"Star Luo is about to send Princess Xu Jiujui as envoy to Shrek?"
"Sun Mu En Empire has broken the Ming Dou defense and marched deep into Star Luo territory, sweeping several provinces. But they haven't harmed a single civilian—some reports say they're providing free soul tool heating equipment! (On the original continent, soul tools are still reserved for the nobility.)"
"Duke White Tiger is missing; his eldest son Dai Yaoheng now leads the remnants, conducting limited guerilla resistance against the Sun Mu En army…"
Su Wen smiled faintly.
Scattered on his desk were a handful of letters—microcosms of the current continental situation.
Star Luo had declared its intent to break with Shrek, only to be slapped down by a disastrous loss at the front.
The Sun Mu En Empire truly delivered. Soul engineer development may have surged on the continent, but tangled noble interests and a rotten system still held all the kingdoms back, dragging them down.
"Should I meet with them?" Yan Shaozhe asked.
"If you don't want to, I'll deal with them," he added.
"Nah, it's fine," Su Wen shook his head.
He still had some faith in Star Luo.
"Let's see what they have to say first."
"If they understand their position and honestly follow our lead, I don't mind protecting them from annihilation—"
"How far has the Sun Mu En army advanced?" Su Wen asked.
Yan Shaozhe walked to a map covering the wall, "Southern Star Luo, Misar province. Officials hanged from new soul-tool lamp posts, rival factions either wiped out or absorbed. As for the commoners, appeasement and free soul tool equipment across the board."
"Tsk~"
Su Wen sighed and shook his head.
"See the difference between Sun Mu En Empire and us?"
He recalled a scene from the original—Huo Yuhao had infiltrated a Sun Mu En-occupied city and marveled at their "soft power"—free heating, water systems…
Is this what you call 'conquest by winning hearts?'
If only the old powers had been half as competent, their people would never have been so easily "won over."
Are the downtrodden supposed to resist being rescued by Sun Mu En?
Huo Yuhao's righteous talk about returning the people to the old regimes—Su Wen found it laughable.
Did you ask the commoners?
Did they actually want your "rescue"?
The people had truly suffered for generations. If they understood, they'd probably cuss out Huo Yuhao face-to-face.
Yan Shaozhe nodded, sighing. Once, even Shrek Academy had backed the old noble orders, quietly complicit…
"But now… it's time for change."
Su Wen's eyes were calm.
"Take from the people, give back to the people. Stop pandering only to the nobility…"
"Shrek's roots have always been among the commoners."
"Indeed!" Yan Shaozhe nodded gravely.
In the vast forging hall exclusive to the Forging Department—
The furnace blazed hot.
Su Wen steadied his mind, exhaling a slow breath. In each hand he hefted a pre-forged soulsteel hammer, white mist puffing from his lips as his aura rose.
Today, he planned to challenge Heaven's Forging.
Having returned from the future, he'd gained deeper insights into battle armor—forging being the core. Achieving the Divine Craftsman rank would be a massive, game-changing boost not just for himself, but for all his allies.
Nearby, Elder Du and the teachers and students watched with bated breath. Their legendary head of department—long absent—was about to attempt Heaven's Forging!
"I remember Senior Su started forging at the same time as us…"
"In just a few years, while I'm still stuck fusing three metals, he's already going for Heaven's Forging!" a tall, dark-skinned girl murmured in awe.
She had genius-level talent, her martial spirit giving her forging aptitude.
But after joining Shrek, she'd realized just how small she was.
Incredible.
"Silence!" Elder Du snapped.
"It's starting—"
"Phew…"
Su Wen finally exhaled, long and slow.
On the platform lay four pre-refined sentient metals: Sinking Silver, Magic Silver, Spirit Silver, and Golden Essence.
The first step of soul forging was Fusion Forging—ordinary metals simply couldn't bear the stresses. Only sentient alloys (products of fusion forging) could handle soul forging.
Bang!
Bang!
Two hammers struck the metals from the sides, fusing them closer and closer.
The trick lay in blending the "sentience" of the metals. Their spiritual essence was fragile, easily shattered, making this step a test of skill.
For Su Wen, however—it wasn't hard.
A few hours of steady hammering, and at last—a blue-gold, silver-patterned metal emerged.
"Next: Soul Forging."
Without a pause, Su Wen pressed on.
Soul forging didn't just grant spiritual essence as with thousand-forging—it bestowed a true soul.
Metals that gained a soul might even act independently—there were stories of half-forged metals up and running away mid-process!
Soul-forged metals could be considered a part of the craftsman, resonant and responsive, making them far easier to wield in battle.
If someone else made your armor, you'd have to spend ages forging a bond with it…
Ding!
A crisp sound rang out.
"Resonance!" Lou Yingying cheered.
Soul forging had two phases—resonance and solidification.
The first was the craftsman's aura entering the metal, forging from within.
Then—
BOOM!
As the final hammer fell, dazzling light filled the room.
Brilliant columns of light—blue, pale blue, deep blue, white, black, gold—representing his soul-beasts' bloodlines, all poured into the metal.
The chunk of multi-colored metal seemed to come alive, making a break for it, but Su Wen simply closed his hand over empty air, trapping it effortlessly.
Soul forging—easily achieved.
For any other seventh or even eighth-rank craftsman, this would have been utterly exhausting.
But not Su Wen.
His enormous physique and bottomless spirit made him a true all-rounder.
"Next… Heaven's Forging!"
Hand warming, Su Wen took a deep breath.
The ultimate art—Heaven's Forging—gave the metal's life a quantum leap.
The core: imbuing it with elements.
Each element increased the difficulty, bringing on one more tribulation—each was a super-challenge.
Elemental resonance itself was tough—even more so with the four-or-more elements required for Heaven's Forging.
In the original, Divine Craftsman Huo Yu relied on external platforms, even Elder Du needed help—but Su Wen…
Colors flared instantly.
Blue for water.
Crimson for fire.
Gold, wood, life, wind, space-time, lightning—
"Elemental Resonance!"
Elder Du's jaw dropped.
What the—how many elements are there?!
He himself could barely manage four, and that took help—but Su Wen?
Alone!
Handling this many, and all with perfect ease!
Three heads and six arms?
Or was this the secret of a beastmaster?
Elder Du's face was stiff, then turned to envy and worry.
More elements meant more tribulations—the main reason Heaven's Forging was so rarely successful.
Even he had less than a ten percent success rate.
Four metals was terrifying enough.
Much less—ten or more…
"This isn't good! Out, all of you!" Elder Du leapt up, herding the students away.
Outside, clouds started to whirl over the Forge—thunder rumbled, a sense of immanent catastrophe…
"That kid is insane! Ten plus Heaven's Forging tribulations could flatten the whole building!" Elder Du swore.
"It's fine, I'm here…"
Mu En's figure appeared from nowhere.
The golden tree at Sea God Island began to shine, shielding the area—only then did Elder Du relax.
Heaven's Forging aside—this boy was truly fearless.
But seeing him so in command of the elements, maybe, just maybe…
What kind of horror would a metal forged from so many elements produce?
He didn't even dare imagine.