"Let's Talk This Over"

It took quite a while before the laughter gradually died down.

"Ze Ping... Boss, is our boss really a Work-Study Student? Does he really not have any other identity?" This was Ning Tong's greatest doubt. He could not understand why two people so powerful would become Work-Study Students.

"Actually, I'm not too sure now either." Ze Ping spoke helplessly. He had once been certain that Tang Chenfeng and his sister were merely exceptionally gifted and hardworking, but now even he was no longer so sure.

Ning Tong turned to Mo Xiaoyu. "Xiaoyu, do you have any clues?" Mo Xiaoyu had always been better at thinking things through than Ning Tong, but even she was at a loss right now. "I don't have any clues either. I've never heard of any family or sect that inherited a Body Martial Soul. As for Ye Hongling's Tree of Life, it should be a top-tier life-attribute Martial Soul. The only thing I can think of is the Church of Life, but why would any of their people come here?"

No matter how they thought about it, there were always holes in the logic. "Forget it. Let's ask our families to investigate later. I think they'll be interested." Mo Xiaoyu spoke helplessly.

Meanwhile, the brother and sister had already arrived outside the Vice Dean's office. They lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Zhao Gaobo's voice came from the other side of the door.

Zhao Gaobo was waiting for them inside, but his expression seemed somewhat gloomy. The two immediately felt that something was wrong. Could it be because they had taken too long to acknowledge him as their teacher?

"Teacher Zhao, we're here." They spoke cautiously.

"Hm?" Zhao Gaobo seemed to realize that his mood had affected them, and his expression immediately improved considerably.

"Sigh, don't worry. I'm not angry because you came late. I'm angry at some old fellow. Come with me." With that, Zhao Gaobo immediately stood and headed toward the forging workshop.

Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling said nothing further and followed him.

They passed through the corridor and entered the familiar forging room. Zhao Gaobo walked straight to the Forging Platform where Tang Chenfeng had previously forged Star Iron. "Come take a look. Your work."

The siblings looked at each other. They both remembered that Tang Chenfeng had suffered an accident at the crucial final moment. The metal had exploded outright, Tang Chenfeng had been injured in the blast, and the forging had ended in failure.

Still, the two stepped forward to inspect it. They were stunned the moment they looked. Resting on the Forging Platform was a long-handled Forging Hammer. The hammer was one hundred and sixty centimeters long, forged entirely from metal, and it clearly was not ordinary metal. The entire hammer was a translucent dark blue, while a platinum-gold core seemed to shimmer at the center of the hammerhead. It looked like a crystal-carved work of art.

Ye Hongling could not help asking, "Teacher Zhao, could this be...?"

Zhao Gaobo said, "That's right. It's the metal Chenfeng forged before, except it has now taken the form of a Forging Hammer."

"Teacher Zhao, did you turn it into a Forging Hammer?" Tang Chenfeng asked.

Zhao Gaobo said, "No, I didn't. Rather, I never touched it at all. It slowly transformed from a piece of Spirit Forged Metal into a Forging Hammer by itself."

"It turned into a Forging Hammer by itself?!" The siblings cried out in unison.

One day earlier, while Tang Chenfeng had returned to his dormitory to rest, Zhao Gaobo had prepared to examine whether Tang Chenfeng's Spirit Forging could still be salvaged. He discovered that the metal from Tang Chenfeng's Spirit Forging had not been ruined. On the contrary, the two metals had fused perfectly together, becoming a large piece of crystal-like dark-blue metal. It had even continued to slowly wriggle and deform, as though it possessed life. After Zhao Gaobo stared at it for five hours, it had taken on the rough shape of a Forging Hammer.

This series of changes completely shattered Zhao Gaobo's understanding of the world. After notifying a student to go to the Work-Study Student dormitory to find Tang Chenfeng, he also placed a Soul Guide Communication call to Ye Jiulong.

"Hello, Old Gaobo. What is it?" A lazy voice came from the other end of the call.

Zhao Gaobo said excitedly, "Old Jiulong, do you know? Your grandson completed Spirit Forging again, and it's an extremely advanced Spirit Forging, already close to the level of Quasi-Soul Forging. He's made for this. I wanted to discuss something with you—how about you leave him with me? Once he advances further, my position will be his."

Faced with such major news, the voice from the other end remained remarkably calm. "Dream on. I'm definitely going to train Chenfeng into an outstanding Battle Soul Master. Forging may be good, but I won't tie him to this one path alone."

Hearing Ye Jiulong's calm reply, Zhao Gaobo felt as though his warm face had been pressed against a cold backside. What he had wanted to hear was his old rival's shocked voice. His own tone grew somewhat more agitated. "Jiulong, although I know you have hopes for them, I still think you should teach according to their talents. In my view, Chenfeng's talent for being a forger surpasses his talent as a Battle Soul Master. And didn't you hear me clearly? This is Quasi-Soul Forging. Ordinary people might not reach it in their entire lives... no, not even in two lifetimes. If you develop both strengths and weaknesses without specializing, I'm afraid the result will only be counterproductive."

Ye Jiulong said again, "I know what you're thinking, but for me, after seeing enough surprises, they cease to be surprising. Besides, how can you be sure Tang Chenfeng's talent as a Battle Soul Master is inferior to his forging talent? Let me ask you—back when we were at the academy, if you and I fought one-on-one, could you have beaten me?"

Zhao Gaobo's dissatisfied voice came through. "What, are you suddenly trying to mock me?"

"Just tell me whether you could or not," Ye Jiulong said again.

"Of course not. Back then, you were an entire major realm above me. What was I, a Tool Soul Master, supposed to use against you?" Zhao Gaobo's voice became somewhat irritated.

"But he can."

Ye Jiulong said, "In a one-on-one fight, without relying on techniques, unless I used the strength of Five Rings, I couldn't easily defeat him. Tang Chenfeng, with the cultivation of One Ring, could fight me evenly when I used at least Three Rings. With Four Rings, I could barely suppress him. Do you think that's something a normal person can do? Do you still dare say Chenfeng's combat talent is inferior to his forging talent?"

Only silence came from the other end of the call. Or rather, Zhao Gaobo was so shocked that he could not close his mouth. Being able to cross two realms and fight a Titled Douluo to a draw was truly astonishing, even if that Titled Douluo had deliberately suppressed his own cultivation.

When no response came from the other end for a long time, Ye Jiulong knew that he had probably convinced the other party somewhat. He decided not to give him any chance to strike back. "Old Gaobo, I have some matters to deal with in town, so it's inconvenient to stay on the phone. Let's talk later. I'm hanging up."

"Hey, wait a moment!"

"Beep, beep, beep..." By the time Zhao Gaobo reacted, Ye Jiulong had already ended the Soul Guide Communication.

Zhao Gaobo tried calling back afterward, but just as Ye Jiulong had said, all that came from the other end was the sound of no one answering.

"Damn it, that guy is still as irritating as ever. Can't we talk this over properly?" Zhao Gaobo's emotions, which had been soaring like flames just moments ago, were doused by that brief Soul Guide Communication. That was why he had looked to be in such a foul mood.

Ah, forget it. No point thinking about that mess. After calming himself down a little, Zhao Gaobo said, "To be honest, Chenfeng, I can't make sense of this Forging Hammer either. I can roughly tell that it's a Forging Hammer made from an alloy I've never seen before. Like your previous forging, it has a strong exclusiveness. I'm afraid only you can use it. And I remember that at the end, you accidentally spat blood onto it. Do you know what that means?"

Tang Chenfeng thought for a moment. "I remember you saying, Teacher Zhao, that a forger's first high-level forging would use the forger's own blood to complete a ritual called Blood Sacrifice, right?"

Zhao Gaobo said, "That's right. A forger grants metal life through forging, while Blood Sacrifice can link the metal to one's bloodline, making the metal something like a part of oneself. Metal linked by bloodline will also develop a degree of intelligence, allowing it to evolve powerful special effects—what we call special properties. But remember, the effect of Blood Sacrifice is always best the first time. Unless it's a forging you are especially satisfied with, never casually use Blood Sacrifice again."

"Mm, I understand."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. Your situation is rather special. This is the first time I've seen a first Blood Sacrifice performed directly on Quasi-Soul Forging, and it's a Forging Hammer made from an unknown alloy, which I've seen even less of. So I'm very curious what its special property is. Come, try it out. Pick it up and try forging with it." Anticipation actually appeared in the eyes of this Divine Craftsman, who had long stood at the pinnacle of forging.

"Mm." Tang Chenfeng nodded, then slowly reached out toward the Forging Hammer he had personally forged.