Chapter 158 — Hammering a Calamity Into a Divine Artifact
The arena had never been so still.
Every disciple held their breath as Lin lifted his hammer for the finishing blow. Gravity bowed. Space shivered. The air folded inward like cloth being drawn into a vortex.
Then—
Lin froze.
Not from fear.
Not from hesitation.
But because something shifted.
Something profound.
His hammer didn't simply resonate with law energy—
it sang.
A deep, ancient hum vibrated through the arena, through the earth, through the Ancestor's immobilized flesh.
Elder Rowan's eyes snapped open.
> "Th-that resonance—
That's… that's divine-rank forging pressure!"
The Sect Master's smile grew slightly.
Tian blinked.
And Lin's eyes widened in realization.
My attacks…
They resemble forging blows.
But not mortal forging. Not even celestial forging.
This is the resonance of divine creation.
He lowered his hammer slightly, breath steadying.
Then he reached out with his spiritual sense and touched Tian's consciousness.
---
1. The Unspoken Proposal
Lin → Tian:
"Can you follow my rhythm?"
Tian's aura flickered in shock.
Tian:
"Follow your—? Lin, what are you doing? This is a duel!"
Lin's eyes sharpened.
Lin:
"Look deeper. My blows… they're imprinting law. If we sync our attacks—gravity and lightning—
we might be able to do what no one has ever attempted."
Tian's breath caught.
He understood instantly.
Lin wasn't talking about killing the Ancestor.
He was talking about forging it.
Forging a pseudo-demigod creature of abyssal origin—
into an artifact.
That task would normally require:
a divine forge
divine fire
divine materials
a divine body
And a smith close to godhood.
Instead…
Two disciples in the middle of a duel were suggesting it.
Tian's answer came back like a thunderclap.
Tian:
"I'll match your rhythm. Let's forge a monster."
---
2. The Sect Master Intervenes
Before they could begin, the Sect Master raised a single finger.
Lin and Tian froze.
Had they overstepped?
Had they insulted the arena?
But instead, the Sect Master's voice echoed like rolling thunder:
> "So you two intend to use a living pseudo-demigod abyssal beast as forging material?"
He said it like someone remarking on the weather.
Tian swallowed.
Lin kept his composure.
The Sect Master's mouth curved upward.
> "Very well."
His finger flicked outward—
And the entire arena lit up with a massive, golden formation.
> "I will stabilize the body.
Do not die.
Do not fail.
And do not disappoint me."
Lin bowed deeply.
Tian bowed even deeper.
The Sect Master clasped his hands behind his back, eyes gleaming with interest.
> "Begin."
---
3. The Ancestor's Terror Peaks
Within the Ancestor's frozen mind, terror reached hysterical levels.
"WHAT—WHAT ARE THEY DOING—?
NO—NOT THIS—NOT THIS—
I AM A LORD OF THE ABYSS—NOT A MATERIAL—NOT AN INGOT—!!!"
It tried to struggle.
It tried to roar.
It tried to activate abyssal laws.
But the Sect Master's seal held firm.
It could not move.
It could not escape.
It could only watch—
as Lin and Tian positioned themselves like master smiths before an anvil.
---
4. The Duel Becomes a Divine Forge
4.1 Lin Begins the Process — Gravity Becomes Fire
Lin inhaled.
Gravity surged from him in waves—
compressing the air
tightening the space
dragging the Ancestor's flesh inward
distorting the arena floor.
Black sparks—
the compressed points of collapsing space—
flickered around his hammer.
It resembled neither fire nor lightning nor aura.
It resembled creation and destruction intertwined.
Rowan nearly collapsed.
> "This… this is impossible.
A mortal forging a divine creature—using reality as the furnace—
This should not be possible!"
The Sect Master chuckled softly.
> "The impossible is simply what waits for a suitable fool."
---
4.2 Tian Activates His Divine Lightning
Tian leapt into the air.
Lightning erupted around him in an oceanic flood.
BOOOOM—KRAAAAAAK—!!!
A sun of lightning condensed at the head of his hammer.
His bloodline flared fully—
an aura of primordial thunder coursing through his veins.
He shouted:
> "SKY-ANVIL — DIVINE TEMPERING!!"
---
4.3 Their First Combined Strike
Lin swung downward.
Tian swung upward.
Their hammers met at the same point—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The Ancestor's body dented inward like heated metal struck by master forgers.
Divine resonance filled the arena.
The formation lines glowed.
The Ancestor screamed:
"STOP—STOP—STOP—
YOU CANNOT FORGE ME—
I AM NOT—AN OBJECT—!!!"
But reality disagreed.
Its flesh softened.
Its abyssal energy compressed.
Its existence bent—
shaped by hammer and lightning.
---
5. The Sect Watches in Awe
Direct disciples trembled.
Core disciples were speechless.
Elders leaned forward, hands shaking.
> "Are we… watching the birth of a divine artifact?"
> "But—these boys—they're not even true blacksmith elders yet!"
> "This can't be real… can it?"
Rowan whispered—voice cracking:
> "This—
This is what forging looks like
when Destiny itself is the furnace…"
The Sect Master said:
> "Watch carefully.
Such chances appear once in ten thousand years."
---
6. The Final Stage — Spirit Refinement
Lin and Tian stepped back.
The Ancestor's form had shrunk—
from a titanic abyssal monstrosity
to something humanoid, condensed, glowing faintly red from heat and lightning.
Its body no longer resembled flesh.
It resembled molten ore, shaped into a new existence.
Lin raised his hammer.
Tian mirrored him.
Then, together:
> "FORGE!"
Their final strike fell.
KAAAAAAAAAAAAA—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
The arena turned white.
Then black.
Then gold.
When the light faded—
A single figure floated in the air.
No longer the Abyssal Ancestor—
but a humanoid frame of dark metal and swirling abyssal patterns, its core glowing with divine-grade spiritual consciousness.
A newly born, forcibly forged—
Divine Artifact Spirit.
It opened its eyes.
Black and silver.
Confused.
Awakening.
Bound by its forging origin.
It spoke one word.
> "…Master?"
And it looked directly at—
Lin.
---
7. Ending
Gasps exploded around the arena.
Tian choked on air.
The Sect Master laughed quietly.
Lin stared, expression unreadable—
stunned at the impossible outcome.
Internally—
"By the heavens…
I forged a pseudo-demigod into a divine artifact."
Externally—
He simply lowered his hammer.
Tian whispered:
> "…So… who wins now?"
The Sect Master smiled.
> "We haven't evaluated the damage yet."
The newly forged divine spirit turned its head with a metallic creak and asked softly:
> "Master…
Shall I demonstrate my power?"