Douluo: This Legend of the Dragon King is not quite right

Chapter 185 An Eleven-Year-Old Level 5 Blacksmith
Although the Spirit Pagoda incident was noisy, it did not really affect the core rhythm of Lu Jun's life.

He continued to cultivate, attend classes, and engage in combat at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, improving his own strength step by step.

Reputation is fleeting; only the power you hold in your hands is real.

On that day, he arrived at the Mingdu Forging Association as promised.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, filled with the smells of metal and fire, I heard a surprised voice:

"Brother Lu, what a coincidence, you're here to forge too?" Tang Wulin was walking over with Long Chen when he saw Lu Jun. His eyes lit up and he quickly stepped forward.

"Hmm." Lu Jun nodded, his gaze sweeping over Tang Wulin and Long Chen, who looked serious beside him.

Long Chen asked:

"Brother Lu, if I may ask, what is your blacksmithing skill level?"

As someone who aspires to become a true powerhouse, he deeply understands the importance of a secondary profession, especially since a prodigy like Lu Jun's secondary profession is likely to be equally impressive.

Lu Jun hesitated for a moment, seemingly feeling there was nothing to hide, and then answered calmly:
"So-so, only level five."

"Level 5... Level 5?" Tang Wulin and Long Chen gasped simultaneously, their eyes widening instantly, and their lips twitching uncontrollably.

Eleven years old, a level five blacksmith?!
This news shocked them even more than when Lu Jun killed the Soul Emperor at the Ascension Platform.

Soul power cultivation can rely on innate talent and fortuitous encounters, but forging, a technical skill that requires time to accumulate and countless trials, can one reach level five at the age of eleven?
This completely overturned their understanding of how quickly a blacksmith could progress.

Is this really a human being?
Seeing the two of them looking like they'd seen a ghost, Lu Jun offered a rare explanation:
"Don't be too nervous, I have a serious imbalance in my academic performance."

"Currently, I can only forge metals with ice properties. I know nothing about other properties, and my techniques are quite unique."

"Special?" Tang Wulin asked curiously. He was a forging genius and was particularly sensitive to this kind of thing.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough." Lu Jun didn't say anything more, turning his gaze to the depths of the hall.

At this moment, at the far end of the hall, two imposing middle-aged men stood facing each other, the atmosphere seemingly somewhat subtle.

One of them, dressed in black and with a refined and gentle face, was Gu Chenyu, the president of the Mingdu Forging Association and a powerful figure in the Spirit Pagoda's Hall of Worship, known as the Dark Blood Demon.

Standing opposite him was a middle-aged man with a refined demeanor, but with a hint of melancholy between his brows. He was Mu Chen, Tang Wulin's teacher, a master craftsman transferred from Donghai City.

"...Gu Chenyu, I am a master craftsman who transferred here from Donghai City. It's not unreasonable to ask for some basic resources to be mobilized for research and teaching, is it?"

Mu Chen's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Gu Chenyu crossed his arms, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable air of authority:
"Hehe, Mu Chen, although I don't know why you insisted on transferring to Mingdu, this is the Mingdu Association, and rules are rules."

"If you want to mobilize resources, you must get my approval. Don't forget, on the road to becoming a master craftsman, I've gone further than you and am much closer to that goal."

"Tsk." Mu Chen was taken aback, and pouted somewhat dejectedly, knowing that what the other party said was true and he couldn't refute it for the time being.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Tang Wulin walking in. His eyes lit up instantly, his gloomy expression vanished, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Wu Lin, you're here."

"Teacher." Tang Wulin quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Mu Chen patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder, then pointed to Gu Chenyu and introduced him: "Wulin, this is the president of the Mingdu Forging Association, President Gu Chenyu. At the same time, he is also a powerful figure in the Spirit Pagoda's Hall of Worship, the famous Dark Blood Demon."

"President Gu, hello." Tang Wulin greeted him respectfully with a bow.

Gu Chenyu frowned slightly, seemingly unimpressed by the title, and said indifferently, "You know perfectly well that I don't like the title 'Dark Blood Demon' at all. In the Forging Association, I'd much rather be called Saint Craftsman Gu Chenyu."

"Teacher." At this moment, Lu Jun also walked over and respectfully greeted Gu Chenyu.

Gu Chenyu turned his gaze to Lu Jun, his eyes softening considerably. He looked him up and down and nodded, "You're here. Not bad. Judging from your mental state, you're clearly not affected by those messy things before. Your mindset is very stable. Keep it up."

"On the path of cultivation, being impatient and restless is a major taboo."

"Thank you for your concern, teacher," Lu Jun replied.

"Oh?" Mu Chen's gaze was immediately drawn to him, and he looked at Lu Jun with curiosity and scrutiny. "This is your newly accepted disciple? That... the Ice Sword Lu Jun who has recently become famous throughout the continent?"

Lu Jun nodded slightly, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant: "Hello, Master Craftsman, it's a pleasure to have you meet me. But those were just minor incidents, not worth mentioning."

"Haha, good lad." Mu Chen was amused by Lu Jun's calm and humble attitude, and a good impression of him immediately arose in his heart. "It is rare to be so humble at such a young age."

"But someone who can be chosen as a disciple by Gu Chenyu must have some decent forging talent, right?"

He turned to Gu Chenyu and asked, with a hint of testing in his voice:
"Old Gu, what level is your precious apprentice at forging now? Level three? Or level four? For his age, reaching level three is quite amazing."

Gu Chenyu glanced at Mu Chen, his face expressionless, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary, uttering a few words in a flat tone:

"It's only level five, so-so."

"Level 5... Level 5?" Mu Chen's smile froze instantly, his eyes widening as if he had heard something unbelievable.

He turned his head sharply to look at Lu Jun, his refined face filled with disbelief. He seriously doubted whether he had misheard, or whether the master and apprentice were putting on a Versailles show for him.

"Eleven years old, a level five blacksmith?" Mu Chen's voice rose eight octaves, and his finger pointing at Lu Jun trembled slightly. "Old Gu, you...you're not kidding, are you? This...how is this possible?"

He felt that his decades of understanding of forging had been devastated at this moment.

The way he looked at Lu Jun had changed from curiosity to looking at a monster.

Tang Wulin and Long Chen watched silently as Mu Chen, the Saint Craftsman, looked like his worldview had collapsed, and felt inexplicably much more at ease.

See? It's not just us; even the master craftsman was stunned.

Gu Chenyu seemed to have anticipated Mu Chen's loss of composure, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips as he said to Lu Jun:
"Don't just stand there. The materials for today's practice are ready. Go to Forging Room Number Three and let me see if you've been neglecting your skills lately."

"While I don't expect you to spend more time on forging, you still need to forge your own battle armor. Today is the first part of your battle armor to be forged."

"Yes, teacher." Lu Jun responded, ignoring the still shocked and bewildered Mu Chen, and headed straight for his usual forging room.

"Wait." Mu Chen suddenly came to his senses and grabbed Tang Wulin, who also wanted to follow. "Wulin, come on, let's go and see. I want to see how an eleven-year-old level five blacksmith does forging."

Gu Chenyu did not stop him, but simply followed him.

(End of this chapter)