The Blacksmith Association

The moment the server saw this, she tactfully closed her mouth. With both hands, she respectfully accepted the black card, bowed, and said, "Please wait a moment, honored guests. I'll go notify the owner to clear the place and have your dishes prepared right away."

With that, she quickly withdrew.

As soon as the server left, Na'er looked excitedly at Bai Haoze and blurted out, "Sister Dabai, you're so cool!"

Bai Haoze gave a faint smile. Bai Zhicen raised an eyebrow and waved a hand. "It's nothing. When you're out with my sister and me, why would you need to spend your own money? Just eat your fill."

A short while later, one exquisite seafood dish after another was brought to the table.

The staff steadily pushed in a series of serving carts decorated with deep-sea coral patterns, arranging them around the private dining room's table and creating a little world of their own.

The Millennium Deepsea Giant Crab was served whole. Its shell gleamed with the deep, ink-blue luster of the ocean depths, and after steaming, it was tinged with an inviting crimson. Its colors were dazzlingly vivid.

Wearing pristine white gloves, the server carefully lifted the heavy shell. A wave of steaming, savory fragrance burst out at once, mingling with the heat.

The crab meat was snowy white, its fibers distinct. It was tender yet springy, and the deep sea's uniquely crisp, sweet freshness spread without restraint.

"Let's eat!"

At the words, Na'er was the first to pick up her chopsticks. Eagerly, she grabbed a piece of giant crab meat, blew on it gently, then quickly popped it into her mouth.

The delicious juices burst across her tongue, and her eyes instantly narrowed.

"So good!"

The others picked up their utensils too and began sampling the seafood feast before them.

"Crack—"

Yuanen Yehui lowered her eyes and peeled a shrimp. The Mystic Ice Lobster's shell gleamed with the cool sheen of carved ice, and its peeled meat was coated in a translucent, silvery-white layer of gelatin, as exquisite as amber.

She casually placed the shrimp in An Lan's bowl and said softly, "An Lan, try this Mystic Ice Lobster. It tastes great."

Na'er's crab-feasting came to an abrupt halt. She looked up at Yuanen Yehui, a hint of wariness flashing in her eyes, then turned to An Lan with hopeful anticipation, secretly wishing he would reject Redhead's suspiciously warm gesture.

But An Lan was unmoved. He opened his mouth and ate the translucent shrimp in his bowl, then pointed at the sea cucumber soup on the table and looked at Bai Zhicen. "Xiao Bai, get me a bowl of soup to warm my stomach."

"Coming right up, my lord." Bai Zhicen teased him with a smile, immediately getting up to serve him a bowl.

Seeing this, Na'er's wariness eased a little.

Lord An had always enjoyed the easy life of having food brought right to his mouth. Not just the Bai sisters, Bai Haoze and Bai Zhicen—even Leng Qingning and Le Lingzhao took meticulous care of him every day. This little thing was perfectly normal.

Little Redhead thought she could win Lord An's favor by flirting with him? She was dreaming.

Thinking that, Na'er happily buried her head in the seafood again.

Three hours later, Na'er had managed to eat her fill—more or less—and finally set down her chopsticks with satisfaction.

"Not bad!" She leaned back in her chair, looking blissful. "We still have to go to the Blacksmith Association, so I won't hold everyone up."

An Lan, Yuanen Yehui, Bai Zhicen, and Bai Haoze had long since gotten used to Na'er's astonishing appetite. They were completely unfazed.

But the servers in the private room all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

For three whole hours, they had been cracking crabs and peeling shrimp. Their hands were nearly cramping from all the work.

The other four guests had stopped eating one after another within half an hour. Only the pretty silver-haired girl had kept eating nonstop from beginning to end.

They had worked in the food service business for years, but they had never seen an eater of this caliber—not even heard of one.

In the end, the group left the restaurant beneath the awestruck gazes of the staff at Deepsea Fishery. Even the chefs busy in the kitchen couldn't contain their curiosity. They specially came out to catch a glimpse of the legendary big eater.

As they left the restaurant, Yuanen Yehui said helplessly, "Na'er, don't expect me to go out to eat with you again."

"But it's so delicious!" Na'er pouted, looking aggrieved.

The Blacksmith Association in Eastsea City stood in one of the city's busiest districts. It was a gray building more than thirty stories tall, with a huge hammer emblem hanging on its exterior wall.

People streamed in and out around the building. Even though passersby had seen it countless times, they still couldn't help stopping to gaze up at it, their faces full of longing.

"Nothing special. The Spirit Pagoda is much grander!" As a proud member of the Spirit Pagoda, Na'er tilted her head back and couldn't help comparing the towering building to her own pagoda.

"The Blacksmith Association holds an extraordinarily prominent position across the entire continent," Bai Haoze explained softly. "Every high-ranking blacksmith is courted by all the major powers. After all, Battle Armor, mechas, and high-grade Soul Tools all rely on metals forged by blacksmiths."

"Then Huihui's teacher must be amazing, right?" Na'er asked curiously.

"Of course." Bai Haoze nodded. "There are only a handful of Eight-Star Saint Craftsmen in the entire Federation."

The five of them entered the Blacksmith Association. The glass doors on the first floor sensed their approach and slid open automatically.

The lobby was spacious and brightly lit, filled everywhere with the cold, hard presence of metal.

All kinds of forging tools and finished metalworks were displayed along the walls. Huge Soul Tool lights hung from the ceiling, bright enough to illuminate the entire lobby like daylight even at night.

A pretty young woman in a gray business suit stood at the front desk. When she saw the five enter, she immediately greeted them with a polished, courteous smile.

"Welcome to the Eastsea City Blacksmith Association. How may I help you?"

"We're here to see Chairman Mu Chen." Yuanen Yehui stepped forward and took a badge from her clothes, displaying it briefly. "I'm his disciple, Yuanen Yehui."

The young woman's expression immediately turned solemn when she saw the badge.

The badge Yuanen Yehui had shown wasn't the exclusive badge for Mu Chen's personal disciples. It was merely an ordinary third-level blacksmith badge.

But for someone so young to be a third-level blacksmith made her claim to be Mu Chen's disciple more than ninety percent believable.

"So you're Chairman Mu's disciple. Please wait a moment; I'll notify the chairman right away."

The young woman quickly picked up her Soul Guidance Communicator and reported the matter in a low voice.

A short while later, she bowed again, her tone even more respectful. "The chairman is in the Forging Room on the third floor. Please follow me."

Third-floor Forging Room.

In front of a massive forging platform, a slender figure was vigorously swinging a forging hammer, striking a piece of scarlet-red metal.

The girl's golden hair was tied in a high ponytail, swaying gently with her movements. Beneath her bangs, her eyes were clear and bright, focused and serious.

Standing beside her was a burly middle-aged man. On his left breast, he wore a badge—a gold background stamped with a hammer, with eight black stars arranged across it.

Eight-Star Saint Craftsman, Mu Chen!

When Mu Chen spotted Yuanen Yehui at the doorway, a smile appeared on his face. He didn't speak, merely nodding slightly in greeting.

Seeing that he was instructing Mu Xi in forging, Yuanen Yehui didn't interrupt. She simply led An Lan and the others to stand quietly at the side and wait.