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

Gu Chenyu's voice finally rang out, carrying a dry, hoarse quality unique to someone who had been focused for a long time, as well as a faint joy mixed with surprise that he himself had not expected.

The impatience and irritation caused by the interruption had long since vanished without a trace, like snowflakes thrown into a furnace.

He carefully placed the precious divine metal on the edge of the forging table. The metal made contact with the specially made table surface, producing a steady, light thud that caused a few sparks to jump across the surface.

"Do you know how long it's been since you last stepped through this door?"

Gu Chenyu turned around to face Lu Jun, his tone carrying an undisguised accusation:
"Ever since you've earned the title of a master craftsman and grown up, have you completely forgotten about blacksmithing?"

Lu Jun slowly walked into the room, and the unique air of the forging room, which was a mixture of the scorching heat of metal and the fluctuations of soul power, rushed towards him.

His gaze swept across the area, finally settling on the divine-grade metal quietly radiating spiritual energy on the forging table.

"Teacher, you're wronging me."

Lu Jun walked closer, bowed slightly, and spoke with just the right amount of respect and a hint of helpless smile.

"I have never forgotten the art of forging. But I have been preoccupied with worldly affairs and only had time to come and visit you today. Teacher... are you well?"

Gu Chenyu snorted, turned his head, and casually fiddled with a few tools on the table, but his voice softened slightly:
“I’m doing very well. I deal with these precious things every day, listening to the sound of the hammer and smelling the furnace fire. There’s no more comfortable and fulfilling day than this.”

Lu Jun's gaze lingered on the metal.

Its entire body presents a deep, dark gold color, with liquid radiance slowly flowing inside. Through the surface, one can vaguely perceive the powerful yet restrained energy essence contained within, which has been forged and compressed countless times.

With its pure texture and vibrant spirit, it is a masterpiece among Heavenly Forging works.

"The teacher's skills are becoming more and more superb."

Lu Jun sincerely praised it, his fingertip lightly touching the metal.

"This divine metal contains spiritual essence and has a naturally formed energy network. It would be perfect to use it as the core support structure or energy center of a four-word battle armor."

Upon hearing this, Gu Chenyu raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, a look of satisfaction at being recognized by someone who knew his stuff flashing across his face.

He casually picked up the forging hammer leaning against the side and tapped it twice on the forging table with the end of the hammer handle.

"You do have some discernment; all my teaching back then wasn't for nothing."

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze becoming as solid and sharp as the hammer in his hand, looking directly at Lu Jun:

"However, you never come here unless you have a reason. You can't have just come here to flatter this old man, can you?"

He paused for a moment, as if he had already seen through Lu Jun's intentions:
"Is it for the battle armor?"

"The teacher is extremely perceptive."

Lu Jun's smile faded, and his expression became serious:

"I wonder how the progress is on those four-word battle armors that have already been ordered in my team? I remember that before we set off for the Eastern Continent, the Federation had already listed this as a top priority project and entrusted it to you, teacher, to be in charge of.

"Oh, you said that."

Gu Chenyu scratched his messy hair, seemingly trying to recall something.

"Le Zhengyu's four-word battle armor, Xie Xie's, and Yuanen Yehui's... these three sets are now completely finished. The quality is not bad, at least in my eyes. No matter how good they are, they are not perfect."

He paused, then noticed a questioning glint in Lu Jun's eyes. He immediately raised his voice: "What? What does that look mean? You think I'm too slow? Can't you even count how many people are in your team?!"

He gestured with both hands, his tone exaggerated:
"Nine in total, nine! Not counting yourself, your four-word battle armor is already complete, I don't need to worry about it."

"That girl Gu Yuena... tsk, she's a ruthless character. I don't know where she pulled out a complete set of four-word battle armor, and its quality is quite extraordinary."

“That kid Tang Wulin is a future master craftsman selected by Mu Chen. It’s more suitable for him to forge his own four-word battle armor. I will only provide some key guidance.”

He shrugged, his face showing an expression that said, "I've already tried my best."

"So, out of the original nine tasks, only six fell to me. I've already finished half of them. Isn't that efficient enough?"

Looking at the teacher's self-righteous expression, Lu Jun couldn't help but chuckle and waved his hands repeatedly:

"Enough, enough, of course it's enough. Teacher, it's your prerogative to forge as much as you want. How dare I urge you? It's just that the danger of the abyss is imminent. If my companions can don their armor sooner, they'll have more protection."

Gu Chenyu glanced at him sideways and suddenly spoke:

"Since you're in such a hurry... that's easy."

He pointed to several unprocessed but spiritually potent rare metal blanks piled up on the other side of the forging table, and then to the blazing furnace next to them.

"You, come here and assist me. With your help in controlling the temperature and stabilizing the material, the speed of some preliminary refining and rough forging work can be increased by at least half."

He noticed that Lu Jun's expression seemed somewhat subtle upon hearing this, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow:

"What? You think it's beneath you to be an assistant to this old man? Or have you become too arrogant now that you're the chief consultant, and can't wield the hammer anymore?"

The faint smile in Lu Jun's eyes suddenly deepened, like a frozen lake thawing, rippling with clear waves.

Far from being displeased by being conscripted, he seemed to be delighted.

"Teacher, you flatter me."

As he spoke, he deftly rolled up the sleeves of his snow-white robe, revealing his smooth-lined, pale forearms.

With a slight movement of his fingertips, a wisp of pure, condensed, and extremely cold icy blue soul power swirled around him, instantly cooling the scorching air in the room.

"It's an honor for a student to be able to assist a teacher. It's also a good opportunity for me to see if my skills have become rusty over the years."

Forging, especially high-level forging, requires an extremely high degree of precision in controlling soul power.

The properties of Lu Jun's ultimate ice have unique advantages in controlling metal temperature, stabilizing internal energy structure, and assisting in quenching.

This was also the key to the master and apprentice's ability to work together seamlessly and achieve far greater efficiency than ordinary people.

Seeing this, Gu Chenyu snorted and said no more. He turned around and began to prepare for the smelting of the next piece of metal. However, the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his good mood at the moment.

In the following time, Lu Jun cooperated with Gu Chenyu in the preliminary work of forging while chatting and catching up with his teacher.

His mental energy had already silently swept over the forging room and the several adjacent warehouses, and the results he sensed stirred something within him.

Good heavens... Just the amount of divine-grade metal neatly stacked in that private warehouse next door, radiating various colors of spiritual light and powerful fluctuations, is enough to fill more than half the room. (End of Chapter)