Eternal Heavenly Emperor

The other side, Chu Hao also stopped his hammering in response, revealing a similar smile. This smaller material saved time exponentially; he had just finished 128 layers.

"Chu Hao, let me show you something." Shao Rui, after immersing his forged piece in cold water, threw it towards Chu Hao.

"Cousin, hold on." Ge Kui hurriedly intercepted and caught the iron block. He drew a dagger and carved the character "Shao" on it. Then, he turned back and said, "Cousin, this guy might try to switch it."

Shao Rui nodded and smiled; it was possible that Chu Hao couldn't accept losing and might actually do something like that.

It seemed this cousin wasn't completely useless, being quite thorough in his considerations.

Truly a petty mind.

Chu Hao shook his head and also immersed his forged iron block in cold water. Then, he placed it alongside Shao Rui's and said, "Miss An, do you know how to appraise Thousand-layer Iron?"

"Just happened to know a bit." An Feifei smiled enchantingly, her beauty making Shao Rui and Ge Kui's eyes widen.

She first picked up Shao Rui's piece, examined the fracture lines at both ends for a while, then drew the sword from her back and swiftly sliced down with a crisp "ding". The iron block was cleanly cut into two.

What a sharp sword.

Chu Hao couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. Even if Shao Rui had only forged eight layers of iron, it was still very sturdy, yet it could be cut in two with a single sword strike. However, this woman's strength was also considerable; otherwise, no matter how sharp the sword was, it would be useless.

The Sky Heart Sect was more powerful than the Yunliu Sect. As a core disciple of the Sky Heart Sect, she wouldn't lose to someone like Luo Ping. As for Cao Jingwen, that guy was too special to be compared with anyone else.

"Brother Shao's Thousand-layer Iron has reached sixteen layers." An Feifei inspected the newly cut section and showed a look of surprise on her face. She knew Shao Rui had this ability, but to complete it within just three hours meant he had made significant progress.

Shao Rui couldn't help but feel proud. This time he exceeded his usual performance, and even if Guo Zhen were doing it, he could probably only forge sixteen layers in three hours.

"Admit defeat," he said lightly.

Ge Kui's eyes gleamed, focusing on the two piles of Star Stones on the ground with barely concealed greed.

Three thousand pounds of Star Stones, effortlessly won.

Chu Hao just smiled and said, "Miss An, please continue with the appraisal."

An Feifei nodded, picking up the iron block forged by Chu Hao. After just a glance at one end, her pretty face showed intense shock. She dropped the iron block which landed on the ground with a thud.

Though she looked only once, with her keen eyes, how could she not see?

128 layers.

It reached an astonishing 128 layers.

If not, how could she have been so startled?

"Fairy An, are you alright?" Shao Rui quickly asked with concern. Naturally, he admired this core disciple from the Sky Heart Sect, but An Feifei was courteously distant, clearly defining boundaries.

—Alchemists and Tool-Forging Masters were indeed highly respected, sought after by every Martial Artist. However, in the world of Martial Artists, courtesy didn't necessarily mean respect.

In the eyes of a martial genius like An Feifei, both Alchemists and Tool-Forging Masters were merely "tools" to make herself stronger.

An Feifei crouched down, picked up the iron block again, and turned it over repeatedly, her face still filled with astonishment.

128 layers.

How could this be?

It was said that the highest attainment in Thousand-layer Iron forging by Guo Zhen was only thirty-two layers.

Wasn't this Guo Zhen's disciple?

An Feifei swung her sword again with a sharp "ding". The blade embedded into the iron block but didn't cut it into two; instead, it got stuck inside.

Seeing this, Shao Rui's face immediately changed.

He followed the Great Craftsman Wang Hong, and naturally, his expertise in this area was highly honed.

An Feifei wouldn't favor Chu Hao, her two strikes would have used the same force, but they achieved different results. What did this signify?

—Chu Hao's forged iron was tougher than his.

But didn't they all use the same material?

Shao Rui's body began to tremble. Thinking back to An Feifei's earlier shock, could it be that Chu Hao's iron had reached thirty-two layers?

No, he couldn't believe it.

"Senior Sister An, you used too little strength," Ge Kui, unable to see through it, simply thought An Feifei used less force and quickly pointed out.

An Feifei didn't respond. She swung her sword again.

This time, the iron block broke into two without suspense.

Shao Rui rushed forward and picked up one piece, examining it closely, and blurted out, "128 layers."

"Ugh!"

Ge Kui immediately spat out blood. What a joke.

An Feifei looked carefully at the newly cut section and then nodded, "Indeed, it's 128 layers."

"Impossible, impossible," Shao Rui immediately screamed. It wasn't that he couldn't accept losing but this was too outrageous. Even Guo Zhen could only forge thirty-two layers; how could his disciple, and such a young one, forge 128 layers?

"You cheated," he accused Chu Hao angrily.

Chu Hao couldn't help but laugh, "Then tell me, how did I cheat?"

Shao Rui fell silent. Who could possibly help Chu Hao cheat? Not everyone on Sky Martial Star, nor even in Tianhe County, could possibly match Guo Zhen's skill in forging.

Could Guo Zhen help Chu Hao cheat?

"I don't know how you cheated, but you must have cheated." Shao Rui argued unreasonably.

What a strong argument.

Chu Hao shook his head, "What you said leaves me speechless. But for unreasonable people, I usually ignore them to avoid lowering my IQ by talking too much."

Hearing Chu Hao mock Shao Rui, An Feifei couldn't help but cover her mouth with a laugh, her body gently trembling, enchantingly beautiful.

She had already made up her mind to recruit a genius like Chu Hao. Not to mention, the Thousand-layer Iron he forged greatly enhanced the quality of finished products, significantly boosting the overall strength of the An Sect.

She didn't need to worry about offending Shao Rui. Setting aside his fawning attitude, after recruiting Chu Hao, would Shao Rui still hold any value?

Chu Hao walked forward to claim his stake.

"Stop," Ge Kui jumped out quickly. How could he let Chu Hao take the stake? Out of his three thousand pounds of Star Stones, only 500 pounds were his; the rest were borrowed from various relatives.

The interest was extremely high.

If he lost, all his monthly allowances would go towards paying the interest, turning him into a complete pauper.

"Cousin." He screamed.

Shao Rui blocked the way too, coldly saying, "You cheated, so you lost. How could you still think of taking the stakes?"

Chu Hao burst into laughter, "If my forged Thousand-layer Iron has fewer than sixteen layers, I lose. If it has more than sixteen layers, I cheated. So, I'm just here to hand over money?"

"Stop making excuses, cheating is cheating. When Uncle Master Guo returns, I will report this to him and have him deal with you. Humph, instead of practicing diligently, you resort to such underhanded methods." Shao Rui assumed a senior brother's stance.

No more words, otherwise, it might really lower his intelligence.

Chu Hao decided to just act and continued moving forward.

"How dare you." Shao Rui threw a punch at Chu Hao.

Chu Hao smiled faintly and also threw a punch.

Triple wave, Shocking Force.

Bang!

Shao Rui's body immediately halted, pa! His sleeve first tore apart, then he took seven steps back, pa! His upper garment shattered, he took another seven steps back, pa! His lower garment burst apart.

Luckily, his underwear remained intact.

"Ah!" Shao Rui vomited a mouthful of blood. Under the impact of Shocking Force, although he retreated, he couldn't disperse the force he had taken, which trembled through his body like a tidal wave, making him vomit blood.

Chu Hao continued forward.

Ge Kui wanted to block him but didn't dare to take action, helplessly watching as Chu Hao waved his hand, and the Star Stones on the ground continuously collected into his Mustard Seed Ring.

Heart-wrenching pain.

Tears flowed uncontrollably. How would he indulge without those Star Stones? One misstep, eternal regret...wait, did he really have any enmity with Chu Hao? How did things come to this?

"Chu Hao," Shao Rui shouted, his clothes torn to shreds. Even though he wasn't completely stripped, his face was still utterly disgraced. He looked at Chu Hao with hatred, wishing to kill him on the spot.

"What's all this shouting!" At this moment, a deep, imposing voice sounded. An elderly, tall man approached, exuding powerful pressure like a lion.

Shao Rui, seeing him, immediately looked as if he had found his savior, crying out, "Master."

The elder was none other than Wang Hong, the eldest disciple of Feng Yezi.

Wang Hong turned to look at Shao Rui and instantly blushed with anger. Was this disciple trying to anger him to death, standing in just boxers in the courtyard? Though the forge was indeed hot, at least keep on some pants. You're ruining this sacred place with your indecency.

"You unfilial disciple." The elder nearly fainted from rage, pointing a trembling finger at Shao Rui.

"No! No! Master, listen to me, it's not what you think." Shao Rui quickly explained, "It's him, he cheated and won. I argued with him, and he was unreasonable, punched me, and made me vomit blood. My clothes...my clothes were also torn by him. You can ask my cousin and Fairy An."

Wang Hong immediately looked towards An Feifei and Ge Kui.