In just one short week, the Star Luo City Blacksmith Association was officially renamed the Star Luo City Forging Association.
Those men who were originally called Blacksmiths had now also begun to familiarize themselves with the brand-new title of "Blacksmith".
As the most basic Forging Realm Ten Thousand Years later, Hundred Forging did not require too many profound techniques; it relied more on patience and the mastery of heat.
Which of these Blacksmiths in the association hadn't been dealing with metal for decades? With that foundation, they picked it up extremely quickly, and within a few days, some were already able to stably produce Hundred Forging metal.
But when it came to Thousand Forging, the difficulty suddenly jumped up a level.
Thousand Forging was not just the accumulation of strength; it required the Blacksmith to perceive the subtle changes within the metal during the Forging process.
Before Huo Yuhao Transmigration again, apart from President Zhu Wen, who relied on his deep foundation and endless practice to barely reach the threshold of Thousand Forging, everyone else, including Vice President Qu Tong and Lin Zhiyuan, was stuck at this hurdle.
However, this was already a fairly good start. Once the techniques of these Blacksmiths stabilized, they could officially cooperate with Chuanling Hall!
...
On Devil Island, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan could be said to have been tormented to death by the seven old Devil Heads.
There were several times when the three of them almost couldn't hold on, and in the end, they only managed to persevere by gritting their teeth.
But what they didn't know was that this was already the result after Huo Yuhao "threatened" the seven old Devil Heads.
If it had been based on the previous standards, the experience of Tang Wulin and the others would likely have been several times more miserable.
When the "military training" officially ended, the Greedy Old Devil used spatial means to directly teleport the group of six from Devil Island to the outskirts of Beihai City.
After all, as long as Huo Yuhao stayed on Devil Island for one more day, the seven old Devil Heads would have to be on pins and needles, fearing that he might play another Undead Requiem for them.
Now that the little ones were gone, they could finally heave a sigh of relief.
Huo Yuhao and the others had stayed on Devil Island for a full eight months, but when they emerged from Devil Island, they discovered that only two months had passed in the outside World.
Huo Yuhao was not too surprised. The God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life were both among the five great God Kings of the Divine Realm. Even if they had fallen, their residual Divine Power was still enough to distort the flow of time in a region, which was not something inconceivable.
After arriving at Beihai City, everyone naturally had to prepare to return to Shrek City.
But when it came to how to return, a disagreement arose among them.
Xu Xiaoyan looked at the others, recalling their previous experience, and said with lingering fear: "The simplest way is to take the soul guidance train. It's fast and convenient, but... do you still dare to take it?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xie shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Let's not, you saw what happened when we came."
"If we run into an Evil Soul Master again, even if there's no danger in the end, it delays things."
Tang Wulin, however, crossed his arms, his brows slightly furrowed, looking unconvinced.
He glanced at Xie Xie and couldn't help but retort: "How is it possible that something happens every time we take the soul guidance train? The previous times must have been coincidences."
"Just because we encountered it twice, are we never going to take the soul guidance train again for the rest of our lives?"
The three of them started arguing right there on the streets of Beihai City, back and forth, each with their own reasoning. By the end, their throats were almost smoking, but there was no result.
Gu Yue and Na'er did not join in, but quietly looked at the distant harbor, not knowing what they were thinking.
And just at this moment, Huo Yuhao, who had walked to the side, returned. He raised his hand to interrupt the argument that the three were still having.
"Alright, stop arguing."
"I have already contacted Aunt Leng, and she will send someone to pick us up."
Huo Yuhao had originally thought that what Leng Yaozhu meant by "send someone to pick us up" would probably just be dispatching a soul tool automobile from a nearby Spirit Pagoda branch.
But to everyone's surprise, they waited for less than half an hour at the agreed location outside the outskirts of Beihai City, and what came whistling from the horizon were three mechas with astonishing aura.
The leading one was a red-rank mecha, followed by two black-rank mechas on either side.
Moreover, Huo Yuhao's powerful mental force instantly perceived that the ones piloting the three mechas were actually a Titled Douluo and two Spirit Douluo.
With these three mechas approaching the outskirts of Beihai City in a low-altitude patrol posture, the North Sea Legion had already sounded the alarm.
The North Sea Legion was currently in a level-three combat readiness state, their nerves tightly strung. The sudden appearance of the three mechas almost triggered a small-scale battle.
Finally, upon learning that they were there to pick up Huo Yuhao and the others, and after showing the identification of the Spirit Pagoda, the North Sea Legion let them pass.
They were desperate for this group of plagues, Huo Yuhao and his friends, to leave the Beihai region quickly so that the North Sea Legion could lift the combat readiness state and not have to be on edge twenty-four hours a day.
The six of them split into groups of two and boarded the three mechas. After the mechas took off, their speed was extremely fast, much faster than the soul guidance train.
Huo Yuhao made a rough estimate; flying at this speed, they would be able to reach Shrek City in about four hours.
The owner of the red-rank mecha that Huo Yuhao was riding in was named Qiao Chuan, a level ninety-one Titled Douluo. Among the factions within the Spirit Pagoda, he happened to be one of the core figures of Leng Yaozhu's faction.
Huo Yuhao was no stranger to Qiao Chuan; he had met him several times at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
He couldn't help but ask: "Uncle Qiao, why did Teacher go through the trouble of having you make this trip to pick us up?"
Qiao Chuan grinned upon hearing this, his tone not as serious as when he was piloting the mecha, but instead carrying a bit of an elder's concern: "It's because she's worried about you, kid. The Holy Spirit Cult has been acting up quite violently recently, so it's better to be careful."
Huo Yuhao thought to himself, *It's the Holy Spirit Cult again.* He didn't know what heaven-defying and human-resenting things they had done in these two months to make Aunt Leng so cautious.
Under Qiao Chuan's personal escort, everyone naturally returned to Shrek City smoothly.
After Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue returned, they did not immediately return to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, but followed Tang Wulin and the others to Shrek Academy first.
After all, they were nominally still Students of Shrek Academy, and this trip to Devil Island had yielded significant benefits.
Just for this favor, it was reasonable and appropriate to thank Yun Ming in person.
And just as their figures walked into Shrek Academy, on the top floor of the tallest building in Shrek City, in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window, the Spirit Pagoda Master, Qiangu Dongfeng, was standing there with his hands behind his back.
He looked through the spotlessly clean floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the distant Shrek Academy from a high vantage point.
"Pagoda Master."
The side door was pushed open silently. A middle-aged man of medium build and plain appearance walked quickly to a position three steps behind Qiangu Dongfeng and stood respectfully with his hands down.
Qiangu Dongfeng did not turn his head, his gaze still fixed on the distant Shrek Academy.
After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly: "How is it?"
The middle-aged man bowed slightly and replied in a low voice: "Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao have just entered Shrek Academy. Qiao Chuan's three mechas have returned to the headquarters."
Qiangu Dongfeng nodded noncommittally and asked again: "Is everyone else there?"
The middle-aged man naturally knew who Qiangu Dongfeng was referring to by "everyone else" and immediately replied: "Most of the elders of Shrek Academy are in the academy. There are no special movements from the Sea God Pavilion side for now. We cannot confirm Yun Ming's location, but we speculate that he should also be on Sea God Island."
Qiangu Dongfeng was silent for a moment, as if calculating something in his heart, and then spoke slowly: "How is the preparation over there?"
The middle-aged man lowered his head even further, his voice filled with an unhideable nervousness and awe: "Replying to the Pagoda Master, it has already begun."
A cold and sharp light flashed in Qiangu Dongfeng's deep eyes, and he muttered: "The timing is just right. Don't let me down."
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.