“What kind of hammer technique is this...?”

Elder Hanhe stared unblinkingly at the figure not far away, unable to snap out of his daze, even wondering if he’d woken up too abruptly.

That was the founder’s anvil. The founder’s hammer.

After slumbering for endless ages, it had now, in the hands of a youth barely past seventeen, reignited with the same primal brilliance as when it was first forged.

Why? How could someone merely in the Observation Divine Realm accomplish what countless blacksmiths of the Divine Arms Peak had failed to achieve over millennia?

“The ‘Divine Hammer’ in ‘Little Tyrant of the Divine Hammer’ doesn’t refer to the weapon itself.”

Elder Zeng recalled the scene atop the Sword Tower and sighed:

“It’s his hammer technique—divine in its mastery.”

“I... I’ve been a fool.”

Elder Hanhe muttered to himself, finally understanding Xue Jing’s feelings at this moment.

To wield a divine-grade hammer technique and effortlessly brandish a divine weapon—regardless of how he managed it—the Starfall Hammer of Tribulation now rested lightly in his palm.

Moreover, he showed no fear of the extreme heat, moving through the fire veins as naturally as a fish in water.

Such a person... Elder Hanhe could think of no reason he wouldn’t become a divine smith in the future.

Not far away.

“‘Divine Treasure Refinement’... is actually on the verge of mastery?”

Li Mo wore a puzzled expression as his movements gradually stilled, like a furnace whose flames had been extinguished.

Well... that was sudden.

He hadn’t expected his talent in forging to rival his skill with the hammer.

“Divine Treasure Refinement” was also a divine-grade technique.

Yet, he’d only wanted to test whether he could use hammer treasures for forging after channeling the power of the world. And now, the technique was nearly mastered—despite not even striking iron yet.

All he’d been hammering was the anvil.

At that moment, he turned his head and noticed the two old men staring at him with complicated expressions.

“Ah, you’re awake? Seems the Seven-Line Coldspring Pill worked well.”

“??”

Elder Hanhe’s scalp tingled. Even deep within the fire veins, he broke into a cold sweat. No wonder he hadn’t felt the heat—he’d just consumed a seven-line pill!

Elder Zeng’s lips twitched. “Do you know how heavy a golden mountain is? Even a body tempered to the External Scenery Realm would struggle to lift it.”

“How do you know?”

“Li Mo once tossed a golden mountain onto an open field and made me move it. Nearly killed me.”

“......”

Elder Hanhe had lived a long life but had never experienced such backbreaking labor.

“Enough. While the pill’s effects last...”

“I’ll teach you the secret forging methods of our Qingyuan Sect.”

As he spoke, Elder Hanhe straightened his posture with pride.

“Don’t learn from that old man Hanhe.”

Elder Zeng’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Li Mo like he was a rare treasure:

“Hengyun Sword City’s forging techniques suit you better. Besides, that old coot can only craft sharp weapons at best, while I can forge renowned arms—a true master smith.”

Elder Hanhe bristled. “Zeng, you old dog! This is too much! He’s a disciple of our Qingyuan Sect! What right do you have to interfere?”

Elder Zeng remained unperturbed. “I simply can’t bear to watch you lead him astray. Besides, Li Mo is Shang Wu’s disciple, not yours.”

“Hmph! A master smith? A master of shortcuts, more like! Even green onions wouldn’t dip into your kind of sauce!”

“Personal attacks? You’re making personal attacks now?! I challenge you to a duel!”

“Bring it on! You think I’m scared?!”

The two elders butted heads like angry bulls, on the verge of coming to blows.

Their philosophies on forging had always clashed.

Elder Zeng was a reformist, advocating for any and all technological means. To him, forging didn’t necessarily require hammers—any method that produced fine weapons was valid. The Metal-Nourishing Sword Array was one of his creations.

He saw Elder Hanhe as stubborn and inflexible.

Elder Hanhe, meanwhile, revered ancient methods. True weapons, in his eyes, demanded meticulous, hammer-by-hammer craftsmanship—imbued with the smith’s heart and soul. Only then could they aspire to become divine arms.

To him, Elder Zeng’s methods were all “technology and artificial shortcuts”—completely devoid of soul!

“So... how exactly do their differences manifest?”

Li Mo, still unfamiliar with the nuances, found it hard to choose.

And emotionally speaking...

Elder Hanhe was self-explanatory—a gruff but kind elder who’d even let him take the Divine Arms Peak founder’s most precious treasures.

As for Elder Zeng... the man had literally thrown himself into battle, risking life and limb just to snatch a single strand of his hair.

“Let’s start with the most basic smelting process. I’ll show you!”

Elder Zeng seized the initiative, retrieving from his spatial treasure a large cauldron covered in formation patterns—about the size of a cooking pot.

He tossed in some ordinary iron ore, placed the cauldron over the fire veins, and activated the formations.

Soon, the ore inside turned red-hot under the formations’ influence.

Standing by the cauldron, Elder Zeng occasionally poured in a material that made Li Mo dizzy just from the smell—Black Mirewood Oil.

But that wasn’t all.

“This is Stonefire Powder—purges impurities.”

“And Goldwind Rock—compacts the iron.”

Like an alchemist, he added various materials before finally hammering the metal into shape.

In no time at all, the steel was forged.

“So fast.”

Li Mo blinked, surprised at how convenient forging could be.

“Well? What do you think?” Elder Zeng asked smugly.

“Unimpressive. A shoddy product from a soulless craftsman.”

Elder Hanhe snorted.

He heated his ore, placed it on the anvil, and began hammering with a precise, rhythmic technique.

His strikes were like a storm—swift, relentless, and mesmerizing to behold.

He reheated, folded, and hammered again, repeating the process tirelessly.

“Every Qingyuan Sect disciple’s Blue Steel Sword is tempered a hundredfold!”

“Every inch of it carries the smith’s heart and soul!”

This method took much longer.

But the resulting steel bore beautiful, layered patterns.

Elder Hanhe then shaped it into a sword and casually swung it at Elder Zeng’s forged metal, chipping a grain-sized notch from the latter’s work.

Elder Zeng bristled. “You damn well hacked my iron?!”

The two elders started bickering again before suddenly turning to Li Mo:

“Which one’s better?”

“Wait...”

Li Mo, deep in thought, suddenly had an epiphany.

Young Master Li had never been short of brilliant ideas.

As he observed the two forging methods, an inspiration struck him.

“Both elders’ methods have their merits. Why not combine them?”

“Huh? How?”

The two spoke in unison, exchanged bewildered glances, then huffed and looked away in sync, their pride wounded.

“Like stir-frying.”

“?”

“Stir-frying requires precise heat control—just like smelting. So if we treat the ore like ingredients and stir-fry it, wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”

Exactly!

This was Chef Li’s masterstroke!

“？？？？”

......