"Son, the new intake for Donghai Primary Academy begins just a few days after Spirit Awakening Day," Xie Tianhai said, looking down at Xie Xie with a satisfied smile. "Stay home and cultivate this week. A lead like yours must be maintained with discipline."
Xie Xie shook his head, his eyes sparkling with a hidden intent. "Dad, I'd actually like to visit Aolai City first. Mom once told me it's a beautiful coastal town, and I want to see the ocean there before school starts."
Everything else could wait, but Aolai City was non-negotiable. If he wanted to intercept the "plot" and change the destiny of certain characters, he had to be there.
"Aolai City?" Xie Tianhai and Jiang Yun exchanged surprised glances, then nodded. They had lived there briefly in their youth and held fond memories of the quiet city.
"Since our son wants to go, we'll make a trip of it. We can stay a few days and return whenever we feel like it," Xie Tianhai laughed, patting his son's shoulder.
Luckily, my parents are the reasonable sort, Xie Xie grinned to himself.
If his memory of the original timeline served him, Tang Wulin would encounter Na'er shortly after Awakening Day. He needed to be in the right place at the right time.
That afternoon, the family arrived in Aolai City. When his parents moved to buy a luxury villa on the spot, Xie Xie quickly protested. After some "persuasion," he convinced them to stay at a high-end hotel near the commoners' quarter instead.
Tang Wulin lives around here, Xie Xie thought, pulling back the curtain of their hotel suite to look at the bustling streets below. If I let Mom and Dad buy that secluded villa, I'd likely never run into Na'er.
He sat on the bed, contemplating his Unparalleled System. On the journey over, he had deciphered its core mechanic. Unlike systems that nagged with tedious quests, his was a "passive-growth" model. The harder he cultivated, the more legendary items he encountered, and the more "Destiny Characters" he interacted with, the more the system would passively enhance his stats and bloodline.
It was a system designed for a powerhouse who took initiative.
Besides... he pondered, it's time I tried my hand at Forging.
Forging was the backbone of power in this era. Battle Armor required the finest metals, and being a Spirit Master who could forge his own equipment would provide an exponential boost to his development.
Aolai City has the perfect teacher for this, Xie Xie thought. Grandmaster Mang Tian.
"Mom, Dad, I want to go for a stroll," he called out.
The three of them stepped out onto the streets of Aolai. The salty sea breeze was similar to Donghai, but the atmosphere was slower, more nostalgic. Soon, Xie Xie spotted his target: a workshop with a heavy hammer emblem and five bold letters—Mang Tian Workshop.
The rhythmic, thunderous clang of metal being struck echoed through the walls.
"Dad, Mom, is that a forging studio?" Xie Xie feigned curiosity, pointing at the sign.
"Hmm? Indeed it is," Xie Tianhai said, his eyes narrowing with respect. "I know of the owner. Grandmaster Mang Tian is a prominent figure in the Blacksmith Association—a Sixth-Grade Forging Grandmaster. It's a pity his Spirit rank limited his growth, or he might have reached the Saint level by now."
As a high-ranking Mecha Creator, Xie Tianhai frequently collaborated with blacksmiths. He knew Mang Tian's reputation for being gruff but brilliant.
"Do you want to see what forging is like, Xiao Xie?" Jiang Yun asked with a smile.
Xie Xie nodded solemnly. "I'd like to try it."
The couple laughed, assuming it was just a child's whim, and followed him inside. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and heated metal. Shelves were stacked with heavy silver, tungsten steel, and rare ores.
By the central anvil, a massive, muscular man swung a hammer with terrifying precision. Each strike sent a shower of sparks flying, and the metal beneath the hammer seemed to groan and reshape itself.
Xie Xie watched intently, his Spirit Resonance mental force analyzing the vibrations. He watched as a dull piece of ore began to glow with a rhythmic pulse—the sign of Thousand Refinement.
"Sir, Madam, do you have a commission?" Mang Tian asked, setting his hammer down and wiping sweat from his brow. He looked past Xie Xie at the two adults, sensing their powerful auras.
Before they could speak, Xie Xie stepped forward. "Uncle, can I try?"
Mang Tian chuckled. Such a delicate-looking boy wanting to swing a blacksmith's hammer? "Kid, this isn't a toy. If you can even lift this hammer, I'll let you have a go."
He pointed to his personal tool, expecting the boy to fail. However, Xie Xie walked up and gripped the handle of the Sixth-Grade Fusion-Forged Heavy Silver Hammer.
Grgh—it's heavy, Xie Xie thought. Even with his evolved Dragon King bloodline, the weight was immense. This hammer weighed well over a hundred pounds.
But Xie Xie didn't just lift it. He hefted it into a ready position with a single, fluid motion.
"Uncle, you said I could try, right?"
Mang Tian's jaw nearly hit the floor. That wasn't an ordinary apprentice hammer; it was his personal tool, crafted from high-density heavy silver. For a six-year-old to lift it—let alone prepare a swing—implied a level of Innate Divine Force that defied logic.
"Go ahead... try," Mang Tian stammered, his eyes wide. He quickly placed a fresh chunk of tungsten steel on the anvil.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xie Xie swung. He didn't have refined technique yet, but he perfectly mimicked the rhythm he had just seen Mang Tian use. With every strike, the tungsten steel shivered, its impurities being forcibly driven out by raw, overwhelming power.
"Grandmaster Mang Tian," Jiang Yun asked, oblivious to the technical feat occurring, "does our son have talent?"
Mang Tian didn't answer immediately. He watched as the metal began to glow—not from the furnace, but from the sheer density of the strikes.
"Sir... Madam..." Mang Tian swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Has your son ever forged before?"
"Never," Jiang Yun replied.
Mang Tian looked at Xie Xie, then back at the glowing metal. His eyes burned with a fervor he hadn't felt in years.
"I think... I am looking at a future Divine Craftsman."