Qiangu Dongfeng: Everything Is Ready
In just one week, the Star Luo City Smiths Association was officially renamed the Star Luo City Blacksmith Association.
And those men who were originally called blacksmiths are now becoming familiar with the new title of "Forgemaster".
As the most basic forging realm after ten thousand years, the Hundred Refinement realm doesn't involve many profound techniques; it relies more on patience and the mastery of timing.
Every blacksmith in the association was a seasoned expert who had worked with metal for decades. With their solid foundation, they learned quickly, and within a few days, some were already able to reliably forge metal to Hundred Refinement.
However, once you reach the Thousand Refinement, the difficulty suddenly increases to a whole new level.
Thousand Refinement is not just about adding force; it also requires the Forgemaster to perceive the subtle changes inside the metal during the forging process.
Before Huo Yuhao transmigrated again, apart from the president Zhu Wen, who barely managed to reach the threshold of the Thousand Refinement thanks to his profound background and tireless training day and night, everyone else, including Qu Tong and Lin Zhiyuan, was stuck at this level.
However, this is already a very good start. Once these Forgemaster ' skills stabilize, they can begin a formal collaboration with the Spirit Hall!
On Devil Island, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan were practically tortured to the point of near death by the seven Old Demon.
Several times the three of them almost couldn't hold on, but they gritted their teeth and pulled through.
What they didn't know was that this was already the result of Huo Yuhao's "threat" to the seven Old Demon.
If judged by the previous standards, Tang Wulin and his companions would likely be several times more miserable now.
After the "military training" officially ended, the Greed Old Demon used spatial means to directly teleport the group of six from Devil Island to the outskirts of North Sea City.
After all, as long as Huo Yuhao stayed on Devil Island for one more day, the seven Old Demon would have to live in fear for another day, lest they come and give them another "Overture of the Undead".
Now that the little ones are gone, they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Huo Yuhao and his group spent eight months on Devil Island, but when they came Devil Island, they found that only two months had passed in the outside world.
Huo Yuhao wasn't too surprised. The God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life were both among the Five Great God Kings of the Divine Realm. Even if they had fallen, their remaining divine Divine Power was still enough to distort the flow of time in a region, which was not an inconceivable thing.
Upon arriving in North Sea City, the group naturally prepared to return to Shrek City.
But when it came to how to get back, the group disagreed.
Xu Xiaoyan looked at the group, recalling her previous experience, and said with lingering fear, "The simplest way is to take the Soul Train. It's fast and convenient, but... are you still brave enough to ride it?"
Xie Xie shook his head vigorously upon hearing this. "Let's not. You saw what happened when we arrived."
"If we encounter another Evil Soul Master, even if we don't end up in danger, it will still cause delays."
Tang Wulin, however, crossed his arms, frowned slightly, and looked skeptical.
He glanced at Xie Xie and couldn't help but retort, "How could something happen every time we ride the Soul Train? The previous incidents must have been coincidences."
"Just because I've encountered it twice, does that mean I'll never ride Soul Train again for the rest of my life?"
The three of them started arguing right there on the streets of North Sea City. They each had their own reasons, and by the end, their throats were practically hoarse, but they still couldn't reach a conclusion.
Gu Yue and Na'er didn't join in; instead, they quietly gazed at the distant harbor, lost in thought.
Just then, Huo Yuhao, who had walked to the side, returned and raised his hand to interrupt the ongoing argument between the three.
"Alright, stop arguing."
"I've already contacted Aunt Leng; she'll send someone to pick us up."
Huo Yuhao originally thought that Leng Yaozhu's "sending someone to pick her up" probably meant sending a Soul Guidance Car from the nearby Spirit Pagoda branch.
But to everyone's surprise, less than half an hour after they arrived at the agreed location on the outskirts of North Sea City, three imposing Mecha roared in from the horizon.
The first one was a Red-Rank Mecha, followed closely by two Black-Grade Mecha on the left and right.
Moreover, Huo Yuhao's powerful Divine Power instantly detected that the three Mecha were actually controlled by a Titled Douluo and two Soul Douluo.
As the three Mecha cruised at low altitudes along the coastline toward the North Sea City, the North Sea Legion had already sounded the alarm.
The North Sea Legion is currently on high alert at level three, and the sudden appearance of the three Mecha nearly triggered a small-scale battle.
Finally, after learning that they were there to pick up Huo Yuhao and his companions, and after showing their identification as members of the Spirit Pagoda, the North Sea Legion allowed them to pass.
They couldn't wait for Huo Yuhao and his gang of scourges to leave the North Sea territory, so that the North Sea Legion could be relieved of its state of combat readiness and wouldn't have to be on high alert 24/7.
Huo Yuhao and his group of six rode in pairs, each in one of the three Mecha. Once airborne, the Mecha were extremely fast, even faster than the Soul Train.
Huo Yuhao roughly estimated that at this speed, it would take about four hours to reach Shrek City.
The owner of the Red-Rank Mecha that Huo Yuhao was riding Qiao Chuan, a level 91 Titled Douluo, who happened to be one of the core figures in Leng Yaozhu's faction within the Spirit Pagoda.
Huo Yuhao was no stranger to Qiao Chuan; they had met several times at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
He couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Qiao, why did the teacher go to all this trouble to come and pick us up?"
Qiao Chuan grinned upon hearing this, his tone less serious than when he was piloting the Mecha, and instead carrying a hint of elder's concern. "I was just worried about you, kid. The Holy Spirit Cult has been causing quite a stir lately, so it's best to be careful."
Huo Yuhao thought to himself, "It's the Holy Spirit Cult again. I wonder what heinous things they've done in the past two months to make Aunt Leng so cautious."
With Qiao Chuan personally escorting them, the group returned to Shrek City without incident.
After Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue returned, they did not immediately go back to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, but instead went to the Shrek Academy with Tang Wulin.
After all, they are still nominally students of the Shrek Academy, and they have gained considerable benefits from this trip to Devil Island.
Based solely on this favor, I should thank Yun Ming in person, both morally and logically.
At the very moment they entered Shrek Academy, on the top floor of the tallest building in Shrek City, in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window, stood the Spirit Pagoda Master, Qian Gu Dongfeng, with his hands behind his back.
He looked down at the Shrek Academy in the distance through the spotless French windows.
"Tower Master."
The side door was pushed open silently, and a middle-aged man of medium build and unremarkable appearance strode to a spot three steps behind Qiangu Dongfeng, standing respectfully with his hands at his sides.
The Qiangu Dongfeng never turned back, its gaze still fixed on the Shrek Academy in the distance.
After a moment of silence, he slowly asked, "How is it?"
The middle-aged man bowed slightly and replied in a low voice, "Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao have just entered Shrek Academy, Qiao Chuan's three Mecha have returned to headquarters."
Qiangu Dongfeng nodded noncommittally, then asked, "Is everyone else here?"
The middle-aged man, of course, knew who Qiangu Dongfeng was referring to when he asked about "others," and immediately replied, "Most of the Elder of the Shrek Academy are still within the academy. There are no unusual developments at the Sea God Pavilion for the time being. We cannot confirm Yun Ming's location, but we speculate that he is also on Sea God Island."
Qiangu Dongfeng remained silent for a moment, as if calculating something in his mind, before slowly speaking, "How are the preparations over there going?"
The middle-aged man lowered his head even further, his voice revealing an undisguised tension and awe. "Reporting to the Tower Master, it has already begun."
A cold, sharp glint flashed in Qiangu Dongfeng's deep eyes as he murmured, "The timing is just right. Don't let me down."