Longevity by Grinding Skills

There was only one word for how to raise his Skill Level.

Practice!

The timer from the Mechanical Hall next to the forge had only run for half an hour, but thirteen Fine Forged Iron Ingots were already piled at Xu Yunfan’s feet.

What shocked Zhan Yan the most was that the pattern on each ingot was unique.

There were Dragon Scale Patterns created by Spiral Force, lightning patterns torn out by shockwaves, and even one iron billet that had formed a glass-like crystal lattice after rapid cooling.

"Stop!"

Zhan Yan roared, his aged hand pressing down on the descending Heavy Hammer. Two shockwaves collided on the hammer’s head, actually jolting the anvil three inches to the side.

"Where did you learn the Fire Control Skill?"

Xu Yunfan wiped the sweat from his neck. The rising steam condensed into a faint golden mist on his back.

"I just felt that... the rhythm of smelting each iron billet was similar to the breathing techniques of the Celestial Zen Force."

Xu Yunfan went on to explain the Celestial Cicada Sect’s Celestial Cicada vibration and the method of bone-ringing tremors. With each strike of the hammer, a slight tremor in his own bones allowed the force to penetrate deep into the ingot and reshape its patterns.

"Those patterns just now were just me experimenting with control. Now that I’m a bit more familiar with it, I should be able to make them according to my own designs... Maybe once I’m proficient, I could even draw a picture inside the ingot with the patterns."

Looking at the enthusiastic Xu Yunfan, Zhan Yan was momentarily speechless, feeling as if all his years of forging expertise had been a complete waste.

He was silent for a long while, especially after hearing about the Celestial Zen Force’s Bone-shaking Strength.

Xu Yunfan asked, "Master, do you know of the Celestial Cicada Sect?"

"Of course I do."

When he learned that Xu Yunfan had once been a disciple of the Celestial Cicada Sect, knew its Celestial Zen Force’s high-frequency bone-vibration power technique, and then heard that its Sect Leader, Chen Tiangang, had intended to perform a True Blood transplant...

He sneered, "That Chen Tiangang is a complete fool. True Blood is the scattered bloodline of a True Immortal. If it could actually be transplanted, all the True Bloods in the world would have vanished long ago."

At this, his expression finally relaxed slightly.

"So, it turns out you possess True Blood."

Xu Yunfan froze. He hadn’t said anything about possessing True Blood.

"No, Master, I don’t..."

"No wonder your talent for martial arts is so excellent, your comprehension is top-notch, and you picked up forging skills so quickly."

"Master, I didn’t say I have True—"

"Since your True Blood has awakened, I finally understand how you could achieve Second Level Perfection in Muscle and Skin Training. But you mustn’t become arrogant. Many people in this world have awakened their True Blood, and countless of them have been stuck in the Flesh Refining Realm, unable to advance another inch."

Watching Zhan Yan ramble on, Xu Yunfan opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it and remained silent.

After that long tangent, Zhan Yan coughed lightly, a hint of embarrassment on his face.

"Tell me about this Celestial Zen Force. I want to see what’s so brilliant about its bone-shaking power generation."

A smile touched Xu Yunfan’s lips. Without the slightest hesitation, he explained the Dharma Gate of the Celestial Zen Force.

"..."

"What a perfect union with the breath..."

After a long moment, Zhan Yan, still savoring the details, abruptly snatched up a still-hot iron billet and tossed it into the air. The red-hot piece of metal traced an arc as it fell toward the Quenching Pool.

"Catch it! Continue with the Hammer Forging Technique from the Celestial Craft Forging Technique. Set aside the Celestial Zen Force for now. That Dharma Gate is truly impressive, but you are only just laying your foundation. You haven’t yet felt the true properties of a forged iron billet; your strength needs to penetrate deep inside to be effective. The Celestial Zen Force improves efficiency, but it’s a shortcut. Wait until you’ve reached the introductory level with the Celestial Craft Forging Technique, then you can stack this method on top of it!"

With that, Zhan Yan ran off to another Weapon Forging Platform and began to ponder the power generation of the Celestial Zen Force, a look of amazement on his face.

Xu Yunfan paid him no mind. He hooked the handle of the Bellows with his toes, using it to launch himself into the air as the Forging Hammer spun three times in his palm.

The instant the hammerhead struck the iron billet, eighteen streams of Hidden Force pounded against it like a torrential downpour on a windowpane. The semi-molten metal actually changed shape in mid-air. First, it was stretched into a Sword Embryo, then a second strike further refined its form. By the time it finally fell into the Quenching Pool, it was already the prototype of an Eight-sided Han Sword.

SSSHHH—

A cloud of white steam thirty feet high exploded from the Quenching Pool.

This scene once again caught Zhan Yan’s attention. He crossed over in two great strides and picked up the Sword Embryo with a pair of tongs.

He looked at the naturally formed ice-crack patterns on the sword’s body. Within them, not yet cooled, a golden, sand-like substance was flowing. This was the "Flowing Gold" Anomaly, something that only appeared when the purity of the Profound Iron surpassed ninety-eight percent. Even if he had forged it himself, the result would have been no better.

"Twenty-seven breaths."

Zhan Yan suddenly gripped the tang of the Longsword with his bare hand, the part where the hilt had yet to be fitted. His large, calloused hands seemed completely impervious to the several-hundred-degree temperature.

The sight made Xu Yunfan cringe.

As a renowned expert of the Blood Exchange Realm who also practiced the Divine Weapon Ridge’s Cross Training Skill, he had spent countless years forging by the Thunder Fire Pool. His very physique had been hammered, blow by blow, into something akin to Refined Steel. Of course he had what it took to grip it with his bare hands.

Zhan Yan scraped a deep groove into the ground with the still-glowing Longsword. "Back then, when your eldest senior brother was learning the Celestial Craft Forging Technique, it took him a full three months just to forge his first complete pattern."

The Weapon Casting Hall suddenly fell deathly silent, with only the crackling of the furnace fire to be heard.

After a long moment, Zhan Yan, whose posture was usually ramrod straight, seemed to slump a little. He plunged the still-glowing Sword Embryo back into the Quenching Pool, waved his hand, and simply walked away.

Xu Yunfan asked in confusion, "Master, aren’t you going to teach me anymore?"

"...Just finish forging these weapons first. I’m going to go... process this. I’ll rest for a day or two."

"..."

’Looks like this was a huge shock to Master’s worldview!’

’Maybe I should try to hide my abilities a little sometimes. I’m already a True Disciple of the Celestial Craft Cave. If I keep rising, the only step up is to knock Master off his throne and become the Hall Master of the Weapon Casting Hall myself.’

’Looks like I’ll have to hold back a bit in the future. If I master everything as soon as I learn it, it stops being a pleasant surprise for people and just becomes a terrifying shock.’

Xu Yunfan stroked his chin and glanced at the notification that had floated into his field of vision.

’Your skill, Celestial Craft Forging Technique, has reached the Introductory level.’

’Celestial Craft Forging Technique 0/500 (Introductory) (Incomplete)

Special Effects: Remove Impurities and Retain the Essence, Hundred-Forged Condensed Steel, Gold and Jade Breaker, Thousand-Hammered Spirit Pattern’

’How can it be incomplete?’

Was it because his master hadn’t explained everything? He turned his head to look at the bronze pillars standing on the Weapon Forging Platform by the Thunder Fire Pool. The Forging Skill was already explained on them in exhaustive detail. Moreover, Zhan Yan had personally demonstrated the complete set of weapon casting techniques for him.

Before he could think about it further, a massive amount of information about forging weapons suddenly flooded into his mind.

The moment Xu Yunfan’s fingers closed around the handle, the three-hundred-and-twenty-jin Profound Iron Hammer felt as if it were glued to his palm.

The thirty-two small bones of his wrist connected in sequence, and the Hundred Refinements Silk Binding Strength, as recorded in the Celestial Craft Forging Technique, shot up from his tailbone straight to his fingertips.

The immense hammer force of Divine Weapon Ridge surged up from his muscles and sinews, causing the muscles in his hammer-wielding arm to bulge and swell.

The sensation was like the muscle memory born from swinging a hammer tens of millions of times.

One force was hard, the other soft, yet they harmonized with exceptional ease.

CLANG!

Acting on a sudden flash of inspiration, Xu Yunfan swung the hammer. The instant it struck the Refined Iron Ingot he had just retrieved from the Quenching Pool, his gnarled trapezius muscles contracted sharply.

Sixteen different types of impurities within the metal were precisely sifted out by the shockwave, shooting out with the flying sparks and scattering in layers of iron filings across the gray brick wall.

The red-hot iron filings that landed on Xu Yunfan burned countless tiny black holes into his clothes.

Xu Yunfan was completely oblivious, focused only on his hammering.