Bai Chen picked up the forging hammer, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
The hammer had its material and weight engraved on it. Judging from the numbers, it was definitely not light.
If Ning Tian tried to lift it, she would probably struggle just to raise it.
Yet in Bai Chen's hands, the hammer felt almost weightless.
It seemed that awakening different martial souls in different timelines also came with a small problem—
He had to adjust his sense of strength.
Otherwise, if he accidentally swung with full force, he might end up smashing the entire workbench.
Bai Chen casually picked up a piece of metal and gently rested the hammer against its surface.
Forging had appeared throughout the first three Douluo eras, but its importance varied greatly.
In Douluo Continent III, forging held the highest status.
Since Tang Wulin's secondary profession was forging, the craft was elevated above nearly all other auxiliary professions.
In contrast, forging in Douluo Continent II had very little presence.
Aside from occasional mentions during soul tool creation, it was rarely discussed.
Could the forging techniques of Douluo III be reproduced in the Douluo II era?
Bai Chen believed the answer was yes.
The reason was simple.
Douluo II had already shown the existence of naturally sentient metals.
One example was Ice Spirit Crystal, the companion metal of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow.
This material naturally possessed spiritual awareness, making it an extremely rare top-tier material.
If metals could naturally develop consciousness, then theoretically it should also be possible to artificially grant them spiritual awareness.
Of course—
Whether this theory could truly work would have to be tested personally.
A crisp metallic sound echoed through the laboratory.
Bai Chen began to lightly tap the metal.
He was extremely cautious.
The strength difference between his Douluo II body and his Douluo III body was enormous.
The only way to adapt was through practice.
Each hammer strike carried slightly more force than the previous one.
At first, the sound of the hammer was like gentle drizzle.
But as time passed, it gradually transformed into the rhythm of a gathering storm.
During the previous lesson, Duan Xuan had not yet taught him how to use elemental power to alter metal.
Instead, he had carefully taught Bai Chen how to wield the forging hammer correctly.
Now, as Bai Chen adapted to his body's strength, the results of that training began to show.
Before long, he once again reproduced the forging rhythm he had learned from Duan Xuan.
Clang—clang—clang—
The rhythmic sounds echoed throughout the laboratory.
Yet Bai Chen felt no fatigue at all.
Unlike the previous time—when he had ignored exhaustion due to extreme focus—
This time, he was simply nowhere near his limit.
As the hammer fell again, Bai Chen suddenly took a deep breath.
A black-gold aura ring rose beneath his feet and slowly merged into his body.
At the same time, his purple first soul ring lit up.
His entire body was enveloped in a powerful aura.
His presence instantly surged.
A dark golden light burst outward.
Dominating Domain.
Steel Bone Tremor.
Before fusing with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear right palm bone, Bai Chen had already been capable of competing with power-type soul masters under the Dominating Domain.
Now, with the additional enhancement of his soul skill, even a Power-type Soul King might hesitate to challenge him in raw strength.
Just how terrifying this was—
Only Bai Chen truly understood.
Feeling the seemingly endless strength surging through his body, Bai Chen's eyes sharpened.
He swung the hammer down again.
CLANG!
This time, the entire workbench shook slightly, startling Ning Tian, who stood nearby.
Normally, humans were weaker than soul beasts in terms of pure strength and physical power.
Human advantages lay in technique and tools, not brute force.
But Bai Chen was clearly an exception.
As the owner of the Golden Lion Mastiff martial soul, his strength had already surpassed the limits of normal humans.
Hammer after hammer fell.
At first, the sudden increase in power caused slight disruption to Bai Chen's rhythm.
But he quickly adapted.
Soon, he regained full control over the forging tempo.
Then, naturally—
When Bai Chen struck an unknown number of times—
A golden pillar of light erupted upward.
The entire laboratory was illuminated.
Thousand Refinements.
This was the first time Bai Chen had forged Thousand Refinement metal in this era.
And at the same time—
It was also the first Thousand Refinement metal ever created in this world.
Before this moment, there may have existed materials even stronger.
But those were naturally occurring rare metals, gifts of nature.
Now, however—
Bai Chen had personally elevated an ordinary piece of metal into the ranks of top-tier materials.
When he eventually became a Level 5 Blacksmith capable of forging Spirit Metal, he might even be able to mass-produce high-grade metals artificially.
What kind of impact that would have on this world—
Even Bai Chen couldn't yet predict.
But one thing was certain.
The Bai Chen of this era was actually more suited to being a blacksmith than his Douluo III counterpart.
Unlike his Douluo III self, who would be completely exhausted after forging a single Thousand Refinement metal, Bai Chen still showed no signs of fatigue.
He could repeat the same process at least five more times.
Furthermore—
Although he had no concrete evidence—
Bai Chen had a feeling that the quality of this Thousand Refinement metal was even higher than the one he forged before.
The difference clearly came from his martial soul.
Seeing Bai Chen stop, Ning Tian approached curiously.
She picked up the metal he had forged and examined it.
"Bai Chen… what exactly are you doing?"
"I'm improving the metal's natural properties," Bai Chen explained.
"Soul tools are made from metal."
"The quality of the material directly affects the power of the soul tool."
"So I'm trying to improve the metal itself in order to improve the quality of soul tools."
"Oh…"
Ning Tian nodded slowly.
"Then you're really amazing."
By now, Bai Chen's extraordinary actions no longer surprised her much.
Children had an incredible ability to adapt.
After spending so much time with him, Bai Chen had already become someone who could seemingly do anything in Ning Tian's eyes.
No matter what he did—
It somehow always felt normal.
After answering her question, Bai Chen placed another piece of metal onto the workbench.
He adjusted his breathing and began another round of forging.
The previous forging session had confirmed something important.
Although the forging techniques of the Bai Chen from the two eras were not identical—
Their understanding of forging was shared.
In other words—
If Bai Chen trained forging in this era,
His Douluo III self's forging skill would also improve.
And soon—
Zhen Hua would arrive.
Bai Chen intended to seize this opportunity.
He wanted to leave a deep and unforgettable impression on the legendary Divine Blacksmith.