Gu Yue's Return

"Whew, Spirit Refinement finally worked.

"So, if I infused the power of Light of Orb from the very beginning of forging, I could reduce the Soul Power consumed during the process.

"I just wonder what forging at an even higher level would be like.

"Also, if I wanted to infuse other elemental energies during forging in the future, I'd probably have to handle that separately. That's another headache."

As he watched the light gradually fade from the metal, Lan Kai didn't celebrate his breakthrough. Instead, he began thinking about even more problems.

In his eyes, his success at Spirit Refinement this time had been due to the special nature of Light of Orb, not any particular brilliance in his forging technique.

Besides, compared with Lan Kai's ambitions—crafting Sevenger or even King Joe by hand, or recreating the cutting-edge technology on par with XIG, New GUYS, and XIO—mere Spirit Refinement was nothing.

So Lan Kai's reaction seemed rather out of place to everyone else.

Juggler, however, had already seen what was on his mind. He calmly walked up behind Lan Kai and slung an arm over his shoulder.

"All right, you don't need to think about so much. For now, just be happy about your progress."

"Huh? You're still not satisfied? Don't tell me you're planning to jump straight to Heavenly Refinement!"

Seeing that Lan Kai didn't seem satisfied with his Spirit Refinement results, Mu Xi nearly lost it.

Mu Xi loved forging and had started learning it at a very young age. She was three or four years older than Lan Kai, yet she still couldn't reliably achieve Thousand Refinement.

And Lan Kai wasn't even satisfied with Spirit Refinement. It was hard not to think he was just showing off.

"Uh, what if Heavenly Refinement isn't the end, either? There are plenty of situations where even Heavenly Forged Metal isn't enough..."

Lan Kai answered with a hint of awkwardness.

Mu Xi looked ready to blow up, but Mu Chen cut her off before she could.

"Exactly! Heavenly Refinement isn't the end for us blacksmiths! If we stop at Heavenly Refinement and congratulate ourselves, then that's all the future we'll have!

"Lan Kai, I have high hopes for you! You'll surpass my senior fellow apprentice and become a Divine Craftsman even sooner. You might even redefine what it means to be a Divine Craftsman and open up an entirely new world for blacksmiths!"

Mu Chen praised him from the bottom of his heart. He wasn't a Divine Craftsman himself, but he had always had a good relationship with his senior fellow apprentice, who was one.

And they had already come to an agreement: there were realms beyond Heavenly Refinement.

Unfortunately, Divine Craftsmen had always been few in number. And because they had to provide the Heavenly Forged Metal needed for the Four-Character Battle Armor worn by so many Super Douluo and Limit Douluo, their prime and lifespan were both in a delicate place, making it difficult for them to take another step forward.

But in Lan Kai, Mu Chen saw an entirely new future.

Although Lan Kai possessed a special power of light, and his experience might not be something others could replicate for some time, Mu Chen would gladly drop dead on the spot if it meant getting a glimpse of a new realm beyond Heavenly Refinement!

"All right, Mu Xi. Lan Kai's about to enroll at Eastsea Academy, and then he'll be your junior. Don't go picking on him."

After praising Lan Kai, Mu Chen turned to Mu Xi and reminded her.

At that, Mu Xi immediately pouted, her face full of displeasure.

"Dad, me, pick on him? Seriously?

"You have no idea. He can slice Thousand-Refined Tungsten Steel in half by casually tossing out one of his light rings!

"Even the Dark-Gold Terrorclaw Bear in the Spirit Ascension Platform isn't as terrifying as him!

"Me, pick on him? I'll be lucky if he doesn't pick on me!"

Thinking back to one of Lan Kai's recent feats, Mu Xi felt especially wronged.

Lan Kai's Soul Power Level had already surpassed Mu Xi's, and his Martial Soul was of a far higher quality than hers. If they really fought, it'd be a one-to-nine matchup.

One move from Lan Kai, and Mu Xi would be split into nine separate pieces.

"I'm not that scary, am I...? And the Spirit Ascension Platform? If the teacher allows it, how about I go in with you next time?"

Lan Kai suddenly regretted using Ultra Slash to cut the metal. But when Mu Xi mentioned the Spirit Ascension Platform, he also grew interested in its highly realistic virtual reality.

However, according to Juggler, the Spirit Ascension Platform hadn't been able to withstand Light of Orb before. It was fine if Lan Kai just fought like a Soul Master using Soul Skills, but the moment he tried to transform, the platform would report an error.

So, while searching for the Dark Ring's whereabouts, Juggler had also been working to make the Spirit Ascension Platform more stable, so Lan Kai could enter it and get more combat experience.

According to Juggler, the Spirit Ascension Platform was now fairly stable. In another month, Lan Kai would be able to enter it and even briefly fight in Specium Zeperion Form.

"Sounds good! I'm not passing up such a great opportunity. If you don't help me get all my Soul Rings to a thousand years, I won't let you off!"

Mu Xi's eyes lit up. She raised a hand and pinched Lan Kai's cheek.

"That might be difficult. Can your mental strength take it, Sister Mu Xi?"

Lan Kai shot back without hesitation. A flash of purple light surrounded him, and he put a little distance between himself and Mu Xi.

Tiga Sky Type might not be suited for close combat, but it was great for maneuverability and recovery.

"Lan Kai, come over here. I've got something interesting to show you."

When they got home, Juggler suddenly handed Lan Kai a Soul Guidance Tablet, that trademark wicked smile appearing on his face again.

"Did the Spirit Ascension Platform's reinforcement work finish early?"

Lan Kai took the tablet, baffled. He had no idea what Juggler was up to.

Then he saw a Soul Master's profile and immediately made the face of a bewildered old man staring at his phone. A piercing shriek burst from him.

"Gu Yue. Female. Soul Power Level: eighteen. Martial Soul: Light-Dark Elemental Wielder...

"What the hell is this?!"

Lan Kai's hands nearly fumbled, and he almost dropped the Soul Guidance Tablet to the floor.

Lan Kai had known all along that Gu Yue would reappear near Eastsea City and deliberately miss the Intermediate Soul Master Academy registration period. He'd been prepared for it.

Her Soul Power Level being a little higher than in the original story didn't surprise him, either. She hadn't raised it to his level—or even higher than his—which, in Lan Kai's eyes, meant she was already holding back considerably.

But what was with this Martial Soul? Why not just use Elemental Master as in the original? What was a Light-Dark Elemental Wielder? Did a normal Elemental Master Martial Soul really not have the ability to control both light and dark?

"I checked. There's never been a case on the Douluo Continent of an Elemental Master Martial Soul controlling both light and dark.

"She probably wrote it that way because of her time with us.

"But it looks like this Gu Yue has still chosen to cozy up to the Golden Dragon King and then take you down.

"If you lose to her... you understand, right?"

Seeing Juggler seemingly ready to go into battle again, Lan Kai nodded.

"Fine by me. Then I probably won't need Ultra Marriage Escape... right?"