Mu Ye

"President Mu Chen." Seeing Mu Chen suddenly barge in, Yun Chen stopped what he was doing and greeted him.

"Dad, why did you come over?" Mu Xi asked, looking at her father in surprise.

Tang Wulin, meanwhile, had been interrupted in the midst of his realization and was still standing there somewhat dazed. But upon hearing Yun Chen and Mu Xi speak, he immediately snapped back to his senses, bowed to Mu Chen, and said, "Hello, Uncle."

That "Uncle" left Yun Chen and the others momentarily stunned. However, seeing that Tang Wulin was still so young, Mu Chen did not take it to heart.

"Xiao Xi, were you exchanging forging insights?" Mu Chen asked.

"That's right." Mu Xi replied, "Didn't you say an important person was coming today? I wanted to bring them here to broaden their horizons. Besides, both of them are second-rank blacksmiths—second-rank blacksmiths under ten years old!"

Mu Chen nodded. As the president of the Eastsea Blacksmiths Association, he knew about Yun Chen and Tang Wulin. It was just that he had been busy handling the backlog of forging orders lately and had not had time to meet either of them.

"You both have excellent talent. The future of blacksmithing will be fortunate to have you," Mu Chen said with feeling.

"Really? I thought my talent was nothing special." Yun Chen shrugged.

Mu Xi raised her hand and punched Yun Chen lightly, annoyed. "You're not even ten yet, and you've already caught up to me. Yet you still say your talent is poor?"

"Uh..." Yun Chen was left speechless. "Wasn't that what you said, Senior Sister?"

"Mm!" A blush covered Mu Xi's cheeks. Only then did she remember that when Yun Chen had completed his second-rank forging assessment, she had been somewhat unconvinced. So, she had told him his talent was merely average and that there were many people in the association better than him.

Mu Xi had never expected that an offhand remark from back then would remain so clearly etched in Yun Chen's memory.

Only now did Yun Chen realize that Mu Xi had been fooling him back then. His gaze toward her gradually turned teasing, and he decided that he would definitely fleece Mu Xi properly later, so she would deeply understand the terror of not having enough spending money.

"Hahaha!" Mu Chen laughed from the side. He understood his daughter's personality well enough. He immediately sorted out what had happened between the two of them.

"Xiao Xi, you misjudged him this time." Mu Chen patted Mu Xi's shoulder, helping her out of the awkward situation.

Then he turned to Yun Chen. "Little fellow, may I ask who your forging teacher is?"

"I studied forging under Master Zhang Mo, but he never took me as his disciple," Yun Chen said.

This blacksmith named Zhang Mo had been found for him by Father Xu. But just like the Body Martial Soul master who had taught him body-tempering methods, Zhang Mo had not accepted him as a disciple. They were more like private tutors for Yun Chen—the kind who worked for payment.

"Oh? So it was him." Mu Chen responded, and information about that blacksmith immediately surfaced in his mind.

Just as he was about to ask Yun Chen whether he wanted to become his disciple, the forging room door opened again.

"President, he'll be arriving soon." The newcomer was Cen Yue from the Eastsea Blacksmiths Association.

"Oh? Little Wulin, you're here too."

"Master Cen Yue." Tang Wulin promptly answered. During Yun Chen's conversation with Mu Chen and his daughter, he had practically become invisible.

"He's arriving so soon? Then let's handle business first." Mu Chen answered before calling out, "Xiao Xi, and you two little fellows, come along as well."

With that, Mu Chen led the three of them toward the elevator and went straight to the top floor of the Blacksmith's Association.

Not long after they arrived on the rooftop, a sleek red Mecha descended onto it. Mu Ye stepped out of the Mecha and greeted Mu Chen and the others who had come to receive him.

"You fellow, instead of sticking around my senior brother and getting benefits from him, why have you suddenly come to me?" Mu Chen was quite familiar with Mu Ye and immediately teased him. "Let me tell you, I'm no wealthy landlord. There's no profit here for you to squeeze out."

"Don't mention it." Mu Ye waved his hand helplessly. "A single word from an elder of my sect summoned me here."

"Oh?" Mu Chen was somewhat surprised. Although the Body Sect had declined, that was only in terms of influence. A sect that had existed for more than ten thousand years was still a camel larger than a horse even in decline. Its deep foundations were not to be underestimated.

"Old Mu, you have to help me this time. An elder from my sect asked me to test a child. I'll give you the information—can you help me find him?" Mu Ye got straight to the point without any ceremony. "After seeing that child's condition, I still need to hurry back. Zhen Hua has been preparing to begin a forging session recently, and I have to go back and keep an eye on him."

"Sure, but let's go inside first. This isn't really a place to talk," Mu Chen said.

Then the group followed Mu Chen to his office. Yun Chen and Tang Wulin had originally intended to leave. It was enough for them to show their faces for something like this; following along further seemed inappropriate. But before entering his office, Mu Chen specifically called for them, and only then did they follow him inside.

"Go on, Mu Ye. What is the name of the person you're looking for?" Mu Chen asked.

"I'm looking for a little fellow named Yun Chen. His Martial Soul is blood, and he should be studying at Eastsea Academy now," Mu Ye said.

The moment he said that, the three youngsters sitting nearby immediately reacted. Mu Xi and Tang Wulin both turned to look at Yun Chen, who sat between them, while surprise was also evident on Yun Chen's face.

When Mu Ye had appeared, Yun Chen had already been considering whether he should reveal his Martial Soul and see if he could draw Mu Ye's attention. Who would have thought that Mu Ye would directly state his name? It was simply an unexpected delight.

Their reactions did not escape Mu Chen and the others. Mu Ye asked in confusion, "Oh? You know this little fellow called Yun Chen?"

"Um, that's me." Yun Chen raised his hand.

"Hm?" Mu Ye was also taken aback. He had not expected the purpose of his trip to be right before him. Earlier, he had assumed these two little fellows were followers Mu Xi had taken in.

Only then did Mu Ye carefully examine Yun Chen. "Summon your Martial Soul and let me take a look."

Hearing Mu Ye's words, Yun Chen more or less guessed why he had come. He stood up, walked over to Mu Ye, and activated his Martial Soul.

In the next instant, Yun Chen's restrained Bloodline Power erupted fiercely. Mu Ye, standing before him, was slightly shocked.

Mu Ye reached out and lightly patted Yun Chen's body a few times. Yun Chen's Bloodline Power immediately surged by another level. Even the faint blood aura surrounding him became far more substantial.

"What an excellent seedling!" Mu Ye exclaimed.