Level Evaluation for Two

Du Wei's expression grew unusually excited. He picked up Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling's forms and said, "Come with me." He really felt some anticipation now to see just how far these two children, recommended by the president, could actually go.

The so-called testing room was actually a multi-functional forging room. It contained a forging platform, design blueprints, a Soul Guide Array carving table, and various other fully equipped facilities.

Upon entering, Tang Chenfeng immediately felt a bit more relaxed. For him, a forging room was much more familiar than the forest of steel outside.

At this moment, the evaluator had also taken his place. He was a middle-aged man who clearly knew Du Wei. "I really didn't expect Master Du to personally bring people for a test. I just heard that these two children are only six years old. If this succeeds, it will break the association's record."

Du Wei said, "Indeed, but let's proceed with the test first."

The evaluator nodded and said to Tang Chenfeng and Ye Hongling, "The two of you will be evaluated separately. First is the design evaluation: within one hour, design and draw a blueprint for any standard mecha component. After my evaluation, I will grade it. A score above sixty points will allow promotion to a Level One Designer. For the blacksmith evaluation, choose any rare metal from the site to forge and purify. I will grade based on the metal you choose and the degree of purification. A score above sixty will allow promotion to a Level One Blacksmith. The master maker evaluation uses the blueprint from the previous design evaluation as the standard, and the purified metal from the forging evaluation as the raw material for creation. Grading will follow my evaluation criteria, just like the other assessments."

"Understood," the siblings said in unison. At the same time, Ye Hongling walked toward the design desk holding the blueprints, while Tang Chenfeng walked toward the rack displaying the rare metals. Ye Hongling was going first, leaving Tang Chenfeng with plenty of time to choose.

Around twenty metals were displayed on the rack. Tang Chenfeng recognized every single one of them, but he found himself hesitating over his choice. The blacksmith evaluation seemed simple enough—requiring only a single forging and purification session—but Tang Chenfeng knew the actual test must involve far more than what appeared on the surface, plus a master maker evaluation was waiting for him afterwards.

As Tang Chenfeng pondered, Ye Hongling's evaluation had already begun. The pen held in her hand danced rapidly across the design blueprint, outlining lines and details while occasionally using tools to make minute adjustments. She showed no intention of stopping at all.

The evaluator was dumbfounded. He had seen anywhere from hundreds to over a thousand people come for evaluations, but the young girl before him was truly astonishing. In just this short time, her design had already surpassed the standard of a Level One Designer, and this wasn't even a complete blueprint yet.

As Ye Hongling drew at top speed, Tang Chenfeng glanced over and immediately figured out what she was trying to create. Must you torture your old brother like this? he thought to himself. Despite those thoughts, Tang Chenfeng finally settled on the metal he would choose for forging and purification.

For the designer evaluation, Ye Hongling had already handed in her blueprint. The allotted time for the evaluation was one hour, yet she had used a total of twenty-seven minutes—not even half the allowed time.

Although Du Wei and the evaluator were left slack-jawed, they quickly regained their composure, which was a core quality expected of evaluators.

The evaluator picked up the blueprint drawn by Ye Hongling and observed it closely. Meanwhile, Du Wei stood beside him, watching the blueprint together with him.

After a long while, the evaluator finally put down the blueprint in his hand and said, "A mecha core blueprint. If the specifications on this blueprint are adopted directly, it can serve as the power core for a yellow-grade mecha. The blueprint is extremely clear, and it even utilizes many innovative methods to plan the routing for the Soul Guide Array carvings. This already surpasses an ordinary Level Two Designer, so..."

At this, the evaluator paused. "So I've decided: your final score is a perfect score, and you are granted certification as a Level Three Designer."

At these words, Du Wei fell silent on the spot, while Ye Hongling was so excited she almost screamed. Tang Chenfeng stood off to the side, applauding for Ye Hongling. "First of all, congratulations, Ling'er. You did wonderfully."

Ye Hongling also said happily, "Mm-hmm! Brother, you need to do your best on your blacksmith and master maker evaluations, too."

With Ye Hongling's evaluation concluded, next came Tang Chenfeng's turn.

Following the word "start,"

Tang Chenfeng did not hesitate any longer, reaching out and taking a piece of silver-gray metal directly from the rack.

"I choose this magic silver."

A trace of surprise appeared on the faces of Du Wei and the evaluator. Magic silver was a medium-to-high-grade metal. Unlike silver silt, magic silver lacked its ductility, but in terms of soul power conduction, silver silt could never compare to magic silver. Although inferior to dark star crystal, it had always been an irreplaceable raw material for the cores of soul tool mechs and soul tools, making it the ideal base metal for the mecha core designed by Ye Hongling.

Market demand for magic silver was enormous, and its value had always remained at a medium-high level. However, magic silver itself was not as hard as silver silt, nor was its ductility very good. If one's forging skill fell short, the probability of forging failure was quite high. This was why Du Wei and the evaluator were surprised.

The forging platform was basically identical to the one in Zhao Gaobo's office. Tang Chenfeng placed the magic silver onto the forging platform, activated the calcination mode, and began calcining the metal.

During the calcination period, Tang Chenfeng performed some light stretching exercises to adjust his state. The metal's calcination time also counted toward the evaluation time, so Tang Chenfeng had to ensure he was in top condition.

The metal temperature displayed on the forging platform was gradually rising to forging standards, and Tang Chenfeng's gaze began to sharpen.

Du Wei took in everything before him. He saw Tang Chenfeng's eyes—they were the eyes of focused effort, showing that he understood forging and loved it.

At this thought, his heart swelled with admiration. President Zhao's eye for talent had always been pinpoint accurate. Back then, President Zhao had taken a fancy to him, and now he was already the vice president of the association. After all this time, President Zhao's judgment remained as sharp as ever, sending over such promising children.

Soon, the magic silver finished calcining. Tang Chenfeng quickly pressed the button on the forging platform, and the glowing red block of magic silver rose above the surface.

The evaluator immediately began scribbling notes on his record sheet.

As an evaluator for the Blacksmith Association, what he naturally witnessed the most were blacksmith evaluations. From this single detail alone, he could tell that this child was definitely not someone lacking practical experience. Yet a metal like magic silver was not something ordinary people could forge, let alone a child who had not yet truly become a blacksmith.

Tang Chenfeng took another deep breath. Forging began!

With a flick of his left hand, a gorgeous piece of armor materialized over his left arm, flowing like water along his arm toward his palm, where it slowly condensed into a bright blue long-handled forging hammer.

As soon as the forging hammer appeared, both Du Wei and the evaluator widened their eyes. The same thought flashed involuntarily through their minds: Could this be... a spirit forging hammer?

No... Du Wei thought to himself again. Looking at it, it might even be soul forging, but that's impossible. How could this child have a soul forging hammer? Could President Zhao have made it for him?

Before the two of them could recover from their shock, Tang Chenfeng's forging had already begun.

"Boom!" The star god hammer came down, producing a violent sound. Without any preamble, the forging hammer began a fierce barrage of blows.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The sound of Tang Chenfeng's forging was like rumbling thunder. The fierce impacts jolted Du Wei and his companion out of their shock. They watched as, with every strike of the forging hammer, the magic silver bounced upward. With every bounce, the shape of the magic silver altered, getting slowly molded into the appropriate form just like a piece of shaping clay. Furthermore, the original silver-gray color on the surface of the magic silver was growing brighter and brighter, gradually turning into a brilliant silver. This indicated that his forging and purification were extremely successful—reaching at least the hundred-forging tier.

Yet Tang Chenfeng's forging still did not stop. His forging speed grew faster and faster, until even his body began to spin. The forging hammer rained down upon the magic silver like a storm, making him look like a blue spinning top.

Du Wei was filled with shock. If this child kept going, the block of magic silver on the forging platform would definitely enter the thousand-forging tier. But what a pity...

On the first floor of the Blacksmith Association,

at the association's main entrance, a well-groomed, white-haired elderly man with a muscular physique was striding directly toward the front desk.

Zhou Xiaoyi, just arriving at the front desk, saw who was coming. The expression on her face instantly turned respectful—even more respectful than when she had seen Du Wei earlier. "President Zhao, how do you have time to come to the association today?"

The newcomer was none other than Zhao Gaobo. "I just suddenly thought of something, Xiaoyi. Were there two children who came to find Du Wei for a level evaluation just now?" For some reason, Zhao Gaobo's tone carried a hint of urgency.

Zhou Xiaoyi said, "Yes, they are on the fifth floor, in the number six forging room for their evaluation."

"Alright, thank you." With those words, Zhao Gaobo immediately set off toward them.

Damn it, I've never made such a low-level mistake in my life. I hope I'm still in time.