Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua

The next day, a Red-Grade Mecha descended from the clouds above Heaven Dou City, its crimson fuselage gleaming with a subtle luster under the afternoon sun.

Mu Ye piloted the mecha to avoid the no-fly zones of the main thoroughfares, circling the city's perimeter before finally landing atop a black building.

The hatch opened, and a wave of hot air rushed in.

Xiao Mu and Na'er followed Mu Ye as they climbed down from the mecha.

Before them stood a three-story gray building. There were no signs on the exterior walls, only two dark gold metal plates embedded on either side of the main entrance, each engraved with the emblem of a forging hammer and flames.

This was the headquarters of the Heaven Dou City Blacksmith Association.

Mu Ye retracted his mecha and led Xiao Mu and Na'er into the Blacksmith Association.

Passing through a corridor, they arrived at Zhen Hua's small dining room. It was about twenty square meters, with a round table placed in the center covered by a white checkered tablecloth.

The window was left ajar, allowing the afternoon sun of Heaven Dou City to slant in and fall across the round table.

The small dining room looked simple and unadorned.

Mu Ye busied himself at the stove. Oil crackled in the iron pan, and the moment he tossed in the scallions, ginger, and garlic, a puff of white steam erupted, the aroma exploding through the room as if a fuse had been lit.

Xiao Mu and Na'er sat by the round table, waiting. Two sets of bowls and chopsticks were laid out, simple and plain.

Na'er sat in her chair, her feet unable to reach the floor. Her two feet, clad in little white socks, dangled in mid-air, swinging back and forth. Every time her legs swayed, the chair emitted a faint creaking sound. The cuffs of her little white socks were trimmed with delicate lace, fluttering gently with the rhythm of her movement.

She tilted her head, her long silver hair cascading over the back of the chair, her nose twitching slightly like a cat that had caught the scent of a tin of fish.

"It smells so good. It seems even better than the food on the island."

Na'er was right; the scent was indeed more fragrant than it had been on the island. There were more seasonings here, and the air wasn't as damp.

Geography created the difference in flavor.

No sooner had she spoken than the door to the small dining room was pushed open.

Zhen Hua walked in. He had changed into a clean gray cotton shirt. Upon entering, he swept a glance over the round table before looking at Mu Ye, who was tossing the wok at the stove.

"Mu Ye, what new ingredients have you found this time?"

Mu Ye didn't look back, flipping his spatula in the iron pan. "Deep-sea stuff. Making something good for this kid."

Zhen Hua nodded, pulled out a chair to sit at the round table, and poured himself a cup of tea. The tea steamed, and he blew away the foam, his gaze lingering on Xiao Mu and Na'er for half a second each—though he was visibly stunned when he looked at the clothes Xiao Mu was wearing.

Xiao Mu's shirt and shorts were a gradient from yellow to purple from top to bottom, making him exceptionally eye-catching.

"Are these two disciples of your Body Sect..."

"The boy is. The girl's martial soul is a spear, and her talent is quite good, too. Both of them are already at the three-ring level. You two, this is the renowned Divine Craftsman, Zhen Hua. Don't be rude."

"Is that so?" Zhen Hua gained a rough understanding and couldn't help but look at the two. "What are your secondary professions?"

"Your Excellency Divine Craftsman, I am a second-grade Mecha Repairman," Na'er said confidently; after all, she now understood that being a second-grade Mecha Repairman at her age already made her a genius.

"I am a third-grade Blacksmith, a fourth-grade Mecha Manufacturer, and a sixth-grade Mecha Designer. Also a third-grade Mecha Repairman."

Xiao Mu counted on his fingers. He hadn't been idle this semester; he was now qualified to independently craft One-Word Battle Armor.

"Third-grade Blacksmith? Little one, it's not good to lie," Zhen Hua couldn't help but say.

A twelve-year-old third-grade Blacksmith was something you couldn't find in the entire history of the Blacksmith Association.

This was no longer a matter of being a genius or not. Even if he had started forging from the womb, reaching the level of a sixth-grade secondary profession at this age without falling behind in Soul Power was simply a miracle.

Xiao Mu didn't argue. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a badge, and placed it on the table. The material of the badge wasn't precious, but the pattern and serial number on it were clear.

Zhen Hua looked down at the badge and fell silent for a moment.

He recognized a signature on it: the President of the East Sea Blacksmith Association—his junior brother.

"Well then." He pushed the badge back and picked up his teacup again. "My junior brother is here to wreck my shop."

"To think there's such a genius blacksmith, and he didn't even tell me."

"By the way, little one, why don't you specialize in forging?"

"I'm learning everything. I'm going to be a Soul Engineer."

Xiao Mu's voice was calm. Naturally, he didn't mention the real reason he learned forging: to slap people in the face.

If I have to do it, I'll do it. It's such a simple part; how could anyone not be able to make it?

Even a tiny discrepancy can have a huge impact.

Before long, Mu Ye brought the food to the table.

He placed the tray in the center of the round table, and the moment he lifted the lid, it was as if a ray of light erupted from the platter.

The golden light shot up to the ceiling, collided with it, and shattered into countless tiny, dense specks of light that sprinkled over the table, the chairs, and the floor.

The light was wrapped in a rich aroma—not just the simple scent of meat, but the freshness released by deep-sea fish slow-cooked until the meat fell off the bone, mixed with the sweetness of shellfish and the clarity of seaweed. It filled the twenty-square-meter dining room to the brim.

Na'er's eyes narrowed, her little mouth opened, and drool began to flow.

Xiao Mu looked at the whole deep-sea fish lying in the pot. The broth was thick and milky white, the fish meat shimmering with a pearlescent luster, every scale glowing faintly.

Zhen Hua held his teacup, looking down at the glowing fish. "Are we eating sea fish today?"

"Eat up. It was all caught in the deep sea."

Na'er was the first to pick up her chopsticks. She lifted a piece of fish, its flesh so tender it trembled slightly at the tip of her chopsticks, and the moment she slipped it into her mouth, she froze.

"So good!" she exclaimed indistinctly, her chopsticks already reaching for a second piece.

She grabbed a second piece, then a third, her chopsticks moving faster and faster.

Xiao Mu glanced at her and pushed his own bowl half an inch toward her.

While eating the fish, Zhen Hua said to Xiao Mu, "Once you're finished, come with me to the Forging Room. I want to see your handiwork."

Xiao Mu looked up. The test had come sooner than expected, but it was not a surprise. He carefully considered his own forging level; Thousand Refinement, first grade, should be no problem at all.

As for Spirit Refinement, he could not quite grasp it.

"Alright, no problem," he replied, then lowered his head to continue eating his fish.

Mu Ye, sitting to the side, chuckled and picked out the fattest part of the fish belly, placing it into Na'er's bowl; he could see that Na'er truly loved the meal.

Xiao Mu was more restrained, but he still ate his fill.

At this moment, Xiao Mu already had an inkling of the truth: the Divine Craftsman was looking for a successor. To be precise, he was looking for someone capable of inheriting the mantle of a Divine Craftsman.

It was just like when he had sought out Tang Wulin back then.

After all, in the profession of forging, Heavenly Refinement required one to be struck by lightning in order to carve the laws of heaven and earth into the metal.

Xiao Mu hesitated for a moment. If I were to carve the Law of Universal Gravitation into the metal, would the causality be something it could withstand?