An Afternoon in the Forging Room

After listening to each of them speak, Yun Mu thought for a moment and said, "Zhang Yangzi, who got eliminated right at the start, definitely gets zero points. Wang Jinxi gets one point. Gu Yue, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin each get five."

"More or less. But when you fought the Ice Crystal Bear, there were clearly ways some of your coordination could have been better." Wu Changkong said, "You need to understand Soul Beast traits to a certain extent. Even though Soul Beasts are scarce nowadays, their Soul Skills are still greatly beneficial to your cultivation."

"Research shows that ninety percent of the Soul Skills human Soul Masters possess once belonged to Soul Beasts," Wu Changkong said calmly.

"Understood, Teacher."

Yun Mu listened very attentively during that morning's lesson as well. After all, Yun Ming had not explained much of this to him. Most of what Yun Ming taught him was practical combat experience, as well as understanding and applying Martial Souls.

Perhaps because of this trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform, the other five had become far more serious about their studies than before.

Yun Mu remained as he always was. Even if he tried harder, his progress would not become much faster. Besides, his previous attitude had already been very serious.

Moreover, Wu Changkong could not really teach him much. In terms of combat experience, Yun Mu was already nearly on par with him.

Of course, if Wu Changkong used Soul Skills and donned Battle Armor, Yun Mu would definitely be no match for him.

Although Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi's cultivation had indeed produced results, Tang Wulin still cultivated with Yun Mu most of the time.

After all, when he cultivated alongside Yun Mu, he could feel both the Blue Silver Grass and his bloodline within his body becoming more comfortable.

Gu Yue would occasionally come over to cultivate as well. One day during the daytime, she ran over nervously and asked, "Brother Mu, where is the forging room you usually go to on weekends?"

Yun Mu did not speak. Gu Yue grew a little nervous, thinking that he would not tell her, so she said, "If it's inconvenient for you to say, then I won't ask?"

"It's beside the Blacksmith Association, not far away." Yun Mu took out a pen, wrote down the address on a sheet of paper, and handed it to Gu Yue.

"You're welcome to visit," Yun Mu said with a smile.

And so they studied, cultivated, and forged.

The days passed by fulfillingly. As for Tang Wulin, he was exhausted as well. Every time he returned after studying under Mu Chen at the Blacksmith Association, he was completely wiped out.

Mu Chen's teaching methods were entirely different from Zhen Hua's. If Zhen Hua treated Yun Mu like a treasured son, then whether in his instruction or training, he relied on praise.

Mu Chen was different. His training was extremely exhausting, and perhaps because Tang Wulin's talent was so good, his demands were even harsher.

But that was only natural. Yun Mu's forging did not follow the conventional path; most of his improvement came from his Martial Soul. Tang Wulin, meanwhile, needed a strong foundation.

That alone determined that their training methods would be completely different.

Whenever Tang Wulin was too exhausted to endure any longer, Yun Mu would slowly infuse him with Life Energy.

However, Yun Mu discovered that every time he infused Tang Wulin with Life Energy, he would draw out a portion of the Golden Dragon King's Destruction Attribute.

This once again increased the speed of his Soul Power cultivation, and Yun Mu soon sensed the bottleneck of rank 38.

Unfortunately, the Power of Destruction within Tang Wulin was not as high-level as Yun Mu's, so it needed to undergo a certain degree of conversion.

Yun Mu became even more proactive in treating Tang Wulin's injuries. At the same time, he checked whether this affected Tang Wulin's strength and found that not only was there no harm, there were even benefits—his meridians had become broader.

If the Golden Dragon King bloodline in the original story was truly like a lifeline for Tang Wulin, and his only chance to reach the peak—

Then for Tang Wulin now, the Golden Dragon King bloodline felt like something that made little difference whether he had it or not.

After all, with his current talent, even without the Golden Dragon King bloodline, he could still achieve great things. Barring any accidents, he would absolutely be able to become a Limit Douluo.

And especially since he knew that the Golden Dragon King bloodline endangered his life, Tang Wulin actually wished he could remove it as soon as possible.

One afternoon.

The forging room in the afternoon.

The afternoon sunlight slanted into the forging room Zhen Hua had arranged for Yun Mu.

Iron filings drifted through the motes of light. Yun Mu was hammering a piece of Mysterious Iron, the rhythm of his forging hammer steady as each strike landed on a crucial point in the metal's grain.

"Still competing with yourself?" Gentle footsteps came from the doorway. Gu Yue entered carrying a cloth bundle and a ceramic pot. "I prepared some Spirit Tea for you, and brought you a few other things too."

Yun Mu stopped his hammer and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Gu Yue take a small wooden box from her Storage Soul Tool.

Inside were several sugar-coated pastries, still slightly warm. "The Cafeteria just made fresh Osmanthus Cake. I saw that you hadn't eaten anything all morning, so I figured you'd probably forgotten again."

"Thanks." Yun Mu picked one up and took a bite. The sweetness melted over his tongue, just enough to suppress the heat and irritation from forging.

He noticed Gu Yue staring curiously at the Mysterious Iron on the forging table, so he pointed to a small hammer beside it. "Want to try? I'm not asking you to forge it, just to get a feel for the power of metal."

Gu Yue hesitated for a moment, but still walked over and picked up the small hammer.

She did not dare use much strength. She lightly tapped the Mysterious Iron, and the crisp sound made her eyes brighten.

In truth, Gu Yue was more curious about what was so remarkable about forging—how it could produce Battle Armor, and ultimately lead to the disappearance of Soul Beasts.

Yun Mu stood beside her and reached out to adjust her grip. "Relax your wrist. You don't need to grip it so tightly. Look—"

He held Gu Yue's wrist and guided her through several light strikes. A faint sheen appeared across the surface of the Mysterious Iron.

Gu Yue could feel the warmth coming from the metal, as well as the temperature of Yun Mu's palm. The tips of her ears quietly reddened, and she quickly withdrew her hand. "I'd better not make trouble. You should continue. I'll leave the tea over there. It won't taste good once it gets cold."

As Yun Mu watched her turn to leave, he suddenly remembered something. He took out a small trinket from his pocket—a tiny bell wrapped in silver wire.

A pale blue bead dangled from it. "I saw it at the auction house last time. I thought you might like it, so take it."

Gu Yue accepted the bell and gently shook it. Its sound was crisp and clear.

Na'er had actually liked this sort of thing very much before, but Yun Mu had not had time to buy one when she left.

Gu Yue looked up at Yun Mu, the corners of her lips curving as she tied the bell around her wrist. "It's quite pretty. Thanks. Then I won't disturb you anymore. Remember to drink the tea."

After Gu Yue left, Yun Mu picked up the ceramic pot and poured himself a cup of tea. Its fragrance mingled with the sweetness of the Osmanthus Cake.