The night was quiet in the Autumn Water Pavilion. On the second floor, in a boudoir, the chilly spring breeze played with the window curtains, causing the silhouette of a woman cast by candlelight to sway gently.

Ying Bing leaned over the desk, her brush tracing delicate characters across the paper. The first line read:

'Harmony of Yin and Yang.'

It was the dual cultivation technique passed down to them by the Qin Sect Leader, a method pioneered by the Patriarch of Union.

This dual cultivation art required practitioners to fulfill two conditions: the harmonization of their auras and the fusion of their spiritual intent.

What a coincidence.

The key points of the first and second layers of "The Phoenix Cries at Heaven's Marsh" aligned perfectly with these requirements.

In other words, she and that certain "Little Li" didn’t even need to practice—the prerequisites were already fulfilled. And what’s more...

They even had matching "training attire."

The two complemented each other perfectly, ensuring her Moon God Intent would advance by leaps and bounds...

Ying Bing sat at the desk, her gaze distant. Unconsciously, she glanced through the door crack toward the opposite room—Li Mo’s quarters.

They had already cultivated together naturally before.

But ever since she learned what was going through that young gentleman’s mind, and after that dream...

"My Hundred Birds Phoenix Form isn’t yet complete."

"It’s not the right time..."

She lowered her head and poked the big-headed doll’s forehead, then quickly retracted her finger as if burned. It seemed the doll now carried the same scorching heat as if freshly forged from the fire veins.

A moment later, the candlelight in the boudoir extinguished, replaced by the glow of the Jade Phoenix Divine Light.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Mo stepped onto the Divine Weapon Peak and looked back. The peaks of the Qingyuan Sect remained cloaked in silver, the snow showing no signs of retreat. Spring seemed to have arrived, yet it also felt as though it hadn’t.

"Early spring is here, but the snow is melting so slowly."

He couldn’t help but sigh.

"Three feet of ice doesn’t form in a single day, but once the snow begins to melt, it will only disappear faster from here on out."

Elder Hanhe chuckled lightly.

Young hearts were prone to melancholy over the changing seasons—Li Mo was, after all, still a youth.

Yet it was this very youth who had repeatedly astonished him and Elder Zeng, overturning their previous understanding time and again.

"Come, let’s head to the fire veins and see the fruits of your recent efforts."

Elder Zeng swallowed the Cold Spring Pill Li Mo handed him and strode ahead.

"Acting like he’s your personal apprentice or something."

Elder Hanhe grumbled under his breath before suddenly turning back, puzzled.

"Ah, Li Mo, shouldn’t you take some Cold Spring Pills too? The fire qi you’ve accumulated... is far too intense."

"...I already took some."

"?"

"Maybe not enough. I’ll have a few more."

"???"

Watching as "Little Li" poured out a handful of Cold Spring Pills like candy and swallowed them, Elder Hanhe fell into deep contemplation.

Young people having strong inner fire was understandable, but...

This was ridiculously intense!

The only explanation was that he was born with extraordinary talent. No wonder another nickname for Li Mo had begun circulating around the Divine Weapon Peak:

Li the Blazing.

The three arrived deep within the earth veins. With winter gone and spring arriving, the heat here grew increasingly turbulent, like the pulsing blood vessels of a giant slowly awakening from hibernation.

At the heart of the earth veins lay a lump of silvery-white iron essence, shimmering like liquid metal.

Though it seemed only enough to forge a single weapon, this was the result of Li Mo’s diligent daily smelting of iron ore. A mere thread of it infused into an ordinary blade could render it sharp enough to split a hair.

"Back in my days as an apprentice at the Heavenly Mountain Sword Furnace, it took me two years of training, three years of practice, and seven years in total just to gather enough iron essence."

Elder Zeng’s voice was tinged with nostalgia.

"Same for me."

Elder Hanhe shared the sentiment.

Just as a chef’s training began with peeling potatoes, a blacksmith apprentice’s path was even harsher—they had to refine ordinary iron ore into iron essence through relentless forging before earning the right to craft true weapons.

Yet Li Mo had accomplished in three days what had taken them years of grueling work.

Li Mo straightened his expression. "It’s all thanks to your unwavering guidance."

"No one enters this craft with the privilege of learning from masters of your caliber, let alone wielding the ancestral divine tools."

"Don’t sell yourself short, boy. Those aren’t the real reasons."

Though pleased by the flattery, Elder Hanhe maintained his stern demeanor.

"Today, you’ll attempt your first weapon forging."

Elder Zeng’s eyes burned with anticipation.

"Understood!"

Li Mo stepped before the ancestral anvil and drew out a hammer—though it was still too early for him to wield a divine hammer, this one was a replica modeled after the legendary tool, suitable for forging nonetheless.

At the same time, an intricately patterned, imposing mica cauldron materialized before him.

The lump of iron essence was placed inside, glowing red-hot amidst the distorted air.

"Time to begin forging."

Li Mo monitored the iron essence’s temperature closely.

"Be careful, Li Mo. Iron essence cools extremely quickly. You must strike repeatedly within a very short window."

Elder Zeng’s reminder was firm.

Elder Hanhe watched intently but didn’t object—this was common knowledge among all master smiths.

Both elders were tense.

They had never seen a novice attempt to forge a weapon with iron essence right from the start. Most began with farming tools or mundane utensils.

"Haa..."

Li Mo inhaled deeply, drawing in the scorching air like a bellows, and raised the Star Piercer hammer in his grasp.

Divine Refinement: Hundredfold Forging.

The bare minimum requirement was to craft a sharp weapon.

Now, he had stepped onto that path.

Clang—

Sparks flew as the hammer struck with immense force, yet the impact was controlled—precise and concentrated.

"Not bad..."

As seasoned masters, the two elders immediately recognized the skill behind this strike—not just its power, but the rare precision of wielding a heavy hammer with the finesse of an embroidery needle.

But before their praise could fully form, their brows suddenly shot up.

His breathing technique... seemed...

Clang! Clang! Clang!—

The thunderous strikes came rapid-fire, the hammer’s afterimages overlapping like phantoms!

Ten strikes.

In the span of a single breath, he had delivered ten blows—each as precise and powerful as the last.

Divine Refinement: Hundredfold Forging—Tenfold Method.

Where others struck once, he delivered tenfold.

Sizzle...

Steam rose as the iron essence was swiftly quenched, then returned to the cauldron for tempering before another rapid round of forging.

This cycle repeated four times.

Within the vast fire veins, only the relentless, rhythmic hammering echoed without end.

"This should be the iron essence’s limit."

"Five times!"

Li Mo felt as though his entire body was aflame. Though not burned, the sensation made him believe, for a moment, that he was the fire.

And indeed, his eyes reflected the imminent blaze.

Clang—

The final strike landed. The newly shaped sword was plunged into an oil vat.

Li Mo closed his eyes, listening to the sound within the vat, then exhaled slowly before shaking his head slightly.

He lifted the iron essence sword, scrutinizing it, and sighed.

"Still... not quite perfect."

"Let us take a look."

Both elders spoke in unison.

Elder Hanhe and Elder Zeng immediately appeared by his side, taking hold of the freshly forged sword. Their expressions shifted slightly.

......