Opened? It Was Never Closed.

A ding-dong sound echoed through the room.

Cen Yue, Mu Chen, and Mu Xi all stood silently to the side, watching Chen Zhou's movements.

After raising his hammer again, Chen Zhou did not rush to strike. He stared intently at the piece of metal, activating over a thousand points of spiritual power in his mind.

Feeling the vibrations caused by the collision between his spiritual power and the metal, Chen Zhou brought his forging hammer down once more.

The strike was both fast and fierce.

Under normal circumstances, the recoil from such a blow was more than a six-year-old, one-ring child could withstand.

However, as the hammer struck the metal, Chen Zhou's left hand instantly turned into a stream of water to absorb the shock.

The water was lightly dispersed by the force, but in the next second, it returned to its original shape.

As Chen Zhou raised his hand, a third hammer strike landed with incredible speed.

Watching Chen Zhou's movements, Mu Xi curled her lip in disdain.

This was completely different from the sense of rhythm she had been taught.

The pace was far too fast; normally, one had to follow a specific beat to master the rhythm.

To Mu Xi's surprise, however, both Cen Yue and her father, Mu Chen, began to furrow their brows.

They stared fixedly at the young boy before them.

This was the seventh time the boy had transformed his hand into water, yet the transformation seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.

As his final hammer blow landed, the metal began to hum softly.

Feeling the resonance of the metal, Mu Xi froze.

"How is this possible?"

"Your sense of rhythm is completely wrong. Normally, mastering the rhythm of metal takes at least ten minutes or more."

"How could you possibly complete the metal resonance so quickly, and trigger it directly?"

Mu Xi looked at Chen Zhou, her tone filled with disbelief.

Beside her, Cen Yue shook his head with a wry smile.

He had understood a large part of what happened—for instance, he could see that Chen Zhou's spiritual power was exceptionally high and that he was using the water form to resist the continuous recoil.

Yet, even he could not fathom the technique Chen Zhou had used at the very end.

Just as Mu Xi had said, the boy's rhythm was indeed flawed.

Every action was forced against the beat rather than flowing with the natural rhythm of the metal.

But to his astonishment, the boy had not only succeeded but had achieved perfect resonance.

Mu Chen, on the other hand, let out a long breath.

His gaze was complex as he nodded toward Chen Mo.

"This child's talent is even higher than I imagined."

"At such a young age, his spiritual power is at least over three hundred points, allowing him to grasp the resonance of the entire piece of metal."

"Although he lacks physical strength, he can neutralize that impact through the recoil-absorbing water form."

"The limitation of his strength has been significantly reduced."

Mu Chen paused, looking at the boy before him with a complicated expression.

"Come here every Wednesday and Friday for three to four hours to learn forging from me."

"If you are willing, you can also come on Saturdays and Sundays to study with the others and learn more theoretical knowledge."

Mu Chen nodded toward Chen Mo as he spoke.

Chen Mo was momentarily stunned, then smiled back at Mu Chen.

Although he had done Mu Chen a favor in the past, that kindness was only enough to convince Mu Chen to test Chen Zhou.

Whether or not he would actually take him on as a student depended entirely on the boy himself.

At this moment, Chen Zhou had clearly won the approval of this Level 8 Forgemaster through his own talent.

And at this stage, the value of their past connection was also evident.

Coming on Wednesdays and Fridays meant private tutoring.

Previously, it was likely only Mu Xi receiving such instruction; now, Chen Zhou was being added to the fold.

Sure enough, upon hearing Mu Chen's words, Mu Xi's expression stiffened.

But looking at the calm, water-like expression on the boy's face, she didn't know what to say.

The boy's talent was better than she had imagined, and she could see the gap between them just from this simple resonance.

After all, she certainly could not have achieved Hundred Refinement resonance the very first time she touched the metal.

Chen Zhou walked back, having heard Mu Chen's words.

He bowed ninety degrees to show his respect.

"Disciple Chen Zhou pays his respects to Teacher Mu Chen."

Seeing Chen Zhou was so sensible, Mu Chen paused for a moment before nodding gently.

"Alright, you may head back now, or you can stay and listen to the lecture for a while."

"I don't have any classes tonight, but I do happen to be covering some theoretical knowledge."

Mu Chen looked at Chen Zhou as he spoke.

Chen Zhou nodded earnestly; he wanted to learn blacksmithing precisely to prepare for crafting his own Battle Armor in the future.

Therefore, he hoped this process could begin as soon as possible.

As Chen Mo left with Na'er, Na'er kept looking back at Chen Zhou every few steps.

But seeing Chen Zhou waving at her, she could only pout her little lips and helplessly follow behind Chen Mo.

Now that Chen Mo, Cen Yue, and Na'er had left, only the three of them remained in the room.

Mu Xi glared at Chen Zhou with some resentment.

After all, this had always been an opportunity for her father to teach her alone, and she didn't really want to share it with anyone else.

However, since her father had already accepted him as a disciple, and given his high level of talent, Mu Xi didn't know what to say for the moment.

Yet, neither Chen Zhou nor Mu Chen paid any attention to Mu Xi.

Chen Zhou sat quietly to the side, while Mu Chen calmly began to explain the most fundamental knowledge of blacksmithing.

Time ticked away second by second, and in the blink of an eye, over three hours had passed.

Chen Zhou ate his dinner at the Blacksmith Association.

Although the food here was simple, the taste was quite good.

After the meal, Mu Chen arranged for a private car to take Chen Zhou back.

Upon returning to the Spirit Pagoda, Chen Zhou went straight to his room and sat down.

The knowledge Mu Chen had imparted wasn't very profound, but to be honest, he still hadn't fully grasped it.

However, just as he was contemplating whether to ask Chen Mo for a platform to practice blacksmithing, Neuvillette's calm voice echoed in his mind.

"This so-called blacksmith's memory is actually quite interesting."

"Although he only taught you that so-called Hundred Refinement technique and the basic purification of metals, this craft is still quite remarkable."

Neuvillette's voice was very calm, but Chen Zhou didn't quite understand what he meant, so he didn't reply for a moment.

"I understood his words, or rather, it is not difficult for me to comprehend such things."

"Once you enter the Dream World, I can teach you how to forge."

"I will teach you hand-in-hand and share some of my own insights with you."

Neuvillette's voice remained calm.

Chen Zhou looked at him with some suspicion, not quite understanding his teacher's intentions.

"Teacher, is this Dream Realm really that magical?"

"There are no blacksmithing benches inside. Even if you explain it to me after I enter, it won't be of much use."

"This is the Dream Realm; it is your dream, and it is also my dream."

"Once you enter, I can use my imagination to create whatever you need, even those virtual metals."

"Just tell me whether you want to learn or not."

"You should also understand that with my insights, even just from hearing the most basic knowledge, the many things I can expand upon and deduce are beyond anything you could ever imagine."