The Legend of the Dragon King

“Hush, watch your words. This is the biggest secret so it’s best that you be careful when you speak. The walls have ears,” Gu Yuena reminded him hastily.

Qiangu Zhangting laughed and spoke, “This is grandfather’s office. There’s no other place that has tighter security than this. No one will hear us, don’t worry. Nana, I really do have to thank you for the Joust For A Spouse Festival and also all the minor details you arranged, but you insist on crediting me. This is…”

Gu Yuena smiled calmly. “I’m only a woman and womeb will always stand behind men. Could it be that your glory is not mine? You’re destined to be the master of the Spirit Pagoda. Moreover, the Pagoda Master would never allow me to carry out so many experiments without you and we wouldn’t have found the Ten Thousand Beast Platform. Thus, how is this not your enormous contribution, huh?”

Qiangu Zhangting paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, Nana. I don’t mean to offend you. Anyhow, there’s just a few more days. I can wait. It’s only that I’m so excited. What have I done to deserve a wife like this, huh?!”

Gu Yuena smiled shyly. “Alright, do rest and recuperate too. The opponents in your group are genuinely powerful. Don’t be careless.”

“Hmm.” Qiangu Zhangting smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. That’s just Yu Longyue, right? I’ll certainly show you how I am going to defeat him. He doesn’t even stand a chance.”

…

“Boom!” Seven-colored lightning struck with a loud boom and exploded on Tang Wulin until his entire body convulsed. However, his hands never stopped even for a moment. He raised his hands abruptly to guide the lightning and split out a much smaller bolt of seven-colored lightning onto the metal before him.

In a split second, seven-colored radiance circulated. The metal seemed to have come alive and transformed into a seven-colored ray of light that rose into the air. Its excited whimper was heard echoing in the sky while the lightning cloud above them had also slowly dispersed into the surroundings and filled the air with a strange elemental fluctuation.

The piece of metal was flickering with speckles of starlight. Seven-colored radiance circulated on its surface. Tang Wulin could control the form of the metal using only his consciousness. However, it refused to leave Tang Wulin’s side. It was as if the metal understood that it would have already died had Tang Wulin not withstood the vast majority of the seven-colored lightning’s energy.

Tang Wulin closed his eyes and quietly sensed the change inside his body after he had being struck by lightning. He was also sensing changes to the laws that appeared in this piece of alloy when it had completed the final pathway to divinity.

After such a long period of forging, he could gradually comprehend the complexity of Heavenly Refinement’s final stage. The function of the elemental calamity was not only to test if the metal itself was capable of shouldering the great but, but more importantly, it was to produce a mutual communication between the metal and the laws of heaven and earth so it could contemplate the change in those laws.

The law had not originated from this plane or this planet. At the same time, there was also a wisp of cosmological power that could be utilized with the guidance of elemental power.

Moreover, Tang Wulin discovered that the better the metal could endure the elemental calamity during Heavenly Refinement, the less he had to withstand himself. After the process was completed, the effect of Heavenly Refinement was better as well. The power of the law contained in the Heavenly Refined metal would be even more powerful too.

Of course, this was also a paradox. The more of the elemental calamity endured by the metal, the higher the chances that it could be damaged and the possibility of the metal fracturing explosively could increase as well.

As a result, Tang Wulin’s role as a Divine Craftsman was to balance this out such that the metal was kept at its limit to produce a better Heavenly Refinement effect.

The process of Heavenly Refinement on spirit alloy revealed its true purpose. The more types of metal used, the higher the harmony rate for the spirit alloy, and this would draw in more powerful elemental calamities so the metal’s endurance would be improved as well.

Tang Wulin had actually discovered some tricks when he was performing soul forging, but he noticed that the effect of this trick was becoming more and more obvious during Heavenly Refinement.

Even so, one could not say that the more durable the spirit alloy, the easier it would be to complete the Heavenly Refinement. On the contrary, it was precisely because of the spirit alloy’s greater endurance, that the elemental calamity drawn in by the metal when the Heavenly Refinement was completed was even more terrifying. Tang Wulin’s endurance was not invulnerable either. When the elemental calamity had surpassed the limits of his endurance, his physical capabilities as the Nature Child would not help him to neutralize this elemental calamity.

The issue troubled him very much. After practicing Heavenly Refinement over the days, he already had some confidence in helping his companions to forge four-word battle armor, but he could only do so after his companions had elevated their cultivation base to Title Douluo rank. Without a Title Douluo’s cultivation base, they were incapable of making their four-word battle armor later and their bodies could not withstand the armor either.

He had already become a Title Douluo, but he was incapable of completing Heavenly Refinement for himself. It was precisely because he had used too many metals and exceedingly high-quality spirit alloy to forge his current battle armor, Dragon Moon Song. This made his final Heavenly Refinement more difficult.

“Why? Your finished product is rather impressive this time! Why do you still have a dissatisfied look on your face?” Zhen Hua came to Tang Wulin’s side and chuckled. Zhen Hua looked at the piece of divine-ranked metal cruising around his body. He was genuinely incapable of putting up a strict expression now.

Tang Wulin spoke in a slightly troubled manner, “Uncle master, it’s not that I’m dissatisfied with my forging result this time. I’m feeling dissatisfied with myself. Do you think that I’m too greedy? I’ve already used six types of metals to make the spirit alloy for my three-word battle armor. Moreover, the harmony rate is above ninety percent. I’ll certainly need to add another type of metal when forging my four-word battle armor. I’m incapable of completing such Heavenly Refinement. In other words, despite becoming a Divine Craftsman, I can’t forge my own four-word battle armor.”

He was a blacksmith, but if he was incapable of completing his own forging, he would never be able to make four-word battle armor.

Zhen Hua chuckled. “No. What are we doing as blacksmiths? Our pursuit is perfection. If I were in your place with your qualifications and ability, I’d be chasin that too. You can’t do it now, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able do it in the future. It’s possible that your four-word battle armor may be delayed, but I believe that you will certainly have the ability to complete it.”

Tang Wulin looked toward Zhen Hua and spoke with a bitter smile, “Really? I’ve tried and my greatest achievement currently is completing the Heavenly Refinement with three types of metals. I’ve already reached a bottleneck no matter how much I keep practising. Not even once have I been successful with a spirit alloy comprised of four metals. Moreover, I will be affected even when I fail. My battle armor is made of seven types of metals. Moreover, the harmony rate is even higher. This is really troubling me!”

Zhen Hua spoke, “Wulin, you should know that you and I are not the same.” His words sounded earnest and sincere.

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment, and Zhen Hua continued to speak, “You and I are different because you’re capable of walking farther down this path than I will ever be. This is not the end for us blacksmiths! Just as there are different ranks for Limit Douluos, it’s the same for us Divine Craftsmen. I’ve been a Divine Craftsman for so many years, but frankly, I can only forge Heavenly Refined spirit alloy made of four types of metals at most even if I were to spare no effort and give it my all. That is my limit. At my age, I’m afraid that I’d need to recuperate for a year even if I were to carry out just one attempt at Heavenly Refinement like this. On the other hand, how old are you? You’re just over twenty years of age this year. More importantly, we’re both Divine Craftsmen, but our inner secrets are different.”

“Your Title Douluo rank was successfully cultivated by depending on your own efforts, bit by bit. You also have a Spirit Domain spiritual cultivation base. As far as I can recall, there has never been a Divine Craftsman with a Spirit Domain spiritual cultivation base in the world of blacksmiths. Moreover, you’re capable of absorbing a certain amount of elemental calamity’s energy. Your current Heavenly Refinement success rate is already close to forty percent. Do you know that if our seniors in the blacksmiths’ world we’re to learn about how dissatisfied you are about your current situation, they would crawl out from their coffins in rage?”

At this point, an excited flush emerged on Zhen Hua’s face. “What is Heavenly Refinement? It is true creation, the power of a world-altering god. Even though our creation is small and we’re only guiding the power of the laws between heaven and earth ever so slightly, it is one of a kind. At least, no other profession can do this besides us.”

“Even though I’m aware that you’re using many types of metals in your spirit alloy and you’ve even succeeded in your Soul Forging afterward, do you know why have not I stopped you? I know very well how difficult it is to perform Heavenly Refinement on spirit alloy, but I didn’t stop you. Do you know why that is?”

Tang Wulin shook his head with slight confusion.

Zhen Hua stretched out two fingers. “Two reasons. The first reason is that I didn’t think that you could become a Divine Craftsman at all.”

“Huh?” Tang Wulin looked at Zhen Hua in bewilderment.