First Forging? No, Level Eight Forging Peak! [Seeking Follow-up]

"..."

Watching Wu Changkong's departing figure, Lu Li shook his head with a smile, though he was in no rush to leave today, opting instead to sit down in his own office.

His office was right next door to Wu Changkong's, with a layout that was nearly identical, perhaps because neither of them liked to clutter their spaces with too many things.

His attention, however, instantly focused on the two long-term missions in his mind.

[Long-term Mission 1: Is it really just Blue Silver Grass? Make Tang Wulin open his heart to you. Reward: Martial Soul bloodline evolution.]

[Long-term Mission 2: Dragon King Conflict! Defeat her! Overcome her! Surpass her! Surpass Gu Yue in any aspect. Reward: Ultimate affinity for any attribute.]

"Wulin's long-term mission is to have him open his heart to me. It doesn't specify exactly what to do, but completing a Martial Soul evolution certainly won't be an easy task."

Lu Li shook his head and shifted his gaze to the second mission.

"By comparison, Gu Yue's mission cannot be summarized by the word 'simple'."

"System, my current cultivation is stronger than Gu Yue's, so there shouldn't be any problem there, right?"

A smile played on Lu Li's face as he spoke lightly.

"System, my cultivation is that of a Title Douluo, which is slightly stronger than Gu Yue's level 28 cultivation."

[Host, please don't joke. Your current cultivation is only that of a Soul Grand Master. You still have a very long way to go before reaching her level 28.]

The system's emotionless, mechanical voice replied.

"..."

Hearing this, Lu Li helplessly clutched his forehead, his expression instantly turning silent as he recalled the previous moment when the system insisted he was only a Soul Master, even though he knew he was a Title Douluo.

Fine, he had forgotten; this system of his never played by the rules.

"Then..."

"Does height count?"

Lu Li thought for a moment and tentatively asked.

He was nearly 1.9 meters tall. If this could actually fall within the range of what could be surpassed, it would surely be no problem.

[Dear Host, girls develop earlier than boys. You need to eat more and drink more milk if you want any chance of having a height that surpasses Gu Yue's in the future.]

[Friendly reminder: Height is not included in the criteria.]

Great!

Lu Li curled his lips in frustration and could only silently shake his head, withdrawing his focus. His cultivation wasn't enough, his height wasn't enough, and his age went without saying.

It seemed this reward wouldn't be so easy to obtain. That being said, what else could he possibly compete with Gu Yue on?

It couldn't be a secondary profession, could it...?

"Hm?"

Lu Li's eyes suddenly lit up, and in his heart, a mechanical voice rang out once again.

[Long-term Mission 3: Secondary Profession Study]

[During class interactions, you discovered that Tang Wulin has already become a master-level blacksmith. He is practically a superman.]

[More skills are never a burden, and high skill brings courage. Please complete the study of any secondary profession within half a year and reach the introductory level.]

[Friendly reminder: Gu Yue is currently nothing yet. If you complete this efficiently enough, you might be able to surpass Gu Yue in one fell swoop and step into the field of secondary professions earlier.]

[Mission Reward: Your learning comprehension will be increased.]

"As expected."

A "kind" smile appeared on Lu Li's face.

Blacksmithing, huh!

Speaking of that, he was wide awake now!

Do you understand the weight of someone who, armed with nothing but a hammer, reached the level of an eight-rank Saint Craftsman in twelve years?

"..."

Not long after, at the Eastsea City Blacksmith's Association.

"Please open a forging room for me, thank you."

Lu Li walked quickly to the front desk, pulled a third-rank blacksmith badge from his Soul Tool, and spoke calmly.

"Master, what is your name?"

The staff member glanced at the third-rank badge in Lu Li's hand, then looked at his youthful face, feeling quite surprised. A blacksmith master this young was truly rare!

"My surname is Lu. Please lead the way."

Lu Li's tone was indifferent as he said with a smile.

"Yes, please follow me..."

Guided by the staff member, Lu Li soon took the elevator to the third floor and arrived at a simple, unadorned workshop.

The room contained only a few titanium alloy tables and a furnace, with some basic forging materials laid out. Aside from that, there was nothing else.

This is how things are in Eastsea City; aside from the top few grandmaster-level workshops, all standard rooms are like this.

"I've decided on you, Heavy Silver!"

"Then... let the forging begin."

Lu Li's gaze swept across the metal workbench, and with a smile, he picked up a piece of Heavy Silver, then pulled a plain, grey-blue hammer from his Soul Tool.

The Soul-Forged Heavy Silver Hammer was one of his most frequently used forging hammers, and also one of the most basic models.

As his eyes landed on the metal on the workbench, he didn't hesitate for a second, swinging the hammer down in a single strike.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

The moment the forging hammer made contact with the metal, a series of rhythmic hammering sounds erupted one after another, even though Lu Li had only swung his hammer once.

Stacking Hammer, one of the most common traits in the forging world, and also widely recognized as the most useful.

Under the effect of Stacking Hammer, even a single swing could produce the effect of several, or even a dozen, strikes.

It was at this moment that a flash of light erupted from the Heavy Silver with lightning speed, as if the metal had suddenly gained sentience.

Thousand-Refined First Grade!

Despite only swinging once, under Lu Li's hands, this large piece of Heavy Silver—which had been a mere ordinary material moments ago—had now become a top-tier product that even master-level blacksmiths would struggle to create.

[Your talent is truly astonishing. Having just experienced forging, you completed a Thousand-Refinement with lightning speed, creating a Thousand-Refined First Grade piece of Heavy Silver.]

[Host, you are so cool!]

[You are practically a superman!]

At this moment, the system's voice exploded in Lu Li's mind, accompanied by a series of booming, thunderous sounds of shock.

"..."

Listening to the noise in his head, Lu Li felt a bit amused; if this system weren't an artificial idiot, he might have actually been happy to be praised like this.

Well, not really—after all, the so-called Thousand-Refined First Grade was just the result of a single hammer strike.

But immediately after, the next message from the system made his eyes burn with intensity:

[This may not be your limit yet. Please continue forging and complete the entirety of this session.]

[Ultimately, this system will evaluate your performance throughout this forging process to grant you a final boost to your comprehension.]

Lu Li smiled, tightened his grip on the forging hammer, and without a moment's hesitation, began to strike again and again.

Since there was no upper limit to his first forging attempt...

Then he wouldn't hold back at all!

Lightly gripping the hammer, he applied force that was neither too heavy nor too light, striking the metal with a rhythmic, percussive cadence.

It didn't look like forging; it looked like he was crafting a beautiful work of art. The sound wasn't rough or noisy, but rather possessed a pleasant, musical quality.

Under his forging, in almost no time at all, a light even brighter than before erupted instantly—the foundation of a level five blacksmith: Spirit Forging!

And of course, this was still not his limit.

"..."

Ten minutes flashed by in the blink of an eye.

[Congratulations on completing a top-tier Soul-Forged and Fusion-Forged creation. Rating: Top-tier Level 8 Blacksmith, Saint Artisan.]

[Host, your craftsmanship is like the work of gods. Even as a first-time forging experience, you have already reached the destination that everyone on this continent dreams of.]

[Your comprehension has been boosted.]

[Congratulations on obtaining the ability: Transcendental Comprehension Boost.]

[In any aspect that can be learned, your abilities will become transcendental; sudden enlightenment will be as easy as drinking water.]

"..."

Lu Li smiled as he put away the forging hammer, tossed the finished metal piece into his system storage, and felt quite pleased.

See, another reward.

It's not like he's bragging...

But this mission really didn't have any gold content at all!