Douluo: AFK to Become a God

"Boss Chu, isn't this silver ingot? Why is it so hard to burn?"

Ma Hongjun grumbled, feeling frustrated. His soul skill wasn't unlimited, and while he could spit fire, he couldn't keep doing it non-stop.

"Who told you this is silver? This is sinking silver!"

Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes.

"Sinking silver? What's this used for?"

Ma Hongjun was taken aback. He had thought that after using his Phoenix Fire Line, a regular silver ingot would melt easily. It seemed this wasn't silver after all.

"Don't worry about that. Just heat it up until it's red," Chu Chengzhou instructed.

Ma Hongjun sighed, "...Fine."

"Second soul skill, Bathing Phoenix! First soul skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

After a minute, Ma Hongjun activated both of his soul rings. First, he used Bathing Phoenix to increase the power of his Phoenix Fire by 30%, then launched his Phoenix Fire Line into the furnace.

A few seconds later, Ma Hongjun, exhausted from the effort, stopped.

Chu Chengzhou peered into the furnace. Compared to before, the ingots had turned red, but they still weren't hot enough for forging.

"Forget it. We'll make do for now. Fatty, take a break. We'll continue once they cool down!"

Chu Chengzhou used tongs to take the red-hot sinking silver ingots out and placed them on the forge. Then, he picked up his thousand-forge level iron hammer and began hammering away.

"Boom, boom, boom—!"

The rhythmic sound of metal striking echoed through the Shrek Academy.

Fortunately, Chu Chengzhou had excellent control over his strength. Most of the force from the hammer strikes landed on the sinking silver ingots, so the ordinary forging table didn't break under the pressure.

"Fatty, keep stoking the fire!"

"Boom, boom, boom—!"

"Fatty, keep stoking the fire!"

Normally, forging would produce a "clink, clink" sound, but with Chu Chengzhou's incredible physical strength, his forging speed was much faster than usual.

After more than an hour, the sinking silver ingots had been hammered into a single block, and their volume had decreased considerably. The ingot now emitted a brilliant silver glow.

The soul power in Chu Chengzhou's fingertips surged, and he made a small cut on his arm. Blood spurted out, dripping onto the glowing silver.

Blood sacrifice allowed the metal to bond with his bloodline, making it as if the metal were part of his body. This was a common practice among high-level blacksmiths when forging important items.

As the blood hit the metal, a series of sizzling sounds rang out as the heat from the silver caused the blood to evaporate. The smoke soon dissipated, revealing the metal's new form.

The metal had shrunk significantly after the forging process, and the bright silver sheen faded, leaving behind a dull gray surface with intricate, wave-like patterns.

As Chu Chengzhou admired his work, Ma Hongjun was left dumbfounded.

"Wait, you can forge metal that glows? And you have to sacrifice blood too?!"

Ma Hongjun's perception of blacksmithing had been completely shattered.

After a moment of hesitation, Ma Hongjun couldn't help but ask, "How do you do it? Maybe I can learn?"

Chu Chengzhou chuckled. "Want to learn? Well, you can try, but it's not that easy."

Forging was a complex craft, requiring both skill and insight. The first hundred forges were easy enough, but after that, forging at the thousand-forge level or higher required extraordinary talent.

In the known world, if anyone could go the furthest in blacksmithing, it would be Tang San. Not only was Tang San's character solid, but his talent in forging was unmatched. He was able to craft the legendary Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, a lost technique from the Tang Sect, in his past life.

But Chu Chengzhou wouldn't teach Ma Hongjun. After all, they weren't close enough for him to waste his time teaching him. As for Xiao Wu, she didn't need to learn either—one blacksmith in the family was enough.

"No, no, no! I'm a soul master, I can't be a blacksmith!"

Ma Hongjun quickly shook his head, not wanting to become a lowly blacksmith.

"You don't want to learn? Well, I don't want to teach you either!"

Chu Chengzhou shot him a glare.

After all, in the future, the greatest powerhouses on the continent were all top-tier blacksmiths. Even soul masters with high ranks couldn't compare to the prestige of a master blacksmith.

But that was in the future. Right now, blacksmithing was a lowly profession, barely above common folk.

For example, the renowned master blacksmith Lou Gao was one of the three greatest blacksmiths on the continent, yet his status was still lower than that of a soul saint.

"Alright, hurry up and stoke the fire!"

Chu Chengzhou instructed, placing the thousand-forge sinking silver back into the furnace.

Now that the sinking silver had been forged into ingots, it needed to be shaped into the hammer and bow.

Ma Hongjun, tired from stoking the fire, reluctantly activated his soul rings again, continuing his role as the fire-stoking toolman.

As night fell, Ma Hongjun collapsed from exhaustion, while Chu Chengzhou remained full of energy, admiring the pair of dull, gray-forged hammers on the anvil.

After two hours of hard work, the sinking silver had finally been transformed into a pair of thousand-forge sinking silver hammers. However, they were still rough, and the hammers were far from smooth.

But that didn't matter—after all, a hammer only needed a hammerhead and a handle. Too smooth would make them less effective!