Karlan gave a bitter smile. “The reputation of our Holy Hammer Workshop isn’t so cheap that we’d do something like that for a bit of profit.”

“So if there were more profit, then you’d— mmph!”

Seeing Tiffany was about to say more, Vivian decisively covered her mouth and pushed her away.

“You should go first. I’ll come find you after I finish up here.”

Vivian had a headache.

She was seriously worried that if Tiffany stayed any longer, Master Karlan would need emergency treatment. And she might even end up paying his medical bills.

When she saw Tiffany leave with her lips puffed up so high they could practically hang a soy sauce bottle, Vivian finally let out a sigh of relief.

Karlan wiped away some sweat and said with a wry smile, “Miss Vivian, I told you it couldn’t be repaired because I didn’t want to cheat you.”

“After a careful inspection, I found that the true value of your armor doesn’t lie in its self-repairing material, but in the smelting technique used on it.”

“Smelting technique?”

“That’s right.” Karlan’s expression turned serious. “This armor once had three layers of the advanced protective spell formation, ‘Blessing of the High Holy Shield,’ stacked onto it. And they weren’t separate engravings scattered across different parts.”

“They were layered engravings, extending outward from the center until they covered the entire suit.”

“It was those three compounded high-level protective spell formations that helped you block the fatal burst of a Domain technique. If you’d been wearing any other armor, your chances would’ve been grim.”

As a forging master, Karlan naturally had sharp eyes. He had seen at a glance why Vivian’s armor was damaged, and he spoke with full seriousness.

“I see...” Vivian murmured.

She had thought it was purely thanks to Veiled Moon that she had survived that strike.

“But that’s also what I’m curious about.” Karlan looked at her seriously. “May I ask which master forged this armor for you?”

“Well... I don’t know.” Vivian parted her lips, looking a little lost.

She only knew that Li Wei had brought all this armor to her.

Every time she reached a certain level, Li Wei would replace her gear with a new set. But she had never really paid attention to where he got it from.

For Master Karlan to be this amazed, was it really that precious?

Back when she had received the divine weapon Veiled Moon from Li Wei, Vivian hadn’t felt much. After all, Veiled Moon had originally been her mother’s sword. Li Wei had only been keeping it for her.

But this armor...

Had Li Wei only managed to get such a precious supply through old connections?

“So Miss Vivian, did someone else help you obtain this armor?” Karlan couldn’t help asking further. “Could you perhaps introduce them to me?”

“Sorry. I’m afraid I can’t help with that.”

Then, still unwilling to give up, Vivian asked one more question.

“By the way... is there really no way to repair this armor?”

“This kind of smelting technique...” Karlan’s tone grew more certain. “I can guarantee it. Other than the Holy City— no, even those few in the Holy City might not be able to do it.”

“Karlan, you’re not wrong to say you can’t do it. But on one point, you are mistaken.”

At that moment, a sudden voice rang out and made Karlan jolt.

This famous forging master instantly showed a somewhat flustered, almost reverent expression. He turned around at once.

“Teacher Ge Ling... why did you come down? That’s not what I meant.”

Vivian followed the voice and saw an old man in a scholar’s robe walking down from the second-floor stairs.

On his chest was an exquisitely embroidered crest, like a kingfisher carrying the sun in its beak.

The pattern looked oddly familiar to Vivian. And from Karlan’s words, she seemed to realize something.

For someone as famous as Karlan to call him teacher, could this old man be an even higher-ranked Saint-Spirit Forger?

But someone that important should be stationed in the Holy City, shouldn’t he? Why would he suddenly appear in a place like this?

“Heh, you brat. You’re already a master, yet you still can’t act a little more mature? You’re just like before. The moment I put on a stern face, you make that expression.”

Ge Ling shook his head with a smile. Then his gaze fell on Vivian. He paused slightly, then seemed to come to a realization.

“So it’s you, Miss Vivian. Though, thinking about it, that makes sense. In a place like this, who else but you could get a treasure like this from that person?”

“It’s been a long time. I didn’t expect you to have grown this much.”

“This master... you know me?” Vivian asked in surprise.

“Yes. Back when you were with Miss Inona, we met before. But you were still little then, so it’s normal that you don’t remember me.” Ge Ling smiled.

Vivian suddenly clenched her fists.

This was exactly why she hated this sort of thing. It was why she had chosen to stay away from the Holy City.

Inona’s brilliance was too dazzling.

So dazzling that once people learned who Vivian was, they would immediately turn respectful in sudden realization.

Oh, so you’re Inona’s younger sister...

Oh, so your sister is her...

“May I take a look at this armor?”

By then, Ge Ling had already walked to the table and pointed at the armor on it.

Seeing Vivian distracted, Karlan thought she was unsure of Ge Ling’s identity, so he quickly added,

“Miss Vivian, Teacher Ge Ling is a Saint-Spirit Forger from the Holy City. He’s here on other business and is resting at my place along the way. You can absolutely trust his ability.”

Vivian came back to herself. She had no intention of explaining why she had zoned out, so she only said softly, “Understood. Master Ge Ling, please go ahead.”

After getting her permission, Ge Ling picked up the armor and gently rubbed it with his hand. Then he said with some emotion,

“It’s been a very long time since I last saw forging craftsmanship this miraculous.”

Karlan froze. “Teacher Ge Ling, did you just say... forging?”

“Heh. That’s the mistake I wanted to correct just now.”

“But this misunderstanding isn’t really your fault. To someone who’s never seen that kind of technique with their own eyes, such complex layered spell formations could only be explained by smelting being pushed to its absolute limit.”

“But only those who have truly come into contact with that secret know this for what it is.”

“This is the miracle of forging.”

“This armor was endowed with ‘spirituality’ during the forging process.”

As Ge Ling finished speaking, a dim light flashed through his eyes.

“Spirituality?” Karlan’s breathing abruptly stopped. Then his eyes widened in disbelief. “Y-you mean...?”

Karlan was stunned.

Giving a forged object “spirituality” was a legend he had learned the moment he first stepped onto the path of forging and opened Forging Studies.

The very first lesson of Forging Studies mentioned a special forging method. Its creator was the master once known as the god of forging, The Smith.

After stepping onto the path of forging, The Smith abandoned his real name. Under the title of The Smith, he became a Chosen Hero known to all.

As the pinnacle of all forging-class professionals, he was also granted the title of Saint-Spirit Forger.

And the ability that made The Smith world-famous, the ability that won the wholehearted admiration of every forger, was not some special Miracle he possessed.

It was the miraculous technique that stood outside the system of Miracles entirely.

The godlike art of granting spirituality to forged objects—

The Saint-Spirit Forging Technique.

Even the most ordinary materials, once forged by his hands, would undergo a terrifying transformation, turning decay into wonder.

In humanity’s hardest and poorest era, it was The Smith alone, with a single hammer, who used the most common ores to build the iron walls that let mankind resist the demon race.

He also forged powerful armor and weapons for many frontline Chosen Heroes, equipment sturdy enough to endure battles of extreme intensity.

Any work by The Smith that had survived from those dark ages was a treasure countless high-ranking Chosen Heroes would fight over.

And the most famous of all his creations...

was a divine armament—

Divine Retribution of Usurped Sin.

It was The Smith’s final legacy, the culmination of all his heart and soul. Rumor said it was also the only weapon in this world with the potential to surpass a divine weapon.

The sole user of Divine Retribution of Usurped Sin was Li Wei, the only person ever acknowledged by The Smith.

Back then, Li Wei’s image on the front lines was always inseparable from that armament, like a demonic god made flesh.

Many people coveted that divine weapon, especially after Li Wei lost his power.

But the Chosen Heroes who had joined Li Wei in the subjugation of Annihilation had all seen it with their own eyes.

Divine Retribution of Usurped Sin had shattered after blocking the Demon Lord’s fatal blow for Li Wei.

That was why Li Wei was spared too much harassment from certain greedy people afterward.

And the destruction of Divine Retribution of Usurped Sin became a lasting regret for many.

Because human civilization might never produce a second Divine Retribution of Usurped Sin.

The use of the Saint-Spirit Forging Technique seemed to hide some kind of price.

And The Smith, after pouring too much effort and too much of himself into forging equipment for humanity, died young after leaving behind Divine Retribution of Usurped Sin.

He became a legendary figure mourned by all.

And with The Smith’s death, the Saint-Spirit Forging Technique...

became a legend completely.

Even now, the highest-ranked forging professionals still bore the honorary title of Saint-Spirit Forger.

But not a single Saint-Spirit Forger had ever reached The Smith’s height, nor recreated his craft.

That was why, when Karlan first saw the armor, he had thought of smelting rather than forging.

It was simply too hard for him to connect this armor’s craftsmanship to that long-lost technique, a thing that existed only in stories and legends.

“It completely broke past the limits of the material itself. It let equipment made from star-iron stone achieve triple spell layering...”

“So this is the god of forging’s Saint-Spirit Forging Technique?”

Karlan suddenly understood. He looked at Vivian in shock.

“Then does this armor come from Dawn’s old inheritance?”

He looked at the damaged armor before him with heartbroken pain.

Just like that, he had missed the chance to witness a peerless masterpiece.

Vivian’s body swayed slightly.

Besides being the Saint-Spirit Forger known to all, The Smith had another, even more special identity.

He had been a member of Dawn.

That was someone from her mother’s generation.

And also... Li Wei’s companion.

“So this armor... was actually one of The Smith’s final works? And it was given to me?”

Vivian stood there in a daze, thinking that.

Ge Ling paid no attention to the two of them losing themselves in thought. His focus was entirely on the armor.

“The concentrated burst of power from the Domain technique exceeded this armor’s load limit. That caused it to lose all its spirituality.”

“So... even if it can repair itself and return to its original form, those triple spell engravings can never be restored.”

“Karlan wasn’t wrong. Those old fellows in the Holy City can’t do it either.”

“Even if that guy Furnace used smelting techniques to repair it, with star-iron stone as the base, two layers would already be his limit.”

“And even that would require mixing other precious materials into the star-iron stone during smelting. That completely misses the point.”

“At that rate, you’d be better off just forging a whole new suit of armor from high-grade materials.”

Ge Ling let out a sigh.

The reason The Smith became a god was not because he could forge divine weapons from high-grade materials.

It was because he could bring out the value of high-grade materials from ordinary ones.

That was what made his creation of the Saint-Spirit Forging Technique so precious.

“So... this armor really can’t be repaired?” Vivian murmured.

“For us, that’s true.” Ge Ling paused. “But for you, Miss Vivian, repairing it actually wouldn’t be difficult.”

Vivian suddenly felt her throat go dry.

“You mean...?”

“You accidentally damaged it, and that’s why you tried to hide it from Mr. Li Wei and find someone else to repair it, right?”

As Ge Ling spoke, his eyes flickered slightly.

“But I can say this plainly. Other than Mr. Li Wei, no one else could possibly repair this armor.”

Vivian found it hard to breathe.

Her thoughts were in complete chaos.

Something about this... was off, wasn’t it?

Had they misunderstood something?

Or had they skipped over part of the story?

They must've meant the Li Wei who still hadn't lost his power. The Li Wei who could repair armor.

Back then, Li Wei possessed countless Miracles. He really had been all-powerful.

Whatever he did, no one would've found it strange.

In Vivian's silence, Ge Ling suppressed the thoughts flickering through his mind. He put on a sincere expression and said, "Actually, I came to Gedivia this time not just for some personal matters. I also wanted to pay Mr. Li Wei a visit."

"No time like the present. Miss Vivian happens to be here, and with you as my guide, I can save myself the extra trouble of searching around."

Ge Ling said seriously, "If it's convenient, could I trouble you to take me to visit Mr. Li Wei?"

Vivian let out a muffled grunt. For a moment, she almost thought this guy had come here just to poke at her wounds.

But after calming down, she knew he couldn't possibly be that bored.

The news of Li Wei leaving the team hadn't spread very far yet. Ge Ling probably thought she still had close contact with him.

At that thought, an idea rose in Vivian's mind beyond her control.

If Li Wei were still in Dawn...

The moment the thought appeared, she firmly crushed it.

Even if she had to starve to death, even if she had to find some place to jump from, there was no way she'd ever take the initiative to see that guy.

She wasn't some kind of masochist. She knew perfectly well that he now had a wife and daughter, surrounded by happiness. How could she possibly go looking for him just to torture herself?

After a while, Vivian saw the familiar wooden cabin appear in the distance, and her gaze wavered.

It was only a small favor, after all. And with an elder asking so solemnly, it really wasn't easy for her to refuse.

"Mr. Li Wei usually lives in a place like this?" Ge Ling studied the ordinary cabin for a moment, his expression turning strange.

Vivian's pupils trembled slightly. She bit her lip almost instinctively and looked at the plain house, unable to stop herself from thinking of Li Wei's once-glorious residence in the Holy City.

She had never really noticed it before. Only now, after it had been pointed out, did she feel the sharp contrast.

Li Wei had willingly stayed in a place like this, year after year...

Was he really the kind of man so obsessed with honor, as she had guessed before?

The dark shift in Vivian's expression left Ge Ling puzzled. Just as he was about to say something else, he happened to see the cabin door open, and a silver-haired girl walked out.

She was a pretty, adorable little girl, the kind that easily made people think of an exquisite doll in a display window.

Yue Lin had her lips puffed out, sulking all by herself.

Just now, she'd kindly gone to knock on the door of Mom and that annoying man's room to tell them to come eat melon. In the end, Mom had only opened the door a crack, poked her in the forehead with one finger, and pushed her back out. Then she'd told her that she and that guy had important work to do, so Yue Lin wasn't allowed to disturb them for now.

Hmph!

It was all that awful, unreliable man's fault. Fine, he wouldn't give her fatherly love. She didn't care anyway. But now he'd even stolen her mother's love too.

So she had no choice but to come out and eat melon by herself. Perfect. She could use this time to eat more and finish their share too!

Standing at the door, Yue Lin held a slice of melon in both hands and took several bites in a row. After swallowing the melon flesh that had stuffed her cheeks full, she put on a serious expression, puffed out her lips, and started going ptoo, ptoo, ptoo at a small wooden sign standing by the door, spitting melon seeds at it.

By the time Vivian and the others walked over, Yue Lin had finished spitting the seeds and noticed the three of them approaching.

In an instant, the little ahoge on top of her head sprang up in alert. Once she confirmed the three were coming toward her, she panicked a little. But right away, she stiffened her tiny face, narrowed her ruby-like beautiful eyes, and put on the air of a mature child in charge of the household.

"Little miss." Ge Ling did his best to show a kindly smile as he looked at the girl. "Did you come here as a guest with your family, or are you Mr. Li Wei's apprentice?"

Vivian opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but for a moment she had no idea what to say.

Hearing that, Yue Lin froze for a second. She looked at the old man as if she couldn't quite believe what she'd heard, and her little face tightened even more.

"Why aren't you saying anything, little miss?"

"Are you shy?"

"When other children are six or seven like you, they can already answer adults very fluently. Some have even started taking classes already, working hard to become a Chosen Hero." Half teasing and half trying to scare her, Ge Ling added, "If you're still this withdrawn at six or seven, people won't like you. Your parents definitely won't like a child with that kind of personality either."

"How old are you?" Yue Lin finally spoke.

Her voice was childish, crisp, and pleasant.

Ge Ling smiled. "Eighty-three. Why?"

Yue Lin said expressionlessly,

"Other people make it to eighty-three and some are already dead. Why aren't you dead yet?"

"??????"

The smile on Ge Ling's face froze.

He'd lived this long, and no one had ever spoken to him like that before.

But today, Yue Lin taught him a lesson.

Vivian looked at the exquisite little girl and listened to that oddly familiar exchange. She felt dazed again, and the last trace of doubt in her heart vanished.

There was no way this girl wasn't Li Wei's biological daughter.

This was practically the same bloodline speaking!