Douluo Dalu 4: Ultimate Fighting

TL : GoldenLung

The rumbling sounds became extremely intense. Initially, the forging counter only shook, but very soon, the huge sound wave caused the entire forging room to tremble.

“Dang!” The twelfth hammer fell. The chunk of metal had shrunk by a third and a layer of bright silver suddenly blossomed from it, causing the entire forging room to become brighter.

“Hundred Refinement !” Yang Yingming clenched his fists subconsciously.

Twelve strikes, just twelve strikes and he actually succeeded in Hundred Refinement ?

The Hundred Refinement did not really require striking over a hundred times, but held the meaning of a Thousand Tempering Hundred Refinement. When the rare metal was purified to a certain extent, there would be a qualitative change. This was the so-called Hundred Refinement purification.

Yang Yingming knew that he would never be able to complete the Hundred Refinement with just 12 strikes. He had long heard that the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer technique was especially suited for forging, but it was not an easy task to obtain the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer technique. Furthermore, it was said that this technique was extremely difficult to control. He did not expect that he would actually see it performed by Lan Xuanyu, and that its effect was actually so good.

Twelve hammer strikes for achieving Hundred Refinement, what sort of level was this? This was at least the standard of a second rank blacksmith, right? He clearly remembered what Lan Xuanyu was like when he first came here. At that time, he was definitely a novice who had never come into contact with forging before! In just five months, he actually improved so much?

Lan Xuanyu’s forging was not over yet. His body was still spinning and he was still forging. The heavy hammers continued to fall and every time they landed, there would be an even louder rumble.

At this moment, Yang Yingming, who was watching from the back, felt ashamed. He said that he wanted to teach him, but looking at his level, he was clearly already not inferior to him! That hammer move was so pure and powerful. Just with this display of strength, he was already far superior to his peers.

How did he train?

Lan Xuanyu didn’t know what Yang Yingming was thinking. He was completely immersed in his forging and with every strike, he could clearly feel the changes in the Heavy Silver. These changes were like a guide for him, for the location of his next strike.

Lan Xuanyu watched as the Heavy Silver became smaller and smaller. The power of his bloodline surged and poured into his limbs and bones. The recoil from the forging hammer was naturally used by him, and it would never affect his stability.

His soul and bloodline powers were injected into the forging hammer as well as the Heavy Silver.

The hammer in his hand was just an ordinary forging hammer. It was fine at the beginning, but as the forging time lengthened, the forging hammer began to be overwhelmed and needed his soul and bloodline powers to protect it.

At the same time, Mr. Le had told him in the past why forging had become one of the auxiliary professions in the manufacturing of Battle Armors. It was because during the forging process, the soul and bloodline powers of the blacksmith would fuse with the metal, thus subtly influencing the changes happening to the metal during the forging process. This was so as to prepare for a higher level of forging, allowing the metal to grow as if it was a living being.

Mr. Le’s description of forging was very simple and could be summarized in one sentence. It was a process of creating life.

A Hundred Refinement Purification was for condensing life energy, while a Thousand Refinement Soul Forging was for awakening its soul. The higher the level of forging, the more one would be able to bestow a soul or increase its intelligence. This was the essence of forging.

Hence, when Lan Xuanyu was forging, he held the same mentality and viewed forging as a process of creating life. He was young, but his ability to accept things was extremely strong.

Only after forging for such a long time, did he come into contact with rare metals and heh especially treasured this time’s forging as he opened up his senses. Compared to a few months ago, his spiritual power had improved greatly and his comprehension was naturally much deeper.

“Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang…” As the heavy hammer fell, the color of the Heavy Silver became brighter. With every strike, the entire forging table would tremble.

Yang Yingming stared at Lan Xuanyu’s hammer and felt the changes in that piece of Heavy Silver. He was gradually gaining some insights.

Although Lan Xuanyu’s hammer was heavy, it always landed at the right spot. His strength was completely transmitted to the metal, and when his soul power was being injected into the Heavy Silver, there were even some adjustments. Those were all instantaneous. If not for Yang Yingming being extremely familiar with forging, he might not have felt it.

Furthermore, each time Lan Xuanyu injected his soul sower into the Heavy Silver, the adjustment would be different. This meant that Lan Xuanyu was constantly adjusting according to the changes happening to the Heavy Silver as he forged. Yang Yingming knew that he could only do this much and might not be able to do it better than him.

A few months! In just a few months without using any rare metals, how did he do it?

Little did he know that when Lan Xuanyu was forging iron ingots, he needed to make even more adjustments. It was more taxing than forging rare metals. There were many impurities in an iron ingot, and only 1% of the 10 kilograms of metal could be purified into metal essence. There were so many adjustments. There weren’t as many adjustments to do for the Heavy Silver compared to an iron ingot, but Lan Xuanyu felt that its changes were even greater and it had a stronger activity. He had to fully concentrate and feel it continuously.

This was also a process of getting familiar with the metal.

“Boom!” The last hammer landed and Lan Xuanyu spun for three rounds before he could stabilize himself because of the recoil.

The Heavy Silver in front of him immediately let out a “weng” sound. A layer of silver halo appeared and rose. It rose about a foot and lingered for a long time before gradually descending.

The Heavy Silver was less than half its original size and its entire body was much brighter, as though it had been cleansed from any dust. Under the reflection of the light, the specks of silver were as beautiful as the cosmos.

Lan Xuanyu furrowed his brows. “It’s only one foot. I’m still too unfamiliar with its characteristics. I wasted it. Sigh…”

Yang Yingming, who was standing behind him, was dumbstruck. “Wasted? How is it wasted? Didn’t you succeed in the Thousand Refinement ? The Thousand Refinements Soul Forging will make light surge up from the metal.”

Lan Xuanyu subconsciously replied, “But Uncle Le said that a Thousand Refinement can only be considered a success if the light raises over 10 feet! It’s only a foot.”

“Ten feet? Ten feet is a First-Grade Thousand Refinement, the highest grade. Only fourth-rank blacksmiths can do that. It’s also the requirement to become a fourth-rank blacksmith, alright? You’ve only been learning for a few months and you’re already thinking of First-Grade Thousand Refinement.” Yang Yingming looked at Lan Xuanyu speechlessly.

Lan Xuanyu turned to look at him and said in embarrassment, “Is that so? Senior, what is my current level ?”

Yang Yingming’s breathing was a little uneven. “You were talking about Uncle Le just now? Your teacher?”

Lan Xuanyu nodded. “I guess so, he taught me how to forge before.”

Yang Yingming was enlightened. “I was wondering how you could reach this level in just a few months. Thousand Refinement, even ordinary Thousand Refinement, are at the level of a third rank blacksmith. As long as you can display a Thousand Refinement during the test, it will be fine. Our association can evaluate blacksmiths below the fourth rank. Those above the fourth rank will have to invite the Federation’s Blacksmith Association to come over. But the people from our Shrek City’s branch are filled by our academy’s seniors and teachers. Third rank! Did you really only learn for a few months?”

Third rank blacksmith? Lan Xuanyu nodded his head, he wasn’t too bothered by this because Mr. Le had told him before that if he wanted to make a One-Word Battle Armor, the Thousand Refined metal had to be ten feet tall. If possible, it would be best if two types of metals were fused. The alloy would then be more suited for a One-Word Battle Armor, as it would be more beneficial for evolution in the future. Also, there was no need to add a new metal when it would be upgraded into a Two-Word Battle Armor. Only metals from First-Grade Thousand Refinement could fuse with the user because their soul would be already completely awakened and thus fuse with the user’s bloodline.

Translate and Editor by SilverRift & GoldenLung (goldsilvertranslation.wordpress.com)

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