N-A-A Chapter 27: The Blacksmiths' Guild
Chapter 27: The Blacksmiths' Guild
As evening approached, the afterglow of the setting sun cast a pale golden filter over Donghai City.
Yu Chen led Tang Wulin out of Donghai Academy, their destination was clear—Donghai City Blacksmith Association.
"Brother Chen, we're about to complete the blacksmith assessment!" Tang Wulin followed Yu Chen, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Mm." Yu Chen continued walking.
"Teacher Mangtian said before that the association's benefits are good. Completing basic tasks will earn you contribution points that can be exchanged for materials and federal currency."
As he spoke, his gaze remained calm as he looked at the street ahead, but his mind was racing with calculations—he didn't have much money left. Although the tuition for the intermediate Soul Master Academy was enough, he still needed money for daily expenses, resources for Soul Power cultivation, and the continued nurturing of that naginata.
Forging is currently his best skill and the skill that is most likely to provide him with a stable income.
At this time, Yu Chen could already stably refine a thousand times. Of course, before leaving Aolai City, Mang Tian had repeatedly instructed Yu Chen to conceal his abilities and not to reveal his strength as a third-level blacksmith.
However, this did not affect Yu Chen's idea of a way to make money—selling metals.
Looking at the five pieces of metal that had been forged a thousand times in his soul tool, Yu Chen smiled. He should be able to get a considerable reward by selling these.
At this time, Yu Chen's lack of money was also due to the purchase of Mangtian metal. After purchasing this metal, Yu Chen would forge it and then sell it, which would yield profits several times over! This is the value of a thousand-times forging!
As for others asking about the origin of the Thousand-Refined Metal, isn't Mang Tian a perfect shield? He can simply say that he sold it on behalf of his teacher. Anyway, there is no Blacksmith Association in Aolai City, so it makes sense no matter what.
Donghai City was far more prosperous than Aolai City, but Yu Chen had an excellent sense of direction. The simple map of Donghai City that he had only glimpsed briefly before clearly appeared in his mind. He led Tang Wulin through several main roads and turned into a relatively quiet area with a more solid and imposing architectural style.
The Blacksmiths' Guild building came into view at the edge of the horizon.
It is not particularly ornate; it is constructed entirely of a mixture of some kind of dark gray metal and rock, with square and angular lines, like a metal ingot that a giant had casually placed there.
The building's surface is almost entirely undecorated, except above the main entrance, where a huge, simple, yet powerful hammer-shaped outline is inlaid in some kind of heavy, dark gold metal.
Just by looking at it from afar, you can feel a heavy, metallic, and powerful texture.
Stepping through the glass doors on the first floor, you are greeted by a ten-meter-high glass wall with a relief of a giant golden hammer at least eight meters tall.
Although the Blacksmith Association is not as wealthy as the Mech Manufacturing Association, it is still an indispensable entity.
With the emergence of mechs and battle armor, the status of blacksmiths in Douluo Continent has risen at a visible speed. After all, both top-tier mechs and battle armor require top-tier materials, and top-tier materials require top-tier blacksmithing masters to process them.
There are almost no idlers here, except for the occasional person wearing gray or dark blue work clothes who walks by in a hurry.
Yu Chen's gaze quickly swept across the lobby, locking onto the service counter on one side. Behind the counter sat a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing a well-fitting gray uniform, who was checking documents with his head down.
He walked straight over without any formalities, took out a palm-sized, half-finger-thick dark gray metal plate from his inner pocket, and gently placed it on the smooth tabletop.
The metal plaque has a simple and antique style with slight signs of wear and tear on the edges. The front features a relief of crossed hammers and chisels, while the back is engraved with a powerful character "邙" that appears to have been cleaved with a hammer and chisel.
What's even more special is that when Yu Chen slightly infuses his soul power—this is the identification method Mang Tian taught him—a layer of extremely faint soul power ripples of a specific frequency that only a blacksmith can perceive flows across the surface of the metal plate.
"Yu Chen and Tang Wulin, disciples of Master Mang Tian from Aolai City," Yu Chen's voice was calm and clear. "As instructed by our master, we have come to find a master named Cen Yue for an assessment."
The middle-aged officer's gaze, which had initially been somewhat formulaic, became a little more serious when it fell on the metal plaque.
He put down the documents in his hand, carefully picked up the metal plaque with both hands, ran his fingertips over the character "邙" on the back, and carefully felt the unique soul power imprint. His expression immediately became solemn and slightly respectful.
"Master Mangtian's keepsake...has not been seen for many years."
The officer handed the metal badge back, his attitude noticeably warmer.
"Please have a seat for a moment, I will inform Master Cen Yue immediately. He instructed that if Master Mang Tian's disciple comes, he must be informed right away."
The officer pointed to several heavy metal chairs next to him, then picked up the internal soul-guided communicator and whispered something quickly.
The wait wasn't long.
About three minutes later, a heavy metal door slid open from the side, and a burly middle-aged man with a muscular build, wearing a sleeveless forging suit and revealing two muscular, bronze arms walked out.
He had a square face and a wide mouth, thick eyebrows, and a pair of bright, piercing eyes. When his gaze swept over, it carried a sharpness honed by years of dealing with high temperatures and metal.
His gaze lingered on Yu Chen and Tang Wulin for a moment, especially on Yu Chen's overly calm face, before he said, "Let me see the letter."
Yu Chen handed over the letter again.
Cen Yue took it, his fingers tracing the character "Mang," then glanced at the two boys, especially noticing the maturity in Yu Chen that seemed beyond his years. He raised a thick eyebrow, a look on his face unreadable—whether it was a smile or something else entirely.
"So it really is that stubborn donkey's apprentice... He actually let you out? Come with me."
As he spoke, Cen Yue led Yu Chen and Tang Wulin to the third floor.
Yu Chen and Tang Wulin filled out their personal information, and Cen Yue also applied for a testing room and led them inside.
The assessment for a Level 1 blacksmith is to complete one hundred forgings. After the rules were announced, the assessor led Yu Chen and Tang Wulin to the storage shelf to select the metal they wanted to forge.
From the storage shelf, the two of them chose the sunken silver that they were most familiar with.
Looking at Yu Chen and Tang Wulin's choices, Cen Yue and the evaluator also showed surprise. Among metals, the forging of heavy silver is one of the more difficult ones. Few blacksmiths would choose to forge them during the assessment. Are these two little guys overestimating themselves?
Yu Chen and Tang Wulin also began forging, turning on the forging table, heating it up, and calcining it.
Ten minutes later, the forging was completed. Yu Chen and Tang Wulin took out the red-hot metal blocks one after the other, and began forging by wielding their forging hammers.