The next morning.
In the hall, Chu Chengzhou sat quietly, observing Tang Yuehua guide Tang San through the cleansing, while simultaneously refining the whale brain he had consumed.
Suddenly—a vast tide of information and profound insight surged into his mind.
The fourth AFK slot on his cheat interface—Hammer of Creation/Creation Hammer—had just upgraded. Its quality had risen from Red to Gold.
As Chu absorbed this flood of knowledge, his perception of the world subtly shifted.
He saw it now: countless tiny specks of light—golden, green, blue, crimson, yellow, cyan, violet—drifting through the air like dust motes in sunlight. Yet, he couldn't be certain if it was real… or merely his mind's interpretation.
Time slipped away unnoticed. When he finally completed the assimilation of the new insights, he realized dusk had already fallen.
Just as he had anticipated: the Red-Tier Hammer of Creation corresponded to Soul-Refined Metal. Now, with its Gold-Tier upgrade, it aligned with Heavenly-Refined Metal.
Forgers who mastered Heavenly-Refined Metal were revered in later ages as Divine Craftsman. The metals they forged were called Divine Metals—and the finest among them could be used to craft divine artifacts.
'At least four elements?' Chu murmured to himself.
Though a reincarnator, he had never read the long-winded sequels—Douluo II, III, IV, let alone V or VI—only skimming the basics. But that didn't hinder his cheat.
Unlike previous forging techniques—Thousand-Forging, Spirit-Refining, Soul-Forging—Heavenly-Refining demanded more than skill. It required the forger to possess a deep, intuitive understanding of the fundamental laws of nature, and to channel elemental energy into the metal.
The feedback from the Gold-Tier Hammer of Creation made it clear: even the most basic Heavenly-Refined Metal required the infusion of at least four distinct elemental energies.
The more elements infused, the higher the final quality of the metal.
Moreover, the forging process required the metal to endure an Elemental Thunder Trial. Each additional element added one more layer of thunder.
Thus, even the simplest four-element Heavenly-Refining would face four separate elemental lightning strikes.
And these weren't mere trials of the metal—they tested the forger himself.
During the trial, the only force capable of guiding the metal through the storm was the forger's own will and control.
If the metal endured one or more thunder layers but failed to complete all, it was classified as Quasi-Heavenly-Refined.
One could, of course, hire a powerful soul master to disrupt the lightning or use external artifacts to shield the metal—but such metal, having never been purified by the Elemental Thunder, was not truly Heavenly-Refined. Not even Quasi-Heavenly-Refined. It was merely an enhanced Soul-Refined metal.
Chu estimated: unless the blacksmith possessed the power of a Titled Douluo, they could not forge true Heavenly-Refined Metal.
Beyond the trial, there was one final step: shaping.
This wasn't shaping the metal's physical form—like molding a sword or armor.
It was adjusting the metal's inherent properties to align with the user's needs. Only then could the metal truly become Divine.
Glancing at his AFK slot, Chu considered his options. He replaced the newly upgraded Hammer of Creation with his illusion technique: Illusion Void Realm.
If Heavenly-Refining already demanded Soul Emperor-level power, then any higher-tier metal—say, a hypothetical "Ultra-Divine Metal"—would require even greater strength. For now, further AFK upgrading of the Hammer was pointless.
Seeing the sky darken, and knowing he had no metals on hand, Chu didn't rush to attempt his first Heavenly-Refining. Instead, he turned to something far more intriguing: Elemental Fusion.
On Douluo Continent, there were eleven fundamental elemental attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Light, Darkness, Time, and Space. All other elements—like Ice or Evil—were merely variants or evolutions of these core elements.
Chu didn't know the specifics of future generations' Divine Craftsman, but he suspected they didn't possess mastery over all elemental laws.
He, however, was different.
Thanks to his powerful cheat, the Gold-Tier Hammer of Creation had granted him not just partial or basic elemental insights—but a complete, comprehensive understanding of all eleven elemental laws.
This meant that, even before forging a single piece of Heavenly-Refined Metal, Chu—this pseudo-Divine Forger—possessed the theoretical capacity to forge a super-metal infused with all eleven elements.
Of course, theory was theory. Reality demanded power.
To achieve this, his first prerequisite was sufficient strength—to survive eleven layers of Elemental Thunder.
Though the name Hammer of Creation had nothing to do with elemental fusion, the insight it granted had fundamentally altered his control.
His ability to merge elements? Not just improved.
Revolutionized.
In an instant, Chu Chengzhou opened his right hand. Except for his thumb, each fingertip glowed faintly: crimson for Fire, yellow for Earth, cyan for Wind, and blue for Water.
He pressed his index and middle fingers together.
The Fire and Earth energies fused perfectly. The two hues merged into a seamless, radiant blend of red and gold.
Then, slowly, his ring finger moved toward the others. The Wind energy at its tip drifted closer, hovering above the fused red-gold light.
A faint resistance flickered—but Chu found the point of harmony in an instant.
A subtle ripple passed through the air.
The cyan wind energy dissolved into the red-gold fusion—and the result was a single, luminous strand of three-color energy: red, gold, and cyan, perfectly intertwined.
Three-Element Fusion—Achieved.
Chu Chengzhou's heart leapt.
Before the Hammer's upgrade, he could barely achieve perfect dual-element fusion. Three-element fusion had seemed distant, almost impossible. And now? It was done.
Could he go further?
Could he fuse all four?
He took a slow, deep breath.
His focus narrowed entirely to his right hand.
With meticulous control, he guided his pinky finger toward his ring finger.
The familiar resistance returned—but this time, it was weaker, manageable.
Two seconds passed.
He found the point of convergence.
In a flash—
The blue pulse of Water energy slipped into the trio of Fire, Earth, and Wind.
"Done!"
Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but exclaim aloud.
The four fundamental elements—Earth, Water, Fire, Wind—now flowed as one.
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