The setting sun bathed the earth. The school day always seemed to end so quickly. Lin Nuo and Tang Wuling walked out of campus side by side.
Just then, Tang Wuling spoke. "Brother Lin Nuo, I'm planning to learn forging. Do you want to come learn with me?"
A few days ago, after reading a lot of books, she had taken her father Tang Ziran's advice to heart. With her incredible strength, Tang Wuling wanted to try her hand at becoming a blacksmith.
At her words, Lin Nuo stopped and looked at Tang Wuling, asking curiously, "Why invite me?"
"Because Dad said a Body Martial Soul is really suited to being a blacksmith, so I thought I'd ask you to learn with me, Brother Lin Nuo. Is that okay?" Tang Wuling gazed at him with wide, curious eyes, hoping he would agree.
Looking at Tang Wuling's hopeful expression, Lin Nuo understood. Tang Ziran was repaying him for giving his daughter a Soul Spirit. That was why he had told Tang Wuling that a Body Martial Soul was perfectly suited to being a blacksmith: he wanted to help his daughter repay a little of the favor as her father.
What a good father! Lin Nuo couldn't help sighing to himself. That alone puts him miles ahead of Tang San. That guy would probably say, "It's your honor to help my daughter." He looked at Tang Wuling and couldn't resist teasing her. "Do you want me to say yes?" he asked, addressing Wuling.
"Mm-hmm." Tang Wuling nodded, completely honest. She didn't have Na'er's haughty streak. The Silver Dragon King was a little tsundere, while the Golden Dragon King was more straightforward.
"Okay." Lin Nuo finally nodded. "When?"
"Sunday. I'll come to your place with Mom and Dad then." Tang Wuling heard him agree and answered excitedly at once.
Lin Nuo stood there, quietly watching Tang Wuling's happy excitement. The Dragon King era really was the hardest period in all of Douluo history, but this era had a protagonist who was perfectly normal.
After parting ways with Tang Wuling, Lin Nuo headed back to his apartment. The moment he reached the elevator, he was stunned.
Wait, where had his old, worn-out Soul Tool elevator gone?
In front of him now stood a luxurious, advanced Soul Tool elevator. Had he taken a wrong turn?
Lin Nuo suspected he had gone to the wrong place. He stepped out of the apartment building and looked up, checking carefully. This was definitely the same familiar apartment building he lived in, so why did the elevator inside look so out of place?
In the end, Lin Nuo could only blame that person from the morning for all of it.
As soon as he stepped into the elevator and touched a button, a familiar figure in a black cloak appeared around the corner of the hallway in the distance.
It was the person he had seen that morning. Now there was another, slightly shorter figure beside her, staring at the elevator in utter disbelief.
"Seriously, sis?" The figure leaned toward the cloaked woman. Her voice was low, but she couldn't hide her shock. Her eyes swept over the run-down apartment building as if she'd seen a ghost, then turned to glare at her companion. "You secretly used the church's Gold Soul Coins first thing this morning just to install a brand-new Soul Tool elevator in this shabby old apartment?"
The cloaked woman tilted her head slightly. Her voice beneath the hood sounded lazy, and her tone was utterly matter-of-fact. "I felt like it."
After a pause, she gave a derisive laugh and added, "Besides, the Holy Spirit Cult is rolling in money right now. We've got so many Gold Soul Coins they're gathering dust. What's the big deal about using a few? Unless you have a problem with it?"
Her companion rolled her eyes, then let her shoulders slump in resignation. Her teasing reply was full of indulgence. "Fine, fine. As long as you're happy. It's not me who'll get scolded in the end, anyway."
Back at home, Lin Nuo had no idea that two figures had been watching him as he entered the elevator. He reached the door, put his key in, and opened it. Na'er rushed over. "Brother~"
Na'er threw herself straight into Lin Nuo's arms, but the moment she caught a familiar scent, she pulled away and instantly puffed up like a little pufferfish. "Brother, did you come home with that perverted woman?"
"Yeah." Lin Nuo nodded without lying. Actually, there was no need to lie about something like that.
At his answer, Na'er abruptly flopped onto the floor right in front of Lin Nuo's stunned, bewildered eyes and started rolling around. Her voice was thick with grievance as she wailed, "Brother~ You big meanie! Aaaah... Why did you go hang out with that perverted woman? Boo-hoo~ Do you even care about me anymore? About Na'er?"
Watching Na'er roll around on the floor, Lin Nuo couldn't help wondering if this Silver Dragon King was a fake.
Since when had the Silver Dragon King gotten this ridiculous?!
Was this really the Silver Dragon King, renowned for inheriting the Dragon God's world-shaking wisdom?
Lin Nuo didn't go over to comfort her. He just crouched down and watched Na'er throw her little tantrum, quietly enjoying the show.
Na'er seemed to have grown tired of rolling—or perhaps she hadn't gotten the reaction she wanted. She immediately sat up and glared unhappily at Lin Nuo, who was watching her with amusement. "Isn't Brother supposed to come comfort me?"
"Na'er, how do you want me to comfort you?" Seeing that she had finally stopped rolling and could talk again, Lin Nuo asked curiously.
Na'er fell silent this time. She knew that no matter how much she insisted, Brother wouldn't stay away from that damnable Golden Dragon King!
Then there was only one thing to do. Na'er lifted her head and stared earnestly at her brother, pointing to her forehead. "I want a kiss ლ(°◕‵ƹ′◕ლ)."
Seeing this, Lin Nuo cheerfully leaned over and kissed Na'er's fair forehead. "Na'er, you're the best girl~ Brother's going to make you dinner."
"Mm-hmm." Na'er finally gave in, though she'd have to watch out for that wretched Golden Dragon King from now on!
Late that night, Lin Nuo called another meeting.
This time, all five soul clones were present. They stood in a row, watching Lin Nuo and waiting for him to announce the topic of the meeting.
"In a few days, I'm going to learn forging with Tang Wuling and become a blacksmith."
The five exchanged glances. At last, Lin Tian, representing Wisdom, spoke up. "Blacksmithing really is the best golden career in the Dragon King era. I just think the main body—"
When Lin Nuo saw Lin Tian stop halfway through, he told him, "Go ahead and say it. We're all on the same side. There's no need to leave your sentence unfinished."
"You could try learning a little of every profession." As soon as Lin Tian said this, everyone looked at him. Was this guy trying to work the main body to death?
Lin Tian noticed the others looking at him and realized they must have misunderstood. He explained, "I mean the main body should learn some basic knowledge, then pass it on to us. We can learn together and feed what we learn back to the main body. That way, the main body will grow faster."
"For example..." Lin Tian's gaze fell on Lin Yan. "A-Yan's Authority represents strength. I think he'd be better suited to forging. Why not have him assist the main body as he learns? That way, you'll learn faster too. This way of learning could bring terrifying returns even in our era."
Though Lin Yan had some issues with that smug guy Lin Tian, he fell silent for a moment before nodding. "I understand." When it came to anything that could help the main body, Lin Yan was always loyal and fully committed.
Then Lin Fan spoke up, turning to Lin Rui. "A-Rui, you should join in too."
"Me?" Lin Rui pointed at himself. "Wouldn't I work myself to death?"
"Forget A-Rui," Lin Nuo said. "For now, just focus on mastering the Body Sect Secret Technique."
What their main body needed most right now was to awaken its Body Martial Soul, and Lin Rui had the easiest path to that. So for now, that was his only task.
Lin Rui immediately nodded. "I understand."
Hearing this, Lin Fan finally nodded, agreeing with Lin Nuo's proposal.
Before you continue