Hammers

"Let's meet again in the future!" A cute blond girl said to a cut black-haired boy.

"You must really go? Can you do anything to stay a little more?" The black-haired boy asked.

The girl shook her head "I can't, Gold brother. I already promised my family to return after a month. Even with the new cultivation technique, the Sword Valley is not a very suitable place for soul cultivation. I need to cultivate outside."

It must be known that the cultivation technique greatly improved your soul cultivation talent as your sword cultivation improved. However, this didn't change the fact that the Sword Valley had almost no soul power, being one of the worst places to soul cultivate. Most people usually spent some months a year over the Sword Valley to consolidate their foundation or in search of a breakthrough, most time cultivating outside.

"I will miss you, Star sis"

Effectively, they were Xueqin and Stargod. Three weeks had passed since Stargod passing the gate trial, reaching the promised month of Stargod to her family.

"I will also miss you" Stargod said a little sad "But don't worry, next year I would return again."

"You need to continue training, Star sis, or I will greatly surpass you." Xueqin cheekily said.

"I won't fall behind!" Star god clenched her hands with a determined look "Now that I passed the trial, my family won't have any excuse for me to not focus over the sword, even teaching me the family's techniques. Be wary to not be the one falling behind."

"I won't!" Xueqin answered glancing at Stargod. Then, his gaze softened "Take care!" He said launching towards her, hugging her tightly. It had been only one month with her, but Xueqin already considered Stargod as a best friend and someone irreplaceable, with only Chi over her.

"Yes!" Stargod reciprocated the hug.

Both of them broke the hug, Stargod leaving with her escort while looking back at Xueqing waving her hand "Until next time!"

....

"Clank!" "Clank!" The sound of metal hitting metal resounded all over Mucheng's manor.

Over a little and basic room a table with some spirit circuits over it. Xueqin was there hitting rhythmically a metal with two hammers.

After more than an hour hitting it, the sounds finally died.

"Hahaha!" Xueqin started laughing as he looked at the metal. It was a pure white ingot that shined brightly.

"Finally, after two years. Finally, I was able to do it." Xueqin had spent almost two years practicing his blacksmith techniques, at least practicing it two hours every day, four days every week.

It had been very tedious and exhausting work, plus the improvement very difficult to observe comparing it with Manufacturing or Designing that came naturally and he found himself improving each time.

Xueqin was about to resign more than one time. However, when he remembered Mucheng's words, wanting him to stop, he wanted to punch Mucheng's face, demonstrating that he was able.

The metal had been almost impossible to make it the same color. With each hit, the metal seemed to change its characteristics, required a completely different method to refine. In Xueqin's mind refining became something extremely difficult.

"You finally made it, eh?" A sigh full of contempt was heard, Xueqin quickly turning around. There, in front of him, stood Mucheng with his usual cold and emotionless face. At least no killing intent could be felt from it.

In these years, Mucheng hasn't appeared at all. The only sign of his presence being the always prepared smithy with the strange metal ready.

"For you to take so much time with such a simple refining" Mucheng stated "If I chose a more difficult one, you wouldn't have made it even with hundreds of years".

"Whose the one that never had taught me anything?" Xueqin said indignant.

Mucheng ignored his complaint and approached the refining desk. Mucheng keyed some orders over the desk that started shining brightly, blue flames surging from the table and swallowed the ingot. Mucheng's fingers never stopped to run across the desk, the flames flickered with each of his moves.

"Divide the ingot in two. Then form two identical hammers with it." Mucheng ordered.

"Bu-" Before Xueqin could say anything Mucheng interjected "Do it!" Mucheng shouted not leaving any other option.

Xueqin sighed and clenched the hammers.

"Clank!" Xueqin hit the ingot, his eyes turning wide open. With that only hit, Xueqin realized that the metal had become stable. With his experience as Manufacturer and all the hours spent hitting the metal, it was incredibly easy to manipulate.

"Clank!" It wasn't long before Xueqin was able to divide it, creating the outer form of hammers. Somehow, one of them had turned completely black while the other stayed white, but both of them were successfully refined.

"Bang!" Suddenly, Mucheng hit Xueqin's chest with his palm open.

"Buarg!" Xueqin was unable to avoid it, great pain crossing over his chest, vomiting some blood.

The blood landed over the metal, being absorbed by it, a red glow appearing over the hammers.

"Finish it" Ordered Mucheng.

Instinctively, Xueqin knew what to do. He clenched the hammers at his hands, lifting them. Then, he swung them downwards with all his strength.

"Clank!" "Clank!" Both hammers hit the strange metal hammers, a golden halo expanding from the impact as Xueqin finished them.

There, over the desk stood a pair of seemingly delicate hammers, even when in truth was that they were incredibly hard, weighing over 50 kg. One of them, pure white with feathers patterns all over the shaft. The other was pure black with a scaled pattern over it. Both had sharp edges at the sides, finishing it into a peak in one side while on the other had the usual flat surface. They seemed to be the fuse between hammers, picks and swords. Xueqin didn't really know what to think about them.

Mucheng took both hammers, a little of rejection coming from them, but too weak to prevent Mucheng.

"Cut" He said thoughtfully "A strange one" He turned to Xueqin "You are really always related with swords, even your blacksmithing reflects it."

"Master, what's the meaning of this?" Xueqin asked.

"Every Blacksmith should forge his own hammers. Only then, they can be called his." Mucheng swung his arm, the hammers over Xueqin's hands that he had used over 2 years disappearing.

"To help them adjust to you is typical to make a blood sacrifice to your first work. This way it could adapt better to you, not being able to been fully used by anyone else. If you are lucky it might acquire a special effect" Mucheng explained.

Mucheng took out a big, gray hammer, the same he used to make that metal like new "My hammer's effect is 'Crush', being capable of destroying previous refinements" He withdrew his hammer. "In your case, your hammer had also acquired an effect. This one being 'Cut'. For what it would be able to do, it would depend on yourself and the way you used them and evolve them."

Xueqin looked at the hammer thoughtfully. He knew that a new way of forging opened before him, a unique way only capable for him, completely different than his previous tries.

"I activated the desk, learn how to use the flames" These were Mucheng's last words before he disappeared "Continue forging."

Xueqin found himself alone again. Thinking about Mucheng's last words, it made him think that they were encouraging words, recognizing him and permitting him to continue with the blacksmithing.

"Nah!" Xueqin shook his head thinking how of a bastard was his forcefully made master. He clenched his new hammers, gripping them as swords "Time to experiment!" He swung them over a piece of metal.