Douluo V: Daily Intelligence - I Want All of Tang San's Opportunities

Upon hearing this, the blacksmiths' eyes lit up instantly.

Previously, they thought that Su Yuntao's bestowal of a noble title was merely compensation for the old baron Zheng, who had come to the Kingdom of Barak. They never expected that Su Yuntao would bring up the old matter again.

Doesn't that mean they also have a chance to become nobles?

They might not be confident about other things, but if it's just about verifying forging techniques, which of these blacksmiths, who have been immersed in forging for many or even decades, doesn't have a bit of pride?

If Zheng Yuan can do it, why can't they?

Someone instinctively gripped the hammer in their hand, their knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

A middle-aged craftsman with a full beard was the first to speak, giving Zheng Yuan a defiant look:

"Don't worry, Second Young Master. Zheng Yuan's skills are actually just so-so. I only didn't bother competing with him for the leadership position because he's a Soul Master. But when it comes to forging skills alone, he'd have to step aside in front of me!"

Another, thinner craftsman chimed in:

"Second Young Master, I've figured out some things about the Zhuge Divine Crossbow. I estimate I'll have a finished product soon, so just wait and see!"

Even some of the newly recruited apprentices were desperately pushing their way forward from the back of the crowd, their voices even louder than the first two:

"I was born with talents that will surely be put to use; I am determined to obtain the title of nobleman! You just wait, Second Young Master!"

The shop was bustling with activity. Several old craftsmen glared at each other, each looking determined to outdo the other.

Su Yuntao stood there listening for a while, then smiled and waved his hand:

"Alright, alright, then keep up the good work. If you really produce something useful, I'll never be stingy with rewards."

Su Yuntao was already familiar with the blacksmiths present, so he didn't stand on ceremony with them. He nodded to everyone, turned around, lifted the curtain, and left the shop.

The voices of the blacksmiths behind me continued. Some had already started discussing new ideas with their companions, some were looking down at the hammers in their hands as if they were silently calculating something, and others had already returned to their workstations and picked up the blueprints again to look at them.

Su Yuntao mounted his horse and rode back the way he came towards the Viscount's territory.

In the following days, Su Yuntao spent some time dealing with other matters within the viscountry.

He met with Liu Cheng and Zhao Defu, who had been recommended, and talked with them for more than an hour each, asking about the details of the daily operation within the territory and their respective views on management.

While their answers weren't particularly outstanding, they demonstrated a clear understanding of the responsibilities they were in.

Su Yuntao didn't delay and appointed the two men on the spot.

He went to the mine again, stood by the pit to look at the terrain, and chatted with a few veteran miners about past production and safety issues during the mining process. He instructed the supervisor to make sure to do a good job of supporting and reinforcing the mine, and to conduct safety training for the miners before they went down the mine.

After the mine affairs were arranged, Butler Zhou returned.

He selected three locations for building the city. After discussing with Steward Zhou and others, Su Yuntao finally chose the location on the North Slope Highlands. It had a wide view, was backed by a mountain wall, and was close to a water source. If it encountered a soul beast attack or was surrounded, it could at least hold out for a period of time and would not be easily surrounded from all sides.

Although the profits from the Zhuge Divine Crossbow had not yet been fully recovered, Su Yuntao had enough gold soul coins to get through the initial construction phase, so he ordered construction to begin immediately.

Butler Zhou nodded in agreement, saying he would arrange for someone to prepare the ingredients the next day.

Over the next week, Su Yuntao toured the territory a few more times.

Safety measures at the mine are being implemented one by one, and materials for city construction have begun to be transported to the northern highlands. Liu Cheng and Zhao Defu have also officially taken over their respective responsibilities, and the affairs of the territory, big and small, finally have a framework, no longer requiring him to personally oversee everything as when he first arrived.

Su Yuntao returned to the small three-courtyard house, closed the gate, put the account books and drawings he had accumulated over this period back on the corner of the table, then sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.

Next, he will focus all his efforts on preparing for the Chosen One ceremony a few months from now.

The Chosen One Ceremony is the most important event for the Spirit Hall in recent years.

It was initially designed to compete with the elite competition of advanced soul master academies across the continent, but the two are completely different in nature.

The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is hosted by two major empires and co-organized by the Spirit Hall. It is mainly aimed at various academies and has a clear connotation of competition and exchange.

The Chosen One Ceremony is entirely organized by the Spirit Hall and is open to all Spirit Masters on the continent, regardless of their academy background or origin. Anyone who meets the age requirement and has sufficient strength can participate.

The original purpose of this competition was to select talents for the Spirit Hall.

The Soul Masters who make it to the final round of the Chosen One Ceremony held every three years will be directly recruited by the Spirit Hall.

Those who perform exceptionally well receive even more extravagant rewards from the Spirit Hall, including spirit bones, high-level cultivation techniques, and powerful positions, all given generously.

It is through this mechanism that the Spirit Hall has been able to continuously recruit the most outstanding young spirit masters on the continent over the years, gradually expanding its power to the point where it now surpasses the two great empires.

On this point, Su Yuntao had to admit that Bibi Dong was indeed decisive in her actions; at least in terms of treatment, she was genuinely generous and didn't play games with empty promises.

That's exactly what Su Yuntao valued.

Salas could block his path to promotion to a branch hall, but he couldn't stop him from being directly recruited into the core of the Spirit Hall after achieving a ranking at the Heavenly Selection Ceremony.

This path bypassed all the barriers of internal factions and led directly to the center of power.

Of course, since Su Yuntao has decided to participate in the Heavenly Selection Ceremony, he will definitely go all out.

With his current strength, he is indeed quite good among his peers, but there are countless geniuses on the continent, and there are also those who are younger and of higher level than him.

He must raise his soul power by one or two levels before the start of the Chosen Ones ceremony, so that he can have more confidence in that level of confrontation.

He began to fully circulate the Silver Moon Profound Heaven Technique, waking up before dawn every day, sitting cross-legged on the bed, practicing from before dawn until the sun rose. During the day, he would briefly handle some affairs of the territory, and return in the evening to continue his cultivation.

The first, second, and third circles: the breath slowly ascends along the spine, passing through the Mingmen, Jiaji, Dazhui, Fengfu, and Baihui points, before sinking into the Tanzhong point and returning to the Dantian, repeating this process again and again.

The soul power steadily accumulated through daily circulation, like a trickle flowing into the lake, silent and imperceptible, yet the water level was indeed rising.

Half a month later, he vaguely touched the bottleneck of level 45. It felt like he had walked to a half-open door, which he could open with a push, but he was always just a little bit short of strength.

He didn't deliberately try to break through, and continued to maintain his daily cultivation rhythm.

On the morning of the second day, when the breath reached its seventh cycle, the door opened by itself. The long-accumulated warmth in the dantian seemed to be gently pushed by something, flowing smoothly up the spine, circulating quickly between several acupoints, and then settling down steadily.

He opened his eyes, looked down at his palms, and felt the soul power flowing through his meridians, which was even stronger than before. He confirmed that he had crossed the threshold of level 45 and reached level 46.