Chapter 188: Molten Sovereign
The first crow of the rooster echoed across Cloudrise City just as a brilliant spark ignited deep within the Ironveil Forge—marking the successful refinement of the ninth beast core.
Outside, the sun had barely risen above the horizon. Soft pale light crept over the quiet streets. Dew clung to rooftops, and the cool morning breeze carried the faint scent of fresh bread drifting from distant bakeries. The city was only just beginning to stir.
But inside the Ironveil Forge, the real battle had only just begun.
Su Tianhao and Master Shen Bao stood before ten liquified materials floating just above the roaring flames. Each one shimmered like liquid mercury yet radiated its own distinct color and powerful aura.
The first glowed reddish-gold—the fully refined Voidtemper Obsidian.
The remaining nine were the beast cores: fiery red, icy blue, pale green, earthen yellow, sinister purple, azure-blue, bluish-white, radiant white, and pitch-black. Each pulsed with the unique elemental signature of its origin—fire, ice, wind, earth, poison, water, lightning, light, and darkness.
Yet all ten shared one striking commonality.
Not one of them was solid.
Every material had been transformed into a churning, twisting liquid spinning slowly in mid-air—constantly condensing, refining, and folding in upon itself in an endless rhythmic cycle. The unmistakable effect of the Eternal Static Refinement Art.
Su Tianhao and Master Shen Bao had not slept. Nearly ten hours of relentless work, the Ethereal Mind Crystal serving as their only steady beacon of light through the long night. The results spoke for themselves.
Every beast core had been melted and refined to flawless quality. Just like other materials, beast cores contained impurities—but by driving each one to flawless quality, Su Tianhao had elevated their grade beyond what their rank suggested. The 1st level grade four cores now compared to 5th level specimens. The 2nd level ones rivaled ordinary 6th level grade four cores.
The Ashenthread Silk and the Nightfall Quenching Oil had both been upgraded to flawless quality as well. The Nightfall Quenching Oil had been straightforward—its nature required only purity, not density, so the True Origin Refinement Art combined with Su Tianhao's innate refinement ability had elevated it in just a few minutes. The Ashenthread Silk had been more stubborn, its unique material resisting every stage of the process.
The Blood Savage Serpent's soul crystal had been handled entirely differently. Its essence had been extracted and purified—it couldn't be upgraded like the others because of its soul-related nature, but it was now refined and ready. All that remained was infusion.
Now the two craftsmen stood at the critical junction—the Nightiron ore.
Master Shen Bao's fists clenched at his sides, barely containing himself. He looked like a child who had been told "don't touch" his entire life and had just heard "go ahead" for the first time.
Without hesitation, he reached for Shadowfang's twelve fragments. One by one, with trembling anticipation, he guided them into the heart of the forge.
"Calm your emotions, Master Shen," Su Tianhao said flatly. "This kind of excitement is unusual for someone of your station."
The words hit him like a bucket of cold water. Master Shen Bao straightened instantly.
"Ahem."
"We need to begin now," Su Tianhao said, his tone turning grim. "I can't hold the Eternal Static Refinement Art up much longer. If the refinement stops before the Nightiron ore is prepared, the damage could be devastating." He could already feel it—the technique eating steadily into his soul power. "Are you ready?"
Master Shen Bao's eyes fixed on Shadowfang's twelve fragments, unflinching even under the furnace's heat. "Ready."
"Then let's begin."
Master Shen Bao closed his eyes and positioned himself before the forge, bracing himself.
"I'm ready."
Su Tianhao's face became unreadable as he activated the Marionette Sovereign Art.
His hands moved—rapidly, complex seals forming between his fingers too fast for the eye to follow.
"Veyr'kahl... Thren'sol... Mor'sei..."
The ancient incantations left his lips in a low, precise murmur, too profound for anyone in the mortal realm to decipher. A spark of twin yellow embers lit up in his golden eyes.
Master Shen Bao felt the intrusion immediately—Su Tianhao's spiritual energy entering his body. This time, he didn't resist at all. Not even a flicker of hesitation. A quiet testament to the trust that had built itself between them through the long night.
Su Tianhao tapped into Master Shen Bao's advanced fire force and took control of the flames with the ease of repetition.
He activated the Purgatory Sovereign Flame Art.
BOOM!
The fire flared—wild, raging, intense. The temperature inside the forge surged dramatically. The furnace array activated, drawing the scorching flames toward Shadowfang's twelve fragments with focused, merciless precision.
ROOOAR!
The flames roared as if alive, concentrating to a single point under Su Tianhao's guidance. Repeated use had sharpened his control considerably.
Time passed.
Five minutes—nothing. The fragments refused to yield even under the full intensity of the flames.
Ten minutes—a reddish hue began to glow from their surfaces.
Twenty minutes—the glow deepened, radiating heat like the mouth of a volcano.
Thirty minutes—the first signs of melting appeared.
Su Tianhao's expression never changed.
---
Two hours later, the twelve fragments had completely surrendered—melting into twelve deep reddish-golden liquid forms floating precisely above the flames. The fire had calmed. The temperature had dropped to something manageable.
Master Shen Bao's eyes filled with emotion. This was it. He was working with Nightiron ore. And somehow it had melted in two hours. He knew he hadn't done it himself—but he couldn't help but feel a swell of accomplishment rising in his chest regardless.
As Su Tianhao stared at the twelve liquid forms hovering above the flames, a new technique surfaced in his mind.
Molten Sovereign Art—A profound manipulation technique within the Heavenly Creation Art that grants the user complete dominion over any liquified or molten material. Once melted or refined into liquid form, the practitioner can freely shape, forge, combine, separate, compress, stretch, fold, and infuse it with other energies at will.
With sufficient mastery, the user can treat liquid metal like clay—forming perfect blade edges, intricate runes, balanced tangs, or complex internal structures without ever touching it physically. The technique also allows seamless merging of multiple liquified materials while maintaining their individual properties or creating harmonious new alloys.
At higher levels, the user can temporarily freeze the liquid state in mid-air or accelerate its natural refinement cycle.
Su Tianhao's lips curved slightly.
His golden eyes shimmered with a faint molten-orange sheen as he activated the technique.
With a single, casual wave of his hand, the twelve separate pools of liquified Nightiron ore began to move. They stretched, twisted, and slowly merged—drawn together into a single perfectly unified mass of molten metal, swirling gracefully above the furnace.
Once fully combined, he extended his hand toward the liquified mass and switched to the True Origin Refinement Art.
'Don't worry, partner. You're about to be reborn.'
His eyes narrowed.
"Purify!"
The moment he aligned his innate refinement ability with the technique, the refinement began—and almost immediately, something caught his attention.
Several distinct spiritual energy signatures moved inside the liquid.
"Hmm?" His brow lifted.
Then his eyes brightened with understanding. Shadowfang hadn't been forged from Nightiron ore alone. Other elements had been worked into it during its creation—and their signatures remained, suspended within the molten mass.
'But which one is the pure Nightiron ore? How do I isolate it?'
His mind drifted instinctively toward the Heavenly Creation Art—but the refinement didn't slow. If anything, it intensified. With his attention partially divided, his devouring instincts edged forward, threatening to take over. If he lost focus for even a moment, he wouldn't be refining the material—he would consume it entirely.
Su Tianhao's brows tightened. 'I can't even imagine what that would do.'
The Ethereal Mind Crystal anchored him. Its steady purple radiance held his concentration in place. He steadied himself and focused intently back into the Heavenly Creation Art.
He didn't need to search long.
True Origin Eye—A supreme insight technique within the Heavenly Creation Art that allows the user to peer directly into the fundamental origin of any material. It reveals true composition, hidden impurities, elemental balance, density distribution, and the spiritual will contained within. At higher mastery, the user can perceive the "origin threads" of a substance—the very laws and essence that constitute its existence.*
Su Tianhao took a moment to absorb it, then activated it without hesitation.
His golden eyes flashed with a silver-blue light as his vision pierced into the liquified Nightiron ore.
Five distinct spiritual energy signatures appeared immediately. The Nightiron ore's signature burned brightest among them, unmistakable.
Without hesitation, he activated the Molten Sovereign Art and directed it into the furnace.
An idea formed in his mind—reckless, precise, and completely like him.
He was going to burn the other elements out!
He activated the Purgatory Sovereign Flame Art. The flames surged back to life.
In that single moment, Su Tianhao was running six techniques simultaneously:
The Marionette Sovereign Ar—accessing Master Shen Bao's spiritual energy. The Purgatory Sovereign Flame Art and the True Origin Refinement Art—working together to burn out the foreign elements and purge impurities. The Eternal Static Refinement Art—holding all other materials in continuous refinement. The True Origin Eyes—tracking and locating the foreign signatures within the molten Nightiron ore. The Molten Sovereign Art—the only thing preventing the elements from separating chaotically and allowing the flames to damage the Nightiron ore itself.
Six techniques. One mind.
Even though they all existed within a single collective scroll, the demand on his mind was enormous.
Su Tianhao's eyes turned bloodshot. Waves of pain crashed against his skull like a thousand sharp needles driving inward simultaneously. The only thing holding his focus together was the Ethereal Mind Crystal—but the pain was real, and it was relentless.
"Burn for me!"
The roar tore from his throat. Veins bulged across his neck and temples. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Master Shen Bao froze. He wasn't physically affected—but he could feel the sheer weight of what was happening. Inside the furnace, he watched it unfold: the foreign elements and impurities burning away one by one, dark smoke curling free with each purge, while the core mass remained intact—refined at an impossible rate, its quality rising with every passing second.
Without knowing when, Su Tianhao's eyes had shifted completely, transforming into a mesmerizing, ancient dragon eyes—slanted pupils, golden irises burning with molten intensity, carrying a depth that seemed capable of pulling the soul of anyone who dared looked at it.
His dragon bloodline had activated instinctively, drawing strength from places he had never consciously accessed before.
The atmosphere inside the forge had shifted entirely. It felt charged. Heavy. Almost sacred—as though something ancient had been invited into the room and was watching.
Master Shen Bao stood completely still. It wasn't fear that held him. It was something closer to reverence. Moving felt like an insult to whatever was being born inside that forge.
Every second stretched into minutes. Every minute felt like an hour.
Fifteen minutes later—it was done.
The foreign elements were gone. What remained was Nightiron ore in its purest form, floating above the flames in a single mass of crimson-gold that pulsed like molten starlight.
Flawless-quality Nightiron ore.
Master Shen Bao's eyes went wide and stayed that way. The deep reddish-gold from before was gone—what hovered above the flames now radiated pure crimson-gold, pulsing with slow, steady power like the heartbeat of something ancient.
'He returned the Nightiron ore to its raw state,' he thought, to awed to even breath properly. His entire understanding of the weapon dao was being rewritten over and over again before him.
Su Tianhao exhaled slowly and deactivated three techniques—the True Origin Eyes, the Purgatory Sovereign Flame Art, and the True Origin Refinement Art. The burden on his mind lifted somewhat.
What remained active: the Marionette Sovereign Art, the Eternal Static Refinement Art, and the Molten Sovereign Art.
Under Su Tianhao's precise direction, the ten liquified materials began drifting toward the Nightiron ore, one by one.
His dragon eyes narrowed to pinpoints of absolute focus.
The first to move was the reddish-gold—the liquified Voidtemper Obsidian. It drifted forward and touched the Nightiron ore without resistance, the two combining smoothly into a single unified whole under the guidance of the Molten Sovereign Art. The Voidtemper Obsidian wasn't here to form the blade—it was here to reinforce it. An amplifier, woven into the Nightiron ore to add density, flexibility, sturdiness, and sharpness to an already flawless foundation. The union was clean. Natural.
Su Tianhao turned to Master Shen Bao. "Ready the Ashenthread Silk. I'll start infusing the cores now."
The moment his dragon eyes locked onto the old craftsman, Master Shen Bao's body paralyzed with fear.
It was primal. Involuntary. His instincts screamed danger—the kind that bypasses conscious thought and speaks directly to something deep and ancient in the blood. His body wanted to flee. His legs refused to move. It was similar to what happened to Blood Grin in Dragonspire forest, when Su Tianhao's bloodline suddenly activated at the last possible moment—but Su Tianhao had grown considerably since then, and so had the pressure his bloodline carried.
Su Tianhao frowned at the silence.
"What are you waiting for? Ready the Ashenthread Silk—"
"NOW!"
The final word came out differently from the rest. Not a shout. Not a command. Something older than both—deep, resonant, carrying the primal authority of a bloodline that had once ruled the heavens.
"R-Right!"
Master Shen Bao shuddered, cold sweat breaking across his back as he snapped into motion.
'Immortal Wei,' he cried inwardly, hands trembling as he reached for the Ashenthread Silk. 'Just what kind of monster did you send this old man?!'