Chaos Erupts

Mu En's furious roar made the entire Sea God's Pavilion hum.

Dust sifted from the roof, the window frames trembled, and the teacups on the table rattled.

Yan Shaozhe hurried to steady him, afraid he might get so worked up that he passed out. He patted Mu En's back to help him catch his breath and tried to calm him down.

"Teacher, please calm down! Your health comes first. Don't make yourself ill with anger! That bastard Xuan Zi can wait until he gets back. We'll deal with him then!"

Ma Xiaotao stood to one side, utterly baffled by Mu En's rage. She had no idea what had happened.

All she wanted was a student who could help put out her fire. How had that made the old man this angry?

She asked cautiously, "Teacher, what happened? Is there something wrong with that student? Did he get expelled for doing something bad?"

Mu En took one deep breath, then another. Only after several more did he barely manage to suppress his anger. Even so, his blood pressure kept surging, his temples throbbed, and he felt as though a blood vessel in his head might burst.

He waved a hand, weariness and helplessness in his voice.

"Xiaotao, go back for now. We'll talk about this another time. That student... He isn't at Shrek anymore. Don't bring him up again. Just pretend you never met him."

Ma Xiaotao froze. Then her expression changed in an instant.

"He's gone?!"

Her eyes widened and reddened, and she breathed like an enraged bull. Wisps of black flame began to rise from her body.

The flames burned so fiercely that the air around her warped. Scorched marks appeared on the floor.

She had finally found someone who could put out her fire, and now he was gone?

Who was supposed to help her from now on?!

The thought that she might never feel that relief again stirred the Evil Fire inside her. It raged through her body as though it were about to break free of its seal.

The black flames around her grew stronger. She was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, radiating a terrifying aura as the temperature throughout Sea God's Pavilion soared.

Feeling the heat, Yan Shaozhe hurried back several steps. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and soaked through his clothes.

He knew Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire was slipping out of control again.

If they did not find a solution soon, the consequences would be unthinkable. She might burn down all of Sea God's Pavilion.

Mu En watched her teeter on the brink of losing control and felt dizzy. His blood pressure shot up again, and sparks danced before his eyes.

He pressed a hand to his forehead and slumped against his chair, feeling as though these troublesome juniors would be the death of him. If he had known, he would never have taken on this mess.

While chaos reigned at Shrek, things were no calmer in the Sun Moon Empire. Zhi An was about to explode with anger!

He had written a set of forging notes by hand, detailing the properties of various metals, their smelting temperatures, forging techniques, and methods for crafting Soul Tool cores.

He had laid everything out so clearly that he might as well have chewed Xiao Hongchen's food and fed it to him.

Yet that idiot Xiao Hongchen had made no use whatsoever of the Three-Legged Golden Toad's affinity for metal.

Xiao Hongchen knew he had an innate feel for metal and could distinguish the quality and properties of different kinds, but he had never taken it further.

He had never explored that ability or asked himself why he had it.

Nor had he tried using it to improve his forging.

As a result, the ability remained completely undeveloped—nothing more than an instinct. It was like knowing how to breathe without ever wondering how breathing worked.

All Xiao Hongchen thought about was Soul Tools. Apart from studying their structures and principles, he cared about nothing else. He was a Soul Tool fanatic who knew next to nothing about forging.

And that had led to this.

Meng Hongchen clung to Zhi An's waist, her arms locked around him like iron bands. Hanging off him with all her weight, she dragged him backward as hard as she could. Her face flushed red, veins bulged on her forehead, and she strained with every ounce of strength she had.

Zhi An gripped a sword and tried furiously to chase Xiao Hongchen down. His glare was savage enough to devour someone, and he radiated murderous intent as though he meant to cut Xiao Hongchen to pieces.

Xiao Hongchen sprinted for the director's office, shrieking all the way like a pig being slaughtered. Tears nearly spilled from his eyes.

"Grandpa, save me! Grandpa! Zhi An's going to kill me! He's going to kill me! Come save me, or you'll never see your beloved grandson again!"

Zhi An struggled against Meng Hongchen's grip and roared.

"Meng, let go! If I don't slash him today, my resolve might crumble! Just let me hit him once with the sword. Once! I promise I won't kill him! I'll only leave him half-dead so he learns his lesson!"

The students passing by stared in shock, mouths agape and eyes wide, as though they had witnessed something impossible.

"Holy shit! Was that white-haired guy who just ran past Xiao Hongchen? I'm not seeing things, am I?"

"Someone's actually chasing him down with a sword? The sun must've risen in the west!"

"Breaking news! Xiao Hongchen, the director's grandson himself, has been chased at swordpoint from one end of the Sun Moon Empire to the other and back again! Come watch—it's all real!"

"Who's that kid with the sword? He's fierce! He actually dares chase Xiao Hongchen? Isn't he afraid the director will retaliate?"

"You don't get it. That's Zhi An. They say he comes from some reclusive family. Even the director treats him politely. Xiao Hongchen barely dares breathe in front of him."

"Well, well. Never thought I'd see Xiao Hongchen like this. What a satisfying sight! Serves him right for being so arrogant. Let's see if he still dares to show off!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Jing Hongchen frowned and stepped out of his office. Xiao Hongchen scrambled toward him and ducked behind his back, trembling.

Jing Hongchen sighed at his grandson's sorry state and asked helplessly.

"Xiao, how did you make him angry again? Didn't I tell you to learn from him properly? What have you done this time?"

He was worried that whoever stood behind Zhi An might show up. Jing Hongchen was only a Level Nine Soul Engineer, and he doubted he could handle that.

Meng Hongchen still held Zhi An back, but he shouted furiously.

"He deserves a beating! Thousand Refinement—even just Thousand Refinement—can increase a Soul Tool's power by thirty percent!"

"And this idiot told me he's never used his talent for sensing metal! Not once! Tell me he doesn't deserve a beating!"

Jing Hongchen was still completely lost. He had no idea what Thousand Refinement meant. He turned to Xiao Hongchen and asked.

"What's Thousand Refinement? What have you gotten yourself into now?"

Zhi An glared at Xiao Hongchen. "Show the director already! Let him see what you've done!"

Xiao Hongchen shuddered, then hurriedly took the forging notes from his Storage Soul Tool and handed them to Jing Hongchen with both hands.

The notes did not cover much—only up to Thousand Refinement—but their contents were astonishing enough.

Jing Hongchen took the notes and began reading. The further he got, the graver his expression became and the wider his eyes grew. By the end, his hands were trembling slightly.

When he finished, he fell silent for a moment. Then he looked up at Xiao Hongchen as though he were looking at someone who had thrown away a fortune.

Without a word, Jing Hongchen pulled a length of rope from his Storage Soul Tool and swiftly bound Xiao Hongchen into a cocoon, tight enough that he could not move.

He dusted off his hands and said to Zhi An.

"Go ahead. Just leave him breathing. Don't kill him—I still need this wretch to look after me in my old age and bury me when I die."