"...So fast!"
Lin Manshan jumped in fright and instinctively took a step back. Looking up, the fat man's burning gaze made his skin crawl. Is this Lou Gao? He quickly lowered his head slightly, cupped his hands, and said politely, "May I ask who you are, Senior?"
His fists were suddenly seized, and he trembled slightly.
A rough voice followed.
"This old man is Lou Gao, president of the Blacksmith Association and one of the three great Divine Craftsmen of this age. Boy, are you willing to take me as your master?"
"Um, Senior, I already have teachers," Lin Manshan said somewhat awkwardly.
"Hm? May I ask which Blacksmith Grandmaster is your teacher?" Lou Gao's eyes widened at once, looking as though he were about to hunt the man down for a one-on-one battle between real men.
"Senior, my teachers are not Blacksmith Grandmasters. They are a group of commoner blacksmiths from an ordinary Blacksmith Shop. They taught me everything they knew and brought me into the trade." Lin Manshan raised his head, neither servile nor overbearing.
"A group of commoner blacksmiths?" Lou Gao froze for a moment, his face full of disbelief. "Boy, don't try to fool me. The hammer technique you used to forge pig iron just now was not something an ordinary blacksmith could comprehend."
"Senior, that wasn't a hammer technique." Lin Manshan tugged at his hands, but could not pull free. "It was a Blade Art that this Junior came up with through casual practice."
"What! You comprehended that Blade Art yourself?" Lou Gao's eyes widened instantly.
"That's right. My family has made a living chopping firewood and producing charcoal for generations. Our inherited martial spirit is a Firewood Chopper, but no one had ever awakened Soul Power. I was the only one to awaken it,