"Gone?" Xu Xiaoyu looked in the direction she pointed. Sure enough, they were long gone.
"Hmph."
"So what if he's a Tang Sect disciple? What's so great about that? Once I join the Tang Sect, I'll definitely find that smug jerk."
Xu Xiaoyu froze for a moment, then couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Xu Xiaoyan, you want to join the Tang Sect when you're like this?" His shoulders shook with laughter.
"Do you even know what standards the Tang Sect uses to recruit disciples?"
"They don't take Soul Masters who don't work hard, like you."
"Who doesn't work hard?!" Xu Xiaoyan glared at him. "I'll work hard at cultivation when I get back, and sooner or later I'll find that smug jerk!"
"All right, all right, you work hard."
Xu Xiaoyu humored her, but still reached out and rubbed her head.
"Come on. You nearly scared me into having a heart attack on this trip. I'll have to tell Mom and Dad later and give them a scare too."
"Brother!"
"I'm joking."
The brother and sister bickered as they headed for the station exit.
After a few steps, Xu Xiaoyan looked back in the direction Tang Wulin had disappeared and snorted.
"Twin Martial Souls, a Tang Sect disciple. What's so great about that?"
Tang Wulin stepped out of the station and was greeted by a gust of salty sea breeze.
Eastsea City was much bigger than Aolai City.
A huge plaza lay just outside the station, crowded with people coming and going.
The street in the distance was wide enough for four Soul Guidance Trains to run abreast, and tall buildings stood packed together on both sides.
Tang Wulin took a deep breath and pulled the note Mang Tian had written for him from his pocket.
"Eastsea City Blacksmith Association, Cen Yue."
The Eastsea City Blacksmith Association stood on a major street south of the city center. Its facade was countless times more imposing than Mang Tian's little shop.
It was a gray building, a full thirty meters tall.
A huge hammer was emblazoned on it.
Tang Wulin stood at the entrance, gazing up at it for a while before pushing the door open and walking inside.
The lobby was even more spacious than he had imagined.
A long, curved reception desk stood at the front. Two young women sat behind it, dressed in matching gray business suits with the association's badges pinned to their chests.
The one on the left had a sweet face, with round cheeks and almond-shaped eyes. Two dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth when she smiled.
The one on the right was tall and slender. Her gray business suit fit her like a skintight outfit, showing off her shapely curves. Long, curly hair spilled over her shoulders, and her delicate features looked as though they had been painted.
Tang Wulin hurried over and looked up at them.
"Hello, big sisters."
The sweet-faced woman glanced down at him with a warm smile. "Little brother, who are you looking for?"
"Big sister, you're really pretty," Tang Wulin said with an innocent expression.
"I'm here to be assessed for my blacksmith rank."
She froze for a moment, then burst out laughing, her dimples deepening. Of course she was happy to be told she was pretty, especially by such a young child.
Children didn't lie, so he had to mean it.
"Little brother, you've got quite a sweet tongue."
She smiled and shook her head.
The woman with the excellent figure beside her also turned and looked Tang Wulin up and down.
"Little brother, don't talk nonsense. You're so young. How could you be assessed for a blacksmith rank?"
Tang Wulin turned to look at her. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he said earnestly, "Big sister, you have a really nice figure."
The woman raised an eyebrow.
"Can I hug you?"
Tang Wulin looked up at her, blinking his eyes.
She froze for a moment, then broke into giggles, laughing so hard that her whole body shook.
She already had an impressive figure, and her laughter drew even more gazes from around the lobby.
She bent down, slipped both hands under Tang Wulin's arms, and gently picked him up.
"All right, all right. Since you know just what to say."
Held in her arms, Tang Wulin found his nose pressed right against her chest. He took a deep breath, and a rich, milky fragrance filled his nose.
"Mmm, you smell good," he murmured.
The woman had sharp ears and heard him. Her face reddened slightly, and she looked down and glared at him. "What did you say?"
"I said you smell good, big sister." Tang Wulin's expression didn't change.
"You little rascal." She scolded him with a laugh, not taking him seriously.
What wicked thoughts could a child have?
Tang Wulin lay against her, but he was thinking about something else.
If he didn't make use of this little privilege that wouldn't get him beaten now, he wouldn't have another chance once he grew up.
By then, he really would get beaten to death.
"Big sister, I'm here to be assessed for my blacksmith rank." He put the thought aside and spoke seriously.
"My uncle told me to come find a grandmaster named Cen Yue. He said I just needed to find him."
Both women froze at the same time.
The sweet-faced woman stopped smiling, her expression growing more serious. "You're looking for Grandmaster Cen Yue?"
"Mm."
The two women exchanged a glance.
"Wait a moment. I'll contact Grandmaster Cen Yue for you."
The sweet-faced woman picked up the soul communicator on the desk and dialed an extension.
Tang Wulin was still hanging onto the woman with the nice figure.
"Big sister, can I touch you?"
Her expression changed, and she looked down and glared at him, the tips of her ears visibly turning red.
"You little pervert!" She lightly knocked Tang Wulin on the head.
"You mustn't do that again."
"Big sister, I was wrong." Tang Wulin immediately backed down, looking innocent.
"If you weren't so young, I'd definitely teach you a lesson."
"Just once?"
She bit her lip and glared at him for two seconds, but in the end she couldn't hold back another laugh. She reached out and shifted him higher so he could rest more securely against her.
Tang Wulin's eyes immediately lit up.
This status was great!
The sweet-faced woman hung up the communicator and turned to them. "Grandmaster Cen Yue happens to be at the association. I'll take you upstairs."
Tang Wulin slid down from the curvy woman's arms, his feet landing on the floor. "Thanks, big sister!"
The sweet-faced woman led Tang Wulin toward the elevator.
Tang Wulin looked back and grinned at the other woman.
"Thank you, big sister. You're so nice. I'll come find you and play again after my assessment."
"I want another hug too!"
Her face reddened again, and she reached out and flicked his forehead. "Go on, go on."
"If you really do qualify as a blacksmith, I'll give you a hug as a reward."
"Then it's a deal."
Tang Wulin winked, turned around, and ran toward the stairs.
The curvy woman rubbed her slightly burning cheeks and muttered,
"That child is so cunning."
"Are kids these days all this precocious...?"
"But that child is just too good-looking. Who could resist giving him a hug?"
The sweet-faced woman led Tang Wulin into the elevator.
The elevator rose slowly and stopped on the fifteenth floor.
The two stopped in front of a door bearing Cen Yue's nameplate.
"Grandmaster Cen, I'm Yun Xiaoling. I've brought that child here."
The next second, the door opened automatically.