Emotions Really Are Hard to Understand

Back then, he could say that he had accepted Tang Chenfeng as his disciple out of their past friendship and because he truly needed a good disciple to inherit his craft. Moreover, he was a man of principles. Since he had taken on a disciple, he could not simply give up on him. He had to persevere unless the disciple chose to give up himself. But he soon discovered that Tang Chenfeng was an extraordinary genius, especially gifted in forging. More importantly, he was a genius willing to work hard. Every time he saw him, the boy seemed to have improved. Just as Ye Jiulong had told him before, this child was always bringing him surprises.

However, this surprise was truly both amusing and exasperating. Tang Chenfeng had succeeded. He had completed a forging that should have been impossible and successfully Spirit Forged a piece of Star Iron. But the violent shockwave from that final hammer blow had swept through the entire forging room. If Zhao Gaobo had not promptly released his Martial Soul to protect Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling, they would likely have suffered as well.

A green halo descended, and a powerful aura of life rushed toward them. Ye Hongling had released her Martial Soul and First Soul Skill. Her Life Domain blossomed and enveloped Tang Chenfeng. "Brother, are you okay?" Ye Hongling asked anxiously.

Tang Chenfeng staggered out of Zhao Gaobo's arms and said, "I'm fine... I'm fine. My chest just hurts a little, and my head is a bit dizzy."

Ye Hongling patted her chest and sighed in relief. "That's good. Brother, I was really afraid something would happen to you."

Was Tang Chenfeng really fine? Of course not. He felt as though his internal organs were burning, the searing pain unbearable. Aside from the weakness in his Sea of Consciousness, it felt as though it were about to split apart. If Teacher Zhao had not infused Soul Power into his body to ease much of the pain, and if he had not wanted to worry Ye Hongling, he would rather have passed out. At least then he would not have felt so much pain.

"Enough. Stop forcing yourself. You need rest now." Zhao Gaobo's slightly excited voice came from behind him.

Tang Chenfeng wore a bitter smile. It seemed that no matter how convincingly he pretended to be unaffected before a Titled Douluo, he could not fool him. Neither Tang Chenfeng nor Ye Hongling had been particularly surprised to learn that Teacher Zhao was a Titled Douluo. After all, Teacher Zhao was their grandfather's friend. It was not difficult to guess that a Titled Douluo's friend would also be a Titled Douluo. Their grandfather had already achieved such heights, so the friend who had once been his equal could not possibly be weak.

Tang Chenfeng asked, "Then, Teacher Zhao, what about my assessment...?"

Before Tang Chenfeng could finish, Zhao Gaobo immediately said, "Don't worry, you passed perfectly. Go back and rest first. I need to examine this piece of Star Iron you forged before making further plans. It seems the time for your assessment at the Blacksmith Association will have to be postponed as well."

In the end, Tang Chenfeng had to be supported by Ye Hongling on the way back. He truly no longer had the strength to walk back on his own.

Watching the two of them leave, then looking at the finished metal, Zhao Gaobo remained silent for a long while before slowly saying, "A genius is still a genius. Good thing I listened to Old Jiulong and accepted him as my disciple. This was no loss. Once he inherits my craft, I should be able to retire in peace."

Zhao Gaobo then walked toward the Forging Platform and muttered, "What a pity, what a pity. Such a fine piece of rare metal is probably ruined."

He came to the piece of Star Iron Tang Chenfeng had forged and began to inspect it.

"Eh—" A soft exclamation escaped Zhao Gaobo's lips. He murmured, "This doesn't look like it failed. Not only did it succeed, it even seems to be..."

Meanwhile, the siblings returned to their dormitory. The moment they entered, Tang Chenfeng collapsed onto his bed. He did not even want to cultivate. He only wanted to lie down and rest properly for a while. Though it was the weekend, there was still hardly anyone in the dormitory. Perhaps influenced by the siblings and Ze Ping, the Work-Study Students sharing their dormitory had become especially diligent. Under the guidance of the three of them, they cultivated earnestly. Ze Ping was probably still outside training everyone.

"Brother, how are you feeling now?" Ye Hongling asked worriedly from beside him.

"I should be fine, but I want to rest properly now." Tang Chenfeng's voice was clearly weak, and he quickly closed his eyes.

Not long after, Tang Chenfeng's breathing became even, and he fell into a deep sleep.

No one knew how much time had passed before Tang Chenfeng felt as if he had awakened, yet somehow had not. Am I dreaming? Or could it be...

Clap, clap, clap, clap. A round of applause sounded beside Tang Chenfeng's ears, accompanied by a pleasant voice. "Not bad. Your cultivation speed has improved quite a bit lately. You've gone up nearly two levels. As expected, you haven't disappointed Mom's expectations." The owner of that voice was Tang Chenfeng's mother, Bai Xing.

Upon hearing this, Tang Chenfeng froze for a moment before immediately making his body within the Sea of Consciousness sit up. He said in surprise, "Really? Sister Bai Xing, my Soul Power has gone up another two levels?"

Ever since Tang Chenfeng had begun learning forging and design from Zhao Gaobo, his days had been spent in the forging room, cultivating, and undergoing physical training. Naturally, he had cultivated diligently, but he truly had not had the time to check how much his Soul Power Level had improved. If Sister Bai Xing had not reminded him, he would not have known that he had improved so much. He remembered that he had previously been level sixteen. If he went up another two levels, then he was already level eighteen, right?

Bai Xing said, "Yes, you're already close to the threshold of level twenty. Once you officially enter level twenty, you can move on to the next major stage. Chenfeng, do you have the Starlight Stone with you?"

Tang Chenfeng replied, "Yes, I've kept it on me the whole time." To Tang Chenfeng, this Starlight Stone was very important. It had been left to him by his mother, and according to Bai Xing, it was also the key to his future.

Tang Chenfeng asked again, "Sister Bai Xing, what is it? And what is this next major stage you mentioned?"

Bai Xing merely smiled faintly. "It's a secret, so I won't tell you yet. But as long as you can break through to level twenty, there will be another big surprise."

"What kind of surprise?" Tang Chenfeng became interested and asked impatiently.

Bai Xing crossed her arms, appearing thoughtful. "The surprise humans speak of is when you give someone a gift without them knowing beforehand. That is what makes it a surprise, so I won't tell you. Work hard and try to find the surprise I prepared for you as soon as possible."

"Ah." A faint helplessness immediately appeared on Tang Chenfeng's face. It seemed he would have to work even harder.

"Oh, right. I need to remind you of two more things." Bai Xing continued, "Forging can improve your understanding of the world and even accelerate your cultivation, but your body is the most important thing. Don't exhaust yourself."

For some reason, though it was merely an ordinary expression of concern, it made Tang Chenfeng's heart feel warm. This was a mother's care. Though she was only a strand of Divine Sense she had left behind, he could still feel her gentleness and concern for him.

"There's one more thing..." Bai Xing's voice suddenly turned serious.

Tang Chenfeng immediately sat up straight. He was still somewhat unaccustomed to Bai Xing's unpredictable moods.

Seeing Tang Chenfeng suddenly become nervous, Bai Xing actually seemed a little flustered as well. Only then did she say helplessly, "Don't be so nervous. I still don't quite understand human emotions, so my emotional changes may seem a little unnatural."

Bai Xing's true body was the incarnation of the Cosmic Law and possessed no emotions of its own. Perhaps it was not that she had none, but that they had gradually been forgotten over the long river of time, perhaps even completely vanished. This was especially true for this strand of Divine Sense. Yet once this Divine Sense awakened, she could observe and learn through Tang Chenfeng's memories. Among those things, emotions were what Bai Xing found hardest to understand. For instance, why did people cry when they were happy, laugh when they were deeply sorrowful, or even cast aside their instinct for survival when enraged? She could not understand any of it.

Bai Xing then said, "Until you can control it better, do not use Divine Sense for now. Over the past month, you forcibly controlled Divine Sense twice in succession, and it has had a considerable impact on your Sea of Consciousness. Do not use it again within the next year, or bear the consequences yourself. Do you understand?" There was a trace of authority in Bai Xing's words this time, and Tang Chenfeng obediently nodded. "Yes, Sister Bai Xing. I'll be careful."

Bai Xing smiled brilliantly. "Good, as long as you understand. The two people outside have been calling for you for a while. I'll send you back first."

"Ah, outside? Who..." Before Tang Chenfeng could finish speaking, a flash of white light appeared before his eyes, followed by darkness. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the two people in front of him.

One was Ze Ping, and the other was naturally Ye Hongling.

"Boss, you're finally awake."

"Brother, you're finally awake."

Tang Chenfeng could clearly hear a trace of anxiety in their voices. He asked, "How long was I asleep?"

Ze Ping said from the side, "A full day and night. It's already the afternoon of the second day. Boss, why do you seem to be getting weaker lately? You used to be the toughest one among us."

Tang Chenfeng grinned. "It seems I've been slacking off a bit lately. In that case, Ze Ping, how about I spar with you for a few days?"

Ze Ping was two years older than Tang Chenfeng, but when it came to actual combat, he had no confidence at all. At least so far, he had never beaten Tang Chenfeng, and every time he was beaten especially badly.

Ze Ping hurriedly waved his hands. "No need, Boss. Training with the others is going well enough. You don't need to worry about me. Oh, right, the Vice Dean came looking for you again not long ago. He said that once you woke up, you should go find him again. It seems he has something important to discuss."

Hearing Ze Ping say that, Tang Chenfeng thought, It should be about discussing my trip to the Blacksmith Association. He immediately rolled out of bed.

"Alright, I'll go now. Ling'er, let's go together. Ze Ping, do you want to come?" Tang Chenfeng asked.

Ze Ping said, "I won't go. There's still some time before dinner, so I'm going to the training grounds to practice with everyone a little longer. Um... it's on the way anyway. Boss, do you want to come see how everyone's training is going?"

After spending a month at Haitian Academy, Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling had become familiar with everyone in the Work-Study Student dormitory. He had discovered that although most of the Work-Study Students had little talent, they were more hardworking and united. They had often trained together before, but he had been busy lately and had not joined them. Naturally, Tang Chenfeng agreed.

The three left the dormitory as usual and headed toward the training grounds. The academy's training grounds were very large, with an area of over three thousand square meters, enough to accommodate all the teachers and students in the academy. The outermost ring was a circular track, while there was quite a bit of exercise equipment on the side closer to the dormitories. Most of the dormitory students trained there.

The three made their way to the training grounds with ease. From afar, they saw quite a few people gathered on one side. However, the group seemed divided into two camps. One side was the dormitory students Tang Chenfeng and the others knew all too well, while the other had more than ten people. Tang Chenfeng and the others knew them too, but they certainly had no good impression of them.

Ye Hongling focused her gaze and said, "Is that Ning Tong at the front of those dozen or so people?"

"It really is. Judging by this formation, they must be here to cause trouble for us Work-Study Students again. What do you think, Boss?" Ze Ping asked, clasping his fists as he looked at Tang Chenfeng.

Tang Chenfeng said, "These people are going too far. We need to teach them a lesson and let them know that Work-Study Students aren't easy to bully."