Next Stop, Soul Guidance Department

The main hall fell silent for a moment.

Zhuo Shi's smile froze on his face.

"On what grounds?!"

He stood up abruptly, "Jing Heng is an agility-attack type! Why would an agility-attack type learn forging?! He should be learning close combat from me!"

"He's no agility-attack type! He's clearly a power-attack type!"

"And he took my Lunar Divine Metal!"

Feng Wuyu refused to back down, "If he took it, he's responsible!"

"Responsible for what? He didn't say he wanted to be your disciple!"

"Then he shouldn't have taken my things!"

"So what if he took them? Just because he took your things doesn't mean he has to learn from you? What kind of logic is that?"

"This is--"

Feng Wuyu paused, then said righteously, "This is the logic of a blacksmith! If you take the materials, you must forge something! If you forge something, you must learn forging! If you learn forging, you must become a disciple!"

"That's bandit logic!"

"He's the bandit! He emptied my entire house!"

The two argued fiercely, their voices growing louder, faces red and necks thick, neither willing to yield.

Lan Muzi stood at the doorway, silently taking a step back.

Tang Yinmeng finally couldn't help herself and let out a soft laugh.

She quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

Everyone looked at her.

"Yinmeng," Long Yeyue said calmly, "Do you have something to say?"

Tang Yinmeng lowered her hand, the smile still lingering on her face, but her gaze was serious.

"Elder Feng," she said, "I will find a way to return what my brother took."

Feng Wuyu was taken aback, then waved his hand.

"I'm not here to collect a debt," his voice suddenly lowered, carrying an indescribable emotion.

"I just..."

He was silent for a moment.

"That kid has talent," he grumbled, "He didn't just take them randomly. Sinking Silver, Magic Silver, Star Silver, Crystal Silver, Titanium Crystal, Lunar Divine Metal... every single item he picked was the right one."

Everyone fell silent.

Feng Wuyu stood there, his expression complex.

"I've lived for so many years, and I've seen many talented children. But like him..."

He shook his head, "When he picked the materials, it wasn't based on knowledge, but on feeling. He knew which materials to take and which not to. He even knew where things were hidden."

"That's talent," he looked at Yun Ming, "Innate blacksmithing talent."

Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't.

Long Yeyue picked up her teacup and took another sip.

"So," she said slowly, "you're not here to complain today, you're here to ask for the person?"

Feng Wuyu was silent for a moment, then nodded heavily.

"I want to take him as my disciple."

Zhuo Shi finally couldn't help himself, "I said he's an agility-attack type--"

"So what if he is an agility-attack type?"

Feng Wuyu suddenly turned to him, "I've taught him soul power application, and he learned very quickly."

"Forging requires not just strength, but precision, perception, and control."

"His martial soul is the Moonlight Sword, and his precise control over soul power is precisely the best foundation for forging."

Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, finding himself unable to refute.

Feng Wuyu seized the opportunity, "Moreover, he can sense the resonance of metals."

"When he found the Lunar Divine Metal in the hidden compartment, it wasn't because he saw it, but because he felt it."

"He said that metal was in the same rhythm as him—that's the talent of a blacksmith, not a warrior."

The main hall was silent for a long time.

Yun Ming had not spoken.

He sat there, his gaze calm as he looked at Feng Wuyu, as if contemplating something.

"Elder Feng," he finally spoke, his voice not loud, but clear, "How much were the items Jing Heng took last night worth?"

Feng Wuyu paused, then said in a muffled voice, "...It's not a matter of money."

"How much?"

"...Black God Iron is tens of millions, Titanium Crystal is hard to say, Lunar Divine Metal..." He gritted his teeth, "It's equivalent to a Rank 9 Soul Guidance Core, which translates to... around three hundred million."

A collective gasp echoed through the main hall.

Three hundred million.

A ten-year-old child had stolen three hundred million worth of items in one night.

Yun Ming nodded, his expression still calm.

"Good," he said, "I'll accept it on Jing Heng's behalf."

"What?" Feng Wuyu didn't react.

"Those materials," Yun Ming looked at him.

"Consider them a betrothal gift. Jing Heng will learn forging from you."

The main hall fell silent for three seconds.

"Wait—"

Zhuo Shi suddenly stood up, "I haven't agreed yet!"

Yun Ming glanced at him indifferently, "You are a teacher, not a master. His path, he walks it himself."

Zhuo Shi was speechless.

He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but looking at Yun Ming's expression, he knew the matter was settled.

Once Yun Ming made a decision, no one could change it.

Feng Wuyu stood there, his expression shifting from grief and indignation to shock, and from shock to ecstasy.

"Are you serious?!"

"Serious."

"He'll really learn from me?!"

"Mm."

"No money?!"

"...No."

"Great!!!"

Feng Wuyu slapped his thigh, his voice shaking the windows with a resounding boom, "This is too good!!!"

He turned to leave, took two steps, then turned back.

"Uh—where is he? I'll go find him right now!"

"He didn't return to Sea God Island last night," Ya Li said softly, "I had people look for him, he's not here."

Feng Wuyu paused.

"Then where did he go?"

No one answered.

The main hall fell silent again.

Long Yeyue held her teacup, her gaze drifting through the window towards Sea God Lake.

"He took those materials," she said slowly.

"He must need a place to use them, right?"

Everyone simultaneously thought of one place.

The Soul Guidance Teaching Building...

Cai Yue'er suddenly stood up, her chair scraping back a foot with a piercing screech.

"Oh no! My Soul Guidance Core!"

Her expression changed in an instant—from the composed observer to a look of indescribable panic.

No one had ever seen Cai Yue'er make that expression.

She had always been one of the calmest people in the Sea God Pavilion, always maintaining her unhurried demeanor, speaking softly, and acting with meticulous precision.

Even if the sky were to fall, she would probably just raise an eyebrow and say, "Understood."

But now, her face was pale.

And the way she ran was completely at odds with her usual temperament.

She clutched the hem of her robe, her boots striking the stone floor of the Sea God Pavilion with rapid "da da da" sounds, sweeping through the front corridor like a gust of wind.

The two inner courtyard disciples guarding the door were startled for the second time today.

When Feng Wuyu had rushed in earlier, they had only hesitated to stop him, but now, they didn't even have time to react.

Cai Yue'er had already passed between them, the wind she stirred causing their coat hems to flutter.

"Cai—Elder Cai?!" a disciple subconsciously called out.

No one answered him.

Cai Yue'er's figure had already disappeared on the other side of the stone bridge.

Feng Wuyu paused for a moment, then followed her out.

"Wait for me!" he shouted, striding to catch up.

The backs of the two figures disappeared one after another into the morning light, their footsteps growing fainter until only water birds on the surface of Sea God Lake were startled, flapping their wings and flying into the sky.

The main hall of the Sea God Pavilion was silent for a long time.

Long Yeyue held her teacup, took a slow sip, and then set it down.

The sound of the porcelain cup touching the table was exceptionally clear in the empty main hall.

"You really want Little Jingheng to learn forging?" she asked.

Her voice was not loud, but everyone heard it clearly.

Yun Ming sat in the main seat, silent for a moment.

His expression remained calm, his gaze fixed on the direction Cai Yue'er had disappeared outside the door, as if seeing something off, or thinking about something.

"Whether Jingheng agrees," he said, "is his own business."

The main hall fell silent for a moment.

Then Zhuo Shi laughed.

"Good heavens," he said, patting the armrest of his chair, "you accepted the betrothal gift for him, and then turned around and said 'whether Jingheng agrees is his own business'? What was Feng Wuyu's three hundred million then? Charity?"

Yun Ming glanced at him, but did not reply.

Lan Muzi stood at the door and coughed lightly. "So... if Jingheng doesn't agree, those three hundred million worth of materials are... a free gift?"

"It's not a free gift," Yun Ming said calmly.

"It's Jingheng who takes it."

"What's the difference?!"

"There is a difference."

Yun Ming's tone remained placid. "Me accepting it on his behalf is accepting Elder Feng's favor."

"Whether he agrees is his own choice."

"He can choose to use those materials to make something to repay this favor, or he can choose to become my disciple."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Zhuo Shi glared.

"It's not the same," it was Ya Li who spoke this time.

She sat by the window, sunlight illuminating her profile, her expression gentle and serene.

"Becoming a disciple means recognizing someone as a master, a lifelong relationship. Using materials to make something in return is a transaction."

She paused, a slight smile curving her lips. "Brother Ming means that he accepted this favor on Jingheng's behalf, but how Jingheng repays it is his own decision."

Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, processed for a moment, then shook his head.

"You two..." he muttered, "one more cunning than the other."

Long Yeyue let out a soft laugh.

It wasn't a loud laugh, but a very light, faint one, like a ripple on the lake's surface stirred by the wind.

"So," she said slowly, "when Feng Wuyu chased after her, he still didn't know that the disciple he was about to take might not intend to become one at all."

The main hall fell silent again for a moment.

Then Lan Muzi laughed.

He laughed with great restraint, his shoulders shaking slightly, and he quickly suppressed it, but his eyes were full of mirth.

"Then Elder Feng now..."

He paused, choosing his words carefully, "is probably chasing after Elder Cai towards the Soul Guidance Teaching Building, fully believing that the Pavilion Master has already arranged this marriage for him—"

"What marriage," Zhuo Shi interrupted him, "it's master and disciple."

"Close enough, close enough," Lan Muzi waved his hand, the curve of his lips widening.

"And then when he finds Jingheng, and excitedly says, 'Your father has already agreed to let you learn forging from me,' Jingheng replies—"

He suddenly changed his voice, imitating Yun Jingheng's tone:

"I didn't agree."

Tang Yinmeng finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

She laughed so hard she bent over, one hand covering her mouth, the other supporting her knee, her shoulders shaking.

"Sorry," she mumbled indistinctly.

"I'm not... I just..."

She couldn't finish her sentence, her laughter chopping her words into scattered fragments.

Zhuo Shi watched her, the corners of his mouth twitching before he, too, began to laugh.

His laughter was loud and boisterous, carrying the hearty satisfaction of a seasoned veteran.

"Good!"

He slammed a palm onto the armrest of his chair. "Good! That old geezer Feng Wuyu wants to take him as a disciple? He can dream on! What's three hundred million?"

"My grandson can pull out something worth three hundred million, so why would he be afraid of not being able to pay it back?"

"That was stolen," Lan Muzi reminded him in a low voice.

"That's called taking! It's called borrowing! It's—it's called an early withdrawal!"

Zhuo Shi was righteous and indignant. "So what if he took some of his materials? That's doing him the honor of using them!"

Long Yeyue was finally amused.

As she laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and she transformed from that unfathomable old woman into an ordinary, amused elderly lady.

"You two..."

She shook her head and picked up her teacup, only to set it back down upon discovering the tea had already gone cold.