Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 224 Integration and Cooperation
The twelve small hammers suddenly hovered in the air at the same time, their spiritual power transforming into invisible tentacles that gently caressed the spiritually active metal, soothing the unstable spirituality under the violent forging process.

A clear, melodious phoenix cry suddenly echoed through the forging chamber. To everyone's astonishment, blurry, illusory images of light simultaneously appeared on the six metal surfaces.

"Such powerful spirituality..." Tang Wulin's voice was hoarse, "He actually awakened the spirituality of six metals at the same time!"

Gula's movements became incredibly slow. He wielded the hammers with both hands, moving as if wading through sticky honey, each inch of advance carrying a suffocating pressure. When the hammers finally fell, time seemed to stand still for a moment—

"Ding!"

The crisp sound of hammering echoed through the forging chamber, and the four pieces of metal vibrated, beginning to slowly fuse together.

Gula's face was as pale as paper, but his eyes burned with a fanatical flame.

"combine!"

With that shout, six pieces of metal suddenly levitated, spinning rapidly above the forging platform. Twelve small hammers, like summoned soldiers, struck the metal joints in a specific order. With each strike, a phantom spirit emitted a joyful cry.

"Bang bang bang-"

The rapid hammer blows blended into a continuous roar, and the metal surface gleamed ever brighter. As the thousandth hammer fell, all the afterimages suddenly vanished into the metal simultaneously.

Gula continued to add either sunken silver or magic silver as the second metal for fusion forging, which is a metal material suitable for most Soul Masters.

When the forging process reached the 49th minute, an accident occurred. A piece of metal suddenly flew out, heading straight for the nearest woman, Wu Siduo. She instinctively raised her hand to block it, the fragment cutting her wrist, and a few drops of blood splattered onto the red-hot metal blank.

"Oh no!" Tang Wulin's expression changed drastically. Blood would pollute the purity of the metal and hinder the birth of its spiritual essence.

But Gula's reaction was unexpected. Instead of stopping, he increased the frequency of his hammering while chanting an obscure incantation.

Those few drops of blood not only did not contaminate the metal, but were completely absorbed, leaving faint blood-red patterns on the metal surface.

A memory flashed in Gula's eyes. Whether it was the teachings of the master craftsman Zhenhua or the research on soul contracts by the Spirit Pagoda, it all made him understand the nature of metal better.

Therefore, he was confident, which is why he did not use his telekinesis to stop the blood from splattering.

"The last hammer!"

Gula suddenly leaped up, channeling all his soul power into the forging hammer. The hammerhead shone with a blinding golden light, slamming heavily onto the metal blank. The entire forging room trembled, the intense light forcing everyone to close their eyes.

When the light faded, the forging room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, leaving only three strange metals floating in mid-air: a light gray-silver ghost silver, a silver-white void silver, and a light green green silver.

All three contain smelted silver, a metallic substance, with a mercury-like luster flowing on their surfaces and mysterious patterns interwoven into their interiors.

The most eye-catching piece was the one splattered with Wu Siduo's blood; it was covered in gray-silver spiral patterns, with a faint, blood-red halo on its surface. Most astonishingly, the metal was pulsating rhythmically, as if it possessed a life of its own.

“Active metals… imbue metals with a spirit…” Gu Yue spoke for the first time, her voice filled with undisguised shock. Every time she watched, she was amazed by human creativity.

"Wow!"

The metal suddenly trembled on its own, then slowly withdrew its spiritual phenomena, transforming back into its ordinary metallic form. When Gu La grasped the metal, it emitted a clear, melodious hum, vibrating gently as if it were alive.

“A natural masterpiece.” Gula smiled wearily and placed the metal back on the forging table. Turning to the five people, he said, “I have lived up to your expectations.” Tang Wulin rushed to the forging table, his fingers trembling as he ran his fingers over the metal. “The two metals have fused perfectly, even better than what I usually forge.”

He looked up abruptly. "How could you possibly balance the spiritual conflicts of four metals at the same time?"

Gula wiped the sweat from his brow and gave a mysterious smile: "Who said I'm balancing the conflict?"

He pointed to the area near the forging platform, "Even the strongest spirituality is newly born. I use my mental power to isolate them, so there's no need to consider the conflict between different metals."

Tang Wulin wanted to denounce the heretical path, but blacksmiths needed to use their martial soul abilities anyway, and this shortcut was the blacksmith's "talent".

His extraordinary blood and energy can also permeate metals, helping them to develop spirituality. This is also a shortcut for other blacksmiths.

Wu Siduo trembled as she reached out to touch the metal. The moment her fingertips touched the surface, the metal suddenly emitted a soft sound like a tiger's roar, startling her so much that she quickly withdrew her hand.

"What's the degree of integration?" Luo Guixing asked eagerly, his eyes widening behind his glasses.

Gula placed the metal into the detector, and the numbers on the screen jumped rapidly before finally settling at 93.6%.

The room was deathly silent. This number had exceeded everyone's expectations, even defying common sense.

The metal, forged with care and accidentally mixed with blood, has achieved such a terrifying degree of fusion, approaching the realm of divine alloys with a fusion rate of nearly 95%.

"How did you do that?" Tang Wulin couldn't help but ask, his eyes gleaming with fervent light.

Gula said casually, "It's just basic operation. The key is the control of spirituality, which allows me to perform these fancy operations."

He inwardly chuckled to himself, vowing never to be so arrogant again. Everything else was fine, but the spirit forging was too taxing on his mind, leaving him feeling mentally exhausted.

He stared intently at Wu Siduo, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "Now, do you believe I am qualified to discuss this deal with you all?"

Wu Siduo's chest heaved violently, and her slender fingers clenched unconsciously.

She never imagined that this seemingly frivolous classmate possessed such astonishing skill in forging.

The ghostly attributes pulsating within that piece of active metal, shimmering with a faint blue glow, were perfectly compatible with her martial soul, making its value to her immeasurable.

"Twenty pieces." She took a deep breath, her purple eyes flashing with determination. "I need twenty pieces of this spirit-forged metal. Name your price."

Gula chuckled softly, his gaze sweeping over everyone present like a blade: "What's the rush? Today's meal is just an appetizer."

Wu Siduo's pupils suddenly contracted as she realized something, and her voice changed: "You can simultaneously forge six kinds of metals with your mind... Could it be that you have already touched the threshold of soul forging?"

Gula tapped the metal ingot lightly with his slender fingertips, instantly producing a clear, resonant hum. "Far from it."

He casually dusted off his sleeves. "After all, I'm only a fourth-ring Soul Master."

Only when one breaks through to the Soul King realm and condenses the first Soul Core will one have a chance to break through to the Soul Forging realm.

(End of this chapter)