After running for a day and a night, the carriage finally reached the region where Gengxin City stood. All three people inside were meditating and cultivating.
Nourished by the life element fed back from Mu Changqing's Creation-Eye of Annihilation, Qian Duoduo and Bei Bei had both recovered their Soul Power to its peak.
The carriage passed through the checkpoint at Gengxin City's gates. Mu Changqing poked his head out and discovered that most of the blacksmith shops along the streets had already closed.
Half a year earlier, the Blacksmiths' Guild had issued an announcement that they would relocate to Shrek City in a year's time, while the small blacksmith workshops had already moved there ahead of them.
Gengxin City, the City of Steel with a legacy spanning ten thousand years, might gradually become a ghost town in the future, while Shrek City would become the continent's new City of Steel.
"This place was still pretty lively half a year ago."
Mu Changqing scratched his head and pulled it back into the carriage. He stood up and stretched. The carriage stopped outside the Blacksmiths' Guild's main entrance, and the three disembarked one after another.
"Big Brother! You're finally back! Na'er missed you to death!"
Dressed in a white skirt, Na'er dashed down the steps at the entrance, turning into a white blur as she threw herself into Mu Changqing's arms.
Mu Changqing stroked her head with a doting expression. He had been away for eight days on this trip, and every day, apart from cultivating, Na'er had kept watch beside the entrance, waiting for him to return.
Hand in hand, the two entered the Blacksmiths' Guild and headed toward their dormitory. Leaning against Mu Changqing, Na'er caught a familiar scent.
"Big Brother! What girl did you go and get involved with this time?"
Na'er frowned. She tilted her head, her expression briefly turning cold, and pinched the muscles of Mu Changqing's abdomen hard with both hands.
Mu Changqing felt as though the sky were about to collapse. He had never expected Na'er's sense of smell to be so keen.
"Old Qian, I've finished forging all the materials you need for the Class 9 Soul Tool."
Lou Gao's tall, broad figure stood outside the main entrance as he looked at Qian Duoduo with delight. Lou Gao had never imagined that he could actually forge high-grade Soul Tool materials.
"Impressive, Chairman Lou. You finished forging them so quickly."
Qian Duoduo had not expected Lou Gao's forging skills to be this good. He truly deserved to be called a Divine Blacksmith. Qian Duoduo had thought he would have to wait another two months for the high-grade materials to be ready.
"I'll take you to the forging room to have a look."
"Bei Bei, go back and study the Class 3 Soul Tool schematics first. Once I've assessed you in a little while, I'll get ready to make a push for Class 9 Soul Engineer!"
Qian Duoduo turned and gave these instructions to Bei Bei, who was following behind him.
Bei Bei listened quietly, nodding from time to time. He did not linger there, immediately returning to his dormitory.
For Bei Bei, the Class 3 Soul Engineer assessment should have been a breeze. If not for the restrictions imposed by his cultivation level, he would have become a Class 3 Soul Engineer long ago.
"Talk! How did you hook up with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?"
Mu Changqing was now pinned beneath Na'er. She wound around his body like a vine, her forehead pressed tightly against his.
Na'er spoke in the voice of a mature woman. Her second personality, Gu Yue, had temporarily taken her place, and her two silver dragon claws cupped Mu Changqing's face.
"That's a long story!"
Mu Changqing finally understood: Na'er was jealous. He immediately began explaining.
Mu Changqing recounted every detail of how he had met the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, from beginning to end, and also told her about encountering evil Soul Masters along the way.
"What?! That damned Tang San wants to scheme against the fortune of our Soul Beast race, and he wants to control you too!"
"Thank goodness the God King of Destruction was there. Those loathsome evil Soul Masters actually dared to hurt my Big Brother Changqing. They have courted death!"
Na'er immediately straightened up, planted both hands on her hips, and puffed out her cheeks, her face filled with indignation over Mu Changqing's ordeal.
"As long as you're all right! And since your threads of karma are now completely bound to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's, you'd better protect her properly!"
"If I find out you've let her suffer any grievances..."
In the end, Na'er did not voice any harsh threats. She turned her head aside and looked at Mu Changqing with a haughty expression. Her second personality fell asleep once more.
"Big Brother, are you all right?"
Na'er's voice turned soft and delicate. She had heard Gu Yue and Mu Changqing's conversation perfectly clearly.
Na'er felt all over Mu Changqing's body, only relaxing completely after confirming that he had no injuries.
"Big Brother, wherever you go from now on, you have to take me with you!"
Na'er was thankful that the evil Soul Masters Mu Changqing had encountered this time had not possessed very high cultivation. If anything had happened to him, she would have been heartbroken.
"All right. Wherever I go from now on, I'll take you with me."
Mu Changqing stroked Na'er's fair little face, and the two exchanged a faint smile. With Mu Changqing and Na'er together, even if they encountered great danger, they would at least have their Martial Soul Fusion Skill to get them out of trouble.
"Na'er, let's cultivate. I can feel the sixth Golden Dragon King seal inside me loosening!"
Ever since Mu Changqing's Genesis-Eye of Annihilation had connected with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Eye of Destiny, with the God King of Destruction's suppression added to that, the Golden Dragon King bloodline within Mu Changqing had become increasingly stable.
Mu Changqing no longer needed medicinal ingredients to break the seals. He could break them through his own body or with the help of Na'er's Silver Dragon King bloodline.
Mu Changqing and Na'er sat cross-legged facing each other, circulating the Soul Power within their bodies and fusing it together. Four purple-gold Soul Rings and one black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring circled around them.
The Silver Dragon King Martial Soul and Golden Dragon King Martial Soul let out dragon roars, the two Dragon Kings releasing waves of draconic might.
Bei Bei's dormitory was close to Mu Changqing's. At that moment, Bei Bei sat upright at his desk, holding down a Soul Tool blueprint with one hand while tinkering with a Soul Tool with the other.
"Again!"
Bei Bei's Holy Dragon of Light Martial Soul automatically manifested behind him, continuously consuming the power emanating from Mu Changqing's dormitory.
Whenever Mu Changqing and Na'er cultivated, Bei Bei's Holy Dragon of Light Martial Soul would emerge to absorb the power they released, as though it had a consciousness of its own.
Bei Bei had also tried to recall the Holy Dragon of Light with his thoughts, but it did not work, so he simply gave up.
Bei Bei continued tinkering with his Soul Tool. The phantom of the Holy Dragon of Light circled above his head, the platinum dragon scales covering its body constantly flashing with light.
The Dragon God had nine sons, and the Holy Dragon of Light's lineage came from the Light Dragon King. The power Mu Changqing and Na'er produced through their fusion was equivalent to power from the Dragon God. By absorbing their power over a long period, the Holy Dragon of Light might evolve into the Light Dragon King in the future.
The dragon race's Light Dragon King had long since fallen in the Dragon God War. That vacant position would go to whoever was capable enough to claim it.
Half a month quietly passed. Na'er and Bei Bei cultivated for half a month without taking a single step outside their dormitories.
The golden blood Qi around Mu Changqing surged incessantly. A gold-patterned Soul Ring suddenly appeared directly in front of him and merged into the ten-thousand-year Soul Ring. Mu Changqing's sixth seal was completely broken.
Miniature manifestations of a Tyrannosaurus, a Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear, and a Diamond Dragon Elephant stood behind Mu Changqing, their bodies emitting a faint golden light.
Na'er's cultivation had also reached Soul Elder, and her third black Soul Ring with gold patterns had condensed as well. Six identical Soul Rings flickered with light in the air.