Astral Douluo

(POV Tang Xingxi)-->

After we got in our room, my brother started freaking out over how much money he would have to pay to repair the room. After a while to rest and recover, we decided our respective areas. My brother and Zhou Zhangxi would be on the left side where the top bunk was broken. Zhangxi took the top bunk, 'Hahaha! Retribution!' and my brother took the bottom, intact one. Xie Xie and Zi Hui are using the middle area with Xie Xie on top and I'm with Yun Xiao who's staying in the upper bunk.

After settling in, Xie Xie challenges me, my brother and Zi Hui to fight individually at separate dates. He failed to get Zi Hui on board with him, but my brother and I obliged seeing as he was going to pay the reparations.

Right after that, Zhangxi challenged me and my brother to an eating contest. As you would expect, he was flabbergasted at how much my brother ate. Actually, I think I'm more surprised than he is because I ate twice what Tang Wulin ate! I think that would be the bloodlines at work though.

When I finished, both of them looked at me like I was a monster. Oh well.

After eating, I reminded him that Mang Tian wanted us to meet Cen Yue at the blacksmith association to sign up. He even gave us letters to qualify.

We then went around asking for inquiries and eventually figured out how to get there. Walking on foot for about half an hour, we arrived.

The Blacksmith's Association was easily recognizable with its grey coloured building and height of thirty floors along with, at the very top, a design of a hammer. With this design, there wasn't even a need to engrave the association's name onto a plate.

Admiring the building, my brother and I walked through the big glass doors on the first floor and were immediately faced with a ten-meter tall wall with an eight-meter tall golden hammer sculpture on it.

Walking around the wall, we found the lounge. The lounge on the first floor was very spacious and empty. There were only two young ladies dressed in grey at the reception desk.

"Little brother and sister, who are you looking for?" When they saw us walk towards them, one of the two ladies who had a sweet looking appearance took the initiative to stand up and greet us.

Tang Wulin bashfully said, "M-me and my brother here to take the blacksmith's ranking test."

"Hee? Come again?" said the lady with a distraught face.

He said that I, his brother, and he would like to take the ranking exam. We were also told to look for someone called Grandmaster Cen Yue." (TX)

The two women, not expecting the blue-haired beauty with amber coloured eyes was a boy and definitely not expecting us to say that we were looking for Cen Yue to take the ranking exam just stood there like statues for a few seconds before the one who was talking to us said, "A-are you sure you're supposed to meet Grandmaster Cen Yue?"

"Yes, we are! We even have letters from our master!" I say whilst handing mine over to the lady.

"Me too," my brother says as he hands his.

"One moment please," the lady says before speaking into her communicator and reading the letters, "Sir Cen Yue, there are two boys looking for you…En. They are both wearing plain clothes…They said their master told them to find you. Their master even wrote letters…Hmm, let's see, oh their master is someone called Mang Tian…Yes…What! Hmm, alright."

She put the phone down right after that and said, "Alright kids, looks like you are going to meet with Grandmaster Cen Yue now. My name is Yun Xiaoling. Grandmaster Cen Yue's room is on the 15th floor. Come, I'll lead you to his room.

"Okay," my brother and I said before getting on a soul elevator.

<-------------------- a few minutes later -------------------->

(POV Cen Yue)-->

Putting the phone down, I sigh to myself. 'What the hell are you up to now Mang Tian.'

"Hello?" the secretary says as she opens the door. With her came two young children. The first one is a black-haired cheerfull looking youth. 'Well, he certainly looks pretty,' I think to myself. Now, as for the second one. 'Hmm, let's see, nice blue hair, long eyelashes…What!'

"Um, Secretary, are you sure that these two are boys?" I said pointing at the two youths who came with her, my face contorting.

"Yes. The blue-haired one shocked me a lot too actually," she replied. I was in so much shock that I didn't even notice the blue-haired one basically screaming at me to assert his gender.

Putting my hand on my head, I look at the two 'boys.' Other than their actual appearances, it seems that their muscles are well-toned. The black-haired one seems a bit worried while the blue-haired one looks angry. Well, I would too if someone called me a girl. Overall though, they don't seem all too worried about the test itself.

(POV Tang Wulin)-->

"What did he just call me?! Did he just call me a girl! Tell him to…" (TX)

"Hah," I could only sigh at my brother's antics. 'Well, it isn't his fault he looks like a girl' I think to myself. After taking a few seconds, my brother stopped yapping and the Grandmaster started talking.

(POV Cen Yue)-->

"Mang Tian, that guy had always set his eyes on surpassing the peak, yet he actually took in such a young disciple like you. Let's go then. I'll bring you to take the blacksmith's ranking test." (CY)

Living in the world of metal, we blacksmiths are completely unconcerned about other worldly matters. 'I'm really unconvinced Mang Tian accepted such young disciples. Oh well, the ranking test would verify everything.

"Grandmaster, I'll go back down then." (YX)

"Alright," I said as Yun Xiaoling smiled at the two once more before heading off.

Bringing the two youths, presumably brothers, out of the room, we entered the soul elevator. I pressed the button for the third floor where the rank-up examinations were held.

As the elevator descended, I turned to them and said, "Little guys, Mang Tian never told me what rank you were. Would you guys mind telling me?"

The blue-haired one shook his head and said, "Teacher never really told us rank we were. He just told me to go as high as I could and my brother to start accepting tasks."

'So they are brothers. Wait, his brother can accept tasks?' I was surprised because, in order to accept tasks, it meant that his brother was at least a rank 2 blacksmith. Rank 1 blacksmiths weren't able to directly accept tasks. Instead, a higher rank blacksmith had to accept the task and assign some of the work to them.

I was about to ask if they understood how blacksmith ranks were organized until he dropped another bomb on me!

"Actually, teacher also told me that I also should be able to do tasks." (TX)

Pffft! 'Wha-what did he just say? He should also be able to accept tasks? He's higher than rank 2?'

"Umm, are you okay?" the youth said.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I said. However, if I knew what was going through that kid's head right now, I would be spitting blood.

(POV Tang Xingxi)-->

'Yes, be shocked! I'll break the president's record of being rank 2 at age 8. Muahahahaha!'

(POV Cen Yue)-->

Recomposing myself, I asked, "Alright. So, do you understand how blacksmith ranks are organized?"

The kid's other brother nodded. "Teacher said that blacksmiths are divided into nine ranks. Rank 1 and 2 blacksmiths are Master ranks. Ranks 3 and 4 are Grandmaster. Ranks 5 and 6 are Master Craftsmen. Ranks 7 and 8 are Saint Craftsmen and at the very peak of rank 9, they are Divine Craftsmen."

"En," I said whilst nodding.

Right at that moment, the elevator had reached the third floor.

(POV Tang Xingxi)-->

Compared to the tranquil fifteenth floor, the third floor of the Blacksmith's Association was much noisier. The sound of metal hitting metal filled the hall.

Cen Yue brought me and my brother to the front desk and said to the staff member, "Open up the testing room for me and ask a surveyor to come over."

"Grandmaster Cen, is this your disciple? He's so young! Is he even 12 years old?" The staff member said as he curiously looked at me and my brother.

Taking some forms from the staff member and handing them to me, Cen Yue told us to full out our basic circ.u.mstances.

After filling them out, I and my brother handed them back.

(POV Cen Yue)-->

Reading along from the side as they fill it out. "Tang Wulin and Tang Xingxi. Born in Glorybound City. Both nine years old. Eastsea Academy's intermediate division. First grade. You boys are only nine years old?"

'They were only nine years old yet they were coming to take the blacksmith's test. This hadn't happened in the Blacksmith's Association for many, many years. Historically, the youngest testee had been eight years and six months old! Moreover, that person was now working on the Blacksmith Association's 30th floor. That person was a once-in-a-lifetime blacksmithing genius!' I thought whilst holding my chin.

'If they pass, what the f*** would that signify?'

I thought about this with even more interest because Tang Wulin had previously said that Mang Tian let him accept tasks directly. That meant both these children were at least rank 2 blacksmiths. This was a record-breaking achievement!

The staff member said, "Grandmaster Cen, testing room three is open."

Snapped out of my stupor, I told the boys, "Okay. That's our room. Let's go!"

"Alright!" (TX/ TW)

(POV Tang Wulin)-->

"Alright!" me and my brother said. Walking towards the room, I started to focus my mind.

Entering the forging room, I breathed a sigh of relief. 'Whew, at least something's familiar here.' This area looks similar to my own. I wonder how my brother's feeling.

"Grandmaster Cen Yue, you've personally brought people to take the test! I just heard that these children are only nine years old. If they were just a bit younger, they would be able to attack the President's record." said a middle-aged woman who I assumed was the surveyor of the test. 'It's just like my brother said'

"We can talk after the test." (CY)

She nodded and looked towards me. "So, which one of you two are going first? There are 16 kinds of metal here. Pick one of them to purify. I will grade you based on the metal you choose and the degree of purification. If your score surpasses 60, then you'll earn the title of a rank 1 blacksmith."

"I'll go first," I said, walking towards the metals arranged on the stand. On the stand lay sixteen different metals. Each and every one of them was one-third of a meter squared. They had all sorts of colours and qualities.

Sweeping my gaze over them, I instantly recognized what I had to work with. After some pondering, I picked a metal from the middle of the shelf. It twinkled with a faint silver light.

"I choose this chunk of Heavy Silver," I said as I picked up the Heavy Silver and placed it on the forging table without making the slightest sound. Looking at the Grandmaster and surveyor, they looked very shocked.

"Masters, may I begin now?" I said.

"You may begin. You have one hour to finish. Purify it as much as you can. The degree of its purification will determine your score," the lady said.

"Alright!" Removing any needless thoughts, I began to work.

Starting up the forging table and increasing its temperature, I put the Heavy Silver inside and began calcining it.

Taking in deep breaths and stretching, I started to adjust the soul power within my body.

Gradually adjusting my breathing. I sharpened my gaze on the metal.

'3,2,1, Now!' My left hand quickly pressed the button, bringing it out of the forging table at just the right temperature.

Shaking my arms slightly, Teacher's Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers fell on my hands. Lifting my arm, I tapped the piece of heavy silver. Listening to it. Intently.

'Right…Now!' I thought as I lifted my right arm, then hammered down with lightning speed, golden veins slightly appearing on my body. The whole forging room was filled with a whistling sound and in the next instant, the tungsten hammers in my hand heavily landed on the chunk of Heavy Silver.

Peng! The tungsten hammers sang a note as the Heavy Silver depressed inwards a bit.

My eyes shined. I raised up my left hand and quickly followed. Peng! Another boom resounded in the room.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Hammering with all my might, I felt the familiar veins. The similarities. The essence of what made this metal "Heavy Silver."

Completely focused, everything around me turned dark. My vision tunnelled. Sights, locked on the red hot piece of metal.

The force of the rebound from my hand. The sweat forming on my arms which then fell into an abyss I could not feel. My muscles contracting, the metal bending, I felt it all.

(POV Cen Yue)-->

'W-w-what the f***!'

'T-this kid.'

'First, he picked a chunk of Heavy Silver weighing 30 kilograms, carried it effortlessly and placed it on the table without making so much as a squeak! Then, he proceeded to take two Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers to hammer the metal! From the first strike, he already passed the first test! Look at him! He doesn't even seem to have trouble handling those! Those hammers weigh 40 kilograms! 40! And look at his goddamn focus! Mang Tian…what kind of monster did you create.' I thought while looking at the kid refine.

I didn't even notice that I had dropped my book by then and that the woman behind me was holding her glasses and looking at him with a face of pure stupification.

Looking at the kid's brother, he was just smiling, probably only half-paying attention to his brother as he was listening to music from his i-pod.

(POV Mu Chen)-->

Putting my 12-year-old daughter in the examination room for her 2nd rank blacksmith badge, I then proceeded to walk out before hearing the sound of some extremely rhythmic and harmonious smithing.

Going to a nearby staff member, I asked, "Has someone come to take the fourth rank blacksmith's test?"

The staff member replied dumbfoundedly, "No?"

Pondering on it, I followed the sounds of the forging and quickly arrived at room number 3. This forging room had exceptional soundproofing abilities, yet, the sound would still escape through the door.

This type of forging sound could only come from forging an uncommon, high-density metal. Moreover, every strike didn't create any noise, signifying how accurate these strikes were. Thus, those intensive and powerful collisions meant that the blacksmith was using Thousand Refined hammers.

Thinking about who was in the room, I walked to the front desk and asked, "What is the name of the examinee in room 3?"

Almost immediately, the staff looked through their files and said, "The examinee's names are Tang Wulin and Tang Xingxi. They were recommended here by Grandmaster Cen Yue. Tang Wulin currently being tested, and his brother is going next," they said whilst passing me a copy of Tang Wulin and Tang Xingxi's forms.

"I say, who else other than someone recommended from Old Cen would be able to enter a state of harmonization in the midst of an examination? Ah! Nine years old? BOTH OF THEM?" (MC) - not mc. Mu Chen. I repeat, MU CHEN. Not MC.

In disbelief, I asked, "Are you sure this isn't a mistake of some sort? This examinee is only nine years old?"

The staff confirmed immediately. "That's right. We had doubts about it previously too. I couldn't believe that two children that young would come for a ranking test."

Suppressing my urge to barge in that room right at this moment, I said, "Tell me when that kid's test is over. I may not get to see that kid, Tang Wulin's, but at least I'll be able to see his brother."

'Oh, This is going to be interesting'

(POV Tang Wulin)-->

Boom! A three-fold violent boom to resound throughout the room. The chunk of Heavy Silver that I had been refining reduced in volume by half of its original and its dark red colouring was quickly fading away. In its place was an overflowing dark cloudy pattern. signifying the completion of thousand refinement.

With a flash of light, the two hammers by my side vanished. I was panting heavily, but other than that, I was pretty much fine.

Machines fell from the ceiling which then proceeded to analyse the metal I just refined. I looked at the screen in front of me after it retracted the machines from the metal.

(POV Cen Yue)-->

"Heavy Silver. Purification exceeding Thousand Refinements. Volume reduction of 20 percent. State of purification – Thousand Refined, five times. The evaluation has passed. Congratulations Tang Wulin, you are now a rank 3 blacksmith," the surveyor said.

"Mang Tian did this on purpose," I muttered under my breath.

Shocked upon hearing my remark, the surveyor said, "This kid, he's a disciple of Mang Tian?"

Nodding my head, I replied, "I couldn't believe it either. Both of them are actually. But I now confirm that the kid is more than eligible for the second rank test."

"Kid, other than metal purification, do you have other skills?" I asked, "You need them, otherwise, you're only going to be a pseudo-third rank blacksmith"

"I can forge some basic small and medium-sized components," Tang Wulin described earnestly.

After asking him to forge a medium part, to nobody's surprise, he completed it flawlessly. I was about to ask Tang Xingxi to start when suddenly, a well-built man entered the room.

He was a majestic man in his 40's. Dressed in silver-grey clothes, he wore a badge on the pit of his stomach. The badge is golden in colour and has a protruding hammer design and a total of eight black stars above the hammer.

My face turning blank I scream in my mind, 'What the f*** is the president doing here!'

(POV Tang Xingxi)-->

'Hmm, so that's the president,'

I remove one of my earphones and turn off the i-pod as the president says, "Don't mind me, I'm just spectating," while waving his arms in front of his body.

After a few awkward seconds of silence, Cen Yue went up to me and said, "Tang Xingxi, start forging. You said you would go as far as possible so just forge a medium-sized part. Oh, Tang Wulin! Get off the podium! Your brother's going to forge!"

"Alright!" he said as he got off the podium, "Good Luck bro!"

"Thanks!" I said to my brother as I passed him on the podium. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the president stand by the side of Cen Yue.

(POV Mu Chen)-->

"Hmm, Cen Yue. You said he's reaching as high as possible. How high do you expect that to be?" (MC)

"The third rank at least." (CY)

In shock, I look towards him for an explanation only to hear him say, "No, considering his brother just got rank 3 and he seems to be better than his brother, definitely above rank 3."

I was about to say something, but before anything could leave my mouth, the surveyor said, "Alright, the test starts now. There are now fifteen metals on the counter. Pick your metal and the timer will start when you put it on the forging table."

At that point, I stopped talking. One of the rules I made: When in the forging room. When an examination is ongoing, no one is allowed to interfere or make a distraction. Talking and having conversations aren't allowed either.

(POV Tang Xingxi)-->

Looking around at the selection, my eyes and heart were focused on a pure silver chunk of metal. It shined with a 5-coloured brilliance and I felt a faint connection to it.

Picking it up and knocking on it a bit, it felt 5 times harder, heavier and stronger than Heavy Silver. Teacher mentioned this type of metal before, but he also said it's almost impossible to forge. I decided to use the music to my advantage now to help boost my rank. 'Hehe, this will be fun' I think to myself as I pick the metal up and place it on the table soundlessly. Just like my brother.

Looking at their stupified faces, I say, "I choose this piece of 5-color Starlight Chromium."

Ignoring the would-be gawking if not for everyone's composure, I put the piece of shining metal in the calcining table, put my earphones on and switched on the i-pod. Hearing Fate/stay night: [Unlimited Blade Works] OST, I started immersing myself into it.

(POV Mu Chen)-->

'What is he doing? Why is he listening to music and why the hell did he pick that metal? It's supposed to be a trap for inexperienced and in discerning newbies!' I asked Cen Yue telepathically.

'I have no idea myself, but looking at his brother's smile, I know that we're in for a show.' (CY)

Seeing my friend's grin get wider and wider, I decided to kick back and watch it with him.

(POV Tang Xingxi)-->

Hearing the music change to Zenitsu's theme, I opened my eyes. They were focused. Only on the forging table, on my hammers, on my body, on the metal and on my spirit did my focus lie. I exhaled slowly, releasing a small cloud of gas from both sides of my mouth.

Feeling the metal resonate with me, I quickly pressed the button on the forging table. The metal shot out about a foot into the air leaving behind a small trail of smoke.

Quickly releasing my spirit, I used the second ring to summon my hammers. Coming out, a formation of stars moved in front of me before forming one hammer made of interconnected stars.

I grabbed the hammer and threw it upwards before catching it with both hands, then tearing it apart forming two identical hammers.

The piece of metal just fell on the table now and bounced on its left side about an inch of the ground.

Right at this moment, I lifted the hammer in my right hand and let the metal bounce a few more times.

When it made its last bounce, I slammed my hammer down as hard as possible.

Dang! A shockwave occurred, and the metal split apart into many multicoloured and silver grains connected by small but powerful strands of electricity. However, it didn't affect the room. Instead, the shockwave went back inwards and the grains, connected by the lightning reformed into a small, silver ingot with many colours blindingly shining off of it.

All this happened within a split second and the hammer didn't even get the chance to touch the table before it was flung back by the reconstructed metal.

Not giving anyone in the room time to react, I grinned. Lifting my left hand, I slammed down again.

Dang!