’The material of this box is something else...’ Su Chen clicked his tongue. He closed the lid, carried the box back to the training room, and pulled up the instructions for the job requirements—
"In an open area, strip naked and evenly scatter the embers of the hundred-year forge fire in a one-meter radius around your body. Simultaneously, strike your body with a giant metal hammer to resonate with the embers. Once a point of harmony is found, the forge fire embers will actively merge into your body."
Su Chen read carefully. At the end, there was a note in red text—
"After resonance occurs, the temperature of the forge fire embers will rise. The process of them merging into your body will cause pain. Please be fully prepared before attempting."
With the experience of his predecessors to guide him, he could skip a lot of trial and error.
Su Chen went into the training room, removed his clothes, and then, following the instructions, evenly scattered the embers from the box around him. They were a mix of incandescent white and charred black, with crimson sparks flashing within them from time to time.
The materials used to build the training room were also extraordinary; the forge fire embers scattered on the floor caused no damage.
Su Chen reached out and retrieved the Formless True Edge from his Storage Space. He gradually transformed it into a giant metal hammer about two meters long, then used his Telekinesis to lift it and suspend it behind his back.
The force needed for this kind of ritualistic resonance didn’t have to be that strong.
THUD!
With a dull thud, the giant metal hammer struck his back. The impact created visible, ring-shaped ripples at the point of contact.
At the same time, the forge fire embers on the ground trembled, and crimson sparks flared up within them before quickly fading.
’This is the state I need...’ Su Chen noted, then quickly resumed hammering, adjusting his speed—sometimes faster, sometimes slower—based on the state of the embers on the ground.
The sparks flaring up in the embers gradually spread into a continuous sheet of light. Then, at a certain moment, the faintly glowing forge fire embers scattered on the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.
As if drawn by an invisible gravity, they transformed into countless firefly-like crimson motes of light, converging on his body from all directions.
When these searing hot fragments of ember touched his skin, they didn’t bounce off. Instead, they clung to it as if they were alive.
They rapidly dissolved, transforming into a viscous, searing hot liquid Energy that seeped into Su Chen’s body through his pores and the fine lines of his skin.
Wherever the flow of Energy passed, a bright red glow appeared beneath his skin, like lava flowing through veins of rock.
"Hiss..." Su Chen sucked in a sharp breath. The temperature was too high; even with the boost from being an Armored Bone Warrior, he could barely withstand it.
But even so, Su Chen once again lifted the giant hammer with his mind and brought it down hard.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Dull rumbles echoed through the training room as the forge fire embers continued to penetrate deeper into his body, merging with every fiber of his flesh and bone and bringing waves of searing, swelling heat from within.
"Whew..." It was a full seven or eight hours before Su Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The forge fire embers on the ground had vanished. On the surface of his powerful, muscular body, tiny sparks flickered before gradually fading from sight.
On his status panel, the third requirement for the Hundred Refinement Forger class was now marked as complete.
Strictly speaking, the second-sequence job for the Permanent Body path wasn’t that difficult. All the requirements were now met, so he could take the job immediately,
But he still hadn’t claimed the extra reward from the Sly Fox Essence, so he wasn’t in a rush.
After tidying up a bit, Su Chen re-entered a state of development.
「The next day.」 A transport-type Flying Device arrived, and casting equipment and materials were unloaded one after another.
Song Yang and his two companions followed close behind, their faces a mixture of excitement and nervousness. The last time they had come to Copper Heart was over a decade ago.
"Just leave it out in the open here."
Su Chen directed the personnel from the Professional Support Department, had them place the equipment in a random open area, and ran an Energy transmission line over. All the basic specifications on the Floating Island had been maxed out, providing enough power to support these high-consumption instruments.
Song Yang and his companions had already created five weapon models for him. He picked up the dagger mold and said, "Your Excellency, the dagger is the simplest. Let’s start with it."
He pointed to a square, grayish-black metal ingot sparkling with starlight on the metal table beside them. "This is Shadow-Hunting Gold. It’s all been refined. You just need to melt it down and forge it into the shape of the mold."
The normal casting process wasn’t nearly this simple, but the materials Liu Zhengan had gathered were all advanced alloys that had already been refined countless times. All Su Chen had to do was the final step.
"This Shadow-Hunting Gold is of Tier Five strength, has a melting point of around 1500 degrees, and possesses the Trait of ’Sharpness.’ It also has an effect on Spiritual Power..."
The youngest Caster Master, Zhou Yuan, had just picked up the material and was speaking at length about it.
But he was only halfway through when Song Yang cut him off. "Your Excellency, you don’t need to know all that. You just need to listen to us."
Zhou Yuan’s expression froze, and he scratched his head in embarrassment.
Su Chen, however, smiled. "What Master Zhou was saying is actually quite interesting."
After easing the tension, Su Chen stood before the casting platform like a puppet, all the parameters having been set by Song Yang and the others.
As crimson and azure flames rose, a scorching heat began to spread, and the Shadow-Hunting Gold gradually turned crimson.
Song Yang looked at Su Chen nervously and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this with your bare hands?"
He had only just learned that Su Chen planned to forge it bare-handed.
This was a Tier Five Weapon. He’d heard that Su Chen was only Tier Five himself. Zhou Yuan and the other Caster Master didn’t dare to speak rashly, merely watching from the side.
"No problem." Su Chen’s biceps suddenly tensed, like a fully drawn longbow. As he clenched his fists, his knuckles let out a series of sharp cracks.
He engaged his core, sinking all his strength downward as his fists became two blurry afterimages, slamming down.
"CLANG—!"