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--- Chapter 270 ---
As Han Yuan mentioned, he didn't plan on doing anything tedious after returning from his trip this time.
After getting 8 hours of sleep and a hearty breakfast, he began teaching Qing Lin martial arts while reclining on a rocking chair made from a rare hundred-year-old azure vine. If this were the Douluo Plane, this vine could be a spirit beast.
Qing Lin stood before Han Yuan, entering a horse stance to regulate her breathing. He casually sipped iced tea and commented, "Although Leng Yi has taught you the basics of martial arts, especially breathing, she hasn't truly delved into it deeply."
"Mm," Qing Lin nodded solemnly in response.
Han Yuan smiled and continued, "At first glance, breathing may seem simple, but it is the foundation of your martial arts. Mastering it is just as crucial as training your body and choosing powerful Dou Techniques."
"Do you know why?" he asked.
"No?" Qing Lin answered, tilting her head.
"Hehe, well, with the proper breathing technique, even a sickly person can dance through an entire winter night without feeling tired, as if they had limitless stamina," Han Yuan said playfully.
'You could even decapitate a giant bear on a cold winter night, a few days before your death, cough, cough.'
"Limitless? Wouldn't Qing Lin be invincible if she mastered the breathing technique?" Qing Lin's eyes lit up with excitement.
Han Yuan chuckled, "Limitless stamina doesn't equal limitless strength, little girl. That's just a metaphor."
Qing Lin froze for a moment, pouting at him. "Hmph, I know that... Metaphor, simple things."
"Yeah, sure..." Han Yuan took another sip of his tea.
"Stop teasing the little girl and teach her properly," Queen Medusa, who was leaning against the wooden frame, laughed at the amusing pair of step-siblings.
"Ah, Brother, you've been teasing Qing Lin all this time. You're so mean, hmph!" Qing Lin exclaimed, flustered and waving her little fist angrily.
Han Yuan smiled, "I can't help it. Qing Lin is adorable, after all."
"Adorable, hehe, Qing Lin is adorable." Hearing Han Yuan's praise, Qing Lin immediately forgave him, giggling as she covered her blushing face.
'What the hell? This girl is so easy to please!' Queen Medusa thought, speechless. 'If Han Yuan asked her to do something bad, she might agree right away.'
"Hmm, why do I feel like you're thinking something inappropriate about me, Medusa?" Han Yuan narrowed his eyes at the queen of the snake-people.
Queen Medusa's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and replied, "I have no idea what you're thinking. This queen would never entertain such thoughts."
'Inconceivable! Aren't women supposed to have this kind of instinct? What's wrong with him?' Medusa thought, baffled.
Usually, it would be a woman who would bring up issues like this in annoyance, but Han Yuan had somehow flipped the scenario, leaving Queen Medusa speechless.
Ignoring her, Han Yuan continued teaching Qing Lin the breathing technique, which not only tempered her body but also strengthened her control over it.
Additionally, Han Yuan secretly performed the Earthly Nourishment Sutra to enhance Qing Lin's malnourished body. Her meridians are now wider, stronger, and more suited for cultivating both Dou Qi and spirit energy.
After all, Qing Lin had chosen the path of Dual Cultivation.
Of course, not that kind of 'Dual Cultivation,' you perverts!
After Qing Lin was busy with her training, Han Yuan finally paid attention to the lewd snake, I mean, Queen Medusa. "I already promised to purify your Heaven Swallowing Python's bloodline, let's do it right now."
"Eh, like literally, right now?" Queen Medusa was surprised. She thought Han Yuan needed some preparations.
Han Yuan's mouth twitched. "Okay, don't make it sound weird."
"Fufufu~!" Queen Medusa giggled in return.
With that, Queen Medusa obediently sat before Han Yuan. Of course, she had to reveal her charms by taking off her outerwear. Unfortunately, it wasn't her dress but simply her coat.
Even then, taking off this coat revealed her skin considerably, and also unsealed those bombastic weapons.
'God damn, snake queen, more like snake demon ness...' Han Yuan stared at her respectfully before coughing a few times. "Let's start."
Queen Medusa likes that Han Yuan showed some reaction and laughed softly while leaning forward to stretch her body. "Hehe, let's start."
Han Yuan shook his head helplessly and summoned Enma, telling the Ten Thousand Beast Flame to use its power to cleanse Heaven Swallowing Python's bloodline inside Queen Medusa.
The blood-colored kitten nodded and then meowed, 'My flame is very hot, endure it, okay?'
Queen Medusa seemed to understand the Heavenly Flame's gesture and nodded solemnly, "Understood."
"..." Han Yuan.
Thus, Enma covered Queen Medusa's body with blood-colored flame and then purified her bloodline by burning it low and slow. At first, she wasn't troubled by the searing sensation, but shortly after, she groaned softly and sweetly.
Han Yuan's body tingled slightly, murmuring, 'What a sinful woman. Hmph, you underestimated my willpower.' He made a soundproof barrier around Queen Medusa and then focused on another matter.
Even though Han Yuan said he wouldn't do tedious stuff, that doesn't mean he wouldn't experiment with some of the side projects, one of which is naturally Artifact Refining.
Now that he wielded four Heavenly Flames, he wanted to experiment with Artifact Refining. He already obtained some books about it, thanks to Gu Xun'er, who provided him with so many miscellaneous books from her clan.
Too bad the Art of Ancient Refining Technique has long disappeared.
Although there are some Artifact Refiners here and there in the Central Regions, their skills are far from complete. What makes things worse is that Artifact Refiners are a truly cumbersome profession compared to Alchemists, who are more popular.
Then, Han Yuan had a bright idea to revive Refiner using the blacksmith template from Douluo Plane 20,000 years into the future, which allowed Divine Craftsman to forge Divine-Class Armor and Weapon.
Of course, Ultra Divine Tool is out of the question. Even Tang San needed to harvest a monumental amount of faith and plot over Douluo Planet to raise his Sea God's Trident to the Ultra Divine Tool, which shows just how difficult it was.
Anyway, enough about that trash, back to fusing the blacksmith template from the third book of Douluo Dalu into Art of Refining.
First, you might wonder how Han Yuan got his hands on this blacksmith template. Well, the answer is simple: Task System!
After completing a series of self-challenging tasks in this new world, the rewards Han Yuan could get depended on his desire, whether it was dou techniques or insight. So, Han Yuan obtained most of his future 'technical' knowledge from this.
While it wasn't as good as having a good teacher teaching him the skill, Han Yuan's talents weren't bad; in fact, he could master all the knowledge he obtained, albeit by cheating his way out of it.
"Blacksmiths in Douluo Dalu 3 or Legend of the Dragon King have nine ranks, 1st being the lowest and 9th being the highest." He took a few things from the Sky Poison Pearl. They are an anvil and a silver-colored hammer.
"The first stage of becoming a blacksmith is a hundred refinements."
Han Yuan started melting some ordinary scraps of iron with his Dou Qi, purifying it.
He tapped the hot iron gently with the silver-colored hammer, "At the first stage, a hundred refinements could only purify the base material and make it denser, but it did not increase its quality."
"The second stage is a thousand refinements." Han Yuan tapped the hundred-refinement iron on the anvil again, reducing its size, yet its quality had risen by a whole other rank.
Calling it Divine Iron wouldn't be wrong.
"The third stage connected to the previous stage, but this time, the blacksmith may infuse their will, energy, or blood into the forged metals and bestow spirit into them."
"Depend on the blacksmith's skill, the forged metal may develop 'spirit' or only 'half-awakening' it."
"This stage is called Spirit Refinements." Han Yuan infused the Divine Iron with his will, energy, and a drop of his blood. Sure enough, the Divine Iron changed and gained a silver-like luster all over it.
"The fourth stage is Life Refinement, bestowing life into the forged metal and truly making a living organism. For others, this stage might be tough, but for me, with the Ultimate Life attribute, it was as easy as breathing."
"Respond to me, little fellow." Han Yuan smiled, infusing his rich life force into the Divine Iron while tapping it with his hammer. A green halo burst from the metal, resonating with him.
Han Yuan closed his eyes and slowly continued tapping the Divine Iron, "The fifth stage is Soul Refinement, bestowing or developing the forged metal's intelligence."
"This stage is even easier than the previous one because, as the Master of Souls, I can grant a newborn soul to things."
"Souls, Rise!" With a single command from Han Yuan, the scattered soul forces in the air infused into the Divine Iron, helping it develop a newborn wisdom.
Even though the Divine Iron couldn't form a coherent thought to respond to Han Yuan's question, it has the innate wisdom of an intelligent lifeform now.
If the blacksmiths in the Douluo Dalu 3 watched what Han Yuan had done, their jaws would drop immediately.
Don't forget that the 'metal' Han Yuan refined is an ordinary, worthless scrap of iron a moment ago. Yet, it has become a living metal now.
However, the surprise is far from over.
Han Yuan gazed at the sky, "The next and final stage is Heavenly Refinements."
"At this stage, the blacksmith guides the power of heaven and earth to turn the forged metal into an advanced lifeform, a metal spirit that is in tune with the world, which in return, triggers Lightning Calamity."
"The Lightning Calamity is 'naturally' based on elemental powers in the Douluo Plane, and the color of it will affect the forged metal's element."
"Still, I doubt the laws of the Dou Qi Plane will be the same as that."
Han Yuan stared at the silver-colored clump on the anvil, "You're either very lucky or unlucky for being my first forged Divine Metal, but we will see about it."
Guiding Heaven and Earth energy wasn't hard for Han Yuan. Even without the Heavenly Demon's powers, he could still draw it using his spiritual power and the Earthly Nourishment Sutra.
"Let's see..." Han Yuan blessed the Divine Iron with the energy of heaven and earth, but the Lightning Calamity was nowhere to be seen, causing him to sigh in disappointment.
"The sky didn't even darken a bit."
"I am truly sorry for you..." He pitied his first creation.
Suddenly, Typhon and Terra came out of Han Yuan's body and gazed at the 'Divine Iron' on the anvil. They glanced at each other and nodded before guiding the power of heaven and earth using their conceptual power as Heavenly Flame.
"Hmm, what are you guys doing?" Han Yuan asked.
'Blessing!' 2x.
The two Heavenly Flames cooperated, mimicking the Lightning Tribulation that would happen to 7th-Rank Pills and above on the Divine Iron.
Purple-colored lightning spewed by the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame, or Typhon.
Ding!
After that, the Divine Iron's potential not only rose but also obtained an additional purple lightning pattern over it.
The Divine Iron floated in the air and landed on Han Yuan's palm, nuzzling intimately. Using the Eyes of Truth on it, he finally knew why this fellow couldn't trigger Lightning Calamity.
...
[Name: Heavenly Iron of Lightning]
[Grade: Rank 6.9 (Quasi-Divine Metal)]
[Type: Refined Metal]
[Description: The Heavenly Iron of Lightning was once an ordinary pile of scrap iron. However, it was fortunate enough to be refined by the Son of Destiny. It underwent six types of refinements: Hundred, Thousand (Half-Spirit), Ten Thousand (Spirit), Life, Soul, and finally, Heavenly. Yet, due to its low potential, it couldn't surpass the limitations of iron. Fortunately, it received the blessings of two natural forces—the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame—elevating its low potential. It led to an artificial Lightning Calamity, transforming it into Quasi-Divine Metal in the Dou Qi Plane. Yes, the first of its kind. Not only that, it is a nearly god-level material for refining artifacts, granting a powerful lightning element to the 'final' products.]
...
"So, that's why..." Han Yuan caressed the Heavenly Iron of Lightning with a smile.
"You're not a failure, but my first masterpiece."
"It's a shame to leave you in the Sky Poison Pearl and gather dust. So, I will make you into an artifact."
Zzt!
The Quasi-Divine Metal trembled in excitement.
Unknown to Han Yuan, his 'heaven-defying' deed didn't go unnoticed by the people surrounding him.
Queen Medusa had long finished her first session of bloodline purification and watched Han Yuan's deeds in disbelief.
She didn't understand blacksmithing or artifact refining.
Yet, her instinct as the Heaven Swallowing Python tells her the Heavenly Iron of Lightning is an epoch-making creation, something that could change the world by being born alone.
She pressed her hands against her bountiful chest and bit her lips helplessly, "Even when lazing around, Han Yuan is not ordinary..."
Words can't describe Queen Medusa's feelings.