"Junior Brother Su Wen."
"Morning~"
"..."
After leaving Sea God Island, many inner-court disciples greeted Su Wen warmly. He'd enjoyed similar treatment before, but back then it was mostly affection. Now, that fellow-disciple camaraderie was gradually turning into… respect.
Two months ago, Su Wen had slain a Titled Douluo. Everyone had seen it. Many disciples who arrived late to support still caught sight of the most dazzling figure in the sky.
Several ferocious beasts circled at his side, encircling him like stars around the moon. With a wave of his hand, a formidable enemy fell. Such a junior, the future Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion—who wouldn't like him…
Su Wen returned the greetings with a bright smile.
As he walked, he cycled his soul power, savoring how much denser it was than before. He was in a great mood. He'd already broken through to level 55 half a month ago. At his current pace, in another month and a half he'd likely step into the next tier.
The Golden Core technique had a flavor similar to a dragon core; rather than condensing the essence of the whole body, it functioned more like a transfer hub plus storage depot, somewhat akin to a soul core. It allowed him, compared to other Soul Kings, to store far more soul power via the golden core, enabling explosive bursts in battle and greater endurance.
By Su Wen's estimate, thanks to the golden core, the soul power in his body equaled two to three times that of a Soul King in the same realm.
Unlike traditional soul masters, Su Wen's main combat power came from the bodily strength provided by soul beasts. And since each soul beast was an independent entity that didn't need his soul power as fuel, he didn't worry much about that aspect.
But in time, at the Soul Sage realm, it would be time to impact the soul core.
If…
Su Wen pondered.
Could this golden core directly upgrade into a soul core? Or was the foundational intent of the Golden Core technique precisely to pave the way for forming a soul core… After all, this method was something Xuan Zi had returned to obtain from Elder Mu. He trusted Elder Mu's far-sightedness.
He made his way to the outer court.
He stepped into Yan Shaozhe's office.
On the sofa sat a richly dressed, warm and refined middle-aged man. He was on the lean side, and his brows bore some resemblance to Ning Tian's. He was chatting and laughing with Yan Shaozhe.
Ning Tian sat beside the man, prim and proper. She clearly wasn't interested in their discussion, bored yet maintaining perfect manners.
"Su Wen!"
Seeing him arrive, the girl's face lit up.
At her call, the middle-aged man turned as well. Seeing Su Wen, he hurried to his feet, forcibly suppressing his excitement. Clearly, during his time waiting in the office, he hadn't been as calm as he looked. "I wished to come find you personally, little brother, but since your residence is the Sea God Pavilion and outsiders may not intrude, I had to trouble Dean Yan to invite you. Apologies for the disturbance…"
"No problem," Su Wen shook his head.
He didn't mind this soon-to-be father-in-law with deep pockets.
Spending ten million gold soul coins just to facilitate his meeting with Ning Tian, and handling the timing just right—during Su Wen's cultivation, he'd occasionally sent pricey resources via Ning Tian. All very favorable.
"On behalf of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I thank you for your gift. From this day on, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will follow Shrek Academy's lead." Ning Hao said solemnly.
"..."
Even Yan Shaozhe, who'd been leisurely sipping tea, froze for a moment.
Ever since the Seven Treasure turned Nine Treasure ten thousand years ago, the sect's ties with Shrek had grown weaker. Everyone had a scale in their heart about that incident back then—Tang San and the others indeed hadn't behaved well. It wasn't the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's fault.
But now…
"The Qiluo Tulip's effect on my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul is known to you all. For the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which was on the verge of decline, its significance is immense. Great kindness needs no flowery thanks. This is my sect's sincerity. However… I have a request to beg of young friend Su Wen."
"If, in the future, you and my daughter have children, could they be raised by the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as heirs?"
Ning Hao said slowly.
"Dad!"
Ning Tian stamped her foot, covering her face shyly.
"Alright!" Su Wen nodded.
Joy surged across Ning Hao's face. "Xiao Wen, I hear you've recently started a Forging Department?"
"Yes."
"So long as you remain in the Forging Department, my Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will provide at least thirty million gold soul coins every year as research funding for your department. Money isn't the point. I just like supporting the younger generation in entrepreneurship."
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
He stared wide-eyed at Ning Hao. "I asked you for a few hundred thousand in sponsorship and you kept dodging me, but thirty million you can just hand out?!!"
"Alright then, I'll add one million for the Martial Soul Department. Dean Yan, do you want it or not?" Ning Hao adjusted his glasses, smiling.
"…I want it!" Yan Shaozhe ground out.
He'd hoped to refuse with righteous flair, but even a mosquito is still meat! The Martial Soul Department was a behemoth; its annual expenses were immense. He really couldn't turn it down with aplomb.
"Oh, father, where's Wu Feng?" Ning Tian asked hesitantly.
"Her?" Ning Hao seemed to only then remember the person. He waved a big hand. "Part of your dowry. She'll go with you when you marry."
Then he turned to Su Wen with a cheerful look.
"Right, Xiao Wen, there's another surprise I left for you in the Forging Department. Don't forget to check it."
…
At this moment.
Forging Department.
Luo Yingying and Song Hao, just back from finishing their Soul Tool Department courses, stared dumbfounded at the storeroom stacked with crates of rare metals, stunned in place.
"One hundred kilos of Heavy Silver, one hundred kilos of Mithril, refined iron, black gold, magic crystals, Flame Sun Iron, meteoric iron from beyond the heavens…" Luo Yingying identified crate after crate. As a scion of a blacksmith clan, she understood full well how precious these were. Even their Luo family, a blacksmith lineage with an unknown number of generations, didn't have a tenth of this stock!
"They're all here."
Old Du stood proudly. "Sent over by the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Your Vice Dean has face. Even if this old man went himself, I fear I wouldn't get a tenth of this."
"Vice Dean Su?!!"
The two exclaimed.
Luo Yingying marveled, "Even the fabulously wealthy Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wouldn't easily bring out this much, right? Just these alone must be worth well over twenty million gold soul coins…"
"Their little princess likes him. Consider this a dowry." Old Du clasped his hands behind his back, sighing.
"Alright, back to training, both of you. Su Wen's talent is high; that doesn't mean yours is. Ever heard of the early bird? If anyone dares waste these metals, I'll be the first to expel them from the Forging Department!"
"Yes, sir!"
They nodded at once.
Even returning from the heavy workload of the Soul Tool Department, they didn't dare slack. Each went to their forging station to prepare.
Luo Yingying sighed softly, a wave of frustration rising in her heart. She clearly had solid talent in forging—her grandfather even praised her as having the bearing of a Saint Smith—yet Old Du still called her a dumb bird.
That vice dean was simply too monstrous…
"Hup!"
With a soft shout, the girl condensed and gripped her Vajra Hammer. Her whole person changed—no longer timid, her gaze turned resolute. Her slender frame hefted a hammer longer than she was tall. She shifted her steps, twisted from the waist, and suddenly unleashed force, slamming it down on the anvil with a boom.
"A bit over six hundred kilos of hammer force—not bad…"
Seeing her enter the state, Old Du stroked his white beard and nodded slightly.
Huang Chutian had left the day before, likely due to family pressure. Understandable—abandoning the soul master path to be a blacksmith?
Millennia-old notions don't shift easily. One could only say he wasn't fated for the blacksmith's way.
Back to the point.
In blacksmithing, raw power is a crucial talent. Four to five hundred kilos of hammer force just gets you into thousand-refine territory; breaking a thousand earns you entry to fusion forging. Thanks to her martial soul, even though her swing was only six hundred kilos, the girl could already attempt fusion forging.
As for Su Wen…
Old Du's face stayed blank, but his teeth ached inwardly. That brat, with one of his hammers, had smashed out a full twenty tons!!!
Know this: most Saint Smiths don't reach that kind of figure.
Even for him, relying purely on his body, his hammer force was around twenty to thirty tons. Each swing still needed some martial soul power…
But Su Wen did it with pure flesh!
Truly a monster in human skin.
Old Du shook his head.
Well, that's fine. Across all Shrek Academy, you'd find only a handful with numbers like that. One such freak is enough—any more and not only Luo Yingying and Song Lei, even his own Dao heart wouldn't survive.
"Is this the Forging Department?"
Suddenly, a voice came from the door.
A golden-haired, golden-eyed girl in Shrek's inner-court red-and-white uniform walked in. She glanced at Luo Yingying and Song Lei, who were hammering away with passion on either side, then looked at Old Du. "Inner-court disciple Mu Qiu'er. Su Wen told me to report to you and learn forging."
"A fair-skinned little lass—can you even lift a hammer?" Old Du raised a brow, giving her a once-over.
"Don't let the hammer smash your foot."
Though Mu Qiu'er wore no makeup, her skin was as white as mutton-fat jade and her peerless features stood in stark contrast to the dark-skinned, thin Luo Yingying beside her.
Old Du's first impression: a lovestruck girl come to suffer for Su Wen—she'd give up in two days.
"I can! Of course I can!" Mu Qiu'er widened her bright eyes, full of pride.
"Then give it a try."
Old Du clicked his tongue, yet still pulled a pitch-black hammer from his storage ring. The hammer weighed two hundred kilos—many Soul Elders would struggle to lift it, let alone such a delicate-looking girl.
But in the next instant, Old Du was struck dumb.
The girl's seemingly slender arms lifted the heavy hammer with ease. She stepped back, and though no muscle bulged on her arms, she swung the giant hammer in a full arc and brought it down on the anvil.
Boom!!!
The mithril on the anvil flattened. If he wasn't mistaken, that single strike carried nearly three tons of hammer force. Mu Qiu'er has an immortal herb and has advanced to Soul King.
Leaving Old Du disheveled in the wind…