The forging room fell silent.
Mu Chen stared at Tang Wulin for several seconds, then spoke very slowly. "What did you say?"
"Thousand Refinement First Grade, with a hundred percent success rate."
Tang Wulin repeated himself,
"I can't even remember how many times I've performed Thousand Refinement this past year. I haven't failed once."
The forging room fell silent for another two seconds.
Cen Yue put down his teacup, his voice a little unsteady. "You haven't failed once since your very first Thousand Refinement?"
Tang Wulin nodded.
He silently added to himself,
When he first started learning from Tang Hao in his dreams, he had failed countless times.
But once he got the hang of it and learned to strike true, he never shattered another piece,
Only, he couldn't say any of that.
"This..." Cen Yue opened his mouth, then turned to Mu Chen. "President, does that make sense?"
He had already thought Tang Wulin's forging skills were heaven-defying enough, and now he was being told the boy had a hundred percent success rate at Thousand Refinement First Grade?
He hadn't failed once since he first started forging?
Who could handle that?
Mu Chen ignored him. He stared at Tang Wulin for a long while, then suddenly chuckled. "All right, good lad."
"Keep forging, little fellow. I look forward to the day you become a divine craftsman."
Cen Yue suddenly remembered something. "Right, since this is your first time in Eastsea City, you haven't been to the Soul Master Association yet, have you? You can collect benefits there too."
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up at once. Collecting benefits is my favorite!
"The Soul Master Association has benefits too?"
"Thank you for telling me, Grandmaster Cen."
Mu Chen watched him, growing more satisfied the longer he looked. The child's talent was absurdly high, yet he was neither arrogant nor impatient. He asked what he needed to ask, gave thanks where it was due, and knew how to carry himself.
His own daughter was only three years older than Tang Wulin and also liked forging. Her talent was among the best of Eastsea City's younger generation. If she could spend more time exchanging ideas with this boy...
As he mulled it over, Mu Xi poked half her head out from behind him.
"Hey, Tang Wulin."
Tang Wulin looked up at her.
Mu Xi tossed her golden ponytail over her shoulder and looked him straight in the eye with her two big eyes. "My name's Mu Xi. I'm really curious, how exactly did you train your forging? I've studied under my dad for over two years, practicing from dawn till dusk every day, and I've only just managed to reach the threshold for a first-rank blacksmith. You're several years younger than me, so how are you already taking the fourth-rank test?"
Tang Wulin scratched his head, thought seriously for a moment, and said, "I don't know either."
"But I've heard a saying: in the face of talent, hard work counts for nothing."
Mu Xi froze for a moment, then her face flushed bright red, and her golden ponytail practically stood on end.
"You-!"
She raised a hand to hit him, and Tang Wulin quickly dodged to the side. "I was kidding! I was kidding!"
"Stop right there!"
"I was wrong, Sister Mu Xi! I really was wrong!"
The two chased each other around the anvil twice.
Mu Xi stumbled and nearly crashed into the edge of the furnace. Tang Wulin reached out and pulled her back, saying over and over, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I was kidding. Don't be mad, Sister Mu Xi."
Tang Wulin raised both hands in surrender. "Let me treat you to a meal to make it up to you."
"Who wants you to treat me to a meal?"
Mu Xi huffed and turned her head away, but the corners of her mouth curved up despite herself.
Mu Chen and Cen Yue stood to the side watching the scene and exchanged a glance.
Cen Yue leaned closer and lowered his voice. "President, look at this..."
Mu Chen stroked his chin, watching the two children fool around, a meaningful smile on his face.
The soul communicator at Cen Yue's waist suddenly vibrated.
He glanced down at the caller ID, frowned, and turned to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen nodded slightly. "Go ahead."
Cen Yue took the communicator and walked out of the forging room, closing the door behind him.
The corridor was quiet as he answered the call,
"Has Tang Wulin's blacksmith evaluation finished?"
Cen Yue took a deep breath.
"Mang Tian." His voice was calm.
"Yeah?"
"I really am ***, I'll fucking *** your ****!"
A stream of curses, each one different, spewed from Cen Yue's mouth. He was so loud that two motion-sensor lights in the corridor came on.
He cursed for a full half minute, working his way from eighteen generations of Mang Tian's ancestors to the number of levels of hell Mang Tian would descend in the future, without pausing for breath.
The other end of the communicator was completely silent.
Only after Cen Yue finished did Mang Tian say flatly, "Done?"
"No! I fucking ***"
"All right, all right, save your breath."
Mang Tian's voice was indifferent,
"How did Tang Wulin's evaluation go?"
Cen Yue cursed again before suppressing his anger and saying, "Fourth rank. A fourth-rank blacksmith!"
"The president made the call himself and made an exception to give him the rank."
A soft chuckle came from the other end of the communicator.
"Just as I expected."
Cen Yue's eyebrow twitched. "Say that again?"
"Just as I expected," Mang Tian repeated in an utterly calm tone. "That kid worked in my shop for a year. I know what he's capable of. I'd have found it strange if he hadn't passed."
Cen Yue's hand trembled as he gripped the communicator. "What are you pretending for? What do you mean, you know what he's capable of?"
"What did you tell me over the communicator? 'Old Cen, I've got a kid here. Help me take a look at his forging skills.'"
"Isn't that exactly what you said? Did you say a single word about him being fourth rank?"
"Did you say a single word about his hundred percent Thousand Refinement success rate?"
"If I had, you wouldn't have believed me, would you?" Mang Tian said. "Letting you see it for yourself was worth more than anything I could have said a hundred times."
"And make sure you keep it confidential."
"If word gets out that an eight-year-old fourth-rank blacksmith popped up in a little shop in Aolai City, the whole forging community in Eastsea City will erupt."
"Like I need you to tell me?" Cen Yue snorted coldly,
"Come clean. What's the story with this kid?"
"And what are you pretending for? Go on, laugh!"
"All right, that's enough. I'm leaving Tang Wulin in your care. I've got work to do. Hanging up."
"Hey, wait..."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Only the busy signal remained on the communicator.
Cen Yue stared at the screen for two seconds and cursed. "Old poser."
"If you're not laughing your head off right now, I'll eat it!"
Aolai City, Mang Tian's workshop.
Mang Tian tossed the soul communicator onto the table, leaned back in his chair, and tipped his head up.
"Hahahahaha!"
While Cen Yue was out taking the call, the forging room fell quiet for a moment.
Tang Wulin looked at Mu Chen and remembered the business card from earlier. He asked, "President Mu, you said just now that I could come to you for help if I needed anything. Is that right?"
Mu Chen nodded. "Of course. You're a fourth-rank blacksmith in our association, and you're so young that you're one of a kind on the continent. You're practically a golden signboard for us."
"As long as it's something I or the association can help with, we'll do everything we can. What do you need?"
Tang Wulin didn't beat around the bush. "I need to buy some things to improve myself."
"What things?"
"A hundred-year Ice Crystal Fruit, a hundred-year Scarlet Flame Fruit, and ten drops of fresh blood from a Soul Beast with a dragon bloodline."