Chapter Twenty-Seven: Discovered

On the stage, Chen Long was unaware that his recent actions had brought shame to the Chen family in front of the other two families, especially his father's behavior, which had become a laughingstock. At that moment, he spotted Chen Bo among the crowd. Was that useless fellow also going to participate in the recruitment contest? Ha, isn't he afraid of being beaten to death on the stage? With his weak body, anyone here could utterly crush him.

With malice in his heart, Chen Long shouted at Chen Bo, "Chen Bo, even someone who can't cultivate has come to join the recruitment contest today? Don't worry, if I win a spot and enter Tianyang Academy, I’ll definitely guide you when I return."

"Though your talentless body can't learn much, I can still teach you some health-preserving techniques so you might live a little longer."

Chen Bo, standing below the stage, was momentarily stunned. He looked up at Chen Long with confusion; this guy was really full of himself! At first glance, his words sounded like concern, but upon reflection, they were nothing but open and hidden ridicule.

Just as Chen Long expected Chen Bo to be provoked into challenging him, Chen Bo stood up. Yet instead of mounting the stage, he turned and walked away, leaving behind three words: "You're insane."

Chen Bo wasn't foolish enough to go looking for trouble, and Chen Long's clumsy provocation couldn't even stir a hint of anger in him.

Chen Long, however, was furious. That useless fellow actually called him insane?! He dared to insult him! What gave him such courage?!

"Chen Bo, if you're a man, fight me right now!" Chen Long shouted in rage.

"What does my being a man have to do with you? Tsk, do you have some special fetish or something?" With those words, Chen Bo was already farther away.

After watching several matches in a row, the novelty had worn off. Chen Bo was bored again. What should he do next? Hmm, better go forge some weapons! After all, that last ball of Origin Fire was just sitting there.

Arriving at the forging chamber, he found it covered in dust and spider webs—he hadn’t been here in nearly twenty days. He had to clean it all over again.

"Hello, everyone, it's been a while since I greeted you," Chen Bo waved at the camera and continued, "Today's stream is another forging show. Any suggestions, viewers? What weapon should I forge? I’m a bit undecided!"

"I don’t want forging, I want to see the streamer thrash that Chen Long!"

"Cheng Long tipped 2,000 coins to the streamer. His name sounds so much like mine! But even so, I can't stand him!"

"And just like that, Fang Shi Long appears. Isn’t Uncle Dragon filming in Hollywood? How does he have time to pop into the live stream?"

"Hao An Yi tipped 500 coins to the streamer. Greetings, Uncle Dragon!"

"Dai Meng Shu Dai tipped 3,434 coins. An Ji Lao, my tip is bigger than yours!"

"Streamer, why do I feel like things have gotten a bit chaotic lately?"

"Isn’t that obvious? This is a live stream, not a drama or a movie."

"Wow, streamer, I actually saw Uncle Dragon! He’s my idol!" Chen Bo looked excited, though it was just polite banter.

"As for those who want me to thrash Chen Long, I think if I went up there, I’d come down as a cripple. For safety, let's level up first and then slap faces later."

Chen Bo didn’t waste more words and pulled out the Origin Fire to get to work.

With some experience from his first forging session, he managed to avoid most minor mistakes this time.

Zhao Qing was a mentor at Tianyang Academy. He disliked noisy places and wandered over for a stroll. That was how he ended up outside the forging chamber, looking at the dilapidated wooden door and shaking his head slightly. Flame Town was indeed a small place; as one of its three major families, even the Chen family had no true forger.

Just as he was about to leave, a rhythmic hammering echoed from inside—it was the sound of someone forging! Wasn’t the chamber empty just a moment ago?

To his surprise, there was actually a forger in this remote place! Zhao Qing was genuinely shocked. Even inside Tianyang Academy, students and mentors of the forging department were rare—a group of precious oddities.

Curious, Zhao Qing peered through a hole in the door and saw a young man forging a longsword-shaped weapon. He wasn’t an expert in forging, but he could tell Chen Bo’s technique was skillful.

He didn’t fully understand, but it certainly looked impressive.

Chen Bo was oblivious to the fact that someone was watching him from outside. A forger must concentrate while working, or risk a catastrophic explosion. Fortunately, the incantation for controlling the Origin Fire was provided by the system; theoretically, nothing should go wrong, though he couldn’t be sure.

He wouldn’t ask the system, either, because it was far too greedy—every question cost fifty thousand coins. In the past ten or twenty days, he’d amassed quite a pile of coins, though he hadn’t checked the exact amount.

But no matter how many coins he had, he couldn’t afford such extravagance; he was saving up for the ultimate lottery.

After more than an hour, Chen Bo finally forged a longsword. Its quality was similar to the previous one, but it looked much better—at least it resembled a proper sword now.

He spun the sword in his hand, but it didn’t feel quite right. Well, just because he was a forger didn’t mean he was a weapon designer; not everything he made would suit him.

He wanted some fresh air, and as soon as he opened the door, he was stunned. There stood a middle-aged man, eyes shining as he gazed at him. Chen Bo recognized him—he was a mentor from Tianyang Academy.

That man’s nakedly eager gaze made Chen Bo swallow nervously and quickly cover his exposed upper body, stammering, "Um, senior, I really don’t swing that way, please don’t look at me like that."

Zhao Qing was momentarily baffled. Seeing Chen Bo’s fearful and disgusted expression—it was as if a maiden had just encountered a lecher. Several dark lines slid down Zhao Qing’s face as he suppressed the urge to smack Chen Bo, saying, "I know you. You’re the eldest son of the Chen family, aren’t you?"

"Uh? How do you know?" Chen Bo asked warily.

"There are countless rumors about you in Flame Town. I never thought they’d be so unreliable. Those who insist you’re a useless waste—I wonder how they’ll react when they learn the truth," Zhao Qing said, a playful expression on his face.

"So, after all that, what do you want from me? I’ve got nothing to offer—no body, no money!" By now, Chen Bo had dressed and replied.

"Would you like to become a member of Tianyang Academy?"

"What? What does that mean?" Chen Bo was dumbfounded. Was this creepy guy not after his body?! He exhaled heavily, relieved at least to have preserved his chastity.