Chapter 118

– Senior Sisters
Mang Tian was shocked at Mu Chen’s words.
Isn’t that too quick? Saint rank by thirty?

Mu Chen revealed a wry smile.
You know what they say; the sooner the better. The important thing is that people have the most energy in their youth, and if they don’t take advantage of that time to accomplish something, both the body and mind will begin to decline. My plans for him might seem hasty, but don’t forget, he’s only nine years old. He still has 21 years until he reaches thirty. If he can’t do it in 21 years, then I fear it will be near impossible for him to ever reach that level. Wulin, what level is your spiritual power right now?

Tang Wulin answered,
I just tested it today and it’s 66 points.


Spirit Connection realm?
Mu Chen and Mang Tian exclaimed in unison, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Nine years old and already at Spirit Connection. Just what did this mean? The two of them couldn’t even comprehend it.
Mu Chen blurted out,
No wonder your perception in forging is so great. It’s because of your immense spiritual power. This is great; I don’t have to worry anymore about whether you can fuse with another spirit soul or not. Now you just need to put all of your effort toward cultivating your soul power.
Tang Wulin said,
I am certain I can earn enough money through forging to buy my own cultivation resources, so long as the association can help me find the items I’m looking for when the time comes.

His confidence came from the fact that his income was increasing and that he would soon become a fourth rank blacksmith.
This was considering the fact that he still had to balance this with his studies. If he solely focused on forging, then he could support a prosperous family with his output and success rate.
Mu Chen wasn’t anxious to guide Tang Wulin on how to practice forging yet. Instead, he simply arranged a time for when Tang Wulin would come to the association next.
Mang Tian and Mu Chen let Tang Wulin return to the academy first while the two of them stayed behind to discuss some matters.
After handing in his task and receiving his reward, Tang Wulin left the Blacksmith’s Association.
Tang Wulin’s mood was great. After all, President Mu Chen was a Saint Blacksmith! With him as a second teacher, Tang Wulin wouldn’t take any detours on the path of forging and would also have the association’s resources at his disposal. Those four thousand year spirit items wouldn’t be that hard to find anymore, as he would be able to obtain them as long as he had enough money.
He would forge and cultivate with all of his effort and break the second seal by the time he turned fifteen. This was Tang Wulin’s goal.
He clearly remembered what Old Tang had told him: there would be a nice surprise for him after breaking the second seal. But just what was this nice surprise?
The golden scales and dragon claw he had obtained after breaking the first seal had already greatly boosted his power and enabled him to barely enter the class of geniuses, class zero. Wouldn’t he be on the same level as those geniuses after breaking the second seal then? The only issue remaining was his low soul power.
Although he was on the verge of breaking through to rank 14, Tang Wulin could feel the effects of the Golden Dragon King’s soul fragment disappearing. In other words, he couldn’t continue as he had before as his soul power continued to increase naturally. In the end, cultivation was an endless process! The Golden Dragon King’s soul had mutated his Bluesilver Grass and made it much more powerful, but it didn’t increase his cultivation speed at all.
Tang Wulin pondered over his future cultivation path as he left the Blacksmith’s Association

Hey!
A voice called out to Tang Wulin, rousing his from his contemplations. When he turned around, he was met with the sight of Mu Xi standing in the doorway. She stared at him with a complex expression.

Hello senior sister.
Tang Wulin was surprised to see her. He didn’t have any good impressions of Mu Xi after she displayed her bossy attitude in front of him.
Mu Xi said,
You’ve taken my dad on as your master, so you should call me senior disciple sister in the future.


Hello senior disciple sister.
Tang Wulin greeted her in a docile manner. That’s right! She really is my senior disciple sister now.

You’re going back to the academy now?
Mu Xi asked.

En.
Tang Wulin nodded.
Mu Xi said,
Then let’s go.
She took the lead to walk ahead.
Tang Wulin hurriedly caught up to her and began to awkwardly scratch his head. He really didn’t understand why Mu Xi wanted to walk with him back to the academy.

So what do you think of Heavy Silver?
Mu Xi asked.
A discussion about forging? Tang Wulin’s interest was piqued. Although Mu Xi’s blacksmith rank wasn’t as high as Tang Wulin’s, she had been learning how to forge from Mu Chen all her life. Her views were definitely much broader than his own.

Heavy Silver is very dense, but its internal structure is actually granular. I am able to sense these granules transforming during the Thousand Refinements so I continuously try to pound them to decrease the gaps between the granules. Once the gaps are small enough, my Thousand Refinements is basically complete. I think Heavy Silver is actually very much suited for the Thousand Refinements because I can sense their joy during the process. They tell me just how much strength I need to use to make them the most comfortable. Like this, my Thousand Refinements require half the work with twice the effect.
Tang Wulin spoke without the slightest hesitation of his experiences with Heavy Silver.

The metal speaks to you?
Mu Xi was amazed by what Tang Wulin had said. This was because Mu Chen had spoken to her of the very same thing when she was a child.
At that time, she had asked her father how she should forge and in response, Mu Chen told her that the metal would tell her how.
Although Mu Xi was prideful, she couldn’t help but submit to Tang Wulin at this moment. He actually experienced it himself!
The Thousand Refinements was when one understood the thoughts of the metal.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Tang Wulin didn’t mind the silence at all, he was just cheerfully thinking about his own matters.
Just like this, the two of them maintained a serene silence until they reached Eastsea Academy.
☀
The sky was now blanketed in darkness.
As he walked toward the dormitory entrance, he saw someone sitting on the stairs leading to the door. Mu Xi was still lost in thought and didn’t notice this person as she continued walking forward.

Senior disciple sister, be careful.
Tang Wulin hastily pulled her back, preventing her from colliding with that person.
Mu Xi only felt a powerful pulling force on her hand so she instinctively began to struggle. Yet the hand that held her’s was simply too strong and didn’t move a single inch.
So powerful. He really does have innate divine strength.
The person sitting on the stairs finally lifted his head to look at Tang Wulin.
You’re finally back.


Oh, it’s you.
Tang Wulin looked at him with mild surprise. The person sitting on the stairs was his classmate and the Bone Dragon King Soul Master, Wang Jinxi.
Wang Jinxi’s expression was haggard, but his eyes were sparkling.

You can let go now.
Mu Xi’s cold voice interjected.

Sorry.
Tang Wulin quickly let go of Mu Xi’s hand.

Ah, Little Xi. You know each other!?
At that moment, a pleasant voice came from behind. Tang Wulin turned around, his eyes shining.
A white-robed Ouyang Zixin stood there daintily. Under the focus of the dormitory’s soul lights, her figure shown even further, making her seem even more beautiful. Her slender and straight legs created the appearance of a tall beauty who was brimming with the vigor of youth.
Fifth grade’s class one? They should be classmates.

Zixin? What are you doing here?
Mu Xi brightened upon seeing her.
Ouyang Zixin walked over to Mu Xi’s side and hooked arms, quietly whispering a few sentences into Mu Xi’s ear.
Mu Xi blushed slightly.
Go then. Let’s go now.
She began dragging Ouyang Zixin into the dormitory the moment she finished speaking.
Ouyang Zixin smiled at Tang Wulin and waved him goodbye. As he watched the two of them leave, he couldn’t help but recall Xie Xie’s words.
‘There is a senior sister in the hearts of all youngsters.’
Is she the senior sister in my heart?
A cold shiver overcame his body. What am I thinking? But… she really is so pretty!
Wang Jinxi had already gotten up and now stood in front of Tang Wulin.
There’s something I want to talk to you about. Are you free right now?

Tang Wulin helplessly said,
You’ve been waiting here so long already, so how can I refuse? Let’s go then. Do you want to go to my place or yours?