Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the glowing piece of heavenly star iron on the anvil. Gripping the heavy hammer handle tightly with his right hand, he exerted force from his waist, raising the hammer high, and then... "Bang!!!"
A crisp sound of metal clashing suddenly exploded within the forging room! The hammer head slammed solidly into the red-hot heavenly star iron, sending sparks flying in all directions. However, as the hammer fell, the light that had originally lit up in Zhen Hua's eyes instantly froze, and his brows furrowed slightly.
In the eyes of a Divine Craftsman like him, Huo Yuhao's strike had enough power, but the point of impact, angle, and method of exerting force were completely without order. It was just the most primitive form of smashing, without any forging techniques whatsoever. He felt as though his expectations had been in vain!
With obvious doubt in his eyes, Zhen Hua turned his head to look at Mu Ye and Han Tianyi beside him, asking directly, "He... hasn't learned forging?"
Mu Ye wasn't clear on this and didn't answer, simply looking toward Han Tianyi. Han Tianyi shook his head gently and spoke truthfully, "I've watched this child grow up; he is only six years old and has only recently undergone his Spirit Awakening. Before this, I can be certain he has never systematically studied any forging techniques."
"Never learned?!" Hearing this, Zhen Hua's face instantly showed an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
A six-year-old child who had never touched forging, yet in his first practical attempt, could precisely grasp the optimal timing to take out a material as demanding of heat control as heavenly star iron? This simply defied common sense! Could it be a fluke? Purely based on luck?
When Zhen Hua cast his gaze back into the forging room, the "Bang! Bang! Bang!" sounds of striking had already merged into a continuous rhythm. Huo Yuhao swung the hammer repeatedly. Though his movements appeared naive and unrefined, the focus and sense of power could not be ignored.
Just as Zhen Hua had judged, Huo Yuhao's forging had no technique or order to speak of; it seemed he relied entirely on brute strength to smash down. Forging certainly required power as a foundation, but if it stopped there, he would be completely unqualified to enter Zhen Hua's tutelage.
Zhen Hua sighed inwardly; it seemed that previous precise grasp of the heat might have truly been a lucky fluke. He felt a wave of disappointment, but at that moment, his gaze suddenly froze! His whole body seemed to have been hit by a pause button as he stood there stunned, his pupils slightly contracting due to the sight before him.
No! His vision locked onto the piece of heavenly star iron on the anvil, which was constantly deforming under the continuous hammering. He noticed that although Huo Yuhao's hammer style was chaotic and seemingly random, under the continuous strikes of that heavy iron hammer, the Impurities inside the heavenly star iron were actually steadily decreasing!
The fine black-gray debris of Impurities seeping from the metal surface during the forging was much more than expected, and the color and texture of the iron block itself were transforming toward a purer state! "How is this possible?!"
Zhen Hua was profoundly shaken. He held his breath and began to observe every detail of Huo Yuhao's movements more seriously. As his observation continued, a discovery that made even this Divine Craftsman's scalp tingle slightly began to surface in his mind.
Every seemingly irregular strike from Huo Yuhao—its point of impact and timing—happened to land exactly on the critical nodes of impurity distribution within the heavenly star iron! Once is luck, twice is a coincidence... but right now, of the dozens of strikes Huo Yuhao had thrown, almost every single one smashed precisely onto those subtle nodes that could effectively vibrate out the Impurities!
This naturally couldn't be luck; this was a one-in-a-million talent! Under the full focus of his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, Huo Yuhao could clearly see the texture of the metal before him gradually becoming clear and pure. However, no matter how high the talent, it could not leap over the chasm of experience and knowledge.
Hundred Forging was a systematic process involving much knowledge. Huo Yuhao could not possibly complete a Hundred Forging independently just by observing Zhen Hua's explanation once. Therefore, after swinging the hammer continuously for another dozen or so times, feeling his right arm grow numb and his breathing heavy, Huo Yuhao's right hand trembled slightly as he set down the forging hammer weighing hundreds of catties. He exhaled a long breath of turbid air carrying waves of heat, ending his demonstration.
Meanwhile, outside the forging room, Zhen Hua, who had been staring fixedly at every one of Huo Yuhao's movements, suddenly lunged forward the moment Huo Yuhao stopped hammering, as if he had been launched from a catapult! His movement was so fast he left an afterimage in place. In the blink of an eye, he had slipped into the forging room and stood directly in front of Huo Yuhao.
His gaze was burning with shock, wild joy, and disbelief... all sorts of emotions were churning violently in his eyes. Finally, Zhen Hua asked once more: "You... have you really never learned forging?"
10,000 years ago, Huo Yuhao had indeed followed Master Wu Ming in the Wu Family Blacksmith Shop for a month, but that was just the most basic blacksmithing and couldn't be considered forging. Therefore, Huo Yuhao shook his head. Upon receiving this answer, Zhen Hua's breathing unconsciously became somewhat rapid.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the massive waves in his heart. His gaze dropped, focusing on the rectangular piece of heavenly star iron on the forging table. Although the shape was a bit ugly, judging by the efficiency of purification and the uniformity, the quality of this metal was already infinitely close to the threshold of Hundred Forging!
A six-year-old child who had never learned forging could actually purify a piece of heavenly star iron to such an extent?! Zhen Hua suddenly looked up, his voice carrying a trace of an undetectable tremor: "Every time you dropped the hammer... was it calculated?"
A flash of confusion crossed Huo Yuhao's eyes, not quite understanding what calculated meant. He thought for a moment and answered in a matter-of-fact tone that made Zhen Hua's heart race once again: "There was no calculation, it's just... I felt like it should land there."
With his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, it was naturally not difficult to see where the concentration points of Impurities were in the metal. "Feeling! Just a feeling!!"
Hearing this, Zhen Hua first froze for a moment as if petrified, then muttered and repeatedly chewed over those two words. In the next instant, an indescribable excitement and wild joy erupted from his chest like a volcano! "Hahahaha! Good! What a 'feeling'!"
Zhen Hua suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly. The laughter was resonant, filled with delight and undisguised excitement, even making the air in the forging room hum and vibrate. At this moment, Mu Ye and Han Tianyi also gathered around, standing at the door of the forging room.
Seeing Zhen Hua's rare state of laughing toward the sky and being uncontrollably excited, how could they not understand that this kid Huo Yuhao had truly and completely conquered this arrogant Divine Craftsman! The two looked at each other, undisguised shock flashing in both their eyes.
They also hadn't expected that on the path of forging, Huo Yuhao could display such world-shaking natural talent that even Zhen Hua, who was used to seeing geniuses, would lose his composure like this. Zhen Hua turned back, the excited flush on his face not yet fully faded. He looked at his good brother Mu Ye, his voice still carrying the remnants of excitement.
"Old Mu! You haven't just sent me a Disciple; you've sent a future Divine Craftsman to the continent!" As soon as these words were spoken, Mu Ye and Han Tianyi's hearts were shaken simultaneously. They hadn't expected Zhen Hua's evaluation to reach such a high level!
Zhen Hua took a deep breath, trying to calm his boiling emotions. He turned back to Huo Yuhao and asked solemnly: "Little Yuhao, are you willing to take me as your teacher and study forging with me?"
Huo Yuhao's heart was thumping; this was the moment he had been waiting for. Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, he stepped steadily down from the small stool and stood firmly in front of Zhen Hua. Then, facing this number one Divine Craftsman of the continent, he bowed deeply and said, "Disciple Huo Yuhao greets Teacher!"
A smile full of gratification and expectation appeared on Zhen Hua's face. He reached out and steadily helped Huo Yuhao up. "Good! Good! Good Disciple!" He said the word 'good' three times and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder: "From this day forward, you are my, Zhen Hua's, closed-door Disciple! I will teach you everything I have learned in my life without reservation!"
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You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion