"Two seniors!"
Seeing Zhen Hua and Mu Chen, Xia Yi understood why Feng Wuyu had brought him and Tang Wulin here.
"Teacher, Martial Uncle." Tang Wulin also bowed to Zhen Hua and Mu Chen.
In fact, Tang Wulin didn't have to come at all, as he had just parted ways with Zhen Hua and Mu Chen.
He didn't expect that, due to Feng Wuyu not knowing the situation, he would be brought before them again.
"You brat, do you even know how to talk? What do you mean by 'two seniors'? Are you saying that I'm not your senior?" Feng Wuyu glared at Xia Yi in dissatisfaction. Tang Wulin was fine—calling him 'teacher' was enough to acknowledge his seniority.
But Xia Yi specifically addressed "two seniors," clearly ignoring him.
"The last time I was meditating, you suddenly dragged me over. This time, you interrupted a crucial moment between me and my girlfriend. You really know how to pick your timing, huh?" Xia Yi rolled his eyes.
"Fine, fine, I won't argue with you. You're still young. Instead of focusing on forging, you're busy dating. Hmph!" Feng Wuyu thick-skinnedly brushed it off. He knew he was in the wrong this time.
But in his eyes, Xia Yi and Gu Yue's relationship was insignificant compared to meeting Zhen Hua.
What really made him feel embarrassed was the last time.
Back then, he hadn't taken Xia Yi seriously at all.
He had directly dragged Xia Yi away while he was in deep meditation.
Interrupting someone's cultivation is a major taboo—it could even cause them to suffer a backlash.
That night, Xia Yi wasn't just meditating, he was in a deep meditative state. And Feng Wuyu had forcefully brought him to the Blacksmith Association.
Although Xia Yi didn't suffer any major consequences, his deep meditation was completely disrupted.
Since Xia Yi hadn't complained at the time, Feng Wuyu assumed he didn't mind.
Now that Xia Yi brought it up, he suddenly felt extremely awkward.
Not wanting to lose face with Xia Yi, Feng Wuyu turned to Tang Wulin and asked curiously, "Wulin, what's wrong? You don't look like you're in a good state."
"Teacher, I'm fine. I was just thinking about my missing parents," Tang Wulin replied.
"Alright, as long as you're okay." Feng Wuyu nodded before continuing in a serious tone, "Today, the Divine Craftsman himself has come to our Shrek Academy Blacksmith Association. I brought you both here so you can learn from his teachings. Hurry and thank the Divine Craftsman!"
"Thank you, Senior."
"Thank you, Martial Uncle."
Tang Wulin and Xia Yi spoke in unison.
Zhen Hua was speechless.
Last time, Mu Chen had forced him to teach Tang Wulin. Now, Feng Wuyu was pulling the same trick.
Though he felt a bit helpless, he didn't refuse.
"Show me your best forging work first."
Over the past few days at the Shrek City Blacksmith Association, Zhen Hua had already learned of Tang Wulin's talent. He was even more outstanding than Zhen Hua himself had been at that age.
Now, he was mainly interested in seeing Xia Yi's skills.
"Alright!" Xia Yi and Tang Wulin both nodded.
Tang Wulin chose to forge his best materials—Heavy Silver and Magic Silver.
Xia Yi chose his specialty—Life Crystal Stone.
While Tang Wulin was still refining his metals, Xia Yi raised his hammer and struck down with a bang, skipping the refining process entirely.
Life Crystal Stone loses some of its life energy when refined, so skilled blacksmiths always forge it directly without heating.
However, forging without refining is extremely difficult.
Even a sixth-rank blacksmith would only have a 30% success rate forging Life Crystal Stone this way.
"A fifth-rank blacksmith, forging Life Crystal Stone without refining? Is he aiming for Thousand Refinements? And that forging hammer… quite unusual." Zhen Hua nodded slightly.
A normal fifth-rank blacksmith would be lucky to achieve a Thousand Refinements, second grade.
After observing Xia Yi's forging hammer, he estimated that Xia Yi could probably achieve Thousand Refinements, first grade.
Life Crystal Stone has poor malleability and is highly fragile, so Xia Yi had to be extra careful.
Even though his forging speed was fast, he still lagged behind Tang Wulin.
As soon as Tang Wulin finished refining his Heavy Silver, he started forging with his Twin Dragon Hammers, which had the Echoing Strike effect—one hit equaled two.
With a dragon's roar, he quickly completed Thousand Refinements, first grade, before Xia Yi.
Tang Wulin glanced at Xia Yi, who was still forging, and felt a rush of excitement.
Xia Yi had already taken Gu Yue from him—he absolutely couldn't lose to him in forging too!
"Life Crystal Stone, huh? Even if you achieve Thousand Refinements, first grade, it won't compare to my Spirit Forging fusion!"
Tang Wulin took a deep breath and started forging his Magic Silver.
Soon, another dragon's roar rang out as his Magic Silver also reached Thousand Refinements, first grade.
Taking another deep breath, he began Spirit Forging through fusion.
At that moment, Xia Yi's Life Crystal Stone released a powerful wave of life energy.
The dense vitality made Zhen Hua, Feng Wuyu, and Mu Chen all feel refreshed.
"Thousand Refinements, first grade. Impressive!" Zhen Hua couldn't help but nod.
Reaching Thousand Refinements, first grade, without refining Life Crystal Stone was something only top-tier fifth-rank blacksmiths could achieve.
Xia Yi also took a deep breath but didn't stop—he continued forging.
"Still going? Is he attempting Spirit Forging?"
Zhen Hua was finally surprised.
Spirit Forging Life Crystal Stone was a feat only sixth-rank blacksmiths could accomplish!
However, Feng Wuyu and Mu Chen remained calm.
Feng Wuyu already knew that Xia Yi could Spirit Forge Life Crystal Stone.
Mu Chen had also heard from the Shrek City Blacksmith Association members that Xia Yi had done it before.
So, only Zhen Hua and Tang Wulin were unaware.
Seeing Xia Yi continue forging, Tang Wulin's eyes flickered.
These past few days, Feng Wuyu had been forcing him to Spirit Forge Life Crystal Stone.
But he had failed every time.
And every time he failed, he was scolded relentlessly.
Now, seeing Xia Yi attempt it, he couldn't stay calm.
Even though his Spirit Forging was a fusion and Xia Yi's was normal Spirit Forging…
If Xia Yi succeeded, then his fusion of Heavy Silver and Magic Silver would seem far less impressive in comparison.
"Focus! Just do your own forging!"
Mu Chen quickly reminded him, seeing his distraction.
He frowned slightly.
Tang Wulin had been fine when they last met—why had his emotions fluctuated so much in such a short time?
Hearing Mu Chen's warning, Tang Wulin nodded and refocused on his forging.
An hour later, he successfully completed his Spirit Forging fusion.
Mu Chen tested it with an instrument—93% fusion rate.
"You lost focus midway and your emotions were unstable. Otherwise, you could have reached 95% and created a Divine Alloy."
Zhen Hua glanced at Tang Wulin before saying,
"93% fusion is an excellent result for a fifth-rank blacksmith, but a mistake is a mistake. Go back, adjust your mindset, and return later."
"This…!"
Tang Wulin clenched his teeth, unwilling to leave.
He looked at Xia Yi, who was still forging.
Xia Yi's forging speed was increasing. With Tang Wulin's experience, he could tell—
As long as Xia Yi didn't make a major mistake…
He was guaranteed to succeed.
Feng Wuyu, Mu Chen, and even Zhen Hua were all watching Xia Yi with excitement, as if they had discovered something incredible.
"Just go back. Don't be discouraged. His forging hammer is unique—without it, he wouldn't be able to forge Life Crystal Stone to this level."
Mu Chen consoled him, seeing Zhen Hua's enthusiasm for Xia Yi's forging.
"Yes, Teacher."
Tang Wulin left reluctantly.
"If we both used normal forging hammers, there's no way he'd surpass me!"
Seeing Zhen Hua's eager gaze on Xia Yi, Tang Wulin muttered unwillingly in his heart.