Douluo: Trinity, I run through the timeline.

Chapter 103 The Murderer is from the Star Luo Royal Family (Seeking first subscriptions!!!)
As everyone was discussing, the door to the forge was knocked on again.

Si Long went to open the door, and there stood Zhao Tieshan, the city lord of Gengxin City.

Zhao Tieshan glanced at everyone present, surprised to see such a young child as Su Ming there. Before he could say anything, he saw Chen Xin, his face showing great alarm, and he bowed respectfully.

"I have met Your Majesty."

Chen Xin nodded slightly.

Zhao Tieshan breathed a sigh of relief and straightened up.

"Lord Zhao, with such a mess going on, you still have time to come to our Blacksmith Association?" Zhu Jiuyang raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Tieshan gave a wry smile.

"President Zhu, everyone here, there's no need for us to beat around the bush. Your association is about to cooperate with the Spirit Hall, and this incident has occurred during this time. You must be anxious to find the culprit. Why don't we join forces?"

"Does Lord Zhao have any leads?"

Zhao Tieshan took a deep breath.

He didn't question why they didn't share the clues first. With Chen Xin sitting there, he immediately lowered his head, not daring to show any toughness.

"Regarding this assassination attempt, I have a feeling it might be aimed at me."

"Coming for you?"

Everyone present frowned and looked at Zhao Tieshan, not understanding what he meant.

"Lord Zhao, could you please elaborate?" Lou Gao asked.

"It all starts with your association. You know what kind of trouble those twelve spirit metals you auctioned off will cause, right? I am the city lord of Gengxin City. I don't know how many people are eyeing my position, not my subordinates, but outsiders."

"The forces that are interested in the spirit metals you auctioned off probably all want to get rid of me and take over the position of city lord of Gengxin City."

"really!"

Silong pounded his right hand on his left.

"Do you also think someone is watching my position?"

Zhao Tieshan never expected that the blacksmiths in the Forging Association would be so clever as to have deduced this much.

In reality, he was overthinking it; it was just that what he had just said had reinforced the association members' earlier speculations.

“If the Star Luo royal family takes action, even if they anger us, even if the Spirit Hall doesn’t pursue the association’s problems in the end, and still promotes the cooperation between the association and the Heaven Dou Empire, they won’t lose out. This is because the association is located in Gengxin City, and after they replaced the city lord of Gengxin City, they directly controlled the association,” Si Long murmured.

Zhao Tieshan looked bewildered.

what?
Is it His Majesty who wants to take my position as city lord?
Silong's words make a lot of sense, but all of this is on the premise that the association must continue to stay in Gengxin City.

However, will the association remain in Gengxin City?
Yes, but they won't stay in Gengxin City.

Su Ming's reforms were modeled after the blacksmith associations of later generations. He would inevitably choose the same development path as later generations, which would result in multiple associations being established, forming a unified whole while being scattered across various cities.

If the Star Luo Empire truly intends to firmly grasp the position of the city lord of Gengxin City in order to extract benefits from the association, then they are definitely overthinking it.

“Now we can basically determine the background of the murderer, so how should we explain this to the envoy from the Spirit Hall?” Si Long said with a bitter face, “We still don’t know who the envoy from the Spirit Hall is.”

"Let's first confirm the identity of that Title Douluo. It would be best to find him before the Spirit Hall's envoy arrives. That way, we won't have to worry about how to explain things later," Zhu Jiuyang said.

His method was simple and direct.

The others exchanged glances, a hint of hesitation flashing in their eyes.

Zhu Jiuyang was able to say that because he was a Contra Master and seemed to have other trump cards, while the others were not Contra Masters and did not have any so-called trump cards.

After learning from the crowd that the person who assassinated Miles was actually a Title Douluo, Zhao Tieshan considered withdrawing. He felt that he should relax the blockade of Gengxin City a little and quickly let that Title Douluo go.

If you really push the other party too far, who knows what they might do?
What if you happen to walk right into the line of fire?

He took a small step back.

Noticing Zhao Tieshan's actions, Su Ming immediately became displeased. Was he scared?

That won't work.

The main force for capturing the Title Douluo this time was the city guards and the people from the Spirit Hall. How could Zhao Tieshan, as the city lord, back down?

He spoke directly.

"Lord Zhao, we've almost figured out the killer's identity. Shall we begin the search?"

As his voice rang out, everyone's eyes turned to him.

Although Su Ming was only eleven years old, he truly pioneered the blacksmith system and was the real driving force behind the reform of blacksmiths. Those who knew this would naturally not underestimate him.

Of course, only Zhao Tieshan was unaware of this on the field.

Zhao Tieshan stared at Su Ming expressionlessly. He had been wondering how such a young child could be at this meeting, and now he was even more suspicious.

That clueless kid dares to say anything.

He looked annoyed.

While he was getting angry, Su Ming seemed not to notice his expression and continued, "If the city guards are short-handed, they can cooperate with the people of the Martial Soul Hall. I think the Martial Soul Hall will also put in a lot of effort to find the murderer."

"Kid, you're too naive," Zhao Tieshan sneered.

Will they put in a lot of effort?

Who is not afraid of death?

It would be a miracle if they could handle it.

With the Platinum Bishop killed, who among the remaining members of the Martial Soul Main Hall would dare to investigate seriously?

"Getting the people from the Spirit Hall to cooperate is actually quite simple. Just tell them that the titled Douluo elder from Spirit City will arrive in Gengxin City within two days."

"what?"

Zhao Tieshan's expression changed drastically.

Is the messenger from the Spirit Hall a Title Douluo?

"Are you sure the Spirit Hall will send a Title Douluo to Gengxin City?"

Su Ming shook his head.

"uncertain."

He thought for a moment and then added a sentence.

"But that possibility can't be ruled out, can it?"

Zhao Tieshan frowned and fell into deep thought.

The more he thought about it, the more conflicted his expression became, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

It's not that I'm afraid of not thinking of it, it's that I'm afraid of thinking of it, even if I'm not sure.

Imagine if a titled Douluo came and learned that the Platinum Bishop had been assassinated and there were no clues about the murderer, and he was determined to find someone to take responsibility for it, who would he look for?

Regardless of whether they intend to pin the blame on the Blacksmiths' Association, the ultimate goal will definitely be to take advantage of this cooperation with the association and then shift the blame away from the Blacksmiths' Association.

So who will ultimately bear the blame?
Zhao Tieshan broke out in a cold sweat.

The Spirit Hall would want him to take the blame, which aligns with the needs of the Star Luo faction.

If the high-level officials on both sides agree, wouldn't he, a mere Soul Saint, be arbitrarily convicted?
So when Su Ming said that the Martial Soul Main Hall would lend a hand, he was actually telling him that he, as the city lord, had to lend a hand, and a lot of it!

The murderer must be found and the truth revealed, otherwise he will become a pawn abandoned by both sides.

(End of this chapter)