"Are you all ready?"
Inside a cave no one could find, an old man in a black robe asked in a voice like an ancient bellows.
"Yes!"
Dozens of black-robed figures stood before him, heads bowed as they listened.
Their faces were hidden, and their figures were obscured by their robes, but their voices revealed that they included men and women, young and old.
"Heh, Elder, those people from the Spirit Pagoda have all been lured away by the pawns we casually tossed out. What is there to fear?" Among the black-robed figures, a middle-aged man stood at the head of the group. He tilted his chin up slightly, revealing a scorpion-like tattoo around his right eye.
Aside from the old man, he was the strongest among them—a Titled Douluo of rank ninety-one.
"Besides, only one Titled Douluo is stationed in Skysea City. Places like Eastsea City have nothing more than a Soul Douluo. What is there for us to fear?"
The old man gave a slight nod. "That's true, but we still have to proceed with caution. If we draw out the East Sea Legion, it could lead to unnecessary complications."
"We know that. But a typhoon is coming, and it will last at least seven days. The East Sea Legion's fleet definitely won't be able to deploy, which means they won't be able to use those powerful fixed soul-guided weapons either. And those high-ranking Soul Masters won't have time to react to our surprise attack."
"Mm, you've thought it through well. Then proceed according to plan." The old man stroked his beard, evidently pleased with the original plan.
But for some reason, he had a persistent sense of foreboding. Did I overlook something? Forget it. At this point, there's no turning back.
Their plan had already reached the point where the arrow was on the string and had to be loosed. Otherwise, all their previous investments would go to waste.
Just thinking about the special shielding Soul Tool they had lost while attacking the Spirit Pagoda's convoy made the old man's heart ache.
That thing wasn't some common piece of junk, and the worst part was that the Holy Spirit Cult wouldn't reimburse him.
That's right. These people were the Holy Spirit Cult members who had attacked the Spirit Pagoda.
"Once this is done, I'll surely rise to a higher position in the Holy Church, and the Cult Master will reward me handsomely..."
"What? You're going to the Blacksmith Association?" Xie Xie looked at Tang Wulin in surprise. "Hasn't the school been locked down?"
Tang Wulin packed his things. "There's still a little time. I've already asked Teacher Wu for leave. There's nothing I can do in the dorm anyway, so I might as well go to the Blacksmith Association and learn forging."
"Hey, you..."
Xie Xie was about to say something, but Yun Xiao interrupted him. He poked his head over the edge of his bed. "Young Master Xie is rich enough to never worry about making a living, but you should think about the rest of us!"
Ever since they'd fought side by side, Yun Xiao and Tang Wulin had grown much closer, and now Yun Xiao dared to tease him openly.
Xie Xie thought it over. He'd seen Tang Wulin's daily habits, and although Tang Wulin had a fair amount of savings, he also ate Class A meals at the academy with gusto. Xie Xie winced at how much money Tang Wulin spent on every meal.
Besides, forging was one of the four great secondary professions. If Tang Wulin mastered it, maybe one day Xie Xie would have to rely on him.
"All right. Since you've made up your mind, I won't say any more. Be careful on the way."
Tang Wulin had finished packing. He waved and left the dorm.
"Got it. I'll be careful!"
"Xie Xie, when did you get so long-winded? I remember you were pretty aloof when you first got here." Yun Xiao was in the mood to tease him mercilessly.
But Xie Xie didn't respond. He just stood there, lost in thought.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Yun Xiao. Do you think we can really beat those people in Class One?"
Xie Xie suddenly asked.
They now knew Class One's strength: three Soul Grandmasters at rank twenty, along with the unfathomable Gu Yuena. But the fact that she had outclassed those three Soul Grandmasters to become Class One's top genius was enough to show how powerful she was.
The three of them were One-Ring Soul Masters. Tang Wulin's combat strength might be beyond the ordinary, but even two fists couldn't beat six hands.
Yun Xiao flopped back onto his bed and settled into a comfortable position. "We've already fought our way from Class Five to Class Two. We should be satisfied. There's no shame in losing to three Soul Grandmasters."
Xie Xie shook his head. That was true, but he still didn't want to give up so easily.
"I'm going home too." With that, Xie Xie headed for the door.
"Hey, wait!" Yun Xiao sprang up from the bed. "If you leave, I'll be the only one left in the dorm! Don't go!"
"Isn't Zhou Changxi still here?" Xie Xie called back without turning around.
Yun Xiao stretched out a hand toward Xie Xie's retreating figure, trying to stop him.
"But I really don't know him!"
"Xiaoling, you're here again today!" Tang Wulin walked into the Blacksmith Association and found a familiar face working reception.
Come to think of it, Yun Xiao and Yun Xiaoling differed by only one character. Tang Wulin always found that a little surprising.
When Yun Xiaoling saw that it was Tang Wulin, she smiled playfully. "You came here too, didn't you? As a student of Eastsea Academy, I can come here as well."
"Hehe." Tang Wulin scratched his head. "Is Master here today?"
"Chairman Long isn't here today. I saw him leave earlier." Yun Xiaoling shook her head. "And not only him—Grandmaster Mu Chen and Grandmaster Cen Yue aren't here either. I heard they went to Skysea City for a meeting."
Tang Wulin nodded and went straight to his Forging Room.
If they weren't there, so be it. He'd only come to practice the things he'd learned before, not to learn anything new.
"Hey, hey, Brother Yuan, pass me that bottle of soy sauce!"
The typhoon arrived as expected, bringing torrential rain with it. Fat drops pelted the windows, but none of it had anything to do with Long Yuan and Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena kept her eyes fixed on the alloy wok in front of her as she ordered Long Yuan to help.
Long Yuan placed the soy sauce in Gu Yuena's free hand, but when he saw her clumsily holding the spatula in her right hand, he couldn't help sighing.
"Can you really cook?"
"Hmph! Don't underestimate my intelligence. How could something this simple be harder than fusing the seven elements? I learned after watching it twice!"
Gu Yuena wore a confident expression, but the smoke pouring from the wok made it hard for Long Yuan to believe her.
After a long while, Gu Yuena brought the last plate of charcoal to the table and sat opposite him.
"How is it? How is it?" Gu Yuena asked impatiently.
Honestly, aside from the last plate of charcoal, the other dishes looked pretty normal.
But that plate of charcoal made him reluctant to trust Gu Yuena.
"Um, Na'er, it's not that I'm underestimating your intelligence. It's just that this... uh..."