Blacksmith Association

Ever since the Star God Forging Hammer had come into Tang Chenfeng's possession, a week had passed quickly, and the time to visit the Blacksmith Association had arrived.

Tang Chenfeng had kept a fairly low profile that week. He attended indoor classes in the mornings, and in the afternoons, he either practiced forging and crafting with Ye Hongling in the forging room or cultivated in the dormitory. He had previously worried that Ning Tong and the others would come back with more questions, but fortunately, they had not clung to him as relentlessly as he had imagined. That let him breathe a sigh of relief.

But there was one other thing that troubled him somewhat. Ze Ping had recently been a little too enthusiastic toward Ye Hongling, often staying especially close to her—practically sticking to her. If it had been anyone else, Tang Chenfeng would probably have thrown a punch already. But he truly could not bring himself to hit Ze Ping. After all, Ze Ping had looked after him quite a bit before, so Tang Chenfeng could only give him a verbal warning. After that, Ze Ping did restrain himself somewhat, though he became even more diligent in cultivation. Since Ning Tong and the others had taken over all the work-study students' tasks, the afternoons had become much freer, and he had spent all that time meditating and cultivating.

According to the other work-study students, Ze Ping wanted to become stronger and prove to Tang Chenfeng that he was outstanding enough to protect Ye Hongling. Tang Chenfeng did not even know whether that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.

On weekends, the academy's students were free to leave campus as long as they did not return too late.

At that moment, two people walked out through the academy gates. They were Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling, and they were heading for the Blacksmith Association. Tang Chenfeng was there for the blacksmith rank assessment and the Mecha Master assessment, while Ye Hongling was naturally there for the designer assessment.

As the academy's Vice Dean, Zhao Gaobo clearly did not have much time to personally accompany them to the association. However, Zhao Gaobo had written them a letter of recommendation and said they only needed to show it to the staff once they arrived.

Once outside the academy, the siblings felt nothing but a strong sense of unfamiliarity. Haitian City was far less familiar to them than Haitian Academy. The reinforced concrete buildings looked imposing from afar, but once they entered this steel forest, all they could feel was busyness and a slight sense of oppression.

Zhao Gaobo had already told them the Blacksmith Association's approximate location, saying it would be easy to recognize once they got close. The siblings did not waste any time. They boarded a Soul Tool Bus and headed straight for their destination.

The Blacksmith Association was some distance from Haitian Academy, but not too far. The Soul Tool Bus got them there in a little over ten minutes.

After arriving, the two got off the bus. Just as Zhao Gaobo had said, the Blacksmith Association was easy to recognize. It was a gray building around thirty stories tall, and above its main entrance was a black hammer relief at least ten meters long.

The Rare Metals sold by the Blacksmith Association were in high demand everywhere, because top-tier mechas also required top-tier materials, and such materials needed top-tier master blacksmiths to process them. Whether in the Federation or any other force, the association was an indispensable presence. Because the demand for materials was so high, the association was also immensely wealthy. Besides blacksmiths, it also accepted designers, makers, repairmen, and more. The only organizations that could likely stand on equal footing with it were the Mecha Master Association and the Spirit Pagoda.

The first-floor lobby was extremely spacious, and there was only one young woman in a white professional outfit at the front desk.

"Little brother, little sister, who are you looking for?" Seeing the siblings approach, a tall, gentle-looking young woman took the initiative to greet them.

Tang Chenfeng replied politely, "Hello, big sister. I'm here for a blacksmith rank assessment and a maker rank assessment."

Ye Hongling, standing beside Tang Chenfeng, also said, "Hello, big sister. I came with my brother for a designer assessment."

"Huh? Little sister, you're so young, and you've come for a designer assessment? You're the older brother, right? Didn't any adults or teachers from your family come with you?"

Clearly, the young woman was more interested in Ye Hongling, who looked younger. At Ye Hongling's age, she gave off a startling impression that made people wonder whether someone so young could really come for an assessment. Tang Chenfeng's height and build, on the other hand, made him look like a teenager at least ten years old. Normally, that would be the appropriate age to take a blacksmith assessment.

Probably no one would have guessed at first glance that they were siblings of roughly the same age.

Tang Chenfeng shook his head as he searched through his clothes. "No. Our teacher is busy, so he told us to come find someone named Du Wei ourselves." As he spoke, he took out the letter of recommendation Zhao Gaobo had given him.

This letter was somewhat different from ordinary letters. It was black and made from some unknown material. It felt extremely flexible to the touch, like a very thin metal sheet.

The moment Tang Chenfeng took out the letter of recommendation, the young woman's expression changed. She accepted the envelope with both hands and said, "Please wait a moment. I'll contact upstairs first." Then she returned to the front desk and used her Soul Tool Communicator to dial a number.

"Master Du? Yes, that's right. It's a pair of siblings holding a black letter of recommendation. The brother is especially tall," the young woman said into the communicator.

Not long afterward, the young woman ended the Soul Guide Communication and said to Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling, "Little brother, little sister, there's no problem with the recommendation letter. Come with me."

As she spoke, she led the siblings toward the Soul Tool Elevator on one side of the lobby, saying nothing along the way.

The three of them entered the elevator together, and the young woman skillfully pressed the button for the sixteenth floor.

The gentle young woman said, "My name is Zhou Xiaoyi. Master Du's office is on the sixteenth floor. I'll take you to see him, and then he'll personally bring you to your rank assessments."

"Thank you, big sister," the two said in unison.

Inside the elevator, Zhou Xiaoyi sized up the siblings. Though both children were plainly dressed, they were both very good-looking. The younger sister had exquisitely delicate features and was cute, even a little mischievous, yet she gave off an ethereal feeling. The older brother was still young, but his face was handsome, like that of a dashing young man. They were both polite as well, making it easy for people to like them.

"Ding!" The elevator arrived at the sixteenth floor, and its doors opened.

The walls outside were silver-white. Looking closely, one would discover that they were entirely made of metal. The ceiling and floor were the same white color as well—clean, tidy, and leaving a very favorable impression.

Outside the elevator was a wide corridor, with doors lining both sides.

Zhou Xiaoyi led them straight down the corridor to a door at its very end. The nameplate on it bore Du Wei's name.

Zhou Xiaoyi pressed the doorbell and said, "Master Du, I'm Zhou Xiaoyi. I've brought the two children over."

"Mm, come in." A deep voice sounded, and then the door opened.

It was a thirty-square-meter office. A wooden desk alone occupied more than a quarter of the room. Behind the desk stood a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties. He was taller than Zhao Gaobo. Though he did not look as burly as Zhao Gaobo, he was still much stronger than an ordinary person. His shoulders were especially broad, and the deltoids on them stretched his red shirt taut. This was the physique unique to blacksmiths.

At the moment, he seemed to be fiddling with the tools on his desk.

"Master Du," Zhou Xiaoyi said respectfully.

"Mm." Du Wei raised his head and looked over.

His gaze landed on Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling, his eyes carrying a hint of curiosity. "Mm, I understand. You can go back first," Du Wei said to Zhou Xiaoyi.

"Alright, Master Du." Zhou Xiaoyi answered respectfully. She glanced at Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling once more before leaving the office.

Only after Zhou Xiaoyi had left did Du Wei come out from behind his desk and walk straight over to Tang Chenfeng. "I heard that you are apprentices accepted by President Zhao Gaobo." As a Divine Craftsman from Sky City, Zhao Gaobo naturally held a high position in the Blacksmith Association. He was the president of the Blacksmith Association.

"Yes! Hello, Master Du," Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling said respectfully together.

Seeing them like this, Du Wei smiled slightly. "We're all family. No need to be so polite."

Du Wei's polite remark left Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling stunned. This was nothing like the scene they had imagined.

Du Wei seemed to see their confusion and said, "You were specially recommended by the president. The president has always had a good eye. I, the Vice President, was chosen by him as well. Since the president chose you, I have every reason to unconditionally believe that you will certainly pass the upcoming assessments. Come on, I'll take you to the assessment rooms."

After saying that, Du Wei took the lead out of the office, and Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling naturally followed behind him.

Du Wei led Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling out of the corridor and back into the Soul Tool Elevator. Unlike when they had gone down with Zhou Xiaoyi, Du Wei pressed the button for the fifth floor.

As the elevator descended, Du Wei asked Tang Chenfeng, "What level are you roughly at now?"

Tang Chenfeng replied, "Teacher Zhao said I'm roughly at the level of a Level Four Blacksmith and a Level Three Maker."

Ye Hongling said from the side, "I'm roughly at the level of a Level Three Designer."

"Ah, this..." Before today, Zhao Gaobo had already written to tell him how outstanding his two disciples were. Du Wei considered his evaluation of the two children quite high already, but he had never imagined it would be this high. Level Four! That was a level at which one could support an entire family alone. Yet it was coming from the mouths of two children under ten. This was truly...

Uh, no. Maybe these two children were simply exaggerating. Du Wei thought to himself.

Naturally, Du Wei did not show his earlier shock directly. "Ah, that's very good. It seems you truly are pillars of the future. You should also be among the most promising members of the association's younger generation to go to Cloud City."

"Cloud City? What is that?"

Zhou Xiaoyi, standing nearby, said, "You seem more used to calling it Sky City, right? Actually, the people up there all know that its real name is Cloud City."

Du Wei smiled. "Mm, that's more or less it. We're almost at the assessment area."

With a "ding," the elevator arrived.

Zhou Xiaoyi still had to go downstairs to look after the front desk, so she said goodbye to them there.

After leaving the elevator, the place was noticeably noisier than the sixteenth floor. The sounds of clanging metal rang out everywhere. Clearly, besides assessments, many professional blacksmiths were also working here.

Du Wei led the two to the front desk and said to the staff member, "Open a testing room for me, and invite an evaluator over as well."

The staff member looked curiously at Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling and asked, "Master Du, are they your disciples? They look so young."

Du Wei took the two forms handed over by the staff member and gave them to the siblings. "Fill out the forms first, then take the tests."

"Alright." Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling accepted the forms and began filling them out carefully.

Du Wei watched from the side and read along, "Tang Chenfeng, Ye Hongling, both from Tianhun Town. Six-year-old first-year work-study students of Haitian Soul Master Academy. You're only six years old?!"

At that, both Du Wei and the staff member present were stunned.

Under normal circumstances, people usually came for sub-profession assessments at around the age of twelve. In history, the youngest evaluator had been nine years and five months old. That person was now employed at the Blacksmith Association headquarters in Cloud City, which was enough to prove their extraordinary value.

But the two children before them were only six years old. If they passed the sub-profession assessments, what would that mean?

"You... are only six?" Du Wei's voice trembled slightly. He was simply too shocked.

Judging from Tang Chenfeng's build and composure, Du Wei had thought he was at least around twelve. He had not expected to cut that estimate in half.

Tang Chenfeng said helplessly, "I just grow quickly."

Sigh... I'm already used to it. Tang Chenfeng thought to himself. Ye Hongling secretly laughed beside him.

"Master Du, Testing Room Six is ready."

At the staff member's reminder, Du Wei recovered from his shock before saying, "Alright, let's go to the testing room first."

As he walked, he murmured inwardly, If what these two children said is true, they might break the record. President Zhao really gave us one huge surprise.