Chapter 28: I'm Going to Keep Him!

The smithy was located right next to the Pavilion of Scriptures, not far at all.

Walking to the Heaven-Class No. 2 smithy, Qin Ming raised his hand and swiped his wristband. The formation sealing the heavy door deactivated automatically, and he pushed his way inside.

The moment he stepped across the threshold, he was met with a rush of fierce, turbulent energy, as volatile as gunpowder on the verge of detonation. In the center of the room stood a massive furnace, its base engulfed in roaring flames. The divine metals within had already melted, yet they were in a state of chaotic conflict—some fused, while others repelled each other with violent intensity. It was precisely this rejection between the metals that had rendered the furnace unstable.

Had this been just a few days ago, Qin Ming would have been utterly blind to the problem. But now, he could spot over a dozen flaws at a glance, two of which were absolutely lethal.

"Who forged this?" Qin Ming sighed, feeling a sense of regret. "What a waste of such exquisite divine materials."

A thought flickered in his mind. The smith who had started this batch had committed two fatal errors—mistakes that were perfectly suited for the application of the "Two Turns of Patching the Heavens." He had been looking for a chance to verify just how powerful the techniques derived from the Nine-Dragon Burial Heaven Cauldron truly were, and whether they could indeed correct errors and mend such catastrophic defects.

...

At that moment, a young and vibrant girl walked through the main entrance of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Her appearance immediately drew the eyes of every cultivator present. She was simply too beautiful, with features and a figure that defied criticism. Beneath her innocent, pure face lay a provocatively alluring body; her waist was so slender it could be gripped with a single hand, while the ample "universe" she possessed—too much for two hands to contain—created a striking and extreme contrast. As she walked, the world seemed to pulse with her rhythm.

"Master Xu Yao!" Manager Li hurried over, his face plastered with a fawning smile. He dared not offend this girl. She was the premier genius smith of Qingzhou, and her master was none other than the Pavilion Master of the Central Province’s Heavenly Treasure Pavilion—the headquarters that oversaw their operations across the entire continent.

Xu Yao’s brows were tightly knitted as she strode into the pavilion, her hurried, energetic pace showing no regard for the image of a lady. Yesterday, she had come to the Heaven-Class No. 2 smithy to forge a magical treasure for a close friend, but she had hit a bottleneck. After spending half the day without success, she had been forced to return to her family estate to rest. Today, she remained just as stumped. The changes occurring within that furnace had surpassed her level as a second-tier smith; she suspected it would take a ninth-tier master to resolve them. But her master was far away in the Central Province, which only added to her frustration.

"Is the Heaven-Class No. 2 smithy ready?"

Manager Li’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked in a panic, "Heaven-Class No. 2? Wasn't it Heaven-Class No. 1?"

Xu Yao waved her hand dismissively. "The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is a business, and I didn't want to occupy the best room. I didn't tell anyone yesterday, so I used No. 2." She stopped, a sudden realization dawning on her. "You assigned someone else to the No. 2 smithy?"

Her expression shifted dramatically. If someone tampered with her furnace, at best, the forging would fail and the divine materials would be ruined. At worst... the furnace would explode, and the person would be dead.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Manager Li’s face turned pale. He had just sent Qin Ming, a disciple of the Tongtian Immortal Sect—a man known for being a bit of a blockhead with no prior forging experience—into that very room. Without a word, Manager Li bolted, moving like a gust of wind. Xu Yao, understanding the severity, followed closely behind.

The two arrived at the Heaven-Class No. 2 smithy just as Qin Ming had finished applying the two turns of the patching technique, successfully stabilizing the molten metal within the furnace. He stood with his hands behind his back, stepping away from the furnace to observe the results.

Xu Yao and Manager Li rushed in, their eyes filled with tension as they looked at Qin Ming. Seeing that he hadn't touched the furnace, Xu Yao sighed in relief. She strode forward, a fragrant breeze trailing behind her as the mountains on her chest rose and fell with her brisk movement. She immediately began weaving hand seals to stabilize the furnace, her expression solemn.

Meanwhile, Manager Li pulled Qin Ming aside. "My apologies, Daoist Qin. The No. 2 smithy was already occupied; it was an error on our part. We are at fault, so let me upgrade you to the Heaven-Class No. 1 smithy free of charge."

"It's no matter," Qin Ming said, waving his hand at the two nervous figures before heading off with Manager Li to the Heaven-Class No. 1 smithy.

After Qin Ming left, Xu Yao, who had been staring at the furnace with a grave expression, suddenly looked surprised. For some reason, when she applied the same technique as before, it unexpectedly facilitated a perfect fusion of the metals. The bottleneck that had plagued her yesterday had vanished like smoke. It was as if a master smith above the ninth tier had personally adjusted the furnace, setting everything right.

*But no master had touched this furnace,* she thought. *Could it have been that boy?*

That was impossible! He was far too young to be a ninth-tier master. And even if he were, could anyone possibly fix such a chaotic mess in such a short time?

Suddenly, the furnace glowed with a brilliant light. Xu Yao’s expression shifted again—it was the sign that the treasure was about to be completed. Yesterday, the furnace had been on the verge of exploding, and today it was finishing successfully? The contrast left even her stunned.

"That man is my lucky charm!" Xu Yao breathed, her chest heaving. Ancient smiths often kept "forging attendants," and it was rumored that some could bring great fortune to their masters, causing their success rates to skyrocket. It sounded like an old wives' tale, but it was the only explanation she could think of. "He’s quite something. I must find a way to recruit him, or perhaps even pay a high price to keep him on my side..."

She pushed those thoughts aside and began engraving the divine patterns onto the treasure. This was the final step; she could not afford any mistakes now. She wondered if she might actually forge a high-grade True Treasure. Magical treasures were categorized into Spirit, True, Ancient, King, Saint, and Emperor grades.

She quickly shook her head. She was really getting ahead of herself! Under her master's personal tutelage, the highest quality she had ever managed was a mid-grade True Treasure. To leap to a high-grade True Treasure? That was impossible unless a ninth-tier master helped her hand-in-hand...

...

On the other side, Qin Ming had arrived at the Heaven-Class No. 1 smithy. He sat cross-legged and, with a flick of his intent, summoned the strange fire from beneath the abyss. In moments, a cluster of steady, docile flames ignited beneath the furnace.

The level of a smith could often be judged by how they controlled their fire. Those who could manipulate it with precision were rarely incompetent. Qin Ming’s control was absolute; the flames did not flicker in the slightest.

"Hoo," he exhaled. "Let's begin."

He tapped his storage bag, and in an instant, Phoenix Flame Divine Metal, Daluo Immortal Gold, Golden Immortal Ox, and other rare materials soared into the air. The entire smithy was bathed in brilliant, treasure-light.

"Refine!"

Qin Ming tossed the materials into the furnace. He manipulated the fire with a calm, practiced ease, as if he were a seasoned master rather than a novice. After an indeterminate amount of time, the divine metals fused into a single entity. Under his guidance, they gradually took the shape of a sword embryo.

Though it was only a prototype, it already radiated the intent of a King! It wasn't a Spirit Treasure, a True Treasure, or an Ancient Treasure; it was... a King Treasure? Or, to be precise, a nascent version of one—a treasure with the potential to evolve into a King-grade weapon or even higher in the future.

"Oh?" Qin Ming was genuinely surprised. He had accidentally forged a rare, evolving magical treasure.