148: Chapter 148 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Ninety-Six)

Shi Tie raised his head, his face full of pride as he spoke with conviction, "Replying to the Deacon, it is absolutely true! Every single one was forged by Senior Brother's own hands, polished day and night!"

*Boom!*

Chu Feng's mind shook violently, and a storm of shock raged in his heart.

Having lived for nearly a century, he was considered well-traveled and knowledgeable, yet he had never heard of anyone at the age of fifteen, with only an Iron Skin Realm cultivation...

...who could, in a mere two to three months, go from an absolute novice in artifact forging to a Yellow-grade artifact forger who could consistently forge fully-upgraded, top-grade magical artifacts!

This was simply unheard of!

An extreme shock instantly swept through Chu Feng's entire body. He could barely suppress the wild joy in his heart, wanting to shout at the top of his lungs right there in the External Affairs Hall:

"My nephew Chu Shi has the potential of a Great Emperor!"

However, relying on the composure he had developed from years of holding a high position, he managed to forcefully suppress his frenzied emotions, though his hands still trembled slightly.

Not daring to delay for even a moment, Chu Feng immediately used all of his sect contribution points and accumulated essence stones to quickly exchange for a large batch of the purest top-grade Profound Iron. He stuffed them all into a storage bag and solemnly handed it to Shi Tie.

"Do not delay, take this back to Ah Shi immediately!

I will start selling all these magical artifacts right away. From now on, I will provide a continuous supply of materials like Profound Iron and Cold Iron. I will never let him lack even a single resource!"

"This disciple thanks the Deacon!" Shi Tie was overjoyed. After bowing, he immediately rushed back to the back mountain of Lieyang Peak without stopping.

...

Lieyang Peak, Elder Jin's artifact forging courtyard.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled through the window lattices, and the evening breeze dispersed the heat that had lingered in the workshop for days.

Chu Shi sat by the stone table, holding a cup of tea and sipping it with a relaxed expression.

Two and a half months of high-intensity artifact forging had allowed both his mind and body to settle, making his overall aura increasingly steady and condensed.

Spotting Shi Tie's figure running toward him from afar, he raised his eyes to look.

As soon as Shi Tie stepped into the courtyard, he couldn't help but call out loudly, "Senior Brother! I have successfully fulfilled my mission!"

With that, he stepped forward quickly and handed over the heavy, full storage bag of Profound Iron.

He then vividly described to Chu Shi everything that had happened, from Chu Feng's initial worry to his realization, and finally his utter shock upon seeing the magical artifacts.

Hearing about his uncle's meticulous care throughout the process, warmth welled up in Chu Shi's heart, and he silently made a note of this favor.

Then, he took the storage bag, looked at the three of them—including Shi Tie—who stood before him with faces full of sincerity, and spoke words of encouragement.

"During this time, the three of you have worked tirelessly, diligently, and down-to-earth under me. I have seen all of it.

Previously, I taught you the basic rune-engraving methods, and you have not slacked off during this period either.

From now on, during the breaks in my forging, if you have any questions about runes or difficulties with engraving that you don't understand, you can ask me at any time."

Then, Chu Shi paused for a moment and made a solemn promise, his voice clear and serious:

"If you can forge a low-grade magical artifact with your own hands in the future, I will personally go to the Internal Affairs Office to register you and have you exceptionally promoted to Outer Sect Disciples!

If you are exceptionally talented and can forge high-grade magical artifacts, I can even fight to secure positions as Inner Sect Disciples for you!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Shi Tie and the other two trembled violently, their eyes instantly turning red.

They were merely Utility Disciples at the absolute bottom. The greatest hope of their lives was simply to escape their chore status. Now, Chu Shi had not only meticulously taught them his craft but had also given them an opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step!

The three of them knelt down and kowtowed in unison, their voices resonant and sincere, "We will definitely work ourselves to the bone and never fail to live up to Senior Brother's kindness in guiding us!"

As the saying goes, 'To repay the lord's favor on the golden platform, one would gladly die for him.'

...

Time flowed by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.

By now, Chu Shi had already completely mastered all the secrets of forging magical artifacts.

The twenty-seven runes were perfectly integrated, circulating in a closed loop. Various martial arts special effects shifted at his whim, and fully-upgraded top-grade magical artifacts could be forged effortlessly with a one hundred percent success rate, without a single failure.

Yet, no matter how many times he reviewed his work and kept trying, he ultimately could not reach the threshold of the next tier—Treasure Artifacts.

Every magical artifact he forged was already at the absolute peak of perfection for the Iron Skin Realm; the rune framework, integrated amplification, forging craftsmanship, and control of the fire were all flawless.

Since his technique was already perfected, the issue hindering his breakthrough was clearly not with the person, but with the material.

Chu Shi composed himself, closed his eyes, and browsed through all the records of the "First Volume of the Lieyang Forging Method" inherited in his mind.

After a moment, he suddenly understood.

The ancient manual explicitly recorded: Iron materials can only be used to forge magical artifacts, which correspond to the Iron Skin Realm cultivation.

The way of Treasure Artifacts required the twenty-seven basic runes to be completely integrated and upgraded, condensing into a brand-new intermediate core rune.

This qualitative change in runes was simply something that pure iron materials could not bear!

Having found the root of the problem, Chu Shi did not have the slightest intention of making a rash attempt.

He kept the lesson of his early days in forging—where blindly stacking runes had led to repeated failures—firmly in mind.

With a complete inheritance and an elder's guidance, he would never work behind closed doors or make reckless trial-and-error attempts again.

He then stood up, walked to the door of the inner room, and gently knocked on the wooden door, intending to ask Elder Jin for the true secrets of forging Treasure Artifacts.

A moment later, Elder Jin pushed the door open and stepped out. His gaze swept over the dozens of fully-upgraded, twenty-seven-rune top-grade magical artifacts displayed in the corner of the courtyard, and a look of understanding appeared in his aged eyes.

"You have already reached the limit of magical artifacts and are stuck at the threshold of Treasure Artifacts?" Elder Jin saw through his purpose at a single glance.

Chu Shi bowed and replied honestly, "The Elder has keen eyes.

This disciple has browsed the inheritance and knows that Treasure Artifacts require a rune upgrade and qualitative change, but I do not know how to proceed specifically, so I have come to ask for guidance."

Hearing this, Elder Jin's expression turned solemn as he slowly explained:

"You must remember that martial weapons correspond perfectly to cultivation realms; they have never been separate.

Magical artifacts bear the true qi of the Iron Skin Realm, and can be forged from ordinary iron.

However, Treasure Artifacts bear the Copper Bone Realm cultivation. They are the exclusive weapons of martial artists after their physical bodies transcend mortality and their true qi undergoes a qualitative change. Ordinary iron is long since useless for them."

Chu Shi's heart stirred, and he blurted out, "This disciple understands! To forge Treasure Artifacts, copper must be used as the material!"

"Correct." Elder Jin nodded in approval and continued to explain the reason in detail,

"But it is by no means ordinary crude copper; it must be highly refined Copper Essence that has been tempered a thousand times.

Furthermore, martial advancement progresses step-by-step. Moving from Iron Skin to Copper Bone is a transformation from an iron body to a Copper Bone, so a single copper material also has its flaws.

The true raw material for a Treasure Artifact must be a copper-iron alloy.

With Profound Iron as the bone and Copper Essence as the soul, combining hardness and softness, it can perfectly accommodate the flow of true qi from Iron Skin to Copper Bone, and bear the qualitative leap and transformation of the twenty-seven basic runes."

With a single sentence, the secret of heaven was revealed!

Hearing this, Chu Shi was suddenly enlightened, his mind becoming completely clear.

Following that, a fiery passion surged in his heart, and he could not wait to immediately start the furnace, mix the alloy, and attempt to forge a Treasure Artifact.

Seeing the youth's eager, rash, and impulsive look, Elder Jin was both amused and annoyed. He raised his hand and lightly scolded:

"What is your rush?

Do you know the precise ratio of the copper-iron alloy?

Do you know how to arrange the twenty-seven basic runes so they can smoothly upgrade into intermediate runes?

Do you know the grade divisions, forming standards, and true qi bearing thresholds of Treasure Artifacts?"

A series of questions, each building upon the last.

Chu Shi's chest full of fiery passion instantly cooled down. He reined in his impetuousness and bowed his head respectfully, "This disciple does not know. Please instruct me, Elder."