Don't mess with that necromancer; his summoned creatures level up on their own!

The eighth contestant threw the hammer onto the forging table, put his hands on his knees and gasped for breath, and finally raised his right hand—forfeiting.

A chorus of sighs of regret rose from the stands.

But when they turned to look at the two remaining forging stands...

That sense of regret quickly escalated into a uniform disbelief.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the forging platform where the flames were dancing.

The silver-haired girl remained calm and composed, her wrist holding the hammer rising and falling with measured ease.

Someone in the back row lowered their voice.

"No way... Could he really be the one to win? If he wins, then what about that guy from the Tang family...?"

The person next to him spoke.

"Don't talk nonsense. Tang Si hasn't even shown his Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique yet. Those few blows were just a warm-up. Just wait and see, the real show is yet to come."

Before the words were finished—

"when--!!!"

A loud, heavy bang suddenly exploded, its force completely different from the dull thuds before, carrying a brutal penetrating power.

All eyes in the stands turned to that direction.

Tang Si gripped the iron hammer tightly, and his arm suddenly burst forth with incredible speed.

On the anvil, a dense and rapid series of hammer blows echoed, thump thump thump thump thump thump.

Several elderly blacksmiths in the front row of the stands stood up almost simultaneously.

"It's the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique! The Tang family's secret martial art! A full eighty-one consecutive strikes! The power builds up layer by layer, becoming more and more terrifying with each strike!"

A blacksmith wearing reading glasses next to him started counting on his fingers. When he reached the thirtieth hammer blow, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he muttered to himself.

"Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine... This kid's speed is even faster than his father Tang Er back in the day!"

Another person's interface.

"Look at the hammer in his hand. That's the Tang family's ancestral Crimson Iron Hammer, perfectly balanced, made for the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique."

Tang Si's arm left many afterimages as he moved, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

His gaze remained fixed on the ever-expanding sword blank, each hammer blow striking the same spot precisely.

"Thump!"

The final hammer blow landed with a thud.

He gripped the sword and strode into the quenching pool.

"Sizzle—!!!"

White mist rose into the air.

The sword surfaced, its metal surface shimmering with a purple glow.

Three golden threads extend from the hilt of the sword all the way to the tip.

"Purple light! High-grade bronze quality!"

A member of the audience suddenly stood up.

"Three golden lines—judging by the current competition schedule, this is almost the limit! It's practically a sure win for the championship."

"Not necessarily. There's another Lu family member over there; they haven't finished fighting their summoned creatures yet."

"Summoned creatures? Ha, what kind of achievement can you make by controlling summoned creatures to forge iron? You'd be lucky to even reach the mid-level, let alone expect it to have three runes?"

As the judges began to score, Tang Si, panting heavily, kept his eyes fixed on the Haotian Hammer on the prize table, determined to win.

A junior disciple leaned over and whispered something.

"Senior brother, you've got it! The Haotian Hammer is definitely yours. After you get the prize, your fellow disciples will throw you a celebration banquet tonight."

Tang Si wiped the sweat from his face, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Come on, it's not completely over yet, there are still people fighting over there."

"What kind of trouble can you possibly cause? Senior brother, you've already shown off your disheveled cloak; who in the entire arena can compete with you?"

Everyone's attention turned back to Lu Zhixing.

The remaining eight contestants all withdrew from the competition, leaving only broken remnants on the forging table.

As long as Lu Zhixing can forge a decent weapon, even if it's only of low quality.

Lu Zhixing was also able to secure second place and take home the top-grade spirit iron.

Xiao You retracted the hammer, polished, and sharpened the blade with fluid movements, without the slightest hesitation.

The longsword left the quenching pool, emitting a warm, pale blue light, and settled steadily at a mid-grade quality.

Someone in the stands muttered something.

"Intermediate level? It actually produced one? It can even produce an intermediate level by controlling summoned creatures to forge weapons? What kind of crazy talent is this?"

The person next to him shook his head.

"Don't you even know who that is? The young master of the Lu family, how could he be an ordinary person?"

"Mid-level is mid-level, but it's still far inferior to Tang Si's three-pattern high-level. There's no doubt about the championship today; it belongs to Tang Si."

The general manager stood beside the judges' panel and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"For a first-time participant, and relying on mental power to remotely control summoned creatures forging, to deliver such a result truly shows great promise."

With a few more years of refinement, forging high-level equipment will be no difficult task.

Sparse applause rang out from the stands.

At the back of the crowd, Xia Qingyue stared blankly at the silver-haired figure.

In the Trial Tower, Lu Zhixing had only summoned zombies and vampires before; this was already the third undead servant.

He has probably already broken through level 20.

She looked down at her hands, which were only at level fourteen.

Just a few days ago, the two were fighting side by side in the dungeon, with similar levels, but now the other has already left them far behind.

A girl from her class leaned over and whispered something.

"Qingyue, what are you daydreaming about? You know Lu Zhixing on stage, right? Didn't you two do a dungeon together last time?"

Xia Qingyue snapped out of her daze and forced a smile.

"Yeah, we know each other, but we're not that close."

The girl smacked her lips.

"Tsk tsk, how come there's such a big difference between two Awakened Ones?"

"He can easily get mid-tier gear, and we're just sitting here watching to see what level he is."

Xia Qingyue shook her head.

"I don't know, but he should be... considerably taller than me."

The girl sighed.

"Sigh, comparisons are odious. By the way, his mid-grade sword must be worth at least several hundred thousand on the market, right? With his family's name attached, it would be worth double that, and people would be scrambling to buy it."

Xia Qingyue looked down at her palm and said nothing more.

The awards ceremony ended quickly.

Tang Si picked up the heavy Haotian Hammer, and his fellow disciples surrounded him to offer their congratulations.

"Senior brother is amazing! That chaotic cloak hammer technique is dazzling! I was counting your hammer strikes down there, and I completely lost track of you after seventy-something. How did you develop such arm strength?"

"The champion truly deserves the title! Look at the judges' scores; they're way higher than the second-place finisher!"

"Senior brother, could you teach us later? Even just the first thirty strikes would be great; we could practice for half a year!"

Tang Si waved his hands repeatedly.

"Oh, it's just luck. You guys can do it if you practice hard."

He couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. He weighed the Haotian Hammer and turned to his junior brothers.

"The weighting of this hammer is truly amazing. I'll try it out later. If it works well, you can use this as a benchmark when you practice your hammer techniques."

On the other side, the general manager, holding a brocade box containing spirit iron, quickly walked up to Lu Zhixing and bowed slightly.

"Young Master Lu, this is your second prize. It's top-grade spirit iron from the Northern Border mines, with a purity rarely seen in the world."

To achieve second place in one's first competition is already exceptional; given time, forging high-level divine weapons will be a piece of cake.

Lu Zhixing opened the brocade box, and a faint shimmering light appeared on the surface of the ore.

Xiao You's voice echoed in his mind, filled with anticipation.

[Master, there's something hidden inside this piece of spirit iron... it can only be fully revealed when it's forged into a weapon.]

"Oh?" Lu Zhixing pondered for a moment, then looked up at the general manager.

"I'm going to start forging right now."

The general manager froze on the spot, his smile stiffening for three seconds, before hurriedly trying to dissuade him.

"Young Master Lu! You just spent several hours maintaining the mental connection, your energy must be completely depleted!"

Moreover, this ore is of a much higher grade than the iron material from before. If one loses their composure, the million-dollar spirit iron will be ruined on the spot!

"Why don't you go back and rest first? I'll invite the most senior master craftsman in the factory to help you with the forging."

"No need."

Lu Zhixing asked himself softly.

"Xiao You, can you stay calm?"

【Leave it to me, Master, you can just enjoy your snacks.】

"Let's start construction right here."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, the general manager had no choice but to step aside and lead the way, shaking his head and sighing as he walked.

"Young Master Lu, please take my advice. This ore is no joke. The stress structure of the Northern Spirit Iron is extremely complex. If you insist on attacking it now..."

At least let me bring the temperature monitoring equipment from the factory over, so I can at least monitor the core temperature in real time—”

Lu Zhixing waved his hand: "No need, I know what I'm doing."

The general manager's lips twitched; he knew what was going on.

But he dared not say it aloud and could only swallow his words.

He turned sideways and led Lu Zhi to the unused forging table.

The lingering audience stopped to watch, their mocking remarks echoing throughout.

"He got cocky after forging a mid-tier bronze item and getting second place? Does he really think forging is child's play? He probably can't even read the grain of the ore, can he?"

"Relying on your family background, you squander good materials at will. You don't care about the money if you waste them. I bet you, this piece of ore won't last three hammer blows in the furnace before it cracks."

"Three hammer blows? You're giving him too much credit. I bet it'll crack in one blow. Northern Spirit Iron is such a delicate material; if it's not properly preheated, it won't even withstand a hammer blow."

Hearing the commotion, Tang Si quickly pushed through the crowd, his face full of anger, and squeezed to the front of the forging table. After seeing the piece of ore on the anvil, his brows furrowed even more.

"You're absolutely ridiculous!!"

Lu Zhixing slowly turned around.

Tang Si pointed at the ore and shouted loudly.

"You know nothing about metallurgy! Northern Spirit Iron must be soaked in cold water for three days."

"If you put it directly into the furnace for forging, cracks will spread wildly from the ore's core!"

"You're not crafting equipment, you're wasting a priceless treasure! Do you know how much this mine is worth? A million! Doesn't your father's money count?"

Before Lu Zhixing could even speak, some onlookers chimed in to support him.

"Young Master Tang is right! This is top-quality material from the Northern Border mines. I saw a smaller piece last time."

The master craftsman soaked the hammer in cold water for five whole days before daring to touch it. You're just heating it and hammering it directly—isn't that a waste?

"Tsk tsk, a rich young master's whim can't withstand such waste, even the best materials can't withstand it. What a pity."

"It'll be a good show once he cracks it. A million dollars will go down the drain on the spot. Just thinking about it is exciting."

Hearing the surrounding chatter, Xiao You's fingers, gripping the hammer, trembled slightly.

She subconsciously looked up at Lu Zhixing.

Lu Zhixing ignored the sarcasm and ridicule from others and spoke calmly.

"Ignore everyone else, just go for it. We'll build a shield of light to protect Xiaohe."

Xiao You nodded emphatically and gripped the hammer tightly.

This time, her method was completely different. The intense heat heated the spirit iron to its optimal temperature, and each hammer blow precisely channeled the internal stress channels of the metal.

Someone murmured softly.

"This craftsmanship is far more meticulous than before... Was that sword just a perfunctory effort?"

"Look at the angle at which she strikes with the hammer; every blow follows the natural grain of the ore. This isn't just random hitting. Could it be that this young master of the Lu family actually knows something?"

Before the words were finished—

"Crack!"

A glaring crack suddenly burst open from the center of the ore, and the crack spread rapidly to the edges, about to split the entire piece of spirit iron in two!

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

"It's completely cracked! There really was a problem! Who said they wanted to 'soothe their qi'? They probably 'soothed' it into the crack!"

"Oh dear... now that million spirit iron is completely useless! I made myself perfectly clear, but he wouldn't listen. Now look what happened, it's cracked, are you satisfied?"

"A million! Just like that, gone! If I were his father, I'd lock him up in solitary confinement when we get back!"

Tang Si frowned, a hint of expected regret appearing on his face.

"I told you, Northern Spirit Iron must be soaked in cold water; once it cracks from the core, no one can save it."

He paused, then added.

"What a waste of such good material. If it were in my hands, it could have yielded at least a high-grade shield with six or more patterns."

The general manager was so distressed that he gasped for breath, rubbing his hands and spinning around twice while muttering to himself.

"Oh no, it's cracked already? We haven't even had a proper hammer blow yet!"

I've been watching this ore for three months before finally getting it from the North. I was counting on it to produce a high-quality piece to boost the factory's reputation, and now it's all gone...

Xiao You stopped what she was doing, stared at the deep mark on the anvil that ran across most of the ore, and remained silent for a few seconds.

The onlookers began to shake their heads and turn away.

"Let's go, let's go, it's over, a million dollars gone."

Just when everyone thought the forging had completely failed and was about to shake their heads and leave, the girl slowly raised her right hand.

Fine purple lightning bolts gathered in his palm, and a light hammer formed purely of lightning floated silently in the air.

"Elemental forging?!"

An elderly blacksmith with white hair leaned forward suddenly in the crowd, nearly dropping his water cup, his voice trembling with excitement.

"It's the lost ancient method of lightning forging! I've only ever read about it in ancient books, and now I'm actually seeing it with my own eyes!"

Those around him quickly pressed for answers.

"What elemental forging method? Explain yourself! And what's with the lightning hammer?"

The old man spoke very quickly.

"Ordinary forging relies on the brute force of a hammer to shape the metal, but elemental forging uses lightning to penetrate the metal's texture and sculpt its internal structure bit by bit!"

The precision is more than ten times higher than traditional hammering techniques! Without decades of experience, one simply cannot even begin to grasp the basics!

"Look at her thunder hammer! That's not a real hammer; it's formed from magical energy!"

Some people don't believe it.

"Keep dreaming. You think you can just show me a lost ancient technique like that?"

The old man grew anxious and raised his voice three octaves.

"Why would I lie to you! My master's master's generation passed down a handwritten incomplete book with a picture of a thunder hammer drawn inside, exactly the same as this one!"

I always thought it was a legend made up by later generations, but I never imagined it was real!

Xiao You raised her hand, and the thunder hammer gently pressed against the cracked surface of the ore.