Tang Wulin and the Double Pupils

"Little one, what are you doing at the workshop?" A burly, muscular man slowly crouched down, his gentle gaze resting on the little boy before him, who had purple hair and violet-gold eyes. He asked softly.

Two years ago, another child of similar age had come here. The Martial Soul he awakened had been Blue Silver Grass, and his Innate Soul Power had only been a pitiful rank three.

At the time, almost no one had thought highly of that child, but in the end, they had still kept him.

That child's Martial Soul talent had been ordinary, yet he had displayed astonishing talent in forging.

Ever since then, whenever he had free time, he would come to this workshop to study and train.

Generally speaking, children this young who came here were either driven by curiosity to take a look, or carried dreams of becoming outstanding Blacksmiths.

After all, this workshop was fairly well-known in Aolai City.

Because there had been such a precedent two years ago, the burly man was now more cautious and expectant whenever a child came to his door on their own initiative, afraid that he might accidentally overlook a promising talent with exceptional gifts.

Hearing the burly man's question, the little boy remained expressionless and answered in a calm tone far beyond his age, "I'm here to become an apprentice."

The few words were spoken so evenly that they seemed entirely without ripples. After speaking, the little boy pressed his lips together tightly and said nothing more.

He believed that such a concise and clear answer was enough to make the man before him understand his purpose.

Moreover, according to the information he possessed, Tang Wulin had entered this workshop two years ago and had gradually begun to stand out through his own efforts.

Though they might meet later, Gu Chen still had no intention of getting involved with the protagonist of this era.

Getting involved with a protagonist meant either soaring alongside him or becoming a corpse that pushed the plot forward.

When Gu Chen stepped inside the workshop, he felt as though he had instantly entered a blazing furnace. A surging heatwave crashed over him like a tide, and he immediately sensed that the temperature here was more than ten degrees higher than outside.

Looking around, he saw all kinds of metal components neatly arranged across the floor and worktables. Like exquisite pieces of art, they emitted their own distinctive gleam.

After meticulous forging, these metal components had taken on countless forms. Some resembled sharp blades that flashed with cold light, while others looked like delicate mechanisms with intricate and ingenious structures.

"Gu Chen, why are you here?" Just as Gu Chen wandered through the place and passed a forging room, a surprised voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterward, Tang Wulin's agile figure strode out from within. Upon seeing Gu Chen, he widened his eyes and cried out in astonishment.

The relationship between Gu Chen and Tang Wulin was actually rather subtle. They were neither intimate friends nor irreconcilable enemies, but existed in a state somewhere between near and distant—like familiar strangers.

After all, they attended the same academy and were in the same class. They saw each other every day and knew each other to a certain extent.

As a genius with Innate Full Soul Power, Gu Chen had joined neither a faction nor the Spirit Pagoda, which had surprised everyone. He was simply usually rather quiet. (In truth, Gu Chen had too much to do and could not be bothered to talk to them.)

Yet Tang Wulin's presence here still caught Gu Chen somewhat off guard.

His gaze lingered on the resolute little boy for a moment longer.

Come to think of it, there seemed to be no deep enmity between Gu Chen and Tang Wulin.

Gu Chen despised the Tang God King's ten-thousand-year plan to draw the Abyssal Plane over. But he did not care all that much, either.

This world was governed by the law of the strong devouring the weak. Even if the Douluo Plane truly collapsed, it would have nothing to do with him.

After all, aside from Na'er, no one in this world had anything to do with him. If they died, they died. Once he became a Title Douluo, he could take Na'er into hiding until the end of time, and no one would ever be able to find and kill them!

Nearly ninety-eight percent of transmigrators became enemies with that hypocrite Tang San, but most of them had transmigrated to his era twenty thousand years ago, rather than arriving twenty thousand years later, when Tang San had already become a God King.

If he could avoid him, that would be best. If he could not, then he would slaughter the culprit, the Tang God King!

Na'er was his younger sister now.

Even if he died, he would never allow the Tang God King to scheme against Na'er!

In Tang San's words to Xiao Wu, "If anyone wants to kill you, they'll have to step over my corpse first!"

Gu Chen dared to say it, and he dared to do it!

At worst, he could blow up the Core of Destruction along with the Super Divine Artifact. No matter what, he could still inflict some damage.

"Mm, that's right. I heard that soul masters should have a side profession, so I came to learn forging." As always, Gu Chen's words were brief, using only a few sentences to explain why he had come.

Afterward, he immediately turned his head away and said no more.

At that moment, the burly man beside them chimed in, "So you two know each other. Tang Wulin is quite talented in forging. Unfortunately, he's still young, and his Soul Power is only rank eight right now. But given time, once his Soul Power increases, he will surely shine brilliantly in the field of forging!"

After Tang Wulin left to attend to something, the burly man turned his curious gaze toward Gu Chen and asked, "You seem to be about the same age as Tang Wulin. What rank has your Soul Power reached now?"

As he spoke, the man led Gu Chen toward the work area, casually picked up a form, and handed it to him, indicating that he should fill in his basic information.

Gu Chen took the form. After thinking briefly, he answered steadily, "I'm the same age as Tang Wulin. I'm eight years and three months old, and my Soul Power is rank nineteen!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man's eyes instantly went wide, and the shock on his face was impossible to conceal. "What? Your Soul Power has already reached rank nineteen at the age of eight?"

Gu Chen said calmly, "There's nothing surprising or worth publicizing about it. I have Innate Full Soul Power. Reaching rank nineteen in two years isn't difficult; you could even say it's very easy. The only reason I haven't broken through to rank twenty is that I still haven't absorbed my first soul spirit."

Faced with the man's incredulous expression, Gu Chen merely blinked and nodded with a calm face.

Gu Chen handed the completed form to the burly man. After reading the information, the man could not suppress the excitement on his face.

A child who had reached rank nineteen at only eight years old was an extremely rare sight.

Not to mention tiny Aolai City—even anywhere else on the entire continent, such a child would undoubtedly be considered a true genius!