Eight-Star Saint Craftsman, Mu Chen

The transaction between Long Yuan and Lu Fengnian was completed quickly.

Only two days later, the token representing his new status was delivered into Long Yuan's hands.

"Haha, Long Yuan, this is your token. It has a built-in special soul guidance device that can be used at any Spirit Pagoda. Furthermore, as per our agreement, I have also appointed you as the Deputy Pagoda Master of the East Sea City Spirit Pagoda."

Long Yuan looked at the eagerly smiling Lu Fengnian, said nothing, and simply turned to leave.

Logically speaking, their transaction was limited only to the quota for the special cultivation program; this position as Deputy Pagoda Master of the East Sea City Spirit Pagoda was an extra gesture from the other party.

It seems this old man managed to dig up the fake identity information I registered with the Federation. Is he trying to win me over?

However, Long Yuan did not care about such things. Whatever benefits the other party offered, he would accept them as they came; in any case, whether or not he provided a return in the future was entirely up to him.

If he were human, he would have to worry about credibility, as he would still need to survive in this circle later on. But he was not human, and eventually, he would have to turn against them anyway.

As everyone knew, dragons did not keep their promises.

On the other side, seeing that the other party had accepted his goodwill, Lu Fengnian smiled happily.

After agreeing to the deal, he had been cautious and sent people to investigate the other party's background, and the final result had left him shocked.

Eighteen years old, level sixty-one!

The key was that the other party's martial soul was the Golden Dragon, known as the ancestor of strength. A martial soul possessing such ultimate power usually had a slower cultivation speed than a normal soul master, yet the other party had still broken through to level sixty at eighteen.

Combining this with his personal interactions with him, Lu Fengnian was certain that as long as nothing unexpected happened, the young man was almost guaranteed to become a Limit Douluo.

Befriending such a talented individual was absolutely worth it for the East Sea Lu Family, which was gradually declining.

The East Sea Lu Family's ancestral martial soul was the Wind-Chasing Dragon, and they were one of the direct branches of the Qian-Gu family. Their ancestors had once held the cultivation level of a Super Douluo, relying on that to secure a position as an elder in the Spirit Pagoda and gain a seat on the Spirit Pagoda's council.

However, over the years, the Lu family had gradually fallen. His father had barely broken through to level ninety-three, which had just barely managed to preserve the family.

Lu Fengnian's own talent was even worse; he was only at level eighty-eight. Fortunately, his daughter, Lu Kening, had a promising future, which gave him some hope.

But now, an even stronger genius had appeared.

That was a Limit Douluo! Every time he thought about it, Lu Fengnian found it incredible that he had stumbled upon such a genius so easily.

Should I try to set him up with Kening? Lu Fengnian wondered to himself.

"Next, I'll just wait for East Sea Academy to start, and then I'll meet up with Gu Yuena."

According to what he had told Gu Yuena that night, she would continue to act according to their established plan after she left, which was to use the East Sea City Spirit Pagoda as a stepping stone to join the Spirit Pagoda.

Since he was idle anyway, Long Yuan decided to head straight to the East Sea City Blacksmith Association.

"Sir, hello. I am happy to serve you."

Long Yuan looked at the receptionist. She was quite pretty; it seemed that even the Blacksmith Association, filled with rough men, understood the importance of having an attractive front desk.

"Is your President Mu Chen in?" As he spoke, he handed over the token Lu Fengnian had given him.

Yun Xiaoling looked at the token representing the Spirit Pagoda and dared not be negligent. After receiving it, she scanned it on a soul guidance device, and a line of text immediately popped up: Long Yuan, Deputy Pagoda Master of the East Sea Branch of the Spirit Pagoda.

Yun Xiaoling was greatly alarmed and respectfully returned the token with both hands.

"Pagoda Master Long, our President is currently in a meeting. Please wait a moment."

With that, Yun Xiaoling led Long Yuan to a reception room on the upper floor and brought him a cup of tea.

The tea was fragrant, and it was clear that the leaves were a rare commodity. Long Yuan took a sip, and even he, someone who didn't know how to appreciate tea, felt a lingering aftertaste.

While there was no one else in the reception room, Long Yuan began to examine the decor.

One had to say, it was truly the Blacksmith Association; they actually used pieces of metal as ornaments in the reception room, and many of them were quite precious rare metals.

Long Yuan casually picked up a piece of Thousand Refinement Secret Silver and focused his mind to resonate with the metal.

Before long, the door to the reception room opened from the outside, and a man who looked to be about forty years old walked in.

He was imposing, and his silver-gray tight-fitting outfit outlined his robust physique. On his left chest hung a badge.

The badge was gold-based and hammer-shaped, with eight raised black stars on it, representing his status as an eight-star Saint Craftsman blacksmith.

"Hahaha, I wonder what brings Pagoda Master Long here?" Although Mu Chen's voice was loud, his expression remained very cautious.

Those who studied blacksmithing were muscular, but they were not brainless. Long before he arrived, he had checked the man's information, but he only knew that he was the newly appointed Deputy Pagoda Master of the East Sea City Spirit Pagoda, along with his basic profile; there was nothing more.

"Hehe, you and I are not enemies, so why be so formal?" Seeing Mu Chen arrive, Long Yuan set down the ornament in his hand.

The two sat opposite each other, and after Yun Xiaoling served them fresh tea, she withdrew.

Long Yuan suddenly spoke up: "President Mu, are all the major forces in East Sea City like this, liking to have geniuses or the children of high-ranking officials work as receptionists?"

This was not an unfounded remark. According to his observations, the receptionist at the East Sea City Blacksmith Association, Yun Xiaoling, although not a genius like Lu Kening, was still better than most ordinary people.

Mu Chen sighed, feeling a bit awkward, because as far as he knew, that was indeed the case.

However, his skin was thick enough that he showed no signs of it: "Pagoda Master Long's observation is sharp. Since it's the holidays and East Sea Academy has nothing going on, many students come out to do some part-time work. Many of them are the children of people in the association, so we gave them these jobs. As the president, I have no reason to object, as it doesn't harm the association's interests, right?"

Long Yuan was noncommittal; this was just a way to build rapport and warm up the conversation. He quickly changed the subject.

After the two chatted for a while longer, Long Yuan finally said: "President Mu, I came here today because I want to take the blacksmith level test."

"A test?" Mu Chen looked at him suspiciously.

Long Yuan sipped his tea and smiled: "What? Just because I'm from the Spirit Pagoda, I can't become a blacksmith?"

"How could that be?" Mu Chen stood up. "Our Blacksmith Association doesn't have that many prejudices. Tell you what, I will personally arrange the test for you!"

Mu Chen was right about that; they were just an association, not a specific faction like the Spirit Pagoda or Shrek Academy, so the other party's background didn't matter that much.