Inside the office.
Mu Chen smiled at the two people beside him and introduced them.
"Xiao Yue, Xiao Xi, this is Tang Wulin. Today, he officially received the Blacksmith Association's recognition and became a Level 2 Blacksmith."
"Tang Wulin?" Mu Xi nodded calmly. "Judging by your age... you should also be a new student in Eastsea Academy's incoming class, right?"
If it had been the old Mu Xi, upon hearing of Tang Wulin's current achievements,
she might have been jealous, unwilling to accept it, and caused him trouble afterward.
But now, she was already a Level 4 Blacksmith.
Moreover,
her worldview had been reshaped years ago.
No matter how shocking something was, it would be difficult to stir her emotions.
What was a Level 2 Blacksmith? Had they ever seen a six-year-old Grandmaster Blacksmith?
"Yes." Tang Wulin nodded. "Grade One Class Five."
Class Five?
Upon hearing those two words, a barely perceptible trace of disdain flashed through Mu Xi's eyes.
A Level 2 Blacksmith at his age certainly possessed astonishing talent, but the Soul Master aptitude of someone in Class Five was rather poor.
Yet in either respect, he was far inferior to Xu Yue beside her.
Thinking of this, a hint of pride rose in Mu Xi's heart.
"This is my daughter, Mu Xi. She's also a student at Eastsea Academy, just like you, so you can consider her your senior."
Mu Chen smiled as he introduced her to Tang Wulin, then pointed at Xu Yue beside them.
"Speaking of which, Xiao Yue is also in the same..."
However, before Mu Chen could finish,
Screech!
A piercing scraping sound suddenly rang out!
Xu Yue, who had been sitting quietly beside Mu Xi, abruptly rose to his feet.
The sudden movement shoved the sofa he had been sitting on, along with Mu Xi, some distance away.
But the surging emotions in his heart left Xu Yue unable to care about any of that.
Facing everyone's astonished gazes, Xu Yue spoke hoarsely, his voice cold.
"Sorry, Uncle Mu. I have something to do. Please excuse me."
With that, he strode straight out of the president's office.
For a moment, the room was utterly silent.
Everyone stared blankly at Xu Yue's departing figure, unable to understand what had happened.
Although Xu Yue's expression had been extremely cold, anyone could sense the faintly suppressed emotions beneath it.
Neither Mu Chen and Mu Xi, who had watched Xu Yue grow up,
nor Cen Yue, who had later witnessed his rise, had ever seen this side of Xu Yue.
Thinking of what had just happened, thinking of Xu Yue's expression,
Mu Xi's heart gave a slight, painful tug, and even her breathing stopped for an instant.
After staring blankly for a moment, Mu Xi suddenly stood and said to Mu Chen.
"Dad, I'm going to check on A-Yue!"
As soon as she spoke, she turned and chased after him like the wind without waiting for Mu Chen to respond.
With two people leaving in quick succession, everyone present had lost any interest in continuing the conversation.
Although Mu Chen did not know exactly what had upset Xu Yue, it was likely inseparable from Tang Wulin standing before him.
Thinking of this, he no longer had any interest in mentoring a junior.
Tang Wulin's talent was indeed decent, but he was far inferior to Xu Yue.
At the same time, Mu Xi's talent had gradually revealed itself over the past two years.
Reaching Level 4 at fourteen and achieving Spirit Forging before twenty was entirely possible.
Combined with her already transformed Soul Master talent, Mu Xi's chances of becoming a Divine Blacksmith were not low either.
They might even be higher than his own, despite him being an Eight-Star Saint Craftsman.
With that in mind, two future Divine Blacksmith prospects were already enough to occupy all his efforts. There was no need to divide his attention further.
After handing over the Blacksmith Emblem and offering a few words of encouragement, Mu Chen had Cen Yue lead the confused Tang Wulin away.
As they walked through the Blacksmith Association's lobby,
Tang Wulin still found everything that had just happened somewhat baffling.
The atmosphere of the conversation had clearly been quite pleasant. Why had that boy, who appeared to be his age, left so angrily?
Could it be because his talent was too good,
and had made the other party jealous?
Based on everything he had experienced at Eastsea Academy these past few days, that did not seem impossible.
So Tang Wulin turned to Cen Yue, who was walking silently beside him, and softly asked, "Master Cen, could it be..."
Upon hearing Tang Wulin's words, Cen Yue stopped walking.
He looked at Tang Wulin beside him with a strange expression.
Under that gaze, Tang Wulin took two steps back, looking somewhat awkward.
"Master Cen... did I say something wrong?"
"Cough, cough..." Cen Yue coughed twice, then patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder with a complicated expression.
"Tang Wulin, your talent truly is very good. Even Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua had not achieved so much at your age."
"However..."
He paused before continuing, "However, this absolutely does not apply to Xu Yue."
"He is also a new student in Eastsea Academy's incoming class. Haven't you heard about him at the academy?"
"Uh..." Tang Wulin froze at that.
He truly had not heard any information about Xu Yue at the academy. Of course, that might have been because Wu Zhangkong's training schedule had been rather full lately.
So he quietly asked, "Is he very famous?"
"Since you didn't know, I can't blame you." Cen Yue shook his head with a bitter smile. "Ask anyone in the Blacksmith Association, and they can give you the answer."
"Since you were assigned to Grade One Class Five, you should be a one-ring Soul Master now, right?"
Tang Wulin nodded lightly, somewhat embarrassed.
"Then do you know how many rings Xu Yue has now?"
Without waiting for Tang Wulin to respond, Cen Yue directly revealed the answer. He opened his hand and folded down two fingers.
"Three rings. And he had already become a Soul Elder before graduating from Primary Academy."
"Although I don't know his exact current rank, with his talent, he will definitely have made further breakthroughs!"
Soul Elder?
Those two words flashed through Tang Wulin's mind like a bolt of lightning, and his throat involuntarily bobbed.
There was a Soul Elder in his First Grade?!
Was that something someone his age should have achieved?
Yet the shock Xu Yue's information brought him was far from over.
Cen Yue looked around before continuing in a low voice.
"Moreover, Xu Yue's level as a blacksmith is no lower. Although you have become a Level 2 Blacksmith, he received his Level 3 Blacksmith badge a year ago."
"I believe that with his talent, he definitely has not remained stagnant. He may even reach the realm of a Level 4 Blacksmith faster than the senior Mu Xi you just met!"
"It's only because of his age that the president may have concealed and protected him, which is why it was never announced."
After saying this, Cen Yue patted the stunned Tang Wulin's shoulder again and spoke earnestly.
"Although I don't know why Xu Yue left, he could never have been as you described."
People might envy those whose achievements were somewhat greater than their own, but they would not envy those far beyond them.
Likewise, they would not envy those beneath them.
Under Cen Yue's guidance, Tang Wulin quickly learned about the Blacksmith Association's facilities and the process for accepting assignments.
Even after leaving the Blacksmith Association Building, the information Cen Yue had told him about Xu Yue continued echoing in his mind.
"Same age as me? A Soul Elder? A Level 4 Blacksmith?"
The talent Mang Tian had once praised now seemed somewhat shaken.
...Or was my talent actually quite ordinary, and what I was seeing now was the real world?
Before you continue