437: Chapter 437 Chen Tiezhu's Improvements Greatly Enhance Furnace Power

The morning light had not yet fully crept over the ridgeline of Qiming Plain, and the tin roof of the Furnace Area was still shimmering with a grayish-blue hue.

The air was filled with the burnt smell of red-hot metal, mixed with the pungent scent unique to residual spiritual energy.

No one spoke before the control console; there was only the faint humming of instruments running at low power, sounding like an old ox panting.

Chen Tiezhu squatted before the main furnace opening, clutching a piece of star-patterned alloy in his hand, his fingertips rubbing back and forth over the fine, spiderweb-like patterns on its surface.

He wasn't wearing gloves, and his palms were covered in blisters from the heat, broken and calloused, layer upon layer, like tree bark.

"Sawtooth waves... still sawtooth waves." He muttered, slamming the alloy piece onto the ground. "The pressure stabilization array can hold down the flame, but it can't hold down the force. Is this Artifact Refining? This is feeding thin porridge to a mech!"

He stood up abruptly and kicked the energy conduit support, causing the instrument panel beside it to "ding" and jump.

"Back in the day, I was afraid of the furnace exploding; now, I'm afraid of having no fire!" He roared, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper grinding against iron.

"Thirty years ago that night, the fire was too fierce and swallowed her... And now? The fire isn't enough! It can't even support a complete signal!"

He panted heavily, staring at the crimson furnace core that was being suppressed to death, a ruthless glint suddenly flashing in his eyes.

"No more suppression." He gritted his teeth. "You want to vibrate? Then vibrate to your heart's content! I'll make you vibrate until you bloom!"

He turned and walked toward the tool rack, ripping off six old energy conduits and throwing them onto the floor with a clattering clang.

"Sanwazi! Stop sleeping! Bring the star-patterned alloy plates! The thickest batch! And the resonance rune knife—the one I hid under the bed, the one engraved with three hundred patterns! Bring it here!"

The apprentice dozing in the distance jumped up in a start: "Grandmaster, are you really going to modify the furnace core? If there's no blueprint on file, the Alliance will hold us accountable..."

"Go ask your dad!" Chen Tiezhu didn't even turn his head. "I'm not following the rules today! Rules are set by dead people, and I'm alive! Say one more word, and I'll stuff you into the furnace as fuel!"

The apprentice didn't dare to make a peep and ran off.

Chen Tiezhu dismantled the furnace wall himself, kicking it when the wrench wouldn't budge, not even caring when his fingernails bled.

As he dismantled it, he muttered: "Resonance... fluctuation isn't a disease, it's a path. In the past, we avoided it; now, we must ride it. The furnace fire must be like a sword; without stability, it cannot form an edge!"

He embedded the new alloy plates into the furnace core one by one, personally carving a micro-resonance array into each one with the rune knife.

He carved a line, then blew a breath; he carved another, then cursed a word.

Sweat mixed with grease dripped from his forehead, leaving several black streaks on his face.

He didn't close his eyes all night.

By dawn, the furnace body was finally reassembled. He stood before the control console, his hand hovering over the start lever, pausing for a full half-stick of incense's time.

"The Family Head is right," he said in a low voice. "Competing on cultivation is old news. From now on, it's about brains, about the timing of the fire, and about having the madness to risk your life."

He yanked the lever.

"Boom—!"

The furnace core ignited instantly, the thermometer numbers jumping wildly, breaking through the warning line in the blink of an eye.

The alarm screamed, and red light flooded the entire wall.

The walls were shaking, and the protective shield overhead creaked, as if it would crack at any moment.

The operators all ducked down, and someone had already reached out to touch the emergency pressure relief valve.

Chen Tiezhu stood still.

He closed his eyes, pressing his ear against the outer wall of the furnace, listening to that roar.

"It's not out of control..." he murmured. "It's a cry. A cry that has been suppressed for too long."

He slapped away the hand of the person next to him. "No one is allowed to touch the valve! Let it burn!"

"Grandmaster! It's overheating! The alloy will melt!"

"If it melts, we'll refine it again!" His eyes were bloodshot. "Today, I want to see just how high it can burn!"

Three breaths.

Five breaths.

Just when everyone thought the furnace would explode the next second, the fire suddenly retracted.

Immediately after—

"Whoosh—!"

A beam of silver-white light shot straight up from the furnace core, piercing through the protective shield and carving a hundred-foot-long trail of flames into the morning sky, like a drawn sword tearing open the gray sky.

The humming sound was gone.

In its place was a low, steady, breathing-like rhythm.

On the control console, the output power curve changed from jagged to a straight line, as flat as if measured by a ruler.

The value soared all the way, finally settling at 3.8 times the original.

Chen Tiezhu's legs went soft, and he almost fell to his knees, but he forced himself to stand by leaning on the console.

He tremblingly took off his grease-stained gloves, revealing his hands covered in burns and calluses, his voice trembling: "Family Head... Family Head! Come! Come and see!"

Chen Wuwang rushed in.

He had just come from the assembly area and changed direction when he heard the commotion. His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flashed red, directly scanning the data stream.

"3.8 times... waveform stable... zero oscillation feedback..." He muttered, his pace getting faster and faster, until the last few steps he almost lunged at the console. "Tiezhu! What the hell did you do?!"

"Modified the furnace core." Chen Tiezhu grinned, his mouth stretching to his ears, though his eyes were a bit moist,

"Didn't suppress the fluctuations, just went with its nature. Added a resonance array, changed to star-patterned alloy, and let the turbulence push itself. Not enough fire? Then let it create its own wind!"

Chen Wuwang stared at the screen and suddenly looked up, blood-red spiritual patterns flashing deep within his pupils.

"Hahahaha—!!!"

He threw his head back and laughed, his laughter shaking dust from the roof beams.

"With this furnace fire, why worry about not accomplishing great things!"

He slapped Chen Tiezhu on the shoulder with such force that the old man staggered two steps. "How many years has the Eastern Wasteland relied on heaven for food? Relied on the grace of Spiritual Qi? Now I tell you—we can create our own heaven!"

The two stood side by side, watching the silver flames churning endlessly, like a coiled Dragon, ready to take flight at any moment.

"Next step," Chen Wuwang stopped laughing, his tone deepening. "Recalibrate all circuits in the assembly area. I want every bit of spiritual energy to be delivered where it belongs; not a drop can be wasted."

"Understood." Chen Tiezhu nodded, then suddenly paused. "Family Head... when this is done, I want to burn a stick of incense for my wife."

Chen Wuwang turned his head to look at him.

The old man gazed at the furnace fire, his eyes looking a bit distant: "If she were alive, she could see this day too."

"She sees it," Chen Wuwang said softly. "The fire here is much brighter than it was that day."

Chen Tiezhu didn't speak, just silently pulled an old stick of incense from his bosom, inserted it into a crack in the stone by the furnace, and lit it.

The flame danced quietly.

Chen Wuwang turned and strode toward the door: "I'm going to the assembly area to watch the progress. The power side is up to you."

"Rest assured." Chen Tiezhu didn't look back. "This furnace, even if a ghost came now, it would have to call out, 'Senior, please take a seat!'"

Chen Wuwang's figure disappeared at the doorway.

The old man stood alone before the furnace, watching the silver flames reflecting on the control console screen, like a rushing river.

He raised his hand, gently stroking the furnace wall, and murmured: "Old girl, look... our fire is finally stable."