Mu Chen? Cen Yue?

Hearing his daughter's words, Mu Chen nodded with a sense of helplessness.

If it had been any of his other students, he certainly would have scolded them.

But since his own daughter had spoken, he could only resign himself to his fate.

As the time approached 1:40 in the afternoon, a knock sounded at the door.

Chen Zhou yawned, opened the door, and saw Su Xin standing there.

"Good afternoon, Sister Su Xin." Chen Zhou raised a hand to greet her, then took the clothes from her hands.

Compared to his usual casual or sportswear, this outfit was much more formal.

Chen Zhou felt a bit unaccustomed to such traditional-style daily wear, but he still changed into it quickly.

He walked out the door to find that Na'er had already changed as well.

However, the young girl was clearly not interested in blacksmithing.

She looked at her own clothes with a dazed expression, then trotted over to him and grabbed his hand.

"Young Tower Master, Miss Na'er, please come this way. The Tower Master is waiting for you both downstairs."

"Alright, thank you for the trouble, Sister Su Xin." Chen Zhou smiled, then led Na'er into the elevator, down to the first floor, and into the vehicle.

Chen Mo sat in the passenger seat in silence.

Normally, given his status, he should have been sitting in the back with the two of them.

But perhaps he found it troublesome, or perhaps he felt it held no great significance, so he sat in the passenger seat without a second thought.

There was some distance between the Spirit Pagoda and the East Sea City Blacksmith Association; it took over half an hour of driving before they reached their destination.

Looking at the tall building before him, Chen Zhou's eyes held a hint of curiosity.

The East Sea City Blacksmith Association here still couldn't compare to the Spirit Pagoda, but its scale was already approaching it.

The Spirit Pagoda and the Blacksmith Association were actually quite similar.

One relied on opportunities to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform and the sale of spirit souls to make money, effectively monopolizing the business of all spirit masters.

After all, no matter what kind of spirit master they were, they all needed to earn money to purchase spirit souls and undergo trials within the Spirit Pagoda.

The Blacksmith Association's main focus, on the other hand, was forging weapons, such as various types of soul tool technology.

The higher the grade of the soul tool, the better the metal required, and the same held true for the forging of Battle Armor.

Unless it was a top-tier institution like Shrek, most other schools and individual spirit masters had to purchase metal from the Blacksmith Association to forge their own Battle Armor.

It was essentially a case of one serving the entire population, while the other served a specific high-end demographic and the government.

Thus, the two sides were deeply intertwined in East Sea City.

This was also why Mu Chen had to give them some face; the two parties shared significant interests.

As the vehicle slowly came to a stop, the three of them got out and arrived at the Blacksmith Association.

Upon entering, Chen Zhou's gaze immediately fell upon a sturdy, middle-aged man.

The man's collar was open, revealing a white shirt underneath, and his build was extremely robust.

Beside him stood a young girl who looked to be about eight or nine years old.

The girl only glanced over briefly before her eyes landed on Na'er.

Looking at the little girl before her who resembled a porcelain doll, a hint of curiosity appeared on her face.

It wasn't that Chen Zhou wasn't handsome or good-looking, but standing next to Na'er, who was even more exquisite than a porcelain doll, Chen Zhou was ultimately a step behind.

Seeing Mu Chen, Chen Mo did not dare to be negligent; he walked forward slowly and extended his hand.

"Your Excellency Mu Chen, it has been a long time."

"You are too polite, Tower Master Chen."

"Please, Tower Master Chen, follow me to the upper levels. Which child is here for the forging test?" Mu Chen asked, sweeping his gaze over Chen Zhou and Na'er.

He asked quite decisively, as his own strength was far superior to Chen Mo's.

However, since their public statuses were roughly equivalent, he wouldn't put on any airs.

Seeing the curiosity on Mu Chen's face, Chen Mo didn't deflect; he reached out and tugged on Chen Zhou.

"This is my young disciple, Chen Zhou. He is here today to take the blacksmith test, and I hope he can become a disciple of Your Excellency Mu Chen."

Chen Mo said with a smile.

Mu Chen did not answer him, however; he simply nodded calmly and turned toward the elevator.

Mu Xi glanced at Na'er and Chen Zhou before following behind them.

Chen Zhou was actually a bit surprised that Mu Xi was there, though not entirely so; he paused for a moment before following the three of them to the upper levels.

Mu Chen pushed open the door to a forging room quite directly.

This was likely the place used to determine whether one could join the Blacksmith Association.

However, most people who came here were just registering their ranks; very few came for a test like this.

At this moment, a handsome young man appeared beside Mu Chen.

He looked to be around thirty years old. His gaze swept across the room like a torch before he turned to look at Mu Chen with respect.

"Cen Yue, let me introduce you. This is Tower Master Chen of the Spirit Pagoda, and this is his disciple, Chen Zhou," Mu Chen said, gesturing toward Chen Zhou.

Chen Zhou did not dawdle and offered a respectful bow to Cen Yue as well.

Mu Chen's intention was already clear; if he did not accept Chen Zhou himself, he would have Cen Yue take him on.

Although Cen Yue was only a level-6 blacksmith, in a city like Eastsea City, that was the true strength of someone in charge.

For someone like Mu Chen, a level-8 blacksmith rarely seen across the entire continent, to be stationed in such a region was actually quite strange.

Watching Chen Zhou salute him, Cen Yue did not hesitate. He responded with a smile, stepped forward, and placed a piece of ordinary Hundred-Refined Metal on the table.

"Student Chen Zhou, our test is actually very simple. You just need to strike this metal with a forging hammer."

"Metal has its own changes and rhythms. As long as you can keep up with those changes and rhythms, you pass."

Cen Yue pointed at the metal as he spoke.

He did not clarify whether passing meant becoming his student or Mu Chen's.

However, neither Chen Mo nor Mu Chen said a word.

Mu Chen naturally did not accept just anyone.

The people he took on were not necessarily of high status; for the most part, he only accepted disciples he deemed talented or of good character.

In this situation, if Chen Zhou had spent a few years honing his skills and demonstrating his potential before coming to seek apprenticeship, his chances of success would have been much higher.

But Chen Zhou did not want to wait; if he was going to learn, he wanted the techniques of the top-tier blacksmiths.

He could have easily found someone at the Blacksmith Association to apprentice under, or simply had Chen Mo approach Cen Yue directly.

The status of a level-6 blacksmith was naturally lower, and since he was not the head of the East Sea Blacksmith Association, it would have been very simple for Chen Mo to make him agree.

Yet, if he were truly content with apprenticing under a level-6 blacksmith in such circumstances, why would he have bothered having Chen Mo use a favor to go directly to Mu Chen?

Thinking of this, Chen Zhou's expression remained calm.

He stepped forward, took the forging hammer from Cen Yue's hand, tapped it lightly, and then fixed his gaze on the metal before him.

Chen Zhou did not observe it carefully, nor did he take the time to sense its properties; as his hand rose, he brought the hammer down in a single strike.