As such, he hadn't seen Mu Xi for many years. In his memory, Mu Xi was still in the outer court of Shrek Academy and hadn't managed to make it into the inner court. She was already over 20 years of age now, she'd have to become a two-word battle armor master prior to turning 30 if she wanted to enter the inner court.
Tang Wulin suddenly realized that he knew next to nothing about Mu Xi. He had no idea what her current soul power rank was, nor how she'd been progressing in other areas. With this realization came a sense of guilt and apology.
"You still recall that you have me as your senior disciple sister?" Mu Xi accused in a cold voice as she placed her hands on her hips.
It had been four years since Tang Wulin had last seen Mu Xi, and even back then, she was already a splendid beauty. Now, she was already close to turning 23, and her beauty had flourished even further. Her figure had developed to perfection, and all of the male members of Shrek’s Seven Monsters couldn't help but take an extra glance at her as she walked in through the door.
She wore a fiery red long dress and had a head of long wavy curls. Her beauty was like that of a scorching yet mesmerizing flame, just like her personality.
A wry smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face. "I'm sorry, Senior Disciple Sister."
A series of complex emotions instantly welled up in Mu Xi's heart at the sight of Tang Wulin. She really wanted to pounce on him and give him a piece of her mind. He disappeared for over three years, and as soon as he returned, he went into seclusion in the inner court. She was prohibited from entering the inner court, so there was no way for her to meet him. The only time that she saw him was during the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention. However, she was unable to participate in the event, so she could only look on from the shore as he expressed his love for Gu Yue before they got their Happily Ever After.
In that instant, Mu Xi's heart had been filled with a smorgasbord of different emotions.
The first time she'd met Tang Wulin, she'd been very disdainful toward him. However, after that, he earned her approval, and gradually, he became someone that she looked up to. In just a decade or so, he had become a truly exceptional man, and perhaps even the brightest star of Shrek Academy. At the same time, it seemed as if the distance between them was constantly widening.
In some areas, Mu Xi felt the same way as Wu Siduo. Both of them were perfectionists, and after seeing the best, they had no eyes for anything else.
With Mu Xi's looks and background, she naturally had countless pursuers in Shrek Academy, and there were even inner court disciples who were interested in her. However, she'd firmly rejected all of their advances without any hesitation as there had always been a figure in her heart that she couldn't forget.
She was always trying to pursue him in forging, hoping that he would notice her if she could become just as adept a blacksmith as he was, but he simply left her further and further behind.
Mu Xi wasn't a naive little girl who constantly lived in her dream world. After witnessing Tang Wulin choosing someone else during the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention, she had told herself that this man had nothing to do with her. However, just as she was gradually getting over him, he suddenly appeared before her.
Just a simple apology from him suddenly made it impossible for her to vent all of the fury and indignation she'd built up toward him.
"Ahem!" Mu Chen cleared his throat to alleviate the awkward atmosphere slightly. He was Mu Xi's father, so he was naturally aware of her thoughts and feelings.
However, Tang Wulin was like a true dragon that was just beginning to rise into the heavens, and relationships simply couldn't be forced. The two of them simply weren't meant to be.
Mu Chen had once tried to tell Mu Xi in a roundabout manner that her personality was too overbearing, and that Tang Wulin definitely wasn't the type of person who would be willing to be controlled by others. Both of them were very competitive, and when two competitive people came together, perhaps it was possible for them to become friends, but it was far too difficult for them to become lovers.
"Wulin asked me to assess his forging skills; seeing as you've come back, you can have a look as well." Mu Chen made his way over to his daughter before patting her on the shoulder.
The complex emotions in Mu Xi's eyes gradually faded. After all, she was already an adult, and regardless of how stubborn her personality was, she certainly wasn't going to embarrass her father by throwing a fit like a spoiled child.
"Alright."
Tang Wulin was starting to sweat under Mu Xi's scorching gaze, and even the sense of exhaustion that he'd been afflicted with earlier had been instantly burned away.
Mu Chen said, "Let's go to my forging room."
Everyone followed Mu Chen to his private forging room, which contained almost all types of uncommon metals that had been discovered thus far on the Douluo Continent.
Mu Chen made an inviting hand gesture to Tang Wulin, and the latter paused momentarily before making his way over to the metal that was most familiar to him.
Thus, he quickly picked up a standard-sized block of heavy silver before placing it on the anvil.
Mu Xi raised an eyebrow in an insulting manner, and scoffed, "That's it? Heavy silver?"
Tang Wulin replied with a smile, "It's the metal I'm most familiar with."
Indeed, he was most familiar with heavy silver, not only because this was the first uncommon metal he'd come into contact with, but also because he had an extremely in-depth understanding of this material.
Tang Wulin's forging hammers were still his Heavy Silver Hammers, and every time he'd made a breakthrough in his forging, it had always been through refining heavy silver. This was partially due to how familiar he was with heavy silver, and at the same time, it created a placebo effect. All of his breakthroughs had been made with heavy silver on the anvil, so he'd developed the subconscious feeling that heavy silver was his lucky metal, which was why he'd chosen it again.
Mu Xi didn't say anything further; she only looked on with rapt focus in her eyes. She had worked extremely hard during the past few years, and if Tang Wulin didn't exist, she would be the undisputed number one prodigy of the Blacksmith's Association.
She was only 23 years of age, yet Mu Chen had already acknowledged her as a suitable heir to him in the art of forging. The current Mu Xi was also a sixth-rank blacksmith, and even though she had made it to the sixth rank slightly later than Tang Wulin, she definitely wasn't late by much. If it weren't for the fact that she'd spent so much time and effort on honing her forging skills, she may have had a chance of making it into the inner court.
However, her forging skill had also been of immense benefit to her. She had already begun to prepare the metals required for her suit of two-word battle armor, and she was going to be using spirit refined alloys!
She was determined to become a two-word battle armor master prior to turning 30 so she could become a member of Shrek Academy's inner court.
Furthermore, her cultivation rank had also exceeded 50, so she was a Soul King already. She was very exceptional in all areas, and she was very confident in herself, as well as the effort she'd put in. As such, she wanted to see whether she had caught up to him after working so hard for four years.
Tang Wulin placed the piece of heavy silver onto the forging bench to calcine it. At the same time, he pulled out his pair of spirit refined Heavy Silver Hammers with a serious expression on his face, and he closed his eyes as he waited in tranquil silence.
Even though Mu Xi was very angry at him, she still had to admit that Tang Wulin was her biggest competition in the world of blacksmiths, and even a target that she'd always been pursuing.
He had been a sixth-rank blacksmith for over four years, yet he could still maintain such a calm and steady demeanor during his forging. He was only 19 years old, but his mental fortitude in forging rivaled that of even her father.
He was immovable like a mountain!
Mu Chen was also spectating off to the side, while the six other members of Shrek’s Seven Monsters were standing slightly further away in case they distracted Tang Wulin by standing too close.
Tang Wulin placed his hammers onto the forging bench, and his arms hung by his side in a relaxed manner. There was an indescribable disposition about him, and in that instant, he seemed to no longer be a human being. Instead, it was as if he'd become a part of the forging room.
It was very easy to judge the amount of time required to calcine heavy silver, and all of a sudden, Tang Wulin pressed a button, upon which the red-hot piece of heavy silver gradually rose up.
Almost at the exact same moment, Tang Wulin opened his eyes and gripped onto his pair of forging hammers. He then reached out with his hammers in a rather tentative manner instead of slamming them down onto the piece of heavy silver right away.
Mu Chen was surprised to see that Tang Wulin was essentially drumming the piece of heavy silver with his pair of hammers.
Instead of swinging his forging hammers down with all his might as he normally did, the two hammers hung above the piece of heavy silver, and he was using only his wrists to control them, striking the piece of heavy silver with one delicate hammer blow after another.
This was the first time Mu Xi had seen anyone forge like this. Even her own father, who was a Saint Blacksmith, wouldn't forge like this!
Tang Wulin's hammers drummed against the piece of heavy silver in a light yet consistent manner.
Can metals really be successfully refined like this?
This thought had only just occurred to Mu Xi before her expression completely stiffened. She discovered that even though Tang Wulin was being extremely delicate with his hammer blows, the piece of heavy silver was rapidly shrinking. What was even more remarkable was that the piece of metal was beginning to glow brighter and brighter. Mu Xi could even see some fine and orderly patterns appearing over the surface of the piece of heavy silver.
How can such delicate hammer blows purify a piece of metal?
Tang Wulin's wrists were moving extremely quickly, resulting in a rapid string of light clangs that almost stretched into a single continuous sound. What was even more remarkable was that this drumming was extremely rhythmic and pleasing to the ears, as if he were playing a musical instrument.
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