The Legend of the Dragon King Chapter 331-340

Chapter 331 – Mu Chen Arrives

Chapter 331 – Mu Chen Arrives

Tang Wulin knitted his brows. After seeing Xu Xiaoyan’s anxious face hours ago, he had been caught in mental turmoil over what to do about her and Xie Xie.

In their mecha making groups, the most influential people were those who were strong or skilled in their professions. Neither Xie Xie nor Xu Xiaoyan were particularly outstanding in these two aspects, especially in the second. Both were still at the first rank, dangling at the bottom of the ladder.

“How about we ask the teachers to move them to our group?” Gu Yue asked.

Tang Wulin shook his head. “Sometimes, setbacks aren’t necessarily a bad thing. It can serve as pressure to make someone work harder. When I first discovered my martial soul was bluesilver grass, I was crushed. At that time, I had even lost hope of ever becoming a soul master. And when my first spirit soul turned out defective, I was close to giving up. But I pushed on, taking one step forward at a time, striving to improve myself and never giving in to laziness. I knew if I did, I was sure to fall behind the rest of you and would never be able to catch up. That’s why I think we can subtly help them but not do too much. Besides, our group is made of all four members of the class council,. We’re stronger than the rest of the groups. If we added anyone else, the other students would be discontent.”

Gu Yue mulled over his words, a hand to her chin. “That makes sense. Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan are both from large clans and have been spoiled since childhood. They never had to face any real setbacks or had been forced to

 put in as much effort as you do, and as such haven’t displayed their full potential. Some stress will be good for them. Let’s do as you say then.”

“If it becomes necessary, we’ll step in and help them,” Tang Wulin said.

“Xie Xie is a mecha maker and Xu Xiaoyan is a designer. Xie Xie needs to become stronger by himself, so you don’t have to worry about him so much. I’m confident he’ll be able to pull through. As for Xiaoyan, you can help her improve as a designer. Oh right, when did you become a fourth- rank designer? You’re amazing!”

Gu Yue rolled her eyes at him. “Are you complimenting me or yourself?

Don’t forget, you’re already a fifth-rank blacksmith. Plus it’s easier for designers to progress in rank than blacksmiths. My spiritual power is really high, so I have a large advantage when it comes to designing. Because

Xiaoyan’s spiritual power is approaching five hundred points, it shouldn’t be a problem for her either. It’s only a matter of time before she increases her rank.”

The next course of action was to obtain heavy silver and magic silver. Fortunately, Tang Wulin had some in stock.

All of a sudden, Tang Wulin’s soul communicator rang. A smile formed on his lips when he saw the number.

“Teacher.”

“Mn. I’m at Shrek City now. When can you come out?” Mu Chen’s voice came across clearly through the communicator’s speakers.

“In the afternoon—I don’t have class then. Where are you staying?” Tang Wulin asked.

A few moments later, Tang Wulin scribbled down the address, a place tucked within the outer city.

“Gu Yue, I need to go out for a bit after we finish eating. I won’t be on campus in the afternoon, so if you need anything, just call me.”

 “Okay.” She didn’t pry any further.

After finishing an enormous lunch, which was basically a cultivation method for him, he left campus and hailed a taxi, heading straight for the address Mu Chen gave him. Tang Wulin could hardly contain his joy

knowing his teacher was here. Mu Chen had traveled a long journey for his sake to Shrek Academy, a strange and unfamiliar place for him, not to mention gigantic! Even on a soul taxi, it took a bit more than an hour for Tang Wulin to reach his destination.

But when he saw the sign hanging on the side of the building, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was a shabby three-story building. It wasn’t particularly large despite being located in the city center and facing the street. Most shocking of all, the building’s sign said ‘Blacksmith’s Association: Shrek Branch’!

The Blacksmith’s Association was a top-notch association that spanned the entire continent. Furthermore, every major city had an imposing

Blacksmith’s Association branch. Even Eastsea City’s had been a towering building that had left Tang Wulin awestruck the first time he laid eyes on it.

The branch before him shocked Tang Wulin as well, but for the opposite reason.

This was Shrek City, the greatest city on the continent! It was unfathomable for such a majestic city to have a desolate, downright shabby, Blacksmith’s Association branch.

Pushing the door open, Tang Wulin felt a wave of deja vu after looking

around the first floor. The floorplan identical to the one in Eastsea City, the only difference being the smaller size.

“Tang Wulin, over here.” Hearing his name called, he turned toward the sound of the voice, coming face-to-face with Mu Xi’s sweet smile.

“Senior sister.” Tang Wulin’s eyes lit up as he rushed to her side. His heart couldn’t help but warm at meeting an old friend in a foreign place.

 Once he was a step away, Mu Xi’s expression hardened, a grim edge tugging at her lips. She pulled his ear. “You still remember this senior sister of yours? Why haven’t you called me even once since you came to Shrek? Did you forget all about me?”

“Ow! Senior sister, please take it easy on me! My ear is going to rip!” Tang Wulin cried out, attracting the attention of the surrounding people.

Mu Xi’s face flushed red as she let go of his ear. “What are you screaming for? Come with me to see Dad.” She turned around and led Tang Wulin up a staircase on the side. With her back to Tang Wulin, he couldn’t see her grin.

With only three floors, there naturally wasn’t a need for an elevator in the building. Soon, the two arrived at the third floor.

The moment they stepped foot on this floor, they heard the telltale metallic clanging of blacksmiths at work.

Mu Xi brought Tang Wulin to the deepest chamber, opened a sliding door, and ushered him in.

It was an office about one hundred square meters. The furniture looked old and worn, clearly antiques. Mu Chen beamed at Tang Wulin from behind his desk.

Not skipping a beat, Tang Wulin stepped forward and bowed. “Teacher.”

Mu Chen chuckled. “Take a seat. Little Xi, go pour a cup of water for Wulin.”

Mu Xi snorted, but still did as she was told.

Accepting the cup and taking a sip, Tang Wulin was surprised to discover it was actually a cup of freshly-squeezed orange juice—his favorite. It was

clearly prepared a while ago. He turned to Mu Xi, wide-eyed. She smirked at him before taking a seat at his side.

“Wulin, congratulations!” Mu Chen said.

 “Teacher, I was just lucky that day. I don’t think I could succeed if I tried again right now.”

“How can it just be luck? It’s the fruit of your efforts. You were already a fourth-rank blacksmith three years ago, and since then, you’ve been polishing your skills every day, slowly preparing to spirit refine.

Preparation is the key to success, and without your efforts, you wouldn’t have succeeded. If not for your lacking cultivation base, you would have become a fifth-rank blacksmith long ago. So, how far are you from rank 30?”

“I’m still at rank 28,” Tang Wulin answered. “But I’m very close to rank 29. I’m confident that I’ll reach rank 30 within two months.”

“Fantastic. Have you gotten used to life at Shrek yet?”

“I’m doing well. There’s a lot of pressure though, so I can’t relax for even a moment.”

Mu Chen smiled. “That’s good. Pressure will strengthen you. I’m not worried with your perseverance and endurance. As long as you can

continue increasing your soul power, you’ll definitely have the chance to become a Divine Blacksmith in the future. Just remember to never become complacent. Your number one priority right now is to increase your soul power. I have hope that you’ll become a Saint Blacksmith before your twentieth birthday. If you do, then you might become a Divine Blacksmith by thirty.”

“Huh? Isn’t that too quick?” Tang Wulin had never expected his teacher to have such high expectations for him.

Mu Chen shook his head. “It’s not too fast. Everyone’s body reaches its peak in their twenties. For us blacksmiths, it becomes exponentially harder to attack the next rank once we reach our thirties. Take Mang Tian for

example. He became a fifth-rank blacksmith in his forties, so it’s virtually impossible for him to ever become a Saint Blacksmith.

 “Blacksmithing is a profession that’s energy-demanding to the extreme. The only way we can climb to higher ranks is with a strong body, an abundance of blood essence, and a clear mind. Later on, you’ll understand how important your perception is, that in a split-second, it could elevate you to the next level. From spirit refining and onward, your understanding of metal is just as important as your talent and luck. Therefore, the faster you increase your rank, the higher your chances of becoming a Saint

Blacksmith.”

“Understood.” Tang Wulin nodded, resolving himself to work even harder than before.

Chapter 332 – Second Grade Senior Sister

Chapter 332 – Second Grade Senior Sister

“Are you shocked by how pitiful the Blacksmith’s Association branch here is?” Mu Chen asked.

“Yeah!” Tang Wulin nodded. “Isn’t Shrek the greatest city on the continent? The branch of the Blacksmith’s Association here should be amazing! Why is it like this…?”

“It’s precisely because this is Shrek City that this branch is so pitiful. Shrek Academy controls everything in this city. Basically, you can consider the

city an independent state. Shrek Academy has set up an association for every trade and profession. I believe you’ve already joined the Shrek

Blacksmith’s Association, correct? For the sake of not stirring up conflict between their association and ours, we only maintain a small branch here. The Blacksmith’s Association, which has branches you can find all across the continent, is completely different from the Shrek Blacksmith’s

Association.”

“So that’s how it is…” Tang Wulin said. “Doesn’t that mean Shrek is really oppressive?”

Mu Chen shook his head. “Shrek isn’t oppressive. This is them governing themselves. In truth, there are plenty of elites from every profession here, more than enough to support their associations. You mentioned that Old Man Feng is looking for you. Did he do anything to you?”

 Tang Wulin shook his head. “Elder Feng wanted to take me as his disciple, but I didn’t agree.”

“That old man is a real maniac. He only began blacksmithing in his forties, yet he still managed to become a Saint Blacksmith. He has his own unique blacksmithing philosophy, so there’s no harm in you learning from him. If he asks again, you may accept him as your teacher as well. Just make sure he doesn’t force you to make him your only teacher.”

“Huh?” Tang Wulin never expected Mu Chen to say something like this. “Teacher, I won’t abandon you! Don’t misunderstand!”

Mu Chen waved his hand dismissively. “I’m being serious. Shrek City is different from other places. It isn’t easy to establish yourself here. There’s no doubt about your forging talent, but your strength is still lacking. Having a supporter would be good for you. Elder Feng is very powerful and infamous for his furious temper. However, everyone also knows that he treats the people at his side exceptionally well. The things he can teach you will complement the things I teach you.”

Then a troubled smile surfaced on Mu Chen’s face. “In all honesty, I can’t defeat him. If you continue to refuse him, I’m sure he’ll come knocking on my door one day. Rather than have that happen, it’d be better off to just let you have another teacher.”

Mu Chen naturally didn’t want to share Tang Wulin with Feng Wuyu. No one would want to share their student after all. However, Tang Wulin would spend many years at Shrek Academy. Refusing to accept Feng Wuyu as his teacher had the potential to affect his future cultivation and hinder his

chances of becoming a Divine Blacksmith. Above all else, Mu Chen wanted to avoid this.

So Mu Chen finally made the decision to share Tang Wulin. “Teacher, I…”

Before Tang Wulin could say anything else, Mu Chen raised a hand to stop him. “Tell me what happened when you spirit refined. I’m very interested

 how things went. You’re the first blacksmith in history to spirit refine with only two soul rings.”

“Okay.” Tang Wulin proceeded to recount the events of the entrance exam and how he bore the burden of taking the trial to help Gu Yue get admitted. Thanks to that pressure, he managed to successfully spirit refine.

Mu Chen nodded as Tang Wulin told his story. When Tang Wulin got to the part about his golden blood essence soul ring, Mu Chen’s face filled with

shock.

“Show me that golden soul ring,” Mu Chen said.

“Understood!” Tang Wulin replied, summoning it forth.

“It really is different from a normal soul ring.” Mu Chen examined the energy that the golden soul ring emitted, complete and utter awe on his face. He was an eighth-rank Saint Blacksmith and an eight-ringed Soul

Douluo. Although he did not excel in combat, he did possess a vast wealth of knowledge about martial souls. Even after racking his brains, he could not recall anything like this golden soul ring. “I can’t believe this actually exists. I’ve never heard of anything like it.”

Eventually Mu Chen nodded to himself. “No wonder you managed to spirit refine. It was all thanks to this peculiar soul ring. Once you get your third

soul ring, come find me immediately. I want to watch you spirit refine.” “Yes, Teacher. Oh right, I have something I wanted to discuss with you.”

Tang Wulin then proceeded to explain his groups plans to make battle

armor. He was convinced that Mu Chen, as a Saint Blacksmith, definitely produced many metals for battle armor before, meaning that he would be experienced with making battle armor.

“It’s great that your group thought of this.” Mu Chen nodded in approval.

“The earlier you start getting experience with battle armor, the easier it will be for you to make powerful battle armor in the future.”

 “Battle armor is split into four levels. The difficulty to make it increases exponentially with each level after the first,” Mu Chen continued. “While

you may not have any problem with forging the metal for one-word battle armor, let me remind you that you cannot neglect the processes that come afterward. You have to participate in the designing, the making, and the fine-tuning of the battle armor. When the time comes for you to make higher level battle armor, you will have to consider the design, the making, and all sorts of other things, not just forging the metal. There’s a saying

among us blacksmiths: ‘Half of a battle armor’s quality is determined by the blacksmith.’ The best blacksmiths are well acquainted with all parts of the battle armor creation process. A deeper understanding of the battle armor that is to be created will make you better prepared to forge the metal it needs.”

“Understood,” Tang Wulin replied solemnly.

Mu Chen’s advice cleared many doubts from the back of Tang Wulin’s mind. Although he was only responsible for forging the metal for the battle armor, he now understood that becoming familiar with the entire battle

armor creation process would be beneficial to him as a blacksmith! The battle armor creation process shared many similarities with metal refinement. Even the best refined metals had to be compatible with the battle armor they would be used in, and it was the blacksmith’s responsibility to make sure of that.

Forging was currently the least problematic part of creating battle armor for his group, so, what Tang Wulin had to do now was quickly start forging his best products to lower the burden on his groupmates. His efforts would have the most influence on the making part of the process. With this in mind, Tang Wulin’s confidence soared.

However, this confidence was quickly forgotten in the face of Mu Chen’s next words.

“Mu Xi will also be joining you at Shrek.”

Tang Wulin gawked at Mu Xi who was sitting beside him. “Senior sister will be attending Shrek Academy?”

 Mu Xi glared at him. “Got a problem with that? Can I not join Shrek just because you joined first?”

“O-of course you can! Senior sister is a once-in-a-generation genius! I’m just surprised.” The surprise in Tang Wulin’s voice smoothly transitioning into a teasing tone. “Senior sister didn’t enter the inner court directly?”

Mu Xi batted her eyelids. “It’s only been a few days since you left yet you’ve already become so glib. Do you use that sly tongue of yours on other girls too?”

Her words left Tang Wulin dumbstruck. Even Mu Chen couldn’t think of a response to his daughter’s astonishing jab, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air.

Mu Xi was older than Tang Wulin by four years, making her seventeen this year. Considering the gap between their ages, Mu Chen originally hadn’t thought anything of Mu Xi and Tang Wulin’s relationship. Now, however, he was beginning to reconsider.

After a moment, Mu Xi realized her mistake and broke the silence with a cold snort. “I’m just worried that you aren’t working hard. You have to properly study now that you’re in Shrek. Studying is the most important thing for a student, got it?”

“Yes, senior sister. Do you know what class you’ll be joining?”

“Using the designated quota for the Blacksmith’s Association, Little Xi was admitted as a special exception for her talent.” Mu Chen stepped in to

explain. “She should be placed directly into the second grade. While she might be a bit older than her classmates, she’s still within the acceptable range for Shrek. You two will need to take care of each other in the future.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

The second grade? Doesn’t that mean senior sister will be in the same class as Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui?

Chapter 333 – I’m Here to Apologize

Chapter 333 – I’m Here to Apologize

So senior sister will be in Yuanen Yehui’s class…

The thought of Yuanen Yehui reminded Tang Wulin of the twenty thousand contribution points he had been fined, and his heart soon began to ache. If not for the exceptional circumstances, he probably would have given Xie Xie a good beating. After all, this fine came about because Xie Xie peeped on a girl! However, Tang Wulin could tell that there was something amiss with Xie Xie lately. Even though they were basically sworn brothers, there wasn’t much he could do beyond offering a few words of comfort.

In the past, Tang Wulin had a fairly good relationship with Yuanen.

However, now that Yuanen became Yuanen Yehui, and after the recent incident, he was afraid it wouldn’t be easy to repair their relationship. The entire incident had been Xie Xie’s fault, and Tang Wulin had taken action without completely understanding the situation. He resolved to find her and apologize when he got back.

Mu Xi escorted Tang Wulin to the entrance of the building. “I’m going to campus to report tomorrow. I’ll give you a call once I get there.”

“Okay,” Tang Wulin replied. Senior sister, there’s a lot of freedom at Shrek. Since you’re a fourth-rank blacksmith, you’ll definitely be very popular!”

Mu Xi snorted. “What’s so great about being a fourth-rank blacksmith? You’re already at the fifth rank. Who knows when I’ll finally catch up to you.”

 Tang Wulin gave her a wry smile. “What’s your soul power rank at now, senior sister?”

“Rank 38,” she answered.

“Wow! You’re almost at rank 40! I’ll probably get to rank 30 around the time you reach rank 40. When that happens, let’s try spirit refining together. Senior sister, have you decided to become a battle armor master?”

Mu Xi paused for a moment, staring at him blankly. “I haven’t thought about that before. I’ve only ever wanted to be a great blacksmith.”

“I think you should work toward becoming a battle armor master like me!” Tang Wulin exclaimed. “Shrek is a place where geniuses grow and prosper

—not taking advantage of it would be a waste. Becoming a battle armor master is the requirement for graduating from the outer court anyway.

Making battle armor will definitely help us a lot. It’ll make us more powerful, aid in our cultivation, and will also improve our blacksmithing skills. With it boosting our cultivation, we will be capable of higher-level blacksmithing even sooner. We’ll be doing half the work for double the results!”

Mu Xi mulled it over. Although her soul power rank was higher than Tang Wulin’s, she was seventeen years old this year. She couldn’t be considered anything great in Shrek Academy. In fact, she was a bit below average.

“What you’re saying does make some sense, but can I really do it?”

“If you’re determined, nothing’s impossible. Let’s do our best, senior sister!”

“Mn. Alright.”

As Mu Xi watched Tang Wulin’s departing figure, she subconsciously clenched her fists.

“I’ll definitely do my best,” she muttered. “I won’t fall too far behind you! I’m going to catch up one day!”

 ☀

At the working student dormitory, Xie Xie paced back and forth in front of a door, occasionally rubbing his hands nervously.

The dormitory had been cleaned up and all the broken windows replaced. Xie Xie had done it all himself. Even after replacing the window panes, he wiped all of them until they were sparkling.

He was the only person in the dormitory at the moment. Xu Xiaoyan had gone to report to the Designer’s Association, Gu Yue had disappeared as she usually did, Tang Wulin had gone out as well, and neither Yuanen nor Yue Zhengyu had returned yet.

Xie Xie continuously replayed the forbidden scene he had witnessed that day. Although he only remembered her hazy silhouette, the room had been misty with only a dim light, the image was burned into his mind. To a youth of no more than thirteen years old, the impact of that scene had been too much for his innocent heart.

All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps rang out. Xie Xie’s heart leaped to his throat and he quickly hid. After a moment, he realized that it was just Yue Zhengyu.

Yue Zhengyu wore a dour expression. He thought he had finally caught an evil soul master, but instead he had misidentified her and was punished. It was as if fate were playing a cruel joke on him. The sight of Xie Xie made his face darken even further.

“What are you doing here? Oh, all of the windows are fixed!” “Mn.” Xie Xie nodded.

Yue Zhengyu walked over to Xie Xie, a slight smirk on his lips. “Are you waiting here to admit you were wrong?”

Xie Xie knitted his brow. “Why does it matter if I admit it? It’s only natural for me to acknowledge my mistakes.”

 “Then you can just wait here patiently.” Yue Zhengyu chuckled and

casually placed his hands behind his head as he turned toward his room. “Be careful though! Tang Wulin and the others aren’t here this time, so don’t make her mad again. You’ll be toast if you do.”

Xie Xie grumpily shooed Yue Zhengyu away then turned to to the dormitory entrance and waited.

Just as he turned around, he was astonished to see Yuanen Yehui returning. She walked in complete silence, completely ignoring Xie Xie as she returned to her room.

Yuanen Yehui currently wore her usual men’s uniform and had her Yuanen disguise on. If Xie Xie hadn’t confirmed her femininity with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to claim that she was wearing a disguise.

Summoning his courage, Xie Xie ran over before she could enter her room. “Yuanen!” he exclaimed.

Yuanen Yehui stopped and turned to him, both of her eyes icy to their very cores. Before her aura of fury, Xie Xie couldn’t help but falter.

“Screw off!” she yelled, going into her room and slamming the door in Xie Xie’s face.

“I… I came to apologize,” Xie Xie mumbled to the door.

A loud bang resounded from within the room, startling Xie Xie. Fearing for his life, he immediately took off running.

He was still traumatized by Yuanen Yehui’s killing intent from that night.

Inside of her room, Yuanen Yehui threw herself onto her bed. The ice in her eyes instantly thawed, and in its place was emptiness. She lay there unmoving, and soon enough, tears began streaming down her face.

Yet she did not sob a single time.

 ☀

By the time Tang Wulin returned to the dormitory, Gu Yue had come back as well.

Tang Wulin frowned when he saw Xie Xie sitting on his bed, staring off into nothingness. “What’s going on? Why do you look so dazed?’

Xie Xie slowly turned to Tang Wulin, his blank expression transitioning into one of defeat.

“I went to go apologize to Yuanen Yehui, but she completely disregarded me.”

Tang Wulin made dumbfounded face.

“You can’t be so impatient!” he said. “You have to wait for her to calm down before you try apologizing. Just forget about it for now and focus on earning enough contribution points to pay off your fine. You can just work on slowly making amends. As she is now, however, things between you two won’t be easy to fix. Anyway… just be careful and try to not make her

angry.”

“Mn.” Xie Xie smiled bitterly. “I know. I don’t want to die just yet.”

“Your thinking has been wrong these past few days,” Tang Wulin said.

“Xiaoyan is practicing her designing, so why aren’t you over at the Maker’s Association? The competition here is so fierce yet you’re not making good use of your time. Are you trying to be one of the ten people that’ll be

expelled? Stop overthinking things. The past is the past. Just focus on improving yourself first. If you don’t, you won’t survive even a minute against Yuanen.”

Tang Wulin’s words lit a fire in Xie Xie’s eyes.

“You’re right!” he cried. “I’m still too weak compared to her. First, I need to become strong!”

 As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped from his bed and made for the door.

“Where are you going?” Tang Wulin asked.

“I’m going to the Maker’s Association to practice!” Xie Xie shouted as he dashed out the door.

Tang Wulin couldn’t help but smile. That guy’s mood changes so often. Well… at least he recovers quickly too.

Tang Wulin climbed onto his bed, closed his eyes, and began meditating. As of now, nothing was more important for him than reaching rank 30.

“Tang Wulin! Kiddo, are you here?”

Just as Tang Wulin began clearing his mind of distracting thoughts, a familiar voice called to him from outside and his eyes shot open.

Why’d he come all the way here to find me?

Having no other choice, he got up and went outside. The moment he set foot out of his room, Tang Wulin saw the energetic Feng Wuyu.

“I’m here, Elder Feng,” he said. “What are you here for?”

“What? Am I not welcome here?” Feng Wuyu scowled at him.

Tang Wulin smiled apologetically. “You’re welcome here! Of course you are. There’s no way you wouldn’t be welcome. Did you need something from me?”

Feng Wuyu snorted. “It’s your win, kid. I admit defeat. Now come with me.”

With no further explanation, he grabbed Tang Wulin, threw him over his shoulder, and rushed off like a gale.

Seconds later, they were in Feng Wuyu’s workshop.

 Tang Wulin sighed in resignation. “Elder Feng, can you stop doing this all the time? I’ll give you my number, so you can just call me when you need me. You don’t have to abduct me every single time, you know?”

Feng Wuyu threw Tang Wulin to the ground. “We can talk about that later. First, I’m going to help you get to rank 30.”

“Elder Feng, I don’t have any money or contribution points!” Tang Wulin shouted. “I still have a twenty thousand point fine to pay off! You can’t force me to do this!”

Tang Wulin still owed Yuanen Yehui twenty thousand contribution points. Even if he paid her by way of thousand refining, he would have to buy the raw metal himself. If he needed to pay Feng Wuyu ten spirit refinings as well, it would take even longer to for him to pay off his debt. The success rate for spirit refining was low, and countless pieces of metal would be reduced to scraps in the process of successfully spirit refining ten times.

Chapter 334 – Breaking Through

Chapter 334 – Breaking Through

“Quit complaining. I’ll lower the price to five spirit refinings just for you. And in case that’s not enough, the Association will provide you with the metal to forge.”

Tang Wulin stopped struggling at Feng Wuyu’s words. Just five? And they’ll give me the metal free of charge too? If I don’t have to buy the metal, I’ll save a ton of money!

Sensing the change in Tang Wulin, Feng Wuyu scowled. “I get it now. Kid, you’re a super stingy money grubber!”

Tang Wulin broke into a smile that fell a bit short of being straight. “Elder Feng, I’m not a money grubber! I’m just from a poor family. If I don’t plan each cent of my spending every day, then I can’t afford to eat. Don’t forget, I’m a working student. I have to pay for my meals too. I can’t afford not to be stingy. How about you cover all my meals too? If you do, then I’ll listen to anything you say.”

“Give me a break already!” Feng Wuyu groaned, throwing his hands up in the air. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, I’ll cover your meals. But only if you accept me as your teacher.”

“Deal!” Mu Chen had urged him to be his student. Feeding himself was currently his biggest challenge after all!

Tang Wulin’s quick response left Feng Wuyu in a daze. He narrowed his

eyes seconds after, suspicion thick in the air. “Why’d you agree so quickly? You’re acting like a little thief! What’s going on!”

 Tang Wulin revealed a fox’s smile. “It just so happens I met Teacher Mu Chen today, and he agreed to let me accept you as my teacher. Of course, Teacher Mu Chen is still one of my teachers too. Elder Feng, your words have a lot of weight, you know? So you have to keep your promise!”

Feng Wuyu understood now. “Kid, you really know how to take advantage of opportunities! That kid Mu Chen is also quite tactful. I was actually planning on paying him a nice visit and rampaging a bit. Hmph!”

If Mu Chen were present to hear Feng Wuyu’s words, he definitely would have broken out into a cold sweat. Feng Wuyu was a true madman! Besides Mu Chen, not even Zhen Hua, a Divine Blacksmith and president of the

Blacksmith’s Association, dared provoke him.

“Elder Feng, so you agreed to pay for my food, right?” To Tang Wulin, this was the most important part of their deal.

“You’re still calling me ‘Elder Feng’?” Feng Wuyu massaged his forehead with his hands, his previous irritation snuffed out. “Do you think I’m

senile?”

“Teacher!” Tang Wulin quickly corrected himself.

For a moment, because of the pride from acquiring Tang Wulin as a student, he let slip a giant grin. After enjoying his new disciple’s salute for a while longer, he kicked Tang Wulin from the ground. “Alright. Get up you brat.

You’re my disciple from now on. If anyone dares bully you on campus, just tell me and I’ll go beat the crap out of them.”

“Thank you, Teacher.” Tang Wulin lowered his head, the picture of respect.

Now that Feng Wuyu was his teacher, Tang Wulin acted completely differently than before. There was a limit to how impudent Tang Wulin

could act. He understood the saying: ‘a teacher for a day, a father for life’.

That he made it this far and accumulated what little achievements he had

were in large part due to the guidance and life lessons of his teachers: Mang

 Tian, Mu Chen, and Wu Zhangkong. If not for them, perhaps Tang Wulin would still be in Glorybound City, doomed to mediocrity.

But he had had the fortune of learning under those three, and now he was the first grade’s class president at the continent’s greatest academy.

“Are you your class’s blacksmith representative?” Feng Wuyu asked.

Tang Wulin nodded, a proud smirk forming on his lips. “I’m the class president too.”

“Are you serious?” His voice hitched up an octave from the shock.

“Mn.” Tang Wulin nodded happily as he waited for his teacher’s praise. Although he wasn’t the strongest person in his class, he was still the class president! There were only six class presidents in the entire outer court!

However, reality was not as forgiving.

“So a two-ringed soul master is the class president… Looks like this year’s batch of new students isn’t anything special.”

Tang Wulin’s face fell.

“Alright, enough nonsense. Let’s get you to rank 30 now. The longer you

can practice spirit refining, the better. Same thing with starting earlier. Now sit upright and stabilize your body.”

Tang Wulin quickly straightened his back and steadied his core.

Sitting behind Tang Wulin, Feng Wuyu raised both hands. In an instant, absolute silence descended on the workshop.

Tang Wulin noticed this change, but he couldn’t begin to fathom what had happened.

Then Feng Wuyu placed his hands on Tang Wulin’s back and said, “No matter how painful this is, just endure it. You have to persevere.

Understood?”

 “Yes,” Tang Wulin answered.

Pain? I’ve already endured the torture from breaking the seals! There’s no way it could be worse.

Two gentle, gurgling streams of energy poured into his body, filling him with a soothing warmth.

The two energies stirred and merged with Tang Wulin’s soul power and blood essence.

“Circulate this energy the same way you would when you cultivate,” Feng Wuyu said.

Applying the Mysterious Heaven Method, Tang Wulin willed his spiritual power to guide the warm energy, moving it along with his soul power.

He could feel his meridians being purified as the energy ran through them, leaving behind a faint golden hue wherever it traveled. Somewhat elastic as his meridians were, they were not immune to feeling bloated. Despite this, Tang Wulin experienced no pain.

As soon as Feng Wuyu let out a bewildered grunt from behind him, the flow of warm energy grew from a stream to a torrent. Tang Wulin felt more and more bloated as time passed, but as Feng Wuyu had instructed, he

continued to circulate the energy through his body. While the amount of energy within his meridians continued to increase, he maintained skillful

control of it. Soon, he finished one cycle of the Mysterious Heaven Method.

His meridians and body were saturated with energy now. Each of them pulsed, seared as if on fire. Even so, Tang Wulin went through it all, knowing his soul power was increasing.

“Endure it!” Feng Wuyu commanded.

Tang Wulin obeyed, continuing to circulate his soul power.

After familiarizing himself with the energy, the next cycle went by faster than before. With each circulation cycle, Tang Wulin felt the improvement

 in his soul power and the purification of his meridians, not to mention the fading of the bloated feeling.

Teacher, what sort of soul power is this? How can it have this kind of effect? Is it actually refining my meridians?

This was Tang Wulin’s first time experiencing something of this nature.

However, he wasn’t naive to its value; he understood how incredible this procedure was, hand what a stroke of luck this was. Not only did the warm energy refine his meridians, it also strengthened his viscera and bones.

Comfort washed over him, replacing the previous bloated feeling. It’d be great if cultivating was always like this!

After Tang Wulin completed his forty-ninth circulation cycle, the warmth began to make its way into his dantian, spiraling toward the center.

“Stop!” Feng Wuyu ordered. The energy swirled within Tang Wulin’s dantian, combining with his soul power to form a whirlpool. Something was pressed to his lips all of a sudden, leaving behind a cool tingle.

“Open your mouth!”

Right when he complied, a cool object fell down his throat, melting into a liquid then flowing into his dantian.

Immediately, Tang Wulin felt a burst of cold energy within him. The cool sensation morphed into a freezing chill, spreading to every corner of his body in an instant.

Chapter 335 – The Class President is Absent!

Chapter 335 – The Class President is Absent!

Shivers ran down Tang Wulin’s spine as the freezing sensation entered his body. He willed his dantian to spin even faster, its speed quickly increasing by threefold. As he continued to circulate Feng Wuyu’s warm energy through his body, the chilling liquid he consumed no longer seemed as harsh and the explosion of cold slowed.

Energy flooded Tang Wulin’s meridians once more. Fortunately, they were tough enough to withstand it. After forty-nine circulation cycles, his meridians, bones, and viscera formed a protective outer layer that staunchly resisted the cold.

The freezing onslaught lasted a mere few moments before fading away,

absorbed by his spinning dantian. As it entered his dantian, the cold energy gradually merged with the swirling soul power inside.

Tang Wulin broke through to rank 29 in an instant, and yet his soul power showed no signs of stopping its ascension.

“Continue circulating,” Feng Wuyu commanded, removing his hands from Tang Wulin’s back. The warm energy faded from Tang Wulin’s body, but he had already learned how to deal with the cold energy. He continued to use the Mysterious Heaven Method to absorb it and rapidly increase his soul power.

Feng Wuyu stood up and stared at Tang Wulin, his eyes narrowed slightly. This kid’s body is extremely strange!

 Each time a soul master reached the next rank, soul power would saturate their body and increase their strength. This was especially true for major milestones like fusing with a new soul ring. Soul rings allowed a soul master to improve on a fundamental level, refining both body and mind. The exact amount of growth a soul master experienced depended on their martial soul.

Tang Wulin’s body, however, experienced improvements far beyond that which a two-ringed soul master would. In preparation for ingesting the

spirit items he had, Feng Wuyu had spared some of his inner energy to warm Tang Wulin’s meridians.

Yet Tang Wulin’s body exceeded his expectations. The boy’s meridians were as tough as a six-ringed soul master’s.

In other words, Tang Wulin would have easily been able to digest the spirit item even without Feng Wuyu’s help. However, just to be sure, Feng Wuyu had helped Tang Wulin complete forty-nine circulation cycles to warm up his meridians, and Tang Wulin’s meridians had devoured all the warm

energy without a fuss.

This kid is a real freak! His blood essence is so potent and powerful that not even an adult power-type soul master could match him! No wonder he made it into Shrek with only two rings… and was able to become the class president.

☀

Wu Zhangkong stood behind the lectern of the first grade’s classroom. Today was his third and final lecture on the basics of mechas. Shrek

Academy progressed through its curriculum at breakneck speed. All the students had to be diligent. They needed to do their homework and finish their readings every day to keep up. If they didn’t, then they would

eventually be expelled.

“Let’s begin class,” Wu Zhangkong said.

 The students in the classroom didn’t make a sound. According to tradition, once the teacher announced the start of the class, the class president had to command everyone to stand and salute. Only then would the class officially begin.

Yet at that moment, silence pervaded the room. The order to stand up was nowhere to be heard.

A minute later, a girl said, “Stand up!” That girl was Gu Yue.

As everyone stood and saluted, Wu Zhangkong’s eyes darted to Tang Wulin’s seat. Since Tang Wulin’s seat was in the very first row, everyone could clearly tell that he wasn’t present.

“Sit down,” Wu Zhangkong said. Once all of the students took their seats, he turned to Gu Yue. “Where’s Tang Wulin?”

Gu Yue shook her head. “I don’t know. He didn’t come back to the dormitory last night.”

Wu Zhangkong frowned. “He did not tell me that he would be absent or provide any excuse, so that’s one strike against him.”

Here in Shrek Academy, it was abnormal for the class president to skip class.

At that moment, a loud banging resounded from the door of the lecture theater. The door had already been open, and Wu Zhangkong turned to see a man in his late twenties standing there.

“Hello, Teacher Wu,” the man said. “Elder Feng sent me to tell you that

Tang Wulin is currently at a crucial point in his cultivation and shouldn’t be disturbed, so he won’t be attending class. Please excuse his absence today.”

Wu Zhangkong was stunned. “Elder Feng? As in Feng Wuyu?” “Yes.” The young man nodded.

 “Alright. I understand.”

The young man left and Wu Zhangkong began his lecture. However, all of the students had one question on their mind: Where was the class president? School had only started a few days ago, yet he was already missing class.

However, everyone remembered that Tang Wulin only had two soul rings, so they wondered if he was in the middle of getting his third.

Only students that were members of the Blacksmith’s Association knew who Elder Feng was. Under Wu Zhangkong’s icy gaze, however, none dared say anything during the lecture.

The lecture continued, but it was clear that Gu Yue’s mind was not present. She understood Tang Wulin best and knew it wasn’t time for him to make a breakthrough. It was only two days ago that he said he was at rank 28, so

even if he did make a breakthrough, he would only reach rank 29. Such a minor accomplishment wouldn’t take up much time. In the same vein, it was impossible for Tang Wulin to make a breakthrough in his blacksmithing. He had just became a fifth-rank blacksmith and couldn’t attempt spirit refining again until he got his third ring. In light of all this, she wondered just what kind of breakthrough he could be making.

Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan were similarly curious, but because they also knew how much of a madman Elder Feng was, anxiety filled their hearts.

☀

In the second grade’s classroom, Long Xiu, the teacher in charge of the class, smiled from behind the lectern.

“Now let me introduce all of you to a new student who will be joining our class.”

Mu Xi walked over to him.

“This is Mu Xi,” Long Xiu said. “The Blacksmith’s Association transferred her to our class. She’s seventeen years old and an outstanding blacksmith of the fourth rank. At the latest, she’ll be able to attempt spirit refining in one

 year. Our class has had a shortage of blacksmiths, so I hope you’ll treat her well.”

Yuanen Yehui sat in the first row, and Yue Zhengyu sat in the last row. Just like all of the other students, their eyes were glued to their pretty new blacksmith classmate.

Few students were blacksmiths to begin with, fewer were excellent blacksmiths, and barely any were female.

Mu Xi could sense the overwhelming goodwill in the gazes of her classmates.

Everyone in the second grade was already preparing to make their battle

armors. Once they reached the third or fourth grades, they would officially begin making them. In pursuit of that goal, a skilled blacksmith classmate was indispensable.

“Introduce yourself, Mu Xi,” Long Xiu said with a smile.

Mu Xi nodded to Long Xiu. “Hello everyone, I’m Mu Xi. I’m from Eastsea City, which is part of the Skysea Alliance. My goal is to become a Divine Blacksmith. Please take care of me.”

“Take a seat.” Long Xiu pointed to an empty seat in the back.

“Yes.” Mu Xi went to her seat. Since Yue Zhengyu had only joined the class a few days before, it happened to be next to him.

Yue Zhengyu smiled at her. “Hi, I’m Yue Zhengyu.” “Hello.” Mu Xi acknowledged him with a nod.

“Are there a lot of young fourth-rank blacksmiths in the Blacksmith’s Association?” Yue Zhengyu asked.

His sudden question surprised Mu Xi, but after a moment, she shook her head. “There aren’t that many.”

 Yue Zhengyu lowered his voice. “So, do you have a boyfriend?” Mu Xi rolled her eyes at him. “How old are you?”

“Fifteen,” he answered.

Mu Xi snorted. “You’re just a kid, yet your head’s already filled with such thoughts. Just pay attention to the lecture.”

After saying this, she ignored Yue Zhengyu, crossed her arms, and glued her gaze to the blackboard.

Yue Zhengyu was speechless. This girl…

☀

Tang Wulin truly hadn’t finished his breakthrough yet. If it was just his soul power reaching rank 30, he would have long since finished. Although rank 30 was considered a bottleneck, charging straight through it was a simple matter for him.

However, Tang Wulin’s current breakthrough had nothing to do with reaching rank 30.

When he absorbed the cold energy from the spirit item, he felt his body become lighter and his soul power surge through the bottleneck.

He had succeeded at reaching rank 30. In an instant, his soul power seemed to boil over. The soul power in his dantian spun even faster than before. It felt as if his soul power had condensed into a liquid, forming a whirlpool that grew smaller and denser.

Tang Wulin knew this was what happened when a soul master jumped from two rings to three.

He was now a Soul Elder.

 Meanwhile, Goldlight slithered out and stretched itself along Tang Wulin’s shoulder. Then popping sounds echoed from its body as it grew longer by half a foot and became much thicker than before. Its golden scales grew larger, and its eyes shone brighter.

Spirit souls grew with their masters, but Goldlight’s growth far surpassed the norm.

Feng Wuyu stood off to the side, watching all of this occur. Astonishment riddled his face.

What kind of spirit soul is that? Why is it growing so much? Even if it’s a thousand-year spirit soul, is it really possible for it to grow to this extent?

Chapter 336 – Three-ringed Soul Elder

Chapter 336 – Three-ringed Soul Elder

ascension platform. That said, it was possible for the spirit soul’s owner to strengthen it by advancing their soul rank. This type of growth, however, rarely surpassed ten percent, if it grew at all. Yet before Feng Wuyu’s eyes, Tang Wulin’s spirit soul had increased by fifty percent and that didn’t seem to be the end!

Goldlight’s taut body relaxed one vertebra at a time, coiling around Tang Wulin like a protective vest. A flash, and golden veins sprang up over Tang Wulin’s skin, his blood essence roaring with strength as they popped into

existence. His figure let off a faint layer of gold light.

Eyebrows arching toward the sky, Feng Wuyu muttered, “He really fits our school’s motto. What a little monster.” Before he knew it, he was shaking his head. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Unknown to Feng Wuyu was Tang Wulin’s current state of being, calm as a still lake. Unlike his new teacher, he understood what was happening to his body.

The third soul ring was a major bottleneck for soul masters, but he had succeeded. Along with Goldlight’s growth, it offered a third soul ring to Tang Wulin. Besides gaining another ring, Tang Wulin’s body and meridians strengthened and his blood essence richened.

However, he had yet to absorb to its entirety the reservoir of cold energy spiraling within him. There was still more to improve his soul power rank

 with, still more to be done.

His body pulsed with energy in a sudden jolt. Following that, his third soul ring condensed into existence. He immediately fused with it, diving straight into breaking through rank 31, but even then there seemed to be enough

energy left to tread deeper..

At that moment, Tang Wulin heard a voice.

“Take this opportunity to break a seal.” Old Tang’s voice resounded in his head.

“C-can I really?” Tang Wulin asked in astonishment.

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to since you just broke the second seal, but your blood essence has been improving rapidly these days. And that warm energy helped strengthen your meridians. But most important of all, what you ingested earlier was a ten-thousand-year spirit item of extremely high purity. It’s more than enough to substitute for the spirit items I

previously told you to get. Moreover, now that you have three rings, you’re strong enough to break the third seal. Don’t waste this opportunity. I’ll help you convert that spirit item’s energy into blood essence. Right now, increasing your soul power isn’t as important as breaking the next seal. The earlier you break the seal, the stronger your blood will become, especially if you break the third seal right now. That’ll give you plenty of time to prepare for the fourth seal.”

“Okay!” There was no hesitation in Tang Wulin’s answer.

With that said, Tang Wulin’s blood essence took on a full boil, vapors rising from his body in angry hisses, feasting upon the cold energy within his meridians. He continued to circulate his soul power whirlpool, carefully

containing it within his dantian.

To the spectating Feng Wuyu, this was an utterly baffling scene.

The golden veins webbing all over Tang Wulin’s body periodically pulsed with light as if they were alive. His blood essence surged out while a golden

 mist enveloped his body. A few moments later, his blood essence finished devouring the last bits of the cold energy, rushing into his dantian, merging with his soul power. Together, the two energies whirled in his dantian like a turbulent tornado.

Of the eighteen seals, he had sixteen left to break including this one. Soon, a familiar bone-scraping pain clawed its way to every inch of his body.

Tang Wulin had just broken the second seal not too long ago, and now by

coincidence, he was breaking the third. He was nowhere near as prepared as the previous time. This time, the pain was comparable to that of the first

seal breaking, and before long his body felt as though it were on the verge of exploding.

Feng Wuyu knitted his brows, eyes glued to the spectacle before him. The fluctuations of Tang Wulin’s blood essence grew more and more pronounced, and it wasn’t long before he began to tremble.

I can’t figure out what’s going on with him. Just what is happening to his body? This isn’t as simple as just breaking through to rank 30. Although Feng Wuyu came to this conclusion immediately, he knew that he shouldn’t interfere without knowing everything. He sat himself behind Tang Wulin, ready to intervene at a moment’s notice if things went south.

To his surprise, a golden soul ring emerged from Tang Wulin’s body. It quivered and released a dragon’s roar. The ring prowled around Tang Wulin like a golden dragon, haughty yet curious, and with each revolution his golden veins turned more distinct, bulging from his skin.

Scales rippled into existence across Tang Wulin’s right arm, shoulder, and chest, his hand morphing into a claw. His shirt was ripped to shreds by the transformation. His entire body shined with a radiant golden light.

Now his body no longer trembled, and Tang Wulin reabsorbed his free flowing blood essence into his body. Save for his golden aura, he reverted back to his normal state.

 “Is this the power of blood essence condensing?” Feng Wuyu stared at Tang Wulin in shock. Such an aura was unheard of!

A blood essence ring? And a blood essence soul ring at that? This kid’s body is too strange! He really benefited from what I made him ingest.

A while after, Tang Wulin’s skeleton began to crackle, bones vibrating with the immense energy flowing through his body. He trembled once more. The golden scales spread from the right half of his chest to the left, sneaking up his left shoulder. His blood essence was more powerful than previous, and the golden aura around him shrunk back to a golden soul ring, glowing brighter than before.

A watchful hawk from the beginning, Feng Wuyu made out a few differences in Tang Wulin. He was taller for one, and his skin was the type maidens dreamed of, glossy and sparkling. His blood essence coursed through his body like a raging river, so loud that if he strained his ears, Feng Wuyu could hear it roaring. Tang Wulin’s body was so full of vitality that his blood essence fluctuations saturated the room. Never had the golden scales upon his flesh glistened more brilliantly, seeming to reflect light with a regal magnificence.

“Interesting… How interesting.” Feng Wuyu observed with narrowed eyes, his mouth parting into a slight smile.

It looks like I’ve picked up quite a treasure! This kid’s strength clearly comes from his bloodline and not his martial soul! His bloodline is influencing every part of him.

At that moment, Goldlight slithered out of Tang Wulin’s hair. Its scales deepened in its golden splendor, sharpening like blades. Two small protrusions appeared on its head. Goldlight’s length extended again, now about two feet long. It scrutinized the area with sparkling eyes.

Is his spirit soul evolving again? It’s still not done? Feng Wuyu finally understood His strange bloodline is causing it to evolve a second time! It’s making his spirit soul’s growth beyond normal! His future is limitless!

 When Tang Wulin peeled his eyes open, he felt about on the verge of

collapse, exhaustion tempting every bit of his body. Pain sizzled through his nerves like electricity at the mere drawing of breath.

He barely managed to endure the pain. It was even worse than that of the first seal breaking. Fortunately, his Golden Dragon Body helped him bridge the crisis.

When Tang Wulin completed the process, he was too far gone from fatigue to sense the effects of gaining his third soul ring and breaking the third seal. He went down like a bag of bricks without another word.

Chapter 337 – Gorging

Chapter 337 – Gorging

Feng Wuyu held Tang Wulin up anxiously, his right hand pressed onto his student’s chest as he poured soul power into him.

A scorching energy purified Tang Wulin’s meridians, setting his body at ease. However, the fatigue remained.

“You overdrafted your energy and might have injured your core. Just what is going on with you? People are usually as lively as a dragon when they break through, but you.” Feng Wuyu eyed Tang Wulin, his gaze peppered with doubt. “You look like you’re about to die.”

Tang Wulin forced out a bitter smile. “Teacher, I’m hungry. Can you get me some food? I’ll be fine once I’ve got something in my stomach.”

“Food? Okay, let’s go to the dining hall then.” Feng Wuyu helped Tang Wulin up. “Do you have some spare clothes? Or do you plan on going to the dining hall butt naked?”

He whipped out a new set of clothes from his storage ring and put them on in response. Absorbing his teacher’s soul power had made him feel

significantly better. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t tired.

This time, he didn’t struggle at all when Feng Wuyu dashed off with him in tow, lacking the strength to do so. The dining hall had yet to close this

evening. Feng Wuyu deposited Tang Wulin at a table and returned with food a moment later.

Tang Wulin’s eyes lit up at the sight of food. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he began stuffing his mouth.

 This was all for a good cause though. The third seal’s tenacious nature

exceeded the previous two’s, forcing Tang Wulin to go through a long battle before breaking it and absorbing the essence of the Golden Dragon King

within. That same essence fused with his own blood essence, spreading to every corner of his body. Moreover, by the time he finished absorbing the power, his blood essence was depleted. As a result, he felt as if he had been starved for a month.

Feng Wuyu had happily brought Tang Wulin food. He took joy in the

simple sight of Tang Wulin devouring everything he had brought and even wanted to praise his disciple’s eating prowess.

Twenty minutes later, however, his bright expression melted away into unadulterated shock. It was his first time witnessing Tang Wulin eat, his first time realizing what it meant for one to be a King of Gluttony! Despite the hill of empty plates littering the table, Tang Wulin showed no sign of

slowing down. This was no stomach, but a bottomless pit! It didn’t bulge regardless of all the food he kept shovelling in.

Furthermore, the change in his vigor was almost jarring. Upon arriving at the dining hall, Tang Wulin had struggled to sit upright. But with each bite, he grew more spirited, and in turn, his eating pace quickened. Table manners were nowhere to be seen. The table was a battlefield, and Tang Wulin was winning.

Feng Wuyu finally understood why Tang Wulin had accepted him as his teacher once he agreed to pay his food expenses. Tang Wulin hadn’t lied. Since working students needed to pay for their own meals, it would cost Tang Wulin an astronomical sum to feed himself.

Can I really handle a disciple like him?

By the time Tang Wulin’s gorging reached the forty-minute mark, Feng Wuyu began to tremble. Tang Wulin had not slowed at all.

On the other hand, Tang Wulin was having a blast. The highly nourishing food replenished his spent blood essence, leaving behind excess nutrition

 for his body to absorb, to use to stabilize itself after the arduous third seal breaking.

Shrek Academy is great! If this was Eastsea Academy, it would be impossible for me to eat such good food! Tang Wulin he stuffed himself to the beat of his musing.

His feasting finally ended an hour later. The aftermath of his battle was clear for all to see. A mountain of plates lay before him so tall that he

couldn’t see Feng Wuyu on the other side.

“Do you always eat this much?” Feng Wuyu asked, voice trembling as much as his heart.

Tang Wulin choked back a cough. “Today’s special. Teacher, did I scare you?” He rose from his seat and walked over to Feng Wuyu’s side. On his face was the mask of a child who was afraid he had done wrong, and he peered up at Feng Wuyu with large watery eyes. “You won’t refuse to take me as your disciple just because I eat a lot, right?”

“I…” Feng Wuyu felt like he had a fish bone stuck in his throat. No matter what he said, he would be trapped.

“Teacher, you can be relieved. I don’t normally eat this much,” Tang Wulin said.

Feng Wuyu let out a small sigh of relief. “So this was all because of your breakthrough?”

“Mn!”. His next words, however, caused Feng Wuyu’s expression freeze.

“I usually only eat about half as much. Of course, I’ll eat more if I can.” Tang Wulin beamed.

Feng Wuyu’s face began to twitch. “Can you really digest all this food? Does this have something to do with your strange blood essence?”

Tang Wulin nodded. “That’s right. For me, eating food is another way to cultivate. You should be able to sense it, right? My blood essence is far

 stronger than other people’s. I’m not sure why though. What I do know is that it can offer me a lot of strength and power similar to a soul ring’s. My bloodline possesses the power of a dragon.”

At Tang Wulin’s last words, Feng Wuyu’s eyes narrowed. He gave a slight nod. Just as Tang Wulin had said, he could sense the abnormal strength of his student’s blood essence. And he had clearly felt the golden soul ring’s might when it had materialized, comparable to that of a peak existence..

It also helped that Feng Wuyu’s martial soul was the Blazing Fire Dragon, with his title, Blazing Dragon, taking a bite out of that. He and another powerhouse in Shrek Academy with a dragon martial soul were famed as the Holy Twin Dragons. The Blazing Fire Dragon was of the true dragon bloodline and stood at the peak of fire-attribute martial souls. As such, he could feel the draconic might emanating from Tang Wulin’s bloodline,

calling out to his own, even though they were nothing alike. Yet if not for the gap in their soul power ranks, Feng Wuyu was certain that he would experience some martial soul suppression from Tang Wulin.

Simply put, Tang Wulin’s bloodline came from a terrifying soul beast.

“Eat, eat. If you think you can, then eat all my money away.” Feng Wuyu snorted.

“Teacher, how long have I been cultivating? Judging from the color of the sky, could I have missed a day of class?” Tang Wulin asked.

“One day? That’s funny. You’ve already missed three days of school! But don’t worry, I requested a leave of absence for you. You can go explain yourself tomorrow. Now get going. Find me tomorrow afternoon so I can teach you forging.” After saying this, Feng Wuyu could no longer bear the sight of the mountain of plates and ran out.

T-Three days? Tang Wulin sat back down, mouth gaping. I haven’t even

attended classes for three days yet… But I’ve already missed three classes? This is just…

 It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t the class president, and he had skipped plenty of classes back at Eastsea Academy. But he was the class president now, and everyone had their eyes on him. Just imagining how much he had missed in three days’ worth of lectures drove him nervous.

Oh no. I can’t go back to rest right now. I need to find Teacher Wu first! I need to catch up on what I missed!

Tang Wulin burst through the doors of the dining hall at lightning speed, but out in the cold evening air, he realized there was an error in his plan.

Doesn’t Teacher Wu live on Sea God’s Island? I can’t get there without someone taking me!

Fortunately, soul communicators existed.

Tang Wulin whipped out his communicator and dialed Wu Zhangkong’s number. The call connected and he heard Wu Zhangkong’s icy voice on the line. “You’re done cultivating?”

“Mn. Teacher Wu, please let me explain myself. I was caught up in an extraordinary situation, so I—”

“I don’t need an explanation right now. Come to the inner court. I’ll be waiting at the gate. Tell me when you get here.” Wu Zhangkong hung up the call.

Tang Wulin couldn’t tell from Wu Zhangkong’s voice what sort of mood he was in. Oh whatever. If I get scolded, then I get scolded. Teacher Wu will probably empathize with me anyway.

Not daring to keep Wu Zhangkong waiting any longer, Tang Wulin dashed toward the inner court, feet in a blur. Although he had been there once, the path was burned into his mind.

As he zipped past buildings and the like, he could feel his body absorbing the nourishment he had consumed. His blood essence was more vigorous than when he had awakened; it was now like blood coursing through his

 veins instead of energy. It had a clear rhythm to its flow, bringing warmth to his body wherever it went.

Chapter 338 – Heartwarming

Chapter 338 – Heartwarming

I may have used most of that spirit item’s energy to break the third seal, but it was originally meant to boost my soul power. Well, my body has gotten a lot stronger after breaking it anyway. Even though my soul power rose

above rank 30. I’m not sure how much higher it is now. Maybe around rank 32?

Tang Wulin had finally made it out of the bottom of the pack. He rejoiced, tears practically streaming down his cheeks. Now that he had three soul rings, his soul power circulated throughout his body with more vigor than before, and the soul power within his dantian liquefied. This was a major power spike for him. Now, he had to use the Mysterious Heaven Method to liquefy the rest of his soul power. Only then would his cultivation sit firmly at the three-ring level.

Tang Wulin didn’t know what Feng Wuyu fed him, but it was definitely worth the five spirit refinings he promised. He had saved all the money he would have spent on getting the spirit items needed for the third seal!

Furthermore, according to Old Tang, he now had until he was sixteen to break the fourth seal.

As he ran along the path toward the inner court, Tang Wulin felt invigorated by the cool night air. He now felt free, and his stomach digested his large dinner while he ran, so his entire body brimmed with energy. Even his soul power recovered rapidly under the influence of his blood essence.

Wu Zhangkong stood waiting at the gates. His expression was as icy as usual, but something stirred in his eyes when he saw Tang Wulin. Before

 Tang Wulin could even call out to him, Wu Zhangkong appeared before him in a blur. He grabbed Tang Wulin’s wrists and felt his pulse.

“Three rings?” Wu Zhangkong asked in astonishment. “Mn.” Tang Wulin nodded, his excitement clear as day.

Three soul rings was a dividing line for soul masters. Soul masters born

with an innate soul power of three or less would generally never overcome the wall that was obtaining three rings. Most would spend their entire lives withering away as two-ringed soul masters. Additionally, one could only

call themselves a true soul master upon reaching the three-ring level. “What did you do?” Wu Zhangkong asked.

“Elder Feng fed me some treasured spirit item and then helped warm my meridians. After that, I broke through.”

“Why did he do that?” Wu Zhangkong asked.

“He wanted me to learn blacksmithing from him and start practicing spirit refining, but I needed to reach rank 30 before I could.”

Wu Zhangkong stared at Tang Wulin blankly for a moment. “So that’s how it is. What spirit item did you eat?”

This question left Tang Wulin stupefied. That’s right! I have no idea what Elder Feng fed me!

“I… I forgot.” Tang Wulin gave him a troubled smile.

“Come in first.” Wu Zhangkong turned around and walked into the inner

court. Tang Wulin hastened to follow. Once they arrived at the shore of Sea God’s Lake, a boat floated over to receive them. It was Tang Wulin’s

second time coming to this lake, yet the sight of moonlight reflecting off of the limpid lakewater and the refreshing breeze set his heart at ease. The

scene brought him joy, and the loneliness, stress, and depression from his last few years of cultivation were wiped away in an instant. His heart felt unburdened here.

 Sensing the change in his student, Wu Zhangkong turned to see Tang Wulin, eyes closed and breathing the air in deeply. Instead of disturbing his student, he simply waited.

Ten minutes later, Tang Wulin opened his eyes. “This place is really beautiful. I definitely need to make it into the inner court. I’ll be able to come here if I do, right?”

Wu Zhangkong nodded. “Yes, now get in the boat.”

Tang Wulin followed Wu Zhangkong aboard the boat. With a wave of Wu Zhangkong’s hand, a breeze began pushing them straight toward Sea God’s Island. The boat gently cut through the water, its passing current seemingly filled with life as though it were blood coursing through a vein.

Tang Wulin stood at the bow of the ship. He felt free and content, basking in the moist evening breeze.

“Teacher Wu, my bloodline’s power improved again. The process took a long time, so I was absent from class,” Tang Wulin said.

“Your bloodline improved again?” Wu Zhangkong stared at Tang Wulin in shock.

“Mn.” Tang Wulin took in a deep breath then punched the empty space before him. The air exploded with an audible bang, the force rebounding from the punch and causing the boat to sway. Wu Zhangkong clearly sensed that Tang Wulin’s punch had created a two-meter shockwave. Tang Wulin wasn’t using Golden Dragon Body right now. That power had come from the strength of his body alone. He was just as surprised as Wu Zhangkong.

My strength has increased by about fifty percent. If I summon my golden scales, I should be able to exert over five thousand kilograms worth of force! Then, if I add on the power up from Golden Dragon Body, a single one of my punches would be as powerful as a soul skill!

As Tang Wulin thought about the possibilities, his eyes full of excitement, Wu Zhangkong’s face grew pensive. “It looks like your bloodline is

 improving in a good direction. Was this quick evolution caused by that spirit item Feng Wuyu gave you? What price did he have you pay?”

“I owe him five spirit refinings. Once I’m able to spirit refine, the first five successful products will be his as payment.”

“That’s definitely worth it,” Wu Zhangkong said.

Tang Wulin scratched his head in embarrassment. “Elder Feng originally wanted ten spirit refinings, but I didn’t agree, so he lowered it to five.”

Wu Zhangkong stared at Tang Wulin in shock. “Just refining your meridians is worth more than that. Elder Feng’s martial soul is the Blazing Fire Dragon, so his control over fire is extremely precise. With his current cultivation level, he can purify meridians with his flame, and it’ll be like

having your muscles and bones completely cleansed. However, doing this is very exhausting for him and consumes the source energy of his martial soul. He rarely offers to do this for anyone. Do you have any idea what it costs to get him to do this for someone?”

This sudden question took Tang Wulin by surprise. “There’s a price on it?” Wu Zhangkong nodded. “It costs ten million contribution points.”

“Huh?” Tang Wulin gaped.

Ten million? Ten million contribution points?

Wu Zhangkong icy’s expression thawed into a gentle, rarely seen smile. “Don’t let the price scare you. Elder Feng set it so high because he didn’t

want to help just anyone refine their meridians. The fact that he offered to do it for you shows just how much he values you.”

“I understand,” Tang Wulin said, warmth blossoming in his heart.

Tang Wulin originally felt apprehension toward Feng Wuyu. After all, the crazy old man had abducted him in their first encounter, so he had only

wanted to avoid him. Only the heavens knew what sort of crazy things the madman would do. However, as Tang Wulin spent more time with him,

 Feng Wuyu agreed to cover his meals, lowered the price from ten spirit refinings to five, and had now refined his meridians. Each time, Tang Wulin warmed up to the crazy old man even more. Some things didn’t need to be said aloud, and in Tang Wulin’s heart, he had already fully accepted Feng Wuyu as his fourth teacher.

He was the type to treat every one of his teacher’s like a lord for the rest of his life.

As they approached the island, the boat slowed down and came to a stop just short of the shore. The two of them disembarked, and Wu Zhangkong led Tang Wulin along the path they took last time.

“Teacher, are we going to Grandteacher’s place?” Tang Wulin asked quietly. In his mind, Sea God’s Island was a sacred land, so it would be disrespectful to shout in such a place.

“Your grandteacher said to come back after a week. Did you forget already? ”

“Eh…” Tang Wulin really had forgotten. Ever since he came to Shrek Academy, his days had been packed with new experiences and constant

cultivating. He had forgotten such an important matter amidst all the hustle and bustle.

It’s a good thing Teacher Wu reminded me…

Chapter 339 – Dragon Shocks the Heavens

Chapter 339 – Dragon Shocks the Heavens

Arriving at the small house, Tang Wulin and Wu Zhangkong saw that the lights were on. They entered the living room, but no one was there to receive them.

“Wait here,” Wu Zhangkong pointed to a chair, then headed for the stairs. “I’m going to find Teacher.”

Despite Wu Zhangkong’s directions, Tang Wulin chose to remain standing. After a short period of waiting, Wu Zhangkong returned with Zhuo Shi.

Seeing Tang Wulin, Zhuo Shi’s eyes lit up and he rushed over to his granddisciple. Only, something seemed different. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the boy intently.

“Grandteacher!” Tang Wulin said respectfully. Zhuo Shi raised a hand, silencing him.

A moment later, his stern expression changed into surprise. “Your blood essence improved so much in just a week? What happened? You had a breakthrough, right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” said Tang Wulin. “The food here is very nourishing.

After eating a lot, I discovered that it improves my blood essence. Eating is basically a way for me to cultivate my blood essence.”

Silence descended as Zhuo Shi stood there in shock. He eats to cultivate? I know we’re famous for raising monsters here at Shrek, but I’ve never heard

 of anything like this before! Food-type soul masters can cultivate by eating, but it’s their soul power that improves, not their blood essence!

Generally, richer blood essence strengthened the body so that it was more

suitable for cultivation. However, Tang Wulin’s ridiculously vigorous blood essence had reached the level of becoming a part of his strength.

His miraculous eating cultivation method was definitely one of the strangest cultivation methods at Shrek Academy.

Tang Wulin continued to recount his experiences in the past week. When he reached the part about accepting Feng Wuyu as his teacher, Zhuo Shi’s

eyebrows twitched in alarm.

However, immersed in his own story, Tang Wulin did not notice. It took him a full half-hour to summarize his entire week.

“Not bad. You’ve broken through very quickly, so you can try spirit refining now and truly become a fifth-rank blacksmith. Keep up the good work.”

After saying this, Zhuo Shi turned around and went back upstairs. That’s it?

Tang Wulin stood there with a blank expression. He had expected advice from his grandteacher, but his expectations shattered in the face of reality. To the side, Wu Zhangkong frowned.

“Teacher Wu, Grandteacher, he…” Tang Wulin cast doubtful eyes at Wu Zhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong only shook his head and said, “Follow me. I’ll help you

catch up on what you missed in class so you can resume class without any issues tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Tang Wulin followed Wu Zhangkong to his room. Shrek Academy’s teachers covered material at a punishing pace. Missing even a single class

 would put someone far behind their peers. One of Tang Wulin’s goals today conveniently happened to be catching up on the lectures.

Once Zhuo Shi arrived on the second floor, his calm expression finally cracked. Fury blazed into life within his eyes as he ran into his room, whipped out his soul communicator, and rapidly dialed a number.

“What do you want? If it’s nothing, I’m hanging up,” answered an impatient voice.

“If you dare hang up then I’ll destroy your house!” Zhuo Shi yelled. “What crawled up your ass and died?” the person replied angrily.

“Feng Wuyu you old bastard! When did I give you permission to take Tang Wulin as your disciple?” Zhuo Shi spat out in rage.

“Why do I need your permission?” Feng Wuyu said in disdain.

Zhuo Shi snorted. “Tang Wulin is my granddiscple! What do you have to say now?”

“You’re his grandteacher?” Feng Wuyu asked in shock. “Bullshit! Stop lying. I already checked, he’s from Eastsea City. How could you possibly be his grandteacher?”

“My disciple, Wu Zhangkong, taught Tang Wulin at Eastsea City. You got anything to say now?”

“Wu Zhangkong? The one you cut off ties with?”

“I was just letting him get some experience outside. Who said I cut off ties with him? He brought back wonderful students to pay respects to me this time, you know! Explain your actions!”

“Explain my ass! You’re just conveniently his grandteacher whenever you want, huh? What have you given him? What have you taught him? Are you tell me you didn’t refuse to eat for half a month after that disciple of yours left? Stop bullshitting me.” Feng Wuyu didn’t budge at all.

 “You! Fine, have it your way! Let’s fight! Whoever wins gets to be his teacher!” shouted Zhuo Shi.

“As if! You can fight all by yourself. Why should I bother? He’s already taken me as his teacher and I’ve given him benefits. Just try to get him to back out, I won’t lift a single finger if he does. He’ll just become infamous as someone who turns his back on his teachers then.” Feng Wuyu hung up after leaving these words.

Zhuo Shi held the communicator to his ear, stunned at the droning dial tone of an ended call. Then he threw it on the floor and stomped, raging,

“Bastard! That old bastard! How shameless can he be!”

Meanwhile, Feng Wuyu was roaring with laughter. He had been meditating when the call came in, but now he was dancing with joy.

“I didn’t expect I could infuriate that old bastard Zhuo Shi just by accepting this disciple of mine! Ha! I’m so happy I could die. Hurray for my disciple! Hahaha! Zhuo Shi, you old bastard, you’re always bullying me, but this time you can’t do anything!”

Unaware of the commotion he had caused, Tang Wulin spent the night catching up on the content he missed with Wu Zhangkong. With his teacher’s permission, Tang Wulin didn’t return to the dormitory and remained within the room to meditate.

Minutes before the break of dawn the next morning, Tang Wulin woke up to Wu Zhangkong’s call. Together, the teacher and student went outside and looked towards the east, waiting for the rising sun to practice the Purple

Demon Eyes.

As the last hints of purple clouds vanished over the horizon and they finished practicing their Purple Demon Eyes, Tang Wulin asked, “Teacher Wu, where’s the Tang Sect branch in Shrek City? Shouldn’t I go with Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan to report?”

“It’s in Shrek Inner City and is actually very close to the campus. I’ll bring you three later.”

 “Oh, okay.”

Tang Wulin’s stomach growled at that moment. He looked up at Wu Zhangkong in embarrassment. “Teacher, can I go back to the outer court to eat breakfast?”

“Just stay here to eat.”

“But I…” stammered Tang Wulin. “But I think my appetite is bigger than before.”

“Teacher will be able to provide you with one meal at least. Come on, let’s go.”

They turned around and made their way back to the house. Zhuo Shi was outside, casually waving to them as he did his morning exercises.

“Teacher.”

“Grandteacher.”

Wu Zhangkong and Tang Wulin respectfully greeted Zhuo Shi. Zhuo Shi glanced at them. “Tang Wulin, come here.”

“Yes.” Tang Wulin walked over.

“Watch carefully,” said Zhuo Shi. He slowly raised his right hand, circling it in front of him before pushing outward.

His actions were utterly simple. If observed from afar, it would seem like he was just an ordinary old man doing his morning exercises. Yet, Tang Wulin couldn’t see anything except for this move.

When Zhuo Shi had raised his right hand and drawn a circle with it, Tang Wulin had, for a split second, thought that his grandteacher had become the very center of the world. A dragon’s roar resonated from deep within himself and his blood essence frantically surged through his body in response. His mind shuddered and his vision went blurry.

 It was as if a dragon within him roared at the sky and shocked the heavens.

In Tang Wulin’s eyes, the moment Zhuo Shi thrust his palm out a crimson- scaled dragon filled with terrifying majesty and tyrannical blood essence rushed out. The world trembled before its might. The air in front of the palm rent apart and revealed darkness, as if space itself had been torn.

The surrounding space continued to tremble for a few minutes. When it finally faded away, so too did the darkness in Tang Wulin’s vision.

Everything returned to normal.

“You can use the power of your bloodline like this. Go back and

comprehend it. This move is called Dragon Shocks the Heavens. My martial soul is the Scarlet Armored Dragon so when I use it, the move is called Scarlet Dragon Shocks the Heavens.” After saying this, Zhuo Shi turned around and entered the house.

Tang Wulin stood frozen, completely unresponsive to his words. He raised his palm in a dazed manner, his body swaying slightly as he copied Zhuo Shi’s actions. Golden light flashed around his body from time to time.

Chapter 340 – The Blazing Fire Dragon and the Scarlet Armored Dragon

Chapter 340 – The Blazing Fire Dragon and the Scarlet Armored Dragon

Concerned, Wu Zhangkong followed Zhuo Shi back into the small house, leaving Tang Wulin to his thoughts and their softening footsteps. “Teacher, isn’t this too soon? That’s the first part of the most powerful soul skill you created! Can Wulin learn it as he is now?”

“You don’t understand,” said Zhuo Shi, waving his hand dismissively in the air. “His draconic bloodline is very pure and noble. It’s at least a grade

above mine. Besides being limited to dragon-type martial souls, my self- created soul skill requires an extremely powerful blood essence from the

use. I’m only teaching it to him because his bloodline resembles my martial soul. It’s bizzare how his martial soul isn’t dragon related at all despite his powerful draconic bloodline! But that’s not important right now.” He stared Wu Zhangkong straight in the eye. “What matters is that he’s strong enough to start learning my soul skill. It’s just a matter of how much he can

comprehend. Dragon Shocks the Heavens is the first of my Divine Dragon’s Nine Moves. If he can understand it, then that means he has talent. If not, his bloodline will ensure no harm to be done..”

Zhuo Shi paused, seeming to remember something. Then he snorted.

“Besides, if I don’t teach him anything, that shameless bastard Feng Wuyu is going to snatch him away. I gave him a call yesterday and you wouldn’t believe how arrogant he was, asking me what I’ve done for Wulin. Hmph! We’ll see who’s able to give the most to Wulin soon enough. He’s just a

 three-word battle armor master right now. He hasn’t even become a Divine Blacksmith yet. Let’s see if he dares fight with me!”

Wu Zhangkong pulled a helpless face. “Teacher, Elder Feng is after Wulin’s forging ability. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Zhuo Shi groaned. “Nonsense! Are you saying I don’t understand that old bastard’s character? He’s utterly selfish and does nothing that wouldn’t benefit him! I don’t believe for even a second that he hasn’t taken notice of Wulin’s special bloodline. But Wulin is most suited studying under me. I don’t care if he also has a dragon-type martial soul. It’ll be a pain in the ass if that bastard teaches Wulin as well. So no matter what that bastard says, Wulin is still my granddisciple. Oh, that’s right. Since he accepted Wulin as his disciple, and Wulin is my granddisciple, doesn’t that mean I’m the elder between us?”

Zhuo Shi lit up at the thought, any trace of sourness about the situation completely washed away. The sight left Wu Zhangkong gaping

Ever since the two had entered Shrek Academy, Zhuo Shi and Feng Wuyu strived to one-up the other. Both wielded peak-level dragon-type martial

souls, one being the Blazing Fire Dragon and the other the Scarlet Armored Dragon. Consequently, it was natural for them to become rivals.

Later on, Feng Wuyu had taken a liking to forging and diverted much of his energy to becoming a blacksmith. His cultivation lagged behind Zhuo Shi’s as a result and he was soon suppressed by his rival’s might. Disgruntled, Feng Wuyu swore to become a Divine Blacksmith and create a four-word battle armor, all in the name of defeating Zhuo Shi.

Regardless of their fame as Shrek’s Holy Twin Dragons, the two rarely

came into contact interestingly enough, and despised the rare occasions they did.

Left alone in the front yard, Tang Wulin immersed himself in the memory of Zhuo Shi’s Dragon Shocks the Heavens. Every bit of the move was

scorched vividly into his mind, leaving behind an exhilarating motion picture for him to relive. He could even remember the way the blood

 coursed through Zhuo Shi’s palm, the crimson scales popping from his arm the moment he struck out.

He found the circulation of blood essence within his body strange after replicating that action. Little by little, his blood essence moved opposite of its usual direction. Though it felt awkward, he couldn’t shake off his desire to unleash the same might as Zhuo Shi.

I can do it!

Reversed blood flow be damned, Tang Wulin thrust his palm out, feeling his blood essence spiraling into a frenzy, the energy contained within boiling over as it tried to escape. The effect was similar to that of his

Golden Dragon Body.

This isn’t just an offensive technique; it’s also a blood essence cultivation method!

So blood essence can be used like this too.

Before he knew it, his blood essence burst into a rage. He doubled over as though knives had stabbed into his stomach, lost and dizzy, and he had no

choice but to stop. But that was not to say he did not grasp an understanding of Dragon Shocks the Heavens, and his hunger skyrocketed as a result.

Half an hour later, Wu Zhangkong understood the frightening meaning of Tang Wulin’s appetite increasing.

Tang Wulin cleared out all the food in Zhuo Shi’s house all by himself. Yet even so, his hunger was not satisfied. He went to pay the dining hall a visit after returning to the outer court.

“Why are you so late?” Feng Wuyu stood at the dining hall’s entrance, hands clasped behind his back.

“Good morning, Teacher. Were you waiting for me here?” Tang Wulin asked, astonished.

 Feng Wuyu nodded, handing something over to his student. “Take this. It’s a dining hall card. Whatever you buy with it will be charged directly to my account. Now go on. Eat.”

The card was black with silver engravings. It weighed a lot for its size as well. In fact it was ten times heavier than a silver card of the same size. What metal it was made of left Tang Wulin guessing.

As his trailing foot left the entranceway, he heard Feng Wuyu shout. “So Zhuo Shi is your grandteacher?”

“Huh? How’d you know?”

Feng Wuyu revealed a mischievous smile. “How could I not? Now hurry on and go eat.” With these words said, he departed.

Sparing the new card a final glance, Tang Wulin rushed off into the dining hall. He was about to wage war on the cooks.

It’s all free! I can eat as much as I want!

Since eating was a cultivation method for him, he had to consume as much nourishing food as possible. Due to not having enough contribution points, he had been restraining himself at meal time the past few days. But not

anymore. He gorged himself like a king now.

After terrorizing the cafeteria a while longer, Tang Wulin dragged his stomach to class just in the nick of time.

He was too content after his meal, practically radiating an aura of satisfaction as he walked through the lecture theater’s doors.

However, he was hit with the sudden sense of unease. The moment he

stepped through the doorway, absolute silence reigned in the classroom and all eyes turned to him.

Tang Wulin wiped the satisfied smile off his face and nodded sternly to his classmates. He quickly made his way to his seat.

 Xie Xie elbowed him as he sat down. “What happened with you? Why were you absent the last few days?”

Tang Wulin knitted his brows but before he could respond, he felt a thorny gaze digging into his back. He turned around.

It was Wu Siduo. She glared at him with icy eyes, not masking her dissatisfaction at all.

Tang Wulin nearly had a heart attack when he realized the reason for her glare. Right after they had decided to make battle armor, he went missing for three days. Those three days were absolutely invaluable! He sent her an apologetic smile. He knew his absence had inconvenienced everyone.

Wu Siduo rolled her eyes, looking away from him.

With that out of the way, Tang Wulin shot a glance at Luo Guixing, but the young man was all smiles as usual. He couldn’t piece together his groupmate’s true emotions.

“Let’s start discussing our battle armor design plans. Everyone has already chosen the metal they want to use,” Gu Yue whispered into his ears. “You need to get to working, Wulin. I have to finalize the design for everyone’s right hand armor soon.”

“Mn. I know. I apologize, I’ve troubled all of you. I’ll forge everyone’s metals today,” Tang Wulin said, almost tripping on his words.

“You broke through?” Gu Yue asked in astonishment, voice still low. Tang Wulin faced her, eyes wide. “You can tell?”

Gu Yue nodded. “Your aura is different from before. It’s clear that you’ve reached a higher level. You have three rings now, right?”

“Mn.” Tang Wulin answered with a smile.

“Wow, Captain! You broke through too?” Although Tang Wulin and Gu Yue had whispered to each other, Xu Xiaoyan still overheard from her seat next

 to Gu Yue’s. She had a good pair of ears on her.

“What do you mean ‘too’?” Tang Wulin was surprised to find Xu Xiaoyan in such high spirits.

Xu Xiaoyan smirked, waves of satisfaction dancing off her. “I broke through to rank 30 two days ago. I feel great! Tomorrow is rest day, so Big Sis Gu Yue promised to take me to get a new spirit soul.”

“Do you want to come with us?”