I Don't Believe You're Capable of Spirit Forging

At that moment, she became even more certain that she had made the right choice in choosing Yun Mu. She felt she had not misjudged him.

They both spoke very quietly, and the passersby nearby could not hear them at all.

After passing through several more narrow alleys, they finally reached the entrance to the snack street. Yun Mu immediately spotted the familiar braised beef shop and called inside with a smile, "Uncle Li! Two servings of braised beef, the usual! Add two extra ladles of broth!"

Uncle Li, who had been wiping down a table, looked up and replied with a grin, "Oh, Yun Mu! Sure, it'll be ready right away. You two find a seat!"

The two found seats by the window. They had barely rested for two minutes when Gu Yue suddenly shifted uneasily and said softly, "Brother Mu, I need to use the restroom. Wait for me here."

Yun Mu nodded, but he noticed something—before Gu Yue spoke, her gaze had flickered, and her fingertips had unconsciously pinched the corner of her clothes, as if she had suddenly received some message. He pondered it to himself. If I'm not mistaken, Di Tian must have contacted her. Other than that Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, no one else could make Gu Yue's expression change so suddenly.

Before long, familiar footsteps sounded from inside the shop. Uncle Li approached carrying two steaming porcelain basins. The braised beef inside was piled high, the broth still bubbling away as its aroma drifted over at once.

"Yun Mu, you saved me from that little brat Guang Biao last time, and I still haven't properly thanked you!" Uncle Li set the basins on the table, smiling honestly with gratitude in his eyes. "These two bowls are on me. Don't you dare be polite with me!"

The moment Yun Mu heard that, he knew Uncle Li was referring to the troublemakers who had come to the shop last time.

Back then, Guang Biao had brought people to collect protection fees and had even wanted to smash up the shop. Yun Mu happened to pass by, drove them away, and later specifically arranged for several apprentices from the Blacksmith Association to come help.

Those blacksmith brothers had not only guarded the shop for several days, but when they saw that Uncle Li's stove and knives were old, they had repaired them as well. They had even replaced the meat-cutting board with a more durable alloy one, which had helped Uncle Li immensely.

"Uncle Li, you've already let us eat for free so many times. We really can't accept it this time!" Yun Mu hurriedly took out several Federal Coins from his storage Soul Tool and handed them to Uncle Li.

"You're running a small business. We'd feel bad always making you lose money. If you really want us to have more, give us another ladle of broth later. But you have to take the money!"

Unable to refuse him, Uncle Li accepted the money and said with a smile, "All right, I'll listen to you! I'll bring you a plate of cold side dishes later. They're pickled in-house, perfect for cutting the richness!"

With that, he happily returned to the kitchen.

"We agreed I'd pay. Why did you rush to pay again?" Gu Yue happened to return from the restroom just then. The moment she came in and saw Yun Mu handing over money, she walked over helplessly and lightly patted his arm.

"It's no big deal. You can treat me next time." Yun Mu smiled as he tucked the remaining Federal Coins back into his Soul Tool and pointed at the beef on the table. "Sit down. It was just served, so it's still hot. Hurry and try it."

After finishing the braised beef, the two slowly wandered back to school and returned to their respective dormitories to cultivate.

Yun Mu continued consolidating his Soul Ancestor Soul Power, while Gu Yue studied the basic techniques of Mecha Repair. Neither of them wasted any time.

Early the next morning, just as the sky brightened, Wu Changkong led Tang Wulin and the others toward the Spirit Pagoda. Yun Mu did not go with them. He turned and headed straight for the forging room.

He knew perfectly well that not only would the group face little danger in the Spirit Ascension Platform, but they could also use the examination opportunity to accumulate plenty of spiritual power for their soul spirits. It was a blessing in disguise, so there was no need for him to worry.

The moment he entered the forging room, Yun Mu took out the Deep Silver he had prepared long ago and began working on the leg armor.

He had already finished the left arm armor and right arm armor. Only the leg pieces remained, and this time, he had to finish them before the second examination.

He swung his hammer, striking the metal with precise blow after precise blow. Soul Power slowly seeped into the Deep Silver through the hammer handle, and before he knew it, he had worked until afternoon.

Only when the final hammer blow fell did the silver leg armor shine and automatically fit itself around his legs. Yun Mu finally let out a breath—now that the Two-word Battle Armor components for all four limbs were complete, his strength had risen another solid step.

He had barely rested for a moment when his Soul Guide Communicator rang. It was Tang Wulin.

"Brother, we've finished our first final exam!" Tang Wulin sounded a little anxious. "It's just that Xie Xie seems to have been rattled. He still hasn't recovered."

"How is he? Are his injuries serious?" Yun Mu quickly asked.

"Brother Mu, I'm fine!" Xie Xie's voice came from nearby. He sounded weak, with a slightly numb tremble in his voice. "Half my body is just a little numb. I'll be fine after resting for a while."

"Hey, Xie Xie, don't move!" Tang Wulin's voice rang out again. "I just told you not to turn your head. Why did you move again?"

Then came a faint sound of tugging. Tang Wulin was probably straightening Xie Xie's tilted head.

"All right, I'll return to school right away. Find somewhere to rest first, and be careful." Yun Mu ended the call, packed up his forging hammer, and hurried back to school.

When he returned, he happened to run into Wu Changkong leading the six of them toward the dormitories.

Just as they reached the dormitory building, Wu Changkong stopped Tang Wulin. "Wulin, remember this. From now on, whether you're in the Spirit Ascension Platform or the Spirit Pagoda, no matter what happens, come out first. Don't stubbornly endure it inside. Understand?"

Tang Wulin nodded, though he was still somewhat confused. "I understand, Teacher. But why?"

"You're still young. There are some things you don't need to ask about so much." Wu Changkong paused, then reminded him, "Think about why your brother has always disliked going to the Spirit Pagoda."

Tang Wulin's heart stirred, and he immediately understood something. He hurriedly nodded. "I understand, Teacher. I'll be more careful in the future."

He was just about to turn around and head back to the dormitory when Wu Changkong suddenly spoke again. "Oh, right. If I'm not mistaken, that metal vest Gu Yue is wearing was forged by your brother, wasn't it?"

"Huh?" Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then hurriedly played dumb. "Huh? Was it? I didn't notice..."

"You can't hide it from me." Wu Changkong smiled, his gaze carrying a trace of understanding. "Don't tell me you forged it. The metal on Gu Yue's body has already reached the Spirit Forging level. You're not capable of that yet."

Having been exposed, Tang Wulin coughed awkwardly twice. "Then my brother, he..."

Yun Mu, who was standing nearby, also awkwardly scratched behind his ear.

"Don't hold it against him." Wu Changkong waved his hand, leaving the latter half of his sentence—there's no way to hold it against him—unsaid.

He knew perfectly well that there was no point in arguing with Yun Mu over such things.

Scores were just numbers to that kid. So what if he did poorly on an exam?

Whether he got a break or not made no difference to him. Every day, he was either cultivating or forging, and occasionally going out for a meal with friends. He barely even had time to play.

If Yun Ming or Ya Li really came to take Yun Mu to Shrek for fun, could Wu Changkong possibly stop them?