The end of Gaowu: Becoming stronger from not practicing

Ten days are up.

The organizers went down to inspect the divine weapons forged by everyone.

Master Ma and Master Yang were both full of confidence.

Wu Xiaomei also had some confidence.

The blacksmiths from the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion came to Ma Dashuai, Master Yang, and Wu Xiaomei one after another to inspect the three men's divine weapons.

Without exception.

All three advanced to the third round thanks to their superb forging skills.

The divine weapons forged by Master Ma were the most effective, followed by Master Yang, while Wu Xiaomei's were somewhat borderline, and she almost failed to advance due to problems with the forging process.

Finally, the blacksmith from the Divine Craftsman Pavilion came before Zhang Lingfeng.

General Ma had already realized that Zhang Lingfeng's forging skills were even better than Wu Xiaomei's.

But when the crucial moment came, I was also worried for Zhang Lingfeng.

"by!"

After careful inspection, the blacksmiths of the Divine Craftsman Pavilion awarded Zhang Lingfeng a passing grade in the assessment.

Upon hearing this, both Master Ma and Master Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu Xiaomei also nodded slightly to Zhang Lingfeng.

Four people have successfully entered the third round. As long as one of them can make it to the fourth round, the reputation of the Divine Craftsman's Shop can be saved.

"How about it?"

After the second round of assessments concluded.

Shen Qiming called over a blacksmith who was in charge of inspecting the four men, including Ma Dashuai, to the side.

"I have carefully examined the forging skills of the four of them. Without exception, Ma Dashuai is the most likely to enter the fourth round, but according to the advancement standards of this year, the possibility of Ma Dashuai advancing is extremely slim, and it is basically impossible."

Yang Tao's skills are clearly inferior to Ma Dashuai's, so it's even less likely that he will advance to the fourth round. Wu Xiaomei almost didn't even make it to the third round, so it's even more impossible for her to make it to the fourth round.

As for Zhang Lingfeng, whom you are worried about, I think you are overthinking it. I have examined his divine weapons several times and personally witnessed his forging process.

His skill level is only at the level of a third-level blacksmith. Even if he reaches the peak of the third level, he is still some distance away from the fourth level.

"But even Commander Ma is a peak level four blacksmith. If even Commander Ma can't easily pass the assessment, how could Zhang Lingfeng possibly advance to the fourth round?"

The blacksmith from the Divine Craftsman Pavilion said with absolute certainty.

"Good, very good. I will make the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion disappear completely from White Emperor City."

Shen Qiming breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew better than anyone the skill level of his own blacksmith. Since he judged that Ma Dashuai and his group could not advance to the fourth round, they could not possibly advance.

It seems I was worrying too much.

With this in mind, Shen Qiming no longer felt the pressure and decided to adjust his mindset to participate in the third round of assessments in the best possible condition.

He wanted to show everyone, including Master Ma, that only a blacksmith like himself could advance to the fourth or even fifth round.

The third round of assessments began soon.

This was the most nerve-wracking part for Ma Dashuai.

This is crucial to whether the Ma family can uphold the reputation of Shenjiangpu.

The first round of forging of divine weapons only required that they enable a true god-level expert to possess the strength to harm a god-level expert.

The second round of forging of divine weapons requires that the weapons possess a breathing system, be able to enhance their own abilities, and pose a threat to higher-level gods.

The divine weapons forged in the third round must first have a complete breathing system and must be able to enhance their energy to the extreme in a short period of time.

"I now announce the advancement rules for the third round."

A powerful Divine Inscription Master announced.

Each forging competition is presided over by a divine rune master to ensure the fairness of the competition.

"The forging time before and after the third round is half a month. The forged divine weapon must be able to easily cut through the physical defense of a high-level god, and the energy injected must be able to be replenished to its full potential within a quarter of an hour."

"That's what the divine rune master said."

"Wow!"

There was an uproar at the scene.

Many blacksmiths feel increased pressure.

Many people were pulling their hair.

"Are you kidding me? It's one thing to be able to break through the physical defenses of a high-level god, but to require him to accumulate enough energy within a quarter of an hour is something only a level 5 blacksmith can do."

"That's it, I'll be eliminated in the third round."

"I clearly remember that although the previous competition also required breaking through the physical defenses of a high-level god, it took half a day to accumulate enough energy. Now it's only a quarter of an hour, which increases the difficulty several times over."

"If I could leave such a complete breathing enhancement system on it, I would have been a level 5 blacksmith long ago. No, I even think that even a level 5 blacksmith might not be able to easily forge it successfully."

And there's only half a month left.

"Yes, why didn't he give me six months? After six months of trying, maybe I could forge a divine weapon that could replenish its energy to full within a quarter of an hour and easily break through the physical body of a high-ranking god."

"Damn it, the materials used to forge such a divine weapon are extremely precious, but the materials we were given were all level four materials, and they were all the most common ones."

"This is a deliberate attempt to eliminate us."

……

Everyone was talking about it.

Many blacksmiths were disheartened.

Many people know that the forging competition held by the Divine Craftsman Pavilion has very strict assessments and is very difficult to advance. However, the reality is that it is many times more difficult than imagined.

It's utterly speechless.

"They're coming for us."

General Ma sighed.

He knew that the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion wouldn't let them pass the test and enter the fourth round easily, but he didn't expect their methods to be so insidious, raising the difficulty of the third round to this level.

It's absolutely suffocating.

"Master Ma!"

Master Yang looked at Master Ma with a guilty expression.

He knew that according to these assessment standards, he would not be able to pass the assessment and would not be able to advance to the fourth round. Similarly, Ma Dashuai would not be able to advance either.

“Master, the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion is deliberately making things difficult for us. We shouldn’t participate in this conference. I refuse to believe that the reputation of our Divine Craftsmen Shop can just disappear like that.”

If we can't make it in Baidi City, we'll go somewhere else and not put up with this kind of treatment.

Wu Xiaomei said angrily.

"shut up!"

Commander Ma scolded.

“I will not leave Baidi City. The Divine Craftsman Shop will either close down or remain in Baidi City. If you want to leave, you can leave on your own.”

Although Ma Dashuai was heartbroken, he did not want to admit defeat easily.

He wanted to protect the reputation of the Divine Craftsman's Shop, make it a part of Baidi City, and have his forged divine weapons appear all over Baidi City.

He even fantasized that one day, the Divine Craftsman's Shop would surpass the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion, and that the blacksmiths of the Divine Craftsman's Shop would enjoy better and higher treatment than those of the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion, and have more say in the White Emperor City.

Unfortunately, the Divine Craftsman's Shop is suffering from a shortage of talent. The strongest blacksmith is only a level four blacksmith. Such a lineup is no match for the Divine Craftsman's Pavilion.

Now even maintaining a good reputation has become extremely difficult.

“I support Master Ma. Things haven’t reached the point of no return yet. Even if we lose, we should still give it a try. Giving up easily and leaving the reputation of the Divine Craftsman Pavilion to others is not the style of a blacksmith.”

Zhang Lingfeng said.

"That's right, even if we can't win, we have to fight!"

Mr. Yang was encouraged. "Yes, let's give it our all!"

General Ma nodded.

However, in the eyes of the people at the Divine Craftsmen's Pavilion, their behavior was nothing more than a desperate struggle.

"Then let's see what we've got!"

Hearing the commotion, Shen Qiming took the initiative to transmit his voice.

This is a naked provocation.

Shen Pengyun was also laughing.

Both of them received the inheritance of the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion, and their skills surpassed those of General Ma. Moreover, the advancement standards of the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion were set by the pavilion itself, so it would be very easy for them to advance.

Lying flat value: 66991
Intermediate Forging Skill: (1/100)

Zhang Lingfeng had already included the intermediate forging technique in the panel.

If he can improve his intermediate forging skills to perfection, he will become a level six forging master.

The beginner-level forging skill training method requires 600 "lying down" points to exchange for one value, and becoming a level 3 peak forging master requires 60,000 "lying down" points.

Now that the intermediate forging technique training method has been included in the panel, Zhang Lingfeng has not yet added any lying-down points, and does not know how many lying-down points are needed.

But he still added all 67,000 "lying flat" points to it.

The panel has changed.

Lying flat value: None

Intermediate Forging Skill: (59/100)

Realm: Peak Level 5 Blacksmith, Level 1 God, Level 1 Divine Rune Master
Zhang Lingfeng discovered that if the intermediate forging technique were to be upgraded to perfection using "lying down value," it would require 120,000 "lying down value."

It takes 1200 "lying flat" points to exchange for one value.

Intermediate blacksmiths are divided into level four, level five, and level six blacksmiths.

If the value exceeds 66%, Zhang Lingfeng will be a level 6 blacksmith.

At this moment, the value has reached 59%, and his forging skills have also reached the peak level of a fifth-level forging master.

With such skill, let alone forging a divine weapon that could break through the physical defenses of a high-level god, it wouldn't be difficult for Zhang Lingfeng to forge a divine weapon that could break through the power defenses of a high-level god.

Physical defense refers to the defensive power of the divine body of a high-ranking god.

Without any physical defense, the body's physical defenses are broken through using only physical strength.

Power defense is a method used by high-ranking gods to resist damage by releasing divine power on top of their physical defenses. This defense increases in intensity and can withstand the damage from many divine weapons.

Otherwise, if any divine weapon forged by a level four blacksmith could severely injure a high-level god, then high-level gods would be far too weak.

The assessment criteria measure that, without using divine power and relying solely on the strength of their divine body for defense, once a high-ranking god releases their divine power, their defense will reach an extremely terrifying level.

Many divine weapons forged by level four blacksmiths simply cannot break through this layer of defense.

But now, as a level 5 peak blacksmith, Zhang Lingfeng is definitely capable of forging weapons that can not only break through the physical defenses of a high-level god, but also the divine power defenses of a high-level god.

And within a quarter of an hour, this divine weapon will have its internal energy enhanced to its maximum.

The only disadvantage is that Zhang Lingfeng is only a lower-level god.

If he were a mid-level god or a high-level god, the divine weapons he forged with the pinnacle skills of a level 5 blacksmith would be fiercely sought after by many high-level gods.

The reason why the Divine Craftsman Pavilion dared to tear down the signboard of the Divine Craftsman Shop was because the Divine Craftsman Shop did not have a level 5 blacksmith.

A level 5 blacksmith's network of connections is far stronger than that of many level 4 blacksmiths.

If Commander Ma were a Level 5 blacksmith, then he would have Level 2 Divine Inscription Masters around him, instead of Level 1 blacksmiths like Master Liu, Master Yan, and Chen Fenfang.

Even if the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion dislikes a Divine Craftsman's Shop that has gained the favor of a Level 2 Divine Inscription Master, it wouldn't dare to be too domineering or arrogant.

At least they wouldn't dare to openly try to remove the signboard of the Divine Craftsman's Shop.

"Although I am not a mid-level god, with my current strength, I am enough to help the Divine Crafts Shop withstand this storm."

Zhang Lingfeng was full of confidence.

Fifteen days.

He glanced at the forging materials on the forging table.

These refining materials were provided by the Divine Craftsmen Pavilion.

Everyone is the same.

Only in this way can fairness and impartiality be reflected.

There are ten portions of refining materials in total.

If ten sets of refining materials cannot be used to forge a qualified divine weapon, or if the materials are damaged in a short period of time, then they are automatically eliminated.

Zhang Lingfeng took a deep breath.

Try to keep yourself calm.

To ensure everything goes smoothly and to help the Divine Craftsman Shop preserve its reputation, he decided to try things at his own pace and not rush things.

Clang!

Master Ma, Master Yang, and others have already entered the forging process.

Time passed little by little.

Everyone was completely absorbed in it.

"Oh no, it's broken again."

In just one day, Wu Xiaomei had already wasted three sets of refining materials.

The goal is to enable divine weapons to automatically enhance their energy to perfection within a quarter of an hour, and to possess the power to break through the physical defenses of high-ranking gods.

The breathing system and even the spiritual requirements of divine weapons within them are quite stringent.

This requires the use of exquisite forging skills, allowing one's spirit to be able to carve and dance on the refining materials.

The forged materials are able to develop a complete breathing system and spiritual power, thereby enhancing the power and regenerative capabilities of divine weapons.

Unfortunately, this is something that only a level 5 blacksmith can do.

Wu Xiaomei is only a level three blacksmith and possesses only the strength of a lower-level god. How did she manage to do this?

"Keep your own pace."

"Just try to surpass yourself, don't rush things!"

Suddenly a voice came.

Wu Xiaomei was taken aback when she realized it was Zhang Lingfeng.

"Humph!"

Feeling extremely annoyed, she found it somewhat amusing that Zhang Lingfeng dared to lecture and advise her.

But considering that this was a forging competition, and that Zhang Lingfeng's words made sense, Wu Xiaomei didn't argue with Zhang Lingfeng.

Instead, they truly calmed down, tried to compose themselves, and put themselves in the best possible state to forge their own perfect weapon.

"What bad luck."

"Damn, this is too hard."

"Damn these convention rules."

"I'm not playing with you guys anymore."

……

Like Wu Xiaomei, there are quite a few people who waste several sets of materials in a short period of time.

Some people even threw the remaining forging materials on the ground and gave up on the spot. Since they couldn't forge anything anyway, they figured that if they wasted all the materials and didn't even see a decent divine weapon, they would be slandered. So they might as well just leave.

PS: Sorry for the intermittent updates this month. This won't happen again; I will update regularly until the book is finished. (End of Chapter)