Chapter 617 - 336: Forging Ceremony, Becoming a Cauldron Maker

The great hammer danced, carrying an unshakable force. Outside, a single strike like this could likely shatter mountains and sever great rivers.

CLANG!

This time, it changed direction, landing on the right side of Su Chen’s body. The liquid, a mixture of various materials, still had no definite shape. It merely shifted with each hammer blow, its Red Gold luster growing richer and more viscous.

Guan Lin’s movements were relentless. The muffled sounds of "CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" echoed endlessly in the chamber.

"This..." Luo Shuhang’s eye twitched as he watched. It was as if every one of Guan Lin’s hammer strikes was landing on his own heart.

Although there were precedents for this forging ritual, it was the first time he had presided over one. He felt a little uneasy. The intensity was truly something no ordinary person could withstand. If anything happened to Su Chen, he would bear the primary responsibility.

Su Chen’s body felt numb. An endless stream of metallic clanging filled his ears, blurring into a single roar. With every strike, his body convulsed violently, his bones creaking and popping.

"Incredible..." Jiao Beiluo muttered to himself as he watched from the side. "To think a Tier Six Professional’s body could be this tough."

As time passed, the scent of iron and a strange fragrance filled the air. Under Guan Lin’s great hammer, the phantom of a small, four-legged, twin-handled cauldron emerged. It radiated a glow like molten Red Gold, condensing into a thin halo around Su Chen.

With each hammer fall, the body of the cauldron would hum and rotate once.

Su Chen kept his eyes glued to his status panel. The moment the words "Completed" appeared next to the requirement, he didn’t hesitate and immediately took the profession.

"Stop!"

Jiao Beiluo, who had been observing Su Chen’s condition, suddenly barked the order. Guan Lin, who was just getting into the swing of things, froze his movements. The hammer stopped abruptly above his head, causing him to stagger.

He looked down and saw the phantom cauldron coiled around Su Chen begin to tremble violently. It then contracted inward, gradually sinking into Su Chen’s body.

THUMP!

The thrum of his heart pierced their eardrums like a war drum. It was a dull, thunderous roar that sent fine ripples across the stone floor. Everyone present held their breath.

A Red Gold halo appeared around Su Chen. The sound of his blood flowing was like molten mercury pouring onto a jade plate. A translucent blood-mist spread out—it was his vital energy, so dense it had almost materialized.

Master Wang, who specialized in biological materials, had a silver glint in his pupils. His expression was one of astonishment. "Such a drastic physical transformation! What in the world is this profession? Can a profession achievable at Tier Six really be this powerful?"

"What’s going on?" Jiao Beiluo couldn’t help but ask, his curiosity piqued.

Master Wang’s eyes flickered. After considering numerous technical terms, he finally offered a single sentence: "You could imagine it as this profession forcibly turning a basin into a bucket."

’This hurts too much...’ Su Chen thought, gritting his teeth. He clenched his jaw so tightly that the coppery taste of blood seeped from between his teeth. His heart felt as if it were being forcibly stuffed with some substance, growing stronger and stronger. The veins beneath his skin bulged and knotted, the dark, bluish-black vessels writhing like living things.

He could almost perceive the wail of every single cell as it was forcibly stretched to its limit.

He had carefully selected the three professions used to synthesize Cauldron Maker. All of them increased his total Physical Strength, and the physical modifications they caused were quite drastic.

The surrounding blood-mist roiled. After a long time, it finally calmed and receded.

[You have successfully become a Cauldron Maker. Gained ability—Cauldron Foundation: Physical Strength increased by 600%.]

[Gained additional bonus—Physical Strength increased by 200%.]

The physical pain gradually faded, replaced by a surging, warm current.

Su Chen looked at the text on his panel and felt that all the pain and torment had been worth it. The ability was so simple and direct—in total, his Physical Strength had been multiplied eightfold.

He felt as if every cell in his body had been solidly compacted. His limbs felt as if they’d been infused with the weight of mountains, filled with inexhaustible strength. He even felt a little estranged from his own body.

With an eight-fold enhancement, he was no longer a "one-pump chump." He could even withstand enhancing a Secret Artifact to Tier Eight for a while.

’And this is before even Melting a Permanent Body. All I’m missing is the Divine Blood. I bet Old Qing will give me the third degree again,’ Su Chen thought, his heart leaping with joy. He opened his eyes to find several pairs of eyes fixed on him, filled with curiosity or astonishment.

He let out a long breath, stood up, and said in a clear voice, "Thank you all for your assistance. Please wait a moment while I prepare a small banquet to express my gratitude for everyone’s help."

"You’re too kind," the crowd replied one after another.

The banquet included everyone, even the assistants Luo Shuhang had brought along. Su Chen expressed his thanks to each of them in turn, and a good time was had by all.

After it was over, Su Chen personally saw them off. The foundation for the forging ritual was left behind; it might come in handy in the future.

The small banquet lasted a little over an hour. After seeing the last person off, Su Chen opened his wristband and glanced at it, his brow furrowing. ’Why hasn’t Old Qing replied yet?’

He had even used the excuse that it was "a matter concerning the Ancient Kings," but Qing Cang still hadn’t responded.

He was only missing the Divine Blood to Melt his Permanent Body, so he wasn’t about to just wait around. He decided to go out and ask around to find out where Qing Cang had gone.

He checked a few places and got an answer from Wei Zhenghong, but it was an unexpected one.

"He left the Sect to escort Qin Yun?" Su Chen’s brow furrowed. ’A step too slow...’ he thought with a sense of helplessness.

But this matter had been decided by the Ancient Kings, so of course they wouldn’t report to him. The timing just couldn’t have been perfect.

Wei Zhenghong invited him to sit and continued, "That’s right. Master Qing left two days ago, escorting Qin Yun to the gathering place agreed upon by the Ancient Kings. Peng King went as well, and that Sun was taken along too."

He had only learned about the matter of the Spirit of Sun after he returned, and it had astonished him for quite some time.

’A gathering place?’ Su Chen’s heart stirred. On second thought, he realized, ’It’s not necessarily a missed opportunity. The Ancient Kings need to meet up first, but the gathering point is at varying distances from each of them. They won’t all arrive at the same time.’

’Besides, Old Qing has to travel too. With the power of an Ancient King, he might even arrive first despite starting later.’

"Are you looking for Master Qing for something urgent?" Wei Zhenghong couldn’t help but ask, noticing Su Chen’s apparent haste.

Su Chen glanced at him and said helplessly, "He promised to allocate me five drops of the Blood of the Deceitful God. Now that he’s gone, I’m worried about who to ask for it."

"Five drops of the Blood of the Deceitful God?" Wei Zhenghong was taken aback and asked subconsciously, "What do you need the Blood of the Deceitful God for?"

"Er..." Su Chen hesitated. But Wei Zhenghong was clearly more tactful than Qing Cang—perhaps because he was a peer rather than an elder—and immediately waved his hand. "Just asking casually."

"However, if you need to requisition Divine Blood, you could go find Senior Brother Chang. He’s in charge of logistics. I’ll take you."

The head of logistics, Chang Youqi, was a student of Chu Lingyuan. His promotion to this position was, in a way, related to Su Chen.

The previous head of logistics had been a student of Qin Yun. Because he had tried to assassinate Su Chen, he was personally eliminated by an Ancient King.

’Tsk, Old Qing being gone might not be a bad thing. At least other people won’t be too nosy,’ Su Chen muttered to himself as he followed Wei Zhenghong.

The reason he hadn’t mentioned the Divine Blood during his last meeting with Qing Cang was because he had just requisitioned some. To ask for another five drops right away, Qing Cang would definitely have a lot of questions.

He had already been prepared, if it came down to it, to just let Qing Cang watch him perform the Melting Holy Profession. That shouldn’t have been a huge problem.

But now, it seemed he didn’t have to worry about that.

Wei Zhenghong led him to the logistics department. To Su Chen’s surprise, this Senior Brother Chang was a lean, middle-aged man.

’Why isn’t he fat?’ Su Chen was a bit surprised.

When Chang Youqi heard the purpose of Su Chen’s visit, his eyes flickered. He asked doubtfully, "Five drops of Divine Blood? Junior Master Qing Cang didn’t mention it to me before he left."

Su Chen raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to explain, he heard the other man muse, "He was probably in a hurry and forgot."

Su Chen closed the mouth he had just opened. ’There are benefits to having a higher status. Others don’t suspect you of lying.’

"Since Junior Master Qing Cang has already approved it, please wait here for a moment, Little Junior Master." As Chang Youqi was leaving, he suddenly asked, "By the way, what does Little Junior Master need this Divine Blood for?"

After asking, he added an explanation, "It’s mainly for the record, to note its use."

Su Chen thought for a moment and said, "Just write ’Melting Holy Profession’."

A flash of astonishment passed through Chang Youqi’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything more, just nodded and left.

Wei Zhenghong, however, couldn’t hold back. "You’re advancing to Tier Seven? No, that’s not right. Didn’t you just Melt a Holy Profession? Where did you get so many professions to Melt?"

"Just preparing, just preparing," Su Chen said evasively.

Wei Zhenghong looked like he wanted to say more, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask further.