He was suddenly struck by an epiphany; it seemed that it was very difficult to complete heavenly refinement with heavy silver as its ability to withstand tribulation lightning was limited by the caliber of the metal, even after undergoing soul refinement. It was no wonder that Zhen Hua had attempted heavenly refinement with an alloy comprised of two different types of metals; he had most likely taken into consideration the tolerance of the metals themselves. This was the value of experience!
Zhen Hua had divulged a lot of knowledge to him, but there were some things that he neglected to mention as the best way to learn was through practical experience.
During this heavenly refinement process, Tang Wulin had already learned many things.
If it weren"t for his Infernal Lightning Vine, even he would perhaps be unable to protect these three pieces of metal. This tribulation lightning was extremely fearsome, and even his body may not be able to withstand the last few waves.
Thankfully, the Infernal Lightning Vine was the most adept devourer of lighting on this continent. With each bolt of lightning that it devoured, the emotion of elation radiating from it became even more p.r.o.nounced, and it was only sparing the three pieces of soul refined metal some lightning with extreme reluctance.
Tang Wulin was still feeling quite numb, but this sensation was being transmitted to him by the Infernal Lightning Vine, and under its stimulation, his blood essence was becoming more and more exuberant.
A peculiar thought occurred to Tang Wulin: it seemed that he had unintentionally stumbled upon a new body refinement method!
This method wasn"t really applicable to anyone else, but it was clearly immensely beneficial to him. This was quite an unexpected yet pleasant surprise.
As the seventh thunderclap rang out, the entire heavenly platform was stained a rainbow color, and the fearsome elemental aura threatened to destroy the entire platform. The entire dome had also turned a rainbow color, and everyone near the blacksmith a.s.sociation building could see that a vast expanse of rainbow light had suddenly gathered above the building.
In the core area of Bright City, there were two middle-aged men standing atop a tall building, and one of them couldn"t help but sigh at the sight of the rainbow, "Is that Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua completing another heavenly refinement? I wonder if another piece of divine-grade metal is going to be created."
The other middle-aged man also sighed, "If only we could get Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua to forge a piece of divine-grade metal for us."
"Keep dreaming! All pieces of divine-grade metal are worth astronomical prices, and apparently, Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua rarely ever attempts heavenly refinement anymore. The older a Divine Blacksmith becomes, the more damaging heavenly refinement becomes to their body. There"s no other Divine Blacksmith on the entire planet, so I"d rather see him forge as little as possible. Otherwise, if our continent loses its only Divine Blacksmith, the heritage will most likely be severed, and who knows how many years it"ll take before another Divine Blacksmith appears?"
"Indeed. It"s been over 30 years since Zhen Hua became a Divine Blacksmith, yet no other Divine Blacksmith has emerged during this time; is it really that hard to reach that level?"
"You"re a ninth-rank mecha maker; surely you know how difficult it is to reach the very top. Heavenly refinement is at least 10 times more difficult than it is to become a ninth-rank mecha maker. It"s not something that can be achieved purely through cultivation; one must possess an extremely high level of apt.i.tude and experience as well. Having said that, I heard that a young prodigy appeared in the blacksmith a.s.sociation a few years ago, and he became the youngest Saint Blacksmith in history; perhaps he could become a Divine Blacksmith in the future."
"I hope another Divine Blacksmith emerges soon. Otherwise, with Zhen Hua"s current age, you and I will most likely never attain suits of four-word battle armor!"
"I"m certainly not holding my breath. It"s hard to say whether we"ll even be able to become Hyper Douluos; before reaching that level, there"s no point in thinking about four-word battle armor."
......
Rainbow light s.h.i.+mmered as the three pieces of metal transformed into liquid before drifting into Tang Wulin"s hands.
It was as if they had become completely weightless, and there was an indescribable feel to them.
He had done it!
Neither Zhen Hua nor Tang Wulin himself had thought that he would be able to complete heavenly refinement on his first attempt. Due to the fact that success was never considered to be a possible outcome, Tang Wulin hadn"t completed the final molding step. However, these three pieces of heavy silver were now bona fide pieces of heavenly refined metal, and seven different types of elements had been incorporated into them.
No matter how ordinary heavy silver was, these three pieces of metal were now completely extraordinary.
Zhen Hua stared blankly at Tang Wulin and reflexively murmured, "These are most likely the most powerful pieces of heavy silver in history! Give it a name."
All divine-grade metals had the right to possess names, and the ones to name them was naturally the Divine Blacksmiths that had created them.
"I"ll call it Rainbow Heavy Silver!" Tang Wulin said with a smile.
Zhen Hua chuckled, "You lazy little rascal! Fine, we"ll call it Rainbow Heavy Silver. You didn"t bestow upon the metal shape through the final molding step, and it"s too late to do it now; molding can only be done in the instant that heavenly refinement is completed. Make sure not to neglect this step next time. Molding is very important as it makes the piece of metal conform to the requirements of the user. Molding doesn"t just bestow upon a metal shape; even more importantly, you"ll be establis.h.i.+ng its energy profile.
"For example, you"re a strength-type Soul Master, so your divine-grade metal should be molded accordingly to complement your strength. Molding requires a lot of experience and preparation in advance. Of course, this piece of Rainbow Heavy Silver isn"t completely useless; it can be of use to a Soul Master that excels in control over multiple elements."
Upgrading a suit of three-word battle armor to a suit of four-word battle armor didn"t require direct forging from a blacksmith. Instead, the process involved fusing the suitable divine-grade metals into an existing suit of three-word battle armor.
Following the fusion process, core circuits had to be carved out again to complete the final suit of four-word battle armor.
The rarity of suits of four-word battle armor was a direct result of the rigorous requirements involved in crafting them. Both the divine-grade metals and core circuits could only be created after expending a ma.s.sive amount of mental and physical energy.
A faint smile appeared on Tang Wulin"s face, and he was appraising the Rainbow Heavy Silver in his hand in an extremely pleased manner.
He was most likely the first blacksmith to successfully complete heavenly refinement on their first attempt. He wasn"t conceited or arrogant; it was just that heavenly refinement simply wasn"t all that difficult for him.
This was one of the many benefits of being blessed by the plane.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Tang Wulin, and he asked, "Uncle-teacher, does this mean that I"m a Divine Blacksmith now?"
Zhen Hua faltered slightly upon hearing this. Indeed, the requirement for someone to become a Divine Blacksmith was to successfully complete heavenly refinement once.
Tang Wulin had accomplished this, so he was a Divine Blacksmith; the youngest Divine Blacksmith in history!
Zhen Hua suddenly burst into elated laughter. He finally had a successor! It had been many years since he had been this happy.
It was already an immense honor for him to become a Divine Blacksmith, but it was an even greater honor for him to give rise to another Divine Blacksmith!
Zhen Hua"s laughter gradually trailed off, and he said, "Technically, you"re already a Divine Blacksmith, but you didn"t complete the molding process, so you"re still not a Divine Blacksmith in my eyes. Unless you complete molding on your own and forge 10 pieces of divine-grade metal or the metals required for a full suit of four-word battle armor, you"re not a Divine Blacksmith in my heart."
Tang Wulin"s mouth gaped open as he stared at the sly smile on Zhen Hua"s face. "B, but that"s cheating!"
Zhen Hua immediately put on a serious expression, and retorted, "What do you mean cheating? I"m setting these high standards for your own good! What do you take a Divine Blacksmith for? Do you think you can call yourself a true Divine Blacksmith after just a single lucky success? Focus on forging a suit of four-word battle armor for yourself. You"re still not a Hyper Douluo yet, but with your physical const.i.tution, you should be able to handle a suit of four-word battle armor."
Tang Wulin was rendered completely speechless upon hearing this. If a suit of four-word battle armor were that easy to forge, then Zhen Hua wouldn"t have forged only around 10 suits of such armor in his entire lifetime!
"We"ll leave things here for today. Go back and rest for now; we"ll continue tomorrow. After each heavenly refinement you complete, make sure to thoroughly reflect and review the experience you accrued. Don"t even think about going anywhere before you complete heavenly refinement 10 times!"
After that, Zhen Hua clasped his hands behind his back and promptly departed.