With the blessing of the Prayer Angel's soul power, Zhenhua's condition improved considerably. Yali took a deep breath, slowly retracting the Prayer Angel and said, "Your body is fine, just take your time to recover. As a Divine craftsman, to have survived so long under the Holy Spirit Sect's control, it's hard to believe unless I see it with my own eyes."
Upon hearing Yali's words, Mu Chen and Mu Xi both breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Master Uncle, you're alright! You scared me to death." Mu Xi immediately threw herself into Zhenhua's arms, her eyes moistening once again. Because of Yuanbao, Zhenhua had never married, always treating Mu Xi like his own daughter.
During Zhenhua's disappearance, she had been extremely anxious, constantly worried. She had sent a soul guide communication to Xia Yi, hoping he could save Zhenhua.
On one hand, she had hoped Xia Yi could indeed find a way, and on the other, it had been for emotional comfort.
But she never expected Xia Yi to actually bring Zhenhua back.
"Thank you, Holy Spirit Sovereign. I wonder how my useless disciple is doing now?" Mu Chen looked at Yali and asked.
"Yue Jie took them for military training. When he returns, I'll have him come see you." Yali's face showed a trace of maternal warmth, smiling happily.
"Last time, he sent a soul guide communication saying that he acknowledged the Holy Spirit Sovereign as his godmother. I wonder if that's true," Mu Chen continued.
"It's true!" Yali smiled brightly and said, "I plan to pass on the Sky-Topping Divine Spear that Ming Ge left behind to him when he becomes a Soul Saint."
"Good! Good!" Mu Chen nodded in satisfaction and then asked, "Do you know how long it will take the Light and Dark Sovereign to return from military training?"
"I'm not sure." Yali sighed and said, "As you know, I joined Shrek Academy midway. I haven't gone through the military training like the other senior members, and I only know the training location but nothing about the actual content of the training."
Yali was also curious about what the military training at Shrek Academy entailed. She had asked other senior members of the Sea God Pavilion before, but whenever she brought it up, they would remain silent.
Even now, all she knew was that the training took place on Devil Island.
Beyond that, she knew nothing.
"By the way, Master Brother, do you know how the Phoenix Sovereign broke through the Holy Spirit Sect?" Mu Chen's eyes flashed with an almost imperceptible gleam.
"I don't know. When I was rescued, the entire Holy Spirit Sect was already kneeling under the Phoenix Sovereign's feet." Zhenhua shook his head and said, "The Phoenix Sisters are incredibly powerful now, far more terrifying than the former Sky-Topping Douluo."
"They're indeed strong!" Mu Chen nodded. "Master Brother, you don't know, but a lot of major events have happened during your disappearance, each one just as significant as the fall of the Holy Spirit Sect, and all of them are related to the Phoenix Sisters."
"What happened?" Zhenhua asked, curious.
"The fall of Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, the fall of the Abyss Plane, the Spirit Pagoda returning all soul beasts and soul spirits made from them to the soul beasts." Mu Chen briefly explained the events and sighed, "I didn't expect soul beasts to have such terrifying power, even possessing battle armors."
"Yes, if it weren't for the soul beasts' help, the Douluo Continent would probably have already been conquered by the Abyss." Yali also sighed.
In contrast to Yali's sigh, Zhenhua's gaze flickered with sharp light. After thinking for a full minute, he waved his hand, and a piece of light blue metal flew out from a hidden compartment in his training room, landing in his hand.
Zhenhua turned to Mu Xi and said, "Xi'er, take this piece of metal to Xia Yi as a token of gratitude for him and the Phoenix Sovereign saving my life."
"Why? Master Uncle, why?" Mu Xi's face instantly turned pale, and she took two shaky steps backward, as if she couldn't stand steady.
As a member of a family of blacksmiths, Mu Xi knew exactly what kind of metal Zhenhua had just taken out.
Gold-Water Harmonization, the metal every three-word blacksmith dreamed of. Its greatest function was as a medium—it could make any metals bond with each other perfectly. In other words, if two or more metals were used to forge an alloy, this rare metal would ensure that they fused perfectly, provided the forging was successful.
And it wouldn't attract heavenly tribulations.
Any blacksmith would be unable to resist such a metal.
The metal had golden threads like fine wires flowing through it. Gold threads, blue water—Gold-Water Harmonization. This is where the name came from, as it harmonized gold and water elements and perfectly fused them.
It could bond with any metal, becoming part of it. But because it was so rare, its value surpassed almost all other metals. Therefore, no one would willingly transform it into another metal.
After countless generations of blacksmiths studying it, they finally discovered that its greatest function was as a medium during the forging process.
This Gold-Water Harmonization rare metal was something even Mu Xi had only seen from Zhenhua, and Zhenhua usually didn't dare to use it.
For Divine craftsmen, this was a treasure of rarest value, so its worth was astronomical.
Just this small piece of metal was worth as much as a divine-grade mecha.
With Gold-Water Harmonization, not only could the forging process of three-word battle armors reach 100% success, but it also allowed more types of metal to be included, making the battle armor even more powerful.
It was that precious.
Because it was so precious, Mu Xi couldn't accept it.
She knew what Xia Yi needed right now.
The Heaven Forge Method.
Zhenhua had taken out such a rare metal to thank Xia Yi for saving him.
Clearly, he didn't want to teach Xia Yi the Heaven Forge Method.
But Xia Yi was the best blacksmith, and he had saved Zhenhua's life.
Mu Xi couldn't understand why Zhenhua was doing this.
She couldn't accept this form of repayment to Xia Yi.
On the side, Yali was also stunned. She had previously thought that after this event, Zhenhua would pass on the Heaven Forge Method to Xia Yi without reservation.
But she never expected Zhenhua to do something like this.
"Xi'er, listen to your master uncle." Mu Chen looked at Mu Xi, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
"I won't! I disagree!" Mu Xi shook her head desperately. Looking at Zhenhua, she then turned to Mu Chen and Yali. Seeing the smile on Mu Chen's lips, she seemed to understand something. Suddenly, she laughed out loud. "I understand now. Father, everything today was part of your plan, right?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Mu Chen shook his head.
"Father, from the moment I saw Xia Yi bring Master Uncle back, you started scheming, didn't you?" Mu Xi looked at Mu Chen, biting her red lips and said, "Father, you deliberately asked Master Uncle about the details of the Twin Phoenix Douluos saving him, to make Master Uncle suspect something. You deliberately told him that soul beasts also have battle armors, to make him suspect that the battle armors of soul beasts might come from Xia Yi, to make Master Uncle doubt Xia Yi's alliance with the soul beasts, and not pass the Heaven Forge Method to him. And you brought the Holy Spirit Douluo here, not just to check Master Uncle's health, but to tell him that Tang Wulin is the godson of the Holy Spirit Douluo, the heir of the Sky-Transcending Douluo, to make Master Uncle pass the Heaven Forge Method to Tang Wulin, right?"
"Father, I know. At first, you didn't become a master craftsman, so you dream of cultivating a master craftsman student. But father, have you forgotten? Tang Wulin is from Tang Sect, and Tang Sect has colluded with the Holy Spirit Sect, not only that, but they also harmed Master Uncle, turning him into this. For your dream, you're doing all this, don't you feel uneasy about it?" Mu Xi was truly breaking down. She couldn't believe that her father, instead of thanking Xia Yi, was thinking of cultivating an enemy.
But oddly enough, her master uncle agreed to it.
How could she face Xia Yi now?
Hearing what Mu Xi said, Yali looked at Zhenhua and said, "Xi'er is right. Sometimes, I really want to skin Xia Yi. He always pretends, always laughing, but deep down he really isn't a bad person. He has a heart of righteousness. Master Craftsman, what you're doing to him isn't right."
Even though Tang Wulin was Yali's godson, Yali still wanted Tang Wulin to become a master craftsman. But she knew that right now, Xia Yi was the most suited to become a master craftsman.
Zhenhua's treatment of Xia Yi wasn't fair.
It might even trigger a series of events.
"Holy Spirit Douluo, my mind is made up, you don't need to say more. Xi'er, do as I say." Zhenhua's gaze was firm. "The fact that soul beasts have battle armors likely has something to do with Xia Yi. As a master craftsman, I cannot let the Heaven Forge Method fall into the hands of the soul beasts. Otherwise, I would be a traitor to humanity. Even if Xia Yi saved my life, even if I'm branded as ungrateful, I won't do it."
"I won't! I can't say it." Mu Xi's eyes were red as she looked at Zhenhua's determined gaze. She knew she couldn't change Zhenhua's decision and could only run out the door with tears in her eyes.
No matter what the reason, she couldn't accept this result.
If Xia Yi only received a piece of Gold-Water Harmonization, how disappointed would he be?
Deep inside, Mu Xi was filled with guilt toward Xia Yi. It was she who had sent the soul guide communication to Xia Yi to ask him to save Zhenhua.
Now that Zhenhua had been saved, but Zhenhua was treating Xia Yi like this, how could she face Xia Yi?
"Junior Brother, go check on Xi'er. I'm worried she might do something rash." Zhenhua smiled bitterly.
"Okay." Mu Chen nodded, and then went to chase after Mu Xi. His goal had already been achieved, and he no longer had any reason to stay.
"Ah, what you're doing is really inappropriate. You're being unfair to Xia Yi." Yali spoke again.
"Holy Spirit Douluo, I remember you said that Xia Yi is a good person, right?" Mu Chen raised his head and looked at Yali with a slight smile. "Since he's a good person, he should be loyal and righteous. What if, to compensate Xia Yi for saving Master Uncle, Mu Xi sacrifices herself and gives herself to Xia Yi? Don't you think Xia Yi would take responsibility for her?"
"You... you!" Yali stared, wide-eyed. For a while, she didn't know what to say.
After quite some time, Yali finally thought of a possibility and cautiously said, "You're trying to use Mu Xi to pressure Xia Yi, make him marry Mu Xi, and only then will you teach him the Heaven Forge Method?"
"Wrong!" Zhenhua shook his head. "No matter what, I would never use Xi'er's marriage as leverage. If Xia Yi really uses Xi'er as a chess piece to learn the Heaven Forge Method, I'll never teach him the method."
"Then what do you actually think?" Yali asked.
"I truly can't pass the Heaven Forge Method to Xia Yi. His relationship with the soul beasts is unclear. What I said before will never change. There can only be one Divine craftsman on Douluo Continent, and when I choose my successor, I must consider whether the next Divine craftsman will become the last straw that breaks humanity," Zhenhua said, his gaze deep. "I'll never become a traitor to humanity. Of course, if Xia Yi becomes a Divine craftsman on his own, then it's none of my business."
"Becomes a Divine craftsman on his own?" Yali's beautiful eyes revealed a look of astonishment. "You think that highly of Xia Yi
"Of course." Zhenhua smiled faintly. "He's far superior to you, your execellency. This little chess piece of yours... I dare say he's the key to defeating the Abyss. If he truly wants to create his own system, I'll definitely not stop him. After all, this is the only path of salvation for Douluo Continent."
At this point, Zhenhua suddenly sneered and said, "I know exactly what my junior brother is thinking, but Tang Wulin, although he is your godson, Holy Spirit Sovereign, he is also from Tang Sect. As Mu Xi said, Tang Sect is now my enemy. If you want Tang Wulin to learn the Heaven Forging Method from me, I'll give him a chance for your sake. But you need to get a reasonable explanation from him and Tang Sect. Otherwise, Mu Xi is also a good candidate for becoming a Divine Craftsman."
Mu Xi had once received an opportunity from Leng Yaozhu and had been specially trained at Shrek Academy for a period of time.
Now, with a solid foundation, Mu Xi was already a Soul Emperor, and close to becoming a Soul Saint.
In the future, breaking through to Title Douluo would not be a problem.
Although Mu Xi's forging talent was not as exceptional as Xia Yi's or Tang Wulin's, as long as she became a Title Douluo, Zhenhua was confident he could train her into a Master Craftsman.
Zhenhua's refusal to teach Xia Yi the Heaven Forging Method was actually part of his plan to cultivate Mu Xi.
Currently, Mu Xi's talent was indeed not bad, but compared to Xia Yi, she still fell short.
Zhenhua wanted to make Mu Xi a Master Craftsman, so that later, as she worked alongside Xia Yi, she would find her place, and wouldn't feel inferior.
As for Tang Wulin, Zhenhua was still willing to give him a chance, considering Mu Chen and Yali.
Of course, the precondition was that Tang Sect had to give him a reasonable explanation about the kidnapping incident.
"I understand," Yali sighed lightly, her heart full of bitterness.
A reasonable explanation.
To sell the Divine Craftsman to the Holy Spirit Sect.
To make Zhenhua suffer so much.
How could such an explanation ever be reasonable?
Yali had no clue.
She couldn't possibly ask Cao Dezhi, the mastermind, to come to the Divine Craftsman Association's headquarters and commit seppuku to apologize, could she?
"I'll remind you once more. There can only be one Divine Craftsman on Douluo Continent. That means, if Tang Wulin becomes a Title Douluo and provides me with a reasonable explanation, or if Mu Xi becomes a Title Douluo, or if Xia Yi masters the Heaven Forging Method himself, the first one to achieve it will be the Master Craftsman." Zhenhua looked at Yali. He knew that Tang Sect's matters had nothing to do with her.
But once Tang Wulin was involved, she could not avoid it.
"I understand," Yali replied bitterly, nodding her head. She knew Zhenhua's heart was with Mu Xi, and Tang Wulin's chance was nearly nonexistent.
(End of Chapter)