Emperor’s Domination

One cauldron by the ridge looked like a well extending all the way into the core. Yellow smoke oozed from it with golden rays, looking like the crown of a fire prince.

Next to the cauldron was an anvil with a weapon being hammered. Each thunk echoed across the ridge.

The blacksmith was a tall and sturdy youth. His skin was coarse, seemingly from traveling too much and exposed to the elements. Thus, he looked older than his actual age.

His shirt was wrapped around his waist. His bulging muscles seemed to be brimming with strength, ready to erupt at any moment.

He had a broad axe hanging by his waist, crafted with precious metals. The rays reflected from the sun were frightening and gave off an immense feeling. One could easily imagine a mountain being split into two halves with one wave.

The youth currently held a hammer made of an unknown material, looking like iron. Each time he swung down, silvery sparks would scatter.

He was refining another great axe, albeit different from the one hanging by his waist. The new creation was larger and more exquisite.

The blade was still purple despite being refined, seemingly originating from an immortal realm.

"Clank! Clank! Clank!" The youth followed a very particular rhythm while adding the utmost strength to each smash. Fire of life would ooze out from both hands each time, eventually turning the axe red. The waves of light also intensified and spread three more inches after each smash.

"Senior Brother Lin is incredible, this weapon should be one level higher." Many students sighed with admiration.

Yang Ling and Li Qiye have also arrived. She watched the youth going all-out with the refinement while introducing: "Young Master, this is one of the five heroes of our academy, Sanban Furious Axe or Senior Brother Lin Hao. He's one of the strongest students here." [1]

Li Qiye only smiled before glancing at the great axe on the anvil. Lin Hao was in a state of absolute focus. The process was near completion so he didn't dare to be careless. After all, it took three years to gather firewood for one hour of burning. Failing meant wasting all of his time prior. He had already refined this axe twice.

The spectators watched him with bated breath.

Lin Hao was a famous character in Duality, a member of the Duality Five Heroes. It consisted of the most brilliant students, not limited to any class or age as long as they were still part of the academy.

Moreover, Lin Hao was considered a great role model because he was the only one with a mediocre upbringing.

Countless cultivators have excelled in history. However, the number of true masters who had a bad upbringing might be limited.

For example, a genius might have a lowly background relative to the rest. However, they might still be from a small sect or a declining clan.

On the other hand, Lin Hao actually came from a village in the holy ground. Not just his parents but even his ancestors were mere farmers.

He rose in a meteoric manner despite his background. His cultivation soared after joining Duality Academy and surpassed the senior brothers and sisters. He eventually became one of the five heroes.

"I think this refinement will take that axe's power to the next level." One student praised.

"He spent a lot of effort on it. This golden flame cauldron is used year-round, the waiting list is several years long. He used a lot of connections to skip the line for the sake of crafting this dao source true treasure." Another revealed.

"More than that, he borrowed a highest-grade hammer from a teacher. Its name is Violet Thunder, a famous treasure here. Everyone wants to borrow it."

"This is his third time refining it."

"Right, this weapon didn't come easily. When he came up with the materials back then, even the teachers helped him gather some of them. It's really valuable." One female student added.

A dao source true treasure was a big deal. Normally, at the samadhi level, a cultivator would be able to create a treasure to pair with their dao source.

They would only have one because this treasure would grow with their cultivation. The fate palaces carried it, the true fate embraced it, and the dao source encompassed it.

This could be considered a defensive weapon since it was tasked with protecting a cultivator's true fate and grand dao. Having it destroyed meant either being crippled or death.

Cultivators had numerous ways to gather other weapons including those at the dao lord level. However, it was impossible to take someone else's weapon and turn it into their dao source true treasure.

Thus, many chose to cultivate one after reaching the samadhi realm so that they could grow together.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao continued smashing the treasure with the special hammer. The materials didn't come easy, especially given his abilities and background back then. The teachers protected and supported him in his effort to gather them.

Thus, he truly valued this great axe. The refinement process was difficult but he persevered. This was the third time.

"Clank!" Eventually, the wave of light emanating from the blade had reached its limit.

"Good!" Lin Hao roared and after a loud explosion, the flames of life oozed out from his body. They seemed animated and brimming with life.

The flames wrapped around the axe and carried it into the cauldron. Now, the cauldron was being activated by the flames.

"Boom!" Flames erupted like a magnificent volcano.

"Return!" Lin Hao roared and the flames that went out returned back to the cauldron to refine his axe. This process was repeated numerous times.

The powerful flames were under his control, unable to leave the cauldron. Its power served to refine the great axe, imprinting the fire element into the blade.

"Amazing, these are the advantages of having an inborn fate palace and a special cauldron of life. So strong." Everyone watched in awe.

There was a reason why a mortal like Lin Hao was able to join Duality. He had an inborn fate palace with a special symbol - his cauldron of life. His fire of life was different from everyone else's. Thus, this made him a perfect blacksmith - among the top two at the very least when counting just the students.

Nonetheless, just relying on the fire of life wasn't enough. This was common knowledge.

Thus, using the cauldrons here meant adding wings to a tiger. That's why they all came to Myriad Cauldron Peak to refine their weapons. This place allowed everyone to become a blacksmith.

1. Sanban means three planks/boards, a type of wooden boat