Chapter 39 – You Can’t Beat Me in Eating Either
Tang Wulin discovered an issue. It seemed that he ate more while standing up than when seated.
There was already quite a crowd surrounding him.
“This guy’s stomach isn’t that big, yet how can he eat so much? He’s about to break the record. I remember our intermediate academy’s steamed bun record is 43. How many has this guy eaten already?”
“He’s already broken the record by eating 45. How formidable! What’s more, he doesn’t even look like a big eater. The steamed buns are palm-sized too! The academy’s steamed buns have always been this large.”
Zhou Zhangxi had long since started to foolishly stare at Tang Wulin. He had always thought he could eat a lot. In fact, he had even managed to eat 20 steamed buns before becoming too full.
This was simply ground meat along with vegetable soup.
Tang Wulin not only ate the steamed buns, but he also drank the soup. Every five buns he would drink a large mouthful of soup. He looked as if he was truly enjoying himself.
The palm-sized steamed buns were really delicious. They were stuffed with a big meatball on the inside. As soon as one bit into the bun, fatty juices would flow out. It truly was too delicious.
What was most important, it still wasn’t enough!
“I’ll have to trouble everyone.” Tang Wulin finished the fiftieth bun, then walked up to the third meal window.
Yun Xiao patted Zhou Zhangxi’s shoulder. “Let’s go and get started on cleaning the room. Now that I know he can out-eat you, I finally understand why he’s stronger. This is called the law of conservation of energy. The more one eats, the more strength they would have!”
Zhou Zhangxi’s face was decrepit as he took in this scene. “Tang Wulin ordered another 20 steamed buns.”
Back at home, feeding Tang Wulin had been Tang Ziran and Lang Yue’s greatest headache. This child was truly too capable in eating. Moreover, when Na’er was there, the two were practically competing in how much they could eat.
Zhou Zhangxi’s own eating ability was great in comparison with his peers. On the other hand, Tang Wulin was basically on a whole different level.
After releasing a long sigh, Zhou Zhangxi looked towards Tang Wulin. “I never thought anyone could actually eat a whole cow before, but after seeing your eating prowess, I believe it to be possible now. I agreed to the bet so I must accept this loss. I’ll head back and begin cleaning first. You can continue on with setting your record.”
“En, en!” Tang Wulin hadn’t been all that worried about winning or losing. For him, being able to eat until he was completely full was much more important.
☀
In the end, the intermediate academy’s steamed bun record was set at 80 buns and five large bowls of vegetable soup.
When Tang Wulin left the dining hall feeling perfectly satisfied, all eyes were on him.
After returning to the dormitory, Zhou Zhangxi was cleaning the room, but avoided Tang Wulin’s laundry as Tang Wulin hadn’t permitted it. Tang Wulin wished to wash it himself. Yun Xiao assisted Zhou Zhangxi with cleaning the room. In the end, the room’s atmosphere had become much more harmonious.
Right as they were finishing up with cleaning the room, Xie Xie came in with a face wrapped in a towel. The swelling on his face had clearly been reduced by a lot, but it was still as unsightly as before.
“For you!” He threw a paper bag towards Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin opened it and saw a pile of federal bills. In the face of all this money, Tang Wulin couldn’t help but seem a bit dazed.
When he had tried to earn 30,000 federal coins in Glorybound City, it had taken him a full three years! For these wealthy people however, it was simply pocket money.
“We start class tomorrow. So tomorrow night, after school, you’ll come with me.” Xie Xie coldly said.
“Alright!” Tang Wulin agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Yun Xiao said, “Xie Xie, just let it be. We’ll be staying in the same dormitory for the next six years.”
Xie Xie coldly looked at him, then unceremoniously laid down on his bottom bunk.
Tang Wulin asked Yun Xiao, “There won’t be any problems if I go out this afternoon, right?”
Yun Xiao answered, “We haven’t officially started classes yet, so naturally there won’t be any issues! You just need to be back before lights go out. Otherwise, you’ll be faced with disciplinary action.”
When he heard the words 'disciplinary action', Tang Wulin’s heart tightened up for a moment. He didn’t actually fear disciplinary action, instead he feared the potential fines.
“I’ll be back by then.”
After washing his dirty clothes and blanket, Tang Wulin left the dormitory. According to Mang Tian’s instructions, after arriving in Eastsea City, Tang Wulin needed to go to a place called the Blacksmith’s Association.
Mang Tian had given him the address of his workshop in Eastsea City. There wasn’t anyone working there, but it still had a forging room for Tang Wulin to use.
Mang Tian had told him that he needed to register at the Blacksmith’s Association in order to be able to accept tasks. These tasks would hone his skills. Every month, Mang Tian would come and inspect his progress as well as give him some instructions.
After accepting his fate when fusing with the little Grass Snake, Goldlight, Tang Wulin had become much more focused on forging, especially after completing the Thousand Refinements. Completing the Thousand Refinements had made him understand that in the future, he would likely become a blacksmith like his teacher. Thus, he couldn’t relax and had to continue refining his forging skills. Moreover, he could earn money by forging! In addition to supplementing his family’s income, he needed money to wander the continent in search of Na’er in the future.
He hadn’t asked Yun Xiao where the Blacksmith’s Association was because he didn’t want the other students to know he was a blacksmith.
He first went to the administration building to pay the fines before leaving the academy’s campus.
Eastsea City’s unfamiliar atmosphere once again press down on Tang Wulin’s heart. ‘Glorybound City really is the best. It was so nice and peaceful there.’
Although he didn’t know where the Blacksmith’s Association was, he still had a mouth below his nose. He could always just ask someone. After making several inquiries, he gained a rough understanding of where the Blacksmith’s Association was located.
Eastsea City was very big. In fact, it was several times larger than Glorybound City. For the sake of saving money, Tang Wulin walked the whole journey to the Blacksmith’s Association.
It wasn’t too bad. The Blacksmith’s Association was not that far from Eastsea Academy and Tang Wulin had eaten his fill during lunch. After walking for half an hour, his destination was already in sight.
The Blacksmith’s Association was easily recognizable with its grey colored 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.
Tang Wulin walked through the big glass doors on the first floor and was immediately faced with a ten-meter tall wall with an eight-meter tall golden hammer sculpture on it.
Although the Blacksmith’s Association wasn’t as rich as the Mecha Craftsmen's Association, it was still a necessary existence. A first-rate blacksmith’s status in society was exceedingly high. In fact, their status was comparable to that of mecha craftsmen grandmasters. In order to make a first-rate mecha, first-rate materials were naturally needed. As such, first-rate blacksmiths were needed to process first-rate materials!
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, who are you looking for?” When they saw Tang Wulin walk towards them, one of the two ladies who had a sweet looking appearance took the initiative to stand up and greet him.
Tang Wulin bashfully said, “I, I’m here to take the blacksmith’s ranking test.”