Boundless Confidence

Once more standing inside a forge room the bloodline in the room did not change despite their replaced member. Compared to the first room it was quite lackluster, considering it was for general use rather than rank five blacksmiths.

"I'm only going to Thousand Refine." Wulin said simply despite it being all she was currently able to do. However, if he was a rank five blacksmith as he said then he should be able to Spirit Refine which was much harder than measly Thousand Refinement.

"That's fine." Mu Xi replied seriously, her eyes locked onto his figure. She was taking in each and everything he did to steal it for herself so she could improve even faster than he did! She may have accepted her loss here but she'll beat him one day!

"What metal are you most accustomed to?" Wulin asked her, his eyes trailing over each and every metal in the room. They were all beginner friendly metals however they all still had their own peculiarities.

Heavy Silver was physically demanding, Magic Gold was demanding on the smith's energy, and Elastic Bronze was more malleable but easily damaged. All metals on the shelves were different from each other.

The best way to teach her was to show her what she was doing wrong at what she thought she was doing perfectly. It wouldn't teach her more skills but force her to improve on her basic strengths, indirectly enhancing her skill in other metals and skills as a smith in general.

"Sturdy Iron." Mu Xi replied confidently, her eyes still hyper focused on him. Sturdy Iron was a metal that was practically the perfect middle ground of Heavy Silver and Elastic Bronze though it did tend to lean toward its Heavy Silver side.

It was a fairly high difficulty metal compared to others on the shelf and that was due to its complicated nature. It was hard yet also soft, finding the correct rhythm to not damage it and also refine it took not only strength but also skill.

It was a good choice for a first metal that Mu Chen probably thought of. It would teach the importance of both factors and strengthen them the more she attempted to refine the metal. It was a method to train both factors at once but it came at a cost.

'She's lacking in experience.' Wulin noted to himself. Because she focused completely on Sturdy Iron her experience with other metals was extremely low and that would make her future difficult since alloy forging required knowledge and experience with a wide variety of metals.

Mu Chen's plan was a good one if he wanted to make her able to use Thousand Refinement as soon as possible but it would make growing afterward much harder, something he should know as a saint rank blacksmith himself.

'He probably wanted her to feel success as soon as possible so she didn't give up.' Wulin thought blandly, placing the Sturdy Iron on the forging table in the room. The table wasn't what he was used to but for something so easy it would be more than enough.

Not only was he a highly experienced rank eight blacksmith but he was also running off the miniature epiphany from succeeding in his first soul refinement, he was in the best shape of his life. Nothing in the world could make him fail.

"I won't go slowly." He warned her seriously, placing the metal in the raging flames of the forge. Sturdy Iron required extreme control over the heat to ensure it wouldn't explode due to the mix of strength and elasticity so it was by far the hardest and most dangerous part for beginners.

"Ok." Mu Xi replied with determination in her voice, her eyes opened wide to catch everything. Her soul power was strengthening her eyes and her spiritual power was pushing her processing speed to its limits.

Pulling the metal out of the flames at the correct time only one hammer appeared in his hand this time since he wasn't going to try all that hard. Even if he said he wasn't going to slow down for her he didn't plan on going at his full speed either.

He could complete this in an instant if he wanted to but she wouldn't learn anything from what she couldn't see. He would clearly show her each and every step of the process so she could steal it from him and make it her own strength.

Striking the metal softly his hammer didn't even make a dent on its powerful surface yet it was already Hundred Refined. Sometimes, power is worse than technique when it comes to blacksmithing.

This metal was powerful yet if he used too much power he would ruin its elasticity so instead he was soft, striking precisely where it would remove the vast majority of its impurities. It was a lesson she would need to learn.

Striking a total of five times the metal's size was no different from when he grabbed it yet it practically shined, all its impurities forced out of it. It was a showing of skill rather than power since that was the best method for this metal.

"Did you learn?" He asked her seriously, his newly soul refined hammers returning back into his body. He hadn't hit the metal all that much but he had tried his best to show her what she should do with the metal so he had high hopes.

Instead of replying Mu Xi bowed toward him with a look of determination and expectation, an action that had been happening to him quite often recently however he could not understand this time. Xie Xie was clear, the fifteen subjects he saved were obvious, but this was not.

"Why are you bowing?" He asked her, resisting the urge to tilt his head in confusion. Gu Yuena had started teasing him every time he had done that, calling him 'cute' and 'adorable'. He didn't mind the praise but this wasn't the time for it.

"Please take me as your student!" Mu Xi requested seriously, determination overflowing in her voice. She was slowing down and she hated it but now she found her path away from that sense of dissatisfaction.

"Why?" He questioned her again, his eyes narrowed seriously. Unlike the fifteen children who proclaimed their loyalty to him, he had done nothing to warrant her request. If she weren't a blacksmith he would assume she wanted to use his reputation for her own goals.

"Why wouldn't I want a future Divine Smith as my teacher?" Mu Xi asked him in return, confidence overflowing from her voice.