The artist pulls out a weeping willow tree

Jixiang woke up before dinner.

Jixiang, who had just had a nap, was still a little sleepy, and only became fully awake after drinking a bottle of nutrient solution.

Jixiang, who was fully awake, looked like he remembered something. He quickly took a tube of nutrient solution and hurried to the smelting room.

In the smelting room, Old Man Ji was doing the final finishing work. This afternoon, Old Man Ji mixed a bunch of materials.

After matching one piece, he felt it was not suitable, so he broke it up and matched it again. Considering Jixiang's outstanding performance, Old Man Ji thought that he could increase the difficulty for her, but he also felt that since she was a beginner after all, she should take it slow.

It took Old Man Ji an entire afternoon to finally determine the difficulty level for Jixiang.

Seeing Jixiang running towards them, the old man and the child greeted them.

Jixiang shook the nutrient solution in his hand and asked, "You haven't eaten this afternoon yet?"

Old Man Ji nodded and said, "Wait a moment." Then he went to the small compartment in the smelting room, which contained cleaning and disinfection equipment.

Although the metals used by Mr. Ji are all very safe and ordinary metals that can be directly touched, cleaning and disinfection are standard safety procedures.

Old man Ji washed his hands carefully and disinfected them before taking the nutrient solution handed to him by Jixiang.

After finishing his drink, Old Man Ji said, "I have sorted out the metal ratios. From easy to difficult, I will still guide you the first time. If you encounter any problems later, feel free to contact me."

Hearing this, Jixiang withdrew his gaze from the piles of metal materials and said, "Okay, okay, no problem!"

Old Man Ji nodded with satisfaction, then straightened his expression and slowly said, "Broken, as the name implies, is to use mental power to break, smash or even crush metal. This step requires mental power and speed, as well as skill. Cutting off certain nodes of the metal veins will make the metal brittle. But it is only relatively brittle, and at this time, mental power is needed to exert pressure..."

"Melt is to use mental power to rebuild the metal veins to change the metal's properties. Then, mental power is used to wrap the metal and soften it into mud or water. During this period, the metal veins must be constantly corrected..."

"Fusion is to melt different metals into one, mix the melted metal liquids, and then use mental power to rebuild the metal veins. Different metal veins will naturally repel each other, so mental power is needed to completely fuse them, and the metal veins must also be combined into one..."

"These three techniques may seem simple, but they are not as easy as I said. Mental power here replaces various machines and even fuel. No matter how complex and difficult the mental power training is, there are limits. However, these three techniques almost completely change the metal, and the difficulty is incomparable."

Jixiang responded in a deep voice. She understood that the techniques and methods seemed familiar, but the goal she wanted to achieve was bigger and more difficult, so she would naturally have to pay more and the pressure on her mental strength would be greater.

Old Man Ji looked at Jixiang who was calm and steady, and nodded with satisfaction, "I'll take you through it, starting with these two pieces of metal." Old Man Ji picked up two small pieces of metal, threw one of them upwards, and then trapped it with his mental power.

Jixiang decisively extended his mental power thread and followed cautiously.

A layer of shallow lines slowly emerged on the surface of the metal fixed between the two people. As time passed, the lines became clearer and clearer, slowly expanding until they became cracks visible to the naked eye.

Then, under the pressure and impact of mental force, it began to break from the inside out until it became pulverized. Not long after, the pulverized metal began to change again. The powdered metal became finer and more viscous, becoming a pool of liquid.

Next, Old Man Ji threw out another piece of metal, and after the same steps, it also turned into a pool of liquid.

Under the control of mental power, the two pools of liquid continued to get closer and closer, touching each other, and gradually merged from distinct colors into one. The liquids struggled and repelled the mental power, but it was in vain.

After the strong fluctuations, the metal liquid began to become gentle and calm, and the colors became harmoniously blended. The spiritual power began to shape its exterior, wrapping the liquid into a sphere, and then the liquid began to condense and gradually solidified into a solid.

Old Man Ji withdrew his mental power and caught the falling metal ball.

Jixiang pursed his lips and said nothing. The three techniques of mental power breaking, melting and fusion were to destroy and create.

It was like the world was collapsing, and the spiritual force swept through the entire metal world with overwhelming force. The shock and destruction were like the end of the world. And the fusion was like a new life, repairing and fusing the two broken worlds, a seamless fusion that was like a miracle.

Old Man Ji: "Do you understand?"

Jixiang: "I understand now. It's really shocking."

Old man Ji raised the corner of his lips slightly, "Study hard. The quality of the fused metal depends on your own ability."

Jixiang: "Then how do we determine whether the fusion is successful?"

Old Man Ji: "Silly, there is a metal detector. If the fusion fails, it means that the two metals are different. If the fusion succeeds, it means that..."

"how?"

"Either a synthetic metal or one metal."

"Aren't they all synthetic metals?"

Old Man Ji shook his head and said slowly: "If the fusion is successful enough, it is equivalent to metal reconstruction. The metal components are fused together to form new components. The result of the metal detector test is an independent type of metal."

"Good, good bullfrog." Jixiang exclaimed. "But the reaction of internal chemical substances will also form new components, right?" It's a bit unscientific.

"Metals that require mental power to smelt are different from ordinary metals. Without mental power as a medium, they are difficult to be affected. Their material components seem to have a natural protective film that can only be broken by mental power."

"Uh, why isn't it included in the Interstellar Metal Encyclopedia?" Jixiang scratched his head.

Old Man Ji waved his hand and explained, "This is knowledge related to metal smelting."

Old Man Ji looked at the time and said, "Just practice on your own and don't delay your rest." He has to go to school tomorrow.

Jixiang nodded, "Don't worry, I will pay attention, you can rest early."

Old Man Ji nodded to show that he understood, then he stood up and walked away slowly.

Jixiang looked at the metal ball placed on the table by Old Man Ji, and recalled the process of the formation of the metal ball. It was really shocking!