Arthur found it hard to talk about the matters concerning Yuanen Yehui and the Demon Plane.
He stammered, not knowing how to explain.
Facing the increasingly dangerous gazes around him, he took a deep breath and talked nonsense under pressure: "Regarding this matter, I can only say that those who understand, understand. It won't do you any good to know; the interests involved are too great. I can only say the water is very deep..."
The culprit who had been watching from the side, Yuanen Yehui, watched with great interest.
That's right, she did it on purpose.
She remembered how Arthur had acted like a riddler in front of her before.
Arthur's rhetoric clearly couldn't fool them. His voice grew smaller and smaller until it was almost inaudible.
Just as Arthur couldn't make up any more excuses and was preparing to use his ultimate move to run away...
The communicator rang.
The ringtone rang out among them, breaking the tense atmosphere.
Arthur felt as if he had been granted a grand pardon and immediately picked up. "Hello?"
It was Mu Chen calling. "Little Arthur, where are you now? Can you come to the Association?"
At this moment, Mu Chen's voice sounded like heavenly music to Arthur's ears.
He pretentiously wiped away tears of excitement, his voice sobbing: "Teacher, you are my best teacher."
Mu Chen was startled by this sudden "passionate confession" and was stunned for two seconds before reacting. "...What are you up to again?"
"Teacher, tell me what happened." Arthur waved the communicator at the girls around him and made a helpless expression. "I'll head over right away."
"How should I put it..." Mu Chen's tone was a bit subtle. "Someone has come to cause trouble, saying they want to challenge the geniuses of our Association."
"Good trouble! Cough... I mean, who is so arrogant? Don't they know that the Shrek City Association is covered by me, the Little Divine Craftsman!" Arthur said excitedly. "I'll be there soon!"
Then he said sadly to the girls, "Sorry... I can't stay with you anymore. You know how it is."
He pointed to the communicator, and after building up some emotion, said with grief and indignation, "I also regret it, but the Blacksmith Association cannot function without me."
The girls:...Na'er was the most furious. She began to wonder if she should ask Di Tian to sneak into Mu Chen's bed in the middle of the night.
Gu Yue was relatively calm. "It just so happens I have nothing to do. I'll go with you to take a look."
Xu Xiaoyan immediately raised her hand. "I want to go too! I haven't been to the Shrek City Blacksmith Association yet."
Ye Xinglan nodded. "Since we agreed to rest with you today, I'll go too."
Arthur didn't mind.
As long as he entered the Association, he wouldn't step out for a single step during this month-long break!
...Arriving at the Blacksmith Hall, it was already crowded with people, and the sound of discussion rose and fell.
But as soon as Arthur entered the door, he became the focus of the entire room. All the chatter disappeared.
Arthur never hid his forging talent, so his reputation in the forging world was extremely high, second only to Zhen Hua.
For no other reason than being simply awesome.
Every Blacksmith who had seen Arthur's forging on-site was convinced he was the future Divine Craftsman.
Arthur looked around. There were quite a few familiar Faces; even Zhen Hua was there.
Almost every prominent figure in the forging world within the Federation had arrived.
Why almost? Because Feng Wu Yu wasn't there.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Mu Chen secretly explained to Arthur via sound transmission.
Because of Arthur's terrifying achievement of soloing two Evil Douluo not long ago, Zhen Hua and he were worried that someone might be wary and take action against Arthur.
So they gathered the Blacksmiths here for a party to discuss supporting Arthur.
Then they encountered someone coming to cause trouble.
Arthur then realized why the Blacksmith Association was as lively as the New Year today; it turned out Zhen Hua and Mu Chen were "backing him up."
His heart warmed, but he couldn't help but complain, "A party and you didn't even invite me."
Mu Chen gave him a sharp look. "Stop talking nonsense."
Zhen Hua laughed, stepped forward, and patted his shoulder. "Little Arthur, you've finally arrived."
"Let's get straight to the point." Arthur shouted, "Who's the troublemaker?"
This shout made everyone look toward the center of the hall in unison.
Standing there were two people, one old and one young. The old man's hair was already gray, but he looked very energetic.
The other was a girl, appearing to be fifteen or sixteen years old, with extreme beauty and a slender figure.
Seeing everyone looking over, the old man spoke of his business, saying calmly, "I am Zhanggong Yan. Hearing that there is a Blacksmith gathering here, I happened to bring my disciple to challenge the younger generation of the Blacksmith Association."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone suppressed their laughter in perfect unison.
The old man pointed to the young girl beside him. "This is my disciple, Lin Yuhan. If any Blacksmith under the age of twenty in your Blacksmith Association can defeat her, we lose. If we lose, we will join the Blacksmith Association."
After speaking, he looked at Arthur with bright eyes. It was evident from the surrounding atmosphere that Arthur was likely the top Genius here.
"Hmm..." Arthur, who respected the old and loved the young, stepped forward with arrogant steps. "Old man, do you know who I am?"
Zhanggong Yan snorted coldly. "I only look at strength, not names."
"Oh." Arthur nodded. "From the Star Luo Continent?"
The old man and the girl's expressions changed drastically.
Holy crap, doxxed!
They couldn't help but observe their surroundings, only to find that everyone's expressions were as expected.
"No need to be surprised. I'm actually quite famous on the Douluo Continent. If you don't know me, there's a high probability you're from the Star Luo Continent."
Zhanggong Yan was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking, "Our purpose for coming today is simple—just a friendly match."
Arthur nodded. "Of course. How do you want to compare?"
Zhanggong Yan was clearly very confident in his disciple. "It's simple. We'll have two rounds. For the first round, we choose a metal, and you forge it together. For the second round, you choose a metal to forge together."
"This way, the comparison of who is superior will be simple and clear."
After the preparations were complete, the match began.
Lin Yuhan chose lanyun copper. She was the first to act, her Soul Power suddenly erupting as four purple spirit rings appeared. Her hammer technique was fierce and precise; every strike carried a strong sense of power, sparks flying everywhere, her movements as smooth as flowing water.
In contrast, Arthur appeared somewhat casual. Not only did he not start forging, but he even watched from the side. "Quite interesting."
Why hasn't he started yet? Zhanggong Yan frowned, sensing something was wrong.
Scanning the room, he noticed that the surrounding Blacksmiths also showed no signs of worry.
They even looked at Lin Yuhan with interest. "Is this the forging style of the Star Luo Continent?"
Only when Lin Yuhan finished the Spirit Forging and ended her forging did Zhanggong Yan's unease grow stronger. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you admitting defeat?"
Arthur didn't answer, slowly walking to his own forging table.
"I know everyone gathered in Shrek City today for me, Arthur," Arthur said. "Since everyone has given me so much Face..."
"Then I'll put on a show for everyone!"
Soul Forging, happens today!
Intuition, Luck! Show me your limits!"
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