Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

“Ding Di—”

Tang Wulin had just finished his special training and collapsed onto his bed when the soul communication device on his wrist rang.

He didn't actually use this device very often after it came into his possession. He was usually either in class, training, or meditating, so he didn't have much free time. Fortunately, the soul-guided communicator itself didn't consume much power, and since he was a soul master, he could just nurture it with his soul power regularly.

He raised his hand and glanced at the screen.

It's a number that's not in the records.

"Hello." Tang Wulin answered the call.

"What are you doing?"

The voice from the other end of the communicator was cold, brief, and carried a familiar sense of oppression. Tang Wulin sat bolt upright in bed almost instantly.

"teacher!"

On the other end of the phone was Mang Tian.

"What's wrong with you?" Mang Tian's voice was unreadable. "A level two mission, and there's been no progress for a whole week. You can't even manage your time properly now?"

Tang Wulin's heart tightened, and he quickly explained, "No, teacher. I've been training at the academy every day recently, and I also have classes and special training in the evenings. I really can't find a whole block of time. I was planning to go to your studio tomorrow, which is my day off, to finish the Heavenly Dragon Iron."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Mang Tian asked, "Are you already this busy as first-year students at the intermediate academy?"

"Hmm." Tang Wulin quickly gave a brief account of his situation after entering the school, from Class 5, physical education class, Dancing in the Sky, promotion competition, to the individual training in the past week, he tried to be as concise as possible.

As he spoke, the other three people in the dormitory had already unconsciously pricked up their ears.

Zhou Changxi, who was on the upper bunk, even poked half his head out, looking down with a gossipy expression. Xie Xie, who was pretending to be asleep, opened his eyes when he heard the word "teacher" and looked over with a hint of impatience.

After listening, Mang Tian only said one sentence: "Come tomorrow, I'll be there too."

Then the call was disconnected.

Tang Wulin lowered his hand and gently exhaled.

"Feed." Xie Xie rolled over, staring at the communicator in his hand. "Didn't you keep saying you were broke? How can you use a soul-guided communicator if you're broke?"

Tang Wulin honestly replied, "This was issued by the association, not purchased by me. How could I afford it?"

"An association?" Zhou Changxi immediately perked up. "What association?"

Even Yun Xiao, who was on the upper bunk, held onto the bed railing and looked down.

This past week has been tough on everyone thanks to Wu Changkong, but our relationships have actually grown closer than when we first enrolled. The initial tension in the dorms has faded, replaced by a familiarity forged through shared hardships.

"The Blacksmiths' Association," Tang Wulin said. "I've been learning blacksmithing for a long time."

Yun Xiao pushed up her glasses and said thoughtfully, "Does it have anything to do with your strength?"

Tang Wulin nodded.

Xie Xie sat up abruptly, his eyes brightening: "You mean learning forging, the kind where you become a proper blacksmith?"

"Um."

"The kind that involves refining metals, forging parts, or taking on quests?"

"Um."

Xie Xie looked him up and down, his expression gradually becoming somewhat strange.

"So, what stage are you at now?"

Tang Wulin hesitated for a moment.

He didn't usually like to talk about these things, but Xie Xie had already helped him, and Zhou Changxi and Yun Xiao had gotten along well these past few days. If he kept it to himself, it would seem petty.

So he told the truth.

"Level 2 Blacksmith".

The dormitory was quiet for a moment.

"What?" Zhou Changxi exclaimed first, her eyes widening. "You're only nine years old and you're already at level two?"

Yun Xiao was also somewhat taken aback.

Although he didn't understand forging, he knew what the words "Level 2 Professional" meant. That was no longer a level for children to play around with; it was a professional level where one could actually make a living and independently take on jobs in society.

Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin, remained silent for two seconds, and then suddenly asked:

"So... to what extent can you do it?"

Tang Wulin scratched his head and lowered his voice a little: "Thousand Refinements... should be fine, right?"

This time, even Xie Xie was clearly stunned.

Although Zhou Changxi and Yun Xiao had no idea what was going on, they could tell from their tone that this was definitely not a simple matter.

Xie Xie, however, knew a little about it.

His family was already involved in mecha and forging, and his eyes changed when he heard the words "thousand-time forging".

"You can forge a thousand times?" His voice rose slightly. "Then you wouldn't be—"

Tang Wulin quickly shook his head: "No. My level is still level two. I can only... barely manage it."

Xie Xie stared at him for a long time, then suddenly wrapped his arms around his neck, his expression instantly changing from shock to enthusiasm.

"Wu Lin".

Tang Wulin was jerked off balance by his grip and said irritably, "What are you trying to do now?"

Xie Xie chuckled, his tone suddenly becoming exceptionally friendly.

Are we brothers?

Tang Wulin glanced at him sideways: "You get to the point first."

"Great!" Xie Xie said immediately. "How about you forge the parts for me when I build my mecha?"

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment.

"You want to become a mecha pilot?"

Xie Xie looked completely at ease, even a little smug.

"Of course. My family has always been a family of mecha pilots, and I will definitely follow this path in the future. Truly good mechas, especially high-level mechas, have extremely high requirements for the materials used in their core components. Whether or not you can find a reliable blacksmith makes a huge difference."

As he spoke, his tone became somewhat serious.

"Don't think you can just sign up for a mission at the association. You can't just queue up for Thousand-Refined Materials whenever you want. My dad spent more than four years trying to replace some of the core components of his mecha with Thousand-Refined Materials. And that was even with quite a few connections."

"But you're different," Xie Xie patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder. "You can already forge a thousand layers now, you'll definitely be even more powerful in a few years. If you're willing to be my personal blacksmith, wouldn't it make things much easier for me to build mechs in the future?"

As soon as the words "exclusive blacksmith" were mentioned, Zhou Changxi and Yun Xiao's eyes lit up.

For children their age, the word "mecha" is inherently very attractive.

Tang Wulin was somewhat bewildered by what he heard.

"Isn't your family very wealthy? Why not just hire a more skilled blacksmith?"

Xie Xie rolled his eyes.

"Even if you have money, you still need someone to take the job. The more skilled the blacksmith, the harder it is to hire, let alone make things for the same person long-term. Besides, a mecha that truly suits you is never something you can just throw together with money."

As he spoke, he suddenly paused and looked at Tang Wulin.

"Besides, you're one of us."

After he said that, the dormitory fell silent for half a second.

Tang Wulin wanted to say something more, but in the end he just smiled.

"Okay. I'll make it for you guys when I'm really good enough."

"For you guys?" Xie Xie immediately grasped the key point, "Not just for me?"

Zhou Changxi immediately jumped off the bed, glaring at him: "What, you want to have it all to yourself?"

Yun Xiao also smiled: "Let's get in line first, Young Master Xie."

Xie Xie snorted, but didn't really take it to heart; on the contrary, he seemed to be in a very good mood.

"Alright, let's queue up then." He put his arm around Tang Wulin's neck again and announced loudly, "From today onwards, Tang Wulin is under my protection, Xie Xie. Anyone who dares to cause trouble for him will have to ask my dagger for permission first."

Zhou Changxi was immediately delighted.

"Shouldn't you wait until you've defeated Gu Yue before saying that?"

Xie Xie's expression froze instantly.

Yun Xiao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Tang Wulin was amused and relaxed completely.

The laughter and noise in the dormitory lasted for quite a while before gradually quieting down.

The laughter stopped, but exhaustion washed over them again.

Xie Xie flopped back onto the bed, muttering, "Anyway, you'll have to do it for me first from now on."

Tang Wulin didn't reply, but simply raised his hand and looked at the communicator on his wrist.

Mangtian will be there tomorrow too.

Thinking of this, his spirit, which was about to sink, was lifted up a little.

That was a completely different kind of expectation from academy training.

The forging room, the metal, the fire, the clanging sounds, and that feeling of complete tranquility that comes from simply holding a hammer—he hadn't touched it for a whole week.

Thinking of this, Tang Wulin let out a soft breath and sat cross-legged again.

No matter how much I have to do tomorrow, I need to get back into shape tonight.