Tang Wulin looked up at the sky and sensed the natural elements in the air. The trace of alcohol in his systems only worked to place him in a more free-spirited mood, and with everything he had experienced thus far, his mental state had already become peerlessly resolute. Most importantly, he was far more confident than he had been in the past, and that confidence stemmed from his rapid improvement.
He firmly believed that he would reach the Atlas Douluo's level someday, and even pursue the same heights that his father had reached.
His target was no longer limited to the Douluo Continent; his ultimate goal was to find the Divine Realm and reunite himself with his family.
From the perspective of all of the bystanders, Tang Wulin strode over to the center of the courtyard, following which his aura abruptly changed.
This was a very peculiar feeling; it was as if he had suddenly disappeared.
He was still standing on the same spot and was present visually, but no one was able to sense his presence anymore.
"He's become one with nature," Yuanen Zhentian murmured to himself.
He had been drinking and relaxing just a moment ago, yet in the blink of an eye, he had already become one with nature. This wasn't just a reflection of his enormous spiritual power; it also highlighted his understanding of the laws of heaven and earth.
This young man truly had an immeasurable future! It was no wonder that he had become the leader of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy at such a young age.
All of a sudden, Tang Wulin sprang into action.
He raised his right hand, and a black piece of metal appeared. This was quite a large chunk of cuboid metal with side lengths of around half a meter, but Tang Wulin was able to toss it up into the air as if it were a weightless toy.
He looked up at the piece of metal with an intense gaze, and a burst of powerful intent suddenly erupted from his body.
In that instant, his aura resembled that of a giant dragon that had just awakened from a long slumber.
He launched his fist through the air, and a thunderous dragon's roar rang out as a giant golden dragon erupted from his fist.
The shimmering golden dragon was extremely intricate and life-like, creating a particularly dazzling sight to behold in the night.
The giant dragon rose up into the sky and crashed heavily into the piece of metal. Strangely enough, the metal didn't display any change, as if it hadn't been struck by anything. Instead, it was enveloped by the golden dragon and continued to rise upward.
The golden dragon ascended into the heavens, while the chunk of black metal suddenly began to glow with scintillating golden light, as if a miniature sun had appeared in mid-air.
The golden light it was releasing extended for over 10 feet, and there seemed to be countless specks of starlight revolving around it.
This was supreme-grade thousand refinement!
Tang Wulin hadn't even brought out his forging hammers yet; just a single punch allowed the piece of metal to skip hundred refinement and reach the very pinnacle of thousand refinement.
There were blacksmiths in the Yuanen Family as well, but even the most skilled one was only capable of spirit refinement.
The blacksmith in question was currently completely entranced by the sight of the glowing chunk of metal, and never did he think that a blacksmith could refine metal in such a spectacular fashion.
The chunk of metal finally began to descend, but the golden light it was radiating was still very bright, and faint dragon patterns had appeared all over its surface.
Tang Wulin's eyes began to glow, and in that instant, his essence, energy, and spirit were all elevated to the very max. He gently raised his two hands, and a pair of black forging hammers appeared in his grasp.
A peculiar aura then began to radiate from his body alongside intense hammer intent.
He hurled both of his forging hammers up into the air in unison, and as they rose up, the hammers suddenly began to glow with dazzling silver light that also contained hints of rainbow light. The pair of hammers flew in a profound trajectory, striking the piece of metal up above one after another.
Two crisp clangs rang out, and the chunk of metal was instantly sent flying up into the air as golden light erupted in all directions.
The pair of forging hammers seemed to have sprung to life, and a string of clangs rang out incessantly while a flurry of glowing hammer projections spread through the air, putting on a spectacular show that made even the most extravagant of fireworks pale into insignificance.
During the thousand refinement process, the chunk of metal had already shrunk to around half its original size, and as the hammering continued, it began to shrink even further.
Gradually, the radiant golden light began to dim and became more subdued.
Only a minute had passed by, but all of the members of the Yuanen Family present were already thoroughly entranced.
This was the first time that they had seen such extraordinary forging; it was like art in motion!
They were aware that Tang Wulin was intentionally showing off, but they still couldn't help but admire his exceptional skills.
All of a sudden, a faint buzzing sound rang out, and the pair of forging hammers descended back into Tang Wulin's grasp. Meanwhile, the chunk of metal continued to hover in mid-air, and at this point, it had become spherical in shape. It was gently trembling in mid-air as if it were trying to escape from something, and all of a sudden, a peculiar feeling arose, as if a new life had just been created.
Even though this sensation was barely detectable, all of the people present were powerful Soul Masters, so they were able to clearly sense it.
The most skilled blacksmith of the Yuanen Family immediately blurted out, "This is spirit refinement!"
He was capable of completing spirit refinement himself, so he was naturally aware of the telltale signs. However, never did he think that spirit refinement could be completed so quickly and so perfectly. This had already exceeded his realm of understanding of forging, and it was as if a whole new world had been opened up to him.
Indeed, this was spirit refinement, and Tang Wulin had achieved this without even having to swing his hammers himself.
Right at this moment, Tang Wulin rose up into the air like a rising dragon and arrived before the chunk of metal in a flash. Purplish-golden light erupted out of his eyes to illuminate the chunk of metal, and it immediately shuddered violently.
At the same time, Tang Wulin's forging hammers struck the piece of metal in a dainty manner.
In contrast with the heavy blows his flying hammers had delivered earlier, his forging was very gentle and delicate now, almost as if he were carefully crafting a perfect masterpiece.
A string of pleasant and rhythmic clangs rang out, and it was like the most beautiful music in the world.
The piece of metal itself was also releasing an incessant string of faint buzzing, as if it were an infant wheedling with its father.
The exterior of the spherical piece of metal didn't change, but the subdued golden light within it was released once again. In contrast with the bright golden light from before, this golden light was very dense and filled with sentience.
A series of shimmering golden dragon patterns proliferated outward before revolving around the surrounding area, and they gradually became clearer as they flew in celebration around Tang Wulin and the piece of metal.
Golden radiance flashed, and all of a sudden, a huge projection appeared behind Tang Wulin.
The projection depicted a clear humanoid figure, and it was none other than Yuanen Zhentian.
The projection threw a punch, and heaven and earth tremored in its wake. This was none other than the final one of the three attacks that Tang Wulin had withstood from Yuanen Zhentian.
Powerful fist intent threatened to pierce through heaven and earth as it was projected behind Tang Wulin through mental manifestation.
The projection then suddenly disintegrated into countless specks of light that vanished into the spherical piece of metal from all directions.
The chunk of metal began to tremor violently, and Yuanen Zhentian was suddenly struck by a sense of familiarity.
This was fist intent that was identical to his own!
This was no longer just bestowing the metal with intelligence through soul refinement; it had even been imbued with aptitude!
The spirit refinement blacksmith was already completely rooted to the spot. Was this really something that could be achieved by a blacksmith? He was incapable of soul refinement, but he had witnessed it before, yet this was completely different from anything he had ever seen!