Mang Tian

"There was nothing to be surprised about, nor anything worth boasting about. I had Innate Full Soul Power. Reaching Level 19 in two years was not difficult—it could even be called very easy. I simply had not absorbed my first soul spirit yet, so I had not broken through to Level 20."

Gu Chen spoke calmly, as if he did not care about his current strength in the slightest.

After all, Tang San, who also had Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, would probably only have been at Level 15 or 16 Soul Power at this age.

Yet Gu Chen had already surpassed Tang San and reached Level 19. If not for the restriction of Spirit Rings, he would have long since reached Level 20-something.

Upon hearing this, the burly man beside him could not help widening his eyes again, his face full of astonishment.

"I never expected you to have Innate Full Soul Power too! Let's hurry. We'll take the assessment first!" With that, the burly man decisively picked up the form containing Gu Chen's basic information and hurriedly led him toward the assessment area.

As they walked, the burly man secretly pondered that if Gu Chen possessed not only astonishing talent in Soul Power cultivation but also exceptional talent in forging, then he would very likely receive a generous reward from Master Mang Tian.

At the thought of this, the burly man could not suppress the excitement in his heart, and his pace unconsciously quickened.

After a journey that was neither too long nor too short, Gu Chen finally arrived before the middle-aged man.

The man before him was tall and powerfully built, with dark, gleaming bronze skin and a thick beard covering his face. He carried an imposing air.

This middle-aged man was none other than the owner of Mang Tian Studio—the Level 6 Master Blacksmith, Mang Tian!

"Mm. Judging from your basic information, you're not bad. I'll give you a chance to take the assessment."

After reading Gu Chen's information form, Mang Tian spoke indifferently. His voice was low and sonorous, with a faint buzzing resonance.

After saying that, Mang Tian clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward the Assessment Room.

"To be honest, whether it was you or Tang Wulin, I felt that you were both too young and not suited for forging.

But Tang Wulin's father insisted on letting him give it a try two years ago. Unexpectedly, that little fellow's talent for forging was quite good.

I was rather curious whether you, a genius with Innate Full Soul Power who surpassed him in Soul Master talent, could surpass Tang Wulin in forging as well." Mang Tian's voice reached Gu Chen's ears. He did not mind it; who would not hope to encounter a genius capable of surpassing another genius?

"Do you see that round metal block? Strike it one thousand times with this pair of hammers, five hundred times with each hand. The Counter will only count if you use sufficient force. Once you finish, I'll explain what forging is. If you fail, you will not pass the assessment."

Mang Tian walked to the side with a serious expression and gently picked up the two small Metal Hammers lying on the table.

The pair of Metal Hammers shimmered with a faint silver light and looked exquisitely made, yet they vaguely gave off a heavy feeling. He carefully placed them on the Metal Platform beside him.

Then Mang Tian raised a hand and pointed a finger at the round metal block sitting on the Metal Platform.

The metal block was dark gray throughout, its surface slightly rough, as though it had endured countless rounds of hammering and tempering.

"Next, I'll explain the specific requirements of this assessment."

Mang Tian looked at the calm Gu Chen and spoke slowly. "This assessment is actually not complicated. You only need to use these two Metal Hammers to strike this metal block alternately, for a total of one thousand strikes. This was precisely the assessment Tang Wulin underwent two years ago."

Hearing this, Gu Chen nodded to show that he understood. Then he stepped forward, slowly picked up the Metal Hammers from the Metal Platform, and carefully weighed them in his hands.

The hammer handles were about one foot long, while the hammerheads were cylindrical, roughly half a foot in length and about ten centimeters in diameter.

By his estimate, each Metal Hammer weighed around ten jin.

Such a weight was undoubtedly quite heavy for an eight-year-old child.

After all, it was not easy to freely swing such heavy hammers and strike a target with them.

However, whether it was Gu Chen or Tang Wulin, who had once passed this assessment, neither of them was an ordinary child.

Especially Gu Chen—if Tang Wulin, who possessed the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, could do it, then Gu Chen, who possessed the complete Purple Desolation Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon Bloodline, could naturally do so as well!

One had to know that the Purple Desolation Heaven-Falling Divine Spear Gu Chen usually wielded weighed a full 378 jin.

He could freely wield such an incredibly heavy weapon at the age of eight, so this mere ten-jin Metal Hammer was not worth his notice at all.

To him, holding a brick in his hand or gripping such a small Metal Hammer made no difference whatsoever.

Gu Chen casually reached out and took the Metal Hammer, then turned his gaze toward the round piece of metal resting on the Metal Platform.

At that moment, an astonishing scene unfolded—within his originally tranquil purple-gold eyes, a pair of mysterious and ancient Double Pupils appeared on their own!

In an instant, Chaos Qi surged and spread within those Double Pupils, as if they contained endless mysteries and power.

At the same time, Gu Chen slowly raised his right hand holding the Metal Hammer, lifting it high above his head.

Then he suddenly exerted force, driving his arm down with the might of thunder!

As the saying went, "Everything has a crack." People had flaws, and all things in the world naturally could not avoid them either.

There had never been anything in this world that was truly perfect and without the slightest flaw.

One of the passive abilities of Gu Chen's Double Pupils was that they could effortlessly perceive those subtle, difficult-to-detect cracks.

Bang! A deafening sound suddenly rang out! The round metal block instantly endured the terrifying impact of several hundred kilograms from the Metal Hammer.

Crushed beneath this earthshaking force, the layer of metal on the block's surface immediately caved in deeply, forming a shocking crater.

Because the Metal Hammer weighed only ten jin, it was simply too light. When Gu Chen smashed it down with all his strength, his hand suddenly slipped, and the thing nearly flew from his palm.

After finally adjusting it into a suitable position, Gu Chen carefully gripped the Metal Hammer again and began swinging it forcefully, strike after strike.