Mission 2: Seize Tang San's opportunity and prevent him from obtaining the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances. Mission reward: spiritual realm +1 Mission 3: The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well nurtures hidden treasures. Discover it before Tang San and obtain one hundred-thousand-year spirit herb from within. Mission reward: basic profession level +1
They were still Douluo I missions. The good news was that their number had increased to a full three.
The easiest was still the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, which was currently still under the Tang Sect's control.
Although exchanging for access required an astronomical number of points, if Yan Qing threw himself into taking missions later, he would eventually have a chance of completing it through steady accumulation.
Replacing Ma Hongjun was a bit far-fetched. Shrek Academy was still a hundred and eight thousand miles away.
The most absurd was still seizing Tang San's External Soul Bone.
Previously, he could rely on the Hall of Heroic Souls' projection to defeat the young Tang San.
A Soul Bone was a physical object. Surely he couldn't strip a Soul Bone off a phantom.
Having more or less finished checking his gains, Yan Qing repeated his old trick and pole-vaulted out of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
At least this trip hadn't been wasted.
As for Grandmaster's theoretical core...
Frankly, it was worth only a little more than toilet paper. Yan Qing couldn't even be bothered to dig it up.
On his way back, Yan Qing suddenly remembered that the beginner gift package had also rewarded him with a world map.
He reopened the system panel, which contained detailed instructions for its use.
[World map: Obtain two miniature portals, which can be placed in any region on the map. Travel is possible between the portals. Cooldown: one day.]
It was practically a divine artifact tailor-made for him. With this map, he could place one portal on the Star Luo Continent and the other in the Douluo Federation.
He could travel directly between the two continents and get close to Tang Wulin.
The Star Luo Empire's territory was simply too small, and there was little knowledge at the Star Luo Empire Royal Soul Master Academy that could improve his abilities.
Most importantly, Dai Yun'er wasn't at that academy.
Having made up his mind, Yan Qing headed straight for the Tang Sect headquarters in the Star Luo Empire.
"What? You're going back to the Douluo Federation?"
Hu Jie was somewhat surprised.
"Did your parents arrange this? Besides, crossing the ocean is no small matter."
Yan Qing fabricated a training mission and had come specifically to bid Hu Jie farewell today.
After hearing Yan Qing's plans, Hu Jie knew he couldn't dissuade him, so he completed the relevant paperwork and documentation for him.
Having gathered all the essential documents for living in the Federation, Yan Qing prepared to depart.
He unfolded the world map. Occupying its center was the Sun Moon Continent, also known as the Douluo Federation.
The Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling lay to the right of the Douluo Federation. The stretch of ocean between them alone was several times as wide as the Star Luo Empire.
If he actually swam across, who knew what year of the monkey and month of the horse he would arrive in.
Checking the date, Tang Wulin was nine this year, which meant he had just started at Eastsea Academy.
Yan Qing searched along the Federation's coast and finally found Eastsea City.
Another problem arose. On the map provided by the system, the smallest labeled locations were cities. After expanding Eastsea City, none of the individual buildings had names.
After a moment's thought, Yan Qing gritted his teeth and selected one of the largest buildings. At least it was better than teleporting straight into the sea.
After a bout of dizzying spinning, Yan Qing opened his eyes.
What greeted him was a girl with long golden hair tied in a simple ponytail, with an orange-red bunny-ear bow adorning the top of her head.
Barely ten centimeters separated them, and warm breath washed over his face.
The girl quickly stepped back twice, a faint blush rising on her face.
"You... who are you? How did you appear here like that?"
Yan Qing's brain froze too, but he quickly recovered.
The girl before him was none other than Mu Xi, the daughter of the president of the Eastsea Blacksmith Association.
He had come straight into the Blacksmith Association headquarters-and teleported right into Mu Xi's face.
"My apologies. I came to take the second-rank blacksmith assessment. In my eagerness, I accidentally bumped into you. Please forgive me."
Although Yan Qing was perfectly courteous, Mu Xi was still somewhat puzzled.
She distinctly remembered this person appearing directly beside her.
Had she really seen it wrong?
Moreover, the boy before her was only eight or nine, yet he was also here to take the second-rank blacksmith assessment.
Tang Wulin had only just appeared, and now there was another one. Since when had second-rank blacksmiths become so cheap?
Just then, footsteps sounded, and a middle-aged man in silver-gray robes emerged from behind them, stopping before the pair.
The man was Mu Xi's father, the Saint Craftsman Mu Chen.
Mu Xi promptly explained in a low voice to Mu Chen that Yan Qing wanted to take the assessment.
"Since you're here for an assessment, come with me."
Having witnessed Tang Wulin's miracle, Mu Chen dared not underestimate blacksmiths of any age.
When he saw Yan Qing write eight in the age field on the form, Mu Chen was even more inwardly startled. He was a year younger than Tang Wulin.
Was the blacksmithing world truly about to enter an era of explosive talent?
Despite his shock, he decided to act as Yan Qing's evaluator personally.
For the sake of thoroughness, he still asked:
"Yan Qing, your identification shows that you haven't taken any blacksmith assessments."
"Are you sure you're applying for second-rank blacksmith rather than first-rank?"
"I'm sure."
Yan Qing revealed a set of white teeth and nodded in confirmation.
He had originally wanted to take the third-rank blacksmith assessment directly, but had abandoned that idea as part of his plan to hide his brilliance and bide his time.
Before long, Yan Qing followed Mu Chen into Testing Room One.
Mu Chen pointed at the fifteen types of rare metal before them and told Yan Qing:
"Choose one of these metals to refine."
"The degree of refinement will determine your score. At the same time, you'll also need to complete any one medium-sized component."
Yan Qing nodded, stepped forward, and carried a piece of Heavy Silver down from the rack.
It wasn't that he, too, had some special bond with Heavy Silver. It was simply more expensive.
Although the blacksmith profession was comparable to a money printer, startup funds were still essential in the early stages. Every extra bit he could fleece was worth taking.
Yan Qing adjusted the forging table's temperature with his left hand and casually grabbed a forging hammer from the testing room with his right.
Without pausing, he aimed at the Heavy Silver and smashed down.
Clang!
Before Mu Chen behind him could react, Yan Qing had already begun forging.
Mu Chen raised his eyebrows slightly. He actually wasn't using his own forging hammer. Generally, using a familiar hammer increased a blacksmith's success rate by at least thirty percent.
Could this child have unparalleled confidence in his own abilities?
In truth, Yan Qing simply didn't have a forging hammer. All told, he had been learning to forge for less than two hours.
Hammer shadows danced up and down as the metal rapidly took shape.
Mu Chen nodded inwardly. With this forging rhythm, his foundations were quite solid.
A short while later, Yan Qing finished with one final hammer strike.
Refinement complete!
As a Saint Craftsman, Mu Chen could tell at a glance that the metal before him far exceeded the standard of Hundred Refinement and even approached Thousand Refinement.
Yan Qing didn't stop. His assessment was only halfway complete. His forging hammer continued striking, shaping the Heavy Silver.
Although he had never systematically studied forging, the cheat provided by the system was simply too powerful. Completing the forging before him was as easy for Yan Qing as picking up food with chopsticks.
Soon, a medium-sized component was born.
He had even taken considerably less time than Tang Wulin.
Without a doubt, Yan Qing had passed the second-rank blacksmith test, and by a margin far above the standard.
This child was only eight!
The last person to complete the second-rank forging test at eight had been the current Divine Craftsman, Zhen Hua!