Lou Er took the hammer from Mu Changqing, pulled another red-hot iron billet from the furnace, and demonstrated for them himself.
Lou Er raised the hammer, spread his legs, and drove from his waist, distributing his strength evenly throughout his limbs.
"Clang, clang, clang-"
Rhythmic hammering rang through the empty mining area. Each strike seemed to land on their hearts. Mu Changqing felt that Lou Er did not use much strength with any of his blows.
Lou Er seemed to exert little effort, yet every blow had just the right amount of force. This showed that he had considerable talent for forging.
"Did you understand the principle behind exerting force?"
Lou Er tossed the hammered billet into a bucket of water. The iron, which had been red all over, instantly turned pitch-black. Nearly ninety percent of it was free of impurities.
"A little, I guess!"
Bei Bei scratched his head, staring blankly at the shaped billet on the table. He had never expected even ordinary ironworking to be so complicated.
"You two have a lot of talent for forging! Mainly because you're so strong."
"Could you tell me your ages, Martial Souls, and cultivation levels so I can register you?"
Smiling, Lou Er took a notebook from his pocket and looked at the two little geniuses. They might be the only two children on the entire continent interested in forging.
"I'm nine this year! My Martial Soul is the Holy Dragon of Light, and I'm a rank twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster!"
Bei Bei spoke with confidence.
"What? Nine years old, rank twenty-eight?!"
Lou Er's hand trembled as he recorded the information. He had not expected the boy before him to have the Holy Dragon of Light as his Martial Soul.
Disbelief covered Lou Er's face. Many years ago, Shrek Academy had produced a Dragon God Douluo whose name had shaken the continent, and his Martial Soul had been the Holy Dragon of Light.
Since Bei Bei came from Shrek, could he be that man's descendant? Lou Er was only guessing.
"Nine years old, Golden Dragon Martial Soul, rank thirty-three Soul Elder!"
Mu Changqing left and walked toward Na'er, his steady voice still echoing behind him.
Lou Er froze. The pen in his hand fell to the floor, and he stared dazedly at the notebook in his other hand.
Today had truly overturned his understanding. He had never imagined their forging profession could attract the attention of such top-tier geniuses. They had really stumbled into a pile of dogshit luck.
"Big brother, let's go outside. It's too hot here."
Na'er squatted a short distance away, watching Mu Changqing approach with a fan raised in her hand.
The four did not linger in Room Two and headed for Room Three, where forged materials were mainly made into tools.
The four walked side by side once more and arrived in the Blacksmiths' Guild's main hall. The vast hall was deserted, with only a handful of merchants visiting.
The development of Soul Tools had dealt the forging profession a tremendous blow, but ten thousand years later, blacksmiths would enjoy boundless glory.
Qian Duoduo and Lou Yun came down from the third floor, chatting happily, with Fan Yu following silently behind them. Shrek Academy and the Blacksmiths' Guild had reached a deal.
The Blacksmiths' Guild would relocate to Shrek City in a year. Its membership was small, with fewer than sixty blacksmiths in total.
Qian Duoduo led Mu Changqing and the others out of the Blacksmiths' Guild. The five went to the inn and moved their belongings to the guild, where they would live for the coming year.
Half a year slipped quietly by. The people from Shrek Academy had been at the Blacksmiths' Guild for six months. Fan Yu had gathered all the materials for his Class Eight Soul Tool and passed the Class Eight Soul Engineer assessment, officially joining their ranks.
Qian Duoduo still lacked some materials for making a Class Nine Soul Tool, so he could not complete his assessment yet.
"Congratulations! After half a year of hard work, you've finally become junior blacksmiths!"
Holding two forging materials of different colors, Lou Er made a check mark in his notebook.
Lou Er had truly never expected both Bei Bei and Mu Changqing to be so talented at forging. He had really picked up a treasure.
"Big brother! Have some water!"
Na'er brought two bottles of water, tossed one to Bei Bei, and pressed the other into Mu Changqing's arms. Taking out a handkerchief, she stood on tiptoe to wipe the sweat from Mu Changqing's forehead.
For the past six months, apart from his daily cultivation, Mu Changqing had spent practically all his time here hammering iron. His control over his strength had risen another level.
Mu Changqing's cultivation had only risen by one rank. Slow advancement was also a good thing; his Soul Power foundation could be said to be very solid.
Bei Bei had broken through to Quasi-Soul Elder a month earlier but had not immediately gone to obtain a Soul Ring. Meanwhile, Na'er had reached rank twenty-six despite barely needing to cultivate each day.
"In a few days, the Blacksmiths' Guild will award you your junior blacksmith badges!"
Lou Er walked out of the assessment area with a smile.
"Bei Bei, go find Elder Qian and ask him to hunt your third Soul Ring for you!"
Mu Changqing moved his muscular body close to Bei Bei, and the two put their arms around each other. His body weighed down on Bei Bei, who was clearly struggling to bear it.
"I'm off!"
Bei Bei pulled free of Mu Changqing and strode out of the assessment area. He truly could not understand how Mu Changqing was growing so quickly. It was as though he had been raised on hormones.
"Big brother, let's go!"
Na'er linked her arm through Mu Changqing's and gazed at him tenderly. They also left, heading for the dormitory.
Mu Changqing knocked on Qian Duoduo's door, which opened automatically. Qian Duoduo sat upright at his desk, fiddling with a Soul Tool.
The three sat upright on the nearby sofa, watching Qian Duoduo.
"Elder Qian, I want to go obtain my third Soul Ring."
Bei Bei walked up to him and patted his shoulder.
"Let's go!"
Qian Duoduo stood, arranged the Soul Tools on his desk, and stretched. He had not been out and about for a long time either.
The four left the dormitory.
"Big brother, I won't come along. I'll go back to the dormitory to meditate and cultivate."
Na'er rose onto her tiptoes, planted a sweet kiss on Mu Changqing's cheek, and ran back to the dormitory, blushing.
Mu Changqing touched his cheek and followed behind Bei Bei in a daze. Bei Bei and Qian Duoduo snickered all the way.
The three traveled by carriage, gradually drawing away from the City of Steel. Their current location was some distance from the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Bei Bei, what kind of Soul Beast would you like for your third Soul Ring?"
Holding a Soul Beast encyclopedia, Qian Duoduo looked at Bei Bei opposite him. He had already turned to the page on lesser dragon Soul Beasts.
"A light-attribute lesser dragon would be best, followed by light-attribute Soul Beasts, then lesser dragon Soul Beasts."
Bei Bei rested his hands flat on his thighs, looking thoughtful. His first two Soul Rings had come from light-attribute lesser dragons, and he felt it would be best if all his future Soul Rings came from them as well.
Older light-attribute lesser dragons were even rarer than younger ones. For his third Soul Ring, Bei Bei could withstand an age of seven thousand years.
"Light-attribute lesser dragons become difficult to find beyond five thousand years! We'll do our best!"
Qian Duoduo kept searching through the Soul Beast encyclopedia in his hands.
"If possible, let's go with a Lightning Dragon Python! Although it hasn't reached the lesser dragon category yet, it has the bloodline of a light-attribute lesser dragon and is born with control over two elements!"
Qian Duoduo pointed out the Lightning Dragon Python in the book to Bei Bei.