Hmph, City Bus Guy (Seeking Follow-ups!)

Eastsea City, Soul Guidance Train Terminal.

With a roar of the steam whistle, the silver-white soul guidance train slowly pulled into the platform.

As the doors slid open, a bustling crowd surged out instantly, met by the salty, humid sea breeze unique to this coastal metropolis, mixed with a faint scent of metallic machine oil.

Tang Heng and his family, wearing masks and carrying bags of all sizes, stepped down from the first-class cabin.

This had been arranged for them by Mu Chen; not only were the seats comfortable and the service attentive, but most importantly, it provided complimentary meals.

Tang Wulin loved anything that didn't cost money, and he had spent the trip devouring the free lunch in the train's dining car.

Having already unlocked one seal, his appetite was significantly larger than before.

In the end, it was Tang Heng who had to step in to stop his younger brother's rampage; it wouldn't be funny if they ended up eating the dining car's entire stock of ingredients.

"Wow, cool! Big brother, look at that! Such tall buildings!"

"Heng-gege, what is that?"

Just outside the station, Tang Wulin and Na'er were like country bumpkins entering the city for the first time, both craning their necks and pointing in amazement at the metallic skyscrapers piercing the clouds in the distance.

Country bumpkins! Just two low-level dragon beasts who had never seen the world.

Tang Heng had been a Shanghai native in his past life, so the cityscape of Eastsea City didn't shock him; in fact, it gave him the strange illusion of having traveled back to his hometown.

It was only the aircraft darting through the sky and the civilian mechs walking along dedicated lanes that reminded him this was reality, and he was still on Douluo Planet.

"This is Eastsea City. If we go to school here, will we get lost and not find our way home? It feels dozens of times bigger than Proud Arrival City."

Tang Wulin's eyes sparkled as he took in everything around him.

Although Na'er felt a bit shy due to the crowd, she hid behind Tang Heng, secretly observing her surroundings.

It was as if she wanted to measure this spectacle of human civilization with her own eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll be living in the academy dorms from Monday to Friday, and we can take the Association's car home on weekends."

Once the family exited the station, Tang Heng used his communicator to contact Mu Chen, who quickly agreed to drive over personally to welcome them, telling them to wait a moment.

Just then, a flashy black soul guidance sports car pulled up to the curb with a piercing engine roar and a stylish drift, coming to a steady stop.

The ink-black window slowly rolled down, revealing the side profile of a cold and arrogant youth.

The youth wore an expression of haughty indifference, dressed in expensive designer sportswear, his gaze scanning the station exit as if looking for someone.

When he spotted Tang Wulin, who was looking around and happened to be blocking his view, he couldn't help but scoff:

"Close the window. Is that smell drifting in?"

"Young Master, what smell?"

"The smell of poverty."

Tang Heng was standing not far away, and with his soul power cultivation already at level 24, he naturally heard the arrogant youth's mockery.

Looking closely, wasn't this Xie Xie, the "two-dagger" youth and one of the Eastsea F4 from the original story?

Just as Xie Xie was about to roll down the window to tell his driver to head to another station, a deeper, heavier engine roar echoed from nearby.

A pitch-black soul guidance car, over six meters in length, pulled up steadily in front of Tang Heng's family.

If it were just a luxury car, Xie Xie might not have paid much attention.

After all, this was Eastsea City, the center of the coastal economic zone, where many noble families and wealthy merchants resided; there were plenty of rich people here.

But as someone born into a prominent family, he recognized the owner of this car at a glance.

It was the exclusive vehicle of the president of the Eastsea Blacksmith Association!

Before he could react, a burly, dignified middle-aged man stepped out of the car.

His silver-gray combat suit was eye-catching, but what shocked Xie Xie even more was the badge on the man's left chest.

The gold-based badge featured a slightly raised hammer pattern, with eight black stars arranged upon it.

Eight stars represented a professional rank of level eight, and the gold base with a hammer border signified a Saint Craftsman.

Combined with the owner of the car, the middle-aged man's identity was practically self-evident.

"Eight-star Saint Craftsman, President of the Eastsea Blacksmith Association, Mu Chen?!"

Mu Chen looked puzzled; why was he being recognized by a little brat just for stepping out?

However, he ignored Xie Xie and walked straight up to Tang Heng's family.

"Greetings, I am Mu Chen. May I ask if you are Mr. Tang Ziran?"

Tang Ziran nodded, shaking Mu Chen's outstretched hand with a slight tremor in his voice: "Hello, President Mu. I am Tang Ziran, this is my wife Lang Yue, and these are my children."

After the pleasantries, Mu Chen's gaze fell on Tang Heng, and the more he looked, the more he liked what he saw. The gleam in his eyes made Tang Heng shiver.

It felt like being stared at while walking down a street in Chengdu.

"You must be exhausted from your journey. Leave the luggage to my subordinates; shall we head to the Eastsea Restaurant for a meal first?"

"Yes, thank you for the trouble, President Mu."

Mu Chen laughed heartily and said, "Calling me President makes it feel distant. Just call me Uncle Mu."

Tang Heng and his family boarded Mu Chen's car, leaving behind Xie Xie, who stood there in a daze, still speculating about their identities.

Before they pulled away, the rear window slowly rolled down.

Tang Heng and Xie Xie locked eyes.

"Tch, city bumpkin."

The window then snapped shut, denying Xie Xie any chance to retort. The engine of the custom-made soul car roared to life, leaving him with nothing but a mouthful of exhaust and a heart full of unventable indignation.

After a hearty meal, Tang Ziran and his wife took Na'er and headed back to their new home first.

The Tang brothers, naturally, were taken by Mu Chen to the Blacksmith Association.

Throughout the journey, Mu Chen found himself increasingly satisfied the more he observed the Tang brothers.

Setting aside their terrifying talent, their ability to remain composed and indifferent in the presence of an eight-star Saint Craftsman like himself was already far beyond that of their peers.

As they walked through the association's entrance, a young girl spotted them, immediately dropped what she was doing, and trotted over.

"Dad!"

"Oh, Xi, you're here too."

The girl looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, tall and slender, dressed in an exquisite white blacksmith's uniform with her golden hair tied into a ponytail, giving her a capable and sharp appearance.

Hearing that shout, Tang Heng was certain that the girl before him was Mu Xi, Mu Chen's daughter.

"Let me introduce you; this is my daughter, Mu Xi," Mu Chen said. "She is currently testing for her second-rank blacksmith certification. I heard two little geniuses had arrived in Proud Arrival City and had planned for you to meet later, but I didn't expect this brat to be so impatient."

Mu Xi was very pretty, though she couldn't compare to Na'er.

There was a hint of arrogance between her brows as she scrutinized the two brothers.

"So you're that genius Tang Heng who achieved a first-grade Thousand-Refinement with a single hammer?"

"Mm."

Mu Xi stepped closer, circled around Tang Heng, and then said, "You don't look like much. You're just passably handsome, that's all."

Tang Heng could sense the provocation in Mu Xi's words; perhaps it was because Mu Chen, that rough man, had been constantly praising him behind her back, bruising the poor genius girl's ego.

He could understand that feeling well; it was just like how his parents in his past life would always talk about how great the neighbor's son was.

Even if he had no interaction with that neighbor's son, he couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment toward him.

"Is that any way to speak? Tang Heng, aren't you going to take your blacksmith rank assessment in a moment? Show this little girl a thing or two, and let her know that there is always someone better, and a sky beyond the sky."

Tang Heng revealed a strange smile and silently took an Unbreaking III Enchanted Book out of his backpack.

"Very well, President Mu. Now, please provide me with a forging room."