Xiaogang's Talent

That's what I thought, but my truest feelings were inexplicably complicated, a mixture of admiration and bitterness.

He admired Ling Yi, who was only a few years older than him. Not only was Ling Yi's strength far superior to his own, but he was also Superman in herbal formula research. Now, he had mastered forging and reached the pinnacle of the blacksmithing profession, becoming one of the three Divine Craftsman of the Douluo Continent!

And the sourness is also due to these factors.

Even though they're all close in age, and both have only half a level of Innate Soul Power, why am I treated like a piece of trash while the other is so outstanding, even though I come from one of the continent's top powers, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?!

Yu Xiaogang stayed in Gengxin City for nearly half a year and joined the Blacksmith Association as a Grand Soul Master.

For the past six months, Yu Xiaogang has been learning forging from Ah Gu, a Grandmaster Blacksmith in the association.

Just over two hours earlier, Yu Xiaogang and others from the same group who were learning forging participated in the unified intermediate blacksmith promotion examination.

Of the 123 candidates, 118 successfully advanced.

With only five people failing the assessment, the success rate is quite good.

Yu Xiaogang is not one of those five people.

However, despite successfully advancing, Yu Xiaogang still felt a sense of disappointment when he saw his carefully crafted work classified as Grade B out of four categories.

It wasn't one of the five eliminated Grade Ds, nor one of the twenty-eight barely passable Grade Cs, nor one of the ten Grade As whose completion was rated as excellent, but rather one of the eighty Grade Bs with a good level of performance!

This feeling of moderation made Yu Xiaogang feel very uncomfortable.

Although Master Ah Gu also said during his critique that he was able to master the forging skills to this extent in just over five months, it was commendable that he had both talent and diligence. He added that most of the people who were better than him had simply spent more time learning forging.

Can...

I'm still a little unwilling to accept it—

At the north gate of Gengxin City, Yu Xiaogang stopped, turned around, looked up at the three large characters on the gate tower, and thought to himself.

Perhaps I'm just not suited for forging.

Shaking his head, Yu Xiaogang took another step and headed north.

"I don't know where the right path for me lies..."

A cool breeze blew by, and carriages rumbled and horses Xiao Xiao on the official road. A whisper was drowned out, and no one knew it except its owner.

City Center District, [Blacksmith Association Headquarters].

"Ah Gu- Master Gu, we just received news that Junior Brother Yu Xiaogang left without saying goodbye and went out of the city alone—"

Si Long went up to the third floor and entered the assessment area. He whispered to Ah Gu.

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, Ah Gu frowned, but showed no surprise on his face. He simply asked in a deep voice, "Alone?"

"Yes, one person." Si Long nodded to confirm.

"This child—" Ah Gu shook his head and said, "Judging from his expression before, I knew his heart had become unsettled... But he actually traveled alone. He should at least find a caravan to register under, get paid, and have someone to look after him along the way—"

Ah Gu wasn't surprised by Yu Xiaogang's departure because he had foreseen it; rather, he had seen too many breakups and reunions over the years, and Yu Xiaogang's abrupt departure no longer stirred any emotion in him.

"What a pity~"

Ah Gu strode to a long table to the side and picked up a short knife from it. There were dozens of such short knives on the table.

Holding the knife in his right hand, he pressed the pad of his left thumb lightly on the blade, and a barely perceptible gray light flashed across his fingertip, blocking the blade's cutting force.

Upon seeing this, Si Long's face showed a hint of appreciation, and he asked, "Ah Gu- Master Gu, is this Yu Xiaogang's assessment work?"

"That's right." Ah Gu handed the short sword to Si Long, commenting, "This sword, in terms of toughness, is average; in terms of sharpness, it's average; in terms of balance, it's still average!"

"Among intermediate blacksmiths, some excel at quenching, achieving superior toughness; some excel at hammering and grinding, achieving superior sharpness; some excel at shaping the structure of tools, making them very comfortable for the user to handle..."

"Only those who can master all three and integrate them into a single weapon can be considered top-tier among weapons of the same level!"

"While this child's talent in forging may not be among the best, his strength lies in his ability to summarize and generalize, taking steady steps forward..."

"Although I ranked him fifty-sixth among the second-best candidates, I believe that if he perseveres, he could very well be the eleventh among this batch of candidates to reach the Blacksmith level!"

"What a pity~"

At this point, Ah Gu shook his head before continuing, "This child always has a strong drive in his heart, always wanting to become the best among his peers."

But sometimes, talent is something that can't be changed by hard work...

Si Long: "..."

Si Long was speechless. Having witnessed Ling Yi's god-level talent and seen Tang Hao, who also possessed god-level talent, he knew that it was best not to be too attached to some things in this world.

Otherwise, in the end, you'll only be the one who suffers.

"Never mind—" Ah Gu took the short knife from Si Long's hand, put it back on the table, and said lightly, "That child has been diligent and inquisitive for the past six months. I have told him about many advanced blacksmithing techniques, and even the Thousand Refinement forging techniques and metal smelting insights of Blacksmith have advanced to master level.

If he's willing to pursue forging on this path, he'll naturally continue practicing. With his talent, it will take him at least ten years to delve into and refine his skills, to fully grasp all that knowledge...

If he doesn't want to, that's his own choice—"

"Ah Yi said, don't make decisions for others casually; we should respect other people's choices."

"If the Blacksmith Association wants to develop and avoid being antagonized by other forces, it needs to develop a strategy that is different from that of other forces."

"An open force, an 'academy-style' force that allows students to come and go freely, a force that can provide talent training for all parties—that is the way forward for our [Blacksmith Association]."

"Ah Yi is right. When one day, all the forces on the entire Douluo Continent have students from our Blacksmith Association, then we will be no different from the Spirit Hall."

"Although there may still be a huge gap in high-end combat power, in terms of influence across the entire continent, it can achieve a unique kind of surpassing."

Listening to Ah Gu's narration, Si Long was excited. Even though Ling Yi wasn't there, his face still showed respect and admiration.

at the same time.

About seven or eight hundred meters away from the Blacksmith Association headquarters, on another street, Liu Erlong and her daughter had just entered a hotel to rest.

We'll continue tomorrow night. Goodnight everyone!