"Finished reading yet?" Yun Ming snatched the soul tool communicator right out of Gu You's hands.
"You— how did you get here?!" Gu You jumped slightly, startled.
Normally, the affairs of Shrek Academy were endless, and as the Sea God Pavilion Master, Yun Ming should've been incredibly busy. After they'd taken the commemorative photo with Qiong Shiyu, Gu You had assumed Yun Ming had gone straight back to Shrek. He hadn't expected to see him again so soon.
"I'm taking you to Tiandou City. This incident has already dragged on too long," Yun Ming said calmly, his tone light but leaving no room for argument.
"But wasn't this supposed to be my own training experience?" Gu You asked, puzzled.
"You're right — but you've already gone through a better training than we could've planned. Besides, to ensure your safety and prevent another special incident from occurring, it's better if I take you directly."
For the first time, Gu You caught a faint trace of warmth in Yun Ming's voice, a softness rarely revealed.
"Alright!"
Yun Ming nodded. His four-word battle armor began to materialize piece by piece, layering over his body. An aura of terrifying power radiated outward — though Gu You noticed Yun Ming was deliberately suppressing it, holding it in check to avoid overwhelming the surroundings.
Seeing this, Gu You immediately guessed what was about to happen. His stomach churned just thinking about it, dizziness already creeping in.
'Great… another high-speed, adrenaline-pumping trip.'
…
Tiandou City.
Once the capital of the Tiandou Empire, its prosperity was legendary. Even now, it remained one of the Sun Moon Federation's top-tier cities. Though it didn't have the towering skyscrapers of the newer metropolises, it thrived with a different kind of vibrancy — a middle-class economy bustling with life, rich historical industries, and thriving tourist sectors.
The famous "Heaven Tower," one of the top-ranked branches of the Spirit Transferring Pagoda, stood proudly here, alongside countless sects large and small. Even the legendary Tang Sect had established its presence within these ancient streets.
The Forging Master Association Headquarters towered above the city — the only building that dared match the height of the Heaven Tower.
This time, Gu You managed to hold himself together — no vomiting, no dizziness. In fact, he was starting to get used to these ultra-high-speed journeys. One day, he vowed, he'd be able to proudly declare: 'I don't get motion sickness anymore!'
As he set foot on this ancient land, Gu You couldn't shake a strange feeling bubbling inside him. But that wasn't the most important thing on his mind. Beneath Tiandou City lay something else entirely — a massive, hidden military factory…
Yun Ming didn't lead him through the main entrance of the Forging Master Association. Instead, with a flicker of space, they instantly appeared inside a resplendent, gold-adorned hall.
"You're here," came a deep, steady voice. It sounded like the speaker had been waiting for them for some time.
"Mm." Yun Ming led Gu You deeper inside.
The initial luxurious atmosphere gradually faded. As they passed further into the inner chambers, the surroundings transformed — the walls took on a cold metallic sheen, and soon an enormous, high-end forging station came into view. Off to the side, a storage cabinet brimmed with rare minerals and ores, dazzling in their variety. It was impossible to tell how many treasures were packed inside.
Gu You nearly drooled at the sight. His eyes widened as they landed on the enormous chunks of life ore. If someone gave those to him… oh, the things he could do! It would be absolute heaven.
"This is the kid you mentioned?"
A figure staggered into view, stepping toward them. His expression carried an air of imposing authority, his presence radiating strength. Yet his clothes were messy, rumpled, and his energy seemed somewhat drained, as if he'd recently been through something rough.
Gu You wisely kept his mouth shut, resisting the urge to comment. After all, the man standing before him was no ordinary person — this was a true Divine Craftsman, one of the key figures Gu You would need on his future path to the peak.
"Yes. He's here to become your disciple," Yun Ming said with a small nod. With his god-level spiritual power, he had sent Zhen Hua a message long before they'd arrived.
Zhen Hua squinted at Gu You, scrutinizing him. "Definitely a genius. So young, and already you've faced off against evil soul masters — and your soul power is this strong. But forging… forging is heavy work, boy."
Before Zhen Hua could finish his thought, Gu You calmly reached out, picking up a massive, unrefined chunk of Thousand-Jin Heavy Silver from the forging table beside him. His face remained perfectly neutral, as if silently asking, 'With strength like this, do you still doubt I can handle it?'
"Hey! Put that down! Put it down carefully! Don't drop it!" Zhen Hua rushed forward in alarm, waving his arms frantically. It wasn't that he thought the floor was especially valuable — but as a forgemaster, any damage to his crafted workspace was absolutely unacceptable.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration. Such raw strength — a thousand-jin weight lifted effortlessly. This kid was a born forging prodigy.
"Oh," Gu You mumbled, carefully setting the heavy silver back onto the table.
"Yun Ming, the last time we met was decades ago, wasn't it? You haven't changed at all — haha! Time really flies. Since you're the one bringing him here, of course I'll give him a chance," Zhen Hua said, laughing heartily. With a casual wave of his hand, a soul-forged hammer materialized in front of Gu You.
"Kid, what's your current forging rank?"
"Fourth rank! He can attempt spirit forging," Yun Ming answered before Gu You could speak.
What? Fourth rank?! How old was this kid again?!
In an instant, Zhen Hua appeared right in front of Gu You, grabbing his hands and examining them carefully. The sudden closeness made Gu You freeze for a moment — for a second, he almost misunderstood the old man's intentions.
"Genius! Absolute genius!! When I was twelve, I had only just started to dabble in spirit forging — and this boy, at nine years old, has already reached fourth rank?!"
Zhen Hua could hardly believe it. In the entire history of Douluo, Zhen Hua's own forging talent was unrivaled; no one dared claim the top spot over him. His records had stood unbroken for decades. And now, here stood a nine-year-old boy, already standing at the threshold of spirit forging mastery.
"You can trust him. He's a monster — even more of a monster than I was at his age," Yun Ming said softly, his eyes resting on Gu You with a rare trace of approval.
"Alright! Let's begin the test. Kid, if you can forge any metal into a Thousand Refined One Product, I'll officially accept you as my disciple. Here — take this soul-forged hammer. Consider it a gift from me."
Zhen Hua's eyes gleamed with excitement. If someone else had brought this boy, he might have been skeptical. But if Yun Ming had personally brought him, there was no doubt — this child was the real deal.
Gu You didn't reach for the hammer.
"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Zhen Hua frowned slightly, but then he remembered — a youth this talented was bound to have a bit of arrogance.
Gu You shook his head. "Senior, while soul-forged tools are important, they don't actually help me much. It's not my blood-bound spirit hammer — at most, I can only forge some ordinary items with it."
"Oh? Then what do you want?"
Gu You's eyes darted toward the storage cabinet, locking onto the gleaming chunk of life ore. "That."
Both Yun Ming and Zhen Hua followed his gaze, and their expressions flickered.
Life ore — also known as life crystal — was a naturally occurring source of pure life energy, an incredibly rare mineral that could only be found in ancient, untouched forests. Only with immense natural life force could such a stone form. Even Shrek's inner courtyard only had a few pieces, submerged deep within Sea God Lake.
Though life ore was incredibly valuable, Zhen Hua knew one thing: the potential value of a future Heavenly Forging Master far surpassed it. A steady supply of four-word battle armor was the ultimate proof. Just equipping an ordinary Titled Douluo with four-word battle armor could elevate them to Super Douluo levels of combat strength. And as for equipping a Super Douluo? The power would be unimaginable.
Right now, the Sun Moon Federation desperately needed a new generation of heavenly forgemasters. And if he was sure… if he was certain…
Zhen Hua knew — Gu You could very well be the one.
(End of Chapter)
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