Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

Very soon, Yuanen Yehui followed Xia Yi to the Blacksmith's Association.

Seeing that Xia Yi was actually watching a tutorial on fusion forging, she instantly began to doubt her life choices.

"I suddenly feel that asking you for help with forging was not a wise decision," Yuanen Yehui said in a low voice.

"I'm just reviewing to reinforce my knowledge, don't worry. My fusion forging skills are excellent," Xia Yi flashed a bright white smile, looking very confident.

Even if he were beaten to death, he wouldn't dare let Yuanen Yehui know that he had only started learning fusion forging the night before.

"I'll trust you this once." Yuanen Yehui glanced at the tutorial Xia Yi was watching. It was a lecture by Feng Wuyu, explaining key points about fusion forging to a group of blacksmiths.

The content was quite similar to the notes left by Mu Chen.

However, it still allowed Xia Yi to cross-reference and validate his knowledge.

Yuanen Yehui didn't disturb Xia Yi any further, instead sitting quietly to meditate and cultivate. An hour and a half later, Xia Yi finished watching the tutorial.

Only then did Yuanen Yehui take out two pieces of metal and a battle armor design blueprint, beginning to explain to Xia Yi:

"The piece you need to forge for me is the first component of my battle armor—the gauntlet. The gauntlet includes the hand and forearm sections, extending up to just below the elbow. In essence, it consists of the hand guard and forearm armor."

"Because my martial souls are the Titan Giant Ape and the Fallen Angel, my right gauntlet must be flexible when I grip my fist and wield my sword. In other words, when shaping the metal, you must ensure that my finger joints remain agile. Additionally, since I have twin martial souls, even for the same armor component, I need two different soul circuit inscriptions. That means my battle armor requires more soul circuits than an ordinary one. So, I need the metal to be reinforced in areas where the soul circuits will be engraved."

"No problem." Xia Yi nodded. "During forging, I'll focus on strengthening the metal in the necessary areas. After the first refinement, I'll shape the entire piece. Then, I'll conduct a second refinement. Although the second refinement won't be as effective as the first, it can still enhance the metal's strength and flexibility in specific areas, making it easier for crafting and design."

Xia Yi examined the two metals Yuanen Yehui provided—one was Deep Silver, and the other was Magic Silver.

Both metals were highly malleable. She must have been worried that her battle armor would break when she transformed.

However, this made Xia Yi slightly disappointed.

The more flexible a metal was, the easier it was to fusion forge.

Fusing these two metals posed no challenge for him.

"You can perform secondary refinement?" Yuanen Yehui was visibly surprised.

She had, of course, heard about secondary refinement in blacksmithing, which was highly beneficial for battle armor crafting.

Xia Yi nodded.

Yuanen Yehui gave him a deep look and said, "If that's the case, my chances of successfully crafting my battle armor will increase significantly."

Even if a battle armor's design and forging were completed, there was still a chance of failure when the maker engraved the soul circuits.

Using metals that had undergone secondary refinement would increase the success rate of battle armor crafting by about ten percent.

Moreover, it would also enhance the overall quality of the armor.

As Xia Yi placed the Deep Silver and Magic Silver into the forging furnace for heating,

he clearly sensed Yuanen Yehui's breathing becoming rapid.

Even she clenched her fists tightly.

This was her first piece of battle armor—how could she not be nervous?

But beyond the nervousness, she felt even more excitement.

Under Yuanen Yehui's burning gaze, Xia Yi began forging.

In just one short hour, Xia Yi handed a perfectly forged metallic arm to her.

"No challenge at all." Xia Yi shrugged.

"Do you frequently forge battle armor for others?" Yuanen Yehui asked. She didn't think Xia Yi was bragging.

During the entire process, Xia Yi had indeed looked extremely relaxed.

He really didn't find it difficult.

"Not often, I just helped someone forge a pair of wings a few days ago." Xia Yi replied.

"Wings… Two-word battle armor?" Yuanen Yehui inhaled sharply.

Looking at Xia Yi, her face suddenly turned red.

"What's wrong?" Xia Yi asked, curious.

"Well…" The moment Xia Yi spoke, Yuanen Yehui's face flushed even more, and she fidgeted, looking shy and uneasy.

"I don't have enough contribution points," she muttered, her voice almost inaudible.

According to the rules, as long as the fusion degree of a forged alloy reached 60%, it was considered a success. Beyond that, every 5% increase in fusion raised the metal's quality, and thus, its price.

An alloy with 95% fusion, known as "Divine Metal," was incredibly expensive.

Her gauntlet was forged from Deep Silver and Magic Silver with a staggering 96% fusion—classified as Divine Metal.

She simply didn't have enough contribution points to pay for it.

"That's not a big deal. You can pay me back slowly," Xia Yi waved it off casually.

"You… don't mind?" Yuanen Yehui was taken aback.

"Even if I did, can you pay me right now?" Xia Yi rolled his eyes. "Besides, do you think you can just run away from Shrek Academy over some debt?"

Yuanen Yehui fell silent. She had always disliked owing others.

After thinking for a moment, she said solemnly, "I know some senior students in the academy secretly engage in loan-sharking. How about this—no matter when I repay you, I'll add the same interest rate they charge?"

"That works," Xia Yi nodded.

He secretly felt relieved that he had learned forging; otherwise, he might have ended up drowning in debt just like Yuanen Yehui.

…

Sea God's Pavilion

"Even now, my success rate for forging Divine Metal is only about fifty percent. But Xia Yi achieved it on only his second attempt at fusion forging. Do you understand what that means?" Feng Wuyu's voice was heavy with seriousness.

"What does it mean?" Yun Ming asked.

"It means that if Xia Yi reaches the Title Douluo level and receives guidance from Zhen Hua, he is guaranteed to become the next Divine Blacksmith." Feng Wuyu said gravely.

"Such a person must stay in Shrek Academy," Yun Ming stated firmly.

"When Blazing Dragon Douluo tried to take him as a disciple yesterday, he refused without hesitation. That shows he has no attachment to Shrek. If he becomes a Divine Blacksmith, Shrek Academy could go a long time without a four-word battle armor." Long Yeyue's voice was cold.

She was worried that Xia Yi still harbored resentment over past events. If he became a Divine Blacksmith and refused to help Shrek, the academy would suffer greatly.

Hearing this, Ya Li frowned slightly and said, "I will handle Xia Yi's situation. I'll discuss this with Sky Phoenix Douluo. Some mistakes only need to be made once—if it happens again, it would be utterly disgraceful."

She paused, realizing that as an outsider who had taken over the position of Sea God Pavilion Master, she shouldn't be too blunt toward the senior members.

So, she softened her tone, saying, "If Xia Yi truly is a child of destiny, even if we wanted to kill him, it wouldn't be easy. On the contrary, we would only push him to become our enemy. You all must have noticed—though Xia Yi is arrogant, he isn't a bad person. Otherwise, Leng Yaozhu wouldn't have taken him as her disciple. As long as no one acts recklessly again, I am confident I can resolve his grievances."

Ya Li understood that once people at the Limit Douluo level decided to kill someone, they wouldn't hesitate.

The previous incident at the Battle Hall had already given her a headache.

If something similar happened again, not only would they lose Xia Yi, but Shrek Academy would also completely sever ties with Leng Yaozhu.

At that point, Leng Yaozhu might truly start targeting Shrek Academy's students in places like the Spirit Ascension Platform and the Spirit Pagoda.

And that was a consequence Shrek Academy could not afford.

Yali understood the people of Shrek Academy better than anyone else. They lived in the glory of Shrek Academy being the number one academy in the world and acted without considering the consequences.

Yun Ming dared to go to Mingdu and snatch people away. Long Yeyue dared to slap the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda.

Even ordinary students acted recklessly,

Believing that the Federation government would not dare to touch Shrek Academy.

Believing that the Federation government and the Spirit Pagoda could not do without Shrek Academy.

They never truly considered what the consequences would be if the Federation government and the Spirit Pagoda completely broke ties with Shrek Academy.

(End of Chapter)