Chapter 53: East Sea Blacksmith Association

"Of course, no problem. If you ever have any problems you can't solve, feel free to come to me. As long as I can do it and it's within my ability, I'll help you," Chen Shilin nodded.

Gu You felt reassured. This would save him from many detours in the future, especially when it came to building his own forces and other matters—he could ask Chen Shilin for help.

...

The two exchanged contact information, and Gu You left by car, heading toward the next stop—East Sea City...

The next morning, Gu You took the Soul Island train with East Sea markings and left Tiandou City.

This was the second-largest city by the sea in the Sun Moon Federation, an important port city, and a hub for marine transport and ocean resource development.

The city had a population of over five million. Thanks to its use of marine resources, it had become quite wealthy and was considered a top-tier city even within the entire Sun Moon Federation.

East Sea City also had a long history, and its urban appearance retained a more ancient style. In the last few hundred years, the Sun Moon Federation had placed great importance on the preservation of some of its old architecture. As a result, many buildings over a thousand years old could be seen in this ancient city.

The East Sea City Soul Guide Train Station had a deep blue Soul Guide train slowly pulling into the station, decelerating.

Almost all the Soul Guide trains in East Sea were primarily blue in color.

The train came to a stop, and the doors opened. People began to stream off the train, many of them carrying large amounts of luggage. The station quickly became bustling, and the crowds moved toward the exits.

Gu You tapped his Soul Guide ring and walked with the crowd toward the exit. It was his first time in this city, and he was curious about its layout.

The station's roof was made from many metal pipes, and just with one glance, Gu You could tell that these were forged metals, the most ordinary type made by stamping.

Looking back, he saw the big characters above the station—East Sea Soul Guide Station.

Looking at the gigantic structure, Gu You couldn't help but secretly praise the building. Just this station alone was far more magnificent than many buildings he'd seen in his previous life.

Turning around, he took in the view: a wide street, towering buildings in the distance, various Soul Guide cars speeding down the road, and the hustle and bustle of the crowds—there was an indescribable sense of pressure in the air.

East Sea City was large. Though Gu You didn't know exactly where the Blacksmith Association was located, he turned on his Soul Guide positioning, and the target appeared.

He simply walked toward the direction of the Blacksmith Association.

Fortunately, it wasn't far from the train station. After walking for a little more than half an hour, he finally saw his destination.

The Blacksmith Association was easy to recognize. It was a large gray building about thirty stories tall, with a giant hammer emblem on top. With this emblem, there was no need for a nameplate.

Upon entering through the glass doors, there was a ten-meter-high glass wall right in front of him, with a gold-colored giant hammer sculpture at least eight meters tall.

Although the Blacksmith Association wasn't as wealthy as the Mecha Manufacturing Association, it was still an indispensable institution. The social status of top-tier blacksmiths was also extremely high, comparable to that of master mecha manufacturers. Creating top-tier mechas required top-tier materials, and top-tier materials needed top-tier blacksmiths to process them.

The first-floor hall was spacious, with only two young women dressed in gray professional outfits at the reception.

"Hey, handsome, who are you looking for?" Seeing Gu You approach, one of the girls, who was quite pretty, stood up and greeted him.

Gu You teased, "Definitely not looking for you. I'm here for the blacksmith rank assessment."

"Ha!" The other girl, who was more curvaceous, laughed. "Look at this handsome guy, he's such a flirt."

The pretty girl playfully scolded, "Yan Yan, stop it. Are you here for the blacksmith rank assessment?"

Gu You nodded, feeling in a good mood, and said, "Yes!"

The pretty girl asked, "Did you come with a mentor?"

Gu You shook his head. "My master couldn't come with me. I'm looking for a master named Cen Yue. My name is Gu You."

Gu You, familiar with the storyline, remembered Cen Yue. As long as he met Cen Yue and revealed his identity, he would definitely be able to meet Mu Chen. As for why not directly contacting Mu Chen, he figured the two receptionists wouldn't be able to reach him.

When the two girls heard the name Cen Yue, their expressions changed. The pretty girl quickly said, "Please wait a moment. Let me check if Master Cen Yue is available. Have you tried contacting Master Cen Yue through a Soul Guide communication?"

Gu You shook his head again. He didn't have his number, so how could he contact him?

"Master Cen, there's a young handsome guy looking for you. His name is Gu You," the pretty girl called.

After hanging up the communication, the pretty girl turned to Gu You. "Little brother, Master Cen is available right now. Please follow me."

She then guided him toward the side of the hall. The curvy girl, Yan Yan, watched them leave and stuck out her tongue, muttering to herself, "I didn't expect this handsome guy to know Master Cen. And why does he look so much like the guy from the recent news..."

The metal door of the Soul Guide elevator opened in front of Gu You.

"Come on up," the pretty girl said with a gentle smile.

"My name is Yun Xiaoling. Master Cen's office is on the fifteenth floor. I'll take you to see him, and then he will conduct your blacksmith rank assessment."

"Thank you," Gu You politely said. He wasn't really interested in the test; his main purpose in meeting Cen Yue was to communicate better with Mu Chen.

Yun Xiaoling looked him up and down. Gu You was handsome, and his aura made him seem like a young master from a noble family. Especially those deep eyes, which could make any girl envious. Moreover, he was very polite, which made him easy to like.

"Ding!" The elevator stopped at the fifteenth floor and the door opened.

The walls were made of silver-white metal, the ceiling and floor were white, clean, and tidy. This was Gu You's first impression of the place.

Outside the elevator was a corridor, with doors on either side.

Yun Xiaoling led him to one of the doors and stopped in front of a door with Cen Yue's nameplate. She pressed the button.

"Master Cen, it's Yun Xiaoling. I've brought the young handsome guy."

"Mm." A low voice responded, and the door opened.

The room was about thirty square meters, with a large wooden desk that took up almost a quarter of the space. Behind the desk stood a man in his forties. He wasn't very tall, but he was very muscular, with broad shoulders and his trapezius muscles stretching his black shirt.

At that moment, he was looking at a drawing on the desk.

"Master Cen," Yun Xiaoling called softly.

"Mm." Cen Yue raised his head and looked over...

(End of this chapter)