The Legend of the Dragon King (Web Novel)
chapter-1136

Although the service staff was not acquainted with the middle-aged man with unattractive features, he had revealed his status! No one dared to fake the identity of a seven-star Saint Craftsman. Even though the Blacksmith’s Association did not enjoy as high a status as the Mecha Master’s Association, the president of the Blacksmith’s Association was a member of the parliament. The Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua was a member of the parliament. Moreover, he was also one of the bureau members. He was among the names Tang Wulin was familiar with on the list. Zhen Hua acted as one of the leaders in the Independent Faction.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t aware you’re a Saint Craftsman.” The service staff dared not blame Tang Wulin for not displaying his badge. In fact, Tang Wulin would not have put on his badge if it were not because there were too few people on this level. Otherwise, he would be watched like a rare animal by the people.

“It’s okay, don’t fret. I’m only here to find out about the available missions. Which level do I go to?”

The service staff trotted out from behind the counter. “Please allow me to take you there.”

“Saint Craftsman, that person’s a Saint Craftsman! A Saint Craftsman is here? The federal military is taking the initiative to contact all the Saint Craftsmen in our association in the hope that they can take part in the war. The conditions offered are truly generous. Some are even giving out the Spirit Pagoda’s newly created man-made, black spirit soul as a token. I wonder why this person was left out.”

Tang Wulin had very sensitive hearing. ‘A man-made, black spirit soul as remuneration? The Federation is so generous. However, I’m afraid that the price of this man-made, black spirit soul is considerably high. The Spirit Pagoda deserves its reputation as a leading researcher in the spirit soul in today’s world.’

Tang Wulin had no choice but to say that the Spirit Pagoda was in a position of power today due to their contribution to the research of spirit souls. The success of any newly developed man-made spirit soul signified an elevation in the soul masters’ world. Due to the lack of soul beasts on the continent at present, almost all the soul masters were under the Spirit Pagoda’s control to a certain extent.

For example, if the Spirit Pagoda were to issue an order of not selling the spirit soul to a certain soul master, the soul master’s cultivation would be gravely affected! Tang Wulin was worried that he would need to confront this problem when he rebuilds Shrek Academy in the future.

He boarded the elevator and got out on the fourth level.

Level four had fewer people than level one. There was no spacious hall, only passages. Tang Wulin suspected that this was the location for the association’s highest rank forging workshop.

Very few Saint Craftsman existed. There was no more than three even for the large Mingdu division.

A young beautiful woman stood in front of Tang Wulin. She asked him with a smile on her face, “Dear respected Saint Craftsman, how may I help you?”

There was no doubt that word had already gotten around regarding Tang Wulin’s identity.

“I wish to take on a few missions. My required remuneration is in the form of Federation coins.”

As a Saint Craftsman, one was allowed to put forward the requested remuneration, but not choose one’s mission.

“Sure, no problem.” Although the young woman was slightly astonished, she agreed immediately. ‘Could a Saint Craftsman be out of funds?’ She felt uncertain for she knew that one would certainly be wealthy when one became a master of forging. How could one ever run out of funds? Usually, a Saint Craftsman would only take on missions to acquire some rare materials. Otherwise, they would be busy forging for those high-ranking soul masters hoping to break through to be three-word battle armor masters. On the other hand, a Saint Craftsman could almost ask for anything in exchange for his work. This was why the blacksmiths after achieving a high rank were held in high regard over the mecha makers, mecha mechanics, and even the mecha designers. They were genuinely a rare breed.

Soon, an inventory of missions appeared before Tang Wulin. There was no price listed since the price was to be proposed by the Saint Craftsman.

The work of a Saint Craftsman was priceless. The price might even depend on the blacksmith’s mood. It was a law set by the Blacksmith’s Association.

Even though Tang Wulin had long been a Saint Craftsman, it was his first time to encounter such a situation.

It would be easy to deal with his monetary issues from now on.

“Please choose three missions that can be completed by a rank-7 Saint Craftsman. As for the price, please set according to the market rate. You can pay me after your assessment. Also, I would need a forging workshop, and please help me prepare the materials.”

“Yes!”

The service rendered to a Saint Craftsman was carried out promptly and without any hassle. After Tang Wulin made his choice, the association would help him to arrange the rest of the matters and deduct the material costs from his remuneration. The materials provided would certainly be the best.

The material cost was hardly a concern for a blacksmith of such rank.

Soon, three missions appeared before Tang Wulin.

All the missions were the same type and also the most frequently requested of a Saint Craftsman. They were all soul-forged metal-shaping tasks!

He was going to perform soul-forging on the metal, followed by shaping the metal into the form requested by the customer. In other words, he was tasked to forge a three-word battle armor’s preliminary block.

Tang Wulin could not help cracking into a smile upon glancing the three missions. They were all soul-forged metal-shaping tasks of the same type of metal! It was considered the easiest level for a Saint Craftsman. It was apparent that the service staff was acting on the conservative side for him. However, it was good enough. He had not forged for a while, so it would be beneficial to use these missions as a training exercise.

Soon, rhythmic knocking sounds were heard from the high-rank forging room. It sounded crisp and pleasant. There was not an ounce of agitation in the sounds.

The service staff standing guard by the door immediately felt relaxed upon hearing the knocking sounds.

Yu Lan had been working on the Saint Craftsmen’s level for over three years, and she had only ever met six Saint Craftsmen all this while. The first task she did when she met Tang Wulin was to verify his identity. However, there was no record of him in the system. She then verified that the Saint Craftsman’s badge was genuine by running a scan. However, there was no way she could find out Tang Wulin’s true identity due to the association’s private and confidential policy toward Saint Craftsmen.

Thus, she chose the three easiest missions for Tang Wulin.

At the moment, she was relieved upon listening to the pleasant knocking sounds. This person was genuinely a Saint Craftsman. It was impossible that the forging sounds could be so pleasant if the blacksmith was not a Saint Craftsman. Furthermore, he should be an experienced Saint Craftsman. Perhaps, he was closer to a rank-8.

‘He looks to be about forty years old. Generally, blacksmiths work hard, so they look slightly older than their true age. Perhaps, he isn’t even forty years old yet. Such a young Saint Craftsman. Even if he is slightly older, it’s still acceptable! After all, if I can be the Saint Craftsman’s woman, then it’ll be…’

The young woman was already lost in a fantasy. On the other hand, Tang Wulin was in the exact opposite mood. His spirit had already become highly focused as he engaged in his forging.

Following the elevation of his cultivation base resulting from the effect of his Golden Dragon King Bloodline, Tang Wulin discovered that he had the ability to fuse everything he had into forging, even his bloodline aura too.

What was the difference between a rank-7 and a rank-8 blacksmith? It was determined by one’s ability to use the spirit alloy to forge a soul-forged metal. The capability of fusing one’s natural endowments into the metal such that one could endow life and spirituality to the metal was another determining factor.

Tang Wulin was still a rank-7 blacksmith because he was lacking in this area. He needed to improve his comprehension of the forging process and himself thoroughly to progress further.

For example, his teacher, the Saint Craftsman Mu Chen was capable of fusing a portion of the special effects produced by his sun martial soul into the metal. Thus, the soul-forged metal that he produced was most suitable for the fire attribute soul masters, or for the soul masters whose martial souls did not conflict with the fire element. The three-word battle armor produced from Mu Chen’s soul-forged metal resulted in one’s attacking ability to carry the fire attribute. The resulting attack was extremely intense but did not consume one’s soul power.

It was equal to adding a brand new natural endowment to the battle armor master, so one could only imagine the power of its effect.

Tang Wulin had begun to comprehend his ability in this area now. Before today, he had just touched the periphery. He was still far from understanding the process of fusing his natural endowment into the metal during soul forging.

However, it was different today. The moment he began forging, he sensed a difference in himself.