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Xu Yuan put away his forging hammer, and the flames gradually extinguished.
On the forge table, a piece of Jade Silver in the shape of an oval, resembling a natural jade stone and emanating starlight, now pulsed with jubilant energy.
At this moment, the intensity of spirituality within it far exceeded any of Xu Yuan's previous fusion-forging attempts.
Despite being completely obliterated and then reborn in such a short time, instead of appearing weakened, this piece of Jade Silver seemed to have reached the pinnacle of first-grade thousand-forging. Its spirituality radiated brilliantly, exuding extraordinary vitality.
Threads of stellar energy began to emerge, encircling the Jade Silver and slowly seeping into it, as if nourishing it and gradually enhancing its quality.
"Like martial souls, their qualities vary. Weak martial souls might not even possess innate soul power, let alone special abilities. But powerful martial souls, like your uncle's Heavenly Saint Void-Piercing Spear, are born with innate void-piercing effects. And your Heavenly Origin Brush naturally resonates with the forces of heaven and earth, capable of harnessing ambient energy."
"After forging rare metals, each will develop unique characteristics. This piece of Jade Silver itself is a successful fusion-forging. Its foundation surpasses that of Heavy Silver and Magic Silver. After being reborn with a new essence, becoming a truly new metal, it gains the instinct to draw upon stellar energy to strengthen itself."
After reaching perfection, the Jade Silver had developed its own characteristic—it could draw upon stellar energy to gradually enhance itself.
With this trait, it was clear that this piece of Jade Silver had not yet reached its peak. Given a few more months to nurture itself, the stellar energy would amplify its spirituality to its maximum potential. At that point, it would undoubtedly become the most spiritually potent metal on the entire continent after undergoing first-grade thousand-forging.
This was the hallmark of a perfect alloy.
Xu Yuan stored the Jade Silver and looked at Zhen Hua.
Zhen Hua was still in a daze.
He hadn't expected Xu Yuan to succeed so quickly.
After all, for the past month, Xu Yuan had been practicing the step of obliterating the essence within the Jade Silver. Only this time had he truly succeeded in destroying the essence while leaving behind a faint trace of vibrant spirituality that didn't fade. Moreover, the obliterated essence of the Jade Silver had dispersed throughout the metal, further enhancing its foundation.
In theory, there should have been many more trials ahead, allowing Xu Yuan to find ways to stimulate and expand that faint trace of spirituality.
Only after that could he guide the spirituality to converge and condense into a new essence.
But Xu Yuan had somehow completed the last two steps in one go.
"What was that earlier with your Five Elements Spear Spirit? How did it release such pure vitality?" Zhen Hua turned to Xu Yuan, asking.
He could confirm that Xu Yuan's success was closely tied to the vitality infused into the Jade Silver by the Five Elements Spear Spirit.
"Uncle Zhen, this happened when my martial soul split. I didn't expect that using vitality in forging would have such a pronounced effect."
"It's not that vitality is effective in general forging—it's specifically effective in the fusion-forging of perfect alloys. For ordinary forging, infusing vitality might be convenient, but the cost-to-benefit ratio is low. A blacksmith's own blood energy progress is the root of forging advancement. If they deplete their vitality, they'll only weaken themselves, hindering their forging progress. That's why, aside from blood pacts, there are rarely examples of vitality being used in forging." Zhen Hua corrected Xu Yuan.
Zhen Hua hesitated, still finding it hard to believe.
"However, even in perfect alloy forging, the effect of vitality shouldn't be this pronounced. By the way, you didn't use your own vitality, did you? This method of depleting your own life force can't be used indiscriminately—it's highly addictive."
Xu Yuan shook his head.
"Uncle Zhen, the vitality I used just now wasn't mine. When my martial soul split, I received a blessing from the Golden Ancient Tree, absorbing a massive amount of its vitality, which condensed into Life Gold within me. The Life Gold merged into Jue's essence."
Zhen Hua's expression turned to shock.
"Life Gold..."
If one were to name the most precious metal on the entire continent, Life Gold would undoubtedly top the list.
Claiming Life Gold as the most valuable metal wouldn't raise any objections!
It represented the pinnacle of metals and embodied the attribute of life. Any soul master would covet it, and its value was beyond measure.
Yet Xu Yuan had obtained a piece of Life Gold and integrated it into his soul spirit, enhancing it.
Zhen Hua never imagined that Xu Yuan's Five Elements Spear Spirit would have such an extraordinary encounter. He had originally forged the strongest foundation for it, creating perfect Jade Silver . Later, it absorbed Life Gold...
"By the way, how did you manage to fuse the Life Gold?"
Xu Yuan understood what his uncle was asking.
"The vitality of the Golden Ancient Tree was absorbed by Jue, forming Life Gold. It was a perfect fusion."
It wasn't that Xu Yuan had fused the Life Gold afterward. Under the control of the Golden Ancient Tree, the vitality within Jue generated Life Gold directly.
Zhen Hua couldn't help but smile.
"Your luck is truly unmatched. I've never heard of the Golden Ancient Tree bestowing opportunities upon soul masters before."
Just hearing Xu Yuan describe it, he could sense the enormity of the vitality bestowed. It must have been a colossal expenditure, possibly leaving the Golden Ancient Tree significantly weakened.
"Keep practicing."
Ultimately, it was still a shortcut.
However, the experience of succeeding once would undoubtedly make Xu Yuan's future learning process smoother.
Xu Yuan nodded.
Time passed, and another month went by.
Finally, Xu Yuan successfully forged a perfect piece of Jade Silver entirely through his own abilities.
Including the initial piece of perfect Jade Silver, Xu Yuan had now fusion-forged five pieces of perfect Jade Silver.
Of these five, the first four contained traces of vitality from the Life Gold as inducements. However, the fifth piece, now shimmering with pure starlight before Xu Yuan, was entirely forged through his own efforts.
The first four pieces of perfect Jade Silver were forged with the assistance of Life Gold's vitality.
This final piece, however, was achieved purely through technical skill.
A strange energy flowed from the Jade Silver into Xu Yuan's body.
His stagnant soul power began to fluctuate, and a stirring sensation arose in his heart. Xu Yuan sat cross-legged, entering a meditative state right in front of the forge table.
He activated the Five Elements Primordial Skill he had developed, causing his soul power to surge violently within him.
Within his meridians, liquid-like soul power surged, producing a thunderous roar that echoed throughout his body.
As it circulated, the liquid soul power in the meridians near Xu Yuan's chest began to thicken.
Boom!
A resounding echo reverberated. Xu Yuan knew his soul power had broken through.
Rank fifty-two.
"Uncle Zhen, I need to return to the academy."
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Time flowed.
Unbeknownst to him, the first semester of Xu Yuan's second academic year had already come to an end.
Unlike the first year, the first semester of the second year lasted only six months.
In other words, since Xu Yuan returned to Shrek Academy after forging the perfect Jade Silver, three more months had passed.
Class One, First Grade
"Tomorrow is the final assessment. This time, your test won't involve challenging strong opponents."
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