The Legend of the Dragon King

Jiang Wuyue’s expression immediately turned quizzical. Even in the Blood God Army, where there was no lack of extraordinary talent, he was considered one of the brightest of the younger generation, but he was already twenty-eight years old. Their age difference of seven years would not ensure that he could defeat the opponent. The disparity was truly too great.

A soul master’s growth and development was fastest before the age of thirty. One’s cultivation speed would nosedive after one’s body became aged and lacked genetic elevation.

Thus, almost all Title Douluo-rank powerhouses built their firm foundations before thirty years of age. The greatest had managed to achieve an eight-ringed cultivation base or even managed to become Title Douluos before thirty.

Jiang Wuyue was very confident that he could cultivate to the rank of Title Douluo in the future, but he would be at least forty before that could happen. On the other hand, Tang Wulin’s inner secret gave the impression that he was truly capable of reaching Title Douluo-rank before he reached thirty!

The boy could certainly rocket to the top position in the army if he could develop himself well.

“What happened?” Long Yuxue asked furiously as she pulled Tang Wulin out of the battle room.

Tang Wulin spoke, “You just left when I was brought here by Senior officer Jiang. Nothing much happened. We’ve only been sparring for a while.”

Long Yuxue looked at Tang Wulin in a skeptical manner. “Really?”

“Hmm.” Tang Wulin nodded. He found himself rather fond of Jiang Wuyue’s character, especially after he learned of Jiang Wuyue’s Overlord Dragon martial soul. As a result, he was helping Jiang Wuyue keep some secrets.

Long Yuxue scoffed coldly. “That fellow has always been acting imprudently. Don’t pay too much attention to him in the future. Are you injured?”

“It’s okay. I’m fine. Senior officer Jiang was going easy on me,” Tang Wulin spoke with a faint smile on his face.

Long Yuxue had not seen the battle. She snorted before she spoke, “That fellow is only good at using brute force, but you’re just the same. Both of you belong to the same system. No wonder he values you so much. But remember that you’re part of our Secret Service, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Long Yuxue spoke, “I’ve just found you a customer when I was called by Qiyue. Go to the forging room now. The customer is already there.”

“Great!” Tang Wulin was still extremely enthusiastic about earning merit points right now as his goal was to be promoted as soon as possible.

The forging room was located on the same side as the living area. It was different from a battle room because it was located in a rather secluded area on the other side. The soundproof insulation here was limited so such a spot was chosen in order to reduce the noise pollution.

Long Yuxue said to Tang Wulin as she was walking, “I’ve invested all I have for you. Don’t agree too quickly if you can’t fulfill the customer’s request. Don’t ruin your reputation by damaging the item. Then there would be nothing I could do to help you anymore.

“Sure.” Tang Wulin did not elaborate too much because he believed that the facts would speak for themselves.

As expected, someone was already waiting by the door when he arrived at the forging room. It was a female officer that appeared to be thirty years old with a lieutenant colonel rank pinned to her shoulder. She was gentle and appeared friendly, though not especially beautiful.

“Sister Lu Ni,” Long Yuxue called out to her affectionately as she took two steps forward swiftly and wrapped her hands around the female officer’s arm.

Lu Ni smiled as her gaze fell upon Tang Wulin. “The blacksmith that you’ve mentioned is this handsome little boy here?”

Long Yuxue nodded. “Yes! He’s new and just received his military rank recently. He’s undergoing new recruit’s special training with me at present. He’s a rather impressive blacksmith.”

Surprise flashed past Lu Ni’s eyes. Could a new recruit be immediately ranked as a second lieutenant? She had never heard that this was possible before. Even though Tang Wulin looked young, she did not doubt his forging ability, and she spoke in a very courteous manner, “Please.”

Tang Wulin hastily returned the salute and opened the door to the forging room. “Please enter, sirs.”

The forging room had a simple arrangement with the forging table in the center of the room, while all sorts of rare metals were placed on the metal racks on two sides. Most of those metals were brought by Tang Wulin himself while there was also a portion that was given by Long Yuxue.

Lu Ni took a glance at the rare metals on the racks. She smiled and said, “Your materials are very well-stocked here! I wonder what’s the standard of your forging, though?”

Tang Wulin spoke, “I can forge according to your request. Which type of metal are you looking for? Or perhaps tell me the item you wish to forge. I should be able to do it.”

He had not detailed his forging rank immediately because, firstly, she might not have believed him, and the other reason being he was afraid that the customer would be startled. It was better for him not to publicize too much as he was still new. On the other hand, a person’s forging capability could be proven not with words but fact. A customer’s good feedback would need to be accumulated through word of mouth, so it was better for him to do something rather than speak about it.

“You sound very confident! My request is not that difficult.” There was a flash of light from Lu Ni’s hand as she brandished a metal tube while she spoke.

The tube was about one meter long with a diameter of about ten centimeters or so. It appeared just like a gun barrel.

Lu Ni spoke, “This rapid-fire gun of mine was taxed a little too much, so it’s a little out of shape now. Please help me to repair it. If it’s possible, please help me add in a suitable metal to make it even stronger. My firing rate is quite fast, and it needs to sustain for quite a long period of time, so a good gun barrel is very important to me.”

Tang Wulin took a look upon receiving the metal tube. He studied the outside and then the inside.

The rapid-fire gun barrel appeared to be quite normal on the surface if slightly askew, but one would discover that the tube’s interior was covered with bumps and hollows. It was obviously the result of high temperatures over a long period of time. The gun barrel could not be used anymore.

“Sir, how many merit points are you willing to spend for this gun barrel?” Tang Wulin asked.

Lu Ni was caught off guard. She could not help smiling and spoke, “I thought you’re supposed to set the price as a blacksmith?”

Tang Wulin answered, “That’s true. However, I have a few different methods of repairing this gun barrel, and the merit points that are required vary accordingly. Simply put, it comes down to three methods. The first is to repair the gun barrel directly, and I’ll only charge one hundred merit points for that. The second is as you’ve mentioned. I can add in some other metal to make it even stronger. I can tell that your gun barrel’s material quality is still acceptable, I think that it’s made of Purple Iri with a high melting point. It’s melted into this condition, despite its quality, so your weapon itself must be very powerful as well. Thus, I’m afraid that there’s still a possibility of it getting damaged even if I were to fuse it with other metals. Hence, the third method that I’m proposing to you is that I will forge a brand-new tube according to your gun barrel’s specifications so we can resolve the issue of overheating and melting once and for all.”

Lu Ni was interested in Tang Wulin’s proposal. “So how much are you charging for the two latter methods? Are you sure that you can put an end to my gun barrel’s overheating issue? I’m afraid that it’s somewhat difficult! If you must know, I’m using an ultra rapid-fire gun.”

Tang Wulin scratched his head and spoke, “I don’t understand soul weapons very well, but I don’t think that’s a big issue. I’ll take one thousand merit points for the second method and at least five thousand merit points for the third method.”

Lu Ni was immediately startled upon hearing Tang Wulin’s quotation. One thousand merit points were enough to do many things while five thousand merit points were enough to get Tang Wulin promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant. In her eyes, this was no small amount.

“Wulin, stop joking.” Long Yuxue was anxious from listening to their conversation. She had a very close relationship to Lu Ni, and Lu Ni was also especially popular in the army. She first invited Lu Ni over, so she could help Tang Wulin promote his forging room. Now the price that Tang Wulin quoted was so high that she felt thoroughly embarrassed.

Tang Wulin beamed with joy. His smile stupefied Long Yuxue and Lu Ni to the point that their hearts were screaming ‘so handsome’ in unison. His sparkly clean smile felt warm like sunshine on a rainy day.

“Sir, you’re my first customer, so I’ll help you to forge using the first method for free. You’ll see my craftsmanship once I strengthen your gun barrel by over ten percent without adding any metal first. If you still require my assistance using the next two methods in the future, then we shall discuss that further, okay?”

Lu Ni looked at Tang Wulin’s smile. “Alright. Then I’ll try the free one first.” She had a very steady temperament, so she would never act rashly. She would not spend her merit points so easily just because Tang Wulin was handsome. At the same time, she wished to see how far this supremely confident young man could go with his forging ability.

Tang Wulin walked to the forging table with the gun barrel in his hand. He examined the barrel cursorily before pressing a button and tossing it into the furnace within the forging table.

He stretched his arm slightly as it had been some time since his last forging. He felt his chest heating up as he was already at the Saint Craftsman level. Forging was an ability that was fused into his bones and also his cherished profession.