Shrek Academy Forging Room.
Four figures stood not far from the forging table, their gazes all fixed on the petite figure in front of it.
Tang Wulin, Feng Wuyu, Mu Xi, and Mu Chen were standing not far from Wang Dong'er, observing her forging process.
It had been a full two months since Wang Dong'er began learning to be a Blacksmith. In these two months, she had been almost relentless; whenever he came to the forging room, she would surely follow.
However many times he struck, she would strike the same amount, as if she were secretly competing with herself. And... when Wang Dong'er couldn't complete the daily quota, she would even take the metal back to continue forging. This effort was certainly worth acknowledging.
Tang Wulin sighed inwardly. It had taken him a full three years from when he started learning to be a Blacksmith until he passed the Level 1 Blacksmith exam.
Of course—when he passed the Level 1 Blacksmith exam, he also took the Level 2 Blacksmith badge along the way, and then within the same year, he broke through to Level 3 and Level 4 consecutively.
But this did not affect his recognition of Wang Dong'er.
Within two months, going from having no experience to taking the Level 1 Blacksmith exam—even with the many resources of this academy, plus the occasional personal guidance from Feng Wuyu or Mu Chen, being able to do this was already quite good.
Today, Mu Chen and Feng Wuyu were acting as examiners, while Tang Wulin and Mu Xi were watching.
"Are you ready?" Feng Wuyu asked, his voice deep.
Wang Dong'er took a deep breath and nodded. "I am ready."
Mu Chen raised his hand, pointing to the thirty pieces of metal neatly arranged beside the forging table.
Each piece was the size of a fist, with different colors emitting different glows.
"Level 1 Blacksmith exam, you should know the rules."
"From these thirty different types of metal, choose one, forge it, time limit is one hour, purification score, sixty points, means passing."
Wang Dong'er's gaze swept over the thirty pieces of metal, and without the slightest hesitation, she locked onto one of them.
That piece of metal was entirely silver-white, with a faint golden luster vaguely shimmering on its surface, refracting a dreamlike halo under the light.
Moon Soul Gold Crystal.
From the moment she started learning to be a Blacksmith, every time she practiced, she chose this type of metal. Over the past two months, she had lost count of how many Moon Soul Gold Crystals she had struck. So she chose the metal she was most familiar with; this way, her chances of success would be higher.
Wang Dong'er walked to the forging table, picked up the Moon Soul Gold Crystal, and placed it in the center of the forging table.
Then, she closed her eyes and began to adjust her state. During forging, a single mistake could cause the entire process to fail, so she had to ensure absolute focus!
After adjusting for a full ten minutes, Wang Dong'er opened those powder-blue eyes again; they were now filled with focus.
She raised her hand and gripped the pair of forging hammers placed in front of her. This pair of forging hammers was forged for her by Tang Wulin after she chose to become a Blacksmith. He said to use them until she could make her own exclusive forging hammers.
They were free, and they only weighed eighty catties, which was much lighter than Tang Wulin's abnormal three-hundred-catty hammers.
Hoo—
Wang Dong'er took a deep breath, raising the left hammer first.
Then, it fell.
Clang—
A clear striking sound echoed in the forging room.
The Moon Soul Gold Crystal trembled slightly, and a faint ripple appeared on its surface.
Wang Dong'er did not pause; the twin hammers were raised again and fell once more.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The striking sounds became increasingly dense, like rain hitting banana leaves, or pearls falling on a jade plate. The rhythm and melody actually carried a peculiar sense of harmony.
Feng Wuyu nodded slightly as he listened to the striking sounds. The rhythm was right. The force was also right. This girl had indeed remembered all the essentials he had spoken of.
Under Wang Dong'er's strikes, the Moon Soul Gold Crystal began to change slowly. The originally angular edges gradually became rounded, and the minute impurities on the surface peeled off with each strike, revealing the purer silver-white underneath.
Its volume was shrinking bit by bit. But its luster was increasing bit by bit.
Feng Wuyu and Mu Chen watched quietly, occasionally exchanging glances.
One hour passed quietly amidst the striking sounds.
Clang—
As the final strike landed, Wang Dong'er withdrew the twin hammers and panted slightly.
There was sweat on her forehead, and a few strands of hair were stuck to her cheeks, but her eyes were exceptionally bright.
On the forging table, the piece of Moon Soul Gold Crystal was no longer what it had been; it had shrunk by one percent, and its surface was smooth as a mirror, as if it were a piece of solidified moonlight.
"Time is up." Mu Chen spoke, and he and Feng Wuyu walked to the forging table, leaning over to carefully inspect the Moon Soul Gold Crystal.
Wang Dong'er watched them nervously, her hands gripping the hammer handles unconsciously.
Finally, Feng Wuyu straightened up and looked at Wang Dong'er.
"Seventy-eight points." His voice was still deep, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Not bad."
Mu Chen also nodded. "For a first formal exam, being able to get this score is indeed not bad. Keep working hard."
Seventy-eight points!
Wang Dong'er was stunned for a moment, and then a brilliant smile instantly bloomed on that small face.
"I passed! I passed!"
She turned to look at Tang Wulin, her eyes full of expectation. "Tang Wulin, how was it? How was it?"
Tang Wulin couldn't help but smile as he looked at her excited appearance. "Impressive."
He gave a thumbs up.
Wang Dong'er smiled even more happily upon hearing this. However, she knew in her heart that it was impossible to compare herself to a monster like Tang Wulin. Hearing Mu Chen talk about Tang Wulin's experience, Wang Dong'er was completely stunned. And... it was said that at that time, Tang Wulin didn't even have the conditions she had now.
"Congratulations." Mu Xi walked over with a sincere smile on her face. "Level 1 Blacksmith, this is the result of your two months of hard work."
Wang Dong'er looked at her, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.
Come to think of it, her choice to become a Blacksmith was, to a certain extent, because of Tang Wulin and Mu Xi.
When she came to visit, seeing that the relationship between Tang Wulin and Mu Xi was good, Wang Dong'er felt a sense of closeness with Tang Wulin, just like an older sister to Tang Wulin, and then felt that she couldn't let her silly younger brother get deceived, so she joined the ranks of Blacksmiths.
But after getting along for these two months, she found that Mu Xi was actually a very good person—gentle, patient, and teaching her various forging techniques.
Besides, the "younger brother" thing was all just her overthinking. After all, her two Spirits were a Clear Sky Hammer and a Light Goddess Butterfly, while Tang Wulin was a Blue Silver Emperor, and he had dragon bloodlines; they were completely unrelated.
Only... that feeling of closeness remained in Wang Dong'er's heart. Wang Dong'er was still very puzzled. Of course, these things were no longer important.
Wang Dong'er lowered her head, looking at the badge that Feng Wuyu handed over. The badge was entirely silver-white, with a small hammer pattern engraved on the front and her name engraved on the back.
Level 1 Blacksmith badge.
From today on, she was a real Blacksmith!
Wang Dong'er took the badge and carefully pinned it to her chest, a sense of accomplishment filling her heart. From today on, she could also start saving up Contribution Points!
There was half a month left until the New Student Grand Competition. In this half a month, she must save enough Contribution Points for the Spirit Ascension Platform, then upgrade her Spirit Ring age, and then win the championship!
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.