Chapter 350 - Shocked

Yue Zhengyu was taken aback by Tang Wulin’s suggestion. “Really?” Such an offer was definitely in his favor. First-grade thousand refined meteoric iron was one of the best materials he could hope for to make his one-word battle armor, and all the better if it was free!

True to his word, Tang Wulin retrieved a piece of meteoric iron from his storage ring and handed it over.

Yue Zhengyu accepted it, inspecting it with a sharp eye. The way light reflected off the metal confirmed it was the real deal, and he gulped as his surprise grew.

“And here I thought you were a stingy person. I would never have expected you to be so generous! Let’s do as you said and call it even between us. Also, if you make any good stuff in the future…”

He almost swallowed his tongue as Tang Wulin unbuttoned his shirt, revealing something white beneath. It was a dazzling five-starred badge..

That’s!

Yue Zhengyu’s eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. He pounced on Tang Wulin and ripped open his shirt.

At that very moment, Xie Xie happened to be passing by Yue Zhengyu’s room, a bucket of water in his arms. His attention strayed to the window, and he caught a glimpse of the scene within.

Huh? Isn’t that Wulin? What’s he doing in Yue Zhengyu’s room?

From his perspective, Xie Xie could only see Tang Wulin from behind. Then he nearly yelped in surprise when he saw Yue Zhengyu crash into Tang Wulin and tear his shirt open like a madman. And most shockingly of all, drop his head to a very suspicious level.

What the hell are they doing?

Then it hit him like a speeding bullet. N-no way! It couldn’t be…

“Oi! Just what are you trying to do?” Tang Wulin shoved Yue Zhengyu off of him, recoiling back as he covered himself.

“Fifth rank? Y-you’re a fifth-rank blacksmith?” Yue Zhengyu could hardly believe it. In the brief moment he had come in contact with the badge, he felt its energy and knew it was a genuine fifth-rank badge forged by a Saint Blacksmith. A scion of the Holy Angel clan, he definitely wouldn’t be wrong about such thing. Not when there were seventh-rank craftsmen in his family.

For every profession, the fifth rank existed as a great divider that separated peasants from lords. The moment a blacksmith hit the fifth rank, their status increased a hundredfold! At that rank they could forge spirit refined metals, material that served as the foundation of two-word battle armors! But in the face of all this, all Yue Zhengyu could think about was Tang Wulin’s age. Despite being a few years his junior, Tang Wulin had reached the fifth rank!

This… Yue Zhengyu’s heart lurched, and countless thoughts flooded his mind in an instant. He was certain that Tang Wulin was the youngest fifth-rank blacksmith in history!

“Yeah, so? If that’s all you wanted to talk about, I’m leaving.” However, just as Tang Wulin turned away, an object fell out of his sleeve.

Yue Zhengyu’s eyes darted to the object.

Isn’t that jade silver?

Meteoric iron was precious, but in no way could it compare to jade silver, an alloy!

“I-is this a spirit alloy? Yue Zhengyu asked, bending to pick it up. Tang Wulin was a step ahead of him, however, and he snatched it from the floor..

“D-did you forge that?” The words tumbled out of Yue Zhengyu’s mouth.

Tang Wulin smiled wryly. “Yes, though it was a fluke. I can’t even remember how many times I failed before I succeeded in forging that. The harmony rate isn’t that great.”

“How high is it?” Yue Zhengyu asked, suspicious.

“I don’t know. My teacher just said it isn’t that high.”

If Mu Chen were present to witness this exchange, he would be struck speechless. Never in a million years would he have guessed that his treasured disciple possessed such a cunning side.

“Let me have it. I can deliver it to my family and have them check. It’s important to know exactly how high the harmony rate is, you know.””

“I can just check it at the Blacksmith’s Association,” said Tang Wulin..

Yue Zhengyu didn’t flinch. “You still don’t trust me?”

A chuckle escaped from Tang Wulin’s lips. “Alright then.” He handed the jade silver to Yue Zhengyu, departing with a wave goodbye.

Yue Zhengyu resolved himself as he took in Tang Wulin’s departing figure.

If he really can forge alloys, then I need to form a relationship with him no matter the cost. It’ll be worth it!

By the time Tang Wulin was out the door, his face had morphed into a pleased smirk. His charade wasn’t for the sake of teasing Yue Zhengyu, but to manipulate him in an effort to carve out a good relationship between them. Tang Wulin still remembered how haughty Yue Zhengyu had acted the day they first met, throwing his weight around and purchasing a drink shop to get a girl’s number. The Holy Angel clan must be wealthy and influential, a great help in acquiring spirit items he would later need.

There were eighteen Golden Dragon King seals, each one stronger than the previous. Each required spirit items more expensive than the last to break. Fortunately,Tang Wulin shattered his third seal without paying anything, but the process still required a ten-thousand-year spirit item! He couldn’t rely on luck or the free gifts of others. He had to prepare to buy what he needed himself.

Only by becoming a great blacksmith could he afford the materials needed to cultivate, break the seals, and preserve his life! Because of this, blacksmithing had crawled its way to the top of his priority list without him realizing.

Every seal he broke made him more powerful, but poor as he was and struggling to buy the items needed, he feared more for his life. The strength the Golden Dragon King offered him was as dangerous as it was great. Failing to shatter a seal would mean death!

Tang Wulin couldn’t for the life of him guess what he would need to break the later seals. Just the fourth required spirit items of the two to three-thousand-year level. Perhaps ten-thousand-year spirit items before the ninth seal were in order. But then there was the problem of finding them.

For now, he had to prepare for the future.

His stomach wailed midstep. Even if the sky shattered to pieces and fell tomorrow, food always came first!

Tucked within the shadows, Xie Xie watched Tang Wulin march for the dining hall, face twisted into a grimace. He glanced behind him, zooming in on Yue Zhengyu’s room, gulping. He fled.

After eating dinner, Tang Wulin returned straight to the working students dormitory. Finished forging for the day, he planned to extend his cultivation period for the night.

Instead of walking to his room however, he made a detour once he stepped inside, heading for the grove behind the dormitory. It was a quiet place, generally untouched by the hubbub of many people living under the same roof. More often than not, he was the only person there.

Tang Wulin stood in the center, basking in the tranquility of the forest, silently adjusting his soul power and blood essence.

Little by little the range of his perception expanded, and he became in every sense of the word aware of the surrounding plants. He could feel the life pulsing from them, their simple emotions. Joy. Anger. Fear. He could feel it all.

Although bluesilver grass was not strong in the traditional sense, it enabled him to connect the the world of plants. In addition to his increased cultivation speed, his perception range grew in this state as well.

Not only that, because he was also a fifth-rank blacksmith, which had raised his spiritual power, his senses were especially sharp today. He could hear the murmuring voices of the trees, the gurgling of the blood within his veins. The powerful and rhythmic beat of his heart that pumped the scarlet liquid of life throughout his body.

Tang Wulin took pleasure in those sensations.

He slowly swung his hands in circles, a gentle breeze lingering in their wake. Pure white light emitted from them. It was the soul power of the Mysterious Heaven Method, and circles of the same white light formed with the movement of his hands.

And Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon kicked into action.