Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

Cen Yue picked up the form that Tang Wulin had filled out and turned to walk inside.

"Come with me."

Tang Wulin responded and followed behind him.

The so-called testing room is actually an independent forging room. Ultimately, the forging master's level assessment depends on their skill. Once inside, age, background, and who their teacher is all secondary; in the end, only the hammer and the metal matter.

As soon as the door opened, Tang Wulin's tense mood eased a little.

The layout here wasn't exactly the same as Mang Tian's studio, but it had everything he needed. The forging table, temperature control panel, material rack, cooling tank, pressure floor, and even the faint metallic smell in the air all felt familiar to him.

Compared to the college, the dormitory, and the unfamiliar streets of Donghai City, this place felt more like a place where he could truly stand firm.

There was already a reviewer waiting in the room.

She was a middle-aged woman with short hair and a capable expression, holding a notepad in her hand. She was clearly familiar with Cen Yue, and smiled when she saw him come in.

"Did you bring him here personally?" Her gaze fell on Tang Wulin. "The receptionist just said he's a nine-year-old child. If he were any younger, he would really be breaking the president's record from back then."

Cen Yue didn't continue the conversation after that sentence, but only said:

"Let's test it first."

The evaluator nodded and then looked at Tang Wulin.

"The rules are not complicated. Here are fifteen metals. Choose one and forge and refine it. I will score you based on your choice of metal, the processing, and the final product. A score of 60 or above is considered passing the Level 1 Forging Master assessment."

"Yes," Tang Wulin answered quickly.

He walked to the material rack.

Fifteen different metals, lined up in a row, are almost identical in size, each a foot square. Their colors, luster, and densities vary. On the surface, it seems like simply choosing one to strike, but in reality, it involves keen eyesight, judgment, and a firm grasp of one's own limits.

Tang Wulin's gaze swept over the pieces one by one, and before long, he reached out and took out a piece of silver-gray metal from the middle.

"I choose the sunken silver."

The silver fell onto the forging table without making a sound.

The evaluator's gaze immediately became more serious, and Cen Yue's eyes also narrowed.

A square foot of silver, weighing nearly 300 kilograms, would be no easy feat for a nine-year-old child, let alone forging it; simply lifting it up would be a difficult task.

"He's quite strong." The evaluator looked at Tang Wulin. "Not just anyone dares to choose the Heavy Silver."

Tang Wulin didn't respond to that question, but instead asked:

"Masters, may I begin?"

"Let's begin," the reviewer said. "One hour, starting now."

Tang Wulin immediately took action.

Start the furnace, control the temperature, and feed the materials.

The silver slowly sank into the furnace, and the temperature gradually rose. The association's evaluation never allowed for any shortcuts; even heating and temperature judgment were included in the test. Because once the certification was obtained, the person could potentially take on jobs independently, and the association couldn't allow someone who could only swing a hammer but couldn't even judge the heat to go out and ruin their reputation.

Taking advantage of the rising temperature, Tang Wulin stretched his shoulders and back, and took two deep breaths.

He chose the sunken silver not to show off.

It's simply because he's familiar with it.

In Aolai City, the last piece of metal he truly penetrated was the Heavy Silver. It was also that time that he first truly touched the threshold of "Thousand Refinements". He remembered the weight, rebound, extension point, and contraction of the Heavy Silver very clearly.

only--

Tang Wulin's knuckles tightened slightly.

He did not forget Mangtian's words.

After arriving in the East Sea, at least outside, avoid using the Sinking Star Hammer for forging. Use it only when absolutely necessary. Especially in front of strangers, don't let too many people see the unusual nature of his current martial spirit.

So this time, he brought with him those two thousand-times-forged tungsten steel hammers.

Thinking of this, Tang Wulin felt more at ease.

The furnace temperature is still rising.

He stood in front of the forging table, his gaze fixed on the display screen, his breathing becoming more and more even, and his whole being gradually calmed down.

Cen Yue stood to the side and behind, watching.

What satisfied him most was not Shen Yin's choice, nor the force of his steady landing, but the boy's eyes.

So focused.

There was no aimless wandering, nor any feigned seriousness. It was the kind of state where, after truly immersing oneself in the moment, the whole person naturally settles down.

It's rare to see someone at nine years old do that.

Finally, the temperature has reached the required level.

Tang Wulin pressed the button with his left hand, and the silver slowly rose from the furnace. It was a bright red color, neither burnt nor dry, indicating that the heat was just right.

The reviewer immediately made a note on the record board.

Nine times out of ten, people handling treasury silver for the first time will struggle with the temperature. Too early, and it won't penetrate; too late, and it will damage the grain. Tang Wulin pressed the button at the perfect moment, indicating that he had not only "seen" treasury silver before, but had actually handled it.

Tang Wulin did not rush to strike.

He crouched down, opened the backpack beside him, and took out a pair of dark short hammers.

A hammer made of 1000-times-forged tungsten steel.

The hammers weren't large, but the moment you held them, the child's aura was noticeably different. The two short hammers held steadily in his hands, without the slightest strain, as if they were meant to be in his palms.

Cen Yue's gaze immediately fell on the pair of hammers.

The surface of the hammer has very faint forging patterns, and a restrained luster is pressed under its black color, neither superficial nor scattered.

This is no ordinary practice hammer.

The reviewer also noticed it, his expression changed slightly, but he didn't say anything immediately.

After Tang Wulin acquired the twin hammers, he became even calmer.

First, gently tap the surface of the immersion silver with the hammer in your left hand.

"bite."

A sound.

Then another one.

"bite."

Both hammer blows were very light; they were not meant to strike, but rather to probe.

Cen Yue's gaze fell on Tang Wulin's ears. Just as those two crisp sounds rang out, his earlobe twitched very slightly.

He was listening.

Listen to the echo that Shen Yin gave him.

At this moment, Cen Yue's expression became completely serious.

Knowing how to test the hammer is nothing special; the real skill lies in knowing what to listen for during the test.

Just then, Tang Wulin swung his first hammer.

Shoulder, elbow, and wrist, all in one smooth motion.

There was not a single unnecessary movement.

"Bang!"

The tungsten steel hammer in his right hand slammed heavily onto the edge of the slushy silver. The sound was muffled and solid, and the surface of the slushy silver trembled, causing the edge to be pressed down slightly.

As soon as the hammer bounced up, the second hammer with the left hand followed.

"Bang!"

The landing points were slightly off-center, perfectly aligning with the edge of the force-bearing area left by the first hammer blow.

The two hammer blows echoed throughout the entire testing room.

And Cen Yue's eyes finally changed completely.

That's not an ordinary forged steel hammer.

That is--

A hammer made of 1000-times-forged tungsten steel.

He stared at the pair of short hammers, and the first thought that flashed through his mind was not "This kid can actually lift them," but rather: Mang Tian actually gave him something like this to use directly?

He knew all too well what this meant.

Tang Wulin, however, seemed completely oblivious to the reactions of the two evaluators.

He's already inside.

After two hammer blows, the light in his eyes completely settled, and his rhythm also became steady. The third, fourth, and fifth hammer blows fell one after another, not hastily, but densely. The hammer marks on the surface of the silver quickly began to spread evenly, each one shallow but precise, as if it had been calculated beforehand.

Cen Yue remained silent.

There were no reviewers either.

Because at this point, they had all come to understand one thing—

This nine-year-old child wasn't here to try his luck.

He truly understands forging.