Douluo: Legend of the Dragon King - The Voice of the Purple Emperor

Chapter 13 Thousand Refinements and Sublimation

Looking at this information about ice crystal ore, Gu You took a deep breath and picked up the pair of thousand-forged life essence hammers.

After burning for only a few minutes, the ice crystal ore reached a forgeable state. Its surface was very soft, like iron, but it did not flow like molten iron; instead, it remained fixed as one piece.

Ice crystal ore can also be forged without burning, but only master blacksmiths dare to attempt it.

Gu You lifted the ice crystal from the forging furnace and fixed it in place. He then brandished his forging hammers with both hands, his eyes instantly freezing. He gently raised the hammers and lightly tapped the ice crystal, producing a clear tinkling sound.

This hammer blow is called a test hammer. Before forging begins, blacksmiths use this method to check the toughness of the ore or metal and their initial understanding of the impurities within the ore.

Seeing his focused expression, Feng Wuyu nodded secretly. He hadn't taught Gu You how to use the hammer; he had learned it all from the complete guide to ore forging that was right next to him. This was enough to show that the child had a very high level of comprehension and concentration.

The Thousand Refinements before him was undoubtedly an opportunity to test his forging talent. From the moment Gu Youneng was able to forge the Thousand Refinements by chance, Feng Wuyu already knew in his heart that the child in front of him, with his kind guidance, was capable of reaching a level that even he could not achieve.

However, this also made Feng Wuyu sigh. Gu You could not pass on his legacy to him, so he could not teach the child, nor could he teach him, because he did not know how to forge Heaven. It was impossible for him to formally take Gu You as his master. Even if Gu You agreed, Yun Ming would not agree after he found out. The only one who could be the child's master was that person. However, taking him as a nominal master would still be more honorable.

As for tricking Gu You into calling him "master" earlier, that was just something he said out of curiosity.

He's only six years old this year. If he succeeds in this thousand-times-forging, he'll probably break the myth. The current world record is held by a master craftsman who is ten years, six months and four days old.

Gu You, of course, had no idea what Feng Wuyu was thinking. He was now completely focused, with all his mental energy concentrated on the ice crystal in front of him.

With both hands raised, *sizzle!* the ice crystal was comically deformed and flattened like a rice cake. Before the ice crystal could react, the two hammers were raised again. It seemed to be a random, rhythmic beating, but it was actually Gu You's extraordinary understanding of the ice crystal's high temperature and softness. Since you are unstable, then I will beat you until you are stable, and then heat you up until you are free of impurities.

Although he had never undergone a thousand forgings, Gu You had already mastered all the forging knowledge he had gained in the past two days, along with the limited practical experience he had acquired. Thinking about how he had accidentally forged a thousand times, Gu You's brows furrowed, and he came up with his own method for forging a thousand times: to infuse the ore and metal with life force in advance, and then combine it with his unique understanding to complete the process in one go!

Although he had never forged this metal, according to Gu You's own philosophy, since some metals are adaptable, most of them should be the same.

After continuous forging and repeated heating in the forging furnace, the hundred segments have been initially formed. Although it is called a hundred segments, Gu You hammered it more than a hundred times, and each time he had to use the maximum force. Otherwise, although the ice crystals would deform after a hammer blow, they would quickly revert back to their original shape.

With the support of his Soul Power Martial Soul, Gu You felt that the force of his punch should be around 200 jin.

The process of refining a hundred times is the foundation of refining a thousand times. Only after completing the refining process of a hundred times can the refining process continue to the next stage.

Gu You swung the double hammers again, his face flushed and panting heavily. This was not only because of the high temperature around the forging furnace, but also because each hammer blow was too physically demanding, just like Feng Wuyu's training yesterday. However, this time, with the support of soul power, it was more sustainable. Moreover, the life force had to be added into the ice crystal, and Gu You hadn't absorbed much of it. Naturally, the special effect that the Life Essence Hammer had on its master was gone. It wasn't all bad, though, since adding life force to the ice crystal greatly increased the success rate of the thousand forgings.

In the middle of the forging process, Gu You began to reduce his strength, not only to conserve his energy, but also because the impurities in the ice crystals were basically gone. Generally speaking, it is impossible to completely remove impurities after a hundred forgings, but ice crystal ore is special. It has been left in the far north for many years, and the natural ice element compatibility makes this ore very impurity-free. This also means that once the goal of hammering a thousand times and sublimating is achieved, the thousand forging can be completed, which is simpler.

Even Gu You didn't know that the level of mental strength actually determines comprehension. After experiencing the pain of being beaten, Gu You's mental strength increased significantly.

Mental strength undoubtedly allows Gu You to be more focused during forging, and the time he can concentrate is also longer.

His mental strength had already reached 74 when Long Yali tested him at the Spirit Pagoda, and now it is probably close to breaking 100.

An hour passed, and the ice crystals began to solidify, emitting a faint golden light from their snow-blue surface.

……

Three hours have passed, and the ice crystal has shrunk by two-thirds, now resembling a square sapphire with a watery white surface and a shimmering golden light at the entrance.

Gu You's clothes were soaked with sweat, and he had to pause for a while after each strike to recover his strength.

Although the process was slow, Gu You had completed his communication with the ice crystals within three hours.

If you look closely, you'll find that there are small indentations of the same size on every four corner of the ice crystal surface, indicating that each corner has been hammered countless times.

Every faint rebound, every sound produced by striking, and the vibration itself when struck all tell the story of the ancient game's unique characteristics.

Gu You took a deep breath; he was about to unleash his power!

After two hours of careful observation, he had grasped the properties of the metal and it was time for it to be refined and enhanced.

Immediately afterwards, loud hammering sounds rang out one after another.

The fire intensity button is located at the bottom. Press and hold it to turn it to maximum, and orange-red flames will spew out from the surrounding nozzles, scorching the ice crystals.

Although he was very tired, whenever Gu You's arms started to ache, a warm current would flow through his spine, instantly flowing into his limbs and bones, relieving the soreness in his arms. He also constantly mobilized his soul power to inject into his arms to maintain his strength.

Perfect purification? Feng Wuyu was shocked. This also meant that as long as Gu You kept forging and sensing the ice crystals, he could succeed in the thousand-times forging. As for sublimation? The life force of the Life Essence Hammer constantly flowing into the ice crystals was the best proof. No sublimation effect could compare to having a constant life force. In other words, sublimation was destined from the very beginning of the hammering of the Life Essence Hammer!

Although he already had the answer in his heart, how could Feng Wuyu not be shocked by the appearance of the six-year-old thousand-times-old boy before his eyes?

(End of this chapter)