I could feel Storm still flying and adding her defenses to my inner ocean, but there was a disconnect. A barrier had been erected across our familiar bond that kept me from speaking with her.

That barrier didn't exist when I first entered the Spirit World. I had felt her looking through my senses to see and hear what I was experiencing. It wasn't until the 'test' of skill began that the disconnect began.

"Your bond is fine," Astrid said, anticipating my concerns. "The connection between you and your bond is still healthy and intact. We have taken the measure to isolate you from each other, a diffusion array that ensures the effort you put into the test is the knowledge you have gained for yourself.

"The array makes sure your efforts are only your own. There can be no help or guidance from your bond or any spirit guide you might have contracted."

Astrid had identified itself shortly after announcing the test. It was the voice that was the strongest among the cacophony of noise that had almost overwhelmed me. The presence that had forced the other voices to conform and be quiet. I couldn't tell if it was male or female, only that it was.

"You will be given a mentor, someone of Masterclass rank that will demonstrate the techniques our people have perfected. One person for each profession you choose to test your talents against."

"Is there a consequence for doing poorly?" I asked. Most of my professional skills were at the apprentice level. Only two were higher - Alchemy close to reaching Adept level and Runes just crossing into the journeyman.

"The tests require energy and concentrated Spirit in order to manifest the materials, equipment, and arrays needed for them to work. You must pay the cost in energy for each profession you chose to participate in."

"Pay the cost with my own spirit energy or with cores and spirit stones?" I asked for clarification.

"You may decide on the method, but know if you fall short, if you cannot pay the cost, we will collect your life's energy until you are either dead or the price has been paid."

"What is the cost for each trial?" I asked.

"It varies on how far you advance. Ten Chi for the apprentice level, one hundred for the journeyman, and one thousand for the adept. It continues to increase by multiples of ten for each tier."

"How many Chi does this provide?" I asked as I withdrew a spirit stone and a core.

I watched and felt the spirit extend an ectoplasmic appendage, brushing each item with a tentacle of energy. The trace of ectoplasm seemed to surround and enter both stones, neither reacting to whatever it was Astrid was doing.

"The stone holds six Chi, the core five," it replied once it had reabsorbed the ectoplasm it had used to evaluate each item. Both stone and core crumbled after his test, with the Chi they contained siphoned dry as part of his evaluation.

I wondered if I would get credit for each stone but dismissed that concern chalking up the loss of the spirit stone and core as the fee paid to have them appraised.

I would test my skills in Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Runes, Arrays, Enchantment, and Inscription. It would cost 1250 Chi to try each profession to a rank I was comfortable with. Two hundred fifty cores, not an insignificant amount, but not so expensive that I was worried.

I decided to start with Blacksmithing, even though I had little hope of reaching the apprentice level. It simply hadn't been one of the professions I'd had time to practice. I'd, of course, spent the time needed to learn the mechanics and techniques contained within the jade memory tokens I'd purchased for the Dojo and House. I understood the fundamentals, but I'd not had the time to translate that knowledge into muscle memory.

The testing Spirit didn't speak. It simply reacted to my request to test my blacksmith skills by creating the tools I would need.

The blacksmith and forge, made of spirit, simply activated, and it settled into demonstrating the tasks I would need to recreate to succeed. It started with smelting the metal it would need. An infusion of ice properties that removed the impurities from the ore and molded it into ingot form was a process nothing like smelting with fire, nothing I would expect.

It used iron as seed stock, infusing the metal by tempering it with ice elemental affinity causing it to be brittle and weak. Once it was happy with its changes, it began realigning the metal, strengthening the bonds between molecules, and creating an ingot of material that was 'soft' enough to be molded or hammered.

It was the connection between the bonded molecules that made ice metal possible. A crystal kernel was formed, a skill none of my world's blacksmiths had developed. The tiny spark grew, an injection of ice-infused Qi creating a polarization, the metal aligning with the crystalline structure.

The process itself wasn't that difficult to emulate. Not if you had an affinity with ice and a perception profound enough to see what the spirit had done on the microscopic level. A knowledge of metal and how it flowed also helped.

The smelting process was as much about removing impurities as it was adding the ice element to the metal. I'm not sure when I took over and began creating ingot after ingot, but I was aware enough of the subtle suggestions and the hints the Spirit gave me to refine my growing understanding as I continued.

The process seemed like it could be used for other materials. Growing gems came to mind. If I could replicate this process for the gems needed when cultivators awaken, that might make a real difference for my people. The higher the quality of the gemstone, the better the matrix a person could form. If I could standardize gem creation for my people, that would be a significant leap forward.

Once a dozen ingots were forged and ready for the next step, the spirit guided my hand and my Qi to shape the metal. I had decided that this spirit may have been male, a feeling he gave off that seemed to identify with that gender. The metal was still in a fluid state, not quite liquid but soft enough that it could be hammered or molded into shape.

My focus and perception were wholly engrossed in the process. This was the first time I had used my blacksmith knowledge and skills to craft something myself. Even with the gentle instruction and guidance the spirit shared with me, I felt a sense of accomplishment.

The shield I was crafting wasn't a masterpiece of smelting and forging, but it was well enough constructed that it could be identified as a shield and had the protections and attributes from the ice metal safely folded inside.

It was the first of its kind, at least as far as any Elf might be aware of, and even if it had just barely reached the apprentice level, it was strong enough to withstand a blow from anyone at the Qi Gathering Realm. More importantly, the metal was immune to fire. It gave double bonus protection against attacks using fire Qi.

I would guess that over half of the world's present Elven cultivators were aligned with the fire element. If I could produce an entire set of armor and weapons that made use of this metal or create city defenses sheathed in plates of this metal, it would make the protections of my people and cities formidable.

That Nascent Soul Realm cultivator that had attacked Xiwang's docks would have found his fire splashing harmlessly against shielded walls. That the metal used iron as a base was fortuitous; the metal abundant and easy to source.

"Her abilities place her at the apprentice level," the testing Spirit announced, jolting me from my thoughts and breaking my focus from the item I had crafted.

"Blacksmithing awards her the accumulated knowledge of our craft for the novice, apprentice, and journeyman level."

I was relieved and disappointed. I would have loved to be awarded the breadth of knowledge this spirit held. But I wasn't so foolish as to object. With what little training and experience in the profession I held, that I had attained apprentice level was a miracle in itself.