Blacksmith Association, Uncle Master's Evaluation!

Class Five's introductions soon came to an end.

"From now on, stop acting like you've never seen the world."

Wu Zhangkong's ice-blue eyes swept across the class, lingering on Tang Linyuan for a moment before moving away.

"Soul Power Level can only represent the past. I don't care about talent; I only care about actual combat."

"My teaching style is simple: actual combat, actual combat, and more actual combat. As long as you don't train to death, I'll train you until you wish you were dead."

"Classes officially begin tomorrow. My teaching methods will differ somewhat from those of other teachers. If you're afraid of hardship, exhaustion, or pain, transfer schools or find a way to change classes as soon as possible. Those who remain should prepare yourselves mentally. Class dismissed."

Having said that, the cold-faced male god did not waste another second on nonsense. He did not even choose a class monitor before turning and walking straight out of the classroom.

Only after the figure in white vanished through the doorway did the tense atmosphere in the classroom finally ease.

Then countless gazes focused on Tang Linyuan like searchlights, filled with both reverence and curiosity.

Tang Linyuan remained calm and acted as though he saw none of it.

He packed up his books, then patted Tang Wulin, who was still spacing out. "Let's go. We still need to visit the Association."

Outside the school gates, that distinctive black heavy soul-guide sedan had already been waiting for some time.

The driver respectfully opened the door. The two brothers climbed into the backseat as the car started smoothly, merging into Eastsea City's bustling traffic and heading straight for the Blacksmith Association building in the city center.

Half an hour later, at the Association president's office on the top floor.

The moment Tang Linyuan and Tang Wulin pushed open the heavy doors, they were stunned by the sight before them before they could even speak.

Behind the wide desk, Mu Chen sat smiling with a teacup in hand.

On the sofa beside him, Cen Yue was puffing away at a cigarette.

Before the floor-to-ceiling windows stood a familiar, tower-like figure with his back to the door.

Hearing the door open, the figure slowly turned, revealing a dark, rugged face that wore a rare smile.

"Te... Teacher?!"

Tang Wulin's eyes widened. Like a little cannonball, he rushed over and wrapped his arms around the man's waist. "Teacher Mang Tian! What are you doing here?!"

Tang Linyuan also hurried forward, a flash of surprise appearing in his eyes as he respectfully bowed. "Teacher."

The newcomer was none other than Mang Tian.

Looking at his two prized disciples, Mang Tian heavily slapped their shoulders with his large hands, hardened from years of blacksmithing. The force was enough that an ordinary child might have suffered broken bones.

"What? I'm not allowed to come?"

Mang Tian burst into loud laughter.

"That dump of a place, Aolai City, became too quiet without you two little monsters causing trouble. So quiet that I couldn't even swing my hammer properly."

"Cen Yue, this old fellow, happened to ask me to come help out, so I shut down my workshop over there. From now on, I'll hold a position at the East Sea Association. What, not happy to see me?"

Though he made it sound casual, Tang Linyuan knew that this mentor who had introduced him to blacksmithing could not rest easy about them and had deliberately left his hometown to follow them here.

"That's great! I'll get to hear Teacher curse at people again!" Tang Wulin said with a foolish grin.

"You brat, asking for a beating!" Mang Tian laughed and flicked him on the forehead.

Mu Chen set down his teacup and walked over with a smile. "Enough. You can catch up later. Today, besides welcoming you two, there's also a little task for you."

He stepped aside, revealing a young girl who had been standing behind him all along.

She looked twelve or thirteen years old, tall and slender, dressed in an exquisite white blacksmith's uniform. Her golden hair was tied into a ponytail, making her appear capable and neat.

She was very pretty, though her brows carried an innate pride. She was currently studying the two brothers with an appraising gaze.

"This is my daughter, Mu Xi," Mu Chen introduced. "She's currently a Level Two Blacksmith. When she heard that I'd taken in a disciple capable of Thousand Refinement Grade One, she insisted on coming to take a look."

"Are you Tang Wulin?" Mu Xi stepped forward, her gaze passing over Tang Linyuan to lock directly onto Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin scratched his head and smiled honestly. "Hello, Senior Sister."

"Xi'er, don't be rude," Mu Chen said sharply.

Then he turned to Wulin with a gentle smile. "Wulin, why don't you try out the Forging Room here today? Let Teacher see how much you've improved, all right?"

Wulin nodded excitedly.

Mu Chen's gaze then shifted to Tang Linyuan.

"Linyuan, since you're here, would you like to show us what you can do? I haven't seen your current level yet."

"Since Uncle Master wishes to evaluate me, this disciple obeys."

Tang Linyuan smiled faintly and headed toward the already prepared Forging Room with Tang Wulin.

Inside the Association's exclusive high-grade Forging Room, the furnace flames surged.

Two Forging Tables stood side by side.

Tang Wulin stood on the left, with an enormous piece of Sinking Silver before him.

He took a deep breath and gripped the pair of Spirit Forged Deep Silver Hammers that Tang Linyuan had personally forged for him. His previously gentle temperament instantly turned wild.

"Ha!"

With a thunderous shout, his twin hammers fell like meteors chasing the moon.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The dense sounds of hammering were like roaring war drums.

During the time Zhen Hua had guided Tang Linyuan, Tang Wulin had not received personal instruction from the Divine Craftsman, but he had often listened in nearby.

His understanding of "rhythm" and "borrowing force" had long since undergone a world-shaking transformation.

Every hammer strike carried a distinctive tremor.

The Sinking Silver rapidly shrank beneath his hammers as impurities were violently expelled. A dazzling silver light shot into the air, reaching a full three feet high!

Thousand Refinement Grade One, flawless and perfect!

Mu Xi stared in utter disbelief. She considered herself a blacksmithing genius, but Tang Wulin's effortless control and terrifying strength made her keenly feel the enormous gap between them.

However, something even more shocking was yet to come.

At the Forging Table on the right.

Tang Linyuan did not choose Sinking Silver. Instead, he picked up a piece of [Deep Sea Demon Silver] that glimmered with a dark blue sheen.

It was an extremely unstable rare metal, incredibly hard and containing violent water-element energy within. The slightest mistake could blow up the forging furnace.

Yet he did not hesitate in the slightest.

Buzz!

The Star-Sky Black Iron Hammer entered his hand, but there was no storm of violent blows.

Tang Linyuan closed his eyes, and the hammer in his hand seemed to become a paintbrush.

He raised the hammer, then brought it down.

His movements were astonishingly slow, yet somehow too fast for anyone to see the afterimages clearly. It was a visual dislocation.

"This is... Senior Brother's Overlapping Wave Hammer Technique? No, it also incorporates his own Spear Intent!" Mu Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.

Each strike did not produce a piercing crash. Instead, it resembled a drop of water falling into a lake, sending ripples outward layer after layer.

The violent Deep Sea Demon Silver seemed to encounter its sovereign beneath Tang Linyuan's hammer, instantly calming down and producing a pleasant resonance in time with his strikes.

Thump, thump, thump.

The heartbeat of the metal was clearly audible.

With the final strike, Tang Linyuan flicked his wrist, and the Star-Sky Hammer traced a graceful arc as he withdrew it.

Boom!

A dark blue pillar of light instantly pierced through the ceiling of the Forging Room. Within it, the phantom image of a Deep Sea Demon Whale could faintly be seen swimming and roaring.

Spirit Forging: Genesis!

And it was perfect Spirit Refinement imbued with exceptionally high water-element spirituality!

"Whew..."

Tang Linyuan slowly exhaled. The Demon Silver, now reduced by half and transparent like a sapphire, floated above his palm, pulsing obediently.

The entire Forging Room fell utterly silent.

Mu Chen's eyes shone, the admiration in them nearly overflowing. Cen Yue kept shaking his head, marveling at how formidable the younger generation had become. Mang Tian, meanwhile, looked utterly unsurprised and watched their expressions with great interest.

As for Mu Xi, who had previously been somewhat arrogant, she was now completely dumbfounded.

She looked at the youth bathed in dark blue radiance. His composure, his elegance, and the air of someone conversing with the soul of metal utterly shattered her pride.

"Th-this is a Spirit Refinement Grandmaster?" Mu Xi muttered, the competitiveness in her eyes instantly turning into sparkling admiration.

He was too strong! And too handsome!

The banquet was held at Eastsea City's most luxurious revolving restaurant.

Beneath crystal chandeliers, the long dining table was covered with all manner of Soul Beast meat dishes and seafood delicacies.

"This is delicious! That one's good too!"

Tang Wulin had long since thrown the earlier forging out of his mind. He was now eating with both hands, the plates before him piled like small mountains, his cheeks stuffed full like a happy hamster.

Mu Xi, seated beside him, had no appetite at all.

Although she wanted to speak with Tang Linyuan, the faint sense of distance surrounding the youth made her afraid to approach him casually.

So, she could only take a roundabout approach and set her sights on the seemingly "harmless" Tang Wulin.

"Hey, Tang Wulin, what does your brother usually like to do besides blacksmithing?" Mu Xi leaned over and asked softly.

"Mm... cultivation..." Tang Wulin swallowed a piece of steak and answered indistinctly.

"Then what kind of girls does he like? Is he into the cold type too?" Mu Xi asked, her face full of gossip.

"Don't know... Hey, save some of that lobster for me!" Tang Wulin stared at the garlic lobster on the revolving table and did not even think before speaking.

"Hey, don't just focus on eating! I'm asking you something important!"

Mu Xi was a little exasperated, but seeing Tang Wulin's starving-ghost expression made her want to laugh. She casually placed a piece of meat onto his plate.

"Fine, fine, eat. But after you eat, tell me quickly—does your brother have any weaknesses?"

"Weakness?"

Tang Wulin finally stopped moving. He thought seriously for a moment, then pointed to his heart with a solemn expression.

"Family. If you dare touch someone we care about, my brother will become terrifying."

Mu Xi froze for a moment. Looking at the youth chatting and laughing with her father and Mang Tian, carrying himself with mature poise in every gesture, the admiration in her heart grew even stronger.

The meal ended with everyone satisfied.

The moon hung high in the sky.

"Burp—"

Tang Wulin let out a satisfied burp. He was still holding an unfinished chicken drumstick and gazing reluctantly at the leftover food on the table.

"Enough, stop embarrassing yourself. We still need to cultivate when we get back."

Tang Linyuan shook his head helplessly, grabbed his gluttonous little brother, and bid farewell to the elders and Mu Xi.

"Uncle Mu, Teacher, Uncle Cen, we'll be heading back now. We still have class tomorrow."

"Go on, go on. Be careful," Mu Chen said with a smile and a wave.

Outside the restaurant, the night breeze was slightly cool.

Tang Linyuan led the still somewhat dazed Tang Wulin into the car that would take them back to the academy.

Outside the windows, Eastsea City's neon lights rapidly retreated.

"Brother, today was really fun." Tang Wulin leaned against the seatback with a foolish smile. "Teacher came, and we got to eat a huge feast."

"I'm glad you had fun."

Tang Linyuan looked out the window, his gaze gradually deepening. "But don't forget, Teacher Wu's class tomorrow won't be easy to get through."

"When we get back, meditate immediately and digest your food."

"Yes, sir!"

In the night, the black sedan sped toward Eastsea Academy like a ghost, carrying two youths who were about to stir the winds and clouds.