Everyone became vigilant. They watched Elder Cai with a burning gaze.
Elder Cai spoke with a deep voice, “Firstly, all of you must head for military service by yourselves this time. The first task is for all of you to arrive there safely. I’ll be giving you a map so that you can locate it.”
“Secondly, for the purpose of tempering yourselves, all your daily necessities and money will be confiscated other than your battle armor. Of course, items used to forge battle armor are exempted.”
“Thirdly, all of you must obey orders without question once you’ve arrived. If anyone were to leave the training without permission, you’ll be treated as a deserter so you’ll be expelled from the academy as well.”
The more Tang Wulin listened, the more suspicious he felt. “Elder Cai, in that case, what do we do if we wish to withdraw from the training?”
Elder Cai answered, “You must hand in your application to prove that your body is genuinely unable to withstand anymore and only then will you be allowed to withdraw yourself. Do you understand?”
Tang Wulin gave a forced smile and spoke, “It sounds like this is an extremely tough situation.”
Elder Cai smiled. She smiled in a manner that appeared even crueler than Elder Yun the other day. “Tough? All of you have looked down upon this military training. Be prepared. We named the path to the military training ground after the Holy Ice Douluo and Dragon Butterly Douluo’s martial soul fusion skill. It’s called the ‘Gold Path’. All of you must first pass through the Gold Path and arrive at the training ground. As for the rest, you’ll find out when you’re there. Now, Tang Wulin please come forward and retrieve the map.”
Tang Wulin walked in great strides to Elder Cai and received a map. “I’ll give you half an hour’s time to remove everything unrelated to battle armor, with the exception of weapons. I’ll inspect all of you half an hour later before you can depart. You’re not allowed to bring money, of course. You must depend on yourselves for everything.”
Tang Wulin and the group of Shrek Seven Monsters hastily went to make preparations. Zhuo Shi walked out from a dark corner afar and arrived next to Elder Cai’s side. “Aren’t you being a little too cruel?”
Elder Cai shrugged. “This is not my but the Pavilion Master’s order this time. However, acting cruelly to these young fellows can actually be a good thing, as at least it helps them to walk a little further. Oh yes, how long did you manage to withstand back then?”
Zhuo Shi shrugged. “Nine months, how about you?”
Elder Cai gave a grunt, but she did not utter a word.
Zhuo Shi sniggered. “Not as long as mine right? Nine months is already an extremely impressive result. Other than those perverts, who else is capable of completing all the subjects persistently?”
Elder Cai smiled. “You’re right, but I’ll be sure to pass on your words to those perverts.”
“Yue’er, what are you having for dinner tonight? My treat.”
Tang Wulin did not have too many items to bring anyway. Other than his battle armor, there was only his forging hammer that was related to battle armor. As for the rest, he chose to leave behind.
Fortunately, he had already forged all the metals needed for his companions to fabricate their battle armors. He brought some rare metals as well, so he could use them to practice forging.
The military training sounded tough, but in reality, Tang Wulin was not feeling especially concerned. After all, the training plan he set for himself was already difficult. He believed that if someone was capable of withstanding the military training, then he could do it as well for certain.
The inspection before leaving the academy was even more meticulous than imagined. However, it was apparent that Tang Wulin’s group of seven did not have any intentions of cheating. The inspection was completed quite quickly, and then they left the academy.
According to the requirements, they must arrive at the military training location within fifteen days. Otherwise, they would be disqualified from entering military service. The result of being disqualified from the military was that one would be expelled from the academy and even stripped from the title of Shrek Seven Monsters.
Having not left the academy for six months, Tang Wulin felt like he was in another world as he walked out.
He stretched his body strenuously when he suddenly felt a gush of lethargy.
No matter how strong and healthy his body was, his energy was being drained in a large amount due to the painstaking cultivation he was forcing himself through every day. A person’s spiritual power and physical strength could not completely represent a person’s entire physical and mental efforts or the fatigue of one’s inner heart.
His tightly coiled strings seemed to have relaxed when he left the academy. Tang Wulin’s feelings of tiredness arose spontaneously and naturally.
“Captain, what do we do now? Are we walking there?” Yue Zhengyu asked. They had already changed into their own clothes. Yue Zhengyu was dressed in all white sportswear to match his head full of golden hair. He appeared elegant and unconventional.
His face was lacking his usual smile. His entire person seemed to have become steadier and more introverted over the past six months. He had spent most of his time in closed-door cultivation, just like Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin said, “It’s definitely not realistic for us to walk. According to the map, it’s impossible that we can get to the place on time within fifteen days even if we were to devote all our efforts. Let’s go. I have a way to make us money. Let’s do that before we depart immediately.”
Making money was always a very easy task for Tang Wulin. He specialized in the technical skills of forging, so it was always his number one choice. Moreover, he would like to pay a visit to his teacher too.
When Tang Wulin arrived at the Shrek City Blacksmith’s Association, an amicable feeling arose in his heart. He had only paid a visit to Teacher Mu Chen once before he entered closed-door cultivation for half a year. Mu Chen gifted Tang Wulin his notes that recorded his own soul forging experience, and now Tang Wulin had accumulated a bunch of inquiries.
Every saint craftsman had his or her own path on the road to soul forging. Feng Wuyu had Feng Wuyu’s path, while Mu Chen’s path was comparatively more orthodox. The combination and mutual corroboration between the orthodox and unorthodox had greatly improved Tang Wulin’s understanding of soul forging.
Tang Wulin’s arrival was a joyous surprise for Mu Chen. The boy standing before Mu Chen was already an elegant, handsome youth. Mu Chen could not help cracking a smile upon seeing him.
“You seemed to have grown a little taller and also appear even stronger. Only that you look a little tired,” Mu Chen said with a smile on his face.
Tang Wulin gave a forced smile. “I didn’t realize that I was tired until I left the academy. Teacher, the academy made an arrangement for us to engage in a long trial. I’ll be leaving for a long time possibly. So I’m here to visit you before I leave, and also…”
At this point, he scratched his head. “The academy is imposing many limitations on us this time, so all our money had to be left in the academy. Thus, I thought of coming to the association to see if there’s any forging mission that I can accept immediately so I can make some traveling fees.”
Mu Chen burst out laughing. “This is not a big matter. However, Teacher can’t just give you money immediately due to Shrek Academy’s requirement. Given that, pick a type of metal yourself and forge it to the highest level you can achieve now, and then let me take a look at what your standard for forging has become over the past six months. In the end, the federation will purchase the metal you forged at the market rate. You’ll certainly make your traveling fees that way.”
“Sure,” Tang Wulin hastily answered.
Meanwhile, a familiar voice echoed from the door, “Father, I’m back!”
A gush of fragrant wind had already blown into the room before Tang Wulin could turn around. The scented body entered, and seeing that there were so many people standing in Mu Chen’s office, she was immediately stunned, but then she saw the person standing at the front.
She stopped walking immediately, and the expression on her face froze as well.
Tang Wulin had already turned around at that point. He smiled as he looked at the young maiden before him. “Senior disciple sister.”
Yes, the person who came was Mu Xi. Tang Wulin last met her before he headed to the Star Luo Empire. He took part in the Sea God Fated Date Festival when he came back, and then he was searching for Gu Yue everywhere. After that, he had entered closed-door cultivation.