A Windfall

Mu Chen smiled warmly. "What's so special about becoming a Level 8 Blacksmith? Don't you want to become a Level 9 Divine Craftsman?"

"A Divine Craftsman?" Tang Wulin blinked, then nodded. "Of course I do!"

"Then do you believe you can make it?"

Tang Wulin shook his head. "I don't know!"

Mu Chen patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder and said earnestly, "But I believe you can!"

Tang Wulin gazed deeply at Mu Chen. He didn't know why this Saint Craftsman believed in him so much.

Mu Chen clearly saw Tang Wulin's confusion. He slowly stood up and asked, "Do you know the youngest age on record for becoming a Level 1 Blacksmith in the Eastsea City Blacksmith Association?"

Tang Wulin shook his head.

"Eight years and six months. I was the one who set that record," Mu Chen said seriously.

"And you, Tang Wulin—you may have passed the Level 1 Blacksmith assessment at nine, so on the surface, you haven't broken that record. But I know very well that you must have qualified as a Level 1 Blacksmith before you turned nine. And you're already a Level 2 Blacksmith at nine. No one in the entire Federation can surpass that at your age. That's why I believe in you!"

After hearing Mu Chen's words, Tang Wulin was so shocked he could hardly speak. He'd never looked into these records, and he hadn't imagined he'd broken the president's record without even realizing it.

"So, after hearing the president's words, do you think you can become a Divine Craftsman?" Cen Yue asked with a smile.

"I'll work hard!" Tang Wulin replied.

"That's it?" Cen Yue was surprised by Tang Wulin's answer. He'd expected him to be thrilled, to rest on his laurels.

"Hahaha!" Mu Chen burst out laughing. "Tang Wulin, very good. You're neither arrogant nor impatient. That's the mindset a top-level blacksmith should have."

But this was what Tang Wulin was really thinking.

If only my talent for blacksmithing could be my talent as a Soul Master instead. If I had Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power, I definitely wouldn't be this calm right now.

Tang Wulin didn't love blacksmithing by nature. His childhood circumstances had forced him to learn it, so more than a blacksmith, he wanted to become the most powerful Soul Master.

"By the way, Grandmaster Cen Yue, there's something else I wanted to ask you about."

"You mean those pill recipes, right?" Mu Chen cut in before Cen Yue could speak.

"The president knows about that too?" Tang Wulin asked, puzzled.

"Of course. Right now, there's only one organization on the continent interested in rare pill recipes like these. Old Cen isn't acquainted with them, so he came to me."

"Are these pill recipes really that valuable?" Tang Wulin asked curiously.

Mu Chen nodded. "I don't know much about pills, but I showed the recipes to a friend of mine. He showed them to the people in his organization, and they were extremely excited. They said that although these are only incomplete recipes, they're far rarer than the ones they already have."

Mu Chen held up two fingers. "My friend's organization is willing to pay two million Federal Coins for each recipe. You have nineteen in all, so their total offer is thirty-eight million Federal Coins."

"How much?" Tang Wulin's face filled with disbelief.

Thirty-eight million Federal Coins—Tang Wulin couldn't even imagine that much. In his first three years of blacksmithing, he'd only managed to save thirty thousand Federal Coins.

If a hundred-year Soul Spirit cost one million Federal Coins, how many could he buy with thirty-eight million? He could even afford a Thousand-Year Soul Spirit.

"President, do you think it's too late for me to switch to pill refining?" Cen Yue asked with a bitter smile.

"Forget it, Old Cen. With your spendthrift ways, do you really think you can handle something as meticulous as pill refining?" Mu Chen shot Cen Yue a look.

"Wulin, Old Cen told me that an elder gave you these pill recipes. My friend is very interested in them, so he wanted to ask if he could meet that elder."

Tang Wulin shook his head. "President, that elder doesn't want to show himself, so I'm afraid I can't grant your friend's wish."

Mu Chen paused, then said, "Hahaha, that's fine. I didn't say he absolutely had to meet him. But he also said he'd like to meet you, if that's all right. That way, he can hand the money over to you."

Tang Wulin nodded. "Of course!"

"Then stay here tonight and get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll take you to my friend's organization myself."

"But I have class tomorrow!"

"No problem! My daughter studies at your academy too. I'll have her ask your homeroom teacher for a day off."

"Uh... I'd better ask Teacher Wu for leave myself." Tang Wulin didn't think Teacher Wu would approve if someone else asked on his behalf.

"That works too!" Mu Chen didn't think much of it.

"By the way, President, Grandmaster Cen Yue, I have something else here. Could you help me see if I can sell it?"

"What is it?" Mu Chen asked.

Tang Wulin immediately took off the storage ring on his hand and held it out to Mu Chen.

Mu Chen took the ring and immediately swept it with his divine sense.

But when Mu Chen saw what was inside, he nearly dropped the ring.

"President, what's in there?" Cen Yue asked in confusion when he saw Mu Chen's shocked expression.

"Take a look for yourself." Mu Chen gave Tang Wulin a long look, then tossed the ring to Cen Yue.

"This is... a Black-Grade Mecha! And several Level 6 and Level 7 Soul Tools!"

When Cen Yue saw what was inside the ring, shock appeared on his face as well.

"Wulin, the Level 6 and Level 7 Soul Tools are one thing, but where did you get this Black-Grade Mecha? As far as I know, the Mecha Brigade is the only one in all of Eastsea City with a Black-Grade Mecha," Mu Chen asked.

Tang Wulin nodded. "President, this Black-Grade Mecha did belong to Guang Biao of the Mecha Brigade, but he gave it to me as compensation of his own free will. As for why, that's a bit of a long story."

Tang Wulin quickly told them how he'd encountered Light Dragon and Guang Biao that night, how Yao Lao had stepped in and subdued Guang Biao, and how Guang Biao had been forced to offer the Black-Grade Mecha as compensation. However, he said that Yao Lao was the elder who had given him the pill recipes.

After all, there was no way to keep this matter under wraps. Ordinary people might not know about it, but word would surely spread among Eastsea City's upper circles soon enough.

"So that's how it happened." Mu Chen nodded thoughtfully. "That elder isn't just highly accomplished in pill refining—he's incredibly powerful in battle too."

"In that case, there's no problem. But the Blacksmith Association doesn't need a mecha, and I'm not sure how much it's worth. Tomorrow, I can take you to my friend and ask him about it. I suspect he might need something like this."

"Thank you, President!" Tang Wulin bowed deeply to Mu Chen.