The moment the nearly 400-pound thunder-patterned steel hammer touched the blue brick, the internal structure of the brick was shattered into dust by the shock wave, while the surface remained intact.
Xu Yunfan's pupils trembled slightly. He hadn't expected that the Heavenly Cicada Force, after being integrated into the final move of the Cloak Hammer, the Heavenly River Reversal, would cause such a powerful and penetrating force, like waves upon waves, combined with the spontaneous energy of the Thunderfire Qilin Hammer.
Watching the bluestone bricks within a ten-foot radius beneath the heavy hammer turn to dust, Xu Yunfan couldn't help but grin.
Looks like we'll have to call in those civil engineers from the Ministry of Works to do some repairs again.
Pick up a pebble and hold it in your palm, then grind it into a uniform lime powder with a little effort.
If a finger were vibrated at a high frequency and gently placed on a human body, it could easily shatter the flesh into pieces.
"Junior brother, you have impressive skills!"
When Fu Jin's voice came from outside the Moon Gate, night had already fallen, and the lights of thousands of homes in Tiangong City were already lit. Looking down from the Forging Hall's residence halfway up the mountain, one could see most of Tiangong City.
Xu Yunfan, who was resting, was staring blankly at his forearm. The pale golden lines under his skin seemed to move like living things. This was a change in muscle texture caused by the completion of the tendons and skin and the bone density about to break through the critical point.
The completion of the third stage of training seems to bring about an unexpected and extraordinary transformation.
Upon hearing Fu Jin's voice, he straightened his sleeves and stood up to greet him.
"Senior Brother Fu is here?"
Fu Jin stepped into the courtyard carrying a food box, with a fine steel longsword in his other hand, which was forged by Xu Yunfan.
This usually composed senior disciple of the Weapon Forging Hall now had an unusual excitement flickering in his eyes.
"Good heavens, when the three hundred 'Flowing Pattern Swords' were being prepared in the armory this afternoon, those arrogant guys from the Hidden Edge Pavilion almost got into a fight over the last ten, each wanting to take a few for themselves."
Xu Yunfan was somewhat surprised: "It's just a mid-grade mortal artifact, is it really worth making such a fuss?"
"Of course, when the head of the Melting Gold Hall heard the news this morning, he was extremely jealous. He had been targeting us openly and secretly, but now he's eagerly running to the armory to compete with the Hidden Edge Pavilion."
Fu Jin took out a dish from the food box and placed it on the table, saying, "Don't be surprised. There are naturally many weapons in the world, but high-grade ones are very rare. Even low-grade ordinary weapons are family heirlooms in your Beiye City (Northern Wilderness City}."
The Heavenly Craft Cave is blessed with exceptional natural advantages, so weapons are naturally plentiful. That's why you haven't realized it. Otherwise, why would the Nine Luminaries Sect be so eager to have us? Sit down, sit down, let's have a couple of drinks, fellow disciples."
Xu Yunfan naturally wouldn't refuse. After drinking a few cups of plum wine and eating a few bites of food with Fu Jin, he watched Fu Jin constantly fiddling with the fine steel longsword in his hand and suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Fu, do you feel that the Heavenly Craftsmanship Forging Technique is missing something?"
He picked up a piece of raw iron he had brought back and kneaded it casually. His powerful finger strength made the metal change shape between his fingers like dough.
"It's like... you can clearly see the direction of each forging pattern, but you can't feel its root. You always feel like something is missing."
Fu Jin didn't care about this. With his finger strength at the Flesh Refining Realm, he could easily turn iron into mud.
"Junior brother, do you know how many processes are involved in forging the black iron ingot?"
Fu Jin didn't keep them in suspense, stating directly: "The outermost layer is the Thousand-Layer Forging Method of the Melting Gold Hall, the middle layer contains the Honeycomb Shock Absorption Technique of the Mechanism Hall, and even the Dragon Blood Resin added during the quenching process of the Medicine Hall, the Chain-Forging Hammer cast by the Heavenly Crafts Department, and a single iron ingot.
The Heavenly Crafts Cave has nine peaks and six departments; aside from the Foreign Affairs Hall and the Hidden Edge Pavilion, the remaining four departments are indispensable."
After a pause, Fu Jin took another swig of wine, rubbed his nose, and continued speaking.
The word "Heavenly craftsmanship" encompasses everything.
The Gold Melting Hall excels at finding mineral veins and can identify black iron hundreds of feet underground. The Mechanical Hall is skilled in mechanical ingenuity and is said to have discovered the secret to using steam from boiling water to power mechanical beasts weighing several tons. Even the Medicine Hall's quenching formulas are divided into thirteen different styles, including Cold Pool, Earth Fire, and Blood Quenching.
At this point, Fu Jin sighed and said, "The Heavenly Craftsmanship Forging Technique encompasses the strengths of various disciplines. Junior Brother, don't overthink it. Of the three thousand rivers, taking just one sip is enough to benefit you for a lifetime. If one day you can forge a true divine weapon, you will naturally understand that mechanisms are but minor skills, and the quenching in the Medicine Hall is nothing more than that."
Listening to Fu Jin's drunken boasting, Xu Yunfan looked at the swords and knives on the weapon rack and made a judgment in his heart.
As someone who possesses attribute panels, wouldn't it be a waste to cultivate an incomplete technique? Hearing Fu Jin say this, he naturally felt a lump in his throat and was extremely uncomfortable.
In his past life, no matter what game he played, he always wanted to get all the achievements. Even if it was a huge pile, he would hold his nose and collect all the achievements before going to the message board to rant and rave.
Moreover, this world.
If one could combine the strengths of several schools and obtain the complete Heavenly Craftsmanship Forging Technique, relying on the attribute panel, perhaps one could even create a Gundam...
The next morning, after practicing the Technique of the 'Lin' Word overnight, Xu Yunfan ate breakfast, practiced the Heavenly Cicada Power a few times, and then hurriedly went to find his master Zhan Yan.
When Xu Yunfan found Zhan Yan in the Thunderfire Cave, Zhan Yan was using specially made iron pliers to hold a piece of dark red metal, slowly quenching it until it was just about to turn red.
"Want the library token?"
Zhan Yan was somewhat surprised: "Don't you know martial arts?"
"This disciple feels that I have been in the Heavenly Craft Cave for so long, but I have never been to the library. Today, on a whim, I want to go and take a look."
Zhan Yan threw the blood steel into the quenching pool. The red-hot metal block exploded into steam thirty feet high in the cold spring. He clapped his hands, took out some cold wine, and took two gulps.
"Want to combine the three outer ingredients?"
"...No, this disciple feels that it is still early and wants to try to reach the peak of bone refining. This trip is just to broaden my horizons and see if there is anything I can learn from other martial arts."
Zhan Yan nodded. "I have carefully studied the Cicada Force that day. It is unique in the path of bone training and can forge a body of fine steel bones. When the time comes, it will give you a unique talent for cultivating the Mysterious Steel Hundred Forging Technique in the Thousand-Pound Mountain-Shaking Hammer Technique. Therefore, it would be a good thing to go to the library to take a look."
After saying that, Zhan Yan turned around and continued to fish the metal ingot out of the quenching pool. He swung the heavy hammer and began to hammer it into a spear blank with a clanging sound.
After a while, Zhan Yan turned around and saw Xu Yunfan still standing there. He asked in surprise, "Aren't you going?"
Xu Yunfan was a little embarrassed: "Master, you haven't given me the access token to the library yet."
"What do you need that thing for? With the True Inheritance Token on your waist, you can go anywhere except for the two key locations in the Heavenly Craft Cave where you can't enter."
"..."
By the time Xu Yunfan arrived at the library, it was already late afternoon.
He handed over the true disciple token to an elder on duty in the library, and watched as the elder pressed a mechanism, causing an inlay table to pop out from the counter.
The token was pressed down, making a crisp click, and a scroll of portrait popped out from the hidden compartment below. When the elder unfolded it, he saw that it was a portrait of himself.