Assessment

This was an office of about thirty square meters. A huge wooden desk alone took up nearly a quarter of the space.

Behind the desk stood a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties.

He was not tall, but he was extremely burly, with particularly broad shoulders. His deltoids stretched tight against his black shirt.

At that moment, he was looking over a blueprint on the desk.

"Master Cen," Yun Xiaoling called softly.

"Mm." Cen Yue looked up.

His gaze fell directly on Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin, curiosity in his eyes. "You two are Mang Tian's disciples?"

"Yes! Hello, Master Cen." Tang Wulin spoke respectfully.

Tang Wuyang also bowed to Cen Yue. "Hello, Master Cen. Our teacher asked us to convey his greetings."

Cen Yue frowned. "That fellow Mang Tian has always been arrogant. Why would he take in two little disciples like you?"

"Come on. I'll take you for your Forging Master rank assessment."

Forging Masters generally lived in the world of metals and paid little attention to everything outside it.

Although he was puzzled as to why Mang Tian had accepted Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin, two children, as disciples, the assessment would prove everything.

"Master, I'll head down first," Yun Xiaoling said.

"Mm." Cen Yue nodded to her. Yun Xiaoling smiled at the brothers, then turned and left.

Cen Yue did not waste any time. He led the two of them out and returned to the Soul Guidance Elevator.

They took the same elevator Yun Xiaoling had used to go downstairs, except he pressed the button for the third floor.

As the elevator descended, Cen Yue asked the brothers, "Little ones, did Mang Tian tell you what rank of Forging Master you each are now?"

Tang Wulin shook his head. "Teacher didn't say. He only told us to come for the assessment."

Tang Wuyang added, "Yes. Teacher said that after the assessment, we could take on some jobs here."

They could take on jobs?

Yun Xiaoling, standing beside them, could not help showing surprise. Being able to take on jobs meant they had to be at least Second Rank Forging Masters.

Level One Forging Masters were not allowed to take on jobs directly. Higher-ranking Forging Masters had to accept the jobs first before assigning them work.

Cen Yue asked again, "Then do you know how Forging Master ranks are divided?"

This time, both of them nodded at once.

Tang Wuyang spoke first. "Teacher said there are nine ranks of Forging Masters in total. First and second rank are Master Rank, third and fourth rank are Master Level, fifth and Level Six are Master Craftsman Level, seventh and Level Eight are Holy Craftsman Level, and the highest, ninth rank, is God Craftsman Rank."

"Mm." Cen Yue nodded.

Just then, the elevator arrived at the third floor.

"Goodbye, Sister." Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin bid Yun Xiaoling farewell together before following Cen Yue out of the elevator.

Compared to the quiet fifteenth floor, the third floor of the Forging Master Association was rather noisy. The familiar clanging sounds of forging rose and fell around them.

Cen Yue brought them to the front desk and told the staff member, "Open two assessment rooms for me, and invite two evaluators over."

"Master Cen, are these your disciples? They're so young! Are they even twelve?" The staff member looked curiously at Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin.

Cen Yue accepted the forms handed over by the staff member and gave them to the two boys. "Fill these out first. Write down your basic information."

"Yes."

The brothers took the forms and began filling them out carefully.

Cen Yue read aloud from the forms, "Tang Wulin, Tang Wuyang, from Aolai City, nine years old, first-year new students of the Intermediate Department at Eastsea Academy."

"You two are only nine?"

This time, both he and the staff member were astonished.

It had been many, many years since the Forging Master Association had seen a nine-year-old come for a Forging Master assessment.

Historically, the youngest person to undergo assessment at the Forging Master Association had been eight years and six months old.

That person now worked on the thirtieth floor at the top of the Forging Master Association and was an unprecedented genius Forging Master.

These two children before them were only nine. If they could pass the Forging Master rank assessment, what would that mean?

Cen Yue thought of even more, because Tang Wuyang had just said that Mang Tian had told them to take on jobs directly.

That meant these two children had likely both reached Second Rank Forging Master.

Were they about to break a record?

"Master Cen, assessment rooms three and four are ready," the staff member said.

Cen Yue narrowed his eyes and picked up Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's forms. "Follow me."

He wanted to see just how capable these two disciples Mang Tian had taken in truly were.

An assessment room was, in fact, a Forging Room. Naturally, a Forging Master assessment had to be conducted there.

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin each walked to the entrance of a Forging Room. When they saw the forging equipment inside, which was similar to that in Mang Tian's Workshop, their nervousness instantly eased.

The evaluators were two middle-aged women, who clearly knew Cen Yue.

"Master Cen, you personally brought people here for assessment?"

"I just heard these two children are only nine. If they were any younger, wouldn't they be challenging the president's record?"

"Let's assess them first," Cen Yue said. "I'll go to the observation area."

With that, Cen Yue walked straight down the corridor and around to the corridor on the side opposite the doors to the Forging Rooms.

Forging Rooms used for assessment differed from ordinary Forging Rooms. A small window was installed in one wall, large enough to clearly observe the room's interior.

Of course, this window was usually closed, but special situations occasionally arose. Like now, when Cen Yue wanted to watch both boys forge at once, it would be used.

Before the observation area could be used, the Forging Masters themselves also had to give permission.

Tang Wuyang stepped up to the forging table that felt so familiar to him and waited for the assessment to begin.

"There are fifteen types of metal here. Choose one and forge it to purify it. I'll score you according to the metal you choose and the degree of purification. If your score exceeds sixty, you can advance to Level One Forging Master," the evaluator explained to Tang Wuyang.

"Yes."

Tang Wuyang nodded and walked toward the rack holding the metals.

There were fifteen types of metal on the rack, each a standard size of one chi.

The metals came in different colors and had distinctly different textures.

A Forging Master rank assessment seemed simple, requiring only one purification process, but in truth, it secretly tested many things.

The evaluator had not told him what any of these metals were. That required the examinee to possess sufficient knowledge of various metals and to choose one within their own capabilities to forge.

Tang Wuyang swept his eyes over the selection and recognized every type of metal. After thinking briefly, he took down a piece of metal from the middle shelf of the rack.

Perhaps it was the bond between brothers, but the two of them chose the same metal at the exact same moment.

The metal they had selected glimmered with a faint silvery light.

Seeing their choice, Cen Yue and the two evaluators all showed a trace of surprise. They had never expected Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin to choose this metal, which possessed both immense weight and extremely high density.

"I choose this Sinking Silver."

Tang Wuyang placed the Sinking Silver onto the forging table without making the slightest sound.

Mang Tian's requirements for them had been strict. One of them was that, aside from hammering, they could not allow any sound of metal striking metal.

The evaluator in the room could not help remarking when she saw Tang Wuyang move three hundred kilograms of Sinking Silver. "Little one, you're quite strong!"

She was beginning to believe that this nine-year-old child before her might be able to pass this assessment. "If you're ready, begin!"

"You have one hour. Within that hour, you must purify this piece of Sinking Silver as much as possible. Whatever degree you achieve will determine your score."

Tang Wuyang nodded and skillfully activated the forging table, raised the temperature, and placed the Sinking Silver inside to smelt.

The smelting time was also included in the purification time. There was no room for tricks in a Forging Master rank assessment. The association's standards for every Forging Master were extremely strict.

After all, once someone reached a certain rank, they could accept jobs from the association. The products forged were tied directly to the Forging Master Association's reputation.

As he watched the metal temperature displayed on the Smelting Furnace, Tang Wuyang gradually adjusted his breathing until it became even, and his eyes began to grow focused.

Cen Yue stood in the observation area, watching the two children in the Forging Rooms. In particular, he paid attention to their eyes.

When he saw Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's gazes become focused, he could not help silently praising them. Mang Tian, Mang Tian, you really found treasures.

Among all Forging Masters, Cen Yue was one of the strongest advocates for focused forging.

He himself had not possessed exceptional talent. He had entered this profession only because he loved it.

He had made it this far step by step, relying on his love for and focus on forging to earn his current place in the Forging World.

And Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin were only nine years old!

Two nine-year-old children could actually achieve such focus. That meant they truly understood forging, and Cen Yue's impression of them immediately improved greatly.

Tang Wuyang quickly pressed a button with his right hand, and the perfectly smelted Sinking Silver slowly rose from the forging table.

The evaluator quickly wrote something on the record sheet in her hand.

As an evaluator for Forging Master rank assessments, she had overseen countless assessments. From that small detail alone, she could tell that this child had not forged Sinking Silver for the first time.

But could an unregistered Forging Master really forge a Rare Metal like Sinking Silver?

Tang Wuyang took a deep breath. Both arms gave a slight shake at his sides, and two black flashes appeared in his palms at once—the pair of Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammers.

He still remembered Mang Tian's instruction: unless he was forging alone, he was not allowed to use the Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammer.

At least until he turned fifteen, he was not allowed to reveal the Thousand Refinements Sinking Silver Hammer before anyone else.

Tang Wuyang slightly raised his left hand and lightly tapped the Sinking Silver twice, producing two clear dings.

Cen Yue's gaze immediately fell on Tang Wuyang's ears. He clearly saw the child's ears twitch slightly.

Was he... listening to the metal's feedback?

What a boy!

While Cen Yue was still marveling, Tang Wuyang's first hammer had already swung out.

The hammer in his right hand lashed out like lightning. The air throughout the Forging Room suddenly became taut, followed by a deep whistle.

The next instant, the Tungsten Steel Hammer slammed heavily into the edge of the Sinking Silver.

Bang!

The Tungsten Steel Hammer rebounded, and the Sinking Silver dented slightly.

Tang Wuyang's clear eyes lit up at once as his left hammer followed.

Bang!

Another thunderous boom.

The two booms produced a string of echoes within the Forging Room. Cen Yue's eyes visibly widened. Though he was not inside the room, his hearing and eyesight made it easy for him to recognize what they held... Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammers?

How old were these two children? They could already use such heavy Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammers?

One had to know that even some Second Rank Forging Masters could not use a single Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammer weighing eighty jin, or forty kilograms.

Forging was a long-term physical task, but it was also a technical one, and strength was the foundation of everything.

Using heavy hammers for forging would undoubtedly produce better results, but it also consumed enormous stamina.

Before Cen Yue could think further, Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's forging had both fully begun.

After those two hammer strikes, the feedback from the Sinking Silver immediately told Tang Wuyang that this piece was nearly identical in quality to the ones he had forged before, and the patterns within it were also highly similar.

Tang Wuyang began swinging the twin hammers in alternation, launching into his forging like a raging storm.

Bang, bang, bang...

The dense, rhythmic hammering carried an extraordinary sense of beauty.

Although Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin had begun forging at the same time, the frequencies of their hammer strikes differed.

Though the Forging Rooms had standard soundproofing measures, they were not absolute, and some sound still leaked through.

Yet the two brothers were completely unaffected by each other, each entering his own rhythm.

Tang Wuyang's gaze remained focused, his ears constantly twitching as they received feedback from the Sinking Silver.

Hammer strike after hammer strike fell in rapid succession, and the Sinking Silver continuously changed shape beneath the blows.

However, if one listened carefully, one would discover that as time passed, the sounds produced by the Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammers striking the Sinking Silver became increasingly pleasant.

The evaluators in both rooms began to look grave, as did Cen Yue in the observation area.

The focus Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin maintained at this moment was something many Forging Masters in their twenties or thirties might not even possess, let alone children their age.

Geniuses! These two children were absolute geniuses!

The thought appeared in all three of their minds almost simultaneously. They did not even need to look at the two pieces of Sinking Silver. Based on Cen Yue's experience, merely seeing the children's state and hearing their respective hammering was enough for him to clearly judge just how efficiently Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin were purifying the Sinking Silver.

Purifying Sinking Silver should originally have been the assessment standard for a Second Rank Forging Master.

Because Sinking Silver had extremely high density, it was much harder to purify than ordinary metals. Truly completing the purification of a piece of Sinking Silver was not easy.

When the evaluators in the two rooms had seen the brothers choose it, both had thought that the boys were overestimating themselves.

But at this very moment, they and Cen Yue had all been moved by Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's performance.

Yes, a performance.

Once the Sinking Silver began producing that pleasant sound, Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin had effectively already passed the assessment. They were more than qualified to become Level One Forging Masters.

What remained was a performance.

How far could they take that performance? It was the same thought in Cen Yue and the two evaluators' minds.

Completely immersed in the rhythm, wielding Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammers that now felt as light as straw to Tang Wuyang, he sensed the Sinking Silver growing ever closer to him. The Tungsten Steel Hammers in his hands swung faster and faster.

Gradually, all that could be seen were two blurs of hammer shadows flickering continuously through the air, while the dense hammering sounded like mercury spilling across the ground.