Chapter 344 – Dispelling Doubts
Making a one-word battle armor at their level called for surpassing their limits. If Tang Wulin and his group didn’t stand united, this would all be a pipe dream.
However, it was clear that neither Wu Siduo nor Luo Guixing respected Tang Wulin. This was natural since he was the class president, the position making him the target of much attention and hostility in his class.
Do I really want all of this?
But Tang Wulin wasn’t one to shrink back from his responsibilities. Now that he was the class president, he would do his best to fulfill the role no matter the challenges.
He patted Gu Yue on the shoulder, conveying to her that he didn’t need her to speak up for him. He approached Luo Guixing’s side and took a seat.
“You’re very strong and good at commanding. But you can’t deny that right now, I am the first grade’s class president,” Tang Wulin said quietly.
Luo Guixing’s brows arched. “So what?”
Tang Wulin smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “It’s nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that you have no chance of taking my position this semester. You’re a smart person, so you should know internal strife will just set us all back. Even if you don’t respect me, you still have to cooperate with me. We are in the same group currently, a team, and we’re also the first grade’s class council. Cultivating is like rowing a boat upstream. It’s not easy and takes a lot of effort. If we want to exceed our peers, then we need to discard our grudges and focus on cultivating.
“I guarantee you that as a blacksmith, I’ll treat everyone equally and forge to the best of my ability. I will work myself to the bone to meet everyone’s expectations, especially so we can succeed in making one-word battle armor. I will also promise you that by the end of the semester, we will all have several pieces of battle armor. We will all be on the same stage when it comes to that. So if you plan to snatch the class president seat from me, work hard. Grow and improve. Then come next semester, try to defeat me.”
He left Luo Guixing alone to mull over those words and made his way to Wu Siduo.
Because she had a good pair of ears and sat not too far from Luo Guixing, Wu Siduo had heard everything Tang Wulin said. She raised her head as he drew near, eyes fixed on him.
“I’m the one to blame for this battle’s loss.” Tang Wulin returned her stare, the words leaving his lips steady and unfaltering. “I didn’t coordinate properly with everyone and underestimated Teacher Wu’s strength. We might not be friends, but we have to be comrades. So, I’ll be honest with you. I’m not a fourth-rank blacksmith. I’m actually a fifth-rank one.”
That statement brought all sorts of shivers down her spine.
Catching sight of her reaction, Tang Wulin broke into a smile. “Becoming friends with me, someone who could be a Divine Blacksmith in the future, is a good idea. After all, our goal is four-word battle armor in the future, right?”
He extended his hand to Wu Siduo. After a moment of hesitation, she took it and gave it a firm shake.
“Today after class, I’ll go forge the metal for our battle armors.”
As they drew back their hands, a voice sounded off to their side.
“What you said was right,” Luo Guixing said as he walked over, clearly finished with his thoughts.
Tang Wulin turned to face him. This time, Luo Guixing took the initiative to offer his hand. “You are the class president and our group’s leader. But if you ever make a mistake, then you’ll have to take responsibility. I’ll be waiting for that time to come.”
Tang Wulin accepted his gesture. “Thank you for your encouragement.”
Their gazes clashed in the air, sparks firing off all around. Despite Luo Guixing’s arrogant nature, he had no choice but to concede, for he couldn’t face off against Tang Wulin at this moment. He had to get stronger. Luo Guixing’s number one priority was always improving himself after all. If he couldn’t outclass Tang Wulin during their time in the outer court, then he would never stand at the peak.
Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Wu Siduo were all targets for him to surpass.
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin beckoned Gu Yue over to him.
He released Luo Guixing’s hand and placed his own face down in the center.
Gu Yue dropped her hand above his with practiced movements. Wu Siduo and Luo Guixing exchanged a glance before adding their hands on top of the pile.
Shen Yi, who had been paying attention to their group since the beginning of the battle, curved her lips into a satisfied smile as she watched the four finally attaining group solidarity.
Challenges aren’t scary, but not knowing how to overcome them is. I have no doubt that Tang Wulin doesn’t lack in that regard. Senior brother’s judgement was correct. He’s a born leader.
As the rest of the battles rolled by, Tang Wulin’s group watched them carefully. The group immediately after them also chose Wu Zhangkong. Afterward, some decided to try their chances with Shen Yi. They were all crushed in the end.
Only Xu Yucheng and Yang Nianxia’s groups lasted more than a few minutes.
Both Wu Zhangkong and Shen Yi had seven soul rings. As Soul Sages, the soul power they consumed to defeat the students was but a drop in the ocean.
Following this exercise in group combat, the students came to acknowledge the two teachers’ might. They were all powerless before the two.
After combat class, everyone had made various gains and losses from the battles, but neither Shen Yi nor Wu Zhangkong stepped forward to comment. They simply ended classes for the day.
This was Shrek Academy’s teaching style. Students were left to ponder and comprehend on their own without excessive pointers from others. Whether the students could identify the problem and come up with a solution was up to them.
Only those who could walk this path to the very end were called true geniuses.
“Let’s grab lunch before we discuss making the battle armors.” Tang Wulin had grabbed hold of Luo Gui Xing, Wu Siduo, and Gu Yue as soon as class ended. Together, the four of them made for the dining hall.
Tang Wulin’s bottomless pit of a stomach shocked their two new companions. By the time he finished eating, Wu Siduo was staring at the mountain of dishes, face pallid and taut. “How can you eat this much? Who raised you like this?”
“It’s none of your business,” Gu Yue blurted out.
Seated to the side, Luo Guixing moved his gaze to Tang Wulin then to Gu Yue. And he got the picture.
At the same time, Wu Siduo glared at Gu Yue, cold enough to freeze. Just as she was about to speak out, Tang Wulin interrupted. “Let’s go. We need to rent a room. There are lots of workshops at the Blacksmith’s Association, so let’s just rent one there and use it as our base.”
Making battle armors was definitely their top priority at the moment, and the four left for the Blacksmith’s Association. Tang Wulin found Feng Wuyu when they got there, quickly going over the purpose of their visit.
“Mn. Alright. I’ll give you kids a room. It’ll cost you kids one thousand contribution points every month,” Feng Wuyu said with a smile.
“Thank you, Teacher.”
Tang Wulin made to leave with his companions, but Feng Wuyu suddenly grabbed his arm. “Wait. I’ll give you two hours. After that, come find me. We’ll go over forging. You don’t have any time to waste, right?”
“Alright, alright. Two hours should be enough.” Tang Wulin smiled wryly.
He feared the crazed light gleaming in Feng Wuyu’s eyes. This teacher of his was unpredictable to the extreme! However, he couldn’t help but be curious about what Feng Wuyu would teach him now that he was capable of attempting spirit refining again. Two hours was more than enough time to thousand-refine some metal.
Although Tang Wulin already had heavy silver and magic silver in stock, Wu Siduo and Luo Guixing had just chosen their metals at the Blacksmith’s Association.
Wu Siduo’s was stygian iron, a rare darkness-attribute metal with a chilling aura of gloom. Its nature was peculiar and few could use it properly. As a result, it was fairly inexpensive.
Luo Guixing chose thousand moment copper, a space-attribute metal. It was perfect for him, and wasn’t too pricey for a mid-grade metal.
Tang Wulin could barely conceal his approval of their selections. No one had overestimated their abilities and chosen top-grade metals beyond what they could use. Doing so would have severely hindered the battle-armor-making process, no matter how well he could forge the metals.