The Eastsea Blacksmith Association was located a short distance from Donghai Academy.
The following day, once lunch was finished, Tang Wulin guided Huo Yuhao toward the building.
The two of them stopped in front of a grand grey structure. A giant blacksmith hammer sign was set into the front wall, clearly marking the purpose of the place.
When they entered the first floor, the space inside felt very large, with high ceilings and marble floors that shone like mirrors; the design was simple and quiet.
At this time, the hall looked mostly empty and still, with only a few workers walking far off in the distance.
Little Wulin? Why have you come here!
A loud and surprised voice came from a hallway on the side of the main hall.
Hearing the shout, the two turned their heads to see a strong middle-aged man in his early forties with a very thick build walking toward them with big steps.
Grandmaster Cen Yue! Tang Wulin clearly knew the man and said with a smile, I came to see my teacher.
Cen Yue smiled back and said, He is in his office on the upper floor. You two can just go on up.
As one of the few high leaders in the group who knew Tang Wulin was the personal student of President Mu Chen, Cen Yue liked this talented and hard-working boy very much.
After a few short words, Tang Wulin led Huo Yuhao into the soul tool elevator, going all the way up to the thirty-third floor.
Knock, knock, knock.
Tang Wulin knocked on the heavy wood door of the president's office in a familiar way.
Come in.
A soft and nice male voice spoke from inside the room.
Tang Wulin pushed the door open and walked in, leading Huo Yuhao past the entrance wall, and the view in front of them suddenly became wide.
A giant window took up one whole wall, letting the bright sun from the afternoon fill the entire room.
In front of that window sat a big, heavy dark wood desk with straight lines and a solid look.
At this moment, a middle-aged man in a plain shirt sat behind the desk.
He had a handsome face and a high nose; even though he was older, you could still see he was a very good-looking man when he was young.
Hearing them, he looked up, and when his eyes saw Tang Wulin, a kind smile grew on his face, and he set down his pen.
Wulin, what brings you here today?
The voice of Mu Chen had the warmth of a kind elder; he truly liked Tang Wulin as a student and treated him like his own child.
Since the parents of Tang Wulin had gone away, the people he felt closest to were his teachers.
Wu Changkong was one, Mang Tian was another, and the last was Mu Chen right here.
Teacher.
Tang Wulin spoke with respect and then, getting straight to the point, stepped aside to bring Huo Yuhao forward, introducing him: This is my classmate, Huo Yuhao.
He is a blacksmith too and wants to join our Eastsea Blacksmith Association to get the right to enter next month's Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition.
Oh?
Hearing this, Mu Chen looked over at Huo Yuhao, calmly checking out the boy standing next to his favorite student.
The boy stood very straight, and his eyes were clear and steady. Facing the president of the group, he did not look nervous or shy like other boys; his mood felt very special.
However, Mu Chen did not just agree because Tang Wulin had brought him.
His face became serious, and his eyes went back to Tang Wulin as he spoke in a firm way, Wulin, you know how our association works.
To join us officially, a person must pass the right rank test to prove they are a blacksmith; this is a rule for everyone.
Even if it is someone you brought... there are no special favors.
The rules Mu Chen spoke of were actually quite simple.
As long as a person was a real blacksmith, even at rank 1, they could ask to join the group.
Tang Wulin had not asked Huo Yuhao about his exact blacksmith rank before, but he felt that with the great talent Huo Yuhao had as a Spirit Master and with spirit tools, being a real blacksmith at ten years old should be easy.
Now, seeing his teacher focus on the rules, Tang Wulin nodded with a serious look and said, Do not worry, Teacher, I know the rules of the association.
He then turned to look at Huo Yuhao and said, Yuhao, now you should show your strength.
Huo Yuhao still had that soft smile; he said nothing, only slowly lifting his right hand.
A small glow of spirit power moved above his palm.
A heavy, round metal badge appeared out of thin air in his hand!
The badge was a dark gold color all over, with a raised carving of a blacksmith hammer in the middle, showing he was a blacksmith.
Around that middle hammer mark were five purple stars set in a circle.
In the office, Mu Chen, who had been looking at him with a serious eye, and Tang Wulin, who was ready to cheer for Huo Yuhao—both of their stares hit the badge in the hand of Huo Yuhao at the same time!
Then, the eyes of both men went wide with total shock!
As blacksmiths, they were very familiar with the look and the meaning of that badge, which showed a person's name, rank, and honor.
At this moment, the eyes of Tang Wulin were wide open as if they would fall out, and his mind was filled with a blank sense of disbelief!
The number of stars around the hammer on the badge told the rank of the blacksmith.
One star meant rank 1, and so on.
And on the badge in the hand of Huo Yuhao, there were truly... five stars!
This meant that Huo Yuhao was a... level five blacksmith!
Although the spirit power of Tang Wulin was only at the one-ring level, he was very talented at forging and had moved fast, already being a level four blacksmith.
His teachers Mu Chen and Mang Tian often called him a forging genius that only appears once in a thousand years.
That praise had become a big source of pride and hope in his heart.
In fact, he had felt that since he could not beat Huo Yuhao in spirit power or strength, beating him in forging would be a win.
He had even imagined the shocked look on the face of Huo Yuhao when he found out Tang Wulin was a level four blacksmith; that thought had made him feel a little happy inside.
However, the truth hit him right in the face!
The one who was shocked into silence first was actually himself!
This Huo Yuhao, who was the same age as him, was actually... already a level five blacksmith?!
A level five blacksmith meant a person had already learned the skill of spirit forging!
From the lessons of Mu Chen, Tang Wulin knew very well how hard and complex spirit forging was.
After a moment, that feeling of shock slowly faded, replaced by a very strange and mixed feeling.
Tang Wulin said quietly to himself in his heart, I did not expect... that in forging, I would also lose.
After a short pause, the body of Mu Chen suddenly moved!
Huo Yuhao only saw a blur in front of him, and in the next second, the tall body of Mu Chen was standing right there in front of him.
Right after that, he felt his hand go empty as the five-star badge was taken and put into the open hand of Mu Chen.
Mu Chen did not speak; he looked down a bit, his eyes locked onto the badge in his hand.
His thumb moved slowly over the five purple stars and the hammer carving, feeling the small marks and the feel of the metal.
The kindness on his face went away fast, replaced by a heavy seriousness that even showed a bit of... sharpness?
After a moment of silence, Mu Chen suddenly looked up, his eyes like bolts of lightning, staring right into the eyes of Huo Yuhao.
His voice was deep as he asked, Are you... here to challenge the hall?
Ah?!
Huo Yuhao was totally confused by this sudden question.
He had not expected Mu Chen to say such a thing at all, let alone understand why he said it.
He simply wanted to join the group to be in the match, so how did he suddenly become someone "challenging the hall"?
Tang Wulin on the side also got nervous, looking at his teacher who was suddenly serious and then at the confused Huo Yuhao, not knowing what was happening either.
At this time, Mu Chen slowly held up the badge and said with a heavy voice, This badge... was forged by Zhen Hua himself, was it not?
Others might not see his special style, but I... I can see it.
Waves of shock immediately rose in the heart of Huo Yuhao.
This badge was indeed forged and given to him by Zhen Hua to show his forging power.
Hearing Mu Chen say this now, the mind of Huo Yuhao started to race.
Could it be that his teacher, Zhen Hua, and the President of the Donghai Blacksmith Association, Mu Chen, had some kind of bad history or a grudge?
Otherwise, why would he act so strongly when seeing a badge made by the other man, even thinking his arrival was an attack?
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