Assessment Mission [Please Keep Reading]

"Jinsheng, what exactly is your Second Soul Skill?" Mu Chen suddenly pressed.

"Life Creation. It can directly grant life to inanimate objects!" Li Jinsheng said frankly.

Mu Chen fell silent. "This..."

Cheating. I hereby report someone for cheating.

Everyone else had to rack their brains to awaken the life within metal during Spirit Forging, while this guy's Second Soul Skill directly granted life to inanimate objects.

Was that reasonable? Was that normal?

But Li Jinsheng dismissed it. It wasn't a direct offensive Soul Skill, and with his current strength, he couldn't yet think of a better way to look cool with it!

Verdict: not as useful as a Basic Attack!

After a moment of silence, Mu Chen spoke again. "If you don't use that Soul Skill, can you still complete Spirit Forging?"

The boy nodded. "Of course, but it would waste quite a bit of Soul Power and time! It would probably take twice as long. As for Soul Power, I can fully sustain it."

He was telling the truth. Ever since obtaining his Second Soul Skill, forging had become as natural to him as a fish in water.

After breaking through to Thousand Refinements First Grade, he quickly touched upon the threshold of Spirit Forging and broke through directly, without the slightest bottleneck!

"Not bad! But compared to Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua, there's still a bit of a gap. You should make him your goal!" Mu Chen said as calmly as he could.

"Did Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua achieve Spirit Forging before he was even ten? Teacher, you aren't lying to me, are you?" Li Jinsheng narrowed his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

Does this guy really think I'm a ten-year-old kid? That I'm that easy to fool?

"Of course! I'm his junior brother. How could I not know him?" Mu Chen spoke without the slightest blush or hesitation.

To keep this child from becoming arrogant, he could only wrong his senior brother a little. Even if he got exposed, it would be his master's fault! He could just say that he had joined the sect late!

"Is that so?!" Li Jinsheng looked deeply suspicious. But he had even brought up his identity as the Divine Craftsman's junior brother!

If he still didn't believe him, wouldn't that be somewhat disrespectful to the Divine Craftsman?

"Of course it is!"

Mu Chen spoke naturally as he took out a Fifth-Grade Forging Master Badge. "From today onward, you're a fifth-grade forging master!"

As he spoke, his face filled with embarrassment, and he led Li Jinsheng out of the Forging Room, escorting him all the way out of the Blacksmith Association's lobby.

If he didn't send him away soon, he was going to give himself away.

"Go back and prepare properly. Don't delay what matters," Mu Chen reminded him one last time before turning around and hurrying back. There was even a trace of barely perceptible haste in his retreating figure.

Standing on the steps, Li Jinsheng scratched his head as the evening breeze gently stirred his black hair.

Only then did he realize that the sky outside had darkened at some point. The bustle of the day gradually faded, while streetlights flickered on one after another, casting halos of light through the deepening dusk.

In the distance, he could smell the distinctive, faintly salty and damp scent in the air, carried from the nearby sea. Eastsea City's nights always carried the smell of the ocean.

"Is it already this late?" he sighed, struck by how quickly time had passed.

He didn't think much of it and followed the route he had taken earlier toward the Spirit Pagoda, completely unaware that the beautiful and charming Ms. Leng Yaozhu, bored with nothing to do, had assigned him and Gu Yue another Actual Combat assignment.

Vehicles streamed endlessly along the streets, their headlights stretching into long ribbons of light amid the dense traffic.

The sea breeze became more distinct, blowing against his face with a chill.

But after he returned to the Spirit Pagoda and finished dinner, he heard terrible news.

He and Gu Yue were actually going to participate in this Eastsea City Rampage Spirit Ascension Platform. Gu Yue was unconcerned, while Li Jinsheng alone fell into thought.

If I run into a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, how should I take it down stylishly? I'm no longer the guy from back then who barely had any attack power!

Such a difficult choice!

Gu Yue looked at Li Jinsheng's grave expression, completely confused. What was this guy so nervous about?!

She knew very well that the Riot Period of the Spirit Ascension Platform had initially been caused by instability within the energy used to construct it.

Later, as technology advanced, the Riot Period came under control and became a special feature. During the Riot Period, the Soul Beasts within the Spirit Ascension Platform became especially active, and their numbers increased as well. The danger rose dramatically. Whenever it entered the Riot Period, each of the Eighteen Sky Pillars had three hundred slots available for entry.

Every single slot was of unimaginable value.

As for Li Jinsheng and Gu Yue, with the Vice Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda as their powerful backer, obtaining qualifications for the Rampage Spirit Ascension Platform was no more than a matter of a word.

"You've both been at the Spirit Pagoda for quite some time, so you already have a general idea of what the Rampage Spirit Ascension Platform is. But there's one thing I still need to remind you of!"

"Inside, you may not only encounter Soul Beasts, but other Soul Masters who have entered as well. To you, they're just as dangerous."

Li Jinsheng nodded. He knew this test would definitely involve having them fight more people. After all, fighting a group of beast-form Super Beasts that felt no pain was different from fighting humanoid Super Beasts that felt no pain. Humanoids were higher-grade!

"Because during the Riot Period, after the Soul Beasts inside are hunted, the time needed to absorb the spiritual energy they produce becomes one hundred times longer. In other words, if you kill a Soul Beast and would normally need one second to absorb its spiritual energy, it will take one hundred seconds. If you leave the Spirit Ascension Platform during that process, the remaining spiritual energy will be absorbed by the nearest Soul Master. This is a special circumstance that only occurs during the Spirit Ascension Platform's Riot Period."

Gu Yue nodded. "Understood, Teacher! We'll be careful!"

"Got it, Aunt Leng. I'll stylishly take care of everyone else!" Li Jinsheng's response was completely different, but it was entirely within Leng Yaozhu's expectations. After all, that was simply his personality.

His mind only held the thought of eliminating danger before it arrived. He had no intention of waiting for danger to come before fighting back.

She had seen Li Jinsheng's past. It had been very bitter. This was probably a habit he had developed from childhood—danger had to be nipped in the bud. He had never had the chance to gamble on that one-in-ten-thousand possibility of being wrong.

And the so-called prohibition on using it only meant not using it during sparring matches with ordinary people.

The only good news was that he had not yet gone down the wrong path.

"Your thinking isn't wrong, but it's too aggressive!" Leng Yaozhu patted the boy on the shoulder. "Not everyone is as bad as you think!"

"Oh!" Li Jinsheng nodded in agreement, yet he still didn't think he was being aggressive. What was wrong with dealing with his competitors and keeping all the experience for himself?

"Alright, I won't stop you from taking from others. But I need to remind you that the entry limit for the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform is the peak of Three Rings. The Rampage Spirit Ascension Platform offers tremendous gains, and many Soul Masters only come here to gamble once after reaching the peak of Three Rings, hoping to kill more Soul Beasts and advance their Soul Spirits. So, the opponents you'll face will be very strong. Although East Sea is poor and weak, it isn't without geniuses. Remember, there is always someone stronger."

Leng Yaozhu warned the two of them, unaware that one was a stat monster whose system had only just begun to take shape, while the other was an old monster cultivating anew and bullying a bunch of rookies.

"Aunt Leng, I understand! A mere Rampage Spirit Ascension Platform is nothing to fear!" Li Jinsheng slapped his chest, declaring confidently.

"Don't celebrate too soon!" Leng Yaozhu sneered before continuing, "You'll have a task this time as well: deal with the two Spirit Ascension Platform Guardians within the Rampage Spirit Ascension Platform."

"Two?" Li Jinsheng frowned. Wasn't there only one? If there were two, what was the second one?

"That's right. I added a new one to test you. The assessment will be in three days. If you pass, I'll have a reward for you!"

Leng Yaozhu promptly gave him a stick before offering him a carrot, successfully stirring Li Jinsheng's curiosity once more.

"Alright, I understand!"