Xia Yi turned around and saw three figures standing at the entrance of the working student dormitory area.
Shen Yi, gritting her teeth in anger.Yuanen Yehui, looking indifferent.And Mu Xi, whose expression seemed a bit unnatural.
Mu Xi—one of the people Xia Yi least wanted to see.
Shen Yi was furious. She had never seen anyone so blatantly disregard Shrek Academy's rules like Xia Yi and Gu Yue.
Yet, Yali had personally intervened, ensuring that no one would expel Xia Yi and Gu Yue.
Glancing at Yuanen Yehui and Mu Xi—who had somehow found out about Xia Yi's return—Shen Yi spoke first, her voice cold:
"You two, settle your affairs yourselves, then come to my office."
With that, Shen Yi turned and left.
Now, only Yuanen Yehui and Mu Xi remained.
"You go first, class rep," Mu Xi said after glancing at Yuanen Yehui.
Yuanen Yehui nodded, walked up to Xia Yi, and said directly, "I need your help forging the remaining parts of my battle armor."
"How many pieces do you have now?" Xia Yi asked.
"Two—a pair of gauntlets," Yuanen Yehui said seriously.
Xia Yi frowned. He remembered that Yuanen Yehui had already broken through to the Soul Ancestor level. Why did she have only two pieces of battle armor?
"The metal you forge is too rich in life energy. When made into battle armor, it can't fuse with pieces forged by other blacksmiths," Yuanen Yehui explained. She extended her hands, and a pair of armored gauntlets appeared. "My right gauntlet was forged by you, and the left one was bought from the Academy's Blacksmith Association website. That one was also forged by you. I tried getting other people to forge additional parts, but they could never merge with my gauntlets. I had no choice but to discard them and wait for you to forge them for me."
Xia Yi glanced at the left gauntlet and nodded. "It is indeed my work."
Last semester, Xia Yi had sold many defective products at Shrek Academy.
These "defective" products were mostly ones he had forged without using his Genesis Hammer or Fox Enchantment Technique—just from his usual practice.
Yuanen Yehui's left gauntlet, however, was a different case—it was a defective product he had forged using the Genesis Hammer.
Although it wasn't a divine metal and only had about 90% fusion, the Genesis Hammer's forging still infused it with strong life energy.
That was why it could merge with her right gauntlet.
"I don't have time for this. I suggest you replace both gauntlets and find a new blacksmith to forge a complete set of battle armor," Xia Yi shook his head.
"I need strength. I need a powerful battle armor," Yuanen Yehui insisted.
"Even if I help you this time, what about when you upgrade your armor to two-word, three-word, or even four-word battle armor?" Xia Yi asked indifferently.
When upgrading battle armor, one could either forge entirely new pieces or refine and upgrade existing ones.
If Yuanen Yehui was reluctant to part with her gauntlets now, she likely wouldn't want to discard them in the future either.
That would leave her with only one option—upgrading them.
Metal fusion required compatibility between materials.
The life energy in metals forged with Xia Yi's Genesis Hammer was so strong that integrating them with metals forged by others wouldn't be easy.
"But you're here, aren't you?" Yuanen Yehui looked at Xia Yi. "I'll pay you accordingly."
Before Xia Yi could reply, Gu Yue suddenly spoke up with a smile: "As long as there's payment, everything is negotiable. Just prepare the materials and payment, then contact me via soul communicator."
"Really?" Yuanen Yehui was surprised by how easy that was. She glanced at Xia Yi for confirmation, knowing he was the real blacksmith.
To her knowledge, some students at Shrek Academy had previously bought Xia Yi's metal but ended up using it for mechas and soul tools instead of battle armor.
"Your second martial soul is Fallen Angel, right?" Gu Yue asked.
"That's right," Yuanen Yehui nodded.
"Alright, got it," Gu Yue nodded slightly, then glanced at Xia Yi before smiling at Yuanen Yehui. "Don't look at him—he listens to me."
"That's right. Whatever Yue'er says is what I say," Xia Yi agreed.
"Great!" Yuanen Yehui responded simply, then turned and left.
"I'll explain later," Gu Yue said, watching Yuanen Yehui leave. She then turned to Mu Xi and coldly snorted, "I already handled this for you once. Since she won't give up, you deal with it yourself."
With that, Gu Yue turned and entered the dormitory to pack her things.
This time, both she and Xia Yi had no plans to return to Shrek Academy.
For days, Gu Yue had been wondering how to bring up the idea of Xia Yi meeting his past-life memory fragment to ask about forging a cauldron capable of suppressing fate.
But she knew Xia Yi didn't want to meet his past-life memory fragment.
He wanted to live as his own person, independent of his past.
At the same time, Gu Yue was afraid.
Afraid that if Xia Yi met his past-life self too often, he would turn into his past self.
Because of this, she hadn't said anything.
As Gu Yue entered the dormitory, Mu Xi stepped forward with a bright smile. "Why are you so nervous? I just came to see an old friend. What, did you think I'd shamelessly cling to you? Don't worry—even if you became a god, my mother wouldn't allow me to be your concubine. I gave up on you long ago."
"Then why did you come to see me?" Xia Yi asked.
"I already told you—just to see an old friend. Is that not allowed?" Mu Xi smiled, then sat down on a patch of grass, resting her chin on her hands as she gazed at the sky. Her golden hair gleamed under the sunlight, as dazzling as her smile.
"Mu Xi, I'm sorry," Xia Yi sat beside her and said seriously.
"I accept your apology," Mu Xi's smile remained. "After all, I was heartbroken over you, so I deserve at least that much."
"As long as you can move on, I'll be relieved," Xia Yi said. He knew she might just be putting on a brave face, but he also knew that giving her hope would only hurt her more.
"You're already married. Of course, I have to move on," Mu Xi shrugged nonchalantly. "Actually, I came to thank you on behalf of my master."
"He comprehended it?" Xia Yi asked curiously.
"Yes! My master's Heavenly Refinement success rate has increased by 10%! Amazing, right?" Mu Xi said proudly.
"That is impressive!" Xia Yi nodded.
Back in Heaven Dou City, when he was forging, he had infused some insights from Hetu Luoshu into his work.
He hadn't expected Zhen Hua to grasp them just from watching.
"My master said his forging technique is already set in stone, so it's difficult to make major changes. If he had comprehended your insights before mastering Heavenly Refinement, his success rate could have reached 50%!" Mu Xi boasted.
"As expected of a Divine Craftsman," Xia Yi nodded.
"Of course!" Mu Xi grinned.
"Unfortunately, I don't have time these days. Otherwise, I'd love to visit him," Xia Yi said.
"You wouldn't find him in Heaven Dou City—my master has already gone to Mingdu," Mu Xi said.
Since the Blacksmith Association's Heavenly Refinement Platform was in Mingdu, Zhen Hua had gone there to test his insights.
"The next time we meet, his forging will definitely have reached another level," Xia Yi sighed.
"Of course!" Mu Xi suddenly turned and hugged Xia Yi briefly. "Your apology is done, and I've said my thanks. I'm leaving now. My youth, my first love—goodbye. I'm off to find my own happiness."
She let go immediately, without any overstepping.
Standing up, she dusted off her clothes and walked away without hesitation.
"She seems to have truly let go," Gu Yue appeared beside Xia Yi and said.
"It was my fault. She was just waiting for me to reject her properly instead of being indirect like I was in Eastsea City," Xia Yi admitted.
"Either way, this ending is the best outcome for both of you. Come on, it's time to go," Gu Yue took Xia Yi's hand, having already packed their things.
This time, for the journey to the Star Luo Continent, Gu Yue did not want to participate as a student of Shrek Academy.
Naturally, she also wouldn't be traveling with Shrek Academy's team.
Xia Yi and Gu Yue completely ignored Shen Yi's words.
After all, they had never agreed to them in the first place.
They went to Shrek Academy to buy some supplies.
After spending all their contribution points, they immediately prepared to leave Shrek Academy.
However, just as they were about to reach the academy gates, a figure appeared in front of them.
Purple, purple, purple, purple, purple—five fully purple soul rings emerged around him.
"Inner court, Lin Pingzhi." Lin Pingzhi stood before Xia Yi and Gu Yue, dressed in the red uniform of Shrek's inner court, holding his Bixie Sword in hand.
Xia Yi suddenly recalled Wu Jin's words.
There were quite a few people in Shrek Academy who wanted to cause trouble for him.
But aside from Shen Yi, Yuanen Yehui, and Mu Xi, none of them had actually come looking for trouble.
Shen Yi had already left directly.
So strictly speaking, Lin Pingzhi was the first one to actually come looking for trouble.
According to Wu Jin, if Lin Pingzhi was the first, then there would definitely be more after him.
But Xia Yi was sure—he hadn't offended this guy, had he?
"Looks like leaving Shrek Academy won't be so easy after all." Xia Yi chuckled.
(End of Chapter)