Mu Xi had stood off to the side the whole time, watching coldly.
Of course she refused to accept it.
This boy was younger than her and had only recently arrived in Eastsea City, yet he had already drawn her father's and Grandmaster Cen Yue's attention time and again. Now he had even come in the dead of night and asked outright to take the Level Three Blacksmith assessment.
Level three.
That required Thousand Refinement.
But however unwilling she was to accept it, Mu Xi had to admit that the composure Tang Wulin displayed now was indeed steadier than her own.
Had she been taking the level three assessment under these circumstances, she could never have settled her breathing and mind to this degree in just twenty minutes.
Thousand Refinement and Hundred Refinement were fundamentally different concepts.
Hundred Refinement purified metal, removed impurities, and made it better.
Thousand Refinement imbued it with soul.
Without truly understanding the metal, without truly making one's own will resonate with it, no amount of strength or hammer blows amounted to anything more than brute force.
The Evaluator looked at Tang Wulin and said solemnly, "The Level Three Blacksmith assessment has only one requirement: Thousand Refinement. You may choose any metal to perform Thousand Refinement on. The degree of completion and the difficulty of forging your chosen metal will both determine your final evaluation."
"Yes."
Tang Wulin answered respectfully, then turned and approached the metal rack nearby.
The assessment.
I have to pass.
His gaze swept over the metal rack just once before settling on a piece of heavy silver.
Then he lifted that piece of heavy silver down.
Of all the rare metals, heavy silver was the one he knew best.
Heavy silver was also the first metal on which he had completed Thousand