Forging Was Easy!

After that, no more classmates at the Aolai City Junior Soul Master Academy dared to mock them.

The students who had once been arrogant and sharp-tongued seemed to have collectively lost their memories. Whenever they spotted the two from afar, they instinctively avoided them, unable to hide the wariness in their eyes.

The gloom surrounding Tang Wulin gradually faded, and the siblings' school life became particularly peaceful and uneventful.

They went to school together and returned home together every day, growing increasingly harmonious and close.

The setting sun dyed the long street red, stretching the two small figures walking side by side into long shadows.

On the way home from school, Tang Wulin turned her head toward Chen An, who was quietly walking beside her. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly spoke.

"Chen An, aside from school, I usually go to Uncle Mang Tian's Blacksmith Workshop to learn forging."

Chen An raised his eyes slightly, with just the right amount of innocent confusion in them. "Forging?"

"Mm."

Tang Wulin nodded earnestly, her tone sincere.

"Soul Master is our main profession, but a second profession is important too.

Blacksmiths are treated very well. Not only can forging temper your body and sharpen your mind, but it can also earn Federation coins to help support the household. It is a very dependable skill.

I see that you usually just quietly read by yourself. Do you want to come and give it a try with me?"

She truly regarded Chen An as her younger brother. She thought that teaching him another skill would be good; if the two of them worked hard together, things would surely keep getting better.

Chen An understood inwardly and nodded along. "Sure. I'll learn with you."

To him, forging was far more than merely a second profession for making a living.

For modern human Soul Masters, Battle Armor became increasingly important as they advanced. It was auxiliary equipment that allowed one to fight opponents above their level.

If he could learn forging, then crafting his own Battle Armor would be ideal.

And if the Roulette ever produced something related to it, that would be even better—a single move, multiple gains.

Seeing him agree, a bright smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face, and her steps became lighter. "Then I'll take you to see Uncle Mang Tian tomorrow!"

The next day, after classes ended, Tang Wulin took Chen An straight to Mang Tian's Blacksmith Workshop.

The workshop doors stood open. The air inside was filled with the warm scent of metal, while the lingering clangs of hammers striking metal echoed softly. All manner of forging stations and tools were arranged neatly, and every corner exuded an atmosphere of rigor and professionalism.

Mang Tian was lowering his head as he wiped down forging tools. Sensing footsteps, he looked up.

When his gaze fell upon Chen An, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The child before him was exceptionally thin, with a slight frame and a somewhat pale complexion. He looked so frail that a gust of wind seemed enough to knock him down, entirely lacking the physique needed to endure the rigors of forging.

"Wulin, who is this?" Mang Tian asked, his tone carrying a hint of confusion.

"Uncle Mang Tian, this is my brother, Chen An!"

Tang Wulin hurriedly introduced him, her tone earnest.

"He wants to learn forging with me. Please give him a chance!"

Mang Tian looked Chen An up and down, his eyes filled with obvious doubt, then slowly shook his head.

"I've heard about this child from your parents, but forging is hard physical labor. Swinging a hammer day after day to temper metal will probably be too difficult for him."

Tang Wulin hurriedly stepped forward and rushed to defend him.

"Uncle, Chen An is obedient and can endure hardship. He can do it! Please just give him one chance to take the test!"

Looking at Tang Wulin's pleading expression, Mang Tian pondered for a moment before finally relenting.

He did not want to disappoint the child's heartfelt enthusiasm.

"Very well."

Mang Tian raised a hand and pointed toward the standard testing forge in the corner of the workshop. A specialized metal test block stood on it, with a precise soul power counting device connected at the side.

"When I accepted you as my apprentice, it was also based on a real hammering test. The rules are the same. Let him try."

"Do you see this round metal block?"

Mang Tian picked up a lightweight forging hammer and handed it to Chen An, his voice steady and stern.

"Strike it five hundred times with each hand, for a total of one thousand strikes.

Remember, simply swinging the hammer does not count. Every strike must reach the required force threshold before the device will register it. Weak, perfunctory blows are completely invalid.

If you can complete all one thousand strikes, I'll accept you as my apprentice."

This entrance test was never meant for children. It was basically impossible for Chen An to complete it.

Given Tang Wulin's precedent, Mang Tian merely wanted to see this child's determination and limits. Surely there could not be another child born with divine strength, could there?

"I'll do my best, Uncle Mang Tian."

Chen An obediently accepted the forging hammer, nodding lightly with a serious expression.

The hammer felt quite heavy in his hand. For an ordinary six-year-old child, it was truly a considerable weight.

Tang Wulin immediately encouraged Chen An from the side, her gaze firm. "Don't be afraid, little brother. Just do your best! I need to continue practicing too. Good luck!"

With that, Tang Wulin walked to a forging station on the other side, skillfully gripped her forging hammer, settled her mind, and began her daily routine of hammering.

Chen An stood where he was, silently looking at the hammer in his hand as a trace of understanding flashed through his eyes.

He knew very well that he did not possess Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King physical foundation.

If he relied purely on brute physical strength, then with the limits of this frail six-year-old body, he would be exhausted after a few hundred strikes, let alone one thousand standard blows.

But he had never needed to compete through brute force.

Chen An focused slightly in his palm, and an extremely subtle Ripple, so faint it was nearly nonexistent, quietly curled around the hammer without leaking the slightest aura.

Mang Tian's attention was on Tang Wulin. By the time he looked over, Chen An had already begun hammering.

Ripple was not a brute-force enhancement, but rather an exceptionally precise method of channeling and dispersing force.

With that barely perceptible Ripple, the hammer's weight was deftly distributed. The force of every blow landed precisely at the optimal threshold for the test—not a fraction more, not a fraction less—perfectly meeting the device's counting requirements.

Once he was ready, Chen An drew a deep breath and instantly entered the zone.

He deliberately tensed his small body, slightly furrowing his brows as his shoulders trembled gently with every swing.

He intentionally made his breathing sound somewhat hurried, perfectly acting out the strenuous appearance of a child exerting himself with all his might and gritting his teeth to persevere.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull, regular hammer blows rang out one after another, the rhythm steady and the force up to standard.

The numbers on the counting device steadily ticked upward: one, ten, one hundred...

From the outside, every swing Chen An made appeared especially laborious. Fine beads of sweat gradually formed on his forehead.

His little face was flushed faintly red, his arms trembling slightly with soreness. He gritted his teeth throughout, displaying all the resilience and strain expected of a child.

Yet only Chen An knew that his body had not truly been overdrawn. All his exhaustion was carefully feigned.

Ripple steadily supported the hammer, allowing every strike to meet the standard with precision and without any wasted effort.

Time slowly passed. After a full hour, Mang Tian's eyes had gone from skeptical to unevenly wide.

This child was different from Tang Wulin. Mang Tian watched Chen An's frail body with bated breath, terrified that he would collapse from exhaustion after the next strike.

Originally, he had thought that as long as Chen An did not give up on the idea of forging, he could let him try.

But as the strike count surpassed five hundred, he recalled how Tang Wulin had casually completed the set number in half an hour. He had still not prepared himself enough.

Now, this newly acquired child dragged along a body that looked too weak to withstand the wind. He was slower, but he was still breaking through Mang Tian's understanding.

Where did they catch another magical creature like this? Mang Tian inwardly complained to the child's parents.