Lu Chen returned to his dorm and, without even stopping to catch his breath, sorted through his meager belongings.
A few densely covered forging blueprints and several metal scraps he had saved up over many days-all of them were stuffed into the modified soul storage device on his wrist.
He really was short of money now.
Although forging earned him a little money, cultivation devoured resources, and sometimes he needed to buy rare metals as well.
After all, researching how to combine alchemy with forging consumed quite a lot of materials.
He was heading to the Blacksmith's Association this time partly to take on some higher-level forging jobs and partly to collect his third-rank blacksmith badge.
With that, he could charge a great deal more for future jobs. Perhaps he could even build up some savings.
As for that young lady Mu Xi... Lu Chen recalled the way she had looked at Tang Wulin that day and could not help sighing.
That young lady was used to being spoiled and willful, while Tang Wulin had a bona fide protagonist constitution. Few people who got involved with the protagonist ever enjoyed any peace.
Once her classes ended, she would almost certainly come looking for trouble with either him or Tang Wulin.
Tsk, sitting peacefully at home, only for disaster to fall from the sky.
Lu Chen shook his head and stopped dwelling on those vexing matters. With his second-rank blacksmith certificate in his pocket, he strode toward the Blacksmith's Association.
At the entrance to the Blacksmith's Association, Lu Chen took a deep breath and quickly walked inside.
The moment Lu Chen stepped through the entrance, the young receptionist who had attended to him and Tang Wulin last time spotted him. A warm smile immediately spread across her face, and she hurried over. "Oh my, if it isn't Lu Chen, our genius third-rank blacksmith!"
"Hello." Lu Chen smiled and nodded politely. "I came to collect my third-rank blacksmith badge today, and to see whether there are any suitable jobs I can take."
"Your badge? That's easy." As she spoke, the young receptionist suddenly lowered her voice and gave him a mysterious wink.
"But don't rush to do the paperwork just yet. Someone's waiting for you in an office upstairs. He's quite an important figure, and he specifically told me to bring you up as soon as I saw you."
Lu Chen's heart lurched.
He could count the people he knew in Eastsea City on his fingers, apart from the teachers and students at the academy. Back in Glorybound City, there had only been the director and the others.
Then there were just a few acquaintances at the Blacksmith's Association. What important figure could possibly be looking for him?
Mu Chen?
Before he could work it out, the young receptionist had taken him by the wrist without another word and headed briskly upstairs. "Come along. He's already been waiting quite a while."
Most of the offices on the second floor were reserved for the association's senior staff or distinguished guests. Lu Chen followed the young receptionist down a red-carpeted corridor, finally stopping before a heavy mahogany door.
The young receptionist knocked softly, and a steady, powerful voice came from inside. "Come in."
The instant the door opened, an icy presence swept over him.
Lu Chen instinctively tensed. Looking up, he saw a powerfully built man standing by the office window.
He wore a snow-white fitted outfit and stood tall as a pine, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a ramrod-straight back. Even from behind, he exuded the iron-blooded bearing of a veteran of countless battles.
Sunlight streamed through the glass and fell across him, tracing his figure with a faint golden edge, yet it did nothing to soften his forbidding presence.
Within the spacious office, the man stood entirely alone, gazing at the bustling traffic outside. There was no telling what he was thinking.
"I've brought him." With that, the young receptionist tactfully withdrew, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
The office instantly fell silent, leaving only the sound of the man's steady breathing.
Lu Chen composed himself and spoke first. "Were you looking for me, sir?"
The man slowly turned around. His face had sharply defined features, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. His gaze was deep and keen, as though it could pierce straight through a person's heart.
His skin was a healthy bronze, and a faint scar on his forehead added to his fierce, valiant bearing.
He looked Lu Chen up and down. When he spoke, his words rang firm and clear, carrying a soldier's distinctive briskness. "You're Lu Chen?"
"Yes." Lu Chen nodded, his confusion deepening.
"My name is Zhang Huanyun. I'm a soldier." Having introduced himself, the man rested his gaze on Lu Chen's face. After a pause, he added, "You may not know me, but you must know Zhang Yueyao."
"Zhang Yueyao?" Lu Chen's eyes flew wide, his voice full of disbelief. "You know Director Mom?"
The director whom they called Mom at Red Mountain Orphanage was named Zhang Yueyao.
In Lu Chen's memory, Director Mom was always smiling, kind, and approachable. How could she have any connection to this soldier with his iron-blooded presence?
Something suddenly stirred in his heart. He had vaguely sensed before that Director Mom was no ordinary person. Now it seemed his guess had indeed been right.
At the words "Director Mom," Zhang Huanyun's gaze softened a little, and a hint of nostalgia appeared on his face. "She was once a member of our War God Hall, and quite a renowned figure in her day. She's also my younger sister."
War God Hall!
Lu Chen sucked in a breath.
That was one of the foremost military powers on the Douluo Continent. Of all its members, most were big shots.
Director Mom was actually from the War God Hall?
"Some time ago, she submitted an application to our War God Hall." Zhang Huanyun's tone grew heavier, a trace of regret entering his voice. "She hoped to have you join the War God Hall. To be honest, at first, none of those old fellows in the hall agreed."
He looked at Lu Chen and spoke frankly. "Your Innate Soul Power was only rank five, and you barely reached rank thirteen at nine years old. In the War God Hall, where geniuses emerge one after another, that cultivation speed really is a little too slow."
Lu Chen pressed his lips together without a word.
He knew his shortcomings. If his Martial Soul had not been incompletely awakened, and if he had not needed to divide his attention between forging and earning a living, his cultivation would not have been so slow.
Besides, his Soul Power was not actually Soul Power.
"Then why have you come to see me now?" Lu Chen looked up at Zhang Huanyun, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
As Zhang Huanyun looked at him, a smile suddenly curved his lips. It softened his cold, stern bearing, lending him a little warmth. "Because I think you're a fine lad."
He paused, then explained, "My younger sister commanded tremendous respect in the hall back then. Anyone she thought highly of could never be lacking."
"Besides, how old are you now? Yet you're already a third-rank blacksmith. Across the entire Douluo Continent, forging talent like yours is as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns."
"With that craft to your name, along with your tenacity, the old fellows in the War God Hall all nodded their agreement."