The piece of meteoric iron seemed to sense the fluctuations in Gu You's aura, and its initial joy and excitement shifted into curiosity.
With every strike from Gu You's hammer, the spirit-forged iron emitted a low, whimpering hum—an odd combination of pain and pleasure.
One of the greatest differences between spirit forging and soul forging was that soul forging imbued the metal with the blacksmith's own legacy—much like a soul inheritance.
The stronger the blacksmith, the purer their bloodline, and the more refined their forging skills, the higher the quality of the soul-forged metal.
Because of this, mecha builders were often the best-suited secondary profession for Three-word and Four-word Battle Armor Masters, since they could design the most compatible suits for themselves. After all, no one knew them better than they did.
Of course, even if one's primary profession wasn't blacksmithing, they could still pass their aura to a Saint Blacksmith, who would then forge with that energy, ensuring the final armor aligned with the user's nature.
But most blacksmiths refused to do this. To them, each metal piece was a life of its own. Letting foreign energy contaminate their forged life was like watching one's daughter get corrupted by a thug—who would accept that?
So, in nearly all cases, it was the blacksmith's soul that was passed into the metal.
Even so, countless people lined up to request such forging. Blacksmithing was the hardest of all secondary professions. Across the entire Douluo Continent, there were only a dozen or so Saint Blacksmiths. As for Divine Blacksmiths, there was only one—Zhen Hua.
Because of this, even the proudest Battle Armor Masters wouldn't dare make demands. Small preferences—like what ore to use—might be entertained, but that was it.
...
At this point, as time progressed, Gu You had undoubtedly entered the stage of transitioning from spirit forging to soul forging. He was now channeling his bloodline power, soul, and aura with all his might into the meteoric iron.
As previously mentioned, soul forging wasn't just external forging; it also involved internal harmonization. Through his own aura, soul power, and spiritual power, Gu You forged the metal from within, drawing out its inherent nature and nurturing a unique soul.
This is what led to the saying: "Soul-forged metal is a Saint Blacksmith's avatar!"
Once the soul-forging began, Gu You became more cautious. Each hammer strike was heavy, and his overwhelming bloodline power poured in without a trace of hesitation or weakening.
Gu You knew clearly—if he succeeded in teaching himself soul forging this time, he would have crossed the most difficult threshold. From then on, soul-forging other metals would be much easier.
As time passed, the rainbow light on the meteoric iron lingered longer and longer. Sometimes, the light from the previous hammer strike hadn't yet faded when the next hammer had already landed.
Gradually, the meteoric iron remained perpetually suffused with colorful light. Gu You's hammer strikes became slower and more deliberate.
Buzz~!
Suddenly, with another strike, a clear chime echoed from within the metal.
Soul Resonance—The Symphony of Soul Forging!
It sounded simple, but to most blacksmiths, this moment was as elusive as heaven's gate. Many spent their entire lives unable to reach it.
The difficulty of soul forging was immense, and this resonance signified a major victory. It meant the energies imbued into the metal had unified and could now assist in the forging process from within.
This step was monumental.
Anyone who reached this point had surpassed 99% of the population on Douluo Continent—across all professions!
Gu You's expression didn't change. He continued hammering. As expected, each strike now echoed with resonance, the chime growing crisper and more vibrant.
Next came the soul forging's second phase: Soul Solidification. Once complete, it marked seventy percent of the soul forging process. The final step would be Soul Awakening. Once awakened, the process would be fully complete.
Among the three phases, the start was the hardest. Soul Awakening was considered the easiest—assuming the blacksmith's spiritual power was strong enough. The inherited soul imprint alone would be sufficient to awaken the metal's soul.
Gu You began striking faster. His bloodline energy was so abundant, it showed no signs of depletion. In fact, the colored aura around his body only became denser.
The meteoric iron was now entirely dyed in rainbow light. Dragon roars echoed faintly from it, and the soul forging chimes were clearer than ever.
Suddenly, the metal trembled violently and leapt off the forging table.
It stood up!?
Gu You blinked in surprise, as if something occurred to him.
He remembered reading about this in Zhen Hua's notes.
"Life Shock"—The metal is trying to escape!
Once a metal's sentience was stimulated to a high enough degree by soul forging, it gained fear and awareness. In this panicked state, it would attempt to flee, refusing to be bound by its forger. But if it escaped, the barely-formed soul would quickly dissipate, reverting it back to the spirit forging stage. Once that happened, it could never be soul-forged again.
Gu You didn't panic. He barked, "Get back here!"
A giant multicolored dragon claw appeared behind him and, with lightning speed, caught the fleeing metal.
"I created you, and you dare run?"
The iron was already infused with his bloodline, and as someone with a Dragon God-level bloodline, Gu You's command was absolute. The metal had no power to resist and obediently returned.
Gu You took a deep breath and swung his twin hammers again. The next phase had begun: Soul Solidification!
His eyes shifted completely from rainbow to deep violet. Each strike now carried more spiritual power than bloodline might. From his eyes, two violet beams shot out—a manifestation of the Purple Demon Eyes' spiritual assault—and struck the metal directly.
The metal's tremors began to subside. Under the dual assault of spirit and hammer, the rainbow aura slowly condensed inward. The once-etched lines now shifted and formed detailed diamond-shaped scales—not quite dragon scales, but very close.
More and more of these scale-like patterns emerged, until the entire piece of meteoric iron was covered.
The multicolored glow began to recede…
(End of Chapter)
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