Chapter 91: The Blacksmith Masters Who Began to Doubt Reality!
"You—you! What will it take for you to finally let me go?"
Na'er's voice trembled, soft and pitiful.
Jiang Chen could only stare at her, speechless. She went from emotional to even more emotional—there wasn't a single ounce of strength in her protest.
He sighed. How could someone so weak be the "personality" of the Silver Dragon King?
At least Gu Yue could hold her ground—Na'er, on the other hand, was as soft as jelly.
"I never forced you to do anything," Jiang Chen said calmly. "If you didn't want to see me, you didn't have to. You didn't even have to reply to my messages."
He gestured casually. "This isn't coercion—it's all been your choice."
Na'er froze, unable to argue.
When she thought about it… he hadn't truly forced her into anything.
Well—except for that one time… with the cake. And the bath.
Uh… right.
Jiang Chen waved it off. "Forget it." He turned and walked away.
Na'er might have been a part of his plans once, but she wasn't crucial. His only concern was preventing the full reawakening of the Silver Dragon King—otherwise it would derail everything he'd been building.
As for the complicated mess between the two fragments—Gu Yue and Na'er—that was their problem, not his.
Na'er watched him leave, tears shimmering in her violet eyes.
She wanted to shout something defiant—"We're done! You'll never get anything from me again!"—but the words refused to come out.
Every time she faced Jiang Chen, her heart crumbled. All the speeches she'd prepared shattered like glass the moment he looked at her.
"I'll overcome this," she whispered to herself through trembling lips. "One day… I'll make you see me for who I am."
The blacksmith competition, meanwhile, was in full swing.
It was a quiet event—boring, almost, for most. Hardly any audience was present; after all, watching people hammer metal for hours wasn't exactly thrilling.
Jiang Chen wasn't participating this time. He'd come purely to observe—specifically, to see how Huo Yun'er performed.
Under his "meticulous guidance" (or, more honestly, merciless training), she should've been ready to win.
The first match for the youth category involved forging Blue Pregnancy Copper—a rare and temperamental metal.
When the signal was given, Huo Yun'er gripped her massive hammer and began forging with explosive power.
Her small frame contained the strength of a storm.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound thundered across the hall.
The elder blacksmiths observing from the stands frowned almost immediately.
Before forging, one was supposed to study the metal's resonance, its density, and its heat tolerance. Yet this little girl hadn't even looked at her material—she'd just started swinging!
"Where did this wild child come from?"
"Totally reckless!"
Yet that wasn't the end of it—Gu Yue soon followed, and her method was even more shocking.
She didn't even step up to the anvil.
Under the glow of her immense spiritual power, the Blue Pregnancy Copper floated into the air, suspended and spinning freely.
An invisible pressure surrounded it, warping the metal until its very structure began to shift.
The crowd of master blacksmiths collectively went silent.
"What… what kind of forging technique is that?"
"Are we… are we outdated now?!"
"Since when can spiritual power replace a hammer?!"
None of them could understand what they were witnessing.
The technique defied every law of metallurgy they had ever known.
As the other participants still examined their materials, the two girls worked swiftly. The sight left every contestant wide-eyed and pale.
Their confidence collapsed entirely.
They were fourteen, fifteen years old—full of pride. But these two… barely ten? And they forged like gods.
Maybe we've been learning fake blacksmithing!
Some looked on in despair, others frozen in confusion—no one even knew how to proceed. Their rhythm was gone.
The two prodigies had destroyed the competition's atmosphere completely.
Moments later, two crisp voices rang out.
"I'm done."
"Me too."
The staff stared blankly. "D… done? Already? But what about refinement?"
The Hundred Forge trial required a purification phase, but no one had seen how they'd refined anything—let alone forged it.
Huo Yun'er's work at least followed normal techniques—raw, but powerful.
But Gu Yue's? The judges didn't even know how to begin evaluating it.
"Bring it here," commanded the silver-haired elder on the judges' panel.
The workers carefully presented Gu Yue's piece to him.
He wasn't the only one drawn to it; every blacksmith in the hall gathered around.
The elder felt the metal, tracing its flawless surface, its subtly vibrant flow. His eyes widened with astonishment.
"You… What's your name?" he asked eagerly. "Would you consider becoming my disciple?"
Gu Yue glanced at him lightly. "I already have a master," she said softly.
"If that's all, I'll be leaving now."
With that, she turned and strode to the exit, Huo Yun'er quickly trotting behind her.
"Gu Yue-sis! Wait for me!"
The silver-haired elder exhaled slowly, half dazed. "This girl… she has the talent of a Divine Craftsman."
Such a technique—if it could be called that—was beyond comprehension. Forging was meant to alter metal properties; if she could reshuffle its very structure through will alone, then perhaps this really was forging—on a godly level.
No, not forging at all. Something higher.
She had reshaped the metal directly with spiritual energy, bending its nature to her design.
Had she gone even a little further, she could have infused the metal with the energy of heaven and earth itself—a feat only true Divine Craftsmen could achieve.
A daughter of the elements. The Silver Dragon King indeed.
His words echoed through the hall again: "Divine Craftsman potential—nothing less."
If Gu Yue ever released her full power, she would be a Divine Craftsman already.
"Brother! Brother! I did great, didn't I?" Huo Yun'er beamed proudly as she returned.
"Very great," Jiang Chen said with a smile, giving her a rare pat on the head.
Still, the truth was obvious. The youth division title was as good as gone—for someone else.
He glanced sidelong at Gu Yue and sighed inwardly. "Why didn't you just compete in the adult division?"
"Stealing my Yun'er's win is just cruel."
Gu Yue only lifted her eyes lazily. "I intend to win. The adult category offers less certainty."
"You what?" Jiang Chen muttered, exasperated.
Still, he couldn't help noticing how blank she seemed lately—distant, almost dazed.
Maybe that fight against Tang God King had rattled her more than she cared to admit.
When she'd been reduced to a small silver dragon in his arms, she'd been far less intimidating.
Acting on impulse, he reached out and patted her head. "You got this."
Her expression hardened instantly.
"Jiang Chen… do you want to die?"
He stepped back quickly—but not before his hand tousled her ponytail.
And just like that, her composure snapped.
"Jiang Chen! You're dead!"
Energy flared as elements gathered around her, swirling into a furious storm.
Jiang Chen ran for his life.
"Mercy, Your Majesty! I was wrong!"
"You dare!"
Yet as power and laughter filled the air, Jiang Chen grinned to himself.
That fire in her eyes—that was the Gu Yue he knew.
Everything felt just right again.
(END CHAPTER)
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