Directly to Second Rank

The third floor of the Blacksmith Association.

The elevator doors opened, and two people walked out.

One of them looked to be around forty. He was dignified and imposing, his silver-gray tight-fitting outfit outlining his burly physique. A badge hung on the left side of his chest.

Anyone who saw him would undoubtedly have their attention drawn to that badge first.

The badge had a golden background, with a slightly raised hammer design. Each of the stars on it was black, eight in total.

Eight stars represented a Level Eight professional rank, while the golden hammer symbol represented Forging.

A Level Eight Forging Master, more precisely, an Eight-Star Holy Craftsman-level Forging Master.

Beside the middle-aged man stood a young girl who looked thirteen or fourteen. She was tall and exceptionally beautiful.

Her large eyes sparkled with life, her golden hair was tied into a ponytail, and her fitted clothes made her look especially capable.

Upon seeing them arrive, the front desk staff immediately stood up. "President."

The middle-aged man nodded. "It's nothing. I brought Mu Xi for her Second Rank test. Please arrange an evaluator."

This Eight-Star Holy Craftsman was none other than Mu Chen, president of the East Sea City Branch of the Sun Moon Federation Forging Master Association.

"Yes, President. Please wait a moment. Miss Mu Xi is already testing for Second Rank? She truly deserves her reputation as a prodigy of the Forging World."

Mu Xi's expression remained calm. She did not seem pleased by the praise, merely nodding politely to the staff member.

She did not actually approve of being called a genius. Her accomplishments today depended not only on talent, but also on effort far beyond that of ordinary people.

Her goal was to surpass her father and become a Level 9 God Craftsman in the future.

After all, across the entire Douluo Continent, there were only three Nine-Star God Craftsmen.

"Hm? What's that sound?" Mu Chen's brows suddenly twitched, and a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Mu Xi, standing beside him, also raised her brows slightly. Her delicate ears moved faintly as she caught two different frequencies of crisp, rapid hammering in the air.

Yet regardless of the frequency, both sounded exceptionally pleasant, giving one a deeply comfortable feeling.

Mu Chen turned to the staff member and asked, "Is someone taking a Forging Master rank test above Level Four?"

The staff member looked bewildered. "No?"

After a moment of thought, Mu Chen said to Mu Xi, "Go prepare in the testing room first. I'll take a look."

"Mm." Although Mu Xi was curious as well, she was about to take her Second Rank Forging Master test. This was no time to be distracted.

After parting from his daughter, Mu Chen followed the sound and quickly arrived between Rooms Three and Four.

The Forging Rooms had excellent soundproofing, but the sounds were still much clearer near the doors.

From the sounds coming from the two rooms, Mu Chen could easily tell that both rooms were forging high-density Rare Metal.

Furthermore, there was no stray noise in any of the strikes, indicating precise Forging. Such dense hammering and impact strength showed that Thousand Forging Hammers were being used.

The classification of Forging Masters was strict. One's ability determined one's rank. Anyone capable of hammering at such a level should at least be Master Level.

Moreover, as an Eight-Star Forging Saint Craftsman, Mu Chen could naturally hear that the two Forging Masters had entered the Fusion State with their metals.

Fusion referred to when a Forging Master resonated with the metal they were forging, entering a wondrous state of unity.

Fine products often emerged in such a state, because the forged work contained the Forging Master's emotions and ideals.

Mu Chen did not enter the Forging Rooms, because even as president, he did not have that authority.

No one was permitted to disturb a Forging Master during a rank test.

Once disturbed, the Forging Master could lose focus. Not only could the test fail, but it might even leave behind a psychological shadow.

Interesting!

Mu Chen returned to the front desk and asked the staff member, "Who is testing in Rooms Three and Four?"

The staff member hurriedly checked. "They're a pair of brothers named Tang Wulin and Tang Wuyang. Master Cen Yue brought them here."

As he spoke, he handed Mu Chen a copy of their forms.

Upon hearing Cen Yue's name, Mu Chen immediately smiled. "That explains it. To enter the Fusion State during a test... since Old Cen brought them, it's no wonder."

"Huh, nine years old?"

He looked at the staff member in surprise. "There isn't a mistake in your registration? The two Forging Masters taking the test are both only nine?"

The staff member quickly replied, "That's right. We were wondering earlier how two children so young could be here for a rank test."

Mu Chen was somewhat stunned. Nine years old meant they should both be taking the Level One Forging Master test?

"Beep, beep!"

Just as Mu Chen was about to ask more questions, the Soul Guidance Communicator at his waist suddenly rang.

"Dad, I'm ready. Have you come over? I'm in Room Six."

"I'm coming now."

Although Mu Chen still had doubts in his heart, his daughter was clearly more important. He ended the Soul Guidance Communication and quickly headed toward Room Six.

"Time's up!" the evaluator announced in a somewhat strange tone.

Clang! With the final hammer strike, Tang Wuyang flicked his wrist and stored the Tungsten Steel Hammer in his Sinking Silver Ring. He calmed his slightly hurried breathing and stood there waiting for the result.

At the same time, the hammering in Room Four next door, where Tang Wulin was, also came to an end.

A brief silence fell over the Forging Rooms. The evaluator's gaze landed on the Sinking Silver. "Sinking Silver. Purity exceeds Hundred Refinements. Volume reduced by seven percent. The purification effect is approximately three times that of Hundred Refinements Purification."

After receiving the result, Tang Wuyang followed the evaluator out of the room. At the same time, the neighboring door opened, and Tang Wulin walked out.

The two evaluators reported the test results to Cen Yue.

In truth, when Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin had just finished, Cen Yue seemed to see silver light flickering in their eyes.

That was the glow of Sinking Silver. Even though the Forging had ended, their worlds still held nothing but that same focus from before.

Even without knowing the result yet, Cen Yue could conclude that if these two children did not go astray in the future, they would likely become extraordinary figures.

And the results reported by the evaluators undoubtedly confirmed his earlier judgment.

"Evaluation passed."

After the evaluator finished speaking, Cen Yue gave a bitter smile. "That fellow Mang Tian must have done this on purpose."

One of the evaluators looked surprised. "These two children are Mang Tian's disciples?"

Cen Yue nodded. "It's truly hard to imagine, but I have to say that these children can already undergo the Second Rank evaluation."

The evaluator who had tested Tang Wuyang looked at the brothers. "Little ones, besides Metal Purification, can you do anything else?"

Tang Wuyang looked at Tang Wulin, who nodded at him.

After receiving confirmation, Tang Wuyang looked at the evaluator and answered seriously, "We can basically make small and medium-sized components."

The evaluator said in a deep voice, "Forge any medium-sized component you wish. If you succeed, you will be directly rated as Second Rank Forging Masters."

Second Rank Forging Masters had to be able to independently forge medium-sized components, while also performing Hundred Refinements Purification on Rare Metal.

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin had already done very well with their purification just now. They only needed to complete the forging of a component.

Hearing the evaluator's words, the two nodded together, turned, and returned to the Forging Rooms they had just used.

The Thousand Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammers appeared in their hands again, and rhythmic hammering once more resounded through the two adjacent Forging Rooms.

The two evaluators outside had wanted to stop them and tell them that ordinary metal would be enough for this assessment, but Cen Yue, who was also standing outside, stopped them with a look.

He wanted to see just how far these two nine-year-old children could go.

As he struck the Sinking Silver again, Tang Wuyang's heart filled with joy.

It was a feeling that came from deep within, as if he had returned to the side of an old friend.

At the same time, Tang Wulin in the neighboring Forging Room felt exactly the same way.

The crisp hum of the Sinking Silver seemed to continuously respond to Tang Wuyang's hammer strikes. The speed at which his hands came down grew faster and faster. Without much thought at all, the entire piece of Sinking Silver had already begun to change.

With every hammer strike, the Sinking Silver on the forging table bounced higher. It was obvious that Tang Wuyang's strength was gradually increasing.

The shape of the Sinking Silver slowly changed, and little by little, a round medium-sized component began to take form.

There was not a single mistake. Everything flowed as naturally as drifting clouds and running water, as though every hammer landed exactly where the Sinking Silver most wished it to.

To Cen Yue, this was practically textbook hammering!

These two children had extremely solid fundamentals. Even many apprentices aged eighteen or nineteen, who had studied Forging for more than eight years, fell far short of them.

There were no flashy movements, only pure hammering, yet it gave off an exceptionally pure feeling.

Generally speaking, small components were used at Mecha joints, while medium-sized components were themselves embedded parts of a Mecha.

What Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin forged was a semi-circular component, an important internal component for a Mecha's knee joint.

Joint protection components wore down most easily, but joints were also the most suitable places to install Soul Guidance Arrays.

Sinking Silver was suitable for conducting Soul Power, making it perfect for forging joint components. The two had clearly taken this into consideration as well.

More than an hour passed. Watching the brothers perform the same inspection movements, Cen Yue's mouth could not help twitching as he muttered inwardly, These two little fellows truly are Mang Tian's disciples. Even their inspection movements are the same as that fellow's.

Complaints aside, when those two perfectly round components without the slightest flaw appeared before Cen Yue and the two evaluators, the three of them were clearly even more silent than before.

"Three Masters, does this mean Wuyang and I have passed?" Tang Wulin asked expectantly.

Tang Wuyang's gaze toward Cen Yue and the evaluators was full of confidence. He was extremely satisfied with his work.

In fact, this was the first time the two brothers had used Sinking Silver to forge components.

In Tang Wuyang's eyes, the only shortcoming of this work was that the metal had not undergone Thousand Forging.

And in truth, Tang Wuyang was very confident that he could complete Thousand Forging again.

Ever since he had passed Teacher Mang Tian's Thousand Forging test last time, Tang Wuyang had discovered that his understanding of Forging had clearly risen to another level.

Half an hour later.

When Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin walked out of the Blacksmith Association, both their faces were filled with delight.

They were happy not only because Master Cen and the two evaluators all agreed that they had reached the level of Second Rank Forging Masters, but also because the Association directly compensated them for the two Sinking Silver knee-joint components they had forged. Each of them had received ten thousand Federation Coins.

Only then did the brothers realize that forging Rare Metal was actually so profitable!

Cen Yue told them to come back in two days to collect their respective Forging Master Badges. At that time, they could also begin taking on Forging work.

After watching the two leave, Cen Yue immediately called an old acquaintance through Soul Guidance Communication. "Mang Tian!"

"Hm?" Mang Tian's tone was as cold as ever.

Cen Yue's breathing was somewhat hurried. "Where did you find these two treasures?"

Mang Tian replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Cen Yue said excitedly, "Don't play dumb. Your two disciples!"

"Nine-year-old Second Rank Forging Masters, and they even forged medium-sized components with Sinking Silver."

"With their talent, as long as they can keep growing, they'll be able to attempt Thousand Forging within a few years!"

"Tell me, how exactly did you teach them?"

"..."

Cen Yue was greatly dissatisfied by Mang Tian's sudden silence on the other end.

"Hey, say something!"

"Nothing special. These two children were born with great strength, and they are willing to work hard." Mang Tian's tone was calm.

Cen Yue said irritably, "You sent these two little fellows to me just to show off, didn't you?"

Mang Tian answered firmly, "Yes!"

"Name your terms. Let me have these two children."

"You spend most of your time in that remote place, Aolai City. How could you possibly have time to teach them?"

"As long as you hand them over to me, I guarantee I'll teach these two children with the utmost care."

"I'm hanging up!"

"Wait! If not both, then just one is fine!"

However, the only response was the busy tone of "beep, beep" from the Soul Guidance Communicator.

Cen Yue nearly smashed the Soul Guidance Communicator in his hand onto the floor. "That bastard!"

Just then, a young man in his twenties entered Cen Yue's room.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"

"Tell me, what rank are you in Forging now?"

"How many years have you been following me? Why can't you even do Thousand Forging yet..."

The young man was utterly baffled by Cen Yue's sudden tirade. He could not help muttering inwardly, What's wrong with Teacher? Hasn't his temper always been quite good? Why today...

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin had no idea that their excellence in Forging had brought trouble upon someone else. At this moment, they had already returned to the academy.

Yun Xiao, who had originally come to visit, had returned next door.

"Here."

Tang Wuyang held out the ten thousand Federation Coins he had just received toward Xie Xie, who was lying on the bed with his face still somewhat swollen.

Tang Wulin, who was a step slower, saw his younger brother's actions but did not ask anything. Instead, like Tang Wuyang, he also handed his ten thousand Federation Coins in cash to Xie Xie.

Xie Xie coldly glanced at the two of them, then focused his gaze on Tang Wuyang. "Are you trying to avoid the fight?"

Tang Wuyang shook his head. "That's not what I mean. But I was mainly responsible for damaging public property, so I can't let you pay all the compensation."

Tang Wulin took the Federation Coins from Tang Wuyang's hand and placed them on Xie Xie's bed together with his own. "Wuyang is right. These twenty thousand are for you. Consider it repayment."

After saying that, Tang Wulin turned around, climbed the ladder, and returned to his upper bunk.

"I won't go back on what I promised you. After school tomorrow, just pick the place."

With that, Tang Wuyang did not linger either and went straight back to his bed.

Sitting on the upper bunk, Zhou Changxi looked at Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin on the bunk beds opposite him. Ever since he had lost to both of them in the bun contest, he had genuinely come to respect these plainly dressed brothers.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed and clearing away his distracting thoughts, Tang Wuyang quickly entered Meditation.

In fact, today was his first time using his Martial Soul in battle.

He had almost no experience in that area and had never even learned how to fight.

Xie Xie was very strong. Tang Wuyang could feel it. If not for the elements brought by his First Soul Skill, which could switch between water and Ice Element, as well as the low temperature of the Ice Element affecting Xie Xie's movements, he probably would not even have been able to touch him.

But today's fight also gave Tang Wuyang a deeper understanding of his Water Element.

Teacher Mang Tian had once told him that his First Soul Skill had great potential for development and that he should experiment more with different changes of water and Ice Element.

Now, it seemed he truly needed to hurry up and practice.

Xie Xie did not meditate. He simply lay on his bed, thinking about his battle with Tang Wuyang today.

True, he had been careless because he underestimated his opponent, but wasn't that fellow's Martial Soul a Beast Martial Soul? Why was his Soul Skill clearly the control-system Ice Chains? And it could even switch back and forth between water and ice forms!

What exactly was going on with that fellow's Martial Soul?

But even if his Martial Soul was strange and his Soul Skill bizarre, he only had a Ten-Year First Soul Ring, and his cultivation was clearly weaker than mine. How could my Light Dragon Dagger, enhanced by a Century Soul Ring, possibly fail to cut through it?

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll definitely make him understand how powerful I am!

I cannot take that punch for nothing.

Touching his cheek, which had still not fully gone down, Xie Xie's heart blazed with fury.