“Are you shocked by how pitiful the Blacksmith’s Association branch here is?” Mu Chen asked.

  “Yeah!” Tang Wulin nodded. “Isn’t Shrek the greatest city on the continent? The branch of the Blacksmith’s Association here should be amazing! Why is it like this……?”


  “It’s precisely because this is Shrek City that this branch is so pitiful. Shrek Academy controls everything in this city. Basically, you can consider the city an independent state. Shrek Academy has set up an association for every trade and profession. I believe you’ve already joined the Shrek Blacksmith’s Association, correct? For the sake of not stirring up conflict between their association and ours, we only maintain a small branch here. The Blacksmith’s Association, which has branches you can find all across the continent, is completely different from the Shrek Blacksmith’s Association.”


  “So that’s how it is……” Tang Wulin said. “Doesn’t that mean Shrek is really oppressive?”


  Mu Chen shook his head. “Shrek isn’t oppressive. This is them governing themselves. In truth, there are plenty of elites from every profession here, more than enough to support their associations. You mentioned that Old Man Feng is looking for you. Did he do anything to you?”


  Tang Wulin shook his head. “Elder Feng wanted to take me as his disciple, but I didn’t agree.”


  “That old man is a real maniac. He only began blacksmithing in his forties, yet he still managed to become a Saint Blacksmith. He has his own unique blacksmithing philosophy, so there’s no harm in you learning from him. If he asks again, you may accept him as your teacher as well. Just make sure he doesn’t force you to make him your only teacher.”


  “Huh?” Tang Wulin never expected Mu Chen to say something like this. “Teacher, I won’t abandon you! Don’t misunderstand!”


  Mu Chen waved his hand dismissively. “I’m being serious. Shrek City is different from other places. It isn’t easy to establish yourself here. There’s no doubt about your forging talent, but your strength is still lacking. Having a supporter would be good for you. Elder Feng is very powerful and infamous for his furious temper. However, everyone also knows that he treats the people at his side exceptionally well. The things he can teach you will complement the things I teach you.”


  Then a troubled smile surfaced on Mu Chen’s face. “In all honesty, I can’t defeat him. If you continue to refuse him, I’m sure he’ll come knocking on my door one day. Rather than have that happen, it’d be better off to just let you have another teacher.”


  Mu Chen naturally didn’t want to share Tang Wulin with Feng Wuyu. No one would want to share their student after all. However, Tang Wulin would spend many years at Shrek Academy. Refusing to accept Feng Wuyu as his teacher had the potential to affect his future cultivation and hinder his chances of becoming a Divine Blacksmith. Above all else, Mu Chen wanted to avoid this.

  So Mu Chen finally made the decision to share Tang Wulin.

  “Teacher, I……”


  Before Tang Wulin could say anything else, Mu Chen raised a hand to stop him. “Tell me what happened when you spirit refined. I’m very interested how things went. You’re the first blacksmith in history to spirit refine with only two soul rings.”


  “Okay.” Tang Wulin proceeded to recount the events of the entrance exam and how he bore the burden of taking the trial to help Gu Yue get admitted. Thanks to that pressure, he managed to successfully spirit refine.

  Mu Chen nodded as Tang Wulin told his story. When Tang Wulin got to the part about his golden blood essence soul ring, Mu Chen’s face filled with shock.

  “Show me that golden soul ring,” Mu Chen said.

  “Understood!” Tang Wulin replied, summoning it forth.

  “It really is different from a normal soul ring.” Mu Chen examined the energy that the golden soul ring emitted, complete and utter awe on his face. He was an eighth-rank Saint Blacksmith and an eight-ringed Soul Douluo. Although he did not excel in combat, he did possess a vast wealth of knowledge about martial souls. Even after racking his brains, he could not recall anything like this golden soul ring. “I can’t believe this actually exists. I’ve never heard of anything like it.”


  Eventually Mu Chen nodded to himself. “No wonder you managed to spirit refine. It was all thanks to this peculiar soul ring. Once you get your third soul ring, come find me immediately. I want to watch you spirit refine.”


  “Yes, Teacher. Oh right, I have something I wanted to discuss with you.”


  Tang Wulin then proceeded to explain his groups plans to make battle armor. He was convinced that Mu Chen, as a Saint Blacksmith, definitely produced many metals for battle armor before, meaning that he would be experienced with making battle armor.

  “It’s great that your group thought of this.” Mu Chen nodded in approval. “The earlier you start getting experience with battle armor, the easier it will be for you to make powerful battle armor in the future.”


  “Battle armor is split into four levels. The difficulty to make it increases exponentially with each level after the first,” Mu Chen continued. “While you may not have any problem with forging the metal for one-word battle armor, let me remind you that you cannot neglect the processes that come afterward. You have to participate in the designing, the making, and the fine-tuning of the battle armor. When the time comes for you to make higher level battle armor, you will have to consider the design, the making, and all sorts of other things, not just forging the metal. There’s a saying among us blacksmiths: ‘Half of a battle armor’s quality is determined by the blacksmith.’ The best blacksmiths are well acquainted with all parts of the battle armor creation process. A deeper understanding of the battle armor that is to be created will make you better prepared to forge the metal it needs.”


  “Understood,” Tang Wulin replied solemnly.

  Mu Chen’s advice cleared many doubts from the back of Tang Wulin’s mind. Although he was only responsible for forging the metal for the battle armor, he now understood that becoming familiar with the entire battle armor creation process would be beneficial to him as a blacksmith! The battle armor creation process shared many similarities with metal refinement. Even the best refined metals had to be compatible with the battle armor they would be used in, and it was the blacksmith’s responsibility to make sure of that.

  Forging was currently the least problematic part of creating battle armor for his group, so, what Tang Wulin had to do now was quickly start forging his best products to lower the burden on his groupmates. His efforts would have the most influence on the making part of the process. With this in mind, Tang Wulin’s confidence soared.

  However, this confidence was quickly forgotten in the face of Mu Chen’s next words.

  “Mu Xi will also be joining you at Shrek.”


  Tang Wulin gawked at Mu Xi who was sitting beside him. “Senior sister will be attending Shrek Academy?”


  Mu Xi glared at him. “Got a problem with that? Can I not join Shrek just because you joined first?”


  “O-of course you can! Senior sister is a once-in-a-generation genius! I’m just surprised.” The surprise in Tang Wulin’s voice smoothly transitioning into a teasing tone. “Senior sister didn’t enter the inner court directly?”


  Mu Xi batted her eyelids. “It’s only been a few days since you left yet you’ve already become so glib. Do you use that sly tongue of yours on other girls too?”


  Her words left Tang Wulin dumbstruck. Even Mu Chen couldn’t think of a response to his daughter’s astonishing jab, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air.

  Mu Xi was older than Tang Wulin by four years, making her seventeen this year. Considering the gap between their ages, Mu Chen originally hadn’t thought anything of Mu Xi and Tang Wulin’s relationship. Now, however, he was beginning to reconsider.

  After a moment, Mu Xi realized her mistake and broke the silence with a cold snort. “I’m just worried that you aren’t working hard. You have to properly study now that you’re in Shrek. Studying is the most important thing for a student, got it?”


  “Yes, senior sister. Do you know what class you’ll be joining?”


  “Using the designated quota for the Blacksmith’s Association, Little Xi was admitted as a special exception for her talent.” Mu Chen stepped in to explain. “She should be placed directly into the second grade. While she might be a bit older than her classmates, she’s still within the acceptable range for Shrek. You two will need to take care of each other in the future.”


  “Yes, Teacher.”


  The second grade? Doesn’t that mean senior sister will be in the same class as Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui?