After leaving the cha Association, Gu La returned directly to his classroom.
The mont he pushed open the door, the tal hinges emitted a faint creak. The afternoon sunlight stread through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating every speck of dust suspended in the air.
He noticed that at least seven or eight groups were engaged in heated discussions. cha design blueprints were spread across desks, and so students had even begun simulating movents with pieces of tal.
"Gu La!"
Wu Siduo's voice cut through the noise. She was wearing her hair in a rare high ponytail today, and her black combat suit made her skin appear even paler. When she waved, the pair of soul-guided bracelets on her wrist, inherited from the Netherworld Family, glowed faintly with an eerie blue light.
As Gu La approached, he noticed that this small group deliberately kept their distance from the other students.
Zheng Yiran was sizing him up with her distinctive green eyes, bestowed by her Jade Phosphorous Snake martial soul, while Luo Guixing had three spinning ingots of tal hovering in front of him, seemingly deep in thought.
"You ca just in ti," Wu Siduo said. "Earlier, the class was divided into groups for collaborative battle armor forging. Our group is short one core blacksmith. Tang Wulin ntioned you're a fifth-rank blacksmith—would you like to join our group?"
Gu La scanned the classroom, sensing sothing off about the atmosphere. "Why not ask Tang Wulin? He should be able to stabilize spirit-forging by now."
"Don't ntion him."
Wu Siduo tapped the desk with her knuckles. "That guy, Tang Wulin…"
She suddenly bit her lower lip. "You know our first-year assessnt is to design and manufacture a white-rank cha."
"After discussing it, we class committee mbers decided to forge battle armor components. Even if we can't complete a full set of one-word battle armor, we can still gain experience and pass the assessnt."
"But that guy—he naively insisted on directly forging battle armor components using spirit-forged alloys. Not only that, he refused to abandon two lower-level students in our group, Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan. So, as you can see, we split."
Wu Siduo fixed her gaze on Gu La. "Give us a straight answer—will you join us?"
Their group already had a blacksmith, Yang Nianxia, a third-rank blacksmith—but compared to Gu La, a fifth-rank blacksmith, the difference wasn't just marginal.
Moreover, unlike Tang Wulin, who had connections, they didn't know anyone influential. Naturally, they prioritized forging their own battle armor first. If Gu La joined, Yang Nianxia would have to leave the group and join another team.
Even though Yang Nianxia might be unwilling, there was nothing he could do about it. In Shrek Academy, high-talent students held certain privileges.
"Why should I join your group?" Gu La raised an eyebrow. "Or rather, what advantage does your group offer?"
"Unless you can provide rare tals that aren't available through normal channels."
Gu La looked at the first heir of the Netherworld Family with keen interest.
In their group, Zheng Yiran's Jade Phosphorous Family and the Netherworld Family both wielded significant influence, whereas Luo Guixing and Yang Nianxia ca from relatively "ordinary" backgrounds.
Though these families couldn't compare to the Angel Family backing Yue Zhengyu, they were still far from negligible.
Especially the Netherworld Family, which had been around for over twenty thousand years. Even after separating from the Star Luo Empire lineage, they retained valuable connections and resources.
Wu Siduo clenched her fists. Her identity wasn't a secret—her twin martial souls spoke volus.
"My family does control so rare tal channels, but for a one-word battle armor, we don't need particularly high-quality rare tals yet, right?"
She felt Gu La was asking for too much.
Gu La nodded and walked over to their group table.
"You're right, but I'm different," Gu La said as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "Like Tang Wulin, forging thousand-refined tals poses no difficulty for , so I'll directly forge spirit-forged alloys."
"The difference is, I'll skip one-word battle armor entirely and forge two-word battle armor instead. I don't need your help with design or manufacturing—just provide so rare tals as paynt, and I'll forge the tals needed for your battle armor."
---
"Two-word battle armor!" Luo Guixing, who had been silent until now, couldn't help but question: "How is that possible! Are you already a sixth-rank blacksmith?"
"What success rate can you guarantee for stable tal fusion?"
"You don't need to worry about that—I won't deceive you."
Gu La's tone was indifferent. The rare tals this group could offer for one-word battle armor were limited. If not for his ambition to forge a celestial-forged cha, he wouldn't even bother with them.
If only everyone had a powerful family like Wu Siduo's backing them! Every ti he thought about the future shortage of rare tals, he almost considered helping the entire class forge their armor.
Wu Siduo didn't respond imdiately. She stared at Gu La, recalling the overwhelming soul power and pressure he exuded.
Though Gu La hadn't explicitly answered, his self-assured deanor was answer enough.
A fourteen-year-old sixth-rank blacksmith!
Only those familiar with the concept of blacksmithing could grasp how terrifying that statent truly was.
Luo Guixing understood the implications and wished he could accept on behalf of Wu Siduo. Gu La's forging talent was more than enough to make him swallow his pride as a genius and seek friendship.
But he ca from a minor family. To collaborate with Gu La, he'd have to defer to Wu Siduo and Zheng Yiran's decision.
For a mont, silence fell over the center of the classroom. No one spoke—they needed ti to process this shocking revelation.
On reflection, Tang Wulin, despite being at the second ring level, was already a fifth-rank blacksmith. Was it really that hard to accept that Gu La, who was even more extraordinary, could leap two ranks?
But whether it was forging or cultivation, advancing beca exponentially harder the higher you climbed. And the gap between them was imnse.
After a brief mont of consideration, Wu Siduo gazed at Gu La, her image of him growing larger and larger in her mind until it filled her thoughts completely.
"We don't need spirit-forged tals. Even if you forge them, we'd struggle to complete the design, manufacturing, and maintenance steps. But we can collaborate in advance."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
Gu La's expression showed understanding, his deep eyes seeming to see through Wu Siduo's thoughts.
Wu Siduo felt a pang of guilt but forced herself to maintain her usual proud deanor as she t Gu La's gaze.
"Our group mbers are all at least third-rank in secondary professions. As long as you consistently provide thousand-refined tals, we can complete one-third to half of a one-word battle armor before the final exams."
"But in our second year, I hope you'll continue to supply us with tals. As compensation…"
Wu Siduo took a deep breath. "I can use the Netherworld Family's channels to help you procure tals."
This wasn't just for the assessnt—it was also an investnt in Gu La's future.
An investnt in the future of a Divine Craftsman!
No grand favors were necessary—leaving a good impression would suffice.
"Agreed."
Gu La nodded. He knew Wu Siduo wouldn't recklessly hand over her family's procurent channels to just anyone. Helping him acquire tals was already a significant gesture.
Rare tals were always controlled goods. Large-scale procurent would inevitably draw the Federation's attention. After all, besides Gu La's envisioned heavenly-forged cha, another major use for rare tals was fixed-load soul-guided cannon shells!
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