Understanding Refinement

Tang Wulin sat down on the floor as he was overcome by a surging wave of weakness. Mang Tian expertly removed a bandage from his pocket and pasted it onto his apprentice’s wrist, covering the previous wound.

Mang Tian, a master blacksmith, had a strange look on his face. His mouth was still slightly ajar at the sight of what had just happened.

A genius was still a genius at the end of the day. Even if Tang Wulin didn’t have a hammer as his martial soul, this fact remains unchanged. His ability to comprehend more than makes up for this deficiency.

The Thousand Refinements. Even amongst most blacksmiths, it was a challenge that could not be accomplished. Yet, it was actually done at the hands of this 9 year old child! This was an unbelievable act.

Tang Ziran had already rushed in to hold his son up.

Mang Tian had been quietly mulling over his thoughts for quite some time before he spoke. “Genius, this is a genius at work. Wulin, you must always remember the feeling you had today. To you, this is just the beginning… This is just the first of the shocks you will bring to the blacksmithing world!”

Unfortunately, the five hours of forging had led him to being completely spent and Tang Wulin hadn’t heard the words his teacher spoke. He had already dozed off in the arms of his father.

***

When he next awoke, Tang Wulin was on his bed.

The sky was bright and the sun’s rays pierced through the window sill and into the room. It shone on the bed Na’er used to sleep on.

Although Na’er had already left, Tang Wulin had never allowed his parents to remove her bed. Deep down, he had always felt that Na’er would come back one day.

Although his wrists no longer caused him pain, his body still felt weak. His body felt warm, thus he lazed about on his bed. He felt an odd sense of comfort.

A faint smile broke out on his face. The Thousand Refinements, it should have been completed!

So this was how it felt like to experience the Thousand Refinements.

Even when he lost consciousness, he could still clearly remember the feeling. At that point during the final stages of the forging, every hammer stroke resonated with the Heavy Silver. There was an extremely profound feeling. To him, the Heavy Silver felt as though it were alive. As Tang Wulin took a breath, so too did the Heavy Silver. Every stroke of the hammer was like a massage for the Heavy Silver and it called out with feelings of relief.

When this feeling reached a peak, the Heavy Silver transformed. Its physical changes had accumulated to a point where it had become fundamentally engraved into the metal.

Even if he didn’t know what happened afterwards, he was still confident that he had succeeded.

‘I am not a piece of trash, at least not when it comes to blacksmithing. Even as a Soul Master, my Bluesilver Grass is no ordinary Bluesilver Grass.

‘Na’er, if you were still around, how great would this have been. You would definitely be happy for me! Brother will get stronger and will protect you, I will never let anyone harm you.

‘Na’er, please come back soon, if not, tell me where you are! Why did you not explain yourself clearly before you left? I really miss you.’

Na’er’s sweet smile was etched into his mind. Her voice was like that of a skylark. When she called out for her brother, that pleasantness left him greatly satisfied.

‘I will definitely find you in the future. I promise you.’

Gradually, the warmth from his body had led him back to dreamland and he fell into a deep sleep.

***

When he next awoke, it was due to his hunger. The sky had already turned dark. Considering that he had slept since last night, this meant he had slept for an entire day!

“Mom, dad!” Tang Wulin shouted as he got up. His exhaustion had already dissipated but his stomach was still empty. He felt so hungry that he could eat an entire cow!

“Son, you’re awake!” The door opened as Lang Yue rushed in.

Tang Wulin said with a hint of pride, “Mother, I can already execute the Thousand Refinements!”

Lang Yue’s eyes were bloodshot. To her this was not important, what was important was her son’s well being!

“Good boy, is your body uncomfortable in any way?” Lang Yue asked gently.

Tang Wulin shook his head, “Nope! I’m just hungry. Mom, since I’m hungry, is there anything to eat?”

“Yes, yes, Mom bought a fat chicken for you and boiled chicken soup with it. Its waiting for you to drink. Your teacher said that you overexerted yourself and after waking up, you would need some nutritious and digestible food.”

***

15 Minutes Later.

Lang Yue and Tang Ziran stared speechlessly as their son gorged himself. To their son, what was a nutritious and digestible dish? So long as it could be eaten, it could be digested!

An entire fat chicken, along with a pot of chicken soup, 5 buns, and 2 plates of vegetables had already been consumed by this 9 year old child and stuffed into his stomach. In addition, he looked as though he still hadn’t had enough. He was still eating his sixth bun.

“Go and cook a few more dishes for our son,” Tang Ziran said as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Looking at his son eating with such gusto, even he felt like eating.

Lang Yue hurriedly stood up.

Tang Wulin really could eat, especially after spending such a large amount of energy. He spent almost an entire hour gorging before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

“Son, you didn’t hold anything back, right?” If it hadn’t been for Tang Ziran stopping her, Lang Yue would have stopped letting Tang Wulin eat his fill. That capacity for food had already long surpassed a normal individual.

Tang Wulin had a smile on his face as he said, “Mom’s cooking is still the best. I ate till I was content.”

Tang Ziran carefully inspected his son’s wrist, his eyes shining with a strange light. The place where Mang Tian had cut open Wulin’s wrist just the day before had truly already healed. There was only a faint red line left in its place.

At this point, Tang Wulin remembered and asked, “Father, was I successful in yesterday’s Thousand Refinements?”

Tang Ziran smiled and nodded, “Of course! You were successful, very successful! Your teacher could not stop praising you and said that when you awoke, you should quickly go and find him.”

Tang Wulin jumped off his chair and said, “Then I will be on my way!”

Lang Yue frowned. “It’s so late already, why don’t you go tomorrow?”

Tang Ziran also stood up and said, “He just awoke, an hour and a half later and he will still not be asleep. Since it still isn’t too late, I will bring him and we’ll be back after that.”

Lang Yue gave him a glance, then threatened, “If anything happens to my son, I tell you, you will be sleeping in the living room.”

Tang Ziran sheepishly touched his nose. “Well, he’s my son as well.”

The father and son duo left the house and made their way towards Mang Tian’s workshop.

“Master, I’m here!” Tang Wulin shouted once he entered the doorway. He eagerly anticipated what his first Thousand Refinings work had produced and what it looked like. The feeling of finishing the Thousand Refinements had led him to feel exceptionally happy at the moment.

Mang Tian, clothed in his worn work clothes, walked out from the inside of the workshop. He usually had a cold exterior but today, upon seeing Tang Wulin, he actually let out a smile. Unknowingly, his eyes were full of satisfaction.

He looked at Tang Ziran and nodded his head before beckoning to Tang Wulin. “Follow me.”

That piece of Heavy Silver was still in Tang Wulin’s workshop. Mang Tian did not even shift the metal from its location after Tang Wulin was taken by father yesterday.

“Take a look at your work,” said Mang Tian to Tang Wulin. He pointed towards the Heavy Silver.