Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Is this kid even human?"

Master Feng considered himself accustomed to grand scenes and important figures, having encountered War Venerates from the Great Triple Realm who would be quite courteous towards him.

Advanced Alchemists and Tool-Forging Masters were beings that transcended the ordinary.

One could say, he didn't need to fear any powerful beings in the world and could treat them with equanimity, for it was always they who sought him out. Yet, now he looked as if he had seen a ghost or as if someone had stepped on his tail, and he wanted to jump up and scream.

How could this be possible?

In just a few months, not only had he advanced the skill of Thousand-layer Iron to 32 layers, but he had also done it without fully utilizing the Mad Demon Hammer Technique.

This kid was born to smith!

Master Feng burst into pleased laughter and said, "Guo Zhen, you must immediately teach him the Star Force operations of the Mad Demon Hammer Technique. I believe it won't be long before he can advance Thousand-layer Iron to 64 layers."

"Yes, Master," Guo Zhen nodded respectfully, then nodded to Chu Hao in indication.

"This junior shall take his leave," Chu Hao also performed a courtesy.

"Young man, do not be arrogant or complacent. Strive hard and your future... is immeasurable," Master Feng said with full expectations.

Guo Zhen brought Chu Hao to the backyard workshop and said, "You can start with this one."

He pointed to a room; Chu Hao pushed the door open to see a furnace, an anvil, and various tools inside—some of which he recognized, and some he did not,

a dazzling array.

"Come, I will now impart to you the true essence of the Mad Demon Hammer Technique," Guo Zhen said.

This smithing technique was discovered by Master Feng when he was young, in an abandoned cave dwelling, passed down from the Divine Craftsman Tian Chengzi. On the Sky Martial Star, the title "zi" only appeared when one achieved an extremely high standard in a particular skill.

It was only after receiving the heritage from Tian Chengzi that Master Feng reached his current heights, yet he still fell far short of Tian Chengzi himself.

Though the rank of Mad Demon Hammer Technique was not high, it was a unique skill within the Tool-Forging Realm. Unfortunately, it was too difficult to master and, due to its low rank, martial artists would not seek to learn it. Now, only Master Feng's lineage possessed this secret technique.

After obtaining the Star Force operations of the Mad Demon Hammer Technique, Chu Hao did not immediately start smithing but went outside instead, to cycle Star Force and began practicing the Mad Demon Hammer Technique.

How to exert force and how much to exert were all crucial—this was smithing, not combat—naturally, it was not good to exert full force with every strike. Shocking Force was essential, and the higher the success rate of Shocking Force, the more likely it was to produce high-quality Thousand-layer Iron.

Chu Hao swung his hammer around in the backyard, whirling about fiercely. Because of the distinctiveness of the Mad Demon Hammer Technique, he appeared almost insane, which really made one worry whether he might dismantle the buildings around him.

The next day, Chu Hao started smithing.

Ding ding ding, the backyard immediately came alive. According to Guo Zhen, Master Feng's disciples mostly stationed themselves at various branches of Bingyuan Pavilion and only occasionally came back. However, his grand-disciples often returned to consult Master Feng on various issues.

Most of the time, consulting was just a guise, and flattering was the true intention.

After all, since Master Feng had never married nor had children, who would inherit Bingyuan Pavilion in the future? Naturally, it would depend on who could win the old man's favor.

At the beginning, naturally, Master Feng wouldn't use the precious Mysterious Yin True Gold for him to directly practice on, but started him with a piece of Fine Iron for practice. By the end of the day, he had completed the first layer, hammering the Fine Iron thinner than paper; if stood up straight, many people would fail to notice and probably walk right into it.

The next day, Chu Hao began the second layer.

With the foundation laid, his speed increased. Half a day later, he was done. Then he continued to the fourth, the eighth layer, completing 32 layers in just three days.

But the real challenge was still to come.

Could he achieve 64 layers?

On the fourth day, even Master Feng personally came over to watch Chu Hao smith.

Chu Hao held the blacksmith's hammer in his right hand and the tongs in his left, gripping a red-hot iron block; after closing his eyes briefly, he started his movements.

With this action, he was immediately like a mad demon, clanging and clanging, the room buzzing with noise.

For him, there wasn't much difference between 32 layers and 64 layers because, under his brain's precise analytical derivation, the latter was just a bit more complex, needing more calculation.

Yet, this didn't even push his brain to its limits.

Since there was spare capacity in his "brain," it naturally wasn't a problem.

On that very day, he achieved 64 layers.

Master Feng and Guo Zhen looked as if they had seen a ghost, their faces stiff and dumbfounded.

Given Chu Hao's talent, they were 80% confident he could achieve 64 layers, but this timing... it might have taken one or two months. After all, forging a Divine Weapon usually took an extremely long time, sometimes dragging on for four to five years was not unusual.

But... just one day.

Were their eyes deceiving them, or had they seen a ghost?

"What's wrong?" Chu Hao had stopped for a while, but Master Feng and Guo Zhen still hadn't spoken, making him feel very odd.

"My mind's a bit messy, I need some peace," Guo Zhen said bewildered.

This scared them.

Chu Hao pondered and said, "Master Feng, Master Guo, although 64-layer iron can be used to forge Third Rank materials, I think reaching 128 layers would be safer. Give me two more days, I believe I should be able to achieve it."

Pfft!

Feng Yezi and Guo Zhen suddenly came "alive" again, both staring at Chu Hao continuously. Their facial muscles twisted and turned, making Chu Hao admire their control, which was really profound to manipulate one's skin so freely.

"Are, are you serious?" Feng Yezi's voice trembled slightly.

Chu Hao nodded and said, "Two days should be enough." In fact, 128 layers were not enough to fully utilize his brainpower, but to be cautious, he still held back somewhat since one should never speak too definitively.

He was quite a humble person, after all.

But to Guo Zhen and Feng Yezi, his words didn't seem humble at all.

Just two days to progress from 64 layers to 128 layers.

Are you even human?

"Whatever you need, just ask," Feng Yezi immediately said, "I will support you with all my strength."

Ah, 128 layers! For the same material, items forged from 64 layers and 128 layers would differ in quality by at least ten percent. For someone like him, a Great Craftsman, even a one percent difference would drive him crazy.

If Chu Hao could continuously produce 64-layer, or even 128-layer tool-forging materials, then the quality of his creations would improve drastically by two or three grades.

What could be more exciting and eagerly anticipated for Feng Yezi than this?

The following day, Chu Hao began his attempts at 128 layers.

Of course, this was considered an attempt by Feng Yezi and Guo Zhen, but in Chu Hao's eyes, it was almost a certainty.

But when he actually started hammering, Chu Hao encountered a problem.

The more layers there were, the greater the force required for each layer's integration. By the end of the day, Chu Hao had completed less than half the work and had to continue the next day.

It was not until the afternoon of the third day that he finally finished the task.

Feng Yezi and Guo Zhen were dumbfounded again, while Chu Hao began to ponder.

Theoretically, he could sprint to the highest standard of Thousand-layer Iron, but in reality, he could no longer continue because the force required for 256 layers had significantly increased.

His derivation capability had not been maximized yet, but his physical strength was already lagging far behind.

256 layers might be achievable at the Martial Sect level, 512 layers at the Warrior level, and true Thousand-layer Iron probably at the War General level.

Moreover, considering that higher-rank materials were tougher, the requirement for strength would increase even further. For example, he could forge Fine Iron into 128 layers, but with Mysterious Yin True Gold, it might only reach 64 layers, or even fall back to 32 layers.

He shared this concern with Feng Yezi and Guo Zhen, and both nodded in agreement; it was indeed a significant issue.

What should be done?

Feng Yezi quickly thought of a solution, which was to increase the fire temperature to make the Mysterious Yin True Gold even softer. However, increasing the furnace temperature posed a burden for Chu Hao, and he might even faint from the heat if he stood there a few minutes too long.

"I have a Fire Attribute physique, so my resistance to fire should be much higher than others at the same realm," Chu Hao said.

Feng Yezi was delighted again and said, "It's like heaven itself wants you to become the most outstanding craftsman ever. Guo Zhen wasn't able to become a Tool-Forging Master and was always stuck at 32-layer iron because he doesn't have a Fire Attribute physique."

"The path of tool-forging is best suited for those with a Fire Attribute physique."

Chu Hao smiled. However, he had never aspired to become a Great Craftsman; his goal was simple — to make money to support his cultivation.

They tried raising the furnace temperature. Initially, Chu Hao could easily withstand it with his physique, but when it reached a certain level, he had to circulate his Star Force to resist, but ultimately it still exceeded his limits.

What now?

"Three solutions," Feng Yezi immediately said, "First, improve Chu Hao's physique; second, increase his cultivation; third, find an item like Cold Ice Warm Jade that can resist heat for him to use."

"Master, why not use all three methods?" Guo Zhen suggested.

Chu Hao immediately gave Guo Zhen a grateful look, as both enhancing his physique and cultivation would bring him tangible benefits.

Guo Zhen just smiled at him, clearly very optimistic about this young man.

Feng Yezi couldn't help but smile and flicked his fingers at Guo Zhen, signaling he saw through his "scheme," and said, "Then I'll go to Sky Heart Sect to ask for some Spiritual Medicine. Getting medicine to enhance cultivation is easy, but those enhancing physique are too precious, and Sky Heart Sect might not have them."

"Guo Zhen, come with me. To ask for such a big favor, we'll definitely need to offer something in return. Since it was your idea, you should forge a few weapons for them."

Guo Zhen couldn't help but cry out in dismay.