Chapter 83: Divided Mind Control, Black-Level Machine Core and Sixth-Level Machine Manufacturing

The Forge Master’s Association of Tiandingcheng, Workshop.

Mu Ye brought Zhao Xuanzhen to the exclusive workshop; after pushing open the door, a clean, tidy white space came into view.

The workshop was simply and brightly decorated, with a circular metal table over ten square meters in area placed at its center, neatly stacked with all manner of forged metals—thousand-fold forged, spirit-forged, soul-forged, each dazzling in variety.

The quantity of metals piled in one workshop was truly astonishing, enough to forge more than one three-character Doukai.

Among the variously shaped forged metals, Zhao Xuanzhen even sensed a metal refined by the forces of heaven and earth—surely the legendary Tianforged metal, tempered through a thunder calamity and forged personally by the Divine Smith Zhen Hua.

With the backing of his good brother Zhen Hua and the Forge Master’s Association, Mu Ye’s supply of metals was inexhaustible; he stepped forward, his hand brushing over the metal surfaces, paused in thought, then took two silver-white metals from the Spirit-Forged section and placed them before Zhao Xuanzhen, saying:

“These are the last two pieces of Divine Base Alloy I forged back when I made Xiao Hong—ninety-five percent fusion Spirit-Forged Yun Silver, combining the ductility of Chen Silver with the soul-power conductivity of Lan Yun Copper.

I don’t care what you make, decide for yourself—but show real skill. Don’t waste this rare Divine Base Alloy. Otherwise, you’ll stay in Tiandingcheng for your vacation and learn machine manufacturing from me properly.”

“I don’t mind either way. Just remember to tell my teacher, Senior Ben Ti.” Zhao Xuanzhen joked.

“I’ve already discussed it with your teacher—joint cultivation! Joint cultivation!”

He spoke with great confidence, repeating “joint cultivation” twice, yet his voice betrayed a lack of conviction—clearly, facing the superior strength and status of Leng Yaoju, the Ben Ti Sect Master had become the weaker party.

The conversation ended here; Zhao Xuanzhen carefully observed the two Spirit-Forged Yun Silvers, flicking out ten shimmering dark-gold blades from his fingertips.

As the Dark Gold Terror Claws—the external soul bone—appeared, the unique sharpness of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear immediately radiated, sending a chill through the heart.

Mu Ye crossed his arms, watching Zhao Xuanzhen’s preparatory carving motions intently; to be honest, he greatly admired this Ben Ti martial soul disciple—extraordinary talent, impeccable temperament, truly the supreme heir to the Ben Ti Sect.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xuanzhen was born into a collateral branch of the Spirit Tower’s Phoenix Clan, and had long been taken as a direct disciple by the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaoju.

Three months ago, at the Spirit Tower’s Hongmen Banquet, Mu Ye saw for the first time in his life a teacher with such intense possessiveness toward a disciple.

After conversing with his uncle, the Illusion Brain Douluo Han Tianyi, Mu Ye vaguely understood: Zhao Xuanzhen carried Leng Yaoju’s remaining emotional attachments. He thus completely abandoned the idea of stealing Zhao Xuanzhen away, content only to hope the boy would one day aid the Ben Ti Sect in regaining its status as a top-tier sect.

As Mu Ye’s emotions churned, Zhao Xuanzhen began carving; the Dark Gold Terror Claws trembled slightly, and a layer of dark-gold ripples danced across the metal table.

With both Dark Gold Terror Claws carving the same piece of Spirit-Forged Yun Silver, the ten fingertips vibrated at entirely different frequencies—one claw carved circular grooves, one claw traced energy circuits, one even danced along the metal’s edge, blades spinning like brushstrokes of a dragon’s flight, carving the metal’s patterns into an amplification array.

Metal shavings fell like fine snow—not scattering chaotically, but spreading rhythmically outward, coalescing into two shimmering silver-white mists as Zhao Xuanzhen’s soul power surged.

“Sixth-level machine manufacturing master…”

As a ninth-level machine manufacturing master and divine-level machine smith, Mu Ye instantly judged Zhao Xuanzhen’s machine manufacturing rank—undoubtedly solidly sixth-level.

For most machine manufacturing masters, breaking past fifth-level was a threshold; many soul masters spent their entire lives unable to achieve it. Beyond fifth-level, each advancement was a transcendental transformation.

The Taiji two-character Doukai had propelled Zhao Xuanzhen’s manufacturing skills to rapid growth; the moment he completed the core chest armor, his vocational rank in machine manufacturing surpassed both machine design and repair, leaping straight to sixth-level.

Zhao Xuanzhen’s movements now flowed like clouds and water, elegant and effortless, no less refined than those of high-level machine manufacturing masters—fluid, swift, even astonishingly fast.

Mu Ye stared fixedly at Zhao Xuanzhen’s dancing hands; the Dark Gold Terror Claws resembled ten flying chisels, the square Yun Silver gradually taking on an irregular shape, strange soul-tool array patterns emerging upon it, then being further subdivided and engraved.

The next instant, Mu Ye’s eyes widened in shock, nearly popping from their sockets—Zhao Xuanzhen, without finishing the first piece of Spirit-Forged Yun Silver, maintained the carving rhythm with his right hand while his left hand reached for the second piece!

Chen Silver was a moderately rare metal, Lan Yun Copper a high-mid grade; their combination, Yun Silver, was a Spirit-Forged alloy relatively easy to engrave. The difficulty was nowhere near that of Chaos Divine Metal, yet to produce it so swiftly while multitasking remained an incredible feat!

This scene shook Mu Ye’s worldview; he asked himself: when he was a sixth-level machine manufacturing master, could he have done this? But Zhao Xuanzhen performed it so casually, effortlessly, with complete mastery.

“No… no…”

Mu Ye suddenly realized the key point, exclaiming: “The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s secret technique—Divided Mind Control!

You actually know this too?!”

Zhao Xuanzhen replied calmly: “A support-type sect with fatal flaws split into two factions under the tide of the new era. Its secret techniques are no longer secrets.”

Ning Rongrong, the Nine-Colored Goddess, left no descendants. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was a misnomer—barely different from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of twenty thousand years ago, where its soul masters remained forever stuck at seventy-nine-level Soul Sage, suffering greatly in the Doukai era.

Thousands of years ago, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect erupted in civil strife; the former second-ranked sect on the continent fractured—one branch remained on the Douluo Continent, the other followed the Star Luo imperial clan to the Star Luo Continent. The Spirit Tower took advantage of the chaos, plundering the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s secret techniques; against weak support sects, the Tower’s elders had countless covert and overt methods!

“Are you a Three-Apertures Control Heart?” Mu Ye asked.

“Four-Apertures Constant Heart.”

Divided Mind Control had five levels—from Three-Apertures Control Heart (one mind, three tasks) to Seven-Apertures Luminous Heart (one mind, seven tasks).

Beyond strengthening mental power, Divided Mind Control’s greatest use was letting Zhao Xuanzhen chat simultaneously with Gu Yue, Na’er, Ye Xinglan, and Yuan En Yehui without confusing memories or sending messages to the wrong person—carving two Spirit-Forged metals was merely an incidental benefit…

Carving two Spirit-Forged metals was undoubtedly a difficult task; the Dark Gold Terror Claws continuously cut, drilled, and polished. To Mu Ye’s eyes, Zhao Xuanzhen’s carving technique didn’t resemble making Doukai or soul tools—it resembled watching a performance, a dazzlingly beautiful machine manufacturing spectacle.

The pristine surface of the Yun Silver gradually took shape, revealing nested hexagram core arrays, the dark-gold engravings fine and intricate.

“Click—”

Zhao Xuanzhen flipped his wrists, the Dark Gold claws slicing along the Yun Silver’s edge into the core; at the instant before the metal cracked, the blade’s sharpness fused the fissures into energy conduits. The silver-white Spirit-Forged alloy hummed and floated upward, the core array emitting dark-gold threads of light, weaving a soul-power field that enveloped both pieces of metal.

The metals bloomed with gorgeous patterns amid the energy clash, then forcibly merged by the expanding halo from the core, finally fusing into a spherical crystal the size of a fist, its surface swirling with overlapping dark-gold soul-tool array runes.

Thick soul power flowed like a gentle stream; a beautiful light membrane condensed on the crystal’s surface. Zhao Xuanzhen retracted the Dark Gold Terror Claws and handed the sphere to Mu Ye.

Mu Ye examined the artifact forged from the two Divine Base Alloys, occasionally murmuring in awe—it was a composite soul-tool core. When he released a trace of soul power into it, the spherical crystal glowed brightly, absorbing the soul power violently.

The internal soul-power compression core array and charging core array activated; the entire silver-white metal blazed brilliantly, releasing a powerful soul-power fluctuation.

“A composite machine core, containing three effects: soul-power charging, soul-power compression, and soul-power conversion—more than sufficient for an ordinary black-level machine core.”

Mu Ye listed its features, set the crystal down, and said with a strange expression: “What’s going on with you? You’re not focusing on studying Doukai—why are you venturing into machine manufacturing?”

Zhao Xuanzhen sighed: “It’s a long story. I’ve taken the soul-tool train twice, and both times I encountered evil soul masters.

I’m probably cursed by soul-tool trains—I don’t want to become a train killer. I plan to build a personal transport, like my teacher’s black-level machine, Tianhuo Phoenix.

These two pieces of Divine Base Alloy Yun Silver form a dual-frequency drive machine core, greatly extending the black-level machine’s endurance. Metal deformation is a necessary capability; the outer shell will be crafted from Spirit-Forged Yu Silver, ensuring three forms—land, sea, air—to guarantee the machine isn’t hindered by terrain.”

Hearing this, Mu Ye nodded slightly: “A fully spirit-forged black-level machine is extremely luxurious for a personal transport. Why not consider focusing on red-level machines instead?”

The Ben Ti Sect Master’s old habit resurfaced—he grew restless: “The Ben Ti martial soul has a natural advantage in machine fusion. Though most scholars on the continent now believe red-level machines are inferior to four-character Doukai, at best matching three-character Doukai,

red-level machines have no upper limit. I firmly believe a Ben Ti soul master will one day create a new type of machine that transcends the limitations of this era.”

Seeing that fiery gaze, Zhao Xuanzhen suddenly felt the strange sensation of a misguided senior urging a junior to step into a firepit—he shook his head like a rattle drum.

Mu Ye was furious. Why was it so hard to find a perfect heir to inherit his legacy? He wanted to rip open Zhao Xuanzhen’s skull and pour all his divine-level machine knowledge straight into his brain!

Once you enter the deep sea of divine-level machine manufacturing, Zhao Xuanzhen knew his main mission was cultivation—his True Self’s strength must always come first, surpassing even awakening the Eight Deceitful Gods.

The machine manufacturing test passed smoothly; a six-level machine manufacturing master at age fourteen was unheard of. Mu Ye was ecstatic, and immediately began instructing Zhao Xuanzhen in the secrets of black-level machine manufacturing.

Machine manufacturing was far easier than Doukai—even a fully spirit-forged black-level machine couldn’t compare to Zhao Xuanzhen’s two-character Doukai Taiji; only minor manufacturing details needed attention.

The old man and the boy talked at length; Mu Ye was a strong contender for the title of the continent’s top machine manufacturing master. Conversing with him, Zhao Xuanzhen gained profound insights and grew ever clearer on how to perfect the black-level machine.

Shi Laike’s final exam had a fifteen-day deadline, requiring passage through ten cities to reach Mingdu—one city per day was sufficient. Zhao Xuanzhen planned to stay overnight at the Forge Master’s Association tonight and depart at dawn.

The two left the workshop just as the Divine Smith Zhen Hua strode in, accompanied by a thirty-year-old, burly man—tall, imposing, with a dark, rugged face, the classic look of a forge master.

“Mu Ye, Xuanzhen, you’re done?” Zhen Hua smiled and introduced.

“Yuan Zhong, son of the Seven-Star Saint Smith Yuan Hua, the Association’s most heavily nurtured next-generation forging prodigy. At thirty-one, he’s already a sixty-three-level Soul Emperor. Fourteen years ago, he briefly cracked the Teenage Genius List thanks to his outstanding secondary profession.”

“Xuanzhen, you arrived suddenly. Xiao Yuan is the strongest tester the Forge Master’s Association could find.”

Yuan Zhong bowed respectfully, his eyes blazing: “Brother Xuanzhen, I am a sixth-level forge master and a battle-oriented soul master who craves challenging experts. I hope you will not withhold your teachings.”

“Very well, Brother Yuan, please.”

The three arrived at the Forge Master’s Association’s Douhun Arena; the two elders watched leisurely, while Zhao Xuanzhen and Yuan Zhong stood facing each other, fifty meters apart.

“Use as few soul skills as possible. Show me every Ben Ti secret technique you’ve learned,” Mu Ye whispered.

Zhao Xuanzhen nodded lightly, set up his soul-tool communicator, and expertly switched to recording mode. Opposite him, Yuan Zhong’s blood boiled with passion, fists clenched, eager to fight, his face flushed with excitement.

Having barely scraped onto the Teenage Genius List and been surpassed after just one season, Yuan Zhong deeply resented the Spirit Tower’s judging standards. Upon hearing his opponent was the current number one on the Teenage Genius List and a core disciple of the Spirit Tower, he immediately accepted Divine Smith Zhen Hua’s invitation to fight!

Soul power erupted; a layer of dark, messy bristles covered Yuan Zhong’s body, and a half-foot-long sharp horn sprouted from his head—his martial soul manifested: Black Horn Boar!

Two yellow, three purple, one black—six soul rings spiraled upward from his feet. For an average-talent forge master in the Association, this soul ring combination was already top-tier.

“The Teenage Genius List’s number one is a worthy opponent—I’ll strike first!”

Yuan Zhong took a deep breath. The Black Horn Boar was a brute-force martial soul, thick-skinned and tough, excelling at charges. With a thought, his third and sixth soul rings glowed; under the dual soul skill boosts, a roaring phantom Black Horn Boar appeared behind him, and he charged straight at Zhao Xuanzhen, head down.

The Black Horn Boar surged forward trailing a black plume; Zhao Xuanzhen’s bones cracked loudly as he shifted into his optimal battle Bone Mode. A pair of black-and-white wings burst from his back like a streak of light, Yingxiang the Black Horn Boar, his eyes gleaming with inner radiance!

Illusion Brain Douluo’s ultimate technique: Mental Erosion!

Yuan Zhong’s spiritual sea was instantly struck by lightning; his forward charge halted dead, his momentum gone. His Black Horn Boar’s spiritual power was weaker than that of a six-ring evil Soul Emperor—his mind was a foggy mess!

When his vision cleared again, Yuan Zhong could only watch helplessly as Zhao Xuanzhen closed the distance, a bony fist inches from his face—he had no time to don even a one-character Doukai!

“Thud—Crack—Ah—Puff—Eeeyaa—”

(End of Chapter)