Chapter 359: Now it

Qianjun Pavilion.

Inside the forging hall.

Scorching heat surged back and forth through the hall.

“Huh…”

Senior brother Wei Yan let out a long breath.

He raised his thick arm, grabbed a towel, and wiped the sweat from his face.

“Finally done.”

Wei Yan turned his head.

He glanced at his junior brothers and sisters standing at the four other corners of the Starfire Furnace.

“Phase one is a perfect success!”

“Everyone.”

“You’ve worked hard!”

Hearing Senior Brother’s announcement,

Xiao Li, standing nearby, immediately stretched his aching shoulders.

“Hey!”

“You’re being too formal, Senior Brother!”

Xiao Li chuckled.

“With Master himself overseeing us, and the five of us being top-tier SS-rank forging masters, wasn’t a perfect finish just a given?”

Hearing Xiao Li’s words,

Lu Mingzhang nearby also laughed.

“Exactly!”

Then,

Lu Mingzhang sighed and shrugged.

“But…”

“What we can do ends here.”

“We’ve carried out the first step flawlessly.”

“Now it’s up to that Lin Chairman.”

The moment Lu Mingzhang finished speaking,

Xiao Li’s smile vanished instantly.

A look of helplessness appeared on his face.

“Him?”

“Ah…”

“Lin Chairman wants five-element perfect affixes…”

“We’ve slaved away, pushing the first phase to perfection.”

“What’s the point?”

Xiao Li shook his head, his face filled with pessimism.

“In my opinion,”

“all our efforts these past few days will be wasted.”

“That rare, legendary Divine Casting Stone will likely be ruined too, turning into nothing but scrap iron.”

Hearing Xiao Li’s gloomy words,

Jiang Yunshang frowned.

“Xiao Li.”

“The second phase hasn’t even begun—why are you so certain he’ll fail?”

“In my view, if Lin Chairman dared to choose five elements, he must have his reasons.”

After speaking,

Han Shuang blinked and chimed in:

“Exactly!”

“If others can’t do it, what’s that got to do with Lin Mo?”

“Why are you encouraging the enemy and undermining our own confidence now?”

“I stand with Senior Sister—I believe Lin Mo will create a miracle!”

Watching Jiang Yunshang and Han Shuang play off each other,

Xiao Li opened his mouth to retort.

“I—”

“Enough!”

Senior Brother Wei Yan’s sharp voice cut him off.

Wei Yan’s stern gaze swept over Xiao Li and Lu Mingzhang.

“The two of you, say less.”

“As top forging masters of Qianjun Pavilion, at the most critical moment when the weapon is taking shape,”

“you should focus on positive thoughts, pray for a successful forging!”

“Not sigh and groan here, always hoping someone else fails!”

Wei Yan snorted.

“If Master heard you say this,”

“have you already forgotten the lesson from last time you got scolded?”

“Has your butt gotten itchy again from not being scolded these past few days?”

Hearing Senior Brother invoke Master,

Xiao Li and Lu Mingzhang instantly shrank their necks.

Then,

Seeing Master wasn’t present,

Xiao Li still muttered under his breath:

“How am I not being positive?”

“I desperately want this to succeed…”

“Who wouldn’t want to personally participate and witness the birth of a forbidden-grade specialized weapon with ‘perfect affixes’?”

“I dream of it succeeding!”

Xiao Li sighed.

“I just feel… it’s such a waste!”

“All this precious Divine Casting Stone, all this effort we’ve put in—wasted!”

Hearing Xiao Li’s defense,

Wei Yan fell silent.

Because he knew deep down, Xiao Li was right.

At that moment,

Wei Yan noticed movement by the door and turned his head.

“Enough.”

Wei Yan immediately softened his expression and lowered his voice to warn:

“Stop talking.”

“Master’s here!”

Saying this,

he straightened his slightly disheveled collar and led the way toward Mo Qianjun.

The other four followed quickly.

…

At this moment,

Lin Mo followed behind Mo Qianjun.

As he walked, he glanced again at his panel.

【Level: Lv.50 (60%)】

Lin Mo couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

Just now,

he stopped by the dungeon center in Zhu Xing Town and cleared today’s raid quota.

Too bad, even soloing only granted one level.

I have to say.

The higher the level, the more exponentially difficult leveling becomes.

No wonder some people are fifty or sixty years old and still only level sixty or seventy.

He was just thinking.

Wei Yan and the others had already walked up to them.

“Master.”

Wei Yan bowed respectfully.

Mo Qianjun gave a slight nod.

“Wei Yan.”

“How is it going?”

Wei Yan replied:

“Report, Master—everything has gone smoothly. The first phase is perfectly complete. We are ready to proceed to the second phase of forging.”

Hearing this answer,

Mo Qianjun nodded in satisfaction.

“Hmm, good.”

Then,

Mo Qianjun turned his head, his gaze landing on Lin Mo.

“Lin Mo.”

“In the first phase, Qianjun Pavilion has pushed it to its absolute limit for you.”

“Now, it’s your turn.”

Mo Qianjun paused, then confirmed again.

“Are you ready?”

Lin Mo did not hesitate—he nodded.

“Master Mo, I am ready at any moment.”

Seeing the fearless confidence in Lin Mo’s eyes,

Mo Qianjun took a deep breath and waved his hand.

“Good.”

“Follow me!”

Saying this,

Mo Qianjun turned and walked straight toward the massive Starfire Furnace in the center of the hall.

Lin Mo followed closely behind.

The five apprentices and Yan Lie and Feng Cangqiong automatically stepped aside.

……

Arriving before the Starfire Furnace,

Lin Mo felt the colossal presence up close.

The intense heat rushing toward him made his skin sting.

He examined the furnace body carefully.

Right at the front of this massive furnace,

there were two circular openings, each about the size of a bowl.

Around the openings, a ring of small arrays seemed designed to isolate the heat and guide energy.

Clearly,

these two openings were meant for placing one’s hands inside.

Above the two openings,

a row of progress bars was neatly arranged.

Mo Qianjun pointed to the two openings and began to explain the second phase of forging in detail.

“Lin Mo, listen carefully.”

Mo Qianjun’s tone grew serious, like a true mentor.

“In this second phase, you must place both your hands into these two openings.”

“When your hands are inserted, the furnace’s energy will guide you to release your internal elemental power.”

Mo Qianjun looked at Lin Mo.

“The first thing you must do.”

“Is to unleash your elemental power without reservation—to pour out every ounce of strength you have!”

“Channel your elemental power continuously into the weapon’s embryo!”

As he spoke,

Mo Qianjun reached out and pointed to the progress bars above the furnace.

“Do you see these progress bars?”

“They are the direct manifestation of your output strength.”

“The lower bars—like Light and Dark—you won’t need yet. Ignore them.”

“You only need to watch the top five bars: Fire, Earth, Lightning, Ice, and Fire.”

“If you wish to forge an ordinary weapon, your output strength need only reach halfway on the bars.”