Lu Chen was in no hurry to start swinging with brute force. Instead, he discovered to his surprise that, in his eyes, those icy metal blocks actually had several points of white light on them. The sight made his fingers itch.
He almost failed to resist his urge to fiddle with things, his fingers already resting on the forging hammer, but then he thought better of it. If he smashed someone else's things, how would a penniless guy like him pay for them?
Forget it, forget it. I'll wait until next time and find some worthless junk to try it on.
The instant he scooped up the forging hammer, he felt the strength throughout his body surge outward like floodwater through an opened sluice.
A Hybrid's body was already much tougher than an ordinary person's. In his hands, a hammer this heavy felt as light as a toy.
Of course, his body was not that of an ordinary Hybrid either. He was probably about on par with that Hybrid monarch by now.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!" Blow after blow landed squarely on the rounded metal blank. With each vibration, the number on the counter panel beside it flashed upward.
The same clanging rose and fell in the two neighboring forging rooms, making the place quite lively.
Lu Chen felt a warm current shoot up his arms with every hammer blow. His blood pulsed and surged through his body, the sensation so comfortable that he nearly hummed aloud.
Without even noticing it himself, his eyes had quietly turned a dazzling crimson-gold again, astonishingly bright.
His hammer blows were steady as hell. Only after a full three hundred strikes did a thin sheen of sweat seep onto his forehead.
He could also clearly feel that his physical abilities seemed to have climbed another notch. Though he was still far behind that stupid dragon Fenrir, he had more than enough to leave others his age several streets behind.
The more Lu Chen swung, the more natural it felt, and his speed picked up without him noticing. In just twenty minutes or so, he finished the task Mang Tian had assigned.
He pushed open the door and was about to call out that he was done when he ran into Tang Wulin, who was at the doorway getting ready to announce his own completion. They exchanged a glance and could not help laughing.
"Lu Chen? What are you doing here too?" Tang Wulin scratched the back of his head, sounding a little awkward.
"I'm an orphan. I'm working while studying here to put food in my mouth," Lu Chen said openly, not avoiding the subject in the slightest.
"I-I'm here to learn a trade as a second profession. My family isn't very well-off either..." Tang Wulin's voice grew a little quieter, and he scratched his head in embarrassment.
"You two are in the same class? All right, I'll check Tang Wulin's work first, then yours. If you really both meet the standard, you can come to lessons together from now on." Mang Tian's voice came from beside them.
As he spoke, he pushed open the doors to the two forging rooms and went inside to inspect them one by one. When he saw "1000" clearly displayed on both counter panels beside the metal blanks, his face, ordinarily as stern as an iron plate, instantly filled with shock.
When he had given them those two tasks, his intention had been to make the boys realize the difficulty and back down. Who would have thought that both little fellows would actually finish them!
Had forging become so simple now that any random child could pick it up?
Utterly bewildered, Mang Tian scratched his head, then hefted each of their hammers. Both were the genuine weight, without the slightest trickery.
His expression turned serious, and he said in a low voice, "Both of you, keep swinging. Until I tell you to stop, neither of you is allowed to stop!"
Lu Chen and Tang Wulin exchanged a glance, picked up their respective hammers without another word, and started pounding away again.
With his hands behind his back, Mang Tian paced between the two forging rooms, watching Tang Wulin's movements one moment and checking Lu Chen's strength the next.
Before long, he had his answer-both boys were promising talents born to make their living at forging!
They absolutely had innate divine strength!
He had actually stumbled upon two people at once with this once-in-a-century talent!
Still, when it came down to it, Lu Chen's talent was clearly a cut above.
With Mang Tian yet to call a halt, Tang Wulin's body began to sway when he reached a hundred and fifty blows, and his arms noticeably slowed. Lu Chen, meanwhile, remained as steady as an old dog. Aside from a few more beads of sweat at his temples, his breathing had not become the slightest bit uneven.
"All right, stop." There was even a trace of barely perceptible tension in Mang Tian's voice.
Lu Chen stopped his hammer at those words. Only then did he feel a sore, numb, swelling ache in his arms. He had thoroughly exhausted his strength.
Beside him, Tang Wulin nearly toppled headfirst onto the floor, but Mang Tian caught him with quick eyes and hands.
Then he beckoned the two of them into the lounge next door to explain the ins and outs of forging.
By the time their training ended that evening, the academy principal and Tang Ziran were already waiting at the entrance.
"These two children have frighteningly high talent! They'll definitely amount to something great!" Mang Tian said earnestly, his tone filled with admiration.
The principal smiled and stroked Lu Chen's head, barely able to hide the excitement in his eyes.
Tang Ziran did not really understand the finer points of the blacksmithing profession, so he could only nod along beside them.
"From now on, both of you should come here at this time every day to practice forging." A rare smile appeared on Mang Tian's face.
"Then we're sorry to trouble you with looking after them," the principal hurriedly said politely.
"No trouble, no trouble." Mang Tian smiled and waved his hand. First, he handed Tang Wulin over to Tang Ziran to take home, then pulled the principal aside and spoke quietly with him for quite a while.
Only after they finished talking did the principal head back with Lu Chen.
As for Na'er, the principal had long since settled her in his own office. With that arrangement, he could also ensure that no one dared bully the exquisite little girl, as finely sculpted as jade.
There was no helping it; everyone loved beautiful things, after all, just as the principal adored Lu Chen from the bottom of his heart, a boy who had been sweet-tongued and adorable since he was little.
The two chatted and laughed along the way as the principal drove toward the orphanage and parked in the parking lot.
The principal led Lu Chen straight to his office.
Na'er was still waiting there.
The moment he pushed open the door, Lu Chen eagerly waved inside, an unconcealable, smug grin on his face. "Na'er! Look how amazing your big brother is! I nailed today's forging test! Once I make big money from forging, I'll buy you delicious food every day and raise you all fair and plump!"
There was no helping it. Who could withstand a little silver-haired, purple-eyed girl gazing pitifully at them with big, watery eyes?
What was more, he was a bona fide silver-hair enthusiast. Seeing Na'er looking so soft and sweet nearly melted his heart.
Hearing his voice, Na'er immediately sprang from her chair and pattered over to Lu Chen on her short little legs.
A sweet smile blossomed on Na'er's face, her two shallow dimples making one's heart itch. "Big Brother, you're amazing! Na'er's hungry. Let's hurry to the cafeteria and eat!"