Forging a Century: From Village Blacksmith to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven

In the chaotic era of the Great Qian Dynasty, demons and monsters run rampant. A hundred schools of thought contend while warlords ravage the land. The demon king holds the Sword Gate Pass, turning three thousand miles of Shu mountains into a demon nest. Demons serve as county magistrates, treating humans like livestock, demanding monthly "meat taxes"—and those who refuse are beheaded and hung at the city gates. Shen Lie is reincarnated into this world bearing the fate of "Divine Craftsmanship," landing as a blacksmith in Qingyun County. The bad news: his father fled to avoid the meat tax, leaving Shen Lie to pay four times the amount—a total of seventy-eight catties of fine meat. The good news: he can enchant any forged item with magical affixes and equip them as his own. Even better: his hammer has a special damage bonus against demons! Thus begins his unorthodox path of "physical exorcism." Talismans useless against a drought demon? He'll punch the scorched-earth fiend back into its coffin. Sacred sutras ineffective against fallen immortals? His hammer will ring out their death knell. An outer-world demon appears? Shen Lie tears open his shirt, reveals his chiseled muscles, and smiles: "Perfect—my Bright Dragon-Tiger Armor still needs demon blood for tempering." Centuries later, when corrupted celestial beings descend upon the mortal realm, all schools of cultivation retreat, and humanity teeters on the brink of ruin. Shen Lie dons his Bright Dragon-Tiger Armor, shoulders the Heaven-Suppressing Demon-Subduing Hammer, and steps onto a Mohist war machine adorned with golden legendary affixes like "Cloud-Riding Lightning," "Dark Iron Sealing Demon," and "Soul-Swallowing Mountains." Facing the fallen gods and buddhas, he laughs: "Your flesh and bones—I'll gladly take them all."