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"Yes, my teacher is indeed Mu Chen," Tang Wulin admitted openly.
He was well aware of the relationship between Zhen Hua and his teacher, Mu Chen.
However, in this public setting, he didn't address Zhen Hua as "Uncle Master."
"Mm, come with me," Zhen Hua said to Tang Wulin.
His gaze shifted toward the entrance, and he smiled. "Little Yuan, you come along too."
The surrounding crowd of forgers turned their attention to the entrance, noticing Xu Yuan's presence.
Xu Yuan frequently visited the headquarters of the Tiandou City Forging Association, so many forgers recognized him. They knew he was a genius personally mentored by the master craftsman Zhen Hua.
What they didn't know, however, was just how extraordinary Xu Yuan truly was.
After witnessing the incredible scene earlier—Tang Wulin, only fourteen years old, not only completing Thousand Refinements but also achieving fusion forging—their minds were already blown by his exceptional skill.
The forgers who recognized Xu Yuan began speculating about his level.
Was he stronger or weaker than Tang Wulin?
"Class Monitor?" Tang Wulin looked toward the entrance, surprised.
He knew that Xu Yuan referred to the master craftsman Zhen Hua as "Uncle Master," so he assumed Xu Yuan would also visit the Forging Association when he arrived in Tiandou City.
But upon arriving here and seeing Zhen Hua, there had been no sign of Xu Yuan. He subconsciously thought Xu Yuan either had an alternative way to complete the assessment or hadn't disembarked at Tiandou City.
To his surprise, Xu Yuan had simply arrived later.
Hadn't he left earlier than me?
Amidst his confusion, Tang Wulin followed Xu Yuan and entered the elevator with Zhen Hua.
"What brings you two here?" Zhen Hua led them to his office and directly asked the question.
One person might be a coincidence.
But with both Xu Yuan and Tang Wulin arriving at the same time, it was clearly no accident.
Even if Tang Wulin was visiting for the first time and meeting his Uncle Master Zhen Hua for the first time, the logic still held.
"It's an assessment arranged by the academy," Xu Yuan explained the requirements of the assessment.
After listening, Zhen Hua was silent for a long while.
"Your Shrek Academy sure has some bizarre ideas."
"Alright, I'll arrange opponents for you and then quickly send you on your way to the next destination."
Zhen Hua was helpful and quickly arranged opponents for the two.
"Teacher Wu?"
After finishing their assessments, the two saw Wu Zhangkong and several other classmates waiting outside the Forging Association.
"Why are all of you here?" Tang Wulin asked, surprised.
"The assessment is changing. Recently, there have been multiple incidents involving evil soul masters—not just one case. Today alone, the academy has tallied five such incidents. For your safety, this assessment will no longer be conducted individually."
"Does that mean we'll complete it as a group?"
Tang Wulin's eyes widened, visibly delighted.
Among his friends, Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie could pass easily, but scoring high would be difficult. If they could complete the assessment together, he could help them out.
Moreover, he felt safer fighting alongside his companions rather than being alone.
Behind Wu Zhangkong stood students like Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, the five-person team led by Wu Siduo, Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, and Fang Yuan.
Including Tang Wulin and Xu Yuan, there were thirteen people in total.
These were all students under Wu Zhangkong's supervision.
"Not exactly as a group. You'll still handle your own tasks individually, but you'll travel together. I can't possibly watch over thirteen people at once, so I've gathered you all to move together."
Xu Yuan looked puzzled.
Thirteen people?
Is Teacher Wu responsible for grading all these targets by himself?
"Teacher, if you're grading all thirteen of us, how can you ensure you'll perfectly observe our entire assessment process?" Xu Yuan asked.
Wu Zhangkong gave a natural answer.
"You guys are busy, but there are plenty of fifth- and sixth-year seniors with nothing to do."
Xu Yuan's lips twitched.
Alright, now I understand the role of fifth- and sixth-years.
They're like free laborers for the academy—to be milked for resources—but at the same time, they're probably also drafted into many Outer Court tasks to keep things running smoothly. Since Xu Yuan had been accompanied solely by Wu Zhangkong, he hadn't noticed any fifth- or sixth-year seniors.
"Have all of you completed your tasks?" Xu Yuan asked the eleven people behind Wu Zhangkong.
Gu Yue appeared calm, having already finished her task.
Wu Siduo's team nodded. Zheng Yiran's family was based in Tiandou City, and they helped arrange this assessment. The other four piggybacked off her connections without issue.
The senior accompanying them hadn't objected, knowing full well that Wu Siduo's group would stubbornly claim the strong opponents were found by themselves anyway.
Arranged by Zheng Yiran's family?
Well, doesn't that count as part of my network too?
At the very least, I could say I intercepted someone recruited by Zheng Yiran's family mid-route, challenged them to a fight, and completed the task. What could anyone say?
So-called assessment standards were strictly maintained only back in Shrek City before departure. Once outside, it was more like "the sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly."
As long as you follow the rules and challenge opponents in each city, it doesn't matter how you find them.
Of course, exploiting such "loopholes" was allowed only once per city.
That was the norm.
Now, things were different.
With the group working together to find opponents, one person's connections could benefit everyone.
This meant that all the classmates from Class One, Grade One would find it much easier to locate opponents. They could rely on connections from teammates in one city and reciprocate in another, leading to higher scores overall compared to the original system.
Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, and Fang Yuan all lowered their heads.
These five hadn't yet completed their tasks.
"In that case, let's finish here. I'll have my uncle arrange opponents for you."
"Your uncle?" Wu Siduo and the others were confused.
When they were brought to Zhen Hua's office and learned that the master craftsman Zhen Hua was Xu Yuan's uncle, Wu Siduo and the others were utterly stunned.
Especially Yang Nianxia, who kept muttering phrases like "no wonder" repeatedly.
Upon learning why Xu Yuan had returned, Zhen Hua was more than happy to help arrange suitable opponents for Xu Yuan's classmates.
"The question now is, what's our plan moving forward?" Xu Yuan looked at the others who had finished their assessments and spoke.
"Although we're working together to find opponents, we still need to take turns challenging them, which will take even more time. That means we can't afford to waste any more time traveling."
Xu Yuan shared his plan.
"I'm thinking of renting a few soul-guided cars. Driving ourselves will make things more convenient."
In Xu Yuan's view, driving themselves would allow for greater flexibility in choosing cities.
They wouldn't need to waste time transferring between stations and destinations.
"There are fourteen of us in total, so three cars should be enough."
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