Qian Jin stood before the forging anvil, reaching for the blacksmith's hammer resting nearby, when he suddenly felt the surrounding gravity shift violently.

Onefold... twofold... fivefold... What was this? Qian Jin looked down at his feet, his eyes wide with shock, nearly popping from their sockets. This... wasn't this the gravity manipulation console magic device made by Teacher Aknash?

What? How could this thing be here?

"Never mind that. Continue your hammering."

Uncle Blake’s calm yet commanding tone instantly made Qian Jin understand. This blacksmith master had actually gone to the trouble of acquiring Teacher Aknash’s gravity control console for his sake.

A wave of emotion instantly flooded Qian Jin’s body. He entered this endless world almost daily, receiving the most sincere, serious, and caring guidance from every teacher, yet he had overlooked something crucial.

He had taken these teachers' kindness for granted! He hadn't even spared a thought of gratitude; he had merely viewed this place as a location—a tool, even—where he could enhance all aspects of his strength.

For such a long time, years in fact! Qian Jin realized that all he had done here was take; there had been no contribution on his part, nor had he ever shown concern for the teachers. He just assumed it was owed to him.

"Great Mach..."

For the first time, Qian Jin defied Uncle Blake’s instruction to keep forging. He picked up the hammer and walked slowly toward Blake, his eyes holding a misty, hazy look as he finally regarded the figure of Uncle Blake with a sliver of curiosity.

"Great..." Qian Jin stood before Blake and crouched down, meeting the old blacksmith’s gaze eye-to-eye. "Is there anything I can do for you? What exactly is this place? Why do you live here? You..."

"Go forge."

Blake’s voice, always placid, held an extremely faint change—so subtle that Qian Jin would have missed it had he not been paying close attention.

It was happiness! That special tone only surfaces when someone is pleased. However, the old man delivered it with a tone of forced impatience, desperately masking the joy that came from being cared for.

Qian Jin paused, staring at Blake’s expression. He slowly stood up, picked up the hammer, and turned back toward the forge. Since the Uncle didn't wish to speak today, he shouldn't press further. But from now on, every time he entered this endless world, he would find a way to ask the various teachers.

Only knowing how to take and never how to repay the guidance these teachers offered filled Qian Jin with a profound sense of shame. There weren't many people who were truly good to him in this world, and yet, the teachers here were all so kind, and he had completely ignored them.

Gravity surged again! Qian Jin discovered that fivefold gravity meant almost nothing to his body. Though the rotation speed within his $\text{[Body]}$ Dou Qi would turn with some stiffness, it wouldn't truly impede its circulation. Only this hammer in his hand...

Heavy! Truly heavy! A small hammer felt like lifting an elephant empty-handed—the exertion was immense. Forging under this condition... even with ten lives, one would be exhausted to death!

Uncle Blake showed no intention of reducing the gravity from the fivefold setting on the magic device. Qian Jin could only grit his teeth, operate the Forging Breathing Technique, and swing the hammer. The power of the scorching flames felt even harder to absorb than usual, as if something was forcefully pressing down on the heat, preventing it from replenishing Qian Jin.

Clang! The heavy hammer struck the glowing metal, releasing brilliant sparks of fire. Qian Jin felt an ineffable pain, not merely physical fatigue. Using the blacksmith’s hammer under five times gravity increased the requirement for precise force control by more than ten times!

The fourth strike of the Eighteen Peaks Hammer was completely distorted! Yet, the growth in proficiency was far greater than at any other time previously. Such performance under this difficulty was already remarkable!

With just one hammer blow, Qian Jin spotted the errors he had made while practicing the fourth strike of the Eighteen Peaks Hammer just days before. Those mistakes had been hidden so subtly that they were nearly undetectable, until the gravity suddenly intensified, making control extraordinarily difficult, allowing the mistakes to no longer hide.

I see! Qian Jin held the hammer, closed his eyes, and recalled the nuances of the last strike. He finally understood the depth of the Uncle’s help. This wasn't merely about strength training; it was equally beneficial for both technique and Dou Qi.

The second strike... the third strike... the fourth, fifth, sixth, tenth... one hundredth... three hundredth... Qian Jin felt tired, desperately tired!

In the past, at this point, he would still have more than half his stamina remaining; his body would be fully warmed up and most excited. Now, not only was his physical energy nearly depleted, but the usage of the Forging Breathing Technique also consumed his reserves much faster than usual, leaving him almost empty.

Fivefold gravity didn't significantly affect the rotation speed of the Dou Qi, but maintaining such a high rotation speed consumed far more Dou Qi than normal. However, warriors usually don't pay attention to this issue initially; as time passes and Dou Qi gradually depletes, the consumption rate accelerates.

This is the true terror of the Qian Family's Kun-grade Battle Skill! Qian Jin remembered this clearly once, yet he had forgotten it amidst his routine until he stood once again on this bizarre gravity magic device, realizing the problem anew.

The initial consumption of Dou Qi was only onefold the normal rate, but as time passed and Dou Qi leaked away, the consumption rate changed from onefold to twofold, then threefold, then fivefold, just to maintain the high-speed circulation of the Dou Qi.

The Dou Qi in his Dead Soul Aperture was almost gone; he had to rely on the Living Soul Aperture's Dou Qi to sustain the burst required for forging.

However, the rate of consumption was much faster than Qian Jin had anticipated. Before all the power of the Earth Fire Heart could fully recover, his Wind and Cloud Dou Qi dwindled to scarcity, forcing him to hastily switch back to the Forging Breathing Technique.

Hours flew by in an instant. Qian Jin dropped the heavy hammer and sat on the ground, gasping for air. The more powerful the Eighteen Peaks Hammer became, the more Dou Qi it consumed. Despite being a peak warrior among the Nine Demon Slayers, his Dou Qi reserves were already astonishing.

Now, after a session of hammering, the degree of exhaustion was several, even ten, times greater than the fatigue felt during his first forging session here. Sitting on the ground felt too tiring; only by lying flat with his limbs spread wide, like the character 'eight', could he feel the soreness and numbness coursing through his body, like millions of small insects crawling everywhere.

If his body hadn't been accustomed to such extreme fatigue from before, Qian Jin suspected he would have already fainted from sheer exhaustion, his depletion so complete that he didn't even want to breathe.

Rest, rest, and rest again.

Qian Jin slowly recovered his Dou Qi and strength. He noticed Uncle Blake's gaze directed toward him and quickly stood up, walking over to the Uncle. "Uncle, something you need?"

Blake raised his tobacco pipe and pointed it toward the location of Qian Jin’s Earth Fire Heart, saying flatly, "Feel it."

Feel? Feel what? Qian Jin frowned in confusion. He instinctively tried to sense the power of the Earth Fire Heart. Traces of boiling heat churned within it. Besides this scalding heat, the Ice Flame Dou Qi, which had been heavily depleted, was not only significantly replenished but also showed a noticeable improvement compared to before he entered the endless world.

"This..." Qian Jin stared at Blake in surprise. During the forging just now, he hadn't had time to practice his Dou Qi at all. How...?

"The Earth Fire Heart is also known as the Source of Ten Thousand Fires," Blake slowly took a puff from his pipe, exhaling grayish-blue smoke. "Ice Flame is also fire. The Source of Ten Thousand Fires can devour the flames of the world. Naturally, it will improve when entering it. Why bother practicing separately?"

Source of Ten Thousand Fires? Qian Jin stared blankly at the Earth Fire Heart, which seemed to be asleep. He had spent half a day in the Enlak Dou Qi Chamber, painstakingly searching for the complete secret method to cultivate this set of Dou Qi, only to find it had all been in vain.

"In the future, when you encounter Fire-elemental Dou Qi, just use the Forging Breathing Technique—that method of sucking the flame into your body—it will allow you to devour the opponent's flame Dou Qi just as effectively," Blake said uncharacteristically more than a few words. "If the opponent is much stronger than you, don't use it, or it will stuff you to death."

Stuff him to death... Qian Jin wryly pulled at his lips. He had nearly been stuffed to death just a few days ago. "What about magical beasts'..."

"As long as it's fire-attributed, it works," Blake said mildly. "If you want to forge Divine Artifacts, relying solely on those burning flames is impossible. The true key lies with the blacksmith himself."

The blacksmith himself... Qian Jin carefully savored Blake’s words. They were profoundly true! If it weren't for the existence of the Earth Fire Heart, his chances of successfully forging a Soul Weapon last time would have been reduced by tenfold. The Earth Fire Heart! Because of the Earth Fire Heart last time, not only did his endurance become exceptionally long, but he also possessed an advantage in regulating flame temperature that other blacksmiths lacked.

This advantage, Qian Jin realized with a jolt, was something he had never considered until the Uncle spoke today—a massive advantage over many blacksmiths. Now, with the appearance of the Ice Flame Dou Qi, this advantage had multiplied not just tenfold, but by a hundredfold.

The success rate of forging Soul Weapons without Ice Flame Dou Qi versus having it was completely different. Although the success rate was less than one-tenth, it was far higher than before. At the very least, he felt more confident in forging top-tier Battle Weapons, and it would save a great deal of time.

"Although the flames aren't perfect..." Blake tapped his tobacco pipe on the ground. "You should be able to forge Super Battle Weapons now."

Super Battle Weapons? Qian Jin had never heard such a strange term. He had read many notes in Uncle Blake's room and had never encountered this word.

"How vast is the gap between Battle Weapons and Soul Weapons?"

Hearing Blake's question, Qian Jin fell into deep thought. The difference between Battle Weapons and Soul Weapons was the disparity between the massive Western Mountains of the endless world and any random small hill in the True Policy Dynasty.