188 Forging at the Skysea Alliance Tournament!

“It seems like we need to start studying tactics properly,” Tang Wulin saidearnestly.

“Let’s go, we’ll plan in our room,” Xie Xie replied.

To them, Wu Zhangkong was a goliath that they had to face.

At that moment, Tang Wulin’s soul communicator rang. Glancing at the callerID, he saw that it read “Teacher” and immediately knew who was calling.

“Wulin, come see me as soon as you’re free. I have something to talk to youabout.” Mu Chen’s voice was lower, different from his usual calm self.

“Yes. Teacher, I’m free at the moment so I’ll go right away.” Although TangWulin didn’t know what the matter was, Mu Chen had always treated him well. Henaturally had to show respect in return.

“Mn. I’ll be waiting.”

Tang Wulin hung up and turned to his friends. “I need to pay a visit to theBlacksmith’s Association. You guys go ahead and talk without me. Just update mewhen I return. However, I’ll give you a rundown of Teacher Wu’s soul skillsfirst. We will most likely be facing his first soul skill, Frost Scar, and hissecond soul skill, Frost Mist…”

Tang Wulin continued to explain what he had observed of Wu Zhangkong’s firsttwo soul skills. By the time he left for the Blacksmith’s Association in ahurry, everyone was still gaping in shock at the tales of their teacher’s power.

Tang Wulin discovered that there were other people there as well when hearrived at Mu Chen’s office. Apart from Mu Chen, Cen Yue and Mu Xi were alsopresent. Mu Xi had clearly rushed over as soon as the ceremony had finished.

“Teacher.” Tang Wulin bowed to Mu Chen.

“Mn. Take a seat.” Mu Chen pointed to the two-seater sofa in front of hisdesk. Cen Yue was already sitting in one of its spots, and Mu Xi stood at MuChen’s side. This pampered girl stared at Tang Wulin with an odd expressionthat she had never shown him before.

When Tang Wulin sat down, he discovered a familiar object on the desk. It wasa cerulean metal with irregular, life-like veins running through it. Dependingon the angle from which one looked at it, the lines would take on a completelydifferent appearance.

It was the rare metal, Blue Coppertite. It had a powerful innate ability toamplify soul power, but its internal composition was highly complex and wroughtwith numerous impurities. Only after being Thousand Refined could it be used tomake goods.

Tang Wulin only needed a single glance to recognize that he had ThousandRefined this chunk himself. After all, to Thousand Refine, a blacksmith had togrow extremely familiar with the item and treat it as if it were their ownchild.

“Do you recognize this?” Mu Chen said with a frown.

“Yes, I do.” Tang Wulin shot up from his seat and stood straight as a pillar.“Teacher, did I do something wrong?”

Cen Yue awkwardly smiled at Tang Wulin. “No, it’s not that you did somethingwrong, but you did something too well. Did you know that you’re quicklyapproaching your teacher’s level?”

“Huh?” Tang Wulin gave Cen Yue a blank stare.

Mu Chen said, “Tell me what the characteristics of Blue Coppertite are.”

Tang Wulin quickly answered, “Blue Coppertite is a type of copper alloy thatis composed of thirty percent copper, a trace of coppertite, and a variety ofother trace elements. Coppertite is a special compound and the origin of themetal’s name. It’s an excellent conductor of soul power and is even called asoul power amplifier. Soul Masters usually choose this metal when buildingtheir battle armors, but since it has numerous impurities and a complexinternal structure, it is extremely difficult to forge. It cannot be properlyHundred Refined and instead needs the Thousand Refinement to purify it. Onlywhen the properties of Blue Coppertite have been stabilized and condensed canit be considered completely Thousand Refined. Its value—”

“That’s enough,” Mu Chen interrupted him. “Not only have we verified that thisis the Blue Coppertite you forged, we’ve also determined that it’s at the peakof the second-grade. In other words, it’s only one step away from being afirst-grade metal. Do you understand what this means?”

Tang Wulin mumbled, “More money?”

Cen Yue burst into laughter.

Mu Xi helplessly said, “Do you only have eyes for money?”

Mu Chen shot a glance of annoyance at his daughter, warning her not to sayanything else.

Tang Wulin sunk into thought.

Is it bad if I’m focused on money?  Blacksmithing is currently the only way Ihave to make money, and who knows how much I’ll need in the future.

“This means that you are on the verge of Spirit Refinement.” Mu Chen’s wordsstartled Tang Wulin out of his thoughts of self-doubt.

On the verge of Spirit Refinement? Dazed, Tang Wulin raised his head to lookat his teacher.

In a deep baritone, Mu Chen said, “Thousand Refinement is also known asHalf-Spirit Refinement. This is because, at that point, blacksmiths are ablebreathe life and spirit into metal which they can then shape according to theirwill, improving the quality of the final product. Second-grade Blue Coppertitecan amplify the power of a battle armor part by 110 percent, while first-gradeBlue Coppertite can amplify it by 112 percent. If it were Spirit Refined, itwould amplify the power of a battle armor part by 115 percent.

“This is why anyone in the blacksmithing world who can produce a first-grademetal is only a step away from becoming a Spirit Blacksmith. I inspected themetals you handed in to complete your tasks, and most of them were of thesecond-grade. This means you’re already a fourth rank blacksmith.”

Fourth rank?

These two words finally made Tang Wulin realize the significance of hissecond-grade products.

According to the Blacksmith’s Association’s regulations, one needed to be ableto Thousand Refine and shape two metals in a row to become a fourth rankblacksmith. Yet Mu Chen said that he was already a fourth rank blacksmith sincehe could forge second-grade metals. This was the first time he had heard ofsomething like this.

“Do you find this strange? What I’m saying is different from the association’sregulations, right?” Mu Chen asked.

“Mn. It’s a bit strange. I haven’t even tried forging a mecha component yet,”Tang Wulin probed.

Mu Chen sighed. “The association doesn’t have this in writing because very fewpeople are able to forge second-rank metals before becoming a fourth rankblacksmith, not to mention you who has a success rate of over 50 percent. Myoriginal plan was to have you rest during this time as it might help with yourcomprehension, but you’re just too amazing. You’ve really surprised all of usand made major progress!. According to the unwritten rules of the blacksmithingworld, just having a 20 percent success rate in forging second-grade metalmakes someone worthy of becoming a fourth rank blacksmith. In light of this,congratulations!”

Fourth rank? That means I can accept even harder tasks that will bring intwice as much money! If I can reach Spirit Refinement, then the money will morethan just double!

Tang Wulin’s eyes began to shine.

“Isn’t this little money grubber only imagining how much money he can makenow?” a gentle voice sounded off to the side.

“Mn.” Tang Wulin unwittingly grunted in agreement, but a strange feeling cameover him soon afterward. He saw that Mu Xi was standing at his side, clearlyharboring some evil plans for him.

Mu Xi let out a disdainful laugh. “Dad, just look at how immature yourdisciple is. All he knows is money. He doesn’t even have a dream.”

“Be quiet,” Mu Chen said in displeasure. “You’ve always been given what youwanted, but him? If he didn’t need money to live, would he have to care aboutit at such a young age? Wulin, just ignore her. There’s nothing wrong withwanting money. We’re a business after all, and a business is all about money.It’s good that you’re currently saving money. It’ll help when you are able toSpirit Refine.”

“Huh? Does Spirit Refining cost money?” Tang Wulin stared at Mu Chen in shock.