Hades had clearly touched the threshold of mighty divine power.
He involuntarily activated the power of lava and easily created a vast lava lake.
He stood at the edge of the newborn, fiery, and sulfurous lava lake, feeling the active pulse of the earth beneath his feet—unprecedentedly vivid.
This pulse contained the joy of Gaia's growing power, as well as nourishing him with deeper divine support.
However, Hades did not indulge in the growth of power.
His gaze was even further. The application of [High Temperature] energy was not at all limited to producing lava and ash. It pointed to a more creative domain—Forging.
In the original historical context, Hephaestus, the god of smithing, was renowned for his skillful hands and creativity.
But at this moment, Hephaestus had not yet been born, and even the concept of 'forging' was still in a primitive and hazy state in the world of Chaos.
Gods used innate divine power to create objects, or relied on brute force and crude skills; a systematic body of 'forging' knowledge had not been established.
This was Hades's opportunity. He did not need to wait; he could become the 'definer' and 'founder' of this concept.
Once again, he chose a remote mountain ravine (now a lava lake) to be his sole testing ground.
This time, he used [High Temperature] for precise control of heat, and [Lava] to form a crude stone anvil and hammer.
Then he began to attempt. He gathered some ordinary metallic minerals, threw them into the lava pool, guided their melting and purification with divine power, and then retrieved the molten metal and placed it on the stone anvil.
He recalled the vaguely understood knowledge of metalworking from his past life, combined with his understanding of power, and began to interpret each step of 'forging':
"When the hot metal is struck," he raised an illusory hammer, condensed from divine power, and struck it onto the red-hot metal block, divine power vibrating with his thoughts, "its internal structure is compacted, impurities are removed, and the form changes... This is the shaping of power, a ritual giving new life to matter."
"When the red-hot metal is plunged into cold spring water," he threw the pre-formed metal pieces into the clear water beside him with divine power, a sharp hissing sound accompanying the rising steam, "rapid cooling solidifies it, acquiring hardness and sharpness... This is the quenching of temperature, a critical boundary between destruction and rebirth."
"Repeated heating and hammering," he continued, divine power meticulously simulating each physical and chemical change, "not only shapes the form, but also tempers its 'essence', increasing its strength and durability... This is the sublimation of repeated forging."
"Mixing different metals in certain proportions in the furnace," he attempted to combine metallic minerals with different properties, "to create a new substance with the best of both worlds... This is the wisdom of alloys, the beginning of creating something beyond nature."
Hades was not merely repeating actions; he was 'declaring' and 'interpreting' to the world a complete and systematic 'forging' process. His divine power accompanied each step, deeply analyzing the principles, changes, and meanings within.
He not only interpreted the technique, but also began to summarize the laws:
"Forging is not pure, cathartic brute force; it requires the combination of knowledge." His voice was like a bell, echoing on the level of law. "You need to know the characteristics of minerals, the essence of heat, the measure of force, and the timeliness of time... This is the application of [Knowledge]."
"Summarizing scattered experience into inheritable skills; Summarizing accidental success as inevitable law... This is the wisdom of [Summary]."
"Not content with the existing, exploring new ratios, new processes, and creating unprecedented artifacts and materials... This is the soul of [Innovation]!"
Boom—!!!
This time, the reaction of the world's rules was unprecedented in its intensity! The metallic veins of the entire world of Chaos seemed to emit a faint hum, and the invisible silken threads of law between heaven and earth trembled and reconfigured.
The first to condense was a divine entity radiating a metallic gleam, and the phantom shadow of clashing hammer and anvil—[Forging]! As soon as this divinity appeared, it was closely linked with [High Temperature], [Lava], and [Subterranean Wealth] (raw materials), forming a preliminary system of 'process'.
Immediately after, a god radiating a rational brilliance descended, like a divinity composed of countless shimmering runes—[Knowledge]!
This was not omniscient knowledge, but specifically referred to those 'process knowledge' and 'understanding of natural laws' that were systematically organized and could be learned, inherited, and applied, especially the parts related to forging, minerals, and the material properties of the earth.
It arose from Hades's systematic exposition and interpretation of the forging process.
Subsequently, a divinity that appeared calm and weighty, as if carrying countless records of experience, took shape—[Summary]. It represented the ability to extract laws from practice and summarize scattered information into a system, an important complement to the [Knowledge] god.
Finally, a clever, bright, and infinitely potential fragment of divinity integrated into the core of Hades's divine spark, like a leaping spark—[Innovation]! It represented the potential to break norms, create new things and methods, and was the core driving force of technological progress.
The appearance of these four new gods, especially [Knowledge], [Summary], and [Innovation], greatly enriched Hades's divine essence. He was no longer merely a nature god controlling the power of a certain field, but had begun to touch the category of 'wisdom'.
The [Forging] divinity directly elevated him to the level of a mighty divine power, and this time it was stable at that level! Although [Knowledge] and the other gods were currently inclined towards auxiliary abilities, their potential value and amplifying effect on his other powers were immeasurable.
Hades felt the surging divine power within his body and the complex, systematic knowledge of forging, minerals, and even broader material changes that filled his mind.
He raised his hand, his palm brimming with divine power, and easily forged a stubborn piece of iron into a short dagger with a cold gleam and faint runes in its aura.
The quality of this short dagger surpassed most artifacts created by gods in the current age.
He looked towards Olympus, his eyes growing deeper.
With [Forging], he could create magical weapons for future allies; With [Knowledge] and [Innovation], he could understand and master new powers faster, and improve existing ones; [Summary] allowed him to avoid repeating mistakes and efficiently accumulate experience.
All of this would become important bargaining chips in his future war to overthrow Cronus, and even in the possible power struggle with his brothers.