Tang Ling failed to understand Boss Huang’s thoughts.

 What did the boss mean by swallowing his stone? He didn’t even use the Golden Wind Stone yet, so what gives?

 With that in mind, Tang Ling carefully said, “Boss, if you’re feeling heartache, why not just use the Volcano Magma Core? Even if you skip the Golden Wind Stone, it still can by recover around 30%. I’m happy enough with the numbers.

 The boss’s eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets as he pushed Tang Ling away and said with a flat chuckle, “No! It’s just a piece of Golden Wind Stone, I still can afford it! Just you wait, you little…”

 Nervous, Tang Ling was covered in sweat. What’s he waiting for? Can I just not use the Golden Wind Stone?

 Unfortunately, neither was he was Boss Huang’s match nor could he stop the boss from doing so. He stood by and watched the boss strongly toss the Golden Wind Stone into the hearth.

After that, Boss Huang became quicker with his refining.

 He refined everything together before he hammered them into powder bits: the Volcano Magma Core on the dagger, the other half-melted Volcano Magma Core, and the Golden Wind Stone.

 The powder was mixed together and placed into a special container. Then, a special method was used to sieve and filter the mixed powder.

 During the process, Boss Huang also filled Tang Ling in about the details. “Do you know why the live sword can’t just absorb the Volcano Magma Core?

 “All kinds of superalloy contain a lot of impurities. If you don’t refine them first, the impurities will also be absorbed and bury the true powers of the Volcano Magma Core. It will also affect its absorption speed. You must have gotten this Volcano Magma Core for a while, right? But look at it. It’s barely absorbed because of the impurities, but it has more or less gotten inside. Pah, trouble.”

 Boss Huang added a little grumble at the end but did not stop at all. The filtered powder was poured into another special container which was put into the hearth again.

 After all that, Boss Huang patted his hands and thumped his back as if he was exhausted. He told Tang Ling, “See what I did for you, kid?”

 Tang Ling sweated even more, not because of the temperature, but because he was nervous. The ominous feeling in his heart grew stronger. He dared not say he did not see Boss Huang’s hard work, so he feigned an emotional gaze and said, “Yes, yes, I saw your hard work, Boss!”

 Boss Huang nodded in satisfaction. Then, he picked up the live sword and went over to the hearth in the center of the eight, the one that was closest to that mysterious machine.

 After a set of complicated entries on the machine, Boss Huang fired up the hearth and as it heated up, transparent flames burst out from the hearth. If not for the astonishingly high temperature, Tang Ling could not have seen the transparent flames.

 “Stay there. Don’t come over,” warned Boss Huang.

 In fact, even if he wanted to, Tang Ling could not go there because the high temperature stopped him from getting close.

 Using a special pair of tongs, Boss Huang picked up the live sword and placed it over the transparent flames.

 Tang Ling cried in shock when he saw that.

 Boss Huang looked asquint at him. “The seed of a Level 8 vicious plant can still bear the fire for a bit. Otherwise, the impurities won’t go away.”

 Despite saying that, he carefully held the live sword to the transparent fire and took it out in less than 25 seconds.

 The live sword had already started to soften. Boss Huang then carefully switched off the special hearth and took the live sword back to the anvil. He picked up the little hammer and started to strike it repeatedly.

 It was then that Boss Huang mentioned Hell Ledge. “Do you know why everyone still goes after Hell Ledge like a flock of ducks even though it’s harsh and might cripple or even kill someone with the slightest misstep?”

 Here it comes! 

 Tang Ling currently wanted information about Hell Ledge the most. Boss Huang had not mentioned anything about it before this, and Tang Ling was afraid that the boss might go back on his word. He never thought the boss would be so honest and generous today.

 “Why?” Tang Ling asked with intense excitement.

 Boss Huang looked askance at him. He knew the little bastard was trying to take advantage of him. He signaled Tang Ling to light a cigarette for him before he said, “Energy! Clearing the Hell Ledge Challenge for the first time will reward you with abhisheka-like energy other than money and reputation.”

 “Doesn’t sound impressive.” Tang Ling was being honest. Food and cultivation could provide one with energy. What kind of energy was so special that everyone sought after it so badly?

 Boss Huang was hammering the live sword on the anvil repeatedly and quickly. As he pounded away, faint grayish smoke started to come out from the sword. He explained to Tang Ling without even looking at him, “That is why I say you are an ignorant kid. The energy gained from Hell Ledge is different! The energy from Hell Ledge can be directly converted, the only limit is one’s genetic chain.”

 Tang Ling’s heart raced. If he was right about what Boss Huang said…

 Under normal circumstances, a lot of the energy the human body consumed would be wasted. Even Tang Ling had the perfect body and was empowered by his eating technique, the maximum amount of energy that he could absorb was only a pitiful 30%.

 The 30% of absorbed energy had to temper his cells repeatedly and go through all kinds of training before they could be converted into energy that his body could truly absorb.

 “Yes, that’s what you are thinking! Succeeding the Hell Ledge Challenge will improve a person’s body right away. Other than the genetic chain, nothing can limit the enhancement from the energy,” said Boss Huang straightforwardly.

 “For example, since you’ve merged the strength of nine bulls thoroughly, you’ll need to accomplish the strength of two tigers first to be able to reach the next level. If you can clear the Hell Ledge Challenge and get enough rewards, you can immediately reach the perfect form of nine bulls and two tigers, but since you haven’t unlocked your first genetic lock, you won’t become a rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior.”

 That explained a lot! Even if the Life Or Death Ring was not started, the Hell Ledge Challenge was very significant.

 Just imagine how much time Tang Ling could save if he could directly improve his body with pure absorbable energy?

 Ding!

Boss Huang landed another strong hammer strike, and a whiff of gray smoke came from the live sword. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and spat a cloud of smoke out as he looked at Tang Ling and said, “In the whole wide world, only Darkness Port’s Hell Ledge is able to provide such energy and it’s related to a certain secret of the city, but there’s no free lunch in the world. It isn’t that easy for you to get the energy.”

 “I know, the Hell Ledge Challenge must be hard, isn’t it?” Other than his racing heart, Tang Ling had always been calm. Of course, he understood what Boss Huang was trying to tell him.

 His composure was the reason why Boss Huang admired him, but the boss did not overly express his admiration. Instead, Boss Huang said, “It’s very, very difficult. It will be a massacre! Under normal circumstances, it’s impossible for normal people to clear the challenge. The normal people that I’m referring to aren’t those without talents but normal rank 1 Purple Moon Warriors. Even they don’t have what it takes to clear the first challenge.”

 “I understand! What kind of massacre will it be?” Tang Ling’s gaze showed that he was in deep thought as he asked Boss Huang.

 “All I can tell you is that the massacre is very real. Different people might encounter different situations, but the difficulty remains the same. I’ve received reliable news that because you two started the Life Or Death Ring, the difficulty of Hell Ledge will be adjusted. It will be a lot harder than usual,” whispered Boss Huang with squinted eyes.

 “What does it mean? Heavy injuries, death, or whatnot! I’m still gonna tell you the same thing. There’s no free lunch in the world. The energy might be good, but you still need to get a clear rating. Remember, a rating of B or below will only get you a tiny amount of energy or none at all.” Boss Huang shrugged with widespread hands.

 “What if it’s an SS or SSS rating?” Tang Ling asked.

 Boss Huang’s eyes gleamed. He then turned around and took the special container out from the hearth after he put the cigarette in his mouth. “The amount of energy that you’ll get is considerably huge. Not even a rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior could ignore the amount, but SS and SSS? The clearing conditions are harsh, and normal geniuses can never make it,” Boss Huang responded.

 Nodding, Tang Ling did not speak boldly or step away cowardly. Instead, he accepted the advice with a calm mind that made one feel like he had the highest chance of getting through the challenge.

 “But now…I have to warn you about something very, very important.” Boss Huang suddenly looked very grave.

 Tang Ling looked at him with a frightened expression. What could possibly make Boss Huang turn this serious? He had spent quite a few days with the boss now, yet he had never seen such a serious look on him before.

 “What is it?” Tang Ling’s throat was a little dry. His instinct told him that what Boss Huang was about to say was very important.

 Boss Huang did not answer immediately. He leisurely poured the superalloy powder, which had been melted into liquid form, into a rectangular-shaped container. After that, he clipped the live sword and put it into the container with the liquid.

 A strange scene happened. The moment the live sword touched the liquid, the liquid exponentially decreased in volume.

 The superalloy liquid that Boss Huang refined was absent of impurities, hence it was absorbed quickly by the live sword.

 During the absorption process, sparks would appear from time to time. Then, some profound-looking runes appeared on the live sword. There was also a slight breeze that felt intense blowing at the sword from time to time. It granted the live sword an emerald-golden color.

 Tang Ling watched the magical changes happen before his eyes, feeling overwhelmed. Even though he had a feeling that Boss Huang did not seem to be doing anything to it, he believed that if it not for the older man, a normal blacksmith could never make this happen.

 However, compared to the changes in the live sword, he was more concerned about what the boss was trying to warn him with that serious look.

 Just when he was about to ask again, Boss Huang looked at him and pointed at his chest.”I want to warn you about this.”