts.
Gu You steadied his mind.
At long last, after years of striving toward this level—
He had finally become a Saint Blacksmith!
(End of Chapter)
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