Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

Seeing that Xia Yi had completed his forging, Mu Chen grabbed Mu Xi, who was so excited that she wanted to throw herself into Xia Yi's arms. Taking a deep breath, he couldn't help but ask Xia Yi, "Why did you forge a gourd?"

"Uh…" Xia Yi scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed as he whispered, "This is my first work using Spirit Forging. I plan to go back and find someone to engrave a Soul Guidance array on it, turning it into a storage-type Soul Guidance Device to brew wine!"

"Brew wine?"

Both Mu Chen, Mu Xi, and the appraiser were stunned. They thought they had misheard him and only reacted after a long pause.

Mu Chen gritted his teeth. "You risked the destruction of the Crimson Demon Gold just to add ice attributes to it so you could drink some Ice and Fire Wine?"

At this point, how could Mu Chen not understand Xia Yi's true intention?

"That's right. Is there a problem?" Xia Yi asked, looking at Mu Chen with an innocent expression.

"You… You…" Mu Chen was almost so furious that he coughed up blood.

He couldn't understand where Xia Yi got the nerve to be so self-righteous.

"Hmph! You're not my disciple anyway, so I can't be bothered with you!" Mu Chen flicked his sleeves angrily and stormed off.

He had never seen anyone so wasteful before.

Using Life Gold as a forging hammer was already outrageous, but forging Spirit-Forged metal into a wine gourd?

If those who couldn't even afford a full set of Thousand-Refined metal to craft their battle armor found out, they would probably tear Xia Yi apart.

Watching Mu Chen's departing figure, Xia Yi shrugged indifferently. He was still planning to find Gu Yue to ask for more Life Gold to fuse into the Crimson Demon Gold.

There was no other way—his third soul skill needed it!

After leaving the Blacksmith Association, Xia Yi sat in Mu Xi's car on the way back to East Sea Academy, a satisfied smile on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Mu Xi couldn't help but ask.

She hadn't gone home with Mu Chen but instead chose to accompany Xia Yi and take him back to East Sea Academy.

"Shouldn't I be smiling?" Xia Yi grinned mischievously.

Gu Yue had been wanting to get back at him. Once he finished making the wine gourd, he was sure it would give her a huge surprise.

He'd go find her later—since she studied mecha design, asking her to create a Soul Guidance array for brewing and storage should be a piece of cake.

Using Gu Yue's own Soul Guidance design to prank her… He was looking forward to her reaction.

"Being able to complete Spirit Forging so easily and becoming a Level Five Blacksmith is indeed something to be proud of," Mu Xi forced a smile. "If you used this to pursue Gu Yue, she would definitely agree to be with you, right?"

From what she knew, her father, Mu Chen, had only become a Level Five Blacksmith at the age of eighteen, with a cultivation of a forty-eight-rank Soul Ancestor.

Even then, he had nearly passed out from soul power exhaustion.

But Xia Yi?

At first, he had indeed struggled with insufficient soul power, but once his forging hammer underwent Spirit Forging first, the life energy's feedback allowed him to recover. Now, he just looked a little pale—there was no sign of soul power exhaustion at all.

This should have been a cause for celebration.

But Mu Xi couldn't bring herself to be happy.

Because she knew that today might be the last time they saw each other.

That morning, Tang Wulin had first gone to confess to her roommate, Ouyang Zixin, but got rejected before he even finished speaking. Then he came to say goodbye to her.

Mu Xi was afraid Xia Yi would also say goodbye to her.

Compared to Tang Wulin, Mu Xi could only look up to him.

Whenever she was around Tang Wulin, her own brilliance seemed to fade away.

Every time they met, Tang Wulin would guide her in cultivation and forging.

Even though his cultivation was lower than hers, he had a mentor from Shrek Academy's inner court.

In terms of theory, he could provide her with many insights.

As for combat, she wasn't his match at all.

So every time, Tang Wulin would give her pointers.

She had already gotten used to looking up to him.

Mu Xi's talent was also inferior to Xia Yi's—both in combat and forging.

But compared to Tang Wulin, she felt much more at ease with Xia Yi.

Xia Yi always had a playful, carefree demeanor, even teasing her from time to time.

With him, she never felt the oppressive presence of a genius.

She had also seen Tang Wulin joke around—but only when he was with Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan.

In front of her, he was always serious and reserved.

Compared to him, Xia Yi might seem like an unserious playboy at times, but being around him felt relaxing and natural.

That was why, even though Tang Wulin treated her well, she still felt a vast and insurmountable distance between them.

But Xia Yi felt real.

So real that Mu Xi sometimes forgot that his talent was no less than Tang Wulin's.

There was a chasm between her and Tang Wulin, and between her and Xia Yi as well.

Sometimes, she even wished Xia Yi wasn't so gifted.

Even if he were just an ordinary Soul Master… even a petty thief… she would accept it.

But that was just wishful thinking.

If he really were just an ordinary Soul Master without his immense forging talent, they might never have even crossed paths.

Mu Xi only regretted that she didn't have Gu Yue's talent—she couldn't be like her and get accepted as a disciple by Sky Phoenix Douluo alongside Xia Yi.

"Pursue Gu Yue? No way." Xia Yi shook his head vigorously.

Sure, Gu Yue was exceptional, but teasing her occasionally was enough.

Seriously pursuing her? He wasn't about to take on such a thankless task.

Seeing his exaggerated reaction, Mu Xi became intrigued. "Why not? You two are fellow disciples, you're always around each other, and she has beauty, talent, and a strong personality. Why do you sound like you're looking down on her?"

"It's not that I look down on her—it's just not worth it." Xia Yi shook his head.

"Not worth it? What do you mean?" Mu Xi was even more curious.

"Think about it—Gu Yue has incredible talent, a powerful background, and a dominant personality. If I married her, wouldn't she control me completely? How would I ever have multiple wives?" Xia Yi spoke seriously, as if this was a profound truth. "With my outstanding talent and dashing good looks, wouldn't it be a waste to devote myself to just one woman?"

Mu Xi was stunned. Then, gritting her teeth, she glared at him. "Is that really how you think? Do you not know that the Federation has strict laws against polygamy?"

"Laws? Once I become a Divine Blacksmith, I don't believe the Federation would charge me over something so trivial." Xia Yi burst into laughter.

"You… You…!" Mu Xi trembled with rage, struggling to find words.

To think he would tarnish such a sacred profession like Divine Blacksmithing!

After a long pause, she finally squeezed out a sentence:

"You don't deserve love."

"A horse loses strength when it grows thin; a man only stays faithful when he's poor." Xia Yi laughed even harder.

"Get lost!"

Mu Xi floored the gas pedal, accelerating wildly. As they passed a black sedan, she opened the car door and kicked Xia Yi out.

In the midst of his startled screams, he tumbled out of the passenger seat.

The moment he was thrown out, Xia Yi swiftly slapped the ground, flipping himself out of the way just before he was almost run over by the black sedan.

"Bro, sorry about that. My girlfriend has a bit of a temper." He waved apologetically at the driver, who had nearly stomped the brake pedal through the floor.

"Good thing I'm trained. Otherwise, I'd be seriously injured." Xia Yi dusted himself off, relieved that the driver hadn't crashed trying to avoid him.

Just then, a gleeful voice sounded in his ear.

"I heard everything. Keep pretending, but I'll be telling the Master."

Zi Ji's voice dripped with amusement.

"No, big sis, please! I was wrong!" Xia Yi immediately surrendered.