Claiming the Badges

The elevator moved quickly, and by the time it reached the top floor, both Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's ears were ringing slightly.

The brothers shook their heads at the same time before recovering.

As they stepped out of the elevator, the first thing they saw was an expansive view.

The surroundings were lined with floor-to-ceiling glass, and from this height, they could see nearly half of Eastsea City.

Tall buildings stood everywhere in the city like a Steel Forest. Plenty of green plants had been placed along one side, adding a touch of life.

Yun Xiaoling found a staff member. "Please inform the president that Tang Wulin and Tang Wuyang have arrived."

"Wulin, Wuyang, wait here for a moment." Yun Xiaoling led them to sit on a nearby sofa.

Before long, a set of hurried footsteps sounded.

Mu Chen walked at the front. He had arrived at the association early that morning and had not even gone to forge in his own Forging Room, all so he could wait for these two little fellows who had brought him such shocking surprises.

Cen Yue had also been waiting with him in his office.

If the people of the Forging Master Association knew that these two had spent nearly an entire day waiting for two children, who knew what they would think.

Mu Xi followed behind them.

"President!" Yun Xiaoling went forward and respectfully bowed to Mu Chen.

Mu Chen smiled and nodded. The next moment, his gaze fell upon Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin.

The brothers had already stood up when they heard Yun Xiaoling address him as president, but their eyes were fixed on Cen Yue.

Cen Yue walked over to them and said with a smile, "Wulin, Wuyang, this is President Mu Chen of our Eastsea City Forging Master Association. He is also one of the Federation's most renowned Holy Craftsman Level Forging Masters."

Holy Craftsman?

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's eyes lit up. They had long heard Mang Tian mention the title of Saint Craftsman. Only Level Seven and Level Eight Forging Masters could be called Saint Craftsmen.

This president did not seem much older than their teacher, yet he had already become a Saint Craftsman!

Was the badge on his chest a Holy Craftsman Badge?

Eight stars—he was an Eight-Star Holy Craftsman!

The two hurried forward a few steps and bowed. "Hello, President."

"It's you two?" A surprised voice came from beside Mu Chen.

Mu Xi was staring at the two fellows who had stolen her spotlight—no, the spotlight of every young Forging Master—with a look of astonishment.

Tang Wuyang was also startled when he saw Mu Xi. Why was this rich senior student here?

Mu Chen looked at his daughter in surprise. "Xixi, you know them?"

Mu Xi looked at the brothers. "No, but they seem to be students at our academy too."

Mu Chen smiled. "Tang Wulin, Tang Wuyang, what grade are you in at Eastsea Academy?"

Tang Wulin said, "Wuyang and I are new students who enrolled this year. We're both in Grade One Class Five."

When Mu Xi heard the words Class Five, a trace of disdain immediately appeared in her eyes.

As a student of Eastsea Academy, she naturally knew what Class Five represented. They were all useless students who could not even become Soul Grandmasters.

However, Mu Chen showed no change in emotion because of their class. "Brother Cen told me that both of you passed the Second Rank assessment last time. That is truly an impressive achievement."

"You should know that this has set a new record for our Forging Master Association."

"We cannot help but marvel that there are worthy successors after us!"

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin both blushed. Neither knew how to react to praise from others.

Tang Wuyang thought for a moment. "President Uncle, now that we have our badges, can we accept Forging Tasks?"

Mu Chen laughed. "Of course you can."

Cen Yue smiled from the side. "The president has been waiting for you all day so that he could personally put your badges on for you."

At that moment, Yun Xiaoling brought over a tray.

The tray was lined with red cloth, with two identical badges resting on it.

The badges were hexagonal, blue at the base, with raised hammer emblems and two white stars embedded in them.

Whether it was a Mecha Maker, a Forging Master, or another related profession, their rank badges all looked roughly the same.

The badges for the first and second ranks were blue with white stars. They only began to change after the third rank.

Mu Chen personally pinned the badges onto the left sides of Tang Wulin and Tang Wuyang's chests. His smile faded as he said solemnly, "From this moment on, you two are members of our Forging Master Association."

"As Forging Masters, I hope you can seriously complete every forging work. Feel with your souls, enlighten with your lives. True Forging is not simply hammering metal—it is creating life."

Creating life?

Those simple words struck Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin like thunder. It was as though a brand-new door into the world of Forging had opened a crack before them.

Tang Wuyang lightly touched his badge. The coldness of the metal brought him an unprecedented sense of accomplishment, and a fiery warmth rose within his heart.

Tang Wuyang looked up at Tang Wulin, who was also looking at his younger brother.

The two smiled at each other, thinking the same thing at once. They had finally become official Forging Masters.

"I want to compete with you in Forging!" Mu Xi suddenly stepped out from behind Mu Chen, glaring at the brothers with an unconvinced expression.

Only then did Tang Wuyang notice that she wore the same badge as him and his brother on her chest.

Seeing the challenge in Mu Xi's eyes, Tang Wuyang frowned and shook his head. "I won't compete."

Tang Wulin also shook his head. Ignoring Mu Xi, he turned to Mu Chen. "President Uncle, where can we accept Forging Tasks?"

Mu Chen glared at Mu Xi, forcing her to swallow the words she had wanted to say.

Then Mu Chen smiled at Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin. "Brother Cen will take you there. Now that you have passed the assessment, you are members of our association. No matter what difficulties you encounter in the future, you may come to the association and request help."

"Although our Forging Master Association may not be the strongest association, it will certainly be the most united one."

As he said the word united, he deliberately glanced at Mu Xi, making the displeased girl pout and lower her head.

Cen Yue smiled and patted the two little fellows on the shoulders. "Come with me."

As she watched Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin enter the elevator with Cen Yue, Mu Xi could not help asking, "Dad, why wouldn't you let me compete with them?"

Mu Chen's expression darkened as he said sternly, "Insolence. What do you think this place is?"

"This is the Forging Master Association. As a member of the Forging Master Association—and especially as my daughter—every word and action of yours represents the association."

"These two children have only just joined. What if you frightened them?"

"Once you become more familiar with each other, I will not stop you if you want to compete in Forging. But it must be done privately."

"Aren't they your junior schoolmates? Pay more attention to them."

Mu Chen had not said much to Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin today because he still wanted to observe these two children further.

He had seen the two pieces of Sinking Silver they had refined. From their uniformity, he could conclude with certainty that both little fellows had surpassed his daughter in Forging skill.

He had only stopped Mu Xi from challenging them because he did not want to damage her confidence.

That was also a bit of his selfishness. At their age, confidence was still very important.

Since Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin would be accepting Forging Tasks, he would have plenty of time to observe them. It would not be too late to decide how to nurture them after watching them longer.

The task reception hall was on the second floor of the Forging Master Association.

The entire second floor was ringed with counters, and each counter bore task rank markings identical to those on Forging Master Badges.

Forging Masters accepting tasks could only choose tasks of their own rank or lower. They could not accept tasks above their rank.

In the Forging industry, the forging materials were provided by the client.

Therefore, the association had to ensure the quality of the finished products as much as possible. Otherwise, the association would have to pay compensation.

"You two little fellows have truly given me quite a few surprises! That fellow Mang Tian really is..."

Whenever Cen Yue thought of Mang Tian's mocking words, he became furious. But the man had indeed taught two outstanding disciples!

After letting out a long breath and pushing aside Mang Tian's punchable face, Cen Yue looked at the two little fellows and asked, "What kind of task do you want to accept?"

Tang Wulin looked toward the counters. "Anything within our abilities."

Cen Yue said, "Our association has Forging Rooms for rent. Will you forge within the association?"

Tang Wuyang shook his head. "Teacher has already arranged it for my brother and me. He wants us to use his Forging Room in Eastsea City. We can go there. Thank you."

A trace of disappointment flashed through Cen Yue's eyes. "All right, then. But you must understand that Forging Tasks may only succeed, never fail."

"Once you fail, you will need to compensate for the losses yourselves. The counters ahead are for accepting tasks, the counters on the left are for submitting them, and the counters on the right sell all kinds of metals."

"Our association has nearly every Rare Metal available on the market. However, each person's Forging Level determines how much they can purchase each month. If you need anything, you can buy it here."

"The fourth and fifth floors sell finished forged products. You can take a look there as well."

"Yes." The brothers answered respectfully in unison.

However, neither had any thoughts of visiting the fourth or fifth floors.

One reason was that they had no need to, while the other was naturally because they had no money.

They were still hoping to earn enough money for a Century Soul Spirit through Forging.

Cen Yue brought them to the two-star counter and guided them through choosing tasks.

"The association will take ten percent as an agency fee. The rest is what you can earn."

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin's eyes both lit up upon hearing Cen Yue's words.

Task One: Refine Rare Metal Heavenly Dragon Iron. Requirement: Hundred Refinements Purification. Time limit: thirty days. Quantity: ten. Reward: two thousand Federation Coins per unit.

Task Two: Refine Rare Metal Crimson Gold. Requirement: Hundred Refinements Purification. Time limit: thirty days. Quantity: ten. Reward: two thousand five hundred Federation Coins per unit.

In other words, completing these two tasks would earn them twenty thousand and twenty-five thousand Federation Coins respectively.

To Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin, that was absolutely a huge sum of money.

Ever since completing Thousand Refinement Purification on Sinking Silver, the two were now very confident in refining the vast majority of Rare Metals.

Without hesitation, the brothers selected the first two tasks. A dialogue box appeared, asking them to enter the delivery address. Once they had entered it, they were instructed to place their badges into the slot below.

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin removed their badges together and placed them into the slots.

"Beep!"

"Congratulations, Second Rank Forging Master Tang Wulin. You have successfully accepted the Second Rank Forging Task: Heavenly Dragon Iron Refinement. The materials will be delivered to the listed address within three days."

"Congratulations, Second Rank Forging Master Tang Wuyang. You have successfully accepted the Second Rank Forging Task: Crimson Gold Refinement. The materials will be delivered to the listed address within three days."

Once the mechanical voice finished, the badges popped back out.

"That's it?" Tang Wulin looked up at Cen Yue.

Tang Wuyang took back his badge, his gaze on Cen Yue carrying the same question.

Cen Yue nodded. "Isn't it simple?"

"However, I must remind you that this is your first time accepting tasks, so you must be careful."

"Although the processing fees charged by us Forging Masters are considerable, many Forging Masters do not earn much. The fundamental reason is that they fail to complete every task perfectly."

"Once a defective product appears, the Forging Master must pay out of pocket to buy new materials and forge it again. The cost of such remedial measures is quite substantial."

"Yes, Master Cen. We will definitely be very careful."

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin both sensed the gravity in Cen Yue's words, and they could not help becoming even more focused on the Forging Tasks they had just accepted.

Seeing that they had taken his words to heart, Cen Yue asked, "By the way, do you have communication numbers?"

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin shook their heads awkwardly, their faces reddening. How could they afford Communication Soul Tools?

Cen Yue smiled slightly. "These are for you."

As he spoke, light flashed in his hand. Two identical rings rested in his left palm, while two compact Communication Soul Tools appeared in his right hand.

The rings had a very ancient design and were pale blue overall.

Tang Wuyang could not tell what material they were made from. They were covered in an extremely fine layer of dark patterns. At first glance, they seemed ordinary, but a closer look revealed their splendor.

The Soul Guidance Communicators were the most popular style at present. They were also wristband-shaped, about two fingers wide, and could be fastened directly around the wrist for convenient use.

"We can't accept these. They're too valuable." Tang Wuyang hurriedly shook his head.

He did not know what the rings were, but the Soul Guidance Communicators alone were worth more than ten thousand Federation Coins, not including call charges.

Tang Wulin also took two steps back and waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.

Cen Yue smiled. "Soul Guidance Communicators are standard equipment for our association, as well as an association benefit. Every Forging Master has one."

"As for these rings, the president asked me to give them to you. He said they are being lent to you for now."

"They each have ten cubic meters of storage space, making it more convenient for you to submit tasks. Otherwise, how would you bring all those task metals here?"

There were benefits too?

But these Storage Rings were far too precious. The brothers could not even calculate how much ten cubic meters of storage space was worth.

Cen Yue placed the two items into their hands. "Take them. Just complete more tasks for the association."

"These Storage Rings can be considered benefits the association is giving you in advance. They are benefits for Fourth Grade Forging Masters."

"The president said he believes that the two of you will definitely become Fourth Grade Forging Masters in the future. Don't let us down."

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin exchanged a glance, then bowed to Cen Yue together in perfect understanding. "Thank you, Master Cen, and thank you, President."

Cen Yue helped the brothers up, rubbed their heads, and smiled. "Although I am not your teacher, I still have the duty to remind you that all professions ultimately lead to the same goal."

"Although with the development of the times, Soul Power is no longer the decisive foundation in every profession, and many ordinary people can now complete tasks that once required Soul Masters..."

"No matter what profession you enter, if you wish to reach the peak, you must achieve something in Soul Power Cultivation. You must not neglect your studies."

"Yes!" Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin both nodded seriously.

Not to mention that Tang Wulin's original dream had been to become a powerful Soul Master.

Even though he now seemed to have greater potential as a Forging Master, he had never considered giving up the profession of Soul Master.

As for Tang Wuyang, although he had not initially been as determined as Tang Wulin to become a Soul Master, adopting Na'er had undoubtedly given him enough motivation.

After all, he still wanted to grow stronger as soon as possible and gain enough strength to find Na'er!