Douluo Amon: I am the Heavenly Venerable of the Dragon King.

Chapter 300 The Grandeur of Zhenhua?

Zhenhua nodded, his expression unchanged, and said generously, "Of course, we lost the first match."

Upon hearing Zhenhua's words, the surrounding crowd fell into a deathly silence, followed by a burst of noisy discussion.

The blacksmiths from the association who had come to cheer him on all looked increasingly grim. Some stared wide-eyed, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing; others hung their heads in dejection, their faces etched with deep disappointment.

The young man who had competed with Lin Yuhan was also pale-faced, his lips trembling slightly, and he was tightly gripping the forging hammer that had been with him for many years.

Upon hearing this, Chang Gongyan looked at Zhenhua with some surprise. He had considered that Zhenhua might give him a cold shoulder because of their loss. But he didn't expect Zhenhua to admit defeat so readily.

"As expected of a grandmaster, the master craftsman Zhenhua."

Thinking of this, Chang Gongyan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Zhenhua. Just the fact that he could admit defeat so readily showed that the master craftsman Zhenhua was also a man of character. At least in the field of blacksmithing, Zhenhua's mentality was worthy of the name of master craftsman.

Faced with Zhenhua's straightforwardness, Chang Gongyan couldn't adopt the posture of a victor. He smiled slightly and said, "In this competition, Yuhan only managed to subdue your genius by relying on his advantage in forging hammers. The next competition may be different."

Indeed, the forging hammer Lin Yuhan used was a Spirit Forging Blue Copper Hammer, so it did have an advantage in forging blue copper.

They agreed with Zhenhua to hold two forging competitions. In the first competition, Chang Gongyan's team would choose the metal, and both teams would then refine it.

In the second round, Zhenhua will choose a metal and have both sides refine it. The resulting refined metal will be the best indicator of the two sides' skill levels.

In the first round, Lin Yuhan chose the blue-coated bronze, and now it was Zhenhua's turn to choose.

"No." To everyone's surprise, Zhenhua shook his head. "In terms of the final quality of the metal, our side is clearly inferior to your apprentice's. Moreover, we also took longer to forge. Therefore, this victory is not a fluke. Rather, it is because your apprentice's forging skills are indeed superb."

Zhenhua could tell at a glance that Lin Yuhan's skill was among the highest even for a level five blacksmith. The blue-coated copper she ultimately forged was not only of the spirit-forging grade, but also possessed special properties due to the characteristics of her martial soul.

This is no ordinary spirit forging; this blue-infused copper, in addition to its original properties, has been imbued with lightning properties. Its value is at least three times that of a similar spirit-forged blue-infused copper.

Hearing Zhenhua's words, Lin Yuhan's lips couldn't help but curl upwards slightly. Even though they had indeed come to challenge the master craftsman, receiving praise from the master craftsman Zhenhua still made this calm young woman feel pleasantly pleased.

After all, this is the approval of the master craftsman Zhenhua!

Chang Gongyan couldn't help but smile, and then said with a smile, "Then in the next round, it will be Brother Zhenhua's turn to choose the metal."

Zhenhua waved his hand, "No rush. Your disciple has just finished forging metal with spirit, so it's better to let her rest first. After all, the person she will be competing against next is my disciple."

Chang Gongyan was taken aback. "Brother Zhenhua's disciple?"

Before coming to challenge the Blacksmith Association, the apprentice of the master craftsman Zhenhua had no idea that Zhenhua had an apprentice. Wasn't Zhenhua supposed to have no successor?

Zhenhua smiled and then walked up to the young man who had just lost to Lin Yuhan.

"President." The young man lowered his head in shame, not daring to look at Zhenhua.

"It's alright." Zhenhua patted his shoulder and smiled, "This wasn't your fault. I hope that this competition will serve as an inspiration for you to work harder and go further on the path of forging."

The young man before them was the most outstanding young man under twenty years old in the Blacksmith Association. Although his talent was not as good as Lu Fa's, Zhen Hua had always been cultivating him as the next Saint Craftsman, and naturally did not want his spirit to be hurt.

Upon hearing Zhenhua's words, the young man was immediately moved to tears and quickly nodded, saying, "Yes, I understand, Chairman."

"Alright." Zhenhua said with a smile, "Then you can go down and observe first. The rest of the matches will be handled by others."

"Hmm." The young man nodded and left the forging platform. After the competition, he understood that even though they were both level five blacksmiths, there was still a significant gap between him and Lin Yuhan. He knew he wouldn't be able to beat her if the competition continued.

After watching the young man leave the forging platform, Zhenhua immediately waved to Lu Fa, signaling him to come over. He had already sensed Lu Fa and Dang Hongchen when they arrived at the competition venue.

In an instant, everyone around turned their attention to Lu Fa. Could it be that the person the guild leader called a disciple was...?

Many people immediately guessed Lu Fa's identity, and those around him spontaneously stepped back, leaving a large empty space around him.

Lu Fa walked up to Zhen Hua and said helplessly, "Teacher, you don't need to do this. Now, I can't use this disguise next time."

"Then stop pretending." Zhenhua laughed heartily. "Anyway, you're not young anymore, it's good to find a girlfriend. Young people shouldn't always be so mature. When it's time to shine, don't be timid."

Then, he whispered to Lu Fa, "By the way, give that old man over there a good slap in the face. How dare he come to the Blacksmith Association to cause me trouble? Does he think I'm made of clay?!"

"Let that old bastard see what the Blacksmiths' Association is like. He can't just come here and cause trouble. I'll make him lose everything."

Suddenly, Zhenhua's voice turned somewhat lewd, "See that little girl over there? She's pretty, isn't she? I'm very good at judging people, and she's definitely the type who's obsessed with forging and has a very strong competitive spirit."

If you can defeat her in forging, you'll definitely leave a deep impression on her. Add to that your looks, and wow, this little girl will absolutely become your little fangirl, completely at your mercy.

Upon hearing Zhenhua's telepathic message, Lu Fa's lips twitched slightly. "Teacher, your persona is about to collapse! If I remember correctly, you should be a single dog, right? How come you talk like you have a lot of experience?"

"I'll try my best," Lu Fa replied dismissively to Zhen Hua's words.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Soon, Lin Yuhan had regained her composure and was now standing on the forging platform, looking curiously at Lu Fa.

That's...? The helmeted weirdo I encountered on the road? It turns out he's a disciple of the master craftsman Zhenhua!

Chang Gongyan asked Zhenhua, "So, what metal will President Zhenhua choose?"

Lufa took off his helmet, revealing his striking platinum blonde short hair, and smiled slightly, "I choose Blue Pregnant Bronze."

"It really is Master Lu Fa!" "I didn't expect the master to be right next to me just now." As Lu Fa took off his helmet, some whispers could be heard around him.

"What?" Chang Gongyan looked at Lu Fa in astonishment, and even Lin Yuhan stared at him in surprise. Hadn't he seen the spirit-forged blue-copper hammer she used during the forging?

"Are you sure?" Chang Gongyan frowned as he looked at Lu Fa.

Lin Yuhan had just forged Blue Pregnant Copper, and after resting, her energy and spirit had fully recovered. Furthermore, the forging process she had just undergone had put her mind fully into a forging state.

If it were forged again, there wouldn't even be a need to be familiar with the metal-making process. If this metal were to be refined again, Lufa would be naturally at a disadvantage.

"I'm sure."

Chang Gongyan looked at Zhenhua, only to find that the other's expression remained unchanged. Was he really that confident in his disciple?

Moreover, when Lu Fa took off his helmet just now, why did everyone around him call him "Master"? And why did they seem to have such great faith in him?

"Could he be a level six blacksmith?"

Chang Gongyan shook his head. So what if the opponent was a level six blacksmith? He just had the added skill of fusion forging. This competition was only about purifying a single metal, not about processing the metal itself.

Lin Yuhan possesses the Blue-Pregnant Copper Hammer, giving her a natural advantage in forging Blue-Pregnant Copper. Even if the opponent is a Level 6 blacksmith, they might not be able to surpass her in spirit forging.

Soon, two pieces of blue-impregnated copper of the same quality were brought up.

Blue-coated copper burned. Lin Yuhan silently watched the boy opposite her, curious as to why he would choose blue-coated copper. Lu Fa felt her gaze and nodded slightly at her.

Lin Yuhan stared at Lu Fa's face for a moment, then her face flushed slightly. She immediately lowered her head, took a deep breath, and knew she couldn't let her emotions fluctuate before the forging process began. For a blacksmith, focus was paramount.

After the calcination was completed, the two pieces of blue-impregnated copper slowly rose up.

As soon as Lu Fa's storage soul tool lit up, the Soul Forged Heavy Silver Hammer, forged from "Fusheng Brand Metal," appeared.

"What is that?!"

Chang Gongyan's breathing quickened slightly, his gaze fixed on Lu Fa's forging hammer. As a master craftsman, he could not possibly mistake the grade of the metal; the exhilarating aura emanating from it could never be found in a Spirit Forged Silver Hammer!

"Soul Forging!"

Two words flashed through Chang Gongyan's mind: How could this be? How could it be Soul Forging! The fluctuations on that forging hammer, perfectly matching Lu Fa's, couldn't be faked. The feeling of elation was even greater than with his own forging hammer!

Lin Yuhan, who was standing to the side with her head down, took a deep breath and gripped the forging hammer tightly with both hands. It was just a matter of forging blue copper again, which was not difficult for her because she was too familiar with blue copper.

"Boom—" Lin Yuhan raised her left hand, preparing to forge, when a booming sound came from the other side.

Lin Yuhan subconsciously raised her head and looked towards Lu Fa's direction, surprised to think, "Is the other party really that confident? Doesn't he need to test the properties of the blue-coated copper first? He's just starting to forge it?"

However, that one glance was enough to make her stop what she was doing.

"Boom—" Lu Fa's violent hammer slammed into the metal, instantly removing the impurities from the blue copper and completing the hundred-fold forging!

"Boom—" Then Lu Fa struck three more times with his hammer, and a beam of white light shot into the sky, rising a full six feet high. The white light was dazzling, and a faint roar could be heard. Three hammer blows to forge a thousand times, and it was a sacred-grade thousand-forged weapon that was a full six feet high.

Generally speaking, a spiritual light of the highest grade (thousand-fold refinement) is only five feet tall. A spiritual light that reaches six feet in height is considered a sacred grade.

Although it is inferior to the ultimate thousand-fold forging, even some master craftsmen would not dare to guarantee that they can forge a saint-grade thousand-fold forging.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Lu Fa didn't stop. His blood and qi surged throughout his body as he continued to strike with the forging hammer in his hand. When the eighteenth hammer fell...

"Roar—" The beast's roar rang out again, and the Blue Copper emitted a blue light that entered Lu Fa's body, replenishing his energy.

Spiritforge is created, complete!

From the start of the Pathfinder training to the end of the Spirit Forging, only three minutes had passed!

Lin Yuhan stared blankly at Lu Fa, her forging hammer hanging limply in her hand. There was no need to continue the competition; she knew she had lost, and lost miserably at that.

Lu Fa's time was far too short; he forged the Blue Pregnant Bronze in just three minutes. In the first round, it took her a full thirty minutes to forge the Blue Pregnant Bronze! Lu Fa's time was ten times less than hers!

Moreover, whether it's a sacred item refined a thousand times or a spirit-forged creation.

Lin Yuhan believed that she might succeed in the former if she had good luck. But with her current forging skills, she simply couldn't do the latter.

"His forging skills have improved again."

Zhenhua stared at Lu Fa in astonishment. He had forged the Blue Pregnant Copper in just three minutes, and it was even a Spirit Forging Creation! He was certain that, with this skill alone, few of the world's master craftsmen could rival Lu Fa in Spirit Forging.

"However, no matter what, he's still my disciple." Zhenhua couldn't help but smile. The more outstanding Lu Fa was, the happier he was, after all, he was his disciple!

What? You mean what about Old Man Kong and Ao Hongchen? Sorry, I don't know them, I don't know.

"The Master Craftsman!"

Chang Gongyan uttered those two words bitterly. Even though Lu Fa hadn't continued his soul forging, judging solely from the opponent's soul forging hammer and the terrifying speed at which he purified the metal, he didn't seem like a level six blacksmith at all.

Chang Gongyan believed he could achieve such rapid spirit forging if he gave it his all. However, he wasn't so sure whether he could create a Saint-grade thousand-fold forging or a spirit forging creation.

At this point in the competition, the outcome was already decided. Even a first-level blacksmith with some basic knowledge could judge the result, let alone the fact that Lin Yuhan hadn't even completed her second round of forging.

"We lost." Chang Gongyan gave a bitter smile.

Zhenhua smiled slightly, "Actually, our victory was also very close. If my disciple hadn't happened to be here, I really couldn't find another young talent who could compare to your disciple."

Chang Gongyan nodded stiffly.

Just then, Lu Fa walked calmly toward Zhen Hua, knowing that the fish had taken the bait.

(End of this chapter)