In a small grove by the seaside of East Sea City, a small purple figure hugged a large pile of leftover metal scraps and arrived at her temporary secret base.
It was Yaolan's first doppelganger—the one known as the "genius": Heita.
"Finally caught up."
She glanced casually behind her, and a smile slowly appeared on Heita's face. Looks like all the preparations these past few days weren't in vain!
While collecting intel recently, she overheard that a forging exchange competition was going to be held nearby—and that a master forgemaster would be attending.
Originally, Heita planned to sneak into one of the participating teams and perform some impressive forging to attract the master's attention. But unexpectedly, she managed to hook a much bigger fish—
Mu Chen!
Who would've thought that this small-scale competition would actually attract an Eight-Star Saint Forger?
This discovery made Heita abandon all of her previous plans. Instead of impressing ordinary people with an excellent forging piece on stage, it would be far better to directly astonish this Saint Forger with a perfect forging!
This way, not only could she avoid the danger of standing out too much, keeping herself safe, but she could also elevate her status in Mu Chen's eyes—truly killing two birds with one stone.
And to achieve that result, Heita now only had one thing left to do—
Spirit Forging!
Until today, Heita was a Grand Soul Master who had never forged anything before. But now, she could directly perform Spirit Forging, something only a Level 5 Master Forger could do. The reason behind this was actually heartwarming.
It was thanks to those students at the forging exchange earlier that gave Heita a clear understanding of forging. And that final master forger who appeared… further deepened her comprehension!
From complete ignorance to a master-level forger, Heita only needed one three-hour forging competition. In this world, she was truly a terrifying genius!
But neither Yaolan nor Heita was satisfied—because this still wasn't Heita's limit. It felt like an invisible shackle was holding her back, preventing Yaolan from reaching the heights Heita had achieved in the original story…
And that shackle—was Yaolan himself!
After all, Heita wasn't created from nothing. She was truly split off from Yaolan's own being. So whether it was understanding or talent, she was still affected by Yaolan's limitations.
This doppelgänger was basically Yaolan wearing a Heita skin. Although her mind became sharper and smarter, achieving what the original Heita in the Genius Club #83 could do still seemed like a pipe dream.
But don't forget—Yaolan's abilities weren't limited to just doppelgängers!
While Heita's current self was far from the original story's version, the gap wasn't unbridgeable. After all, the original Heita didn't have the help of Star God Assistance.
The phantom of the Scholar Lord flashed across Heita's body. Immediately, a massive hammer, taller than a person, appeared in her hands—this was the very same weapon used by the Heita character in the game.
However, Heita didn't begin forging right away. Instead, she slowly closed her eyes and carefully sensed the pile of metal in front of her.
"Simulation, start."
As a mechanical voice echoed in her mind, multiple figures began appearing in her memory—silhouettes of teenage students. A closer look would reveal they were identical to the ones who participated in the earlier forging exchange!
> "Hundredfold forging… Thousandfold forging…"
> "Correction… Enhancement…"
With the Scholar Lord's enhancement, Heita used the forging techniques of a group of beginner-level forgers to elevate herself to the level of a Level 4 Forger.
But that was not the end!
When the silhouette of a middle-aged man appeared in her mind—that Level 5 Master Forger from earlier—Heita experienced a complete leap in capability.
Although she only observed one failed Spirit Forging attempt, for Heita, it was more than enough to push her to the next level!
Neither Yaolan nor Heita had any formal education in forging. But through the simulation of the Scholar Lord, Heita managed—within a few short minutes—to create her own forging style based on her memory of watching those forging techniques.
She had now reached the level of a Level 5 Master Forger.
However, this was also Heita's current limit.
The pile of materials in front of her was ultimately of poor quality. They were, after all, just scraps left over from the competition. Moreover, Heita had never witnessed any higher-level forging techniques. Spirit Forging was the ceiling she could reach for now.
> "Then… let this peeping Saint Forger take a good look at my Spirit Forging!"
On the other side, Mu Chen, who had been secretly watching, poked his head out. Ever since he started following this brown-haired little girl, he felt something was off. What exactly was she planning?
The metals she was holding earlier—Mu Chen recognized them. They were just leftover scraps from the competition! What could she possibly create with that garbage?
As a Saint Forger, Mu Chen understood the importance of materials better than anyone. To forge high-quality metal, you needed high-quality raw materials.
Even if there were a few decent pieces in those scraps, it would be impossible to exceed Thousandfold Forging—there were too many different types of metals, all mixed together. Refining them into high-level metal would be extremely difficult.
Even he could at most forge them into top-grade Hundredfold metals—anything more would be impossible. The limitations of raw materials were that significant.
So—what would this girl do?
> "That hammer… is it created using a soul skill? How do you even forge with something like that?"
Most forgers would select a forging hammer that suited them—one that balanced strength and speed. Forging required rapidly expelling impurities from metal, so speed was essential. But this hammer, which was taller than the girl herself, clearly wasn't built for speed.
To be honest, Mu Chen was already somewhat disappointed. At first, he thought this girl had some skill—after all, she had correctly judged the earlier Spirit Forging as a failure. But now…
> "She's probably just a beginner, trying out materials for fun. No way she can understand just how useless that pile really is."
But just as Mu Chen was about to shake his head and leave—
The girl's forging… began!
> CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Rapid, rhythmic hammering echoed through the grove. That enormous hammer, which was taller than the girl herself, moved with incredible ease in her tiny hands. It was as if she was playing with a toy.
She was even faster than some Level 3 or 4 forgers!
This unbelievable sight made Mu Chen—the Eight-Star Saint Forger—widen his eyes. That pile of trash metal he was sure couldn't surpass Thousandfold Forging… actually surpassed it in the blink of an eye!?
How was that possible!?
What's more—there was a faint spiritual aura rising from the metal!
> Thousandfold Forging… with spirit? A Level 4 Forger?
> "Impossible! She's just a kid!"
And yet—it wasn't over.
Just as Mu Chen was stunned by Heita's Level 4 forging ability, the hammer strikes grew even faster.
> "She's… still going!?"
The next stage—was Spirit Forging!
Many people hit a wall before reaching this stage, stuck for years—or even their entire lives. But this girl…
She actually intended to use this chaotic pile of scrap metal to attempt a Spirit Forging—the barrier that had trapped countless others for a lifetime!?