Chapter 324: Rejection

Feng Wuyu snorted. “You brat. Don’t think I’ve forgotten how many years you’ve been away without so much as a peep. You want to talk back to me?  Fine. I won’t bother with you two anymore. Anyway, I’m just here to tell you not to give him too many responsibilities in the future. He needs as much time as he can get to learn from me. Well, I’m off then. Kid, come with me. Since you’re a student here at Shrek, you should treat me as a teacher. I don’t care if you agree or not. I’m your teacher now.” 

He grabbed Tang Wulin and threw him over his shoulder as he walked out. 

Tang Wulin was helpless against Feng Wuyu. “Elder Feng, can you put me down? I’ll walk with you.” 

Feng Wuyu revealed a sly smirk as he acceded. “So you’ve finally accepted me as your teacher?” 

“What you said is right. Here on campus, I’m already one of your students!” Tang Wulin forced his stare upon Feng Wuyu as if daring him to look away.

Feng Wuyu exhaled forcefully, underscoring his contempt, before continuing,“It’s taken you so long to finally understand this simple fact. Follow me and you’ll have a future much brighter than with that brat from that whatever Blacksmith’s Association.” The moment they stepped foot outside the teachers’ office, Feng Wuyu grabbed Tang Wulin once more and dashed off, arriving at his workshop a few seconds later. 

Back in the office, Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong exchanged looks of dismay. “Elder Feng acts so quickly!” Shen Yi muttered. “Do we need to tell Teacher about this?”

Wu Zhangkong nodded. “We definitely need to inform Teacher. Elder Feng has an eccentric personality, and though Wulin is clever and knows how to behave himself, he’s still stubborn at heart. It’d be good to have Teacher around as insurance in case those two get into an argument.” 

A hint of worry flashed through Gu Yue’s eyes. “Teacher Wu, Wulin’s not in danger, right?”  

He shook his head. “Most likely not. Elder Feng is one of the most powerful people on campus. He might be strange, but he is very devoted to blacksmithing. To be fair, he isn’t suited for blacksmithing in the traditional sense. Elder Feng got to where he is now through sheer perseverance alone. He started blacksmithing when he was twenty-eight years old, and after pouring blood and sweat into his work, he’s now an eighth-rank Saint Blacksmith. For that reason, Elder Feng has his own unique perspective on blacksmithing. Wulin could potentially learn a lot from him.” 

“That’s good then. Teacher Wu, Teacher Shen, I’ll be taking my leave.” 

Gu Yue didn’t immediately set forth for the dormitory. Instead, she headed off-campus after a moment of thought.. 

☀ 

Cornered in Feng Wuyu’s workshop, Tang Wulin stared helplessly at the eccentric man. “Elder Feng, I can’t forge right now.” 

Feng Wuyu’s glare could scorch. “Why not? Are you getting arrogant now that you have some achievements under your belt? Let me tell you, perseverance is the key to success. ‘Perseverance is victory.’ Haven’t you ever heard that saying before? Don’t get complacent just because you have some talent. No matter the profession, you will have to devote blood and sweat to reach the peak.” 

This prompted Tang Wulin to throw up his hands. “I understand everything you’ve just said, and I’m not just being lazy. But I have to deal with more important matters first! Like cultivating! I’m sure you can sense I haven’t yet reached rank 30. In fact, I’m only at rank 28 at the moment My soul power is holding me back as a blacksmith. We both know I could spirit refine right now if not for my soul power. Although my body is far stronger than my peers’, if I want to spirit refine safely, my soul power needs to be at least rank 30. I would love to study spirit refining under you, but my soul power is too lacking right now. There’s nothing that can be done about it!” 

Taken by surprise, Feng Wuyu’s blazing confidence dimmed, his eyes glossing over as he digged through his thoughts. He scratched his head. “That makes some sense. Oh right! You’re already at the peak of the fourth rank at your age, so you can try to spirit refine now. You said you’ll try it once you hit rank 30?” When Feng Wuyu had started blacksmithing, his cultivation base was firmly laid out. As such, he didn’t have to consider soul power restrictions. Only after this exchange with Tang Wulin did he realize this was a legitimate issue. 

“My innate strength is adequate and my body is sturdy, which makes up for some of my lacking soul power. But even so, I need to at least be rank 30 to spirit refine without risk.” There was a qualitative leap between two and three rings, and the boost in power would be more than enough to ensure his safety when spirit refining. 

Feng Wuyu knitted his brows then nodded. “Alright. That’s reasonable. But kid, don’t think this is enough to stop me from teaching you how to forge. Isn’t it just rank 30? I know some methods to get you there. But it’ll cost you.” 

“There are ways?” Tang Wulin was taken by surprise. 

There are shortcuts to soul power cultivation? 

Feng Wuyu threw his head back and laughed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Of course there are! I can help boost your soul power to rank 30 and help you breakthrough, but the price... It’s a bit high. It’ll cost you ten spirit refined metals once you’ve become a fifth-rank blacksmith. How about it?” 

“No thanks,” Tang Wulin declined straightaway.

Feng Wuyu’s face froze. “Kid, what are you saying? As a soul master, you should be jumping on this chance to increase your soul power. I can even guarantee there will be no side effects! Don’t you know a soul master’s age and rank have a huge influence over their future? Your current level isn’t anything remarkable, so if you don’t put in the time now and grab any opportunity that comes by, the gap between you and your peers will continue to widen.” 

Tang Wulin turned a deaf ear to Feng Wuyu’s advice. “I’m fine, Elder Feng. I think it’s best if I take cultivation one step at a time. I’m certain I’ll reach rank 30 in two months at the latest.” After breaking the second seal, his blood essence had grown more vigorous and his soul power climbed to rank 28. His cultivation speed had increased thanks to the seal breaking, and he was confident in his estimate of two months. Although he lagged behind his teammates at the moment, he would surely overtake them one day as long as he continued breaking the Golden Dragon King seals. 

It was obvious Feng Wuyu didn’t understand Tang Wulin’s character. Ten spirit refined products was worth an enormous sum of money, with a conservative estimate of at least fifty thousand contribution points! That would be enough to feed Tang Wulin for several months. His ravenous appetite didn’t allow him to ignore such a large sum. 

Tang Wulin would rather have taken his cultivation step by step and not lose himself of a fortune for a shortcut. So, it wasn’t that he didn’t feel anxious to reach rank 30, but that he absolutely couldn’t bear to give up ten spirit refined products. 

“Kid, is your brain rotting? Tell you what, I’ll even provide you with the metal to spirit refine. And Don’t forget, you’ll benefit a lot from this too! With ten spirit refinings to your name, you’ll be famous in the outer court.” 

“I appreciate the offer, but no thanks.” Tang Wulin continued to shake head as if that was all he knew how to do. 

“Kid, you really know how to anger me!” Feng Wuyu fumed, but there wasn’t much he could do in the face of Tang Wulin’s stubborn refusals.

“Elder Feng, you don’t have to be so hurried. I’ll steadily cultivate, and once I reach rank 30, I’ll definitely come learn from you. I’ll take my leave now then.” Tang Wulin made to leave swift as a breeze, his back burning from Feng Wuyu’s heated glower. 

Feng Wuyu didn’t stop him from leaving. Everything Tang Wulin had said rang true as a bell! Namely, that he couldn’t practice spirit refining until he hit rank 30. Not only that, when Tang Wulin forged the meteoric iron, Feng Wuyu had seen for himself where Tang Wulin had stood in the realm of blacksmithing: he was a prodigy at the peak of the fourth rank. More practice wouldn’t help him grow at the moment. 

But that kid won’t accept my good intentions! Isn’t it a great deal to get my help in boosting him to rank 30? Ten spirit refinings is a cheap price for what he’d get! I’d have to put aside my pride just to acquire some of the items needed for the procedure, yet he actually refused!