.

Thanks to the initial push Zhu Rong had given him, Old Han managed to make great progress on his own. In fact, during this period of time, he had already advanced from a one star Master Blacksmith to a newly ascended three star Master.

Such progress was nothing short of astonishing.

Normally, with each new star, the gap in difficulty would increase significantly, and this applied to every rank of every profession.

Needless to say, the higher one's rank, the more difficult it became to advance further, often taking months or even years to make a meaningful step forward.

For most blacksmiths at the Master rank, it would take years of continuous work and improvement to reach the next star, with only the most talented managing it in a couple of years, or perhaps even a little less.

But achieving it in just a few months was unheard of, something that would make even Grandmasters tremble in disbelief if they ever found out.

Old Han himself was initially stunned by his rapid progress. For a long time, he found it hard to believe how quickly he was improving. Eventually, however, he grew accustomed to his own pace and continued working diligently, crafting increasingly refined and powerful weapons.

Over time, not only did his own skills grow, but so did those of the workers in his department.

He became completely immersed in his craft, and before he knew it, he had crossed into the three star level, something that took him by surprise, especially when he realized that barely two months had passed since his last advancement.

At this point, he was already close to reaching the peak of his current rank.

The long admired Grandmaster rank was closer than ever, much closer than he had ever dared to imagine. It was practically within reach; all he needed to do was continue as he always had: refining his skills and creating items of greater and greater quality and power.

At the moment, the forge was relatively empty, with almost no one working. It was the afternoon break, after all.

Still, the rhythmic sound of hammering echoed through the workshop, coming from Old Han's personal workstation.

He was deeply focused on his work, his right arm swinging what appeared to be an ordinary forging hammer, though a closer look would reveal that it was far too refined and elegant to be just a normal tool.

Despite its relatively simple shape, the material it was made of gleamed faintly, a mix of smooth dark gray surfaces and rougher textures, with delicate red gold engravings accentuating its beauty even more.

At first glance, it might seem like a mere ornamental piece meant to be admired for its craftsmanship. But in the eyes of any cultivator or expert, it was far from a simple decoration, it was a powerful weapon, one most would rather avoid encountering.

In fact, it was a Grade 3 Earth-rank weapon, the very one that had certified his advancement to the level of a three star Master Blacksmith.

The requirements to reach the rank of one star Master were the ability to successfully forge Grade 3 Spirit-rank weapons with high consistency, something he had managed to accomplish just two months ago, when Zhu Rong had recruited him into the forging department.

Since then, his progress had never stopped, and in what most would consider an incredibly short time, he had achieved such remarkable results.

In terms of cultivation, Old Han had also reached the early stages of the Fourth Stage, a decent level that would have allowed him to live comfortably in the outside world.

Of course, compared to the elves or Ye Ning, he was still weaker, especially since he started cultivating much earlier than they had.

Still, considering how little time Old Han actually dedicated to cultivation, it was understandable that he was at this level, and for him, it was more than enough.

He was a blacksmith, not a warrior, and he was perfectly fine with that.

He continued to work on the item he was forging, so deeply focused that he didn't even notice a figure quietly entering his workspace, watching him calmly from a distance.

This went on for nearly an hour. Old Han didn't stop or rest, tirelessly hammering away as the object before him gradually began to take a more defined shape.

It was obvious from the time he spent and the resistance of the material that what he was forging was anything but ordinary.

Finally, after two hours of nonstop work, Old Han stopped. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and face, preparing to move on to the next stage of the forging process.

Only then did his eyes catch sight of the figure standing at the entrance, calmly watching him. When he looked more closely, he finally recognized who it was.

"Boy, it's been a while, hasn't it?

Hm? What happened to you? You look… different," Old Han asked, noticing the changes in the young man before him.

It hadn't been that long since they last met, and yet, the youth standing there looked as though he had aged several years.

He thought it was just an illusion, maybe a trick of fatigue, but soon realized it wasn't.

"It's good to see you again. You seem to be doing great. At this rate, in a month or two, you might have to prepare for another breakthrough," Zhu Rong said with a smile, greeting him casually.

He wasn't in a hurry, so upon seeing that Old Han was absorbed in his work, he had chosen not to interrupt and instead quietly observed him, evaluating his current abilities, and he had to admit, Old Han had made astonishing progress.

Zhu Rong could only sigh inwardly, remembering how, in his previous life, Old Han had remained stuck at the Expert Rank for so many years.

The reason for that was that family "inheritance", something that turned out to be more of a curse, given how things ended for him.

Zhu Rong had managed to partially fix that problem in this life, but it wasn't completely resolved. And today, he intended to take care of the rest.

Old Han put aside his work, chatting with Zhu Rong about how things had been going lately, the progress of the other workers, the improvements across the department, and so on.

From what Zhu Rong told him, most of them had reached the rank of Expert, many at the peak of that rank. In fact, several of them, the ones Zhu Rong had personally guided just this morning, were already close to advancing to Master.

When Old Han heard that, he was shocked, realizing the implications.

There were already ten workers in his department at the three star Expert Rank. The idea that they might all soon reach the Master rank made him shiver, he could hardly imagine having a team of Master Blacksmiths working under him.

Having personally witnessed Zhu Rong's capabilities, he could believe that such a thing was possible, yet it still left him stunned.

After the initial shock came joy, but also another realization,

Zhu Rong was preparing to expand his enterprise even further.

The two discussed the matter for a while before finally getting to the real reason for Zhu Rong's visit.

"I can remove that fragment of consciousness from you," Zhu Rong said.

They were no longer in the workshop but in a separate meeting room on the same floor, a place where orders were received and discussed.

Although most of their work involved producing weapons and equipment for regular demand, they also accepted commissions for custom pieces. Clients could book appointments with specific smiths here to provide the details and specifications for their weapons or other requested items.

Hearing Zhu Rong's words, Old Han fell silent, immediately understanding what he was referring to.

That fragment of consciousness, the one that had once brought his family prosperity but eventually led to his own downfall, could actually be removed.

Something he never thought possible.

He hadn't reached a level high enough to fully comprehend how such weapons worked, but he knew enough to understand that removing the consciousness from a weapon of that level was no trivial task.

"In the past, I would've refused, thinking it would dishonor my family," he said calmly.

"But considering how they are now, they'd probably celebrate hearing that the fragment of consciousness is finally leaving me," he added in a tired voice.

Unfortunately for him, though, things were not that simple.

"It won't be going back to them," Zhu Rong said with a sigh.

Old Han raised an eyebrow at that, curious but saying nothing.

"The reason that consciousness has survived until now," Zhu Rong continued,

"is because it activated one of its preservation mechanisms, a way to survive by parasitizing a suitable host from time to time. But after all this time, part of its power has been restored, and its consciousness is awakening again.

That's also why you haven't benefited from it, but rather, it has had the opposite effect on you."

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