The Competition Begins

Lin Jin glanced to the side.

A chubby boy squeezed into view.

Sensing the robust aura within him, as well as his hands, which were not as smooth and fair as those of an ordinary boy,

Lin Jin did not need to think much to guess his identity.

Xu Lizhi.

One of Shrek's visitors this time.

He had gotten to know Tang Wulin because they shared the same appetite.

However, the scene before him seemed to have changed.

This time, not only were he and Mu Xi present, but Gu Yue was here as well.

"Boss, this one, this one, this one..."

"Forget it."

"Give me ten portions of everything!"

Seeing Lin Jin's group of four, Xu Lizhi seemed too embarrassed to approach them, so he simply took a seat at the neighboring table.

The owner looked up at him.

"Little fatty, can you even finish ten portions?"

"Every grain comes from hard work. Don't waste food."

Xu Lizhi patted his stomach.

"Don't worry, Boss. What I hate most in this life is people who waste food."

The owner gave him several suspicious looks.

Still, he was running a business.

Since a customer had made a request, he naturally would not refuse outright.

The kitchen promptly became busy.

Tang Wulin's gaze fell on Xu Lizhi, and he could not help but feel a sense of familiarity.

Before long, the two met each other's eyes and began chatting.

Left off to the side, Gu Yue felt somewhat uncomfortable and shot Xu Lizhi a fierce glare.

Xu Lizhi shrank his neck and gave Tang Wulin a meaningful look.

Tang Wulin caught on and immediately pulled Gu Yue over to sit beside him.

Lin Jin watched it all with an amused smile. He stopped minding them and focused on eating with Mu Xi.

Lin Jin and Mu Xi naturally both knew very well how much Tang Wulin could eat.

Yet when they saw the mountain of plates piled up beside them, they were still rather shocked.

In the end, the two left first.

Perhaps angered at being neglected, Gu Yue also left early after Lin Jin and Mu Xi departed.

Only the two foodies remained, exchanging glances.

The next day.

The exhibition matches were held first.

Sure enough, Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan appeared.

Lin Jin did not pay much attention to them.

He knew battles like these could not reveal their true strength.

Next came the drawing ceremony.

The day quickly passed.

On the second day, the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition officially began.

Lin Jin accompanied Mu Xi to the Blacksmith Grand Competition, which was the first event to be held.

Its schedule did not conflict with the other competitions.

Mu Xi's forging had improved greatly over the past half year.

She had gone from merely touching the threshold of Thousand-Refinement to completing Thousand Refinement Grade 2 forging, successfully advancing to Level Four.

The greatest contributor, however, had been the Samadhi Fire Domain.

With Samadhi, Lin Jin could see the problems in Mu Xi's forging even more clearly than an Eight-Star Saint Artisan like Mu Chen.

He could give her more precise corrections.

That was why she had progressed so quickly.

To people who did not understand forging, the Blacksmith Grand Competition was actually quite dull.

However, since everyone knew blacksmiths were the most lucrative profession, there were still quite a few spectators.

There was not much to say about the result.

In the youth division, Mu Xi and Tang Wulin's status as Level Four Blacksmiths put them far ahead of everyone else.

Aside from the two of them, there was not even a single Level 3 Blacksmith to be seen.

Thus, both of them had actually held back.

In the end, they controlled their scores precisely: Mu Xi forged Thousand Refinement Grade 4 Cloud Titanium, while Tang Wulin forged Thousand Refinement Grade 5 Deep Silver.

Even so, the judges throughout the venue were left speechless in shock.

One old man after another could not resist stepping forward, hoping to recruit Tang Wulin as a disciple.

Naturally, Tang Wulin was their target.

After all, there were only a dozen or so Saint Craftsman-level blacksmiths across the entire continent.

There were only four Level 8 Saint Craftsmen.

Mu Chen's status was truly very high.

As fellow blacksmiths, they naturally knew of Mu Chen's only daughter.

However, Mu Chen had clearly anticipated the behavior of those old men and intercepted them with precision.

Mu Xi and Tang Wulin took first and second place respectively.

Still, although they were both Level Four, Tang Wulin's skill was naturally higher than Mu Xi's.

He had deliberately yielded first place to give his Senior Sister face.

"Congratulations."

Lin Jin waited for the two at the exit and offered his congratulations with a smile.

"If Senior Brother competed, forget the youth division—even every division of the entire Blacksmith Grand Competition would pale in comparison."

Tang Wulin shook his head.

When he saw Lin Jin's Forging Hammer during the Class Promotion Tournament, he had already known that Lin Jin could perform Spirit Forging.

After all, he also possessed a Blood Sacrifice Forging Hammer.

He could tell the difference between the connection Lin Jin had with his Cloud Titanium Forging Hammer and his own.

And being able to perform Spirit Forging

meant he had entered the ranks of Level 5 Blacksmiths.

Level Five already meant being a Grandmaster Blacksmith.

Most of the judges in this competition were only Grandmaster Blacksmiths themselves.

Of course, they were Level 6 Grandmasters.

But Lin Jin was only nine years old.

Those people were all old men in their forties or fifties.

Mu Xi's eyes were full of delight as she listened to Tang Wulin praise Lin Jin.

Linking her arm through Lin Jin's, she said,

"Alright, both of you signed up for the individual tournament. Let's head over now!"

"Otherwise, we won't make it in time."

Neither of them objected.

On the way,

they ran into Ye Xinglan, whose pretty face was ice-cold, and Xu Lizhi behind her, his face filled with a fawning smile.

When Xu Lizhi saw Tang Wulin, his face immediately lit up.

But before he could greet him, Ye Xinglan glared him back with a single look.

Ye Xinglan stepped forward in two strides, her gaze fixed tightly on Tang Wulin.

"You're the one who left Lizhi there to wash dishes?!"

Her voice was icy.

Even Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat.

As his Senior Sister, Mu Xi naturally wanted to defend him.

However, Tang Wulin was also someone who took responsibility.

Before Lin Jin or Mu Xi could say anything, Tang Wulin righteously said,

"What's wrong with paying for what you bought?"

"Was I supposed to treat him when we'd only just met?"

"Do you know how much he ate?"

"Do you think my money falls from the sky?!"

Although Xu Lizhi had indeed felt quite wronged while washing dishes, he also felt that there was nothing wrong with those words.

Even the hand Ye Xinglan pointed at Tang Wulin with trembled in anger.

In the end, she coldly tossed out a sentence.

"Just you wait!"

Then she turned and left.

Tang Wulin frowned, feeling slightly uneasy.

"What, are you scared?"

Lin Jin smiled faintly.

"I'm not scared. It's just that they are from Shrek, after all..."

Tang Wulin truly was somewhat worried.

Lin Jin shook his head and said calmly,

"So what if they're from Shrek?"

"Remember, we're all human. Fundamentally, there's no difference between us."

"Being from Shrek does not make them superior to others."

"Nor do all experts come from Shrek."

Tang Wulin was startled for a moment, then confidence returned to his eyes.

"I'll remember that, Senior Brother."

Very soon,

the first day of the Youth Division Soul Master Individual Tournament began.

Most of the contestants were actually One Ring.

Two rings already made someone outstanding.

Whether it was Lin Jin, Tang Wulin, or Xie Xie and the others, they all ended their battles with ease.

Following their earlier conflict, Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi also participated in the individual tournament, as expected.

Naturally, they won just as easily.

"Boss, is this the Senior Brother you talk about so often?"