I'm not just human!

Chapter 307 The Rhine Blade is finally in hand! The secret of the Old Ones?

Chapter 307 The Rhine Blade is finally in hand! The secret of the Old Ones? (Part 1)

The deafening bang sounded like it had struck countless thin, crisp popcorn kernels.

Xia Fa witnessed firsthand how the hundreds of weapon-shaped materials for forging secret treasures on the anvil, with his sudden burst of inspiration and the blow of his hammer, actually—

Surprisingly—

They were all smashed to pieces!

Countless fragments flew everywhere, many even hitting the light shield and then bouncing back, with quite a few even bouncing onto Xia Fa's body.

However, even though these fragments came from supernatural creatures of elephant, whale, or even demigod level, they were completely unable to pierce Xiafa's skin. They only created a slight ripple before crashing to the ground.

Now that he has signed four overlord-level secret contracts, his physical strength is beyond what can be judged by ordinary standards.

"Holy crap—"

Xia Fa was somewhat dumbfounded. The main reason was that he was extremely talented in signing secret contracts, developing secret contract abilities, studying rituals and arrays, delving into ancient secret texts, and even in the pursuit of whales. Therefore, he naturally assumed that as long as he tried to create a secret treasure, he would definitely show amazing talent as well.

But I never expected it to turn out like this.

After observing Nidhogg, the master craftsman, forging treasures, his own impromptu hammer strike not only failed to create even half a treasure, but also wasted so many crafting materials!

"That's true. This is the real world, not a novel. If I had talent for everything, wouldn't that seem unrealistic?"

Xia Fa comforted himself for a moment, not discouraged. With a wave of his hand, he wrapped all the fragments in starlight, put them into the Chuwu bag, and then took out many more materials for crafting secret treasures.

The good news is that, having seized the opportunity and captured a wisp of Nidhogg's crafting essence, Xia Fa promptly struck with his hammer and made an attempt. As a result, Xia Fa was pleasantly surprised to find that he seemed to have fixed this wisp of "essence" and could continue to use this crafting technique as many times as he wanted!

Of course, while we'll be using them, we definitely won't be using hundreds of treasure crafting materials this time; a dozen or so will suffice.

"call----"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Xia Fa once again performed a hammer flourish and raised the metal hammer in his hand.

The image of Nidhogg's hammer blow flashed through his mind once again. After closing his eyes and contemplating for a while, Xia Fa's dark eyes lit up, and he brought down the hammer a second time!

With a gust of wind, the hammer swung through the air, leaving almost a blur, and smashed into the anvil with tremendous force.

when--!

It was like popping a bowl of popcorn again; unsurprisingly, the materials for crafting these dozen or so swords, spears, and halberds shattered once more.

"I refuse to believe it!"

Xia Fa felt his blood rush to his head, and a surge of energy welled up inside him. He casually waved his hand, collecting all the scattered fragments into his black bag, and immediately took out more than a dozen materials for crafting secret treasures.

Considering the possibility of material issues, this time, these materials also included the extraordinary metals that he and Chestnut dug up in the primeval ocean, as well as the fruits, leaves, roots, and stems of some extraordinary plants.

The image of Nidhogg's hammer strike flashed through his mind again, and Shafa suddenly slammed his hammer down.

when--!

This time, he felt that his hammer blow was just right, and his spiritual intuition even gave him a faint premonition that he was about to create an extraordinary treasure.

But immediately, with a "bang," a cloud of smoke burst from the anvil, and all the secret treasure materials flew into the air—whether weapons, or ores, or grass leaves—and instantly fused together, turning into a transparent mass that suddenly contracted inward, and was annihilated right under Xia Fa's nose!

Vanished—

Xia Fa wiped the sweat from his forehead, and for the first time, a troubled look appeared on his face.

"this----"

The creation of this treasure is indeed extremely difficult. No wonder there are so few treasure craftsmen in this world, and each of them is quite high in both status and wealth.

"Fine, let's try the normal method—"

Xiafa sighed, turned his head, and looked in the direction of Norton Dragon through the light barrier.

Of the ten people present, apart from those who had not yet returned from the three primitive zones, and Ruskondro and Nidhogg who had already completed their work, only Norton Dragon had not activated his protective shield.

Those who activate the light shield can see the scene outside the light shield from inside, but those outside the light shield cannot see what is happening inside.

Moreover, since this light barrier was suspected to be set up by the soul of the [Rhine Calamity], it was of extremely high status. Even Nidhogg, the Emperor of Mysteries who had signed twenty-five secret contracts, could not penetrate the light barrier to see the progress of other people's work.

Xia Fa immediately began to learn from Xia Fa without any haste.

Norton Dragon's method of crafting the secret treasure was remarkably similar to that of a traditional blacksmith.

This young master of the Starry Sky Dragon Clan, the owner of [Eternal Fury], at first glance looks exactly like a blacksmith on the street. He first puts ores, herbs, and weapon-shaped treasure materials into the furnace, and after melting them into a furnace of molten iron, he pours it into a mold.

The mold was filled with white sand, which seemed to be quite extraordinary. As soon as the molten iron was poured in, it was immediately cooled down and instantly turned into a rectangular piece of strange metal, like a solidified block of mixed pigments, yet it emitted black smoke and a sweet fragrance.

Of course, the molten iron itself is also colorful, so it's not surprising that it turns out like this after cooling.

Norton then used tongs to pick up the strange metal ingot and placed it into a bucket of water beside him.

With a puff of blue smoke, the strange metal ingot cooled completely and shrank several sizes, becoming only the size of a chocolate candy.

Norton placed it aside with great reverence. Perhaps it was because the sweet scent of the strange metal ingot was too strong, but Xiu's throat actually made a swallowing motion, as if she was swallowing saliva.

Xia Fazai watched carefully and saw Norton Dragon repeat the same steps several times, creating a total of five strange metal ingots the size of chocolate candies.

Immediately afterwards, Norton placed six strange metal ingots on the anvil, lined them up, and raised the metal hammer.

The way he crafted the sleeve was quite similar to that of his uncle, Nidhogg. After making a hammer-like motion in his hand, his arm muscles suddenly bulged, veins bulged, and he brought down the giant hammer.

when-!!!

The sound reverberated throughout the entire old forge, causing all six strange metal ingots to tremble simultaneously.

A strange scene unfolded: with the violent impact, the mixed colors on the strange metal ingot began to fade rapidly, quickly turning white, and then becoming translucent.

Ultimately, these six strange metal ingots, each only the size of a thumb, surprisingly exhibited a peculiar crystalline texture.

A wondrous transformation occurred within these strange metal ingots thanks to Norton Dragon's diligent efforts, as if the inherited wisdom of the Star Dragon family was being manifested in this moment.

Norton reached out to the anvil and picked up a strange metal ingot with his index and middle fingers.

Immediately, he put it to his mouth and bit down with a crunch.

"Um--!"

His originally unruly face now showed a look of complete enjoyment, and he even narrowed his eyes, as if he were tasting the most delicious food in the world.

With a crunching sound, Xiu finished the strange metal ingot in no time, then picked up another one and ate it like a chocolate candy.

Shafa was stunned, Thor Loki was stunned, and even Rusconsin, hiding in the light barrier of his treasure-forging platform, was stunned.

Norton Dragon — What is this for?

After Norton Dragon ate three strange metal ingots, he seemed to have slightly satisfied his hungry stomach. He then looked at the various semi-circular light shields with a strange expression on his face.

"Why are you all looking at me? I've already finished crafting my secret treasure. I was just getting Norton some snacks."

Everyone: ————

Xiafa: ————

At that moment, Xia Fa suddenly felt that this Norton Dragon, who seemed reckless and impulsive, was actually a bit wicked.

No wonder they didn't activate the circular light shield; it turns out they weren't even creating a secret treasure in the first place!

Norton seems to be the name of the Crystal Flame Starry Sky Dragon inside Norton Dragon's body. No wonder Norton Dragon forged that strange metal ingot into a crystalline form; it turns out it was to feed that Crystal Flame Starry Sky Dragon!

Xia Fa even suspected that Norton Dragon had always known that someone was secretly learning the secret treasure forging technique, or at least observing how He forged it. That's why he could speak so naturally to the various circular light shields whose contents were completely invisible, just to prank everyone once.

"I'm speechless—"

Xiafa muttered to himself, feeling both annoyed and amused, and finally realized that he still had to rely on the hammer blow he had stolen from Nidhogg.

Unfortunately, the creation of secret treasures essentially relies on the various abilities of the "Secret Treasure Apprentice" (a common secret contract) and the "Secret Treasure Craftsman" (a high-level secret contract).

In other words, there is no difference between a superhuman who can create secret treasures and a superhuman who can breathe fireballs; they both rely on the secret abilities of their respective signed contracts.

It is said that the [Forge of All Things] in the Overlord-level Secret Contract can also provide an indescribable boost to the crafting of Treasure Artisans, but that is on the premise that the Treasure Artisan has signed either the "Treasure Apprentice" or "Treasure Artisan" Secret Contract.

In other words, if you only sign the "Forge of All Things" contract but not the "Treasure Apprentice" or "Treasure Craftsman" contract, then you cannot forge treasures.

By signing the "Treasure Apprentice" and "Treasure Craftsman" contracts, and then signing the "Forge of All Things," one has the opportunity to become one of the top treasure crafting masters in the entire universe, and will be an honored guest even when visiting the nine major churches and various divine families.

"Nidhogg—it doesn't seem like he signed the Forge of All Things. That hammer blow must have been a manifestation of the fusion of the various secret abilities of the Treasure Apprentice and the Treasure Craftsman—"

Xia Fa analyzed that, under these circumstances, the fact that he was able to capture the essence of that hammer blow and unleash it was already quite extraordinary.

"Wait a minute, could it be—"

He suddenly realized something, and with a wave of his hand, he placed over a hundred kinds of materials for crafting secret treasures on the anvil.

Immediately, Xia Fa raised the metal hammer in his hand, twirled it, but this time he didn't rush to smash it down, nor did he imagine the essence of Nidhogg's hammer blow in his mind. Instead, he chose to use the [Miracle Fantasy] ability, a master-level contract, to construct Nidhogg's hammer blow.

This time, Xia Fa used both the "Miracle" and "Imagination" secret abilities at the same time. His hand holding the hammer changed from having long, slender fingers with clear joints to each finger being as thick as a carrot, and the joints becoming as firm as iron balls, swelling up.

On the back of the hand, countless veins protrude, crisscrossing like the gnarled roots of an old tree.

This hand looks remarkably like Nidhogg's hand.

At that very moment, Xia Fa suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze resolute, and slammed down that hammer.

when--!

A crisp, clear sound was followed by an explosion of colorful light.

Xia Fa suddenly felt that most of the extraordinary power in his body had been drained, but he couldn't care less about that now and quickly looked down.

There, a large portion of the hundreds of materials used to forge the secret treasures were ones he had specifically chosen, similar to those used by Nidhogg. They actually fused together in the chaotic sea of ​​light, turning into something like glue.

At first glance, this clump of glue looks almost identical to the clump of glue formed from the materials of the secret treasures that Nidhogg was forged before it was successfully created!

Xia Fa paused his breathing for a few seconds, his expression tense and focused to the extreme, his eyes fixed on the sticky mass that began to float into the air.

The sticky mass floated higher and higher until it finally appeared not far in front of Xia Fa's head. Then, it suddenly shrank and burst out with a strange light!

With a "clink," it sounded like some metal object had fallen back onto the anvil. Xia Fa quickly looked over, but his expression froze for a moment.

On the anvil, there was a "half" of a metal sphere covered with small holes.

It is called half a sphere because this metal sphere is actually only half, as if the other half was smashed.

Countless metal fragments flew in and out of the densely packed holes, looking neither intimidating nor particularly dangerous.

Although Xia Fa didn't know how to create secret treasures, he did know how to appraise their value.

This is a compulsory course for every extraordinary person in this extraordinary world, both to occasionally find a good treasure and to avoid being ripped off by unscrupulous merchants.

Therefore, at this moment, he could almost immediately tell that the incomplete treasure he had created was worth at most a few tens of thousands of gold pounds.

What Xia Fa didn't know was that even those highly talented treasure craftsmen could only sell their treasures for a few hundred or a few thousand gold pounds in the early stages of their careers. If they could create treasures worth over ten thousand gold pounds, they were already considered to have entered the inner circle.

Moreover, this was done on the premise of signing two secret contracts at the same time: "Treasure Apprentice" and "Treasure Craftsman".

Therefore, it was already astonishing that he was able to successfully create a treasure worth tens of thousands of gold pounds on his first attempt without signing any "treasure apprentice" or "treasure craftsman" contracts.

Unfortunately, this is not the time for the apprentices to forge the secret treasure, but a crucial moment to compete for the Rhine Horse-Slaying Blade.

"I understand—I tried to use the two secret abilities of 'Miracle' and 'Imagination' from the 'Miracle Fantasy' to recreate the scene of Nidhogg successfully forging the secret treasure. Theoretically, this should have been possible."

"But there's a prerequisite: I must at least become an Outer God, or even a True God."

"Only by reaching that level can one, through the miraculous and imaginative abilities of the secret union, imitate the secret union abilities of other secret unions. Moreover, it is estimated that one cannot imitate the overlord-level secret unions, but only ordinary and advanced secret unions."

"Therefore, at best, I am in a situation equivalent to a veteran transcendent monarch. My attempt to simulate the synergy between a treasure apprentice and a treasure craftsman using the power of 'miracle' and 'fantasy' has failed."

"In fact, I didn't imitate the secret abilities that the apprentices and craftsmen of the secret treasures possessed. Instead, I imitated the secret abilities that Nidhogg painstakingly developed and integrated over many years."

"On the other hand, since I imitated His crafting techniques, I can only create the same treasures as Him, but this is obviously very difficult for me."

"Is this... the reason I created this bizarre, unorthodox treasure?"

Having analyzed the situation in his mind, Xia Fa had already figured it out.

In fact, if he were to imitate a treasure craftsman's treasure worth less than 100,000 gold pounds, he might actually be able to succeed in imitating it using the [Miracle Fantasy]. This shows the power of this overlord-level secret contract that must be signed to become a true god.

However, what he was imitating was a Sovereign-quality artifact crafted by Nidhogg, worth a full three million gold pounds, which was already beyond the scope of his current status.

This resulted in the creation of a half-finished product.

But now, there's no way around it. Each person can only forge one secret treasure per day; they can't forge a second one.

Even now, Xia Fa can feel that the hammers, anvils, and other tools on this treasure forging platform are repelling him, making them unusable.

"In any case, it's finally done. I can only pray that everyone else is weaker than me —"

Xia Fa estimated that this hemispherical treasure was worth about 35,000 gold pounds, which would be highly sought after by superhumans at the whale level and below.

But this time, among the ten contenders, Nidhogg and Norton Dragon are almost certain to advance.

Ruscond is no ordinary man either. Although he only holds the rank of angel, he has signed two secret contracts: "Treasure Apprentice" and "Treasure Craftsman." He is likely a master of treasures in the outside world as well.

As for the other contenders, there's the always solitary and expressionless Ai Luo Tong, another middle-aged man not belonging to one of the three great divine families, plus the three members of the Gilgamesh family—

Xia Fa always felt that he was likely to rank outside the top five.

In that case, they wouldn't even make it to the second round; they'd be eliminated in the first round.

"No matter what, let's wait for the results and see."

Xia Fa murmured to himself, "No matter what, I won't give up until everything is settled."

Therefore, seeing that he had exhausted most of his extraordinary power in the process of forging the treasure, he simply sat down in front of his treasure-forging table and rested.

Not long after, the semi-circular light shield around the second treasure-forging platform from the left opened.

This treasure-forging platform belonged to a middle-aged man who didn't know anyone present. He was bald, wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and was dressed in a crimson cloak, giving him the air of a bounty hunter.

As for his rank, it is a terrifying sovereign rank, but it seems that he has not signed a hegemon-level secret contract.

Since he didn't know anyone present, but had witnessed the conflict between the three divinely favored families outside the old forge, the bald, middle-aged man who looked like a bounty hunter kept a low profile.

It seems that He has finished crafting it and is now preparing to hurry up and continue to collect materials for crafting the secret treasures in the three primeval regions.

Xia Fa didn't see what kind of treasure He created; it must have been put into the black bag before the circular light shield was opened.

Seeing that Xiu had just finished crafting and was immediately going to collect materials for crafting the secret treasure, Xia Fa suspected that he was very confident that he could advance to the second round, and even compete with Nidhogg in the final round.

Otherwise, why would He be in such a hurry to collect materials to craft the secret treasure?

"Looks like this is another formidable competitor—"

Xia Fa's heart sank, as if he had already foreseen his fate of being eliminated.

Time passed, second by second.

After resting for a while and recovering his supernatural power, Xia Fa didn't rest. He took out all sorts of occult books from his bag, most of which he had bought at the night market in the City of Ten Thousand Stars.

Unfortunately, he didn't buy any books on crafting secret treasures because he hadn't signed the "Secret Treasure Apprentice" and "Secret Treasure Craftsman" contracts. At the time, he never considered the possibility that he might one day be able to craft secret treasures.

Fortunately, some of these occult books cover a wide range of topics, including some occult knowledge related to the creation of secret treasures. Therefore, Xia Fa decided to cram at the last minute and try to learn as he went.

Soon, he became so engrossed in learning about mysticism that he was completely unaware of how quickly time had passed.

With a loud "bang," the soul of [Rhine Calamity] suddenly appeared in the circular plaza of the old blacksmith's shop.

Xia Fa was startled, and only then did he pull himself out of the rich ocean of occult knowledge and look through the circular light barrier at the semi-transparent black figure with twelve arms.

"Everyone, it's almost time!"

The moment the soul of [Rhine Calamity] appeared, it announced it in an excited tone.

It seems that He has been lonely for too long and is obsessed with the crafting of secret treasures, so He is quite enthusiastic about this competition of crafting secret treasures.

"Soon, a miniature ritual teleportation array will appear on each of your respective treasure-making platforms. Just place your crafted treasures on it."

"I will provide the evaluation results within one minute. The top five will advance to the second round!"

"Of course, even those who fail to advance can stay here until they witness the birth of the champion!"

"Whether it's my Rhine Blade or the Rhine Forging Technique, they're waiting for you to win them!"

"Alright, everyone can put their treasures up now. Those who haven't crafted a treasure or haven't been able to put one up will be considered to have forfeited."

As the voice of the [Rhine Calamity] faded, Xia Fa quickly placed his hemispherical treasure covered with small holes on it.

Perhaps because the Rhine Sword was so important, at this crucial moment when he didn't know if he could advance, his heart started pounding so hard it almost jumped out of his throat.

What Nidhogg placed on the table was naturally the three million gold pound Sovereign-quality treasure he had crafted. But to Xia Fa's surprise, the treasure Norton Dragon brought out was no less impressive than Nidhogg's treasure.

The next moment, the semi-circular light shields of all the treasure forging platforms contracted, and the ten people looked at each other, then looked at the center of the square, at the soul of [Rhine Calamity].

The soul of [Rhine Calamity] suddenly disappeared for a full minute before reappearing.

The ancient ruler was seen rubbing his chin with his six hands on the left, looking somewhat troubled.

"Hmm—aside from a couple of people, everyone else did a pretty good job this time."

"Nidhogg and Norton are definitely going to advance from the top five."

"As for the remaining three—Sor Loki and Jack Faco are also guaranteed to advance."

"What really troubles me is fifth place."

"Anfion, Ai Luotong, Xia Fa—the treasures you three created are all about the same, and far superior to those of the other three who failed to advance."

"Let me take another look. The results will be out soon."

The words of the soul of the Rhine Calamity were tantamount to announcing the top four advancing candidates: Nidhogg, Norton Dragon, Thor Loki, and Jack Falco.

Jack Falk, that must be the bald, cloaked middle-aged man, was the name everyone finally learned.

After the soul of [Rhine Calamity] finished speaking, it suddenly disappeared again with a "bang." This time, it took a full two minutes for Xiu to reappear.

"Alright, after my careful study and observation, the fifth-place candidate has been chosen!"

His gaze swept over Ai Luotong, Xia Fa, and Anfion in turn, and he spoke again: "That is—"

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