Chapter 79
Reconstruction (5)
In front of the No. 4 Core at Cheonjigong Workshop.
Despite almost all facilities being destroyed by an unknown intruder, this was the only operational core left.
Immediately after emerging from the mental realm, Dohyeon got straight to work.
“Let’s use this one.”
“But…”
The core was intact, but without a lava supply, it was barely maintaining residual heat.
“Don’t worry. We can use this.”
“This is?”
With a sly grin, Dohyeon pulled out his prized possession from his chest.
A silver pocket watch with a hummingbird engraving on both sides—Dead Ringer.
He turned the crown and set the hour hand to three.
[3 o’clock: Hwaeomgyeong (Flame Sutra)]
Flare──
From Dohyeon’s left hand, lava shaped like a sphere formed, imitating Seongcheol’s ability.
He extended his right hand, adorned with a chain bracelet, toward the core’s base.
Gugugugu──
The ground trembled as lava underneath pushed up through the earth.
Dohyeon slowly drew the lava from the ground, merging it with the sphere in his left hand.
Then, raising both hands high as if in celebration—
Kwaaah─!!
The lava sphere above Dohyeon’s head began to expand.
“What’s going on? What’s happening?”
The other workshop members peeked out, feeling the vibrations and heat.
“The lava… it’s curling into a sphere! Like the sun!”
“Who is that…? Ah! That’s the one who fixed the artifact!”
“The Divine Artisan? The one the elder praised?”
“Seems like he’s about to do something else.”
Dohyeon slammed the now massive lava sphere into the core.
The core, heated by the lava, soon glowed red as usual.
“Phew, done. This should last for today’s work.”
“Wow…”
Doyoung stared, unable to hide his amazement at the blazing core.
Dohyeon patted his back.
“No time to dawdle! I’ve used up all the stellar energy doing this, so like it or not, it’s your responsibility now.”
“Guh… I’ll do it. Anything.”
Seeing Doyoung’s determined expression, Dohyeon grinned.
‘Technically, I used the artifact, not my stellar energy, so it doesn’t matter… but I should let him know there’s no fallback.’
That way, he wouldn’t expect to rely on me like in the mental realm.
Dohyeon placed a sack of ashes in front of Doyoung.
“You know the process, right? Start with black flame.”
Recalling the procedure used to repair the elder’s artifact previously, Doyoung nodded.
Burn the stellar energy to create a void—black process.
Purify it to white—white process.
Infuse stellar energy to spark transformation—yellow process.
Carve in the myth to complete it—red process.
Doyoung had only observed the entire procedure once before.
Yet, he decided to trust it.
Though he seemed inexperienced, according to Dohyeon’s seasoned judgment, he was capable.
After all, he was now the lead artisan of Cheonjigong Workshop, inheriting the elder’s position.
‘In my previous life, I was older, yet the elder scolded me endlessly…’
Flare──
As expected, Doyoung skillfully produced black flame.
Of course, this was a special process only achievable at Cheonjigong Workshop.
The real test came next.
He had only seen white flame a month ago.
Could he reach that stage in such a short time?
Just as Dohyeon’s concern crossed his mind—
Flare──
“Oh!! White flame!”
“The lead artisan did it!”
“After hogging the core every night, he finally succeeded.”
‘Ho.’
A little push, and he had overcome a huge obstacle.
Doyoung used the hammer in the furnace as material to create proper white flame.
Once the hammer was sufficiently heated—
“Take it out.”
“Huh?”
“Now for the next step.”
With a half-doubtful expression, Doyoung reached into the white flame.
Though brilliant, the core was only lukewarm inside.
The brilliance of the white flame still clung to the hammer.
“Now strike it on the anvil.”
“The empty anvil?”
“Don’t question me, just do it.”
As Doyoung struck the hammer—
Paaah─!
“…!!!!”
Blue sparks flew from the impact.
Where the sparks landed, crystalline blue gems formed, resembling jewels.
“As expected.”
Having traversed the mental realm, Dohyeon’s intent brought him to the next stage—Opus Caeruleum (Blue Process), just before yellow flame.
A stage balancing purity and perfection.
‘Only those undergoing the refining process can taste this brilliance.’
Analogously, if a master’s level has age, this is the youthfulness only the young can achieve.
Doyoung, exhilarated by the leap in mastery, hammered continuously.
Blue sparks scattered, casting a bluish glow on his face.
Unnoticed by him—
‘Is that… lapis lazuli?’
The blackened hammer surface slowly became encrusted with blue crystals, like a cocoon turning into a chrysalis.
With each strike, the hammer became increasingly lapis.
Finally, after the last strike—
Kkak─!
Pa-chang─!!
The lapis covering the hammer shattered and fell.
“This is…”
Doyoung examined the hammer in his hands.
The black soot was gone, replaced by a metal glowing with mysterious blue light.
“You made this, Artifact.”
“……”
“If you don’t believe me, test it.”
Dohyeon pointed to the central core.
The entire shared workshop could only be repaired with the artifact.
In other words, being able to repair it proved the artifact’s completion.
Doyoung lifted the hammer to his chest, gripping it with both hands.
After a brief prayer-like pause—
Bang──!!
He struck the ground.
Kugugugu──!!!
Blue waves radiated outward.
The broken rocks self-aligned, reconstructing the workshop.
The collapsed core returned to its original form, and the central core flowed with dragon veins again.
Doyoung stood in awe, hands on the hammer, silently watching.
The first to break the silence were the other workshop members.
“Waaaah!!! The lead artisan did it!!!”
“The workshop’s repaired!!!”
Before Doyoung could feel the glory, the workers dashed forward cheering.
Dohyeon chuckled, shaking his head.
“Honestly, these bandit-like reactions…”
Still, it confirmed that Cheonjigong Workshop had truly been revived.
“Ugh…”
Amid the silent watchers, one person groaned and opened their eyes.
After a moment, their lifeless gaze met Doyoung’s.
“So you managed it.”
“Elder!!!”
Doyoung, trembling, held the elder’s wrinkled hand.
The elder glanced at the hammer lying nearby.
The item he had given Dohyeon—once caked with years of use—now shone brilliantly blue.
“What on earth did you do to that hammer?”
“What did I do? Something very good.”
At that moment, Dohyeon emerged from the tent playfully.
The elder, smiling knowingly, spoke.
“You asked me to find the artifact… and did something daring.”
“I didn’t do it. That person over there did.”
“…!”
The elder’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve unearthed a good one, unlike before.”
“What… are you saying?”
In his previous life, this person had gone unnoticed.
But in the present, Doyoung, shaped by layers of effort, had emerged as talent.
‘In a sense, not the elder, but I created this student…’
Well, ultimately the elder had shaped him, so it wasn’t that different.
“You can now go to a safe place, Elder.”
“Nonsense. If that’s the case, why wake me?”
“I wanted to, but the great hammer wouldn’t budge—it was stuck solid.”
“Ha! You can’t even complain.”
Dohyeon smirked.
It seemed the elder’s treatment had gone well.
“Hmm? But… why is it so noisy outside?”
Outside, there was the roar of construction.
They were rebuilding Cheonjigong Workshop.
The elder was puzzled.
The heavy machinery noises wouldn’t be heard all the way from Baekdusan… unless modern equipment had been brought in.
“Better see for yourself.”
Dohyeon lifted the tent flap.
Inside, excavators, dump trucks, and heavy machinery were everywhere.
Managers, workers, and workshop members worked together to rebuild the workshop.
And the logo on their uniforms read:
“Taejong Group…?”
“They’ve been collaborating with me lately.”
The elder knew well that the Taejong Group handled Korean distribution.
“But why are they here…”
“Materials incoming!! Everyone out!!”
Doo doo doo doo doo──
A helicopter landed, its rotors roaring.
Thanks to Doyoung’s adjustments opening an aerial path.
The elder could hardly believe his eyes.
“How is this possible? Modern equipment here would be useless…”
“Unlike your artifact, Elder, Doyoung’s accepts the earth’s flow.”
Doyoung’s divine artifact, the Earth God Artifact, had harmonized the flow of stellar energy in Baekdusan.
His calm personality, unlike the elder’s fiery temperament, influenced both the artifact and the mountain.
After decades in the workshop, this must have been an unfamiliar sight for the elder.
Dohyeon noticed this and continued.
“By the way, there’s someone who wants to meet you.”
“Me…?”
“Is that alright?”
The elder nodded, and a person entered the tent.
An elderly man, tall and robust, with white hair.
For a moment unfamiliar, yet there was a sense of recognition.
“You’re… the junkyard kid, aren’t you?”
“You remember, Elder.”
The boy from the junkyard had grown into the prominent CEO, Geum Taesan, and shook the elder’s hand firmly.
“The young man you helped has grown like this.”
“Good… are you eating properly?”
“Of course.”
Not just eating properly, but seemingly every meal could be Michelin 3-star level.
Geum Taesan, overwhelmed with emotion, could only weep.
Listening briefly, it made sense.
In the 1960s, everyone was poor.
Even young Geum Taesan faced starvation.
He survived day by day collecting scrap, aided by the elder.
“All the items you refined were sturdy and excellent, as if enchanted.”
“Ha, enchanted? Not entirely wrong.”
Thanks to stellar energy, the material’s properties were enhanced.
During the elder’s journey to Baekdusan with the artifact, Geum Taesan had helped him.
This connection continued as business over the years.
“All I could do was distribute the elder’s favor nationwide.”
“Clever boy. You’ve worked hard. Why bother paying proper compensation?”
“Impossible! We barely cover costs, yet the elder insists…”
Indeed, he had ceded 80% of Taejong’s shares.
Clearly, the elder had made accommodations.
“I’ll take my leave now. Don’t worry about the cost—it’s not even a fraction of what we owe.”
“If that is your wish, then do so.”
With the elder’s permission, Geum Taesan bowed deeply and withdrew.
“Truly an emotional Autobahn,” Dohyeon murmured.
“Why are you standing there? This old man needs rest.”
“I suspected as much, so I have a question.”
The elder sighed, sensing this wasn’t trivial.
“Do you know a woman named Ryu Yeonhee?”
“…!”
The elder’s eyes widened.
Ryu Yeonhee—the name of Dohyeon’s mother buried in memory.
