Forge for Me!

"Beep, beep—"

Tang Wulin had just finished his special training and collapsed onto his bed when the Soul Communicator on his wrist began to ring.

He had hardly used the device since receiving it. He was always either in class, training, or meditating, with practically no free time. Fortunately, the Soul Communicator consumed little energy. As a Soul Master, he only needed to nourish it with a little soul power now and then.

He raised his hand and glanced at the screen.

It was a number that wasn't in his contacts.

"Hello," Tang Wulin said as he answered.

"What are you doing?"

The voice from the other end was cold and clipped, with a familiar, oppressive edge. Tang Wulin sat bolt upright almost instantly.

"Teacher!"

It was Mang Tian on the other end.

"What's going on with you?" Mang Tian's voice betrayed neither anger nor pleasure. "An entire week, and there's been no progress on a Level Two assignment. Can't you even manage your time anymore?"

Tang Wulin's heart tightened, and he hurried to explain. "That's not it, Teacher. I've been training at the academy every day, on top of classes, and there's special training at night too. I really haven't been able to find a solid block of time. I was already planning to go to your Workshop tomorrow on our day off and get the sky dragon iron done first."

The other end went quiet for a moment.

Mang Tian asked, "You're this busy in your first year at the Intermediate Academy?"

"Yes." Tang Wulin quickly gave him a brief account of everything since his enrollment, covering Class Five, Physical Training Class, Wu Changkong, the Class Advancement Tournament, and the past week's Individual Training as concisely as he could.

As he spoke, the other three in the dorm