You're Showing Off, Aren't You?

When Tang Wulin walked out of the Blacksmith Association, his steps were much lighter than when he had arrived.

He couldn't suppress the delight on his face.

It wasn't because Cen Yue and the evaluator had both agreed that he already met the standard of a Level Two Blacksmith. What truly lit up his heart was that the association had bought the heavy silver knee joint component outright and paid him ten thousand Federation Credits on the spot.

Ten thousand.

When he carefully tucked away that hefty stack of money, his palms were warm.

He had studied forging under Mang Tian in Aolai City, taken jobs, and saved money. He knew how hard it was to earn a living. But today's ten thousand felt solid and real—it wasn't a handout or charity. He had hammered it out, blow by blow.

So forging rare metals really could earn him this much.

Before he left, Cen Yue had specifically reminded him to come back in two days to collect his official blacksmith badge. Then he could register to take on basic jobs suited to a Level Two Blacksmith.

At that thought, much of Tang Wulin's unease and sense of being a stranger in Eastsea City suddenly faded.

At least he wasn't completely without a foothold here.

After returning to his office, Cen Yue stood silently beside his desk for a while before finally making a call on his Soul Communicator.

The call connected quickly.

"Hm?" came Mang Tian's usual indifferent voice from the other end.

"Where did you dig up a treasure like this?" Cen Yue's tone was anything but calm from his very first words.

There was a pause on the other end.

"Speak plainly."

"I'm talking about that disciple of yours," Cen Yue said irritably. "Nine years old. Level two. He passed both heavy silver purification and medium-sized component forging, and his technique was so steady it was absurd. Mang Tian, don't tell me you had no idea."

The other end fell silent for two seconds.

Only then did Mang Tian reply blandly:

"Not bad."

"Not bad?" Cen Yue almost laughed in exasperation. "Do you know how long it's been since I've seen a nine-year-old Level Two Blacksmith here? And that child's foundations are far beyond merely solid. How did you teach him?"

"The way he ought to be taught," Mang Tian said. "He's willing to practice and endure hardship."

Cen Yue frowned as he listened.

"Spare me that. Plenty of children are willing to practice and endure hardship. How many reach this level? I've watched your disciple. His hands are steady, his ear is precise, and his mind is calm. At nine, he can rein in the rhythm beneath his hammer like that. Hard work alone can't buy that."

Mang Tian said nothing.

The more Cen Yue spoke, the more aggrieved he felt.

"Name your terms. Let me have the boy. You spend all your time in a little place like Aolai City. How much can you show him there? Put him with me, let me guide him for a few years, and perhaps—"

"In your dreams."

Mang Tian finally cut him off.

His tone wasn't forceful, but his refusal was decisive.

Cen Yue choked, then gave a cold laugh.

"You deliberately sent him to me to show off, didn't you?"

This time, Mang Tian answered quickly.

"Yes."

The other end of the call went quiet for half a moment.

Then Cen Yue laughed outright in exasperation.

"You're not even pretending."

"Pretending what?" Mang Tian said blandly. "I'm the one who taught him."

"Get lost," Cen Yue cursed. "Keep him under your wing forever if you're so capable. Once he's famous, we'll see how you keep hiding him."

"That's for later," Mang Tian said. "I'm hanging up now."

"Hey—"

The call ended.

Cen Yue stood there holding his Soul Communicator for a long while before finally muttering a curse:

"That bastard."

Just then, a young man in his twenties knocked and entered.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me—"

"What level are you this year?" Cen Yue turned and asked immediately.

The young man froze.

"I-I'm still working toward level three..."

"Working toward level three, working toward level three. So you do remember you're working toward level three?" The longer Cen Yue looked at him, the more displeased he became. "How many years have you studied under me? How far have you trained your ear? You can strike off target twice while purifying a single piece of blue-patterned steel, and you still have the nerve to say you're working toward level three?"

The young man was utterly bewildered by the barrage of scolding. He had no idea how he had offended his teacher and could only lower his head and endure it.

Meanwhile, back at Eastsea Academy, Tang Wulin naturally had no idea that his teacher had just used him for a thoroughly satisfying round of "showing off."

It was nearly evening when he returned to the Academy dormitory.

Xie Xie was lying on his bed. Much of the swelling on his face had gone down, but the bruises remained, making it clear that he hadn't fully recovered.

Tang Wulin didn't beat around the bush. He walked over and held out the stack of money.

"Here."

Xie Xie raised his eyes but didn't take it.

"What's this supposed to mean?"

"The compensation money," Tang Wulin said. "You paid it up front. I'll give you ten thousand now and the rest in a couple of days."

Only then did Xie Xie sit up. He looked at the money in Tang Wulin's hand, then at Tang Wulin himself, something new entering his gaze.

"You went out just to get this?"

"Yes."

"Where did you get the money?"

"Forging," Tang Wulin answered directly. "I went to the association for an assessment today, forged a heavy silver component, and they bought it."

Xie Xie froze for a moment.

Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi, up on the upper bunks, had heard too. They exchanged a glance, their expressions changing at the same time.

"You went to the Blacksmith Association?" Yun Xiao was the first to poke his head out. "And you forged a heavy silver component?"

Tang Wulin nodded.

"I passed level one, and level two as well."

He wasn't deliberately boasting when he said it. He was simply stating the facts. Yet that very plainness gave those undeniable facts even greater weight.

Yun Xiao's glasses slipped down a little.

"You're a blacksmith too?"

Tang Wulin thought for a moment, then corrected him. "A level two now."

Zhou Changxi sat on his bed without speaking for a long while.

Suddenly, he felt that the fellow he had dismissed as a country boy when he first entered their dormitory was downright uncanny.

He was strong, ate a lot, fought fiercely, and could produce ten thousand Federation Credits to repay a debt on his first day at the Academy. Now he was telling them he was a Level Two Blacksmith too.

This was no longer a matter of being "pretty impressive."

He simply didn't seem like a normal nine-year-old child.

Xie Xie finally took the stack of money, though he was still frowning.

"Are you sure you aren't showing off?"

Tang Wulin paused.

"Showing off what?"

"That you can fight, eat, and earn money," Xie Xie said coldly. "And now you're a Level Two Blacksmith on top of it."

Tang Wulin looked at him and gave it some serious thought.

"That wasn't what I meant," he said. "I just owe you money and don't want to keep putting off paying it back."

Xie Xie stared at him for two seconds, then gave a cold snort. In the end, he said nothing more and simply tossed the money beside his pillow.

"Fine. Remember the rest. Come with me after school tomorrow."

"All right," Tang Wulin answered promptly.

Yun Xiao couldn't help interjecting, "You're going to fight again?"

"That's between him and me," Xie Xie said indifferently.

Tang Wulin didn't deny it either.

Today's fight had been chaotic and rushed, with many things left unsettled. He knew that if the dormitory hadn't been so cramped, and if Xie Xie hadn't taken a hammer blow from him first, there was no telling who would have won.

He understood that perfectly well.

Once he had paid back the money, Tang Wulin felt considerably lighter.

He climbed onto his bed, sat cross-legged, and soon sank into meditation.

The fight that day hadn't left him empty-handed.

Quite the opposite. He had gained a great deal.

It was his first true battle as a Soul Master, and the first time he had actually used the Star-Sinking Hammer's Soul Skill in combat. Before, most of his practice had been in forging, and his martial soul had felt more like a force held within his body. But while fighting Xie Xie today, he had clearly felt for the first time that Soul Masters and blacksmiths didn't apply force in the same way.

The Star-Sinking Hammer's weight was his foundation.

But how to put that weight to use, how to make that hammer blow land exactly where it should—there was still much for him to learn.

Xie Xie was also lying on his lower bunk, without entering meditation.

His eyes were closed, but the day's fight kept replaying in his mind.

Tang Wulin's soul power wasn't particularly high, and his Soul Ring was only white, yet that hammer was strangely heavy. The instant his first Soul Skill bore down, even Xie Xie's steps had slowed by half a beat. What baffled him even more was that the fellow clearly hadn't learned any real combat techniques, yet his physical responses were remarkably solid. He could take a beating, and his strength was outrageous.

He was nothing like an ordinary one-ring Tool Soul Master.

Especially that punch.

At the thought, Xie Xie touched the lingering swelling on his face, and his eyes grew cold again.

Tomorrow, this fight couldn't be another wild scramble.

He had to reclaim his pride.

After dinner, Tang Wulin meditated again.

He had always firmly believed that diligence could make up for shortcomings. Whether it was his martial soul, soul power, or even forging, he had never thought he could go far effortlessly on a moment's luck or a little talent.

Steady progress still depended on effort accumulated day after day.

Early the next morning, Tang Wulin woke as the first ray of daylight shone into the dormitory.

After a night of meditation, he felt thoroughly refreshed, and the soul power within him flowed a little more smoothly than yesterday. After gaining his first ring, his soul power did grow faster than before, but he could also feel that the further he went, the more he would need to pour into it.

Just as he sat up in bed, Xie Xie opened his eyes on the opposite lower bunk.

Their eyes met, and neither spoke.

Xie Xie's gaze was still cold.

Tang Wulin seemed not to want to bother with him at all. He climbed down, took his toiletries, and went straight off to wash.

In his eyes, Xie Xie was still not an easy person to get along with. Even paying the compensation up front for him yesterday hadn't changed that impression all at once. After all, the prejudice formed at first sight could sometimes be difficult to dispel.

Once he had finished washing, only one important thing remained on Tang Wulin's mind.

Breakfast.

He was up early, and there were still few people in the cafeteria. Breakfast was divided into A, B, and C options as before. Without a second thought, Tang Wulin went straight to the C Cafeteria Window.

Bread, eggs, sausages, milk, and vegetables—the C Cafeteria Meal was even more plentiful than he had expected.

He quickly filled a large plate, found a corner, and stood there eating.

The cook serving the food had already remembered him from yesterday. Seeing him now, he couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.

He still remembered the spectacle of those eighty steamed buns yesterday.

Sure enough, Tang Wulin ate with the same earnestness and concentration as before, as though what lay before him wasn't breakfast but some great undertaking that demanded his full attention.

Before long, Xie Xie entered the cafeteria too.

He glanced at Tang Wulin, then went straight to the A cafeteria window.

The food he brought out didn't look much different from the C Cafeteria Meal, but anyone who knew a little about it could tell that many of the ingredients were different. The milk wasn't ordinary cow's milk, and the meat and eggs clearly came from better-quality farm-raised soul beasts. Both nutrition and cost were considerably higher.

Tang Wulin noticed, of course.

But he only glanced at it before returning his attention to the plate in front of him.

To him, there was really only one major difference between the A Cafeteria Meal, B Cafeteria Meal, and C Cafeteria Meal—

The C Cafeteria Meal was free.

As for anything else, he wasn't yet in a position to be choosy.

As time passed, more and more people entered the cafeteria. Many students who had witnessed yesterday's "steamed bun battle" looked his way as soon as they entered, then whispered a few words to the people beside them.

Tang Wulin didn't know that he had already acquired a nickname before classes had even officially begun.

The bottomless barrel.

And it was spreading fast.

He remained entirely unaware, simply finishing the large plate of breakfast before him at an unhurried pace. Only after going back for another helping did he finally feel he had eaten enough.

With his stomach full, his mood improved noticeably.

Today marked the official start of Eastsea Academy's new term.

The opening ceremony would take place that morning.