In the Blacksmith Association hall, Tang Wulin's eyes briefly scanned the surrounding figures. He was surprised and said, "Phew... it seems like there are quite more people in the Blacksmith Association than before!"
Gu Yue, standing next to him, nodded and agreed, "Yeah! It's probably because they've learned that the Holy Spirit Cult has been besieged, so the Soul Masters from the major powers are not as tense. Naturally, they also have time to come to the Blacksmith Association to develop sideline businesses!"
The female staff member in charge of receiving them smiled and said, "Both of you, we've already notified the President. He should be here soon. Would you like to rest for a bit first?"
The two in front of her were children valued by the President; they absolutely could not be offended!
Gu Yue shook her head and declined, "No need, we'll just wait here."
Sure enough, after waiting for a few minutes, a tall, middle-aged man with his hands clasped behind his back descended the stairs!
It was none other than Zhen Hua!
Upon seeing him, the female staff member respectfully said, "President!"
Zhen Hua slightly nodded, "Hmm, go take care of other things!"
The female staff member immediately understood, "Yes!!"
She turned and went to attend to other blacksmiths...
Seeing this, Tang Wulin took the initiative and said, "President, long time no see!"
Zhen Hua teased, "Hmm, Wulin, you haven't been slacking off in this time, have you?"
Although he was conversing with Tang Wulin, his gaze lingered on Gu Yue...
Tang Wulin scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Uh... thank you for your concern, President. I've been indeed quite busy recently, so I haven't done much forging!"
Confronted with such a straightforward answer, Zhen Hua laughed heartily, "Hahaha, if there is anything you don't understand about forging, you can always come to me!"
It was then that Gu Yue suddenly spoke up, "Teacher!"
Hearing those words, Zhen Hua felt a quiet sense of satisfaction in his heart, but still responded sternly, "Teacher? Do you even remember I am your teacher? Ever since the day you took me as your teacher, you haven't visited the Blacksmith Association once!"
He wasn't trying to scold her, rather he wanted to assert the authority of his position as a teacher!
Gu Yue opened her mouth to explain but found she had no retort, so she just pursed her lips and said, "I'm sorry, Teacher, I..."
Seeing her troubled expression, Zhen Hua's heart softened, and he turned and said coldly, "Forget it. It's useless to talk about these things now! Follow me to the upstairs forging room and let's see if there's been any improvement in your forging skills."
Gu Yue quietly breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that he wasn't truly angry with her. Gratitude flickered in her eyes as she responded, "Yes, Teacher!"
As the two of them left together, Tang Wulin helplessly stretched in dismay...
Immediately after, he heard the surrounding blacksmiths secretly talking about him...
"That guy must be Tang Wulin, right? The one the President praised for being the most talented Soul Master in forging!"
"Has the President exaggerated a bit? This male student looks mature, but there doesn't appear to be anything special about him!"
"You guys probably don't know, but Tang Wulin may be young, yet he is already a level 6 blacksmith! And he was personally assessed by the President, so he definitely has the goods!"
"Hiss... being a level 6 blacksmith at such a young age means he has a very high chance of becoming a Divine Craftsman!"
Tang Wulin's face darkened, "What has the President been bragging about me in front of others? Oh well, I'll go practice forging at the blacksmith's first."
With that, he headed toward the forging room...
...
When Zhen Hua and Gu Yue reached the exclusive forging room, the former said with a hearty voice, "This is my exclusive forging room. It's equipped with forging materials of various levels, all of which you can use!"
"And then, let me see your limit!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yue's beautiful eyes began sweeping over the forging room, taking in every rare forging material stored inside...
She couldn't help but admire in her heart, "Is this the foundation of a Divine Craftsman? Indeed impressive. If one's forging level is high enough, even Four-Word Battle Armor can be crafted!"
Zhen Hua didn't interrupt her but waited until she returned to her senses before speaking, "Have you looked enough? If so, let's begin!"
Gu Yue nodded slightly and then walked over to the forging table, listing the materials she needed from memory and selecting them one by one...
Afterward, she took a deep breath and picked up the hundred-pound forging hammer to start hammering away...
She was well aware that she was asking a favor from Zhen Hua, so whatever she forged had to satisfy him as much as possible!
...
As time ticked by second by second, sweat began drenching Gu Yue's forehead as she continued to wield the forging hammer...
Her strength was clearly not on par with Tang Wulin's, resulting in a higher consumption of Soul Power when imbuing the forging hammer!
Finally, with a deafening "Bang!!", Gu Yue put down the forging hammer...
It was clear that the forging was complete, and the finished product was now lying on the forging table!
She glanced at Zhen Hua and panted, "Teacher, I... I have finished forging."
Zhen Hua didn't say a word but walked over to the forging table and picked up the finished product...
After inspecting it from various angles, he stroked his beard, looking quite satisfied and nodded, "Not bad. Although not as good as that lad Tang Wulin, you've improved significantly compared to before. With a bit more effort, you could barely reach the standard of a level 5 blacksmith!"
A smile appeared on Gu Yue's cheeks, "Thank you... thank you, Teacher."
It seemed she had managed to get by...
Zhen Hua coughed, "I wasn't praising you! As a disciple of Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua, how can you be weaker than that lad! From now on, you must come to the Blacksmith Association at least twice a week, and I will personally teach you!"
"There's no room for negotiation on this matter!"
He was afraid that being too stern might drive her away again, so he made his tone as gentle as possible...
Gu Yue respectfully said, "Yes, Teacher! I will come to the Blacksmith Association every week from now on!"
Coming to the Blacksmith Association twice a week, huh?
Not only could it rapidly improve her forging skills, but it was also a great opportunity to build a closer master-disciple relationship!
This way, it would also be convenient to make requests later on...
Suddenly, the door to the forging room was violently pushed open, and in came Mu Ye, dressed as a chef, carrying a plate in his right hand...
He said with utmost confidence, "President, try this new dish I've come up with, it won't disappoint you!"
Unexpectedly, Zhen Hua didn't get angry, but rather responded with a tone of resignation, "Can't you be a little gentler?"
However, upon seeing Mu Ye clearly, Gu Yue's pupils suddenly shrank, and she exclaimed in disbelief, "Wait... this man... Isn't he the Sect Master of the Body Sect?? Why is he dressed like a chef?"
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