The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

For three consecutive days, the high temperature inside the forging chamber almost distorted the air.

"laugh--!!"

The scalding, dark red liquid metal was lifted up by an invisible force and suspended in mid-air.

Qian Hua was expressionless, his eyes bloodshot.

Not sleeping for three days wasn't fatal for his current physical condition, but the intense mental strain caused his temples to throb with pain.

This thing is just one last step away.

He loosely clenched his hands, and his surging spiritual power transformed into a carving knife, moving across the source weapon.

"Buzzing!"

The metal trembled violently, emitting a piercing, mournful cry, as if resisting this brutal reshaping.

A hint of annoyance flashed in Qian Hua's eyes. This was already the third item on the verge of being scrapped today; the material's limits were at this point.

"Give me condensation."

His mental strength suddenly surged, and the power of his wisdom and authority began to operate wildly.

Countless structural diagrams and rune sequences intertwined and flickered in his mind, finally being precisely imprinted into the metal.

The dark red light quickly subsided.

A long, jet-black sword with a blade gleaming with a cold blue light slammed onto the lab table with a clang.

A wave of heat hit us.

[Unnamed] (Attack-type Source Soldier)

Quality: Grade A

Combat Power: 57560

[Core Special Effect: Shadow - Once activated, the body blends into the shadow, becoming undetectable.]

"Another piece of trash."

Qian Hua stared coldly at the few lines of data, his displeasure almost written on his face.

This is already the sixth A-grade source weapon forged today.

The quantity sounds alarming; releasing it would be enough to make anyone fight tooth and nail for it.

But in Qian Hua's eyes, all of these were failures.

These days, the combat power of the A-level source soldiers he forged has been hovering around 5 to 6, and he just can't break through.

Aside from the initial joy of forging an A-grade source weapon, he made no progress afterward, which truly frustrated him.

No matter how fine the metal he used, or how meticulously he honed his mental power, the road was still a dead end.

The combat power increase is stuck at that line, and it just won't go up no matter what.

He picked up the strong tea that had long since gone cold and took a swig.

The bitter liquid flowed down his throat, slightly suppressing the dizziness caused by mental exhaustion.

Qian Hua glanced out of the corner of his eye at the huge dark figure huddled in the corner.

San Shi was lying among a pile of discarded metal parts, snoring loudly. His thick tail would occasionally slap the ground, and he would sometimes smack his gaping maw.

Qian Hua put down his teacup, silently reflecting on the events of the past few days: 'The reason I was able to mass-produce A-grade source soldiers so quickly...'

"Besides the abnormal computing and analytical capabilities granted by the Wisdom Authority, and the master-level forging experience acquired through in-game purchases from the remote shop."

"Besides that, a large part of the credit actually goes to the guy who's fast asleep in the corner."

The blood of San Shi.

The blood of lord-level monsters contains an extremely violent primal power.

Qian Hua has been drawing a lot of blood from San Shi these past few days.

He mixed the blood of the three stones with other solutions as a coolant for quenching the source soldiers.

This crude method has significantly raised the limits of ordinary materials.

But that's the limit.

Qian Hua rubbed his temples: "My forging method is still too opportunistic."

"A rank built solely on external force and shortcuts without the foundation of skill is shaky, and progressing further is as difficult as ascending to heaven."

"If I had ten or eight years, I could leisurely learn from the basics, hammering away to feel the texture of the metal, exploring the so-called 'way of crafting'."

"But not now."

"The monsters have already descended; I don't have that much time to retreat and specialize in a single skill."

Since we can't break through with skill, we can only rely on materials.

Qian Hua walked to the materials shelf.

This place is piled high with all sorts of rare ores that shimmer with an unusual light; any one of them could fetch an astronomical price in a remote shop.

He has no shortage of materials.

But he lacks a harmonizing agent.

The higher the quality of the material, the more violent the energy and ferocity it contains.

The metals I've been using these past few days have a strong repulsive reaction every time I inject mental energy into them.

If it weren't for San Shi's blood pressure control, there would have been no way to get to the final step.

To forge a weapon that breaks through the limits, one must find a harmonizer that can perfectly blend the ferocity of multiple top-tier materials.

But San Shi's blood was running out.

Forging an A-grade item using such a clever method is already incredibly difficult.

If they want to reach a higher level, the energy concentration of San Shi's blood is simply not enough.

Qian Hua's gaze fell on San Shi in the corner again. This time, he wasn't looking at San Shi's claws or thighs, but at the location of San Shi's heart.

The core blood of a lord-level monster.

If that stuff could be used as a harmonizing agent...

In the corner, San Shi suddenly shivered, and his loud snoring stopped abruptly.

He wasn't asleep at all.

Being in the same room with a ruthless person who would bleed him dry at the drop of a hat, he wouldn't dare to actually fall asleep even if he had ten lives.

Just now, a chill ran straight up to the top of my head.

San Shi closed his eyes tightly and tried to slow his breathing, but his heart began to beat faster and faster uncontrollably.

He sensed it.

Qian Hua was looking at him.

And it wasn't the kind of look you give to ordinary tools.

He was all too familiar with that look in his eyes.

In the Netherworld, this is the look that predators give their prey.

It’s over.

San Shi felt a pang of despair. What kind of evil scheme was this living devil plotting now?

He secretly opened his eyes a crack and just happened to see Qian Hua staring at his chest.

Damn!

San Shi was so frightened that his scales almost popped off.

He was well aware of his current situation.

Having handed over their soul and essence, their life and death were now entirely in the other party's hands.

If Qian Hua had even the slightest thought, he wouldn't have a chance to resist and would have turned into a cold corpse.

No, we absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait to die!

San Shi's eyes darted wildly under his eyelids.

We must strike first!

San Shi quickly came up with a plan.

He suddenly scrambled to his feet, his movements so swift that he didn't look like someone who had just had several kilograms of blood drained.

"Clang!"

His movement knocked over a pile of scrap metal next to him.

Qian Hua's gaze turned slightly cold as he looked at San Shi, who was walking towards him.

Before he could even speak, San Shi had already knelt down on one knee with a "plop".

The massive figure's kneeling caused the entire floor of the forge to tremble.

"Owner!"

San Shi, with his hoarse voice, spoke so loudly that it even trembled slightly, and squeezed out an extremely nauseating expression of worship on his ferocious face.

Qian Hua frowned even more deeply.

"Although I was resting with my eyes closed, I saw how hard you were working, Master!"

While howling, San Shi wiped away non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes with his rough paws. "Master has been working tirelessly these past few days, pouring his heart and soul into forging this peerless divine weapon! I admire his perseverance to the core!"

Qian Hua watched his performance with a cold eye.

He didn't need to guess what this guy was thinking.

A monster that has lived for decades is more cunning than a human.

San Shi, however, didn't care at all: "Master! I know you've hit a bottleneck! Forging a powerful divine weapon is your dream! And your dream is my dream, San Shi's dream!"

He straightened his chest and patted his hard scales hard, making a loud thud.

"As long as it can help my master, San Shi wouldn't mind dying!"

He shouted these words with resounding force and righteous indignation.