Mu Chen

If...

If he could pass the evaluation...

Even if it was only Level One...

No!

Cen Yue's heart suddenly jolted!

He remembered what Bai Lin had just said—

Mang Tian had sent him here for evaluation so he could accept assignments independently!

What did that mean?

It meant Mang Tian believed he possessed at least the ability of a Level Two forging master!

A nine-year-old Level Two forging master!

The thought exploded in Cen Yue's mind like a thunderclap!

The record of reaching Level One at eight was already legendary...

Level Two at nine?

This was practically stomping that legend beneath his feet!

What a terrifying, glorious record this would create—one enough to shake the entire Federation's forging world!

What did that mean?

It meant that as long as the boy before him did not die young, his future...

A Saint Craftsman?

No!

That might only be the beginning!

Even the path to becoming a God Craftsman seemed to be unfolding before him!

Cen Yue felt his breathing grow hurried. As he watched the boy filling out the form with his head lowered, his gaze became incomparably fervent.

The staff member was so excited that his fingers trembled slightly. The way he looked at Bai Lin was filled with reverence and disbelief.

"Cen..."

"Master Cen..."

"This..."

The staff member's voice shook.

Cen Yue took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his turbulent emotions before saying gravely,

"Open a standard testing room."

"Have the Evaluation Department immediately notify..."

"President Mu Chen!"

"Tell him..."

"There is an urgent matter. Ask him to come personally, no matter what!"

His voice carried unquestionable gravity and unprecedented solemnity!

A nine-year-old Level Two?

This was no longer something the Evaluation Department could handle on its own!

The president needed to witness this personally!

The staff member shuddered and nearly jumped up!

President Mu Chen?

He was the highest authority of the Eastsea City Forging Masters Association!

His status was exalted, and his affairs were numerous!

Evaluating a newcomer was actually going to alarm the president himself?

He did not dare delay. He immediately picked up the internal communicator with the highest authorization, his voice rising with excitement:

"Quick! Notify the president's office!"

"Master Cen Yue has an extremely urgent matter. Ask President Mu Chen to come to the standard testing room on the third floor immediately!"

Bai Lin finished filling out the form and calmly handed it back to the staff member.

He seemed not to notice the stunned gazes around him, gazes intense enough to set him ablaze. He merely stood quietly beside Cen Yue and waited.

The door to the testing room was pushed open.

A man with gentle, tranquil eyes, yet a depth that seemed to contain the stars of the universe, slowly walked in.

His steps carried an indescribable sense of weight, as though each one landed upon a node in space.

It was none other than the president of the Eastsea City Forging Masters Association—Mu Chen!

Behind him came the staff member from before, along with several association executives who had rushed over upon hearing the news. Every face was filled with alarm and gravity.

"Cen Yue, what matter is so urgent?"

President Mu Chen's voice was gentle, yet it carried a power that pierced straight into one's heart. His gaze swept across the room before finally settling on Cen Yue and Bai Lin.

"President, please witness this personally."

Cen Yue's voice contained a trace of barely suppressed excitement as he respectfully handed over Bai Lin's completed form and quickly explained in a low voice,

"Nine years old, Mang Tian's disciple, his goal is..."

"To accept assignments independently!"

Mu Chen's gaze fell upon the number "9" on the form. His gentle pupils contracted ever so slightly.

He raised his head and, for the first time in the truest sense, fixed a scrutinizing gaze upon Bai Lin.

That gaze was calm, yet it seemed capable of piercing through flesh and seeing into the depths of one's soul.

Bai Lin felt as though he had become transparent beneath that gaze, but he remained calm, his eyes clear.

"Good."

President Mu Chen said only that one word before walking to the center of the observation area and taking his position.

There was no need for further explanation. He already understood why Cen Yue had been so solemn.

Nine years old, accepting assignments independently...

The implications behind that possibility were enough to make the entire forging world take notice!

The atmosphere in the testing room was so grave that it felt as though they were about to witness a miracle descend.

Bai Lin walked up to the Forging Table. He did not act immediately. Instead, he extended a finger and gently brushed over the surface of the Heavy Silver ingot, feeling the coldness of the metal and the fine textures within.

His movements were natural and focused, carrying a strange rhythm as though he were communicating with the metal.

After a moment, he raised his head and calmly looked toward Cen Yue and President Mu Chen.

"May I begin?"

"Begin!"

Cen Yue said in a deep voice, the sound especially clear in the silent testing room.

Bai Lin took a deep breath, and his eyes instantly became incomparably sharp! With a thought, the storage Soul Tool on his wrist flashed!

Buzz!

A pair of forging hammers, dark silver throughout with smooth, powerful lines, appeared in his hands out of thin air!

The hammerheads were not large, yet they radiated a restrained heaviness. Their handles were long and fit comfortably in his grip.

They were the forging hammers he had personally made from his first piece of Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver, imbued with the Hammer Stacking effect—his bonded forging hammers, the Thousand-Forged Heavy Silver Hammers!

The moment the hammers entered his hands, a sensation of bloodline connection and shared intent instantly surged through his entire body!

Bai Lin's aura abruptly changed!

He was no longer the quiet, delicate youth from before, but a general about to march onto the battlefield!

Without the slightest hesitation, Soul Power and the power of the Golden Dragon King bloodline within him roared into motion under Hei Lin's precise guidance!

Power surged like a rushing river, instantly flooding into both arms!

He raised his right arm high. The Thousand-Forged Heavy Silver Hammers traced an arc through the air that was both powerful and beautiful, carrying a deep whistle that tore through the air as they struck the center of the Heavy Silver ingot with flawless precision!

Clang—!

The first hammer fell!

The sound was no longer an ordinary metallic collision, but deep and resonant, like the tolling of a great bell!

A strange ripple in the air, visible to the naked eye, violently spread outward from the point of impact!

Then, before the lingering resonance had faded—

Ding! Ding!

Two shorter, sharper metallic tremors, as though layered atop each other, burst out immediately after it without warning, as distinct as drumbeats amid a violent storm!

Three hammer rings!

The Stacked Hammer Effect!

"Hammer Stacking?"

In the observation area, everyone except President Mu Chen cried out in shock almost at once, while his gaze remained unfathomably deep.

Their eyes widened instantly, their faces filled with utter disbelief!

As experienced forging masters, they understood only too well what Hammer Stacking represented!

It was the finest of Thousand Refinement effects!

One of the greatest special effects a forging hammer could possess!

It symbolized an almost perfect harmony between power transmission and vibration frequency!

This was not something one could obtain through hard practice alone. It required talent, insight, and a sliver of opportunity that could only be encountered, never sought!

A nine-year-old child not only possessed Thousand Refinement-grade forging hammers, but had also mastered the Stacked Hammer Effect?

This completely overturned everything they thought they knew!

Yet what shocked them was far from over!

The hammers' triple vibration seemed to ignite the engine within Bai Lin!