Eastsea City Blacksmith Association.
In the lounge on the top floor.
"You're quite free, aren't you? What did you come all the way to Eastsea City for?"
"The Blacksmith Association didn't object?"
Tang Wulin's forging teacher, Saint Craftsman Mu Chen, looked at the man seated on the sofa before him and grumbled.
However, the impatience in his tone was clearly more of an act.
"What objections could they have?"
Zhen Hua rolled his eyes.
"It's not like the Blacksmith Association can't function without me."
"I happened to be going to meet that mysterious Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder, so I stopped by to see you and Bao'er."
"Heh." Mu Chen tugged at the corner of his mouth in a humorless smile.
"I hope you didn't come for Bao'er."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Zhen Hua blew out his beard and glared.
"Am I that kind of person?"
Mu Chen curled his lip. "Who knows."
At that moment, Mu Ye, dressed in a white chef's uniform, happened to emerge from the kitchen carrying two plates of freshly prepared dishes.
Listening to their conversation, Mu Ye's expression remained completely calm.
He was clearly already used to the way the two of them got along.
They were just bickering. In truth, both knew the other had no such intentions.
It was a rather unusual way for fellow disciples to interact.
"Ah, you're in for a treat today."
Zhen Hua glanced at the dishes Mu Ye had brought out and said with a smile.
For once, Mu Chen did not refute him.
The culinary skills of Mu Ye, the Body Sect's leader, were truly excellent. Mu Chen did not deny that.
"Oh?"
"Then it seems this one has arrived at an inconvenient time."
A clear voice, like droplets falling from a mountain stream, suddenly rang out in the room.
Mu Ye's eyes narrowed. He leaped forward and shielded Zhen Hua, staring warily at the young man who had suddenly appeared in the room.
Even with his cultivation, he had not sensed when this young man had appeared, nor how he had entered.
A trace of gravity could not help but appear in his eyes.
Such a method...
Across the entire continent, there were only a handful capable of it.
"No need to worry. Elder Leng has arrived."
Zhen Hua had initially been wary as well, but after seeing the young man's face, he relaxed again.
He waved his hand, signaling for Mu Ye not to be so tense.
He had already recognized the identity of this suddenly appearing youth.
Leng Hanyuan, the Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder for whom Leng Yaozhu had asked him to forge the Heaven-Forged Metal required for Four-Word Battle Armor.
Zhen Hua had originally planned to pay a visit to that mysterious Spirit Pagoda Grand Elder after the meal.
He had not expected Leng Hanyuan to appear here instead.
Especially after witnessing that ghostly method just now.
It made Zhen Hua place even more trust in the rumors of what had happened during the Spirit Pagoda's high-level meeting.
Elder Leng.
Upon hearing Zhen Hua's words, Mu Ye also recognized the young man before him.
He had never met Leng Hanyuan.
But he had seen his photograph.
The Soul Power he had begun circulating gradually settled once more.
Yet the way he looked at Leng Hanyuan was clearly filled with far greater importance.
That small display alone had already given Mu Ye a preliminary understanding of Leng Hanyuan's strength.
After all, he was not merely a chef.
He was also the current leader of the Body Sect, one of the foremost figures in the Soul Master world.
Before this, he had even met Yun Ming, the Sky-Propping Douluo known as the continent's number one.
Yet the pressure Leng Hanyuan brought him was not the slightest bit inferior to that of the Sky-Propping Douluo.
His intuition told him that this young man's strength was likely no weaker than the Sky-Propping Douluo's.
At that thought, Mu Ye's expression visibly changed, and his feelings became somewhat complicated.
He did not doubt his own intuition.
At their level, intuition was often terrifyingly accurate.
He simply felt a surge of emotion.
Shrek Academy had produced Yun Ming, the Sky-Propping Douluo.
And now the Spirit Pagoda had produced Leng Hanyuan, who was no weaker than the Sky-Propping Douluo.
By contrast, their Body Sect...
Ten thousand years ago, it had been an existence no weaker than Shrek Academy. Now, however, it had nearly dwindled into obscurity.
"I came uninvited. I hope the Divine Craftsman will not take offense."
Leng Hanyuan smiled faintly.
"Of course not." Zhen Hua waved his hand, seeing that this Grand Elder bore him no ill will.
He rose to his feet and took the initiative to invite Leng Hanyuan to sit.
"Since the Grand Elder is here, why not take a seat and join us for lunch?"
Zhen Hua's attitude was extremely courteous.
Though he was a Divine Craftsman of exalted status.
Leng Hanyuan was still a genuine quasi-god.
Douluo Continent was, after all, a world where Soul Masters reigned supreme.
Naturally, Zhen Hua would not slight Leng Hanyuan.
"Then I shall gladly accept."
Leng Hanyuan did not stand on ceremony. He casually pulled over a chair and sat down.
Zhen Hua also introduced Mu Ye and Mu Chen to Leng Hanyuan.
"This is Mu Chen, a Saint Craftsman and my junior brother."
"Greetings, Elder Leng." Mu Chen clasped his hands in salute, and Leng Hanyuan nodded slightly in response.
"This is Mu Ye, the current leader of the Body Sect."
Mu Ye also clasped his hands in greeting.
Though he had little fondness for the Spirit Pagoda.
He still held a certain degree of respect for the strong themselves.
Leng Hanyuan glanced at Mu Ye. After a moment, he said something that left him somewhat baffled.
"You're unlike that old fellow."
After saying that, he offered no further explanation.
Though Mu Ye was puzzled over who the old fellow Leng Hanyuan mentioned was, seeing that he had no intention of elaborating, he did not press the matter.
The group began eating.
Mu Ye enjoyed cooking, but the ingredients that interested him enough to cook with were naturally far from ordinary.
There were not many dishes on the table, but every ingredient used was exceedingly precious.
Leng Hanyuan picked up a piece of Braised Earth Dragon Spine Meat and put it into his mouth. He then praised sincerely,
"Excellent craftsmanship."
Mu Ye's cooking was truly outstanding.
Whether in his understanding of ingredients or his treatment of them, he was nearly flawless.
The dishes he made could absolutely be called perfect in color, aroma, and flavor.
Even the Phoenix Family's finest chefs were slightly inferior by comparison.
"You flatter me."
Mu Ye replied briefly.
Yet the corners of his mouth still rose into a faint curve beyond his control.
For a chef, having one's skills recognized was undoubtedly the happiest thing.
All the more so because the one offering that recognition was no ordinary person.
It was Leng Hanyuan, a quasi-god standing at the pinnacle of the entire continent.
"May I ask why the Divine Craftsman came to Eastsea City to seek me out?"
Leng Hanyuan swallowed the Braised Earth Dragon Spine Meat in his mouth and raised his eyes toward Zhen Hua.
Though Zhen Hua had not explicitly said that he had come to Eastsea City for him, everyone understood it, and there was no need to hide it.
Zhen Hua nodded frankly.
"Tower Master Leng entrusted me with forging the Heaven-Forged Metal required for Elder Leng's Four-Word Battle Armor."
"However, the Heaven-Forged Metal required for each piece of battle armor differs depending on its wearer."
"So I came specifically to ask Elder Leng about your requirements for the battle armor, so that I may begin the formal forging process."
"May I have the honor of seeing Your Excellency's martial soul?"
At those words.
The other two pairs of eyes turned toward him as well, filled with anticipation.
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