Of course, that was only the power of the third bolt. If more followed, their exact strength was hard to say.
Even so, Chen Xin believed that since Chu Chengzhou dared to draw lightning onto himself, he was confident he could handle it. Even if something went wrong, it should not lead to irreparable consequences.
Rumble!
The fourth four-colored tribulation fell. After Chu Chengzhou's conversion, four-colored light surged like a tide into the forming pair of Heavy Silver hammers.
Seeing this, soul power brilliance flared around Chu Chengzhou, and a vast light-and-shadow spread out behind him.
Within the light-and-shadow a clear figure appeared. It was himself.
In the scene, Chu Chengzhou wielded massive twin hammers. One blow fell—radiance extended outward. A second blow—life first appeared. A third blow—wisdom was born.
That artistic conception of Creation, as if birthing life, appeared right behind Chu Chengzhou.
Very soon the vision collapsed with a roar, turning into motes of light that merged from all directions into the four-colored Heavy Silver hammers.
At once, a strange feeling arose.
In that moment, to Ning Fengzhi and the others, the Heavy Silver twin hammers floating before Chu Chengzhou—plain hammers forged from Heavy Silver, a rare metal worth money but not overly precious—now seemed like Creation artifacts that could engender life and enlighten all things.
"Creation indeed. A great Creation."
Fang Quan could not help but sigh.
This time, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong did not fault Fang Quan for being excitable. They all nodded in unison.
Leaving other things aside, that lofty aura of Creation alone multiplied the value of these two Heavy Silver hammers countless times.
Especially Ning Fengzhi. Even without releasing his martial soul, his Eight Treasures Glazed Pagoda still warned him that this pair of hammers was an exceedingly rare treasure of the world. Among all the treasures he had seen in his life, his martial soul judged it the second most valuable.
As for the most valuable?
None other than the former Heaven Dou Empire national treasure, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
Even the ninety-thousand-year legacy soul bone passed down by sect forebears was inferior to these twin hammers.
Of course, measured by a human Spirit Master's values, Ning Fengzhi could not say for sure whether this Heavenly Refined metal was higher or the ninety-thousand-year legacy soul bone was higher.
One thing was certain: this Heavenly Refined metal was extremely formidable.
It was a pity that soul tool technology had long been lost on the continent. Without soul tool technology, no matter how good the material, its advantages were hard to bring out.
At this moment, the four-colored light around Chu Chengzhou and the elemental tribulation clouds in the sky gradually dispersed.
In the instant after the Creation intent blossomed, the Heavy Silver twin hammers simultaneously drew in their radiance and flew into Chu Chengzhou's hands, no longer interwoven yellow, blue, red, and cyan but returning to their original silver-gray.
At a glance, the Heavenly Refined Heavy Silver hammers did not look much different from the previous Soul-Refined pair.
But Chu Chengzhou knew they had undergone earth-shaking change.
Indeed, after infusing elemental energy and undergoing the baptism of elemental tribulation, the Heavenly Refined Heavy Silver had fundamentally diverged from ordinary Heavy Silver and become an entirely new metal.
Looking at the Heavenly Refined Heavy Silver hammers in his hands, with spirit power greatly spent, Chu Chengzhou gave a satisfied nod.
"Why not… call them the Four Symbols Heavy Silver Hammers?"
He silently chose a name for the Heavenly Refined pair.
"Kid, does this Heavenly Refinement of yours really have to take lightning strikes?"
Glancing at the Heavy Silver hammers in Chu Chengzhou's hands, Ning Fengzhi stepped forward and asked curiously.
Chu Chengzhou nodded. "Precisely because of the baptism by elemental lightning, Heavenly Refined metal is essentially different from Soul-Refined metal.
"And what I just performed was only the most basic four-element Heavenly Refinement. The more elemental types involved during metal Heavenly Refinement, the stronger the metal's performance after success.
"By the same token, the more elements involved, the greater the power of the elemental tribulation."
"An essential difference? By that logic, your Heavy Silver hammers are no longer Heavy Silver?"
Ning Fengzhi raised a brow, his expression a bit odd.
"Ahem. Calling it Heavy Silver is still correct, but it is indeed different from ordinary Heavy Silver."
Chu Chengzhou looked slightly embarrassed.
Was Heavenly Refined metal strong?
Very. But only if it was made into later-era four-word battle armor, or at least made into soul tools.
Otherwise, as raw material alone, its advantage over ordinary rare metals was limited.
At the end of the day, without matching soul tool arrays, even as the sole Divine Craftsman of this age, his status on the continent might not match that of later-era Spirit Refinement grandmasters.
Hmph. Tomorrow I will head to the Sun Moon Continent, rekindle soul tool technology, and let these bumpkins see the gold content of the sole Divine Craftsman of this age.
"Right. If Heavenly Refined metal is made into armor, how much strength can it boost?"
Suddenly, Ning Fengzhi grew serious.
Back then Chu Chengzhou had made him a set of Soul-Refined Blue-Gold armor. For him as an eight-ring Spirit Douluo, it increased spirit power attributes by 20% and did not conflict with soul skill amplification effects.
And not just for him. Even for Titled Douluo like Chen Xin and Gu Rong, the Soul-Refined Blue-Gold armor provided a 15% spirit power boost, and the armor itself offered solid defense.
If Blue-Gold armor were forged at the Heavenly Refinement level, that boost would surely be higher.
"Uh, Uncle Ning, this was my first Heavenly Refinement. I cannot say exactly yet.
"And hold off on armor for now. I am heading to a place with a legacy of soul tool technology. I plan to see if I can produce something super formidable."
By "super formidable," he naturally meant battle armor.
It had to be said, later-era battle armor was truly heaven-defying.
One-word battle armor was forged from Thousand Refinements metal. If a five-ring Spirit King could wear a full set of one-word armor, his strength would immediately soar to a seven-ring Spirit Sage.
A six-ring Spirit Emperor wearing two-word Spirit Refinement battle armor would rival an eight-ring Spirit Douluo.
A seven-ring Spirit Sage wearing three-word Soul Refinement battle armor would rival a nine-ring Titled Douluo.
And a nine-ring Titled Douluo wearing four-word Heavenly Refinement battle armor would possess Limit Douluo combat power. It was outright cheating, beyond reason.
Hearing that Chu Chengzhou would be traveling afar, Ning Fengzhi raised his brows and asked, "How long will you be gone, and when will you return? The Fourth Elder will be breaking through soon. I plan to have you lend a hand and make a trip to the sea together."
T/N: For 40 chapters ahead on my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle