At that moment, Liu Yanchi's mouth twitched slightly. His expression was hardly any better than Xu Ting's.
This was the first time he had ever seen Lu Lin change styles so abruptly!
Just how had Zhao Shiyan taught that guy?
Still, he thought he understood why Lu Lin's physical abilities were so incredible.
It seemed sending him to Zhao Shiyan had been the right decision.
As for Yao Xiaopang, standing nearby, his mouth hung open. Looking at his familiar yet strangely unfamiliar roommate, he no longer knew what to say.
Zhao Shiyan remained expressionless. Not even his eyelashes stirred; he was like a man with a frozen face.
But inwardly, he was putting on quite a show. It was all he could do to keep the corners of his mouth from rising—harder than holding down his spear!
Especially when he caught sight of the shocked expressions on Liu Yanchi's and Xu Ting's faces from the corner of his eye.
Lu Lin, meanwhile, was immersed in forging, with no attention to spare for anything else.
Perhaps to Xu Ting or Liu Yanchi, Lu Lin's hammering looked fast and utterly chaotic. In reality, that wasn't the case.
Lu Lin had started learning Hundred Forgings two years ago.
He could sense every impurity inside metals like Azure Iron and Mysterious Iron, even with his eyes closed.
Unfortunately, every time he attempted Hundred Forgings, he ran out of Soul Power before he could finish and failed at the last moment.
Even Zhao Shiyan couldn't help him with that.
But Soul Power was the only thing he lacked.
At that moment, the Forging Hammer in his hands had become an extension of his arm. His Soul Power flowed continuously into the Azure Iron billet, refining it by removing impurities and changing the metal's very properties.
In just a short while, he had already swung the hammer forty or fifty times.
The Azure Iron was also rapidly transformed, its change visible to the naked eye.
Suddenly, Lu Lin's movements seemed to pause for a moment. Then he continued.
Zhao Shiyan frowned slightly.
Xu Ting and Liu Yanchi were outsiders; perhaps they had missed it.
But Zhao Shiyan, who had been watching Lu Lin the whole time, caught it sharply.
Still, there was nothing wrong with Lu Lin's forging process.
Fortunately, Lu Lin's movements flowed smoothly after that, and Zhao Shiyan gradually relaxed.
Zhao Shiyan's instincts hadn't been wrong. Lu Lin really had encountered a small problem.
But there was nothing wrong with his forging process.
Usually, by this point in the forging, the Soul Power in his body would be nearly exhausted, leaving him unable to continue.
Forging consumed not only physical strength, but Soul Power as well.
Now that he had obtained his First Soul Ring, his previous predicament was no longer an issue.
He still had strength to spare.
But that wasn't the point.
What mattered was that Lu Lin could clearly sense his physical strength and Soul Power recovering in reverse as he worked.
In other words, while he continued to expend Soul Power, his body actively drew in energy from the world around him to replenish what he used up.
Although his Soul Power recovered far more slowly than it did when he cultivated normally—
And not nearly fast enough to keep up with how much he was using—
The recovery was continuous and unending.
This had never happened before.
Was this... recovering Soul Power while spending it?
What if he were in battle?
Interesting.
Lu Lin's lips curved slightly.
He didn't know whether it was because he had gained a Soul Ring or because his Martial Soul had been tainted with a trace of Chaos Qi.
But for him, this unexpected development was definitely a good thing.
Clang—
Lu Lin brought down the final hammer blow, then set the Forging Hammer beside his feet.
On the anvil, the Azure Iron gleamed with a restrained luster, exquisite as a work of art. It was no different from Hundred-Forged metal made by Zhao Shiyan himself.
As Lu Lin put down the hammer, Zhao Shiyan strode over, his broad frame moving quickly. His eyes fell on the Azure Iron, and inwardly, he was shaken.
Hundred Forgings!
The kid had actually done it!
Suppressing his excitement, Zhao Shiyan turned to Xu Ting with an impassive face and said casually,
"Come over and inspect it. If it's no good, I'll forge another piece for you."
Lu Lin quietly walked to the other side.
Focused on the Hundred-Forged metal, Zhao Shiyan didn't notice that Lu Lin's face was flushed and healthy. He looked nothing like the weak, drained boy who had run out of Soul Power during his previous attempt at Hundred Forgings.
Right. Once he stopped expending Soul Power, that reverse recovery stopped too.
Lu Lin's expression showed that things were just as he'd expected.
Though he had completed Hundred Forgings for the first time, he felt unusually calm.
Tang 50 could already perform Thousand Forgings at his age. What was there for Lu Lin to get excited about?
Xu Ting and Liu Yanchi had already come over.
Xu Ting picked up the Azure Iron and held it in his hands, rubbing it over and over. Then his gaze stiffened.
The quality was actually this high?
Xu Ting wasn't a blacksmith, but he had used countless metal objects over the years, so he could naturally tell good quality from bad.
"There's no need to forge it again. This piece will just about do."
As he spoke, Xu Ting put a little extra emphasis on the words "just about."
He meant no harm.
He simply felt that Lu Lin was an apprentice and shouldn't get too full of himself; a little humbling was in order.
At that, Zhao Shiyan frowned slightly.
Liu Yanchi had the same expression.
He glanced lightly at Xu Ting, then casually turned his gaze back to the Hundred-Forged Azure Iron.
Just about good enough?
Liu Yanchi gave a quiet scoff.
He wasn't a Soul Engineer, but he did have some ability to assess metal.
In his eyes, the quality of this Hundred-Forged metal was every bit as good as a finished piece made by a blacksmith with decades of experience.
Xu Ting had no idea what Liu Yanchi was thinking.
He lowered his head slightly, as if pondering something.
After a moment, Xu Ting looked up at Lu Lin. He hesitated briefly, then spoke with a hint of arrogance.
"You're Lu Lin, right?
"Would you be willing to take me as your master and learn to make Soul Tools from me?"
At his words, the others present first froze, then each reacted differently.
Standing behind Xu Ting, Yao Xiaopang hurriedly made frantic faces at Lu Lin, urging him to accept.
Zhao Shiyan's gaze sharpened.
Only Liu Yanchi gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
Knowing Lu Lin as he did, he figured the boy would probably reject Xu Ting.
Sure enough, the next moment, he heard Lu Lin say,
"Thank you for the offer, Master Xu, but I still have to study forging, so I can't spare the time to learn about Soul Tools for now."
As he spoke, Lu Lin bowed slightly. His manners were impeccable.
Lu Lin was telling the truth.
He hadn't actually heard Xu Ting's assessment of him earlier.
He was refusing Xu Ting because his top priority was still reaching Rank 15 before he turned twelve.
Otherwise, he wouldn't even be qualified to apply to Shrek.
He knew how to prioritize.
As for Soul Tools, he could just make an avatar later and go study in the Sun Moon Empire, couldn't he?
With Ji Ming as a precedent, Lu Lin believed his new avatar wouldn't have poor talent.
Xu Ting hadn't expected Lu Lin to refuse him, and frowned slightly.
He was from the Sun Moon Empire and was a Rank 3 Soul Master.
Years ago, he had traveled to the Star Luo Empire, where he met the love of his life. He had settled down there afterward.
The Soul Masters of the original three kingdoms of Douluo often claimed they looked down on Soul Engineers, and Soul Engineers of the same rank still held lower status than Soul Masters.
In truth, they already placed great importance on Soul Tools.
But Soul Tools had gotten a late start here on the Douluo Continent, and the gap from the outset was too great.
True Soul Engineers were still exceedingly rare, far fewer in number than Soul Masters.
Xu Ting didn't understand why Lu Lin would reject him.
At that moment, Zhao Shiyan spoke quietly. "You can go learn from Master Xu. Be a good apprentice."
Xu Ting laughed at that.
He wanted a disciple, not an apprentice.
He had thought Lu Lin was promising, but now it seemed he had misjudged him.
Xu Ting said nothing. He put the Hundred-Forged metal into his Storage Soul Tool, then took out a small bag of Gold Soul Coins as usual and tossed it to Zhao Shiyan. Only then did he say coolly,
"Never mind. I, Xu, never force anyone."
"Xiaopang, let's go back."
As he spoke, Xu Ting held one hand behind his back and strode toward the exit without hesitation.
"Ah, teacher, wait for me!"
Yao Xiaopang was still fretting over Lu Lin's refusal. He was like an ant on a hot pan, wanting to say something but not knowing which of them to persuade.
Seeing Xu Ting turn and leave at once, he couldn't afford to hesitate. He hurried after him with his short, chubby legs.
At the same time, he turned back to face Lu Lin, silently mouthing something.
Lu Lin read his lips. It was probably something like, "See you later."
Before you continue