Chapter 30: Blacksmith Test

"..."

Xiu Ye, Tang Wulin and Yun Xiaoling stayed completely still in silence, not looking at the embarrassed looking Cen Yue who had lost his composure.

"Cough! Anyways, Mang Tian, that guy had always set his eyes on surpassing the peak, yet he actually took in such young disciples like you two. Especially adopting on. Let's go then. I'll bring you both to take the blacksmith's ranking test."

Blacksmiths lived in the world of metal and were completely unconcerned about other worldly matters. Although he was unconvinced of Mang Tian accepting such young disciples, even adopting one, the ranking test would verify everything.Yun Xiaoling said. "Grandmaster, I'll go back down then."

"En." Cen Yue nodded as Yun Xiaoling smiled at the boys once more before heading off.

Cen Yue brought Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin out of the room soon after and once again entered the soul elevator. They rode the elevator down with Yun Xiaoling, except this time, they were getting off on the third floor.

As the elevator descended, Cen Yue turned to the two and said, "Children, Mang Tian never told me what rank blacksmiths you two are at right now."

Xiu Ye shrugged, replying in a casual manner. "Don't know, dad didn't really told me. Only told me to take some tasks."

Tang Wulin shook his head. "Teacher never told me either. He just told me to come take the test and accept some tasks after."

They can accept tasks? Off to the side, Yun Xiaoling couldn't help but be surprised. In order to accept tasks it meant that they were at least a rank 2 blacksmith. Rank 1 blacksmiths weren't able to directly accept tasks. Instead, a higher rank blacksmith had to accept the task and assign some of the work to them.

Cen Yue asked again, "Then do you understand how blacksmith ranks are organized?"

Xiu Ye nodded. "Dad said that blacksmiths are divided into nine ranks. Rank 1 and 2 blacksmiths are Master ranks. Ranks 3 and 4 are Grandmaster. Ranks 5 and 6 are Master Craftsmen. Ranks 7 and 8 are Saint Craftsmen and at the very peak of rank 9, they are Divine Craftsmen."

"En." Cen Yue nodded.

Right at that moment, the elevator had reached the third floor.

"Goodbye big sister." Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin both bid farewell to Yun Xiaoling as they followed Cen Yue out of the elevator.

Compared to the tranquil fifteenth floor, the third floor of the Blacksmith's Association was much more noisy. Xiu Ye heard the familiar clanking sounds of blacksmiths at work throughout the hall.

Cen Yue brought the two to the front desk and said to the staff member. "Open up the testing room for me and ask a surveyor to come over."

"Grandmaster Cen, are they your disciples? They're so young! Are they even 12 years old?" The staff member curiously looked at Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin.

Cen Yue took some forms from the staff member and handed them to the two. "Fill these out first. Fill out your basic circumstances."

"Yes."

Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin took the form and began to seriously fill it out.

Cen Yue read along from the side as they filled it out. "Tang Wulin. Xiu Ye. Born in Glorybound City. Nine years old. Eastsea Academy's intermediate division. First grade. You two, your both only nine years old?!"

At this matter, both he and the staff member were astonished.

They were only nine years old yet they were coming to take the blacksmith's test. This hadn't happened in the Blacksmith's Association for many, many years. Historically, the youngest testee had been eight years and six months old! Moreover, that person was now working on the Blacksmith's Association's 30th floor. That person was a once-in-a-lifetime blacksmithing genius!

Now in front of their eyes were two children that was only nine years old. If they were able to pass the blacksmith's test, then what would that signify?

Cen Yue thought about this with even more interest because Tang Wulin had previously said that Mang Tian let them accept tasks directly. That meant they were at least a rank 2 blacksmith. This was a record-breaking achievement!

However, his main interest lay on Xiu Ye. Glancing at him, Cen Yue speculated that when Mang Tian had resorted to adopting the kid, that must mean that he's a genius!

The staff member said, "Grandmaster Cen, testing room three is open."

Xiu Ye turned towards Tang Wulin. "You go first bro."

"Okay." Tang Wulin nodded.

With narrowed eyes, Cen Yue picked up Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin's forms. "Follow me." He had to see for himself what level Mang Tian's disciples and son had attained.

The so-called testing room was actually just a forging room. Naturally, a blacksmithing test needed to be conducted in a room such as this.

The surveyor was a middle aged woman who evidently knew Cen Yue. "Grandmaster Cen Yue, you've personally brought someone to take the test! I just heard that these children are only nine years old. If they were just a bit younger, they would be able to attack the President's record."

Cen Yue said. "We can talk after the test."

The surveyor nodded and looked towards Xiu Ye and Tang Wulin. "So, between the two of you, whose going first?

Tang Wulin raised his hand. "I will!"

The surveyor nodded. "There are 15 kinds of metal here. Pick one of them to purify. I will grade you based on the metal you choose and the degree of purification. If your score surpasses 60, then you'll earn the title of a rank 1 blacksmith."

"Yes." Tang Wulin nodded, then looked towards the metals arranged on the stand.

Fifteen different metals. Each and every one of them was one third of a meter squared.

The metals had all sorts of colors and qualities. Although the blacksmith test seemed simple as one only needed to purify a metal, it actually examined more than one's purification abilities.

The surveyor didn't tell him what these metals were, indicating that he needed to identify and understand each of the metals himself while picking the one best suited to his abilities.

The metal's qualities and purification results were tied together, meaning the purification score would be affected by the chosen metal.

Tang Wulin swept his gaze over them, touching them all slightly, using structural analysis, and instantly recognized what he had to work with. After some pondering, he picked a metal from the middle of the shelf.

The chunk of metal twinkled with a faint silver light. When they saw him pick this metal, Cen Yue and the surveyor revealed a trace of shock in their expressions. They never expected Tang Wulin to choose such a thick and heavy metal.

"I choose this chunk of Heavy Silver." Tang Wulin picked up the Heavy Silver and then placed it on the forging table without making the slightest sound.

Mang Tian's demands of him had been very high. He forbade him from allowing the sound of metal colliding with metal to sound out unless he was forging.

This chunk of Heavy Silver with dimensions of one third meters squared, actually weighed over 300 kilograms. It was extraordinarily heavy, however, Cen Yue saw Tang Wulin pick it up with no effort at all.

"Little guy, your strength truly isn't small!" The surveyor exclaimed in astonishment. She was slowly thinking that the nine year old boy in front of her could actually pass the blacksmith's test.

Tang Wulin said. "Masters, may I begin now?"

The surveyor said. "You may begin. You have one hour to finish. Purify it as much as you can. The degree of its purification will determine your score."

"Yes!" Tang Wulin didn't have any needless thoughts, and began to work skillfully.

Xiu Ye stood by the side with his arms akimbo, he smirked, completely confident with his cousin's abilities. Cen Yue noticed his expression.

"Oh, you look confident there kid? Something wanna tell me?"

Xiu Ye turned towards him. "Yeah, don't blink."

Cen Yue stood still in confusion, wondering what he was talking about.

Half an hour later...

"Oh, oh my god..." The surveyor mumbled out, shocked still with her jaw dropped.

Cen Yue had the same expression as her.

"I'm done! Masters, please examine my work." Tang Wulin said with an excited voice while slightly out of breath, both satisfied and exhausted. He pointed with both of his Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers at a slightly glowing with a silver light oval shaped metal.

Both the adults in the room however, remain shocked still.

Xiu Ye clapped, still smirking. "Well, well, looks like you've managed to thousand refined your Heavy Silver into the second grade, again."

Within thirty minutes, Tang Wulin had managed to thousand refined the chunk of Heavy Silver and it was at the second grade.

In the normal canon story, Mang Tian would have restricted Tang Wulin from showing too much of his blacksmithing prowess, for the fear of losing him to a more powerful blacksmith than himself.

Now however, with Xiu Ye, a more monstrous blacksmithing genius that can catch anyone's attention more than Tang Wulin, Mang Tian no longer cared and just hoped that they would sometimes contact him.

Cen Yue and the surveyor both witnessed the entire procedure, and understood what this means.

"Thousand refined Heavy Silver metal, rank grade 2, purity is of the highest degree along with some detection of l-life. T-This metal has spirit! This is a half-step first grade thousand refined Heavy Silver!" The surveyor gulped in awe and disbelief at the results he had analyze.

Cen Yue's figure slightly swayed, his eyebrows twitching, he used all of his strength to not lose composure and call Mang Tian right this instant to ask on how the hell did he get such a genius disciple!

Wait a minute...

Cen Yue turned towards Xiu Ye, his lips twitched.

If his disciple is this good, then what about his son...?

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