176: Chapter 176 Ultimate Engraving

Xu Yanchiu hung up the phone.

Her hands were still trembling.

She turned back and looked at Su Ming.

Those hands were ridiculously steady.

Threads of Protective Aura moved along the spear body, and every Spirit Inscription that fell into the gaps of the crystal lattice was breathtakingly precise.

From the beginning until now, there had been no pause whatsoever.

Inscribing Spirit Inscriptions was as natural as breathing.

Seven minutes later.

The door to the Forging Room opened.

An old man with gray hair strode in.

He was lean and upright, with small but bright eyes. He wore the dark gray work uniform of the Spirit Science Department, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing the backs of his hands covered in burn scars.

Xu Yanchiu went up to meet him. "Teacher."

The old man nodded.

His gaze passed over her and landed on the slender figure in front of the workbench.

Eighteen years old, black hair, sharp eyes. The Protective Aura threads at the tip of the engraving knife flowed endlessly, and the Spirit Inscriptions on the spear body had already been spread out over seventy percent.

Its complexity far exceeded any finished product in this Forging Room.

The old man's footsteps paused for a moment.

No need to guess.

In the same region, it was impossible for two such Heaven-Defying young people to appear at the same time.

"Is it him?"

Xu Yanchiu nodded.

The old man didn't speak again; he walked to the side of the workbench and stood still.

He stared at him with a deep gaze.

Fang Yuanxing was huddled in the corner drinking tea. When he caught sight of the newcomer out of the corner of his eye, he almost dropped his teacup.

Elder Yan?!

The Chief Weaponsmith of the Lingke Group!

The person standing at the top of the pyramid in the Forging Domain of the entire Longjiang region!

Over seventy percent of the military's high-level custom weapons came from his hands; even the provincial general had to wait half a year just to ask him to forge a spear!

Why did he come here?!

Fang Yuanxing glanced at Su Ming.

Then he glanced at Elder Yan.

He understood.

That made sense.

With such a Prodigy appearing in the world, anyone would want to come and take a look.

The Forging Room went quiet.

The three of them stood around the workbench.

No one spoke.

Even their breathing became lighter.

The engraving knife in Su Ming's hand did not pause in the slightest.

The All-encompassing Heavenly Pupil was fully activated.

The crystal lattice structure inside the spear body was revealed in every detail: how every Spirit Inscription should move, which node should be constricted, how the energy flow should connect...

Everything was clear in his mind.

No need to think.

His hands moved, his consciousness guided, and the two were one.

Elder Yan watched for a long time.

Without saying a word.

Xu Yanchiu leaned over and lowered her voice, "Teacher, what do you think..."

Elder Yan raised his hand to stop her.

He watched for another two minutes.

Finally, he spoke.

His voice was steady, but it couldn't hide the trace of shock beneath it.

"The load-bearing limit of this spear..."

His gaze swept over the completed Spirit Inscription areas, and he pointed at several key nodes in the air.

"Eighth Level."

Xu Yanchiu was stunned for a moment.

"This spear can fully accommodate an Eighth Level Martial Artist."

Elder Yan's voice was very low, "His Spirit Inscription design is ingeniously conceived. Every line has been treated with stress dispersion, and the load-bearing limit has been raised to the extreme."

"This is the limit of the Materials..."

He paused.

"But it is not his limit."

Xu Yanchiu swallowed.

Eighth Level?

Ultimate Inscription?!

The spear body she forged was originally designed with a load-bearing limit of the 7th Realm. During the inscription process, he had raised the limit even higher?

"But this method of inscription," Elder Yan turned to look at Xu Yanchiu, "consumes an terrifying amount of Protective Aura and Mental Energy."

His tone sank.

"You cannot do it."

Xu Yanchiu's lips moved.

She didn't refute it.

She knew.

She knew it from the moment Su Ming made the first cut.

Her Mental Energy couldn't sustain this intensity of continuous output; let alone zero deviation throughout, even managing a third would be an exceptional performance.

"Fortunately, you didn't attempt it lightly."

Xu Yanchiu pouted.

The old man really didn't give her any Face.

"Then what about him?"

She looked at Su Ming's back, "He only read the data for ten minutes."

Elder Yan was silent for a few seconds.

"He can."

Three words, spoken with conviction.

"His Mental Energy far exceeds those of the same level," Elder Yan asserted, "not just a little higher, but higher by at least an order of magnitude."

Xu Yanchiu fell silent.

Ten minutes.

He only watched for ten minutes.

It took her three months to learn Spirit Inscription, from entry-level to being able to independently complete the inscription of a Third Realm weapon.

It took another two years to go from the Third Realm to Level 5.

From Level 5 to the 7th Realm...

She still hadn't had a Breakthrough.

And this person, after reading the data for ten minutes, started with zero deviation, and the inscription complexity reached the load-bearing limit of the Materials.

Is this what a Genius is?

Elder Yan turned his head and looked at her.

"You still need to practice."

Xu Yanchiu: "..."

That hurts, old man, no need to twist the knife.

The two didn't speak again.

They watched quietly.

In the Forging Room, there was only the faint sound of Protective Aura threads rubbing against metal, and the increasingly dense light of the Spirit Inscriptions on the spear body.

The Spirit Inscription entered its final stage.

"Hum!"

A faint hum came from deep within the spear body, barely perceptible.

Like the first cry of a newborn baby.

Elder Yan's eyes lit up.

"It's almost done."

The Spirit Inscriptions resonated with the spear body.

The inscription was about to be completed.

The last few finishing lines were the key to the entire set of Spirit Inscriptions.

If there was a mistake.

All previous efforts would be wasted.

In front of the workbench, Su Ming's movements not only didn't slow down, they even sped up a bit.

It made the two of them jump with anxiety.

The last three!

Two!

One!

Finish!

The engraving knife lifted, and the Protective Aura threads dissipated.

Su Ming took a half step back.

At the same instant...

"Zheng—!"

The spear body trembled violently.

The spear hummed loudly!

Clear and resonant.

Sharp.

An invisible sound wave spread in all directions!

The instrument indicator lights flashed wildly, and the tools on the workbench were shaken, clattering onto the floor!

On the spear body, the Spirit Inscriptions lit up one by one.

Fang Yuanxing sat back down in his chair with a thud.

His heart skipped a beat.

Xu Yanchiu took a half step back, her safety goggles almost flying off.

Elder Yan didn't move at all.

He stared at the spear, his eyes gleaming with intensity.

"It's done."

Su Ming lowered the engraving knife.

His pupils returned to normal.

He looked at the long spear on the workbench.

On the dark silver spear body, the Spirit Inscriptions spread like a galaxy. From the tail of the spear to the spear tip, every line glowed faintly.

Su Ming reached out.

His five fingers closed.

He grasped the spear shaft.

"Zheng—!"

The second spear hum exploded!

Louder and sharper than the first!

Like the first roar of a beast waking up.

Pale purple Protective Aura spread along the spear body, and a point of cold light condensed at the spear tip. The sharpness overflowed, cutting several fine marks into the surface of the workbench.

Su Ming lifted the spear.

He held it horizontally with one hand and weighed it.

Heavy.

It was nearly five times heavier than the lieyuan spear.

It felt cold to the touch.

But the moment Protective Aura was infused into it, the spear body seemed to come alive, humming in response, as if it were an extension of his own arm.

A good spear.

Compare it with the lieyuan spear?

One is in the sky, the other is in the ground.

The lieyuan spear was a tool to make do; if he fought a big battle, he would have to rely on Void Creation to save his life.

This spear...

The star abyss mysterious iron spear body, nine-digit purity, could withstand the full output of No Moon.

At least for now, there was no need to worry about the spear body cracking.

The corners of Su Ming's mouth turned up slightly.

Elder Yan walked forward.

His gaze swept over the long spear repeatedly, and the look of shock in his eyes did not fade for a long time.

After a while, he raised his head and looked at Su Ming.

"Kid."

Su Ming turned his head.

"Have you ever thought about taking the path of weaponsmithing?" The old man's voice was low, carrying a rare solemnity, "You are a natural-born weaponsmith; your Mental Energy, the purity of your Protective Aura, your intuition..."

"Are all top-tier."

"I have been forging weapons for sixty years, and I have never seen anyone more suitable for this line of work than you."

Su Ming glanced at him.

The old man's gaze was sincere.

No tricks, no curves, it was purely the love of talent from a craftsman seeing a good seedling.