Chapter 121: Hammer Art Talent Stacks Up

"Huff~"

Hammer rising, hammer falling, smoke and fire spreading. Li Yuan immersed himself in the forging, his breathing rhythm shifting in concert with the hammer technique.

The matching breathing method of the Soldier's Path Battle-Killing Hammer is called the "Nine Forms," comprising nine different breathing rhythms corresponding to various situations.

Standing post, forging, practicing forms, practicing strikes, combat and slaughter, healing wounds, and so on—each uses a different breathing method, and the circulation of qi, blood, and inner force differs accordingly.

"Huff!"

"Inhale!"

Li Yuan shifted his breathing, avoiding the thick forge smoke. The fourth-tier forging hammer rose and fell in his hands with an indescribable natural ease.

A good forging hammer is to a blacksmith what a sword is to a swordsman. Though he possessed the Great Craftsman's Hammer, he usually wielded it through the Soldier Register, and what he used was merely an ordinary forging hammer.

Now, holding this famed-tier forging hammer in his hands, he immediately noticed the difference.

"This hammer… fits the hand too well…"

Only when every impurity had been purged from the refined iron did Li Yuan stop, still somewhat loath to put it down.

This hammer perfectly suited the Soldier's Path Battle-Killing Hammer, as if it had its own breath and life, working in concert with his forging.

Every strike carried a sense of force fully unleashed, with not the slightest leakage—a feeling of utter exhilaration.

"The Autumn Water Sword never gave me this feeling. Is a famed-tier weapon really this good, or is it because of my hammer-technique talent?"

Li Yuan was toying with the hammer when he suddenly noticed the surroundings had gone quiet. He looked up and saw a gray-robed, unkempt old man staring fixedly at him.

"Li Yuan greets the Grand Elder!"

Li Yuan came back to himself and hurriedly bowed, not daring to be remiss.

This old man was none other than the Grand Elder of the Weapon-Forging Valley, Jing Jing Shuhu.

More than sixty years ago, he had been among the top three True Successors of his generation alongside Han Han Chuijun and Lord Master Gongyang Yu. His innate talent fell short of those two, yet he was universally acknowledged as the foremost forging prodigy the Divine Weapon Valley had seen in several hundred years.

Over thirty years ago, he had already successively forged several top-grade famed-tier weapons, his reputation soaring—even renowned grandmasters from other Daozhou came seeking him to forge weapons.

At the time, he was considered the Divine Weapon Valley's likeliest candidate in six hundred years to forge a "divine weapon"—a Grand Master Forger.

Unfortunately, a serious injury on an outside trip…

"Han Han Chuijun's disciple."

Jing Jing Shuhu's face was expressionless. He looked Li Yuan up and down for a long while before saying:

"What business brings you to the Weapon-Forging Valley?"

Li Yuan bowed with great respect:

"This disciple is a blacksmith by origin and has long admired the art of weapon-forging…"

When it came to handling old men, Master Li had some experience. This Jing Jing Shuhu was unkempt and slovenly, not bothering to tidy himself at all.

Dealing with such people, it was best not to beat around the bush or make excuses.

Jing Jing Shuhu's face darkened: "Then do you know that Han Han Chuijun and I bear a considerable grudge?"

There's such a thing?

This was intelligence he had failed to gather.

Li Yuan's heart tightened and he inwardly cried out that things were bad.

The Weapon-Forging Art ranked no lower than the Inner Gate's five great True Successor arts. Without Jing Jing Shuhu's approval, he feared he would not be able to learn it.

"Hmph!"

Just as he was inwardly mulling over what to say, Jing Jing Shuhu flicked his sleeve and walked off. After a few steps, seeing Li Yuan hadn't moved, he turned and rebuked him, visibly displeased:

"What kind of disciples does Han Han Chuijun take on—every one of them dull and stupid? Must this old man carry you on his back?"

"Follow me!"

"Yes!"

Li Yuan was mildly pleased—there's still a chance?

A sidelong glance showed him that the surrounding smiths, though awed, also wore looks of envy. Reassured, he hurried to catch up.

Before the Soldier Register advanced to fifth-tier, he had already been very interested in the Weapon-Forging Art. After the Weapon-Merging Furnace appeared, this extraordinary forging technique's standing in his heart had risen to an extremely high place.

The weapons each smith forged differed according to their personal methods. To bring out the Weapon-Merging Furnace's greatest effect, it was best to forge one's own weapons.

……

The forging ground covered a considerable area, yet it was still not the end of the cavern.

Following Jing Jing Shuhu, Li Yuan walked onto a tunnel whose floor tiles were even hot to the touch. He had not gone far before he was already sweating.

He had no choice but to adjust his breathing and circulate his qi and blood, inwardly alarmed:

"Good lord, this temperature must be over seventy degrees!"

Jing Jing Shuhu kept walking. Li Yuan followed, gritting his teeth, feeling the surrounding heat was outrageous to the point of fury. Each breath he drew stabbed at his five viscera and six bowels.

After walking another stretch, Li Yuan was already preparing to stop. Even with his blood energy and inner force shielding his body, this kind of temperature could already harm a person.

"This place is less than a hundred zhang from the geothermal fire vein."

Jing Jing Shuhu stopped at this point.

Li Yuan wiped his sweat. The rolling heat waves nearly brought tears to his eyes; his breathing rhythm had dropped to the lowest, and he had no desire to speak at all.

In this spacious cavern, the surrounding stone walls were somewhat reddened—this too was a weapon-forging site.

However, there were only three forging platforms.

"Han Han Chuijun's disciples—this old man has never liked them."

Jing Jing Shuhu was entirely unaffected. Hands clasped behind his back, he said in a deep voice: "However, since Old Lei says your talent is extremely good, this old man will give you a chance!"

Li Yuan bowed: "Many thanks, Grand Elder."

When you need something from someone, you must have the attitude of someone who needs something. He naturally understood this principle—even though his viscera were in agony as he spoke, he forced himself to bear it.

"The foremost element in forging weapons is fire!"

Jing Jing Shuhu, expressionless, took a bottle of pills from his chest:

"These are seven Organ-Protecting Pills. Take one every three days; they will shield your internal organs from damage..."

Seeing Li Yuan, still in great pain and bowing deeply, he tugged at the corner of his mouth:

"I require you to stay here for a full twenty days and refine at least a thousand jin of Blazing Fire Refined Iron!"

"Twenty days?"

Li Yuan's complexion shifted slightly.

The temperature here is extremely high; after staying just a short while, he already felt unwell throughout his body. Twenty days, and he still has to forge iron...

"Weapon-Casting Art far surpasses the Battle-Hammer of the Weapon Dao. It is a secret never passed down outside the Divine Weapon Valley. Many of my own disciples have not learned it. If you wish to learn, could it be you lack even this much endurance?"

Jing Jing Shuhu sneered:

"A genius? Weapon-Casting Art requires not only talent, but also endurance surpassing that of ordinary people!"

"If you are unwilling, you are free to leave!"

"This disciple is willing to give it a try!"

Li Yuan gritted his teeth and agreed.

"Good!"

Jing Jing Shuhu tossed the bottle of pills over:

"During these twenty days, whatever you need, I will give you. Food and drink are no concern of yours!"

"But if, after twenty days, I do not see a thousand jin of Blazing Fire Refined Iron..."

"Then this disciple will never come to trouble the Grand Elder again!"

Li Yuan sweated profusely, the sweat evaporating almost instantly; his entire body seemed wrapped in mist.

"Good!"

Jing Jing Shuhu laughed loudly, whether in mockery or surprise, no one knew:

"What do you need?"

Under such intense heat, every word Li Yuan spoke felt like a torment.

Yet he still endured, stating his request:

"I promised Eighth Senior Brother I would repair his hammer; I need various types of iron."

"Hmm."

"I sent the servant disciple Liu Zheng to purchase a batch of pills on my behalf..."

"I will fetch them for you!"

"I need to select multiple forging hammers; the more, the better..."

"Hmm?"

Jing Jing Shuhu frowned slightly:

"The forging hammer in your hand is second only to mine. Is it not enough?"

Li Yuan endured in silence, saying nothing.

"Very well. It is but a few forging hammers; take whatever you like."

Jing Jing Shuhu agreed.

The Weapon-Casting Valley has forged iron for over a thousand years; the leftover forging hammers number not ten thousand, but eight thousand.

"Good!"

Li Yuan wiped away his sweat. Looking up, he saw Jing Jing Shuhu's figure had already vanished. Only then did he

pour out an Organ-Protecting Pill and swallow it.

In normal times, no matter where he obtained pills, he would first test them on a small rat, but now he could only take it.

"Hah!"

The Organ-Protecting Pill felt icy upon entering his mouth. Li Yuan felt as though he were drinking ice water on the hottest day of summer; his entire spirit revived.

Though the heat remained unbearable, at least his internal organs no longer throbbed with pain.

"Compared to the agony of altering one's bone structure, what is this?"

Looking at his reddened palms, Li Yuan forced a bitter smile to comfort himself, yet deep within his heart, there was no turmoil.

Learning an art is difficult; he had known that since his first day.

Mastering even the Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer takes over ten years; to learn the Weapon-Casting Art in twenty days, he felt it was no loss.

"This environment is actually an excellent place to cultivate Hard Body techniques?"

Li Yuan breathed in small sips, assumed the Body-Form Stance, and slowly pushed forward, circulating his qi and blood to soothe the heat.

He discovered that qi and blood, as well as internal strength, were consumed extremely quickly here; the progress of his Seven Stars Hard Body seemed to accelerate slightly.

The high heat was far more painful than rubbing against iron sand. Every second felt like a torment, as though he had been thrown into a pot of boiling oil.

"Endure, endure, endure..."

"This youth does possess some perseverance."

Outside the Blazing Fusion Cave, seeing Li Yuan adapt so quickly and even dare to practice martial arts, a hint of surprise finally appeared on Jing Jing Shuhu's face:

"Good bone structure; he adapts to the high heat faster than others?"

Jing Jing Shuhu felt somewhat astonished and doubtful.

The Divine Weapon Valley was founded on weapon-casting, yet seven hundred years ago, no one within the valley could forge a 'Divine Weapon' anymore.

Furthermore, there has never been a disciple with a Dragon-Form Bone Structure in the Weapon-Casting Valley. In fact, had he possessed even a small Dragon-Form Bone Structure back then, only a ghost would have come to forge iron in this sunless underground place.

"Senior Brother, you actually threw him into the Blazing Fusion Cave?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan hurried over, his eyelids twitching wildly; he peeked a few times before finally sighing in relief:

"Han Han Chuijun is most protective of his own. If something happens to this boy..."

Thinking of the consequences, Lei Lei Jingchuan couldn't help but shudder; aside from the Valley Master, no one could stop Han Han Chuijun.

"He isn't dead; if he can't endure it, he won't force it. Besides, with the Organ-Protecting Pill, the worst he'll suffer is some hardship."

Jing Jing Shuhu didn't care much; he had gone through it the same way back in his day, and all disciples learning the Weapon-Casting Art had done so as well.

Han Han Chuijun's disciples wanted to make an exception?

On what grounds?

"A disciple with such bone structure and talent, willing to learn the Weapon-Casting Art—if one is missed, there likely won't be another for several hundred years."

Lei Lei Jingchuan shook his head repeatedly.

The Weapon-Casting Art is indeed a secret transmission, but before a true disciple with Dragon-Form bone structure and supreme talent, he was willing to make an exception.

Alas...

Jing Jing Shuhu glanced at him: "Go, fetch some forging hammers for that boy; he says yours aren't comfortable to use."

"My hammer isn't comfortable?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan glared in anger; that was one he had poured considerable effort into forging, second only to those of the ancestral masters of past generations and Jing Jing Shuhu's own.

"Bring more."

Jing Jing Shuhu yawned, turned, and left: "Watch him; don't let that boy actually die."

"That old fellow..."

Lei Lei Jingchuan scoffed inwardly.

After decades as fellow disciples, how could he not know Jing Jing Shuhu?

A lazy man who would lie down rather than sit, and sit rather than stand; unless he had immense interest, how could he possibly come to meet "the enemy's disciple"?

"Forging hammers, hmm, let me think..."

Within the Crimson Fusion Cave, there was no day or night.

Li Yuan performed only one set of the Weapon-Body Stances before settling; the intense heat had dehydrated him somewhat, and he waited a long while before Lei Lei Jingchuan finally arrived.

"Water, plenty of it!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan carried two large vats; one of them

was filled with Cold Pool water, while the other was brimming with forging hammers.

Li Yuan had no time to thank him; he plunged headfirst into the vat of water, then suddenly pulled back, his teeth chattering from the cold.

"Crimson Fusion Fire plus Cold Pool water—quite a taste, isn't it?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan laughed heartily; only after Li Yuan finished drinking did he toss that vat of forging hammers to him:

"Try them first to see if they're comfortable; tomorrow I'll bring you two more vats!"

"Thank you, Elder Lei."

Having filled his stomach with water, Li Yuan finally felt better; he stretched his limbs and found the oppressive heat somewhat more tolerable.

However, not long after, he was sweating profusely again.

"Forging iron in this place..."

Li Yuan felt his teeth ache; only after seeing Lei Lei Jingchuan depart did he turn his gaze to that vat of forging hammers.

Among the dozens of forging hammers, most were First-Rank hammers, with only a few being Second-Rank.

At the very bottom, however, lay a Third-Rank hammer.

【Grandmaster Forging Hammer (Third-Rank)】

【Forged from Blazing Fire Refined Iron mixed with a hundred types of refined iron; it accompanied a Forging Grandmaster for many years, casting over a hundred weapons; it possesses slight spiritual properties...】

【Control Conditions: Any Hammer Technique at Great Perfection, Fierce Tiger's Mighty Strength, Minor Accomplishment in the Soldier-Path Battle-Killing Hammer】

【Control Effects: Hammer-Type Talent (Deep Blue), Forging Talent (Pale Green), Weapon-Casting Art Mastery (Pale Blue), Forging at Great Perfection (Pale Green), Soldier-Path Battle-Killing Hammer at Great Accomplishment (Pale Blue)】

"What a hammer!"

Li Yuan's mood improved somewhat.

This hammer naturally could not compare to Lei Lei Jingchuan's, but its control conditions were lower and easier to satisfy.

"Two talents, and the Forging Talent is Pale Green; this already counts as a near-Fourth-Rank hammer, and it even has the Great Accomplishment-level Soldier-Path Battle-Killing Hammer buff!"

Li Yuan dumped the entire vat of hammers out, turned his back to the cave entrance, and handled them one by one to prevent anyone from spying.

Soon, he unearthed a Second-Rank hammer whose control effects included the "Minor Accomplishment in Battle-Killing Hammer" buff.

"It also has a Hammer-Type Talent; pity it's only Pale Blue. Hmm... find a few more similar ones and stack the talents to try."

Li Yuan stared intently, his heart filled with joy, momentarily ignoring the oppressive heat around him.

Dozens of hammers, all at least First-Rank and similar in nature, would allow him to try many things.

For instance, simultaneously buffing five Hammer-Type Talents!

"A good opportunity; cannot let it slip away."

After selecting the finest forging hammers, Li Yuan's mind became active.

The Weapon-Casting Valley did not lack Fourth-Rank forging hammers, but he guessed Lei Lei Jingchuan wouldn't bring them all; however, for Third-Rank, it might be possible to assemble a full set of five.

"Select a set; after leaving, buy them with silver. Old Lei is still reasonable to talk to..."

Lei Lei Jingchuan kept his word; afterward, he indeed brought two more large vats of forging hammers.

Li Yuan ultimately assembled four Third-Rank forging hammers, plus one near-Third-Rank forging hammer buffed with a Deep Blue Hammer-Type Talent.

"Fivefold stacking of the Hammer of Heaven-Striking talent, twenty days—should be enough for me to bring the Dou Sha Hammer to Minor Perfection, right?"

Li Yuan was very much looking forward to it.

After confirming no one was nearby, he chose to take command.