Chapter 80: It's Over—The Divine Craftsman Is Going to Die!
When Bear Lord arrived at the Blacksmith's Association again, no one was surprised.
After all, everyone knew that the sixth of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts—the Sub-Master of the Spirit Pagoda's Heaven Dou City branch, Saint Craftsman, the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear—often came to discuss forging techniques with their president, the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua.
Each of their debates, man and beast sitting side by side forging together, never excluded spectators. They had practically become public forging exhibitions.
Whenever these sessions occurred, blacksmiths from all over gathered to witness and learn.
So when the staff spotted Bear Lord, their eyes lit up instantly. Although President Zhen Hua had instructed that anyone seeking him should be told he was "unwell," they saw who it was—and Bear Lord was no outsider. Everyone loved attending those discussions.
A staff member hurried forward and whispered, "Your Excellency, the president has recovered!"
Bear Lord grinned. "This time I'm not here for a lecture. We've got an urgent matter for the president."
"Ah—sorry, Your Excellency," the staff member stammered, "but the president is still unwell and unable to receive guests."
Bear Lord: ?
The man flinched under his stare and quickly corrected himself. "No, no! He's perfectly fine! Please, this way!"
As a Divine Craftsman capable of enduring Heavenly Tribulation directly, Zhen Hua's connection to the world's energies surpassed even that of a Limit Douluo.
Each era of Douluo allowed only one Divine Craftsman—not due to skill scarcity, but because the continent's plane itself could only sustain one at a time. Any more, and its balance would collapse.
Zhen Hua understood the reason: too many Divine Craftsmen drawing on Heaven's power might damage Douluo's core and trigger planetary disintegration.
Yet recently, something had shifted. The Douluo Plane seemed on the verge of evolution—perhaps owing to the Abyssal Plane's influence—and might soon handle more Divine-class beings.
Because of this, Zhen Hua had eagerly been helping Bear Lord pursue his breakthrough.
If Bear Lord could reach Divine rank, with his beastly physique he could withstand Heavenly Tribulation far better than any human. And with his long lifespan, that would ease the burden on future generations of blacksmiths immensely.
Inside the president's office on the top floor, a short-haired middle-aged man looked up and smiled when Bear Lord entered. "Well, well. What brings you here today? It's not our regular debate day."
Bear Lord scratched his head. "Not this time. I'm here to ask for your help in forging a—"
Before he could finish, Zhen Hua's face darkened. "Don't tell me you want a Heavenly Forge!"
He truly didn't want to get struck by lightning again. It was time for a break.
"It's not that," Bear Lord hurried to explain. "Just a simple weapon."
Zhen Hua exhaled in relief. "Ah, that's easy enough then."
Easy? Excellent!
Then Bear Lord dumped out the materials.
The entire room instantly plunged into bone-deep cold. A chilling, sovereign aura swept across, freezing even the air itself.
There were countless grades of ultimate ice—but this one was at the divine level.
The kind of cold that even a Title Douluo couldn't withstand—so intense that Jiang Chen, who was still only of Spirit Ancestor rank, nearly froze solid.
The Snow Empress frowned and reached out, her delicate hand clasping Jiang Chen's, isolating the icy air from him.
Spread before Zhen Hua were treasures: the Ice God's Pearl, the Ice Dragon King's bones, Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, Cold Jade Marrow Bed, Twin Ice God Lotus, Aureum of Life, Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Eight-Angled Grass, and countless other extreme ice-element treasures.
What was this supposed to become... a divine weapon?
Zhen Hua's expression darkened.
Besides Aureum of Life, he hadn't even seen any of these materials before. Each radiated an icy aura not inferior to Heavenly Forge metal itself—and this man wanted him to forge with them?
Impossible.
These materials were far too precious to risk failure. Without understanding their internal structure, integration was madness. You couldn't just melt them all together.
Then Jiang Chen said calmly, "You don't need to Heavenly Forge it or shape it into anything specific. Just fuse them all together."
Zhen Hua: ...
Was this guy even human?
Merging all these divine treasures just to combine them—what kind of cruelty toward Heaven's gifts was this?!
Any one of these materials could, when alloyed with normal metal, imbue it with the power of ultimate frost.
But this man wanted to throw them into one big melting pot?!
Zhen Hua's face grew darker by the second.
"I…" He was speechless.
Bear Lord didn't press him, knowing full well the suffering this man endured.
Heavenly Forging already carried low success rates—and each time required enduring tribulation lightning. There were so many Limit Douluos in the Federation, most under the Spirit Pagoda's banner.
The Pagoda needed dual-form armor for beast-humans—a far greater challenge to craft.
If not for that, Zhen Hua would've died young from overwork and too many thunderstrikes.
He had once been a genius devoted entirely to the craft—his beloved junior sister had left him for his own disciple, even bearing his rival's child.
And in the end? Becoming a Divine Craftsman hadn't brought happiness—only higher status, constant overwork, and endless lightning burns.
Who could understand this pain?
Bear Lord sighed. "This time won't be simple. It's not just you. I'll be helping too—and we'll even bring in the entire Clear Sky Sect."
Even so, forging a Dragon King's corpse… that was unprecedented.
No team of blacksmiths on all of Douluo could truly refine such a thing. Their plan was more symbolic—fusing the materials into the Ice God's Pearl and letting the Snow Empress nurture it, so it would evolve and merge with her soul, forming the foundation of her future Ice God divinity.
In Jiang Chen's mind, the Ice God position would naturally arise from the Ice Dragon King's legacy—far easier than creating a godhood from nothing.
"The Clear Sky Sect, huh?"
Zhen Hua sighed. Looked like he couldn't escape this time.
If even the Clear Sky Sect was joining, refusing would be impossible.
Besides, for a blacksmith, pursuing higher realms wasn't the only goal—exploring new methods of forging was its own treasure.
These unimaginable materials were likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Fine. I'll do it."
He already knew: even if they said it wouldn't require Heavenly Forging, once things reached that level, he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.
Facing such materials, what blacksmith could stop himself?
Looks like... he was going to get struck by lightning again.
"Too bad I still have no successor…" he murmured.
This could well be his final Heavenly Forge.
Jiang Chen blinked, realizing what he feared.
So he said, "Your Excellency, your junior brother Mu Chen has a disciple named Tang Wulin—he completed a Thousand Refinement at only nine years old, breaking the Association's record and reaching the level of a Rank-3 Blacksmith. He hasn't had time to take the test yet, but by now he's probably a Rank-4."
Zhen Hua: !!!
"What!"
"How did I not know this?!"
But as he spoke, realization dawned. Of course Mu Chen hadn't told anyone. A prodigy like that had to be hidden and nurtured until the perfect moment—to make a grand entrance and shock the world.
Eastsea City? Tianhai Tournament? Fame across the continent?
Thinking of it made Zhen Hua's heart ache with jealousy.
His junior brother had taken his beloved, had a child, and snagged such a monstrous disciple too.
And him? What did he have?
Just endless lightning and burnt hair from Heavenly Forging!
At that thought, Zhen Hua's heart shattered completely.
(END CHAPTER)
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