Chapter 566 - 328: Overpowered Equipment

Chapter 566: Chapter 328: Overpowered Equipment

Childhood sweethearts, innocent playmates, a promise for the future...

It truly felt like a hazy experience.

Looking back on it, it felt as if it were all a dream.

What man hasn’t fantasized about a childhood friend promising to one day be his bride?

Yuna was very pretty, had a wonderful personality, and was so pure. No matter how you looked at it, she was an incredibly likable girl.

Lu Cang shook his head, then patted it lightly.

’Stop thinking about it. I have to keep my resolve firm!’

’There were too many reasons not to give Yuna a direct answer.’

’Lu Cang felt his feelings for Yuna hadn’t yet reached the level of romantic love... besides, he was still just a child, and so was she.’

’And right now, the only thing on his mind was getting stronger. He had no interest in love or romance whatsoever.’

"Am I... an awkward person?"

Lu Cang walked down the street with his hands in his pockets, replaying Yuna’s confession in his mind. It was probably the first time in his life he had ever received such a formal confession.

Her words echoed over and over in his mind.

Even when he tried not to, they lingered in his thoughts.

"Heh heh, did a little girl’s sweet nothings turn you into a complete mess? O Owner of the Highest Leaf."

An Su’s voice suddenly cut in, interrupting Lu Cang’s sweet reverie.

’An Su, you’re really insufferable,’ Lu Cang retorted coolly in his mind.

"Haha—I just never thought I’d see the Owner of the Highest Leaf looking so pathetic over a child."

’Pathetic? I don’t think so,’ Lu Cang replied.

"Heh heh, but to be troubled by a woman... I experienced my fair share of that in my younger days, so I can understand how you feel."

"Even heroes fall for a beautiful face, as they say!"

An Su sneered. "But you’d best be careful. That little girl’s motives might not be so pure."

’An Su, I’d advise you to stop trying to stir up trouble in my head... I have my own judgment. I won’t just doubt people who don’t deserve it.’

’If you keep acting up like this, it makes me wonder if I should even let you stay.’

The tone of his thoughts grew icy.

An Su paused for a moment. "Tsk... you change your tune fast."

"Alright, I’ll stop, I’ll stop."

"But still, are you more into the little-girl type, or the Lu Luwei type?"

"If it were up to me, I’d go for Lu Luwei’s type—large chest, slim waist. Besides, you’re only about ten years apart. For powerhouses like us with our long lifespans, that’s nothing at all..."

"And there’s a special kind of thrill in conquering a woman who says one thing and means another."

As An Su rambled on, he could feel Lu Cang’s mood darkening.

An Su’s words came to an abrupt halt. He decisively shut his mouth.

’Otherwise, he felt like he was about to face Eternal Erasure in the very next second.’

...

Lu Cang returned to his residence.

He had brought back a lot of materials from the White Tower, all of them related to Forging and Enchantment.

The White Tower was all-encompassing, so naturally, it had its share of Blacksmiths and Enchanters. Furthermore, any Blacksmith or Enchanter who could join the White Tower was at least on par with a Mage who had grasped the Root Source.

Their experience and understanding were far richer than that of ordinary people.

Generally speaking, the information found in the White Tower represented the absolute peak of experience and understanding.

Lu Cang had many of the materials needed for Forging and Enchantment, though most of them were harvested from the carcasses of Demons.

He had very few ores and alloys, however.

He would have to go to the merchant guilds to buy some, but he suspected that the materials available there wouldn’t be of very high quality...

A Level 1 Blacksmith didn’t need top-tier materials anyway.

The materials he had on hand were already sufficient...

It was just that for his Pharmacist Profession, he had Yukelyn, a Level 7 Secret Medicine Alchemist, to guide his initiation. For the Blacksmith Profession, however, he really couldn’t find anyone to teach him.

WHOOSH—

A cluster of Flame appeared in Lu Cang’s hand—number 78 on the Anomalous Fire ranking!

「Melting Sacred Flame」

At this moment, Lu Cang felt just like Xiao Yan!

A hammer appeared in his right hand.

"Anomalous Fire, Sky Hammer!"

Of course, it wasn’t the Sky Hammer. It was just a Tier Five Forging Hammer that Lu Cang had bought.

He had bought it on the fly at a market, and the best they had was Tier Five.

For a Tier Six Forging Hammer, he would have had to go to an auction house.

Lu Cang couldn’t be bothered to go. Besides, auctions weren’t held all the time, so he just grabbed a Tier Five one to make do.

At that moment, in the basement, Flames surged!

A piece of metal, melted by the Flame, floated in mid-air. Lu Cang used Magic to hold it in place!

「Azure Sky Stream—Third Form: Chaotic Strike」

BANG!

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG—

A rapid-fire roar, like a sudden downpour, exploded against the lump of iron!

Immediately after, the molten iron exploded!

It splattered in all directions!

The Forging had failed.

Lu Cang stared quietly at the shattered alloy and began to analyze his failure.

’Looks like I used too much force...’

On Earth, Forging was the process of repeatedly hammering steel into a desired shape, then using techniques like quenching to increase its hardness.

But in this true, greater world, the Blacksmith Profession involved much more.

Metals had their own properties, and every strike from a Blacksmith was meant to draw out those inherent properties.

Only after being drawn out would a Weapon possess its corresponding 「Forging Traits」.

It was just like an Enchanter’s Enchantment Effects.

And for different metals, the method of activating their traits was also different, requiring special techniques to strike specific parts of the metal.

Lu Cang had tried Forging with a Combat Skill.

But it seemed this metal couldn’t withstand his strength and simply shattered.

’Whatever...’

’I’ll just use a traditional Forging method.’

Lu Cang selected a book titled "Basic Forging Hammer Technique" from his Memory Palace. After a brief ten seconds, he had completely reviewed and mastered it.

Having mastered so many Combat Skills, learning a single Forging Hammer Technique was remarkably simple.

When he gripped the hammer again, the aura around Lu Cang had completely changed.

He was like an old blacksmith who had been hammering iron for many years.

"Chaotic Cloak Hammer Method."

He took out another chunk of alloy. In Lu Cang’s eyes, the alloy’s properties, composition, and Forging method instantly surfaced in his mind.

「Tough Iron」

「Forging Traits: Retains its hardness while possessing flexible properties.」

Under the searing heat of the Melting Sacred Flame, the Tough Iron instantly turned red-hot!

It effortlessly turned into a molten state.

CLANG!

Lu Cang brought down his hammer, striking the Tough Iron!

He felt a Resonance between the metal and his soul, a feeling that came from matching the rhythm perfectly.

CLANG!

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—

With each continuous strike, Lu Cang could almost feel rings of light on the Tough Iron shrinking. When a ring shrank to the point that it was the same size as the face of his Forging Hammer, his hammer would strike that very spot!

’So that’s it.’

’This is what it feels like to be a Blacksmith!’

’No wonder you can’t forge the corresponding equipment without the Blacksmith Profession.’

’If you don’t take up this Profession, you can’t even see these things.’

His terrifying physical control made every one of Lu Cang’s strikes perfect. Whether the rhythm was fast or slow, urgent or gentle, Lu Cang could handle it with ease.

With the terrifying Physique of a Level 5 Warrior, his instantaneous reactions and precise strikes were as simple as breathing.

Other Blacksmiths might need dozens of days, or even months, to study the characteristics of a single metal, mastering it only after hundreds or thousands of attempts. Practice makes perfect, after all.

But Lu Cang had just started, and he already understood it completely.

CLANG—

As Lu Cang hammered away, this piece of Tough Iron gradually took shape.

Next came another piece of Tough Iron, then another. Each piece was forged into the proper shape before being joined together through further forging.

Before long.

A pair of battle boots had been crafted.

The basic practice piece for a Level 1 Blacksmith—Tough Iron Battle Boots.

Lu Cang checked the time... Forging these battle boots had taken about three hours.

’This Forging Profession really is time-consuming.’

"And now..."

"...for the Enhancement."

The main purpose of the Blacksmith Talent Lu Cang had awakened was Enhancement.

The finished battle boots could be called a perfect masterpiece for a novice, but in terms of actual strength, they were nothing special.

A piece of Tier One equipment couldn’t withstand the crucible of real combat.

Even a Tier Two Demon could potentially shatter this equipment.

WHOOSH!

The Melting Sacred Flame blazed up again. In Lu Cang’s eyes, the battle boots looked completely different now.

Lu Cang could see the impurities within the Boots and perceived all their flaws.

BANG!

A single hammer strike fell!

Countless black specks flew out from the battle boots!

But immediately after, these black substances retracted!

They condensed inward, constantly reorganizing!

CLANG!

Lu Cang sensed that the Tough Iron was no longer Tough Iron. It had sublimated into an entirely different, extremely special substance—one that could only exist under the constraints of his Talent’s Law.

A one-of-a-kind, unique, and special substance.

Lu Cang used Ice Element Magic to cool the red-hot Tough Iron Battle Boots.

He gave them a casual bend and discovered that the Tough Iron was now as pliable as stiff leather.

Lu Cang formed his fingers into a blade and chopped lightly at the surface.

CLANG—

The sound of ringing metal echoed back.

’The durability is so high...’

’This level of durability is already comparable to Tier Three hard iron equipment, right?’

’To think a simple Enhancement could produce this much strength...’

WHOOSH! The Melting Sacred Flame flared up again.

The Tough Iron Battle Boots were once again heated red-hot.

CLANG—

Lu Cang performed another Enhancement!

After this Enhancement, the entire pair of battle boots felt as flexible as cloth. Yet, if one tried to slash or pierce them, it would be like striking an indestructible mountain of hard iron.

This was already comparable to the strength of Tier Four equipment.

However, this was also the limit to which the Tough Iron material could be enhanced.

Tough Iron was the most common of materials.

Due to its poor hardness, most Warriors rarely used equipment made primarily from Tough Iron. And in terms of flexibility, there were plenty of better substitutes among High Tier materials.

But after two Enhancements, Lu Cang felt its durability was already a hundred times greater than that of normal Tough Iron Battle Boots.

「Divine Level·Radiant Ascension」 stated that every Enhancement provided at least a tenfold improvement over the last.

’Looking at it now...’

’It really meant *at least* ten times, not stuck right at the ten-times threshold.’

’This means that after five Enhancements, the effect would be far more than a ten-thousand-fold increase. It could even be a hundred-thousand-fold.’

’If my Void Spirit Star Ring Battle Spear had a hundred-thousand-fold increase in strength...’

’Could it rival that Divine Artifact?’

’Even if it couldn’t, I wouldn’t have to worry about it breaking every time I use it.’

"And now... for the Enchantment."

Lu Cang touched the Tough Iron with one hand. The Tough Iron itself had no internal Space for an Enchantment.

But as Lu Cang touched it, he felt the properties of the Tough Iron change.

A special Space formed within it, a place where a Rune could be engraved.

An Enchanted Rune Stone appeared in Lu Cang’s palm. It could condense an Enchantment Rune and apply an Enchantment Effect to equipment.

Normally, Runes could only be embedded into specific materials, and those materials had to be pre-treated by an Enchanter.

But under the Effect of 「Divine Level·Supreme Seal」...

...Lu Cang could ignore these prerequisites and perform an Enchantment on any material without any pre-treatment.

「Enchantment: Divine Speed」

OMM—

The Tier Five Rune Stone glowed faintly, and its Enchantment Rune transferred over to the Boots.

「Tough Iron Battle Boots (Enhancement +2)」

「Grade: Tier One」

「Quality: Perfect」

「Forging Effect: Extreme hardness, extreme flexibility」

「Enchantment Effect: Tier Five Divine Speed—Grants a permanent buff equivalent to a Tier Five Divine Speed Technique.」

This was the final product.

A piece of Tier One equipment that possessed durability comparable to Tier Four and was even imbued with a Tier Five Enchantment Effect.