Nothing fuels motivation like earnest thought, experimentation, and tangible results.
Tetsu no Sosuke felt like a perpetual motion machine!
Though Sun Breathing placed immense strain on his body, he persevered.
Of course, he needed to rest periodically.
Otherwise, he'd easily work himself to death.
After a full day's relentless effort, he had completely purged the impurities from the iron ingot in his hand.
But the real cause for celebration was this: as he used Sun Breathing more frequently during the forging process, his physical attributes like constitution and strength improved, and his control over the hammer's impact points became significantly more precise.
What had started as one or two prompts had increased to five or six, and on one occasion, he even heard more than eight.
This gave him a distinct feeling.
Through the Sun Breathing forging method, he wasn't just refining the iron; he was also gradually purging impurities from himself.
With persistent effort, he believed that one day he would achieve perfect success with every strike of the hammer.
"This forging technique far surpasses any I've used before," Sosuke mused one night as he sat on a chair, gnawing on a plain rice ball. "It deserves a proper name. But considering my naming skills... hmm, I'll have to put some thought into it. Since it imbues the sword with the Yang Flame attribute, how about 'Sun Hammer Technique'? That doesn't sound quite right, and it clashes with the name of my first blade. Let's see... Ah, since it's derived from Sun Breathing, why not call it... 'Sun Hammer Technique'?" (This is intentional)
Sun or Sun?
Scratching his head, Sosuke grew increasingly frustrated with his naming abilities.
After racking his brains, he finally made a decision: "Let's call it Gale Sun! The Gale Sun Hammer Technique! Like a fierce windstorm accompanied by the blazing sun, the name captures its essence perfectly. However, if Sun Breathing is to be applied to forging, it should naturally give rise to other corresponding hammer techniques. Hmm, let's add a prefix... First Form! Hmm... why does it sound like a sword technique? Speaking of which, if the creator of Sun Breathing knew that I, a descendant, would use it for forging, I wonder if they'd be able to stay in their coffin?"
The thought brought a wry smile to his face.
He took a bite of his rice ball, but suddenly, an image flashed through his mind: Kanae, taking small bites of her own rice ball.
A momentary tenderness welled up in his eyes, but he quickly shook his head. "I can't think about that now!"
Yet sometimes, the world works like this: the more you try to suppress a thought, the more stubbornly it clings to your mind.
As he pondered, his thoughts drifted back to that sudden confession.
His cheeks flushed slightly.
He scratched his head, a hint of confusion creeping in. "Come to think of it, we've only known each other for a few days. How did things suddenly escalate like this? It all started that night at the hot spring... Did I already...? Hmm, could this be the legendary 'love at first sight'? Ugh! What nonsense! There's no such thing as love at first sight in this world. It's just lust at first sight!"
Yet, as his thoughts shifted, a touch of melancholy settled in his heart. "Lust at first sight it is, then. It's already happened. What else can I do? Next time we meet, I'll definitely ask you what you're really thinking. This limbo is really starting to get to me."
He patted his cheeks, mentally tucking away these tangled thoughts into a small box in his mind. He closed the lid, locked it tight, and temporarily sealed it away.
Clearing the rice balls from his desk, he decided to sleep.
He was utterly exhausted, having not closed his eyes since the previous night.
Using Sun Breathing all day had left him utterly drained, like a lamp flickering on its last drop of oil.
After cleaning up, he collapsed onto the bed and was unconscious within seconds.
The next morning, before the sky had even begun to lighten, he crawled out of bed, hastily ate a bite, and strode out of the room.
"Every second counts! No slacking!"
He stretched his arms, feeling fully refreshed after a good night's sleep, his energy completely restored.
He glanced at the whetstone on the ground, hesitated for a moment, then walked over, wrapped his arms around it, and effortlessly lifted it high above his head.
"As expected."
He wasn't surprised; his Golden Finger never lied.
His physique, strength, speed, and agility were all improving.
After setting the whetstone down, he lit the furnace and fed the purified iron into the flames.
"If all goes well, in three days at most... I should be able to deliver the sword to her."
He focused intently on the gauge, the bellows pumping, flames roaring.
Soon, he pulled the glowing-red iron from the furnace, clamped it onto the anvil, gripped the forging hammer in his right hand, raised it high, but hesitated to strike.
"This stage is critical. The Gale Sun Hammer is too fast, and my control is still lacking. I could easily lose control and fail. So, I can't use it now. I'll try the standard forging method first..."
Having made his decision, Sosuke brought the hammer down in the next instant.
[Resilience +1]
[Yang Flame -1]
With just that one strike, Sosuke froze in place.
"Yang Flame... decreased?"
"Why did the Yang Flame decrease? Is it because I didn't use the Gale Sun Hammer?"
"But if I use it, the excessive speed might cause this step to fail."
"Yet if I don't use it, the Yang Flame attribute will decrease? Although I still don't know exactly what kind of attribute Yang Flame is, since it's derived from Sun Breathing, it must be something extraordinary. I've painstakingly accumulated so little of it over such a long time. If I lose it all at this stage, it would be such a waste."
"What do I do?"
'A solution... there had to be one!'
Sosuke took a deep breath. "Slow down!"
Using Sun Breathing inevitably led to a tempestuous surge of power.
But he had to force himself to slow down. Even as his blood raced and his heart pounded like a drum, he had to compel his hands and feet to move deliberately, slowly.
This would inevitably create a disharmony within his body, like the clash of ice and fire.
His heart burned with fury, yet his hands held ice.
"No matter what, I have to try! I can't let all my efforts be for nothing!"
He inhaled sharply, channeling Sun Breathing once more. In the next instant, the forging hammer rose high, but it didn't fall.
A strange sensation washed over him. He knew that if the hammer fell, it would trigger some mechanism, unleashing a relentless, unstoppable storm.
"Control! I have to maintain control!"
He could feel the blood boiling and roaring within him, as if a wild beast were about to break free from its cage in his heart.
"If I can't even subdue you... what hope do I have of saving anything?!"
Sosuke's eyes burned crimson as the forging hammer descended slowly, as if meeting some invisible resistance.
A series of roars and howls echoed within his mind, and a thin trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, the forging hammer crashed down with a thunderous boom.
Clang!
[Resilience +10]
[Yang Flame +2]
[Strength +5]
[Constitution +3]
As the notifications chimed, a shattering sound reverberated in his ears.
"What... broke?"
Sosuke's eyes held a dazed expression.