Douluo Dragon King: My Martial Soul is the Emperor Armor

Dead silence.

In the vast forging room, apart from the "buzzing" sound emanating from the spirit-forged silver, which resembled a heartbeat, there was not a single other sound.

Mu Chen kept his hands gripping his hair, his eyes wide like copper bells, staring intently at the piece of metal on the forging table that exuded a sacred aura.

He felt that his decades-long career in forging was a joke.

What does "communicating with heart" mean?

What does "feeling the texture of metal" mean? What does "forging and tempering" mean?

That's complete nonsense!

Look at them!

He went up and started smashing things haphazardly with the cape, even yawning as he did so. And what was the result?

They managed to "bring" the metal back to life by smashing it!

The current state of this piece of sunken silver suggests it wasn't forged.

It's clearly like a brainless fan who's met their idol, radiating an aura of fervor that screams "I've been elevated," "I've realized something," and "Pick me, pick me!"

"Uncle Mu?"

Su Yang removed his imperial armor, rubbed his slightly sore wrists, and looked at the stunned Mu Chen, cautiously asking:

"Um... this hammer isn't broken, is it? If it's broken, I don't have the money to pay for it. Let's make it clear first, you're the one who asked me to smash it."

Mu Chen: "..."

赔？

If you sell this piece of spirit-forged silver, you can buy a hundred of these forging workshops!

"Su Yang...you...how did you do that? I mean, what were you thinking when you were smashing it? Did you sense the life rhythm of the metal and guide it...?"

Mu Chen finally found his voice, but it sounded somewhat unsteady, as if he was still sleepwalking.

"No."

Su Yang interrupted him with an air of matter-of-fact, shrugging his shoulders:

"I was thinking, how come this piece of iron is so hard? It made my hand numb. So I threatened it in my mind: 'If you don't spit out the impurities yourself, I'll melt you down and make you into a toilet seat, so you'll be infamous for eternity.' Then it got scared and purified itself."

Su Yang pointed to the still-glowing piece of silver, his tone sincere:

"Seriously, Uncle Mu, you blacksmiths spoil metal too much. Metal is a bully who preys on the weak. You have to adopt an 'emperor's' aura and command it, not beg it. This is called the 'Workplace PUA Forging Method'."

"puff--"

Leng Yaozhu, who was standing to the side, had just drunk the water she was using to calm her nerves when she gloriously spat it out again.

What the hell is this workplace PUA training method?!

If that old man Zhenhua heard this theory, he'd probably have a stroke on the spot.

Mu Chen's lips twitched violently.

Looking at the piece of spirit-forged silver that clearly showed signs of "pleasure," he felt an absurd sense of agreement.

Could it be... that I was really too gentle with metal before?

Next time, should I try threatening them to make a toilet seat?

"Monster...you're a monster!"

Mu Xi, who had been silent all along, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

She looked at Su Yang, her eyes red-rimmed with the bitterness of her pride shattered. She had only just learned the Hundred Forging Technique!

This guy got a spirit forging skill on his first blacksmithing attempt?

And in such an aesthetically unappealing way!

"Hey, don't cry."

Seeing this, Su Yang immediately took a step back and clutched his pocket tightly. "Although I'm handsome and talented, making you feel inferior, it's not my fault. Besides, I didn't bring any tissues, and borrowing tissues costs money."

Mu Xi forced back her tears: "Who wants your tissues! I'm angry with you... angry that you ruined the forging!"

"How can this be called a waste?"

Su Yang walked over, picked up the piece of spirit-forged silver, and put it into the storage soul tool of the Void Moon Wheel. "That's called efficiency. Uncle Mu, this piece of metal is mine now, right? I happen to be short of a forging hammer, and this should be great for it."

Use Spirit Forged Silver to make a forging hammer?

Mu Chen felt as if another arrow had pierced his heart.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

No matter how outrageous this kid's theory is, his "battle armor" has an undeniable and absolute dominance over metal.

This is absolutely a natural-born master craftsman!

"Su Yang".

Mu Chen looked at him with a serious expression and intense gaze. "Would you like to join the Blacksmith Association? I can grant you a Level 4... no, Level 5 Blacksmith badge as an exception! And I would like to take you as my apprentice."

"A level five blacksmith?"

Su Yang's eyes lit up. "Do you get paid? Is there a salary? Can I get a discount at the cafeteria?"

Mu Chen paused, then nodded subconsciously: "Of course. Level 5 blacksmiths receive a high monthly allowance, enjoy a 30% discount on rare metals when purchasing them from any city's blacksmith association, and hold a prestigious status..."

"make a deal!"

Su Yang immediately grasped Mu Chen's hand, shook it vigorously, and a bright smile bloomed on his face: "Master, please accept my bow! Um... is the allowance paid in cash or by card? I support daily payment."

Leng Yaozhu stood to the side, rubbing her forehead.

She knew it.

The kid agreed so readily, it's definitely not because he's pursuing the ultimate forging technique, it's purely for that little bit of discount.

Sigh, poor kids learn to be independent early, even though I've already given him enough pocket money...

"Alright, now that you've become my apprentice..."

Leng Yaozhu stepped forward and brought the farce to an end.

"Mu Chen, I just told you about Su Yang's situation. Now that you've taken him in, I'm relieved."

At this point, Leng Yaozhu changed the subject, her tone carrying an undeniable forcefulness:

"However, let me make this clear from the start. He is from the Spirit Pagoda and is also my personal disciple. He can only come here to learn forging two days a week; the rest of the time, he must train with me and Illusion Brain Douluo."

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!"

Mu Chen agreed readily, even somewhat impatiently, "It's just two days, right? As long as I can teach this child, I'll not only send him to Donghai City, but I'll personally fly to Shrek City every weekend to teach him! I'll pay for the travel expenses myself!"

Just kidding, this little monster that can grind metal into intelligence, let alone two days, he'd be willing to go back to that godforsaken place, the Shrek City Blacksmith Association!

Two days later.

After Leng Yaozhu and Su Yang left, Mu Chen finally had time to sit in his office, drinking tea and carefully reviewing the videos he had recorded over the past two days of Su Yang "violently smashing iron".

The more he looked, the more wonderful it seemed.

"This kind of unreasonable playing style is simply art..."

Mu Chen sighed, then took out his soul-guided communicator, a very "Versailles" smile spreading across his face, and sent video calls to his old friends one by one—

"Hey? Zhenhua, busy? Oh, nothing much, just wanted to ask you, how did you know my new disciple became a level five blacksmith at only six years old? Oh, keep it low-key, he's just a ten-thousand-fold forging creature, nothing to mention, hahaha!"

"Old Li, have you eaten? I have something to tell you, about my apprentice..."

On this day, the entire leadership of the Blacksmith Association was brainwashed by Mu Chen's infectious laughter.

……

Shrek City, food street.

As night falls, the lights are on.

The air was filled with the enticing aroma of grilled meat, fried skewers, and a mixture of various spices.

Su Yang held a grilled squid in his left hand and a cup of milk tea in his right, walking with an extremely arrogant posture.

Gu Yue followed beside him, her hands also busy, seriously dealing with a roasted corn.

"So, you made a special trip to Donghai City for two days, and even became an apprentice of an eight-star master craftsman..."

Gu Yue took a bite of corn and glanced at Su Yang's waist—two exaggeratedly shaped tungsten steel hammers were hanging from the Emperor's Belt. Her expression was somewhat indescribable.

How many days is this guy going to wear this on his body...?

"So all you brought back were these two hammers? Are you planning to switch careers and join a construction crew to demolish walls?"

"shallow."

Su Yang swallowed the squid in his mouth, patted the hammer at his waist, and it made a crisp metallic clanging sound.

"Gu Yue, you need to see through appearances to the essence. This is not just a hammer, it is my 'truth-persuading tool.' In the future, when I encounter people who can't be reasoned with, or stubborn dragons like you, I will suddenly go up and smash two hammers."

"...If you want to die, just say so."

Gu Yue rolled her eyes, just about to give Su Yang a good whack with the corncob in her hand.

Just then, from the bustling crowd ahead, a soft, clear voice, full of longing, suddenly rang out:

"Madam! I want to eat that! That golden, crispy fried chicken cartilage! It smells so good!"

Upon hearing this sound, Su Yang and Gu Yue stopped in their tracks.

Su Yang, in particular, has a natural sensitivity to the word "eat".

The two looked in the direction of the sound.

Not far away, in front of a fried chicken stall, stood two figures, one tall and one short.

The older woman was wearing a pure white dress, with a gentle and graceful demeanor, exuding a pure and holy aura that was like a spring breeze.

She gently knelt down to wipe the grease from the corner of the little girl's mouth.

And that little girl...

She was exquisitely beautiful, with silver hair and purple eyes. She was holding a paper bag bigger than her face, stuffing food into her mouth while pointing longingly at the chicken cartilage next to her.