Chapter 29: Blood Demon… Your Excellency?
The moment the door opened, Lu Jun felt a soft body suddenly fall into his arms.
Gu Yuena's silver hair spread out like a waterfall, a faint, delicate fragrance brushing his cheek.
The petite girl's body completely stiffened, her amethyst-like eyes wide as she met his gaze.
"You… what are you doing by the door?"
Lu Jun subconsciously wrapped his arm around her waist, his palm feeling the slender, soft touch.
"I… uh, I was just…"
Gu Yuena didn't know what to say for a moment.
She couldn't possibly say she wanted to peek at what Lu Jun was doing inside, could she?
The two remained frozen at the doorway, time seemingly still.
Lu Jun could clearly feel the rapid heartbeat of the girl in his arms, and her slightly trembling eyelashes.
"Cough." Ultimately, it was Lu Jun who recovered first, carefully helping her stand upright. "What are you doing here?"
Gu Yuena frantically tidied her disheveled silver hair, a few unruly strands sticking up on top of her head, much like startled cat ears:
"Teacher called me over to tell you to finish your cultivation. It's time for you to go to the Forging Association."
"Oh, the timing is really tight."
Lu Jun felt a bit of a headache and walked out.
"Are there any problems with your forging and manufacturing?" Gu Yuena followed him. "Are you tired?"
"Not really, though I'm only good at ice-attributed metals…"
Thinking of his second professional path, Lu Jun felt embarrassed.
He was too specialized…
As long as it wasn't ice-attributed metal, both the forging and manufacturing paths were essentially useless to him.
Stepping out of the cultivation area, the afterglow of the setting sun fell upon them.
Lu Jun stretched, his bones making crisp cracking sounds.
"Actually, sometimes I really envy you," he suddenly said, his gaze falling on Gu Yuena. "You can get a perfect score in mecha design."
"As for me, if it's not related to ice-attributed metals or components, I basically get a zero."
Gu Yuena raised her hand to tie up her hair: "But everyone praises the items you forge using ice-attributed metal."
Lu Jun smiled and shook his head: "That's the problem. Besides ice-attributed metals, I can't even do basic purification with other metals."
"During the last assessment, the examiner asked me to forge a piece of ordinary deep silver… I got a zero directly."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena suddenly covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking slightly.
Lu Jun spread his hands:
"Go ahead and laugh."
Either zero or a hundred, no one else was so specialized.
"I'm sorry…" Gu Yuena tried hard to keep a straight face. "I don't usually laugh so easily."
Leng Yulai quietly approached from a distance.
"You two little ones, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but time is a bit pressing."
"You should go to the mecha design side for your studies," Leng Yulai looked at Gu Yuena.
"And you, you also need to go to the Forging Association."
"Shigu (Martial Aunt), you're really strict," Lu Jun sighed.
Hearing him say that, Leng Yulai put on a stern face:
"Less nonsense. I'm currently responsible for protecting you. However, in some ways, I should thank you."
"Why?"
"Because protecting you is much easier than dealing with the branch tower master's affairs," Leng Yulai shrugged.
"An easy and pleasant job, where I can even slack off a bit. Who wouldn't like that?"
"…"
…
The metal building of the Mingdu Forging Association shimmered with a cold light under the sun, the entire structure towering like a colossal sword piercing the clouds.
Lu Jun looked up, the surface of the towering building adorned with soul tool patterns, symbolizing its authoritative position in the forging world.
Speaking of which, he still didn't know who was at the Forging Association in Mingdu.
He only knew that in the original work, the Douluo Continent's only Divine Craftsman, Zhen Hua, was at the Forging Association in Heaven Dou City.
If he could get guidance from a Divine Craftsman… his Four-Word Dou Armor would be settled.
Alas, he just didn't know if he would be that lucky.
Plus, his specialization was too severe; it was hard to say if a Divine Craftsman would even take notice of him.
"Don't be nervous." Leng Yulai seemed to sense Lu Jun's emotions, patting his shoulder, her beautiful eyes filled with encouragement. "Just treat it as a regular practice."
Stepping through the revolving door, a spacious and bright hall came into view.
At the service desk in the center, a woman in uniform was smiling as she greeted visitors.
"Hello, how may I help you two?"
The woman's voice was sweet, her gaze lingering on Lu Jun for a few more seconds.
It was rare to see a child who looked no more than eight or nine years old appear at the Forging Association.
Leng Yulai stepped forward:
"The Level 3 Forging Master assessment booked last week, candidate Lu Jun."
The woman's smile instantly froze, her fingers rapidly sliding across the soul tool screen:
"Lu… Lu Jun? That nine-year-old child? But wasn't he last time…" She suddenly covered her mouth, quickly grabbing her communicator. "I apologize, I was rude. Please wait a moment, I will report this to the higher-ups immediately."
"Is that really necessary?"
Lu Jun found the past unbearable to recall.
"I only failed the Level 3 Forging Master assessment three times…"
It was too painful to talk about.
None of those three assessment contents were related to ice-attributed metals.
This led to him being severely scolded by the examiners at the time.
They said his forging teacher was useless, and that an inexperienced little brat like him came to join the fun, and so on.
In short, it left the people at the Forging Association with a bad impression of him.
They thought he was both weak and arrogant, too presumptuous.
"Hahahahaha."
Leng Yulai couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"My sister told me you caused quite a stir here, so it seems it's true."
Lu Jun lowered his head.
He couldn't face anyone.
He was still very confident in his cultivation; at nine years old, being a Level 31 Soul Master, it was no exaggeration to say he defeated ninety-nine percent of his peers.
But as for his second profession…
Unless it was related to ice-attributes, he was truly hopeless.
"You two." The front desk woman hurried over, her attitude much more respectful. "Please follow me, the examiner is already waiting for you."
"It's not… the same examiner as last time, is it?"
Lu Jun's mouth twitched.
He had been scolded so badly last time that Lu Jun even had psychological trauma.
If not for Leng Yaozhu's kind persuasion, telling him that this was something a Dou Armor Master must experience.
Otherwise, Lu Jun would rather die than do forging or mecha manufacturing.
"Of course not. This time, the one personally assessing you is the President," the front desk woman whispered.
"The President?"
Lu Jun and Leng Yulai exchanged glances.
"Is it Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua, Your Excellency?"
Lu Jun asked subconsciously.
"…The Divine Craftsman is in Heaven Dou City, not with us," Leng Yulai raised her hand and flicked Lu Jun's forehead.
"In Mingdu, the President of the Forging Association is President Gu Chenyu, an Eight-Level Saint Craftsman. Among Saint Craftsmen, he is the one most likely to approach the Divine Craftsman."
"?"
It appeared.
An unfamiliar name!
He wasn't a character from the original work, so he knew nothing about him, did he?
Lu Jun looked bewildered. After being led to the assessment location, he finally met the unfamiliar President as he wished.
A tall, thin middle-aged man, who, upon seeing Leng Yulai, seemed surprised:
"Oh, it's actually you, Dark Phoenix, Your Excellency. What a rare guest."
"Blood Demon, Your Excellency, I apologize for the disturbance." Leng Yulai smiled, speaking a name that stunned Lu Jun, then raised her hand and patted Lu Jun's shoulder.
"This is my sister's disciple. He's here for the Level 3 Forging Master assessment today, so I'll leave him to you."
Lu Jun: "(_?)"
Wait.
Hold on.
Is something not quite right?
Lu Jun slowly raised his head, his expression very stiff, looking at the middle-aged man. He strongly resisted the urge to turn around and slip away.
Blood Demon… Your Excellency?
Could this guy be the Dark Blood Demon, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's One Emperor, Two Emperors, and Four Heavenly Kings?
How did he suddenly become a Saint Craftsman???