Chapter 52: God Level Special effect

"Ding ding…"

As soon as Xia Yi answered the soul guide communicator, Mu Xi's anxious voice came through. "Where did you run off to? I couldn't find you all night! Are you still participating in the Blacksmith Competition?"

Xia Yi checked the time and realized there were only thirty minutes left until the second round of the Blacksmith Competition.

"On my way." Xia Yi hung up the call, rushed out of the Skysea City Blacksmith Association, hailed a taxi, and quickly headed to the Skysea Stadium.

What Xia Yi didn't know was that his disappearance for an entire night had nearly driven Mu Xi crazy.

Yesterday, after he and Tang Wulin set the record for the shortest time to complete Hundred Refinements during the Skysea Alliance Competition, Mu Xi had been eager to share the news with Xia Yi. But when she tried to contact him, he was nowhere to be found, and his soul guide communicator was unreachable.

As it turned out, after defeating Xu Xiaoyan yesterday, Xia Yi didn't return to the hotel. Instead, he went to the Skysea City Blacksmith Association. Using his second-rank blacksmith badge, he quickly borrowed a forging room.

Blacksmith Rankings: Rank One: Hundred Refinements.

Rank Two: Crafting parts.

Rank Three: Thousand Refinements.

Rank Four: Thousand Refinements Second Grade.

Rank Five: Spirit Refinement.

Thousand Refinements First Grade serves as the transitional stage between ordinary Thousand Refinements and Spirit Refinement.

The Skysea Alliance Blacksmith Competition consists of three rounds. The first round is just a preliminary selection where completing Hundred Refinements suffices.

The second round scores participants based on the difficulty of the chosen metal and the grade of refinement achieved.

The third round is a shaping competition, which involves crafting mecha components. However, the scoring weight of the third round is significantly lower than that of the second, and even the first round.

Although Xia Yi had only undergone the assessment for a third-rank blacksmith, he had been capable of completing Thousand Refinements for over a month and had now mastered it proficiently.

For the junior group, completing Hundred Refinements before the age of fifteen already qualified someone as an exceptional talent. Achieving Thousand Refinements was considered the mark of a genius.

But Thousand Refinements was not Xia Yi's goal.

With the finals tomorrow, Xia Yi wanted to see if he could attempt Thousand Refinements Second Grade, the fourth rank in blacksmithing.

Tang Wulin was already a fourth-rank blacksmith. If Xia Yi couldn't reach the same level, he would undoubtedly lose tomorrow.

Unlike soul master competitions, where victories against higher-ranked opponents were common, blacksmith competitions left no such room for surprise. A third-rank blacksmith could never outperform a fourth-rank blacksmith, no matter how well they executed Thousand Refinements Third Grade.

Xia Yi had no idea how to achieve Thousand Refinements Second Grade, so he turned to Mu Chen's notes for guidance.

Key Milestones in Blacksmithing:

Hundred Refinements: Metal purification.

Thousand Refinements: Bestowing life to the metal.

Spirit Refinement: Infusing the life within the metal with spirituality.

Thousand Refinements Second Grade and First Grade: Transitional stages between ordinary Thousand Refinements and Spirit Refinement.

To focus entirely on breaking through to the fourth rank, Xia Yi even turned off his soul guide communicator, setting it to reactivate automatically thirty minutes before the blacksmith competition today.

The moment it turned back on, Mu Xi's call came through.

By the time Xia Yi arrived at the competition venue, the other blacksmiths were already present. Xia Yi glanced at the clock—there were still five minutes before the competition began. Thankfully, he wasn't late.

Seeing Xia Yi show up in time, Mu Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Where have you been?"

"I went to the Skysea City Blacksmith Association to try fourth-rank forging," Xia Yi replied softly.

"Fourth-rank forging? You broke through to Thousand Refinements Second Grade?" Mu Xi's eyes widened as she stared at Xia Yi like he was a monster. Six months ago, she had barely been able to complete Thousand Refinements herself, and even now, her success rate was still very low.

Yet Xia Yi, who had started blacksmithing just a month ago, had already mastered Hundred Refinements after a single glance and Thousand Refinements in one afternoon. And now, he was attempting Thousand Refinements Second Grade?

"No, I wasted an entire night for nothing!" Xia Yi shook his head. Despite his efforts, he hadn't managed to complete a single Thousand Refinements Second Grade, though he did achieve several peak-level Thousand Refinements Third Grades.

"Don't be too greedy. In the junior group, just being able to perform Thousand Refinements is already incredible. Hurry up and choose your metal—this is also part of the scoring criteria." Mu Xi rolled her eyes at him. Hearing that Xia Yi hadn't succeeded made it a little easier for her to accept. Otherwise, she wouldn't even know how to describe his progress if he had become a fourth-rank blacksmith within a month.

Xia Yi nodded and selected a piece of Azure Origin Copper from the array of metals.

The second round was different from the first. While the first round had mandated the use of Blue Birth Copper, the second round allowed any metal. After the competition, judges would adjust the scores based on the difficulty of refining the chosen metal.

Upon seeing Xia Yi select Azure Origin Copper, the judges were visibly surprised. Based on his performance yesterday, Xia Yi was at least a third-rank blacksmith. However, Azure Origin Copper couldn't be imbued with life and could only be refined to Thousand Refinements Fifth Grade, guaranteeing a low score.

Before they could ask Xia Yi to reconsider his choice, the host announced the rules of the competition.

"The second round of the Skysea Alliance Blacksmith Competition is about to begin. Please prepare yourselves. After yesterday's preliminary round, only thirty percent of the participants remain. Cherish this opportunity and perform your best. Also, choose your rare metals wisely, as the third-round shaping competition will follow this. The second round begins in one minute."

All participants focused on their forging stations, concentrating their energy. For blacksmiths, focus and dedication were foundational. Those who had passed the first round and mastered Hundred Refinements had a solid understanding of forging.

Xia Yi was no exception. He entered a strange rhythm, seemingly merging with the forging station. When Mu Xi glanced at him, she noticed his breathing and mental state were perfectly synchronized, as if he and the forging station were one.

"Ten, nine…"

The countdown began.

"Three, two, one—start!"

The forging stations flared to life. Blocks of rare metals, heated to a glowing red, were hoisted up by the blacksmiths as the second round began.

From the judges' panel, the white-haired elder's gaze immediately locked onto Xia Yi and Tang Wulin.

"Are those the two young ones from yesterday?" the elder asked, pointing toward Xia Yi and Tang Wulin.

"Yes. We've investigated them. They're both from the Eastsea City Blacksmith Association. The girl next to them is the daughter of Mu Chen, the president of the Eastsea Association, known as the most outstanding talent in this generation. Yet, unexpectedly, the association has produced two even younger geniuses this year. Eastsea truly has been flourishing with talent in recent years," a middle-aged judge praised.

The elder nodded. "I'm curious to see if these two will surprise us again today. Investigate their family backgrounds thoroughly."

"You mean…?" The younger judge looked at the elder in surprise.

The elder smiled faintly. "Though Skysea has its share of talents, we lack top-tier prodigies. The younger they are, the more malleable. This could be an opportunity for us."

"I understand. I'll arrange it immediately," the younger judge replied, stepping aside to make a soul guide call.

Unaware of all this, Xia Yi had already begun his work.

Two green flashes illuminated the arena as a pair of Thousand Refined Azure Origin Copper hammers appeared in Xia Yi's hands.

While the other participants were still analyzing their metals, Xia Yi had already swung his hammers down.

Clang! A crisp sound echoed as a faint emerald light emitted from the Thousand Refined hammers, landing on the glowing red Azure Origin Copper.

"Impossible! He hasn't even completed Hundred Refinements—how can there be signs of life? And on Azure Origin Copper, which can't even be imbued with life!" The judges shot to their feet, their gazes filled with disbelief as they stared at Xia Yi.

"It's the special effect of his hammers," the white-haired elder said gravely. He had seen many forging hammers with special effects, including Tang Wulin's rarest stacking effect. But a hammer that could imbue life into metal? He had never even heard of such a thing.

"A special effect that grants life? This isn't just rare—it's divine!" The judges' eyes gleamed with desire.

"Perhaps it can be called a god-level special effect," the elder muttered. "If these hammers can grant life during Hundred Refinements, what about Thousand Refinements, Spirit Refinement, or even Soul Refinement and Heaven Refinement? Metals forged with these hammers would undoubtedly surpass their peers in vitality."

"What a pity these hammers have been blood-bound," a sixth-rank blacksmith sighed. Blood-binding a forging hammer meant it could only be used by its owner, rendering it useless to others.

(End of Chapter)