Chapter 42: Greatest Show
"What's the matter over here?" A loud and imposing voice that was almost thuggish said from around the corner, a large and bulky figure appearing as he rounded the corner. It was a middle aged man with striking orange hair slicked back and narrowed amber eyes.
It was a man almost everyone in Eastsea would recognize as the one who revitalized their economy and was a world famous blacksmith. Attracted by the woman's screams the leader of the Eastsea Blacksmith Association branch Mu Chen had made his way over.
"Please look at this sir." The woman replied uncertainly, handing over the letter with shaking hands. A letter of introduction was important not only to the student but also to the teacher as they would stake their reputation on their student's future.
If it were to be revealed that their student had somehow cheated it would reflect negatively on their teacher and negatively affect their business most likely forever. For that reason, most chose to lessen the difficulty by saying they were a rank below what they actually were.
But this was the first time she had seen something so ridiculous. A nine year old child who had been blacksmithing for over seven years, an overwhelmingly strange fact, was requesting permission for a rank five examination.
Reading through the letter quickly Mu Chen's eyes lit up in recognition, an almost child like interest and amusement in his amber eyes. Walking up to the two of them he could hardly hold himself back from grinning like an idiot, no he probably already was.
"So you're Mang Tian's disciple huh! I've heard lots about you from Cen Yue!" Mu Chen said excitedly, placing his large and rough hand on Tang Wulin's shoulder. He truly had heard a lot about the boy in front of him.
Mang Tian would often brag about his disciple to Cen Yue who would in return vent his frustrations out toward him whenever they went out drinking together. In some ways, he was waiting for the kid in front of him to arrive.
The rumors surrounding him were ridiculous after all! Rank 1 at age 4, rank 3 at age 5, rank 4 at age 6 and then it was a matter of cultivation holding him back so he hadn't progressed much since then, or so he's heard.
"So you're finally here to take the test huh? Took you long enough!" Mu Chen exclaimed with a boisterous laugh, 'gently' slapping the boy on the back. For most children, it would hurt immensely but they were men of the forge, they could take much more than that!
"Mhm." Wulin simply hummed in response, his body not even shaking from the blow. His body was like a strong tree rooted in the ground, somehow Mu Chen felt like even he would struggle to move the boy but that was nonsense… or was it? Nah, it totally was!
"Then let's get going, the metal isn't going to hammer itself!" Mu Chen said excitedly, a grin full of childlike glee on his face. Blacksmithing was a tough career filled with old foggies like him, their soil was dry you could say, so a talent like him was like a rain cloud to him.
A talent could mean so many things for the future of blacksmithing. New discoveries, new inventions, new creations, new life! Perhaps there may even be more heavenly refined metals in the world soon enough! It was all so very exciting!
Pushing the two children forward one of the twenty saint rank blacksmiths clearly wanted to watch the most talented blacksmith he's ever seen take his examination. He wanted to see history be made with his own two eyes.
'The fire element here is so intense.' Gu Yuena noted as she was pushed into the forge. The fire element was extremely prominent however at the same time it was much more attentive and willing to work. Clearly, daily working with fire had a benefit.
"To become a fifth ranked blacksmith you need to spirit refine two metals or have one peak spirit refined metal, think you can do it?" Mu Chen asked with a smirk, clearly optimistic about his chances.
He wasn't sure about anything else but the kid's hands were clearly used to holding a hammer. His hands weren't calloused or anything because of his cultivation however he could tell that the kid was a monster of both talent and determination.
"Yes." Tang Wulin replied emotionlessly, almost bored sounding. He had been spirit refining for over a year so he had plenty of experience in the field. In fact, he was already at the peak of rank six so there was not much challenge.
That's why he would take advantage of the situation instead. Certain metals were difficult to procure yet the association had them as opinions albeit difficult ones. Since the blacksmith got to take any metal they worked with he wouldn't mind leaving with some expensive metals.
"Perfect! Then pick your metals and get started!" Mu Chen said excitedly, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the kid's casual attitude. There were two things it could mean, he was arrogant or he was confident!
Making his way over to the shelf of metals Wulin didn't hesitate for a second to pick the hardest metal on that shelf, a metal known for its intense difficulty to force even for the most well experienced smiths.
The metal was called Stellar Jade and it was fairly rare and extraordinarily difficult to refine yet relatively cheap. Once a year there was a large festival in the northern half of the Federation known as the Star Fall Festival.
This event consisted of two types of people, couples who wanted to see it with their loved ones as it was rumored to ensure they would never separate and treasure hunters who would find where the meteors fell and collect the metal to sell to the association.
'That's a tough one!' Mu Chen thought to himself excitedly, a wild smile making its way on his face. The harder the challenge the more confident he felt that the examinee would end up succeeding since their goals were different than most.
Most people come in this room with the intention to succeed but occasionally people like the kid in front of him come in, people who didn't come for the challenge but instead for the reward of their years of effort.
'Show me what you've got Wulin.' Gu Yuena thought to herself, a proud smirk on her face.
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