Zhen Hua waved him off, and said, "I"m fine. It"s a pity that I failed on the cusp of success."
He raised the piece of metal in his hand for Tang Wulin to examine as he spoke.
There was four-colored light revolving over the surface of the metal, and it was also releasing a layer of golden light, creating a spectacular sight to behold. Furthermore, Tang Wulin could clearly sense that the life force energy imbued within this piece of metal far exceeded that of his soul refined metals.
Tang Wulin asked, "Is this not already a success? I can sense that it"s already become very powerful."
Zhen Hua shook his head in response. "It"s not that easy to complete heavenly refinement. Due to the fact that this heavenly refinement was attempted using four types of elements, it has to withstand four bolts of tribulation lightning. Only after withstanding all four bolts of lightning will it be able to undergo the final solidification process. The light that you"re seeing now is the power bestowed upon the metal by the first three bolts of tribulation, but without that undergoing the solidification process, it can"t make full use of this power; it"ll only receive some enhancements.
"The most difficult part of heavenly refinement is the final tribulation transcendence. Having failed to transcend the tribulation, this piece of metal can only be referred to as a faux heavenly refined metal, and that"ll severely lower its price. Of course, it can still be used in a suit of four-word battle armor, but the effect will be far inferior."
Zhen Hua was feeling quite awkward as he explained these things to Tang Wulin. He was feeling very good today, and he could sense that there was a very good chance of success. However, in order to win over Tang Wulin, he had significantly exerted himself by completing soul refinement with a single hammer blow. As a result, he was unable to withstand the final bolt of tribulation lightning.
Tang Wulin asked, "During the tribulation transcendence, it seemed to me like you were a.s.sisting the piece of metal with your power; were you protecting it during its tribulation transcendence?"
Zhen Hua nodded in response. "Spirit refinement bestows life, soul refinement bestows intelligence, and heavenly refinement bestows ability. During this process, the metal is like a child going through stages of growth, so it needs to be protected and cherished by us blacksmiths. During the tribulation transcendence process, we actually have to bear the brunt of the tribulation lightning"s power. At the same time, we have to ensure that the power of the tribulation lightning is absorbed by the metal in a slow and steady process. Otherwise, there"s no way that it would be able to transcend the tribulation on its own.
"This is why a Divine Blacksmith has to be a t.i.tled Douluo; not only is heavenly refinement extremely taxing on the blacksmith, how can one possibly expect to withstand this tribulation lighting without sufficient power? Truth be told, this is also the most difficult problem that you"ll have to face. Tribulation lightning is very damaging to us, and it could severely impact our bodies if we"re not careful. During each heavenly refinement, my body is damaged to a certain extent, and this is why my cultivation rank has remained stagnant after I became a t.i.tled Douluo.
"You"ll definitely fare much better in this regard as your physical const.i.tution is far more powerful than mine. On top of that, you earned your cultivation rank through arduous cultivation, so I have great confidence in you. Now then, did you feel anything from watching my heavenly refinement?"
Tang Wulin nodded in response. "I did, but I"ll need to try it for myself."
Zhen Hua nodded, and said, "Failure is inevitable when one first begins attempting heavenly refinement. I failed over 1,000 times before I finally succeeded the first time, and even then, your grandteacher praised me as a superb prodigy. The most important thing is to not rush things or allow frustration to set in. If that happens, there"s no way you"ll be able to succeed."
"Yes, Uncle-teacher!" Tang Wulin replied in a respectful manner.
Zhen Hua smiled, and said, "Alright, it"s your turn now. Remember, during the heart refinement process, you have to fully communicate with the metal that you"re forging. Only then will the final heavenly refinement process be more harmonious. The tribulation lightning is very damaging to the metal, so you have to make it understand that you"re doing this for its benefit. Otherwise, if it begins to resist the tribulation lightning, then the heavenly refinement will inevitably fail."
Thus, Zhen Hua disclosed a series of fine details and things to be careful of during heavenly refinement in a patient manner, and Tang Wulin listened with rapt focus.
Every single step and detail had to be perfect to ensure successful heavenly refinement.
"Alright, that"s about it. Give it a try, and don"t be disheartened if you fail; the key is to experience the process. I"ll help you draw upon the power of the elements. The most basic heavenly refinement requires the incorporation of four different types of elements, and the greater the amount of elements you inject into the metal, the higher the caliber of the finished product after successful completion of heavenly refinement. After the tribulation transcendence, there"s one final step, which is molding. During that step, we have to alter the characteristics of the piece of metal according to the requirements of the one who commissioned its refinement, thereby giving form to the piece of divine-grade metal."
After watching Zhen Hua"s demonstration and hearing his explanation, Tang Wulin was raring to go. This heavenly platform was undoubtedly the ideal place for heavenly refinement, and his uncle-teacher was the perfect mentor to guide him through this process.
It had taken his uncle-teacher over 1,000 attempts to finally succeed, but he had to try his best to beat this mark. There were so many things that he had to do, so it was best for him to make this breakthrough as early as possible.
He took a deep breath and strode over to the forging bench, then closed his eyes to completely calm himself.
This was his first attempt at heavenly refinement, and the first thing that he had to do was concentrate. After that, he had to a.s.sess every single aspect about the piece of metal that he was about to forge.
Zhen Hua was standing beside Tang Wulin, and he could feel Tang Wulin"s blood essence fluctuations gradually become more gentle while his aura also became more condensed. He couldn"t help but nod with approval; this disciple of his was truly an exceptional talent! Back when he had first attempted heavenly refinement, he was already a middle-aged man, so it was extremely remarkable that Tang Wulin could be so steadfast and composed at such a young age.
It had taken him over six years and over 1,000 attempts to finally become a Divine Blacksmith, and only he was aware of just how painful that process had been.
He firmly believed that with Tang Wulin"s apt.i.tude, it definitely wouldn"t take him that long. As for exactly how long it was going to take, that would depend on his learning ability and how much effort he put in.
The happiest and most unforgettable day of Zhen Hua"s life was the day when he had successfully completed heavenly refinement for the very first time. Now, the happiest thing for him was to nurture another Divine Blacksmith as his successor.
Even though he was a Divine Blacksmith, he had a rather unstable foundation due to the excessive consumption of spirit items to enhance his cultivation rank. During these past few years, his success rate in heavenly refinement had been steadily decreasing, and this was a direct result of his physical condition gradually worsening due to the waves of tribulation lightning he had endured. As such, he had already significantly decreased his own heavenly refinement workload so his body could recover.
It was also exactly because of this that he wanted Tang Wulin to take over from him as soon as possible. Only when led by a Divine Blacksmith would the blacksmith a.s.sociation be considered a first-rate organization on the continent and continue to receive the same amount of resources as it currently did.
Just as these thoughts were flas.h.i.+ng through his mind, Tang Wulin sprang into action. He opened his eyes and reached out with his right hand, drawing a piece of metal onto the forging bench from a nearby shelf.
Zhen Hua was quite amused to see this piece of metal. This disciple of his really did have a thing for heavy silver!
Indeed, Tang Wulin had chosen heavy silver again, just as he had for his first attempts in spirit refinement and soul refinement. In order to better experience the process of heavenly refinement, he had only chosen heavy silver rather than attempt to create an alloy, thereby lowering the relative difficulty.
Zhen Hua almost never used heavy silver for heavenly refinement as it simply wasn"t worth completing heavenly refinement on a metal of that caliber, but Tang Wulin had always had a special bond with heavy silver ever since he had first begun his forging journey.
As such, he had chosen it almost without any hesitation for his first heavenly refinement attempt.
He raised both hands in unison, and his soul refined Heavy Silver Hammers appeared in his grasp. The forging bench was activated, and the piece of heavy silver began to calcine.
He brandished his Heavy Silver Hammers in a well-rehea.r.s.ed manner, and he felt as if he could hear the hammers cheering joyfully.