The Guild Leader is Such a Good Person!

Zhu Huoyang is the president of the Shrek Blacksmith Association, and also a Forging Grandmaster.

He sat in his office at this moment, sighing slightly. Although he was the president of an association, to be honest, no one in Shrek City or even on the entire continent truly took the Blacksmith Association seriously.

This was because the blacksmithing profession was in a truly awkward position on the continent.

For battle soul masters, were divine weapons and sharp tools better than their own martial souls?

No!

This was especially true for soul masters who already possessed Tool Martial Souls.

It was only in the last hundred years that the three kingdoms on the continent—especially Shrek Academy—began to place increasing importance on Soul Tools, and the demands for metals used in crafting Soul Tools grew higher and higher, which in turn elevated the status of blacksmiths somewhat.

It could be foreseen that the more powerful Soul Tools became, the higher the status of blacksmiths would rise accordingly.

But in Zhu Huoyang's opinion, all of this was still not enough.

Zhu Huoyang had always harbored a dream: to make the blacksmith profession great again.

Zhu Huoyang deeply missed the era before the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent.

Back then, the Tang Sect was the number one sect in the world.

Back then, the hidden weapons manufactured by the Tang Sect were all the rage across the continent, and by extension, blacksmiths were also an extremely popular profession.

Unfortunately, after the Sun Moon Continent collided, everything changed.

Of course, Zhu Huoyang only missed that era, not the Tang Sect—if the Tang Sect could rise again, that would be another matter.

Zhu Huoyang was so troubled because a few days prior, he had received information from the Star Luo City Blacksmith Association.

It said that a young man, who could independently complete Hundred Refinements Purification at the age of Twelve Years Old, would be applying to Shrek Academy.

Once he enrolled, he would definitely report to the association.

But Zhu Huoyang waited for several days, and the person mentioned by the Star Luo City Association never appeared.

Just then, Zhu Huoyang suddenly heard some commotion from downstairs...

At this moment, Lu Lin's forging was entering its final stages.

The certification assessment for a First-Level Forging Master was simple: one only needed to independently complete a piece of Hundred Refinements level metal.

For Lu Lin, who had started forging at the age of six and could perform Hundred Refinements at eight, forging a piece of Hundred Refinements metal now was as easy as eating and drinking, a piece of cake.

It's just that Lu Lin's Soul Power Level isn't high enough right now, otherwise he could attempt Thousand Forgings.

CLANG--

Lu Lin struck the final hammer blow, then returned his Forging Hammer to his Storage Soul Tool. He then looked at the Grey-Clothed Middle-aged Man closest to him:

"It's done. Please inspect it."

This Grey-Clothed Middle-aged Man was, of course, Zhu Huoyang.

The moment Zhu Huoyang saw Lu Lin, he was certain that the youth before him was the genius the Star Luo Association had spoken of.

Facts proved his guess correct.

Zhu Huoyang had watched Lu Lin's entire forging process from start to finish. The entire process was smooth as flowing water, perfect to the point of being flawless.

Moreover, he acted as if nothing had happened after forging.

It was truly difficult to connect the Forging Master with his appearance.

More importantly, Lu Lin was only Twelve Years Old.

Zhu Huoyang had never even heard of someone being able to achieve Hundred Forgings at Twelve Years Old.

Lu Lin didn't even look at the metal Lu Lin had forged. He chuckled and said to Lu Lin:

"No need. Our assessment won't be too strict."

Lu Lin: "...??"

Is that so?

He remembered Zhao Shiyan saying the Forging Master assessment was quite difficult.

Although Frostwind City was a main city, the Blacksmith Association didn't have the resources to establish branches in every city. Thus, Lu Lin's registration had been delayed until now.

But why was this "big shot" before him being overly enthusiastic?

It wasn't just him thinking this. At this moment, the people in the association looked at Zhu Huoyang with the same fearful eyes. Was this still the president they were familiar with?

Lu Lin followed this "big shot" to handle the procedures. Through their conversation, he learned that he was actually the president of the Blacksmith Association, and his heart immediately sank in surprise.

It wasn't for any other reason.

It was mainly because Lu Lin felt that President Zhu was surprisingly kind and had no airs about him at all.

With President Zhu accompanying him, Lu Lin's subsequent procedures went exceptionally smoothly, and he quickly registered his identity as a First-Level Forging Master.

After joining the association, Lu Lin would be able to receive two Gold Soul Coins for free each month based on his current level.

In addition, you can come here to accept forging tasks. The main profit belongs to the blacksmith, which is equivalent to a platform for taking orders.

Generally speaking, a piece of ordinary metal of Hundred Refinements grade sells for sixty to one hundred Gold Soul Coins.

The better the quality of Hundred Refinements, or the rarer the metal, the more expensive the price will naturally be.

However, in this era, only Soul Masters can use Hundred Refinements metal.

To Lu Lin's surprise, the Hundred Refinements Ink Iron he forged in the blacksmith assessment was bought out by President Zhu at the price of one hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Thus, while Lu Lin received his blacksmith badge, he also inexplicably obtained one hundred Gold Soul Coins.

He couldn't help but sigh that everyone in the Blacksmith Association were good people.

Lu Lin's mission objective for this trip was considered perfectly achieved.

After Lu Lin left the association, President Zhu picked up the Ink Iron forged by Lu Lin to inspect its quality.

Earlier, when Lu Lin was forging, Zhu Huoyang's attention was on Lu Lin, and he didn't have the time or inclination to look at the Ink Iron he was forging.

In his opinion, it was already not easy for Lu Lin to achieve Hundred Refinements at the age of twelve, so how could he demand quality?

This was also why Zhu Huoyang didn't even look at the finished product after Lu Lin finished forging.

Now, as he truly held the Ink Iron in his hand, Zhu Huoyang realized that he didn't understand Lu Lin well enough.

The Hundred Refinements Ink Iron felt cool and heavy in his hand, its surface smooth as a mirror, with a faint glow flowing on it.

More importantly, the texture on the surface of the metal was uniform and dense, without any flaws. Not only that, this Ink Iron was even very close to the threshold of Thousand Forgings.

This was a Hundred Refinements Ink Iron of perfect quality!

Zhu Huoyang was extremely excited. Lu Lin's appearance seemed to show him the true future of the blacksmith profession.

However, he didn't know that Lu Lin wasn't very interested in forging at all. He agreed to try forging by chance in the past to improve his physique, and now he was doing it to make money...

Just then, a handsome man in his thirties walked in from outside.

If Lu Lin were still here, he would definitely recognize this person as Xu Ting at a glance.

Xu Ting needed to temporarily stay in Shrek City for a few days.

As a Rank 3 Soul Master, he needed a lot of metal to craft Soul Tools. Now that he had come to Shrek City, the Blacksmith Association was naturally his first choice if he wanted metal.

As Xu Ting walked in, President Zhu happened to be holding the Hundred Refinements Ink Iron and examining it back and forth.

Xu Ting glanced over and was immediately stunned.

"Huh, why does this Ink Iron look so much like the one that kid Lu Lin forged?"

Since Lu Lin obtained his first soul ring and could perform Hundred Refinements, any orders like this would be given to Lu Lin. In other words, the metal Xu Ting had been using for the past three years was all forged by Lu Lin.

Xu Ting was no stranger to Lu Lin's craftsmanship.

"Hmm, is there something wrong with this Hundred Refined Grinding Iron?"

Zhu Huoyang said expressionlessly.

Many soul engineers came here for metal and were accustomed to devaluing the quality first, then seizing the opportunity to bargain. Zhu Huoyang had seen this too many times. The key was that most of those soul engineers weren't high-level. He really didn't know where this bad habit came from.

Only the soul engineers from Shrek were wealthy and didn't have this habit.

Zhu Huoyang looked at Xu Ting unfavorably.

If Xu Ting dared to belittle this piece of Black Iron, he would directly throw Xu Ting out. Although he had no intention of selling this piece of Black Iron at all.

He planned to enshrine it!

Xu Ting, however, shook his head slightly and said with a hint of thought:

"There's nothing wrong. It's just that this piece of Black Iron feels very familiar to me, a bit like it was forged by someone I know."

"Familiar?"

Isn't that Lu Lin?

Zhu Huoyang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, but asked calmly:

"Yes, I've been using the metal he forged for almost three years. This piece of Black Iron feels very similar... Hmm, President Zhu, who forged this piece of Black Iron? If possible, can you give it to me?"

Xu Ting actually didn't want to talk about Lu Lin much.

After all, that guy refused to take him as a disciple back then, which was somewhat ungrateful.

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was thoughtful.

Zhu Huoyang was startled upon hearing this. If that was the case, didn't Lu Lin have the ability to perform Hundred Refinements three years ago?

He still needed to confirm this.

Xu Ting's pupils contracted. Why did he have a bad premonition?