Tang Wulin's eyes lit up at once.
A Fourth-Rank Blacksmith.
He had known nothing about the divisions between blacksmith ranks before this. He had figured he would be lucky to get second rank; third rank had been a distant dream.
He hadn't expected to shoot straight for fourth rank.
Third-Rank Blacksmiths were already among the elite in Aolai City, and Fourth-Rank Blacksmiths were even rarer. He hadn't expected to have reached the level of a Fourth-Rank Blacksmith already. No wonder the people at Uncle Mang Tian's workshop had looked at him differently.
"Okay!"
Tang Wulin agreed and stepped back in front of the anvil. With a turn of his right hand, the Clear Sky Hammer was once again in his grasp.
Shaping was different from purification through Thousand Refinement.
Thousand Refinement drew out the potential within the metal, while shaping turned it into the desired form.
Tang Wulin thought for a moment and decided to forge a Battle Armor component.
It was small and simple in shape, but it demanded high precision, making it perfect for demonstrating his control.
The Clear Sky Hammer fell, its force somewhat lighter than during Thousand Refinement.
That was all thanks to his earlier practice of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer with a wooden hammer, which had given him extremely precise control over his strength.
Each blow struck a specific spot on the metal's surface, guiding the heavy silver to flow into the intended shape.
Under the hammer blows, the heavy silver gradually lengthened and changed shape.
Mu Chen stood to the side with his arms crossed, his eyebrows rising higher the longer he watched.
The boy's shaping technique was remarkably polished.
With control like that, never mind an eight-year-old-even many blacksmiths who had worked for over ten years couldn't match him.
Mu Xi stood behind her father, her golden ponytail hanging over her shoulder, both hands clutching the hem of her training clothes.
She watched the heavy silver beneath Tang Wulin's hammer change shape bit by bit and bit her lip.
"Dad."
"He's really amazing."
An hour later.
Tang Wulin's final hammer blow fell, completing the Battle Armor component.
"Finished."
The forging room fell silent for two seconds.
Mu Chen walked over and examined it himself.
"Fourth-Rank Blacksmith, passed."
"Tang Wulin, eight years old, completed First Grade Thousand Refinement on heavy silver and successfully shaped it."
"Following evaluation by the Eastsea City Blacksmith Association, he meets the standards of a Fourth-Rank Blacksmith and is approved to receive a Fourth-Rank Blacksmith badge."
Mu Chen immediately had someone fetch a four-star blacksmith badge and personally pinned it on Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin looked down at it. Four stars sat in a row, gleaming silver under the forging room's lights.
"Thank you, President Mu!"
Mu Chen waved a hand, a faint smile on his lips. "Don't thank me. You earned it."
He changed the subject.
"The fourth-rank badge is being awarded as an exception. If your success rate on tasks you take from the Blacksmith Association falls short of the standard, I'll revoke it. I'll give you the badge for now as a temporary credential."
"Understood."
Tang Wulin nodded.
Doesn't revoking it mean I already have it now?
Then I have it now.
Mu Chen turned to Cen Yue, his tone growing less polite.
"Old Cen, why didn't you tell me about something this important beforehand? An eight-year-old with the makings of a Thousand Refinement blacksmith, and you sent him through the ordinary evaluation process?"
Cen Yue pulled a long face and began cursing Mang Tian's mother in his heart again.
"President, I only found out today myself..."
Mu Chen snorted and let the matter drop. He looked back at Tang Wulin, his gaze growing more serious.
"Tang Wulin, would you be interested in studying forging under me? I'd teach you personally."
Tang Wulin was taken aback.
An Eight-Star Saint Craftsman teaching me personally?
Few people in the Eastsea City Blacksmith Association could probably hope for such treatment.
He thought it over but didn't agree immediately.
"President, I live in Aolai City. I came to Eastsea City this time especially to take care of something."
"I still have to go to school after I get back, so I'm afraid I can't stay at the association for long."
"And I already have a teacher."
Mu Chen raised an eyebrow. "You already have a teacher?"
Mu Chen fell silent at once.
That made sense. How could Tang Wulin have become so outstanding without someone teaching him?
He just didn't know who had such an outstanding disciple. It was truly enviable.
That person's forging ability was probably at eighth rank, just like his own, or perhaps even ninth rank.
"All right. Since you already have a teacher, you naturally can't study under me as well. But that badge was issued by the association, so you're a member of the Blacksmith Association now. If you need anything, you can come to me."
He took a business card from his pocket and handed it over.
Tang Wulin accepted the card. It had only a name and a Soul Guidance communication number on it.
"What's your Soul Guidance communication number?"
He scratched his head. "I don't have a Soul Guidance communicator. Those things aren't cheap, and I wouldn't have any use for one in Aolai City. Every day I just go to school, go home, and work at Uncle Mang Tian's shop. I go back and forth between those three places."
Mu Chen glanced at him without saying anything and raised a hand to beckon toward the door.
A staff member standing at the door immediately jogged over. Mu Chen gave him a few quiet instructions, and the man turned and left. In less than two minutes, he returned carrying a small velvet box.
Mu Chen took the box and opened it. Inside lay a sapphire-blue ring and a brand-new Soul Guidance communicator.
"Take these." He held the box out to Tang Wulin.
"This is a Soul Guidance storage ring. It has ten cubic meters of storage space inside. The other thing is a Soul Guidance communicator."
Tang Wulin could tell from the quality of the two items that they weren't cheap.
"President Mu, these are too valuable. I can't accept them." Tang Wulin waved his hands repeatedly.
Mu Chen shoved the box into his hands. "These are benefits you receive as a Fourth-Rank Blacksmith. They aren't a gift from me."
"According to association rules, blacksmiths of fourth rank and above are issued a standard Storage Soul Tool and communicator, making it easier to take assignments and stay in touch. You've already accepted the badge, but you don't want the benefits?"
Tang Wulin was startled. "There are benefits like that too?"
Cen Yue chuckled beside them. "Every association has benefits. How else could they keep their people?"
"The association does more than just evaluate forging ranks. There's a lot going on in it. Buying metal, buying finished products, taking assignments, finding partners-it all goes through the association's channels. You'll understand once you've had more dealings with it."
Tang Wulin remarked with feeling,
"Blacksmiths really do get great benefits."
Cen Yue said with a smile, "Naturally. The association gives you benefits, and you create value for the association. It's a win-win."
Tang Wulin put the communicator away, then suddenly remembered something.
He looked up and asked, "Grandmaster Cen, did you just say I can take assignments through the association?"
His Hundred-Year Soul Spirit could only provide two Soul Rings. Once his cultivation reached rank thirty, he would need another Soul Spirit, and he would have to save up to buy one. Breaking the Golden Dragon King's seals required spiritual items, which also cost money.
He needed a lot of money!
When he came to Eastsea City to attend school, taking assignments would undoubtedly be the fastest way to earn it.
"Yes." Cen Yue nodded.
"The Soul Guidance screen in the association hall displays a rolling list of forging commissions every day, everything from Hundred Refinement parts to finished Thousand Refinement products."
"Register with your badge, and you can start taking orders through the system."
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up. "I can take them too?"
Mu Chen took over. "Of course you can."
"A Fourth-Rank Blacksmith counts as a mainstay of the association."
He changed tack, his tone growing more serious.
"But taking assignments always comes with risks. Every time a forging attempt fails, the blacksmith has to pay for the materials."
"If you take Thousand Refinement assignments and your success rate isn't high enough, not only will you fail to make money, you might even go bankrupt."
Tang Wulin let out an "Oh," his tone perfectly relaxed.
"That has nothing to do with me."
"My success rate for Thousand Refinement First Grade is one hundred percent."