"Thousand Forging... it's a success!" On the rostrum, the White-haired Old Man stood up abruptly, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "This quality... it's thousand forging first grade! And it's starfall gold thousand forging first grade! At nine years old, he really did it!"
The starlight from the thousand forging first grade had not yet dissipated, and while the entire venue was still immersed in the shock of the 'First Nine-Year-Old Thousand Forging Master', Arthur's movements did not pause for a second.
There was almost no buffer in his arm as he retracted the hammer; the Soul Power in his palm surged violently once more.
The forging hammer, which originally glowed with golden light, was now actually wrapped in a faint layer of starlight.
That was the Star Power overflowing from within the starfall gold, drawn by his Soul Power and perfectly fused with his own strength.
"He... he's still not stopping?" On the rostrum, a Grandmaster cried out in shock, his finger pointing rigidly at Arthur's forging table. "The Thousand Forging is already complete, what else does he want to do?"
The White-haired Old Man's pupils constricted sharply, his cloudy eyes filled with disbelief: "Could it be... he wants to attempt Spirit Forging?"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Spirit Forging was a qualitative change compared to the previous Hundred Forging and Thousand Forging. It was a Realm that stood above Thousand Forging, a process that deeply fused the Blacksmith's own Soul Power with the essence of the metal, endowing the metal with spirituality.
The difficulty of breaking through from thousand forging first grade to Spirit Forging was even harder than going from zero to thousand forging first grade!
Grandmaster Cen Yue watched everyone's broken expressions with a cheerful grin, shaking his head and sighing: "So ignorant." In reality, he was feeling quite smug internally.
He hadn't been any better back then.
"Ding, ding, ding!"
A crisp ringing sound replaced the previous dull thuds.
It sounded like jade pearls falling onto a plate.
With every strike, the halo of the starfall gold grew a bit richer.
The Star Power within condensed into a stream, circulating repeatedly inside the metal and becoming tightly intertwined with Arthur's Soul Power.
The other Blacksmiths had long since stopped their movements, all staring at Arthur in dumbfounded amazement.
Tang Wulin, Mu Xi, and the others also hurriedly finished their forging, their gazes shifting over. They were preparing to witness a historic moment.
They could feel that the aura around Arthur was getting stronger and stronger.
It wasn't the pressure of Soul Power, but a special pressure generated by the resonance between the Blacksmith and the metal's spirituality as it was being awakened.
The air seemed to become viscous.
The light from the starfall gold grew more and more brilliant, and a layer of lustrous white sheen gradually emerged on the deep ink-colored metal surface.
The silver patterns completely came to life, like a real galaxy surging within the metal.
A pure and majestic aura spread out, causing everyone present to feel a tremor in their hearts—that was the aura of an Awakening spirituality!
Arthur's face turned slightly pale; the Soul Power consumption for Spirit Forging starfall gold far exceeded other metals, and even he was starting to struggle to hold on.
"Ding—"
A long ring echoed throughout the entire competition arena.
The final heavy hammer blow fell; the sound was as crisp as jade, yet it seemed to contain the rhythm of heaven and earth.
In an instant, the halo of the starfall gold surged to its peak, its unique brilliance dyeing the entire arena a silvery white.
The internal galaxy patterns suddenly condensed, turning into a tiny silver star suspended in the very center of the metal, emitting a soft yet powerful spiritual light.
The starfall gold was no longer cold metal, but seemed to have gained life, vibrating gently in response to Arthur's aura.
"Spi... Spirit Forging!"
On the rostrum, a Grandmaster screamed, his voice cracking.
The White-haired Old Man's body trembled slightly with excitement, tears flickering in his cloudy eyes: "Spirit Forging! It really is Spirit Forging! A nine-year-old Spirit Forging Grandmaster! It has never happened in history! Never before!"
The entire venue was silent for a moment, followed by an explosion of thunderous cheers.
All the spectators stood up, clapping and shouting frantically, their gazes filled with awe and adoration.
Most spectators of Soul Master competitions just watched for the spectacle.
But the audience for a forging competition was different; few people came, but those who did were people who understood and loved forging.
Those Blacksmiths who had originally been'scared stiff' by Arthur also stopped their actions, turned toward Arthur, and bowed in respect.
At this moment, only deep admiration remained in their hearts.
In the shadows, a pair of eyes watched this scene with excitement—it was Zhen Hua, who had snuck in.
"Good kid!" This was the second time he had seen Arthur complete a Spirit Forging, and it was even with starfall gold.
Zhen Hua was incredibly excited right now, as if the one standing there was his own Disciple.
No, in Zhen Hua's eyes, Arthur had been his Disciple since birth.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's my apprentice, I haven't even said anything yet. Why are you so excited?" Mu Chen, who had also snuck over, patted Zhen Hua.
Zhen Hua's eyes immediately widened, and his voice rose several notches: "What do you mean your apprentice? Little Arthur has always been my Disciple!"
"You shameless bastard!" Mu Chen got angry and reached out to poke Zhen Hua's chest. "Arthur came to take me as his teacher the day he had his Martial Soul Awakening at age six. What do you have to compete with me? Don't you understand 'first come, first served'?"
"First come, first served my ass!" Zhen Hua stiffened his neck, his spit almost flying into Mu Chen's face. "Forging is about Legacy!"
"Do you understand Legacy?"
"If Little Arthur follows me, he can watch Heavenly Forging right now to prepare for his future attempt at becoming a Divine Craftsman!"
"What can you teach him? Do you know Heavenly Forging? You're just a noob!"
Mu Chen was so angry his beard and eyes were twitching. He raised his hand to grab Zhen Hua's beard: "Damn it!"
"Heh! You dare grab my beard?" Zhen Hua grabbed Mu Chen's wrist in return, and the two instantly became a tangled mess.
Mu Ye, who had come along to protect Zhen Hua and also see Arthur, watched happily from the side, having no intention of stepping in to stop them.
Mu Chen wasn't holding back either, one hand clutching Zhen Hua's sleeve while the other was scratching at his waist, cursing: "You old shameless geezer! So what if Heavenly Forging is impressive?"
"Eh! Heavenly Forging is exactly that impressive!" Zhen Hua said smugly. "What, you got a problem with that?"
Two pillars of the forging world were scuffling here like children.
The Body Sect's Sect Master sat nearby watching the drama... The competition ended; Arthur completed his Spirit Forging, while Tang Wulin and Mu Xi both finished with thousand forging second grade.
Originally, Tang Wulin had planned to try for thousand forging first grade, but in order to finish quickly and watch Arthur's forging, he sped up his pace and finished with thousand forging second grade.
Old Man Duan turned to look at Cen Yue, his tone carrying a hint of envy and frustration: "Little Yue, your Eastsea Blacksmith Association really has some tricks! Mu Chen is truly something; besides Arthur, there are actually two more Thousand Forging practitioners of such an age."
"According to the registration info, Arthur is only nine, right? Where did you find such a monster?"
Cen Yue smiled: "It's just luck. This child Arthur has been receiving our President's guidance since he was young, plus he is naturally gifted..."
Old Man Duan's breathing became a bit rapid as he stared intently at Cen Yue with some suspicion: "How come I've never heard that Mu Chen took a Disciple? Have any of you heard of it?"
The group of Grandmasters from the Skysea Blacksmith Association beside him all shook their heads and chimed in: "Never heard of it! For President Mu to take a Disciple is such a big deal, how could there be no word of it at all?"
Usually, Mu Chen and Arthur stayed in East Sea City and were very low-key; before this, no one outside East Sea City knew about Arthur.
But from this moment on, Arthur was the Imperial Jade Seal of the forging world!
Everyone wanted him.
Mu Chen and Zhen Hua, who were in the shadows, immediately stopped their squabble and glared at the rostrum with unfriendly gazes. With their cultivation, they could hear the discussion on the stage clearly.
They said in unison: "Forget about Mu Chen (Zhen Hua), what makes you think you're in the same league to come and poach my student?"
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