Journey to Heaven Dou City

Na'er said nothing. She merely stood between Tang Wulin and Yun Mu, gazing at the starry sky and the sea.

"We'll definitely meet again. Soon, I promise," Na'er said softly.

Yun Mu felt as though he had heard Na'er say something, but he had not caught it clearly.

Another two days passed slowly. Mang Tian received an invitation from Lang Yue and Tang Ziran and came to their home.

"I heard you'll be leaving in a while. Where are you going?" Mang Tian asked with a smile.

"Lang Yue and I are going to Shrek City," Tang Ziran said with a smile. "My eldest son was accepted as an apprentice by the dean of Shrek Academy. One of the benefits is that we get to move to Shrek City."

"That's certainly worth celebrating. But at his age, he can't enter the academy yet, can he?"

"That's true, so he'll go when he turns twelve. This time, he's going to Eastsea Academy to study under a senior brother from Shrek Academy," Tang Ziran said with a smile.

Tang Ziran's face was brimming with pride. This was not casual conversation at all; he was clearly showing off.

"Yun Mu really is a genius. Still, when it comes purely to forging talent, Wulin is better. But when it comes to Martial Soul talent, Yun Mu is truly superior," Mang Tian said with a smile.

"Brother Mang, thank you for everything these past few years. Come, have a drink." Tang Ziran raised his cup with a smile.

"Alright, cheers." Mang Tian raised his cup, clinked it against Tang Ziran's, and drained it in one gulp.

Yun Mu rolled his eyes from the back. For some reason, the scene felt familiar, somewhat like the New Year celebrations when his parents had still been alive in his previous life.

Unfortunately, he could not remember clearly.

Yun Mu and Tang Wulin sat nearby, quietly discussing the future. Mostly, though, they were sharing hopes and fantasies for what lay ahead.

Yet Yun Mu suddenly recalled that, in the end, Tang Wulin had said he no longer wanted to become a Soul Master. Hearing Tang Wulin's bold ambitions now, it seemed that his future self had been denying the boy he once was.

Yun Mu sighed softly.

He looked at Na'er, who had been quiet all evening. He knew that he would probably no longer see her tomorrow.

Yun Mu did not know what to say either. He simply sat there quietly, eating the food before him, giving off the impression that he was not in a very good mood.

As the sky gradually darkened, Mang Tian bid everyone farewell. Tang Wulin and Yun Mu waved goodbye to him.

After Yun Mu saw Tang Wulin go outside to cultivate and his parents return to their room, he sat beside Na'er and asked, "Are you leaving tomorrow?"

Na'er nodded. "Brother Yun Mu, I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Go do what you want to do." Yun Mu smiled and patted Na'er on the head.

The next morning, they searched for a long time but could not find Na'er. Only Yun Mu sat quietly beside Na'er's table.

At last, they found a note.

After reading what was written on it, Yun Mu sighed softly. Although he had already been prepared for it, he still felt deeply upset.

Yun Ming arrived that afternoon. Seeing that everyone seemed extremely downcast, he asked, "What happened to all of you?"

"Na'er... Na'er left. She went home," Tang Wulin said, his voice choked with emotion.

Yun Mu looked calm, but Yun Ming could see that it was not because he felt no sorrow. He had merely hidden everything well.

"Wulin, Yun Mu, and his parents, you can return with Ya Li this afternoon. I'll take little Yun Mu to Heaven Dou City," Yun Ming said with a smile.

Yun Ming took Yun Mu's hand and led him outside. "Master, what are we going to Heaven Dou City for?"

"Didn't you choose forging as your Second Profession? I'll take you to meet that Divine Craftsman," Yun Ming said with a smile.

"Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua! Can we really just go meet him?" Yun Mu asked hesitantly.

"Of course. Last time at Shrek Academy, Feng Wu Yu took you forging. One hammer strike for Thousand Forging First Grade and five strikes for Spirit Forging—you shocked quite a few people. That Divine Craftsman was among them," Yun Ming explained with a smile.

"I-I only pulled it off through a trick with my Martial Soul." Yun Mu felt a little embarrassed. If he had known, he would not have done it so quickly just to save trouble.

At last, the two arrived at the Heaven Dou Blacksmith Association.

They went up to the top floor together and saw a Middle-aged Man with black hair and black eyes sitting behind a desk.

"Your Excellency Sky Pillar Douluo, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to take in such a young disciple," Zhen Hua said.

"When you come across such outstanding talent, how could you not be tempted?" Yun Ming laughed heartily.

"What if I said I was tempted too?" Zhen Hua asked.

"Then teach him together." Yun Ming spoke without concern. "Besides, can you guess why I brought him to see you?"

"Fine. Let me see that miraculous forging of yours." Zhen Hua led Yun Mu into a forging room nearby.

Yun Mu took out his forging hammer. It had been crafted from the metal he had forged to Thousand Forging First Grade.

It had to be said that the hammer suited him exceptionally well, including when he infused it with the attributes of his Martial Soul.

Yun Mu picked up the hammer and began lightly striking the metal again and again, continuously infusing his attribute Soul Power into it.

In less than a minute, silver light flashed forth—Thousand Forging First Grade!

Immediately afterward, Yun Mu continued hammering the metal while using his Spiritual Power to continuously connect with the faint intelligence that had begun to emerge.

Gradually, Yun Mu sensed the metal beneath his hands becoming increasingly spiritual. Knowing the time had come, he slowly infused life force into the metal while using the Power of Destruction to destroy its impurities.

Ten minutes passed, and a silver beam shot into the sky, rising more than five feet high.

Even more astonishingly, purple and green energy seemed to flow continuously beside that radiance.

Life and destruction appeared to intertwine at the same time.

Yun Mu knew that the Spirit Forging had succeeded. Unlike ordinary people, he had used his unique Soul Power attributes to quickly complete the lengthy awakening process.

Zhen Hua's eyes were filled with astonishment. He had thought that old bastard Feng Wu Yu had been exaggerating, but it turned out to be true.

"Good. I'll take you as my disciple. What rank have you tested for now?" Zhen Hua asked.

"Fourth Grade," Yun Mu replied.

"Then I'll use this piece of metal to forge your Fifth-Rank Forger identity badge in a moment." Zhen Hua sounded rather excited.

A nine-year-old Fifth-Rank Forger.

That was almost completely impossible.

But since the boy's legitimate master had personally delivered him to his doorstep, how could he possibly refuse such a genius? That would be unforgivable.

"You should be entering an intermediate academy soon, right? Which city will you be in?" Zhen Hua asked with a smile as he used his forging hammer to refine the badge for him.

"Eastsea City."

"Eastsea... You have a martial uncle there named Mu Chen. If I'm not around and you run into something you can't resolve, go find him," Zhen Hua said.