Complementing Each Other

"Dad, who is he? How can he be so good-looking?" In the end, Mu Xi could not hold back and was the first to break the silence.

The girl's eyes shone as she stared straight at Li Qingyue, a tangle of emotions churning in her gaze.

It was the first time she had seen such a handsome, refined young man.

She had not mistaken Li Qingyue for a girl, as most people did.

His bearing was enough to make that much clear.

But only someone observant enough could see what truly set Li Qingyue apart.

Mu Chen, listening to Mu Xi, looked rather helpless.

"This is a prospective disciple I'm assessing. If he passes, I'll formally take him as my disciple once the assessment is over."

Mu Chen sighed. When it came to Mu Xi, he truly had no way of dealing with her.

If anyone else had barged into his courtyard and interrupted him while he was taking on a disciple, he would have scolded them.

But this was Mu Xi, his own daughter. He could do nothing about her.

A father who doted on his daughter to a fault, he simply could not bring himself to stop her.

"All right, my little princess, enough of that."

"Your dad is testing him right now. We can talk once it's over."

Mu Chen's voice was full of resignation.

Mu Xi rolled her eyes at her father again, then moved close to Li Qingyue.

She studied him from nearby, watching his every move.

Usually, when someone got this close to a handsome man or beautiful woman, every flaw on their face—even enlarged pores—became visible enough to ruin the effect.

Yet despite how close Mu Xi stood, she could not find a single flaw on the young man's face.

She examined him curiously, even tempted to reach out and pinch his cheek.

But before she could, the young man raised his hand and gave her forehead a light flick.

It was not a hard flick, but Mu Xi gave a sharp hiss and dropped onto her backside.

Rubbing her head, she glared at Li Qingyue.

Yet when she met his gentle gaze, her mouth opened and closed without a single harsh word coming out.

Li Qingyue, however, had no wish to waste any more time on her.

He calmly raised his hand and glanced at the piece of metal before him.

Before he had awakened God-Level Forging Mastery, he had looked at this metal in utter confusion.

He had known neither what it was nor the changes and forces hidden within it.

Now that he possessed God-Level Forging Mastery, looking at it again felt like seeing everything it contained.

None of its internal changes or peculiarities escaped his perception.

The sheer shift in his senses made Li Qingyue's eyes gleam.

He did not wait for Mu Chen to speak before raising his arm.

His first hammer blow struck the metal heavily, and a clear metallic ring rang out.

Then came a second, followed by a third bright chime.

As the ringing continued, Li Qingyue's eyes grew brighter, and his understanding of the metal climbed another level.

He lifted his hand slightly, and a pale red flame slowly appeared in his palm.

When he pressed the flame against the metal, the entire piece grew hot, its substance gradually taking on a denser quality.

The change was tiny, but it worked wonders on the metal's structure and the removal of its impurities.

Mu Chen's expression turned decidedly strange.

A moment ago, he had been somewhat exasperated. Anyone whose attempt to take on a disciple was interrupted like this would have felt the same.

But the moment the flame appeared and the young man began forging with that striking rhythm, Mu Chen's expression changed completely.

The resignation in his eyes gave way to amazement—deep amazement.

He had never seen such astonishing forging skill or technique.

More than that, he could clearly sense the impurities in the metal diminishing, and doing so at remarkable speed.

His curiosity gradually turned to shock. In the end, all he could do was draw in a quiet breath.

By then, Li Qingyue had finished the initial forging.

As he lowered his hand, the phantom phoenix behind him slowly vanished as well.

He had not summoned his Phoenix Martial Soul outright. He had drawn on only part of its power—or rather, on the true Ultimate Fire.

Even so, the strength it displayed left Mu Chen genuinely stunned.

It was too early to say how the later stages would go, but Li Qingyue should have little trouble completing the early steps of forging. They would likely be far easier for him than for most people.

Sensing the changes within himself—his differences from ordinary people—Li Qingyue grew thoughtful.

If the inheritance I carry from Yaoshi represents the highest summit of my future...

It contains a complete path to becoming an Aeon, and a future beyond anything ordinary people can imagine.

Then my Reignbow Arbiter Martial Soul represents a restraint—a limit.

It keeps me from losing myself completely on the path of Abundance and becoming a madman. It protects my reason and prevents me from falling beyond recall.

It is also a safeguard.

The Reignbow Arbiter's power of slaughter is terrifying in its own right, even if I haven't received Lan's complete inheritance.

Simply possessing this body, with its potential to become an Aeon, is terrifying enough.

And beyond those two, my Phoenix Martial Soul can help me enormously, both in refining pills and in forging.

Early on, it can bring me countless resources and support.

The three Martial Souls complemented one another in three different ways. Their combination was nearly perfect.

With that thought, Li Qingyue gazed quietly at the pale red flame in his hand.

Mu Chen stepped forward and gently patted Li Qingyue's shoulder, a rare hint of approval in his eyes.

"Your Martial Soul is quite unusual. I can sense an incredibly terrifying power within it.

"And beyond that Martial Soul, I can sense another kind of talent in you.

"That rhythmic cadence isn't something an ordinary Soul Master could produce. The fact that you can do it proves how exceptional your talent is."

Mu Chen considered this, hesitation in his eyes.

But the talent the young man had shown far surpassed that of all his disciples. Among every disciple he had seen, not one had possessed talent like this.

After hesitating for a long while, Mu Chen finally raised his hand.

A translucent blue ring appeared in his palm, and he handed it to Li Qingyue.

"Consider this ring a token from your master.

"With it, you'll find this sort of thing much easier to handle.

"And if you press the gem on the ring, I'll sense it no matter how far away you are."

Mu Chen looked conflicted as he spoke. The ring was extremely precious, and he had originally meant to leave it to his daughter.

But Li Qingyue's performance had been so outstanding that Mu Chen had ultimately decided to give it to him.

"From today onward, you are my disciple—and my last, my Final Disciple.

"You will inherit everything I know of forging. So long as you do not betray me, I am willing to teach you all that I have to pass down."