Silver light flashed, and Gu Yuena returned to her own room.

The blush on her face had already vanished, and had been replaced by a cold and aloof expression.

She cast her gaze out the window with a forlorn look in her eyes. He was in that direction, but what was she supposed to do?

She had already guessed that he would come, so why was her heart in such turmoil now?

......

Everyone on the streets was discussing the joust for a spouse, and photographs and posters of Gu Yuena were being sold like hotcakes. Such merchandise was only available for sale from the Spirit Pagoda, and it had granted some businesses the sales rights to some dealerships, making huge earnings during the process.

With the broadcasting fees, ticket sales, and registration fees that the Spirit Pagoda was receiving, it had basically broken even in this event. On top of that, only the Spirit Pagoda itself was aware of the cost price of man-made black soul spirits.

Overall, not only had this event nullified a lot of the controversy surrounding the Spirit Pagoda, they were profiting from it as well.

The Spirit Pagoda had prepared a large amount of lavish prizes, but they were basically all produced by the Spirit Pagoda itself with the soul spirits as the crown jewel, so the cost price was actually very low.

......

"Uncle-teacher." Tang Wulin extended a respectful bow toward the middle-aged man standing before him.

The middle-aged man smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I didn't think you would develop this quickly; you've already become a Titled Douluo in such a short time! Show me your battle armor."

"Yes," Tang Wulin replied before releasing his Dragon Moon Song battle armor.

The translucent suit of battle armor gave off a dream-like quality, and it was as if it had been entirely constructed from golden crystal.

The middle-aged man patted his breastplate, then tapped it with his fingers a few times, and a faint layer of light revolved over the surface of the suit of battle armor.

After that, the middle-aged man nodded with a pleased expression. "Everyone in our field of work is a perfectionist because only perfectionists can refine the best metals and create the best suits of battle armor; you've done very well in this regard. You've already reached full mastery of soul refinement, and I'm sure your rapid improvement is closely linked to the progression in your cultivation rank and spiritual power. The foundation has been set; I'll begin teaching you heavenly refinement today."

The middle-aged man standing before Tang Wulin was none other than the Divine Blacksmith and chairman of the blacksmith association, Zhen Hua.

Ever since the assassination attempt, the security around Zhen Hua had been bolstered significantly, to the extent that no one knew exactly where he was.

Even the federal government and the Spirit Pagoda held him in extremely high regard.

When the Holy Spirit Cult had first begun collaborating with the Spirit Pagoda, it had proposed for the Spirit Pagoda to help them kidnap Zhen Hua so he could craft suits of four-word battle armor for them. At the time, Qiangu Dongfeng was very eager to recruit their help to attack Shrek Academy, but he still didn't agree to this, and that was sufficient testament to the importance of the Divine Blacksmith.

It was exactly due to his existence that the Douluo Federation held a dominant position over the other two continents and the Holy Spirit Cult.

The Holy Spirit Cult was indeed very powerful, but it had no true four-word battle armor masters. Even Infernal King Douluo Harosha had only just barely managed to give his suit of three-word battle armor some properties of a suit of four-word battle armor after nurturing it for countless years. However, it still wasn't an actual suit of four-word battle armor, and it would take too heavy a price for him to push it to that level.

Even though Zhen Hua very rarely took on any heavenly refinement jobs now, his existence still benefited the federation immensely, so he was very well protected.

The blacksmith association's status also became far loftier than it had once been because of him.

A blacksmith association with a Divine Blacksmith and one without would be like two completely different associations, and the treatment they received would be like night and day.

Tang Wulin hadn't gone to Heaven Dou City to find Zhen Hua as he was currently situated in Bright City. There were more resources in Bright City that could better protect him.

Furthermore, it wasn't that easy to attack Zhen Hua. Not only was he a four-word battle armor master, he was also a divine-grade mecha pilot, and his divine-grade mecha's forte lay in its defensive abilities.

Even if Infernal King Douluo Harosha were to launch a surprise attack on Zhen Hua, he wouldn't be able to pose a threat to Zhen Hua's safety right away, and Zhen Hua would be able to escape given even the slightest opportunity.

Aside from attending the joust for a spouse event, Tang Wulin's other objective for coming to Bright City was to learn heavenly refinement from Zhen Hua.

In order to learn heavenly refinement, many prerequisites had to be satisfied. Not only did one have to be a Titled Douluo, they also had to be extremely proficient in soul refinement before they could begin attempting heavenly refinement.

In the blacksmith association, there were only three people who satisfied these criteria, but none of them had been able to make the breakthrough.

This included Tang Wulin's teacher, the eighth-rank Saint Blacksmith, Mu Chen. He had reached the Titled Douluo level through consuming some spirit items, but he didn't have what it took to continue improving his forging skills, and this was one of his greatest disappointments in life.

To Tang Wulin, heavenly refinement was something that he had to learn as he had to be able to create suits of four-word battle armor through his own power. With his current power and ability, he could already begin to consider creating a suit of four-word battle armor for himself, and if he wanted to contend with the powerful beings who stood at the pinnacle of the continent, a suit of four-word battle armor was imperative.

"Please enlighten me, Uncle-teacher," Tang Wulin said in a respectful manner.

A genuine smile appeared on Zhen Hua's face. "This day has finally come. I had thought that it would take you at least 5 to 10 more years to reach this stage, but you've truly exceeded my expectations. Heavenly refinement has actually already crossed beyond the realm of what should be humanly possible. Aside from an understanding of metals, one requires a certain level of understanding of the laws of heaven and earth. During heavenly refinement, the blacksmith has to draw upon the power of heaven and earth to completely transform a piece of metal.

"To put in simpler terms, soul refinement bestows life upon a piece of metal, whereas heavenly refinement elevates the piece of metal to become a powerful being. This process is similar to the awakening ceremony all of us underwent when we were six. If it succeeds, then we could become Soul Masters, but failure would mean that we're destined to be ordinary people. The main issue involved in heavenly refinement is the success rate. Even after accumulating so much experience over the years, my success rate is still less than 10%.

"As such, crafting each suit of four-word battle armor requires the expenditure of a huge amount of resources. In a sense, heavenly refinement is a type of feeling. I can't teach you any specific techniques, and in reality, it wouldn't be incorrect to say that heavenly refinement is a matter of luck. This is because the power of heaven and earth is constantly changing during heavenly refinement, and better luck would result in a higher chance of success, so the most important thing for you now is to experience heavenly refinement and incorporate everything you've already learned.

"Remember that every Divine Blacksmith is different, and this has always been the case in history. Everyone has their own path to heavenly refinement, as well as a different understanding of the laws of heaven and earth. Use that understanding in your forging, and if you succeed, you'll be able to forge heavenly refined metals. Transforming a faux divine-grade metal into a divine-grade metal is going to be a very difficult process, so mentally prepare yourself and don't get impatient no matter what. During the heavenly refinement, you'll be fused as one with the power of heaven and earth, so any impatience could result in deviation."