Douluo Continent, my martial soul is the Silver Dragon King.

A moment later, the door was pushed open, and Si Long led a young man in with large strides. The newcomer was well-built, with muscles bulging beneath his tight-fitting short shirt, and his bald head stood out conspicuously in the dim light of the fire.

The young man walked with brisk steps, each step making a clear sound, carrying a sense of efficiency and swiftness; his voice preceded his arrival.

"Haha, this handsome and distinguished young man must be Junior Brother Lu Chen!"

The bald young man's hearty and loud laughter instantly echoed throughout the entire forging room.

He walked straight up to Lu Chen, gave a slight bow, and said in a booming voice, "I am Si Zhu. I just returned from the Star Luo Empire Academy. Uncle Si Long told me that you want to challenge a three-ring Soul Master?"

There was no obvious contempt in the bald youth's eyes, but the smile on his lips and the slight upturn of his chin naturally revealed the look of an elder looking at a newborn calf.

It was as if what was about to take place was not a serious competition, but a game of teasing the younger generation.

Without any pleasantries or formalities, Lu Chen returned the greeting cleanly and crisply, clenching his fists in front of his chest and saying in a deep voice, "Please enlighten me." As soon as he finished speaking, an aura with a sharp edge burst forth from Lu Chen.

Upon seeing this, Si Zhu's smile instantly froze. Lu Chen's decisive and serious attitude was completely unexpected.

The playful smile on Si Zhu's lips vanished quickly, replaced by a look of astonishment and seriousness.

He dropped his dismissive tone and looked Lu Chen up and down again, saying incredulously, "Junior Brother Lu Chen, are you serious? You really want to fight me? Do you even know what a three-ring Soul Master is?"

He emphasized the pronunciation of the words "three rings" several times, trying to make his junior brother understand the insurmountable barrier between them.

To prove her words, Si Zhu suddenly unleashed an even more powerful and formidable aura, spreading outwards like an invisible wave of energy, which stirred the hair on Lu Chen's forehead.

Si Zhu gave a low shout, and with a clenched fist, a huge warhammer, shimmering with orange-yellow light, heavy in shape, and as tall as half a person, appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Two yellow and one purple halos rose up from beneath his feet.

Si Zhu slammed her wrist down, slamming the orange hammer heavily onto the floor forged from a special alloy with a loud thud. The entire floor seemed to tremble for a moment.

He shook his head and said, "Junior brother, think twice before you act! You don't even possess any soul skills yet, how can you possibly defeat me with just your aura?"

Please enlighten me—

Lu Chen's eyes were sharp and he looked very focused and serious, the black opening of the silver metal box in his hand pointed at Si Zhu.

Si Zhu sighed helplessly, "Fine, fine, it seems you're determined to try, Junior Brother. How about this..." Si Zhu's tone changed, carrying a hint of seniority and confidence, "If you can force me to use any of my soul skills, you win, how about it?"

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a sense of danger suddenly arose in his heart, and a ray of light shot towards him silently in an instant. His previously lazy gaze suddenly widened, and relying on his accumulated combat instincts, he dodged the ray in the blink of an eye.

The ray grazed past his ear, a warm sensation accompanied by a stinging pain. Si Zhu's earlobe was scratched, and a drop of bright red blood seeped out.

The deadly ray, however, continued its relentless advance, striking the thick alloy wall on the other side of the forging room.

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out, and the incredibly hard alloy instantly caved in with a large hole.

Si Zhu was still in shock, his heart pounding like a drum. He swallowed hard, his throat dry and sore. He couldn't imagine what a miserable state he would be in if that ray had hit his head or heart directly.

The power of this ray not only shocked Si Zhu, but also the master craftsman Lou Gao. He abruptly stood up, his pupils dilating: "What kind of weapon is this? How can it possess such immense power? In my entire life of forging and researching, I have never seen such a bizarre and powerful weapon!"

Si Long, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded. It took him a long time to find his voice. "The power of this ray... is probably no less than the full-force burst of a three-ring Soul Master..."

Si Long's heart was in turmoil. Lu Chen had lost both his parents at a young age, and Si Long was Lu Chen's nominal guardian. He knew that Lu Chen had always liked to tinker with strange and unusual things in the forging room.

But he never expected that the boy he had watched grow up would be able to create such a powerful and terrifying weapon that could threaten a three-ring Soul Master.

What's even more terrifying is that a newly awakened Soul Master was able to use this weapon to defeat a three-ring Soul Master. This completely exceeded his understanding of "weapons".

At this moment, all three of them focused their attention on the seemingly ordinary metal box on Lu Chen's wrist. Wisps of smoke were rising from the launch port at the front of the box, and a strong smell of burning metal and energy overload filled the air.

The forging room was deathly silent, with only the restless crackling of the furnace fire and the suppressed breathing of the people inside.

Lu Chen's voice rang out in the silence, calm yet carrying an invisible pressure, clearly reaching Si Zhu's ears: "Senior Brother Si Zhu, shall we continue?"

Such calm words caused cold sweat to instantly break out on Si Zhu's forehead, sliding down his cheeks and the back of his bald head. His clothes were also soaked with cold sweat, clinging tightly to his skin.

Soul tools—a product that will only flourish ten thousand years from now—are beyond Si Zhu's current understanding. Even if she racked her brains, she couldn't comprehend how Lu Chen managed to drive that metal box to unleash such a terrifying energy attack.

After all, in this era, the mainstream of combat was still the clash of cold weapons and soul skills. Even the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, which later became famous throughout the continent and was manufactured by the Tang Sect, was nothing more than a mechanism that fired poisoned crossbow bolts. Its attack mode was completely different from the ray in front of them.

The unknown is what brings the most fear.

Even though Si Zhu was a three-ring Soul Master with a Soul Power far exceeding that of Lu Chen, who hadn't even acquired a Soul Skill, the immense fear of the unknown power made his body stiff as a stone statue. He stood there, unable to move forward or backward.

"That's enough!"

An aged voice broke the silence.

The shrewd and imposing figure of the master craftsman, Lou, moved slowly toward the two people in the room. His steps were slow but firm, and his gaze swept over the metal box in Lu Chen's hand and the shocking crater in the wall.

"This sparring session ends here." Lou Gao's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the silent forging room, carrying the decisive power of a hammer blow. "The outcome is decided. Lu Chen wins this match."

Lou Gao walked to Si Zhu's side and patted her tense back with his thick hand. "Si Zhu, you can go now. It's not shameful to lose this sparring match. It would have been the same result no matter which three-ring Soul Master came in."

Upon hearing Lou Gao's words, Si Zhu felt an instant relief from the pressure on his body and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He clasped his hands and bowed, replying, "Yes!" After speaking, Si Zhu put away his orange hammer, and the two yellow and one purple spirit rings on his body disappeared.

Si Zhu glanced at Lu Chen and the metal box in his hand with a complicated expression, then turned and left the forging room with slightly heavy steps.