Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 81 - 75: Soul Incarnation, Breaking the Limits

The Weapon Refining Workshop's ultimate technique, the Melting Gold Technique?!

Su Mu's heart blazed with fervor—so the fusion of martial arts and forging has existed since ancient times. His integration of fist techniques into forging was not an anomaly; the Martial Dao is boundless, and so is the Way of Forging!

"All of us have seen your outstanding performance during these months at the Weapon Refining Workshop... Teaching you our ultimate technique was a decision made after deliberation by the Martial Master and several of us."

"I swear I'll train hard and master the art. I won't let the Workshop Master and the three elder masters down!"

With that, Chen Yuntian fell silent and began swinging his hammer to forge the Iron Essence. Though this was a chance to instruct Su Mu in Treasure-Forge Art, he dared not neglect the new County Magistrate's order.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The youth leaned atop a heap of iron, browsing the Melting Gold Technique in his hands. The deafening strikes would not disturb him in the slightest.

"Able to do things nobody else can... This kid is a freak."

Chen Yuntian, out of the corner of his eye, noticed Su Mu sinking straight into meditative comprehension, and couldn't help but marvel internally.

Shhh... shhh... shhh...

Su Mu flipped through page after page, his eyes—far steadier than those of his peers—growing ever brighter and more fervent.

The Melting Gold Technique, of no ordinary grade: it was even an Eighth-Grade Martial Arts skill. The first Weapon Refining Workshop Master brought it back all the way from Qingzhou Prefecture. This martial technique forged a new path, circulating Power at high velocity, then raising temperature through special Operation Methods, thereby granting the effect of melting gold.

However, this Melting Gold Technique cannot be performed directly with the flesh; the body cannot withstand the intense heat produced. Melting Gold Technique must be used in tandem with specially crafted tools.

Earlier, Su Mu had noticed that the lineup of forging hammers differed from ordinary ones. Now he realized these hammers were likely custom-designed for the Melting Gold Technique.

Having finished reading it once, realization surged within him. Su Mu closed his eyes slowly to digest, committing the contents of the secret manual to memory.

At this, a thought stirred in Su Mu's heart. Coolness swirled under his brows as he triggered his Multi-tasking talent: while his main focus pondered the Melting Gold Technique, his sidelong gaze quietly observed Chen Yuntian's forging.

Every blacksmith's style—hammer swing, habits, force—differs. As a grandmaster, Chen Yuntian had his own subtleties as well. Su Mu was like a tiger, voraciously learning.

From Chen Yuntian, he greedily absorbed forging nourishment. Gradually, the perfection he'd reached in forging these last months began to loosen—he touched upon an invisible bottleneck.

"As expected... Perfection in forging is not the end!"

That realization made Su Mu's heart burn hotter. He was seized by powerful motivation. Someday, he'd incorporate all these techniques into spear-forging—he wanted to handcraft a Treasure Artifact-grade Great Spear, an Entry Level masterpiece.

After the second reading, Su Mu's understanding grew deeper.

On the third, enlightenment gushed forth—but he quickly spotted a problem: the Melting Gold Technique seemed incomplete.

"Missing the part on integrating the technique and the tool... But Master Chen Yuntian is right here."

By the fifth reading, Su Mu entered a mysterious state. With lingering curiosity, he mentally placed himself within Chen Yuntian's body as he forged, splitting his focus into two streams at once.

Gradually, Su Mu's body gave a faint tremor, a sensation akin to the soul leaving the body welled up again—but very subtly, yet even that was enough.

In a haze, Su Mu genuinely felt as though he'd become Chen Yuntian.

"So that's how it is. When my Comprehension awakened at Hidden-Dragon Level, the talent wasn't just the one—Multi-tasking—but two. Besides Multi-tasking..."

"There's also right now's... Out-of-body soul, incarnation of the target. Let's call it 'Soul Incarnation.'"

Clang!

A hammer fell, and as the high-speed, blazing Power erupted, Su Mu—while in incarnation—vaguely perceived Power circulating inside the hammer, though not clearly enough.

Second hammer, third hammer... By the thirteenth strike, Su Mu suddenly understood. He scattered and reorganized the Power flows he'd seen on those thirteen occasions to assemble a complete motion diagram in his mind.

When he filled in the missing section of the technique, confusion vanished.

For a moment, it was as if clouds parted to reveal the blue sky!

Buzz------

Melting Gold Technique (entry-level 1%)

The youth dipped his head, hiding the gleam in his eyes. He feigned surprise: as for the Eighth-Grade Small Faceless Transformation Technique, it had taken him nine tangible attempts before reaching entry-level.

Yet now, merely watching Chen Yuntian's forging while contemplating, he'd reached entry-level with the Melting Gold Technique after five readings—without a single hands-on trial.

"So this is the gap between Instant-Insight and Hidden-Dragon Level... I'd better wait at least a month, or it'll draw far too much attention."

Back when Su Mu cultivated the Small Faceless Transformation Technique, the Pharmacist noticed he could 'barely use' it after ten days; to this day, Su Mu still remembered that look.

It was a gaze reserved for rare specimens—clicking his tongue in amazement, as if peering at some kind of humanoid monster.

Su Mu clearly remembered he'd only accidentally revealed it, and had said he could 'barely use' it, yet the Pharmacist was that astonished. From that day, Su Mu understood Eighth-Grade Martial Arts were never easy. If he didn't wish to stand out, he couldn't be too conspicuous.

Having entered Melting Gold Technique, Su Mu went back to pretending to browse the manual, but placed more energy on watching Chen Yuntian—continuing to mentally transpose himself into Chen Yuntian's shoes.

During forging, Chen Yuntian would glance sidelong at Su Mu every now and then. "For this kid to nearly reach Bone Forging Realm at fifteen, and with considerable martial talent too—how long will it take before he steps into entry-level?"

Back then, Chen Yuntian had spent half a year of self-study before entry-level, and even then it took the Old Master's frequent personal guidance and the method of integrating with tools.

"Let this kid endure for a month... and see what his temperament is truly like."

The missing portion of Melting Gold Technique was actually a deliberate ploy by Wu Lie and the three grandmasters. If Su Mu's temperament turned out lacking during this period, that missing section would be an ace in the hole, allowing them to cut losses.

Without the entire Dharma Gate, true entry-level would be nearly impossible.

At this moment, neither of the two inside the forging room knew their intentions overlapped in a subtle way.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Time ebbed away to the rhythm of hammer strikes. By dusk, Su Mu reluctantly left his Soul Incarnation state.

"Seal the furnace. That's all for today."

"Understood, Master Chen."

By day, silently absorbing the forging art; by night, after returning to his residence on Yanque Street, Su Mu was itching to give it a try.

At the Transforming Force Realm, Su Mu possessed remarkable Power control—a mere thought summoned it forth. He channeled it along the Melting Gold Technique's path.

In just a few breaths, he could feel his internal Power rushing a dozen times faster, still accelerating.

"Let's see how it works."

He gripped a kitchen ladle in one hand, then unleashed his Power.

Sssst!

High-speed, high-temperature Power burst out, and as soon as it was released the ladle turned red-hot, then, within mere breaths, melted into a pool of molten iron.

Seeing this, Su Mu couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. "Just as expected of the Weapon Refining Workshop's ultimate art... Without any fancy moves, sheer power alone puts it into the ranks of Eighth-Grade Martial Arts."

Yet amidst his delight, Su Mu quickly spotted a problem: "Something's off."

With Power as abundant as his, melting the ladle had instantly used up nearly a twentieth of his strength—a cost that eclipsed the Vajra Body. But today, Master Chen Yuntian swung his hammer thousands of times over.

"If I could perform it successfully, the technique must be correct. The problem lies with the tool... I'll continue tomorrow."

Time ticked by to dusk on the third day.

"Seal the furnace. That's all for today."

In Soul Incarnation, Su Mu's body shuddered, and he tangibly brushed up against the bottleneck above forging perfection—a premonition that the limits would soon be shattered pulsed strong.

"Master Chen, may I contemplate a little longer?"

Chen Yuntian glanced at Su Mu, recalling his own beginnings; when first learning the Weapon Refining Workshop's ultimate technique, he too had been so obsessed. For a moment, Chen Yuntian's gaze softened.

"Here's the key to the forging room... See to it everything's tidied before you leave."

"Yes, Master Chen."

Once Chen Yuntian left, and his footsteps faded, Su Mu closed the forging room door, his gaze scorching.

Spiritual Light pulsed through his mind, Hidden Dragon in the Abyss churned between his brows, mental clarity swept over him. Su Mu knew he could wait no longer, and so seized the chance.

Opportunity waits for no one!

Su Mu picked up a forging hammer. His mind was unwavering; in his eyes, only the forging platform and the glowing, unmelted Iron Essence remained.

A deep breath.

The hammer raised and crashed down, the Melting Gold Technique instantly activated.

Clang!

With a single strike, burning and rapid Power flowed through the hammer, beating against the Iron Essence, and its temperature immediately began to rise.

"So it really is about the forging hammer—continue!"

Su Mu entered a state of complete selflessness, steadying his breath as he struck again and again. Before long, Lin Ruoshui and Zhao Ju stepped out from their own forging rooms.

"Old Chen sure is going all out." The two perked up at the commotion coming from inside, somewhat surprised.

From inside, the sounds of forging mixed with the sizzle from triggering the Melting Gold Technique—clearly, it had to be Chen Yuntian.

The two exchanged glances. Competitive spirit ignited—they couldn't let Old Chen best them.

In the Profound Iron Forging Room, hammer strikes rattled on.

Ten strikes.

A hundred strikes.

A thousand strikes.

Su Mu had long lost count. Only when one more hammer blow fell did a fierce tremor course through him, his gaze blazing.

A rush of unprecedented heat welled from his belly, as though he was bathing in a hot spring; in that moment, he reached a new kind of sublimation.

The Comprehension Panel appeared before him. In the skill column, the forging skill that had reached the Realm of Perfection suddenly began to convulse, the word "Forging" fracturing with every instant, as dazzling rays leaked out from within.

Something utterly new was happening to the panel.

The shackles of forging art's Perfection shattered thunderously in that instant!