Douluo Dragon King: I, Huo Linfei, the Mecha Illusionary Lin God

Huo Linfei blinked, then suddenly raised his hand: "Clap your hands!"

"Clap clap clap clap!!!"

Thunderous applause erupted instantly, so enthusiastic it seemed to lift the roof off.

Standing on the stage, the principal looked at Huo Linfei's smiling face and at the students below who followed Huo Linfei's lead. He was filled with mixed feelings.

He was finally... about to get rid of this plague.

Next stop, Donghai College.

Best of luck to you.

After the ceremony, the students gradually dispersed. Huo Linfei, Tang Wulin, and Na'er stayed behind.

The three walked out of the school gate. The setting sun cast long shadows of them.

Tang Wulin suddenly asked, "Big brother, is Donghai Academy... much bigger than Hongshan Academy?"

"Of course," Huo Linfei said. "Donghai Academy is an intermediate-level Soul Master Academy, full of experts."

……

As the sun set, the three children's figures disappeared at the end of the street.

The chapter of Hongshan College has officially come to an end.

And the story of Donghai Academy is about to begin.

The principal stood by the office window, watching them disappear into the distance, and muttered to himself, "Those old fogies from Donghai Academy... get ready to face them."

He picked up the phone and dialed the number of the dean of Donghai College.

"Hey, Lao Yu? There's something I need to tell you beforehand..."

Outside the window, the sunset glowed like fire.

That's the color of flames, the color of hot blood, the burning youth that belongs to the boys.

As Huo Linfei walked out of the gates of Hongshan College, he looked back at the plaque above the gate and a feeling of emotion welled up in his heart.

Three years.

Three years ago, he was a six-year-old child who had just awakened his martial spirit, and he shocked the audience with his superpower lock and century-old soul spirit.

Three years later, I am now in class 26.

That's already quite fast, considering he's only 9 years old.

He didn't waste those three years. He studied Soul Master theory at Hongshan Academy during the day and forged items at Mangtian Studio at night.

Most of the time, he helps an old lady from the next street find her cat, or teaches a lesson to bullies who harass younger students.

But it was fulfilling, truly fulfilling.

"Big brother, what are you daydreaming about?" Tang Wulin tugged at his sleeve.

Huo Linfei snapped out of his reverie and grinned, "It's nothing, I just feel like time flies. Let's go see the teacher."

Mangtian Studio remains the same as always, with a wooden sign hanging at the door that reads "Forging in progress, do not disturb," and the sound of hammering can be heard coming from inside.

Pushing open the door, a wave of heat hit me. Mang Tian, ​​shirtless, was forging a piece of dark gold metal. Sweat streamed down his muscles, and each hammer blow sent sparks flying.

Hearing the noise, Mang Tian stopped what he was doing and turned around. When he saw that it was Huo Linfei and Tang Wulin, a smile appeared on his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"You're here?" Mang Tian put down the hammer, wiped his sweat with a towel, and asked, "Graduated?"

"I've graduated!" Huo Linfei said with a grin. "Teacher, do I get a present?"

"No gifts, but you're quite the blacksmith." Mang Tian glared at him, but his eyes couldn't hide his amusement.

After three years together, he truly regarded these two children as his apprentices. Especially Huo Linfei, although this kid was mischievous, his talent was truly terrifying.

Tang Wulin was no less impressive; he had never seen another disciple with that tenacity.

"Sit down." Mang Tian pointed to the stool next to the worktable.

The three sat down. Mang Tian looked at his two disciples for a long time, and finally sighed.

"To be honest, I don't have much to teach you anymore."

Huo Linfei was taken aback: "Teacher, what you're saying..."

"It's true." Mang Tian waved his hand, interrupting him, "Wu Lin."

"Yes." Tang Wulin sat up straight.

"You were able to complete a thousand-fold forging a year ago, so you should have no problem consistently producing thousand-fold forged metal now, right?"

Tang Wulin nodded: "The success rate is about 70%."

"That's the level of a fourth-level blacksmith," Mang Tian said.

"Moreover, you're following the most orthodox forging path, with a solid foundation and steady technique. The road ahead will be one of gradual, painstaking work, relying on time and experience."

He looked at Huo Linfei: "As for you..."

Mang Tian's expression was complicated: "To be honest, I can't understand you anymore."

Huo Linfei scratched his head: "Teacher, what's wrong with me?"

"Your forging methods are different from everyone else's," Mang Tian said.

"Others use their flames as tools, you use your hands and feet. Others forge by calculating temperature, time, and force, you rely entirely on intuition—and your intuition is always right."

He picked up a piece of metal from the workbench:

"You forged this piece of dark silver three days ago. It's a top-grade piece, brimming with spiritual energy. Tell me, what were you thinking when you were forging it?"

Huo Linfei thought for a moment: "I wasn't thinking about anything. I just felt that the metal was 'hungry,' so I 'fed' it some fire. When it became 'hard,' I softened it a bit. When it became 'messy,' I straightened it out."

Mang Tian's lips twitched.

Listen to this, is this even human language? Is the metal hungry? Feed it fire? And try to reason with it?

But Huo Linfei was able to do it. His strange, almost instinctive forging method amazed even Mang Tian, ​​the forging master.

"You are now at least a level five blacksmith," Mang Tian said.

"If you get certified by the association, it could be even higher. Because your forging speed is so fast, your output is three times that of others in the same amount of time."

Tang Wulin listened from the side, his eyes shining, yet also somewhat saddened.

He worked hard, very hard. He swung the hammer five thousand times a day, and the calluses on his hands fell off and grew back, fell off and grew back again. A year ago, when he finally completed the thousand-times-forging, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep for three days.

But now his older brother has already gone so far ahead of him.

Huo Linfei noticed Tang Wulin's emotions and patted him on the shoulder:

"Second brother, don't be discouraged. Your path is more stable than mine, and your foundation is more solid. Forging this path is not about who runs the fastest, but about who goes the furthest."

This was the truth. Huo Linfei knew very well that his forging ability largely depended on the flames of the supernatural lock.

That was power from the Super Beast Universe, which was a dimensional reduction attack in this world. But Tang Wulin was different; his skills were hard-earned, hammer-by-hammer.

Mang Tian gave Huo Linfei an approving look. This kid is usually carefree, but when it comes to important matters, he's more meticulous than anyone else.

"Teacher," Tang Wulin looked up, "we...are going to Donghai Academy."

"I know." Mang Tian paused for a moment. "Aolai City is too small to contain geniuses like you. Donghai City is the place you should go."

He took two wooden boxes from under the worktable and handed them to the two men: "Open them and take a look."

Huo Linfei and Tang Wulin opened the wooden box. Inside each of them was a forging hammer, the handles of which were jet black and shiny, and the hammerheads gleamed with the cold light characteristic of metal.

"This is the graduation gift I've prepared for you," Mang Tian said.

"The hammer handle is made of century-old ironwood, and the hammerhead is an alloy of smelted silver and black iron. It's not anything special, but it's enough for you to use, even if you're a master forger."

Tang Wulin's eyes immediately reddened: "Teacher..."

"Why are you crying?" Mang Tian turned his face away.

"Don't embarrass me when you go to Donghai City. The president of the Blacksmith Association there is an old friend of mine named Mu Chen. When you go for certification, mention my name, and he might be able to help you out."

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