Douluo: Legend of the Holy Land

Chapter 24 The Divine Craftsman Enters the Sect (4K Two-in-One)

Snapped!

Before the guard could get close to Xiao Yu, Xie Wu couldn't hold back any longer and made his move. With a crisp slap, the guard staggered back several steps.

"You, you... how dare you hit me!"

Xie Wu's slap was utterly merciless, leaving the guard reeling for a long time before he finally came to his senses, clutching his face and pointing at Xie Wu in extreme rage.

"I'll hit you if I want to, you snobbish wretch! How dare you disrespect the young master! I'm only sparing your life because I'm doing the Blacksmiths' Guild a favor!"

Xie Wu snorted disdainfully, his fearless gaze fixed on the guard.

"Rebellion! Rebellion!"

The guard flew into a rage and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Brothers, come quick! There's trouble here!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps sounded, and more than a dozen burly men with dark skin rushed down from the fifth floor, surrounding Xiao Yu and his group.

"Who dares to cause trouble at the blacksmiths' association?"

The middle-aged man at the head of the group gave a cold shout, instantly releasing a surge of soul power exceeding level seventy. He stared at Xiao Yu and his group, saying, "I am Si Long from the Blacksmith Association. Gentlemen, since you look unfamiliar, this must be your first time here. I won't bother with you any longer. Apologize and leave immediately!"

What if I say no?

Xiao Yu sneered. Although his purpose for this trip was to recruit blacksmiths, it did not mean that he had to be extremely careful. It was important to distinguish who was in charge and who was subordinate from the very beginning.

Hui Huo, standing behind Xiao Yu, didn't waste any words. He stepped forward and released his own soul power fluctuations. The difference in soul power of one level instantly overwhelmed Si Long.

The immense soul pressure made Si Long feel a tightness in his chest, and his body involuntarily took a few steps back. His face immediately showed a look of shock. He had felt such soul pressure before, from Titan, the vice president of the Blacksmith Association who had the cultivation level of Soul Douluo. The other party was at least at the Soul Douluo level, which was something that he, a Soul Saint, and a Soul Saint without any offensive power, could not contend with.

"Gentlemen, is there some misunderstanding between us? Everything can be discussed, everything can be discussed!"

Fear made Si Long's voice tremble. Titan was far away in Tiandou City, and no one here could stop that Soul Douluo powerhouse.

"Make him pick up what he dropped first!"

Xiao Yu pointed at the guard from before and said coldly.

"I'll pick it up, I'll pick it up!"

Seeing this, the guard immediately realized he had bitten off more than he could chew. He hurriedly picked up the design drawings he had just tossed aside and respectfully handed them to Xiao Yu with both hands.

Xiao Yu did not accept the invitation, but looked at Si Long and said, "Originally, I just wanted to ask Master Lou Gao to come out of seclusion and forge a divine weapon, but who would have thought that your people would start cursing as soon as they opened their mouths, not only throwing away my design drawings at will, but also trying to drive us away, which led to what happened later."

"So that's how it is! It was all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"

Si Long breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, glared fiercely at the guard, and took the blueprints from his hand: "However, please forgive me, my teacher rarely makes finished products for people anymore. If you don't mind, I can..."

As Si Long spoke with a forced smile, his eyes kept glancing at the blueprints. He thought to himself that with his master-level forging skills, it shouldn't be too difficult for him. But the next second, he froze, his eyes widening like saucers, and exclaimed, "This, what a genius design this is!"

"Now, may we pay our respects to Master Lou Gao?"

Xiao Yu's lips curled slightly, revealing a triumphant smile.

"sure!"

Si Long nodded hurriedly. He had never seen such an exquisite design before. Just this blueprint alone could make the other party a top-tier guest of their blacksmith association. Moreover, as Lou Gao's personal disciple, he knew very well that his teacher was currently in a bottleneck period. Creating those monotonous finished products was no longer of any use to his teacher. Only novel designs like this could give his teacher new insights into forging and allow him to reach new heights.

Si Long immediately led Xiao Yu and the others to the fifth floor. Between the fourth and fifth floors, in addition to the guards from before, there was a metal door made of alloy. Without a specific method, unless a Title Douluo used all his strength, no one could open this door.

Silong stepped forward and gently knocked on the metal door in a rhythmic manner. With a series of creaking sounds, the metal door slowly opened to the side, revealing the passageway to the upper floor.

"Please, everyone!"

Si Long led the way, taking Xiao Yu and the others up to the fifth floor. They went straight to the innermost foundry, number one, stood respectfully by the door, and knocked on the metal door.

After a while, the door slowly opened, and an elderly man of about fifty years old with broad shoulders and a thick waist walked out. He said somewhat impatiently, "Silong, didn't I already tell you that you're not allowed to bother me unless it's something important?"

"I'm sorry, teacher!"

Silong respectfully apologized first, then handed over the blueprint in his hand: "Teacher, please take a look at this."

"What is it?"

Lou Gao took the blueprints as he spoke, and the next moment his eyes widened like Si Long's before, and he grabbed Si Long's arm, asking, "Where did you get this?"

Si Long had anticipated the teacher's reaction. He stepped aside, revealing Xiao Yu and his group behind him, and said, "Teacher, these are for these guests. They would like to ask you to help them build them according to the design."

"Are these blueprints yours?"

Lou Gao then noticed the group following Si Long. He scrutinized them with a critical eye and asked suspiciously. After all, apart from Hui Huo, the others were all too young. And from Hui Huo's position, it was clear he was a bodyguard, not the person in charge.

"good!"

Xiao Yu nodded: "If it's convenient for Master Lou Gao, why don't we go inside and talk?"

"Alright, come in, everyone. Silong, you come too!"

Lou Gao immediately realized what was happening, nodded, and turned to go back to his room.

Xiao Yu turned to Zi Long, Xie Wu, and the others and said, "I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye on things outside for me!"

"Yes, young master!"

The Purple Dragon Evil Warrior and the others understood and nodded in unison.

Xiao Yu, Hui Huo, and Si Long entered the high-rise foundry.

The tall foundry was quite messy, but it was a very large place, more than 500 square meters, with all sorts of random metals scattered around.

"Please make yourself at home, sit wherever you like."

Lou Gao waved his hand and plopped down at his work table.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu didn't stand on ceremony. He casually picked up an overturned chair, wiped off the dust, and sat down. Hui Huo followed suit and sat down behind Xiao Yu, while Si Long stood respectfully beside Lou Gao.

"Young man, isn't that a soul tool drawn on your blueprint?"

Lou Gao looked at Xiao Yu and spoke.

Xiao Yu was taken aback; he hadn't expected Lou Gao to be able to see that.

"Don't be so surprised."

Lou Gao said in a deep voice, "In order to study this, I once tried to disassemble a storage soul tool. Your core formation has too many similarities with the core I disassembled back then. I just didn't expect that there would actually be offensive soul tools in this world."

"good!"

Seeing this, Xiao Yu no longer concealed his intentions and nodded, saying, "As expected of Master Lou Gao, this is indeed a design blueprint for a soul tool with powerful offensive capabilities. And I'm not bragging, but if it can be successfully developed, it could even kill a Soul Douluo-level expert by surprise."

"What?"

Si Long, standing behind Lou Gao, exclaimed, "Wasn't the technology of soul tools lost thousands of years ago? Apart from a very few storage soul tools, there are almost no new soul tools to be seen on this continent."

"Just because it's lost doesn't mean it doesn't exist!"

Xiao Yu glanced at Si Long indifferently, then continued to smile and look up at the building.

"You didn't come here really to have me create a finished product for you, did you?"

Although Lou Gao was a forging fanatic, he had served as the guild leader for decades and wasn't entirely ignorant of human relationships: "The technology of soul tools has been lost for thousands of years. We only have blueprints, and this should be a high-level soul tool. Even I couldn't possibly forge it!"

"good!"

Xiao Yu still wore a warm smile and said, "This blueprint is just a stepping stone for me. The purpose of my visit today is..."

As he spoke, Xiao Yu stood up and looked at Lou Gao solemnly, saying, "I wish to invite Master Lou Gao and the Blacksmiths' Association to join my sect, the Nine Star Palace!"

"Kid, you're way too arrogant!"

Lou Gao shook his head: "You think you can win over the entire Blacksmiths' Association with just this one blueprint? You're being too naive. I admit that the design of this high-level soul tool is indeed attractive, but that's not enough to make my entire Blacksmiths' Association follow you. Besides, as I just said, soul tools have been lost for a thousand years, and the level of the soul tool in this design is too high. Even I wouldn't dare say that I could definitely build it."

"As I just said, this is merely a stepping stone to gain an audience with you, Master."

Xiao Yu smiled slightly: "As for what you said about the difficulty in crafting it, Master, I certainly understand. Everything progresses from simple to complex. As long as I provide you with a few more low-level, simple soul tool blueprints for you to practice on, once you understand the core technology, I believe crafting this high-level soul tool will be a piece of cake!"

"You mean you still have blueprints for low-level soul tools, and a lot of them!"

Lou Gao was truly unsettled. He stood up abruptly, his small eyes shining as he stared at Xiao Yu for a long time, unable to calm down.

"It's not just design blueprints, but also books about the history and core design concepts of soul tools. I wonder if these will appeal to Master Lou Gao?"

Xiao Yu continued, like a persuasive shill, "Master Lou Gao, you are well aware of the current state of the Blacksmiths' Association. Gengxin City, as the headquarters of the Blacksmiths' Association, is doing relatively well, but you must also know the status of blacksmiths in other places."

The root of all this is that most blacksmiths lack offensive capabilities, and the Blacksmiths' Association lacks deterrent power in the Soul Master world. Otherwise, a minor commotion wouldn't have required Grandmaster Si Long, a Soul Saint, to personally intervene.

"Think about it again. If these offensive soul tools were developed, not to mention how many soul master sects would be begging us to sell them to others, just imagine what it would be like if the soul masters of the Blacksmith Association were equipped with them on a large scale!"

Lou Gao's breathing became rapid. He had been moved by Xiao Yu's words, and the image of the blacksmith's status rising rapidly in the future could not help but appear in his mind.

Lou Gao also fell silent. Xiao Yu's words made a lot of sense. In the Soul Master world, blacksmiths had the lowest status and were bullied by almost anyone. Even in Gengxin City, the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association and known as the Metal Capital, Bishop Miles of the Spirit Hall, a Soul Emperor of level sixty-something, was allowed to act arrogantly in front of a group of Soul Saints.

The Blacksmith Association is not without powerful Soul Masters. Besides Lou Gao, the other two of the three great blacksmiths of the world, Tang Hao and Titan, are renowned figures in the Soul Master world. Titan is known as the God of Strength. With his Soul Douluo cultivation, he has built a foundation for the powerful clan in Heaven Dou City. In terms of strength alone, he can even be compared with a Title Douluo level expert.

Tang Hao goes without saying; he is the youngest Title Douluo on the continent. Although he is now a wanted criminal by the Spirit Hall, many Soul Masters still regard him as an idol.

But does the Soul Master world really regard them as blacksmiths? Perhaps they themselves don't truly consider themselves part of the blacksmithing profession. Tang Hao is merely a figurehead, and Titan, as the association's vice president, only visits the association every three to five years, barely giving the Blacksmith Association any recognition.

After a long silence, Lou Gao finally spoke slowly: "Boy, I'll only ask you one question: Is it true that your sect has a lost soul tool inheritance, or are you just lying to us to win over the Blacksmith Association?"

"I swear on my martial spirit!"

Xiao Yu looked directly at Lou Gao and said solemnly. In the Douluo Continent, swearing an oath with one's martial soul is the most serious guarantee, after all, the martial soul is the foundation of one's life, unless one does not intend to make any further progress in cultivation in the future.

After a pause, Xiao Yu added, "I can also assure you, Senior, that as long as you are willing to join the Nine Star Palace, I will provide you with all the books and design blueprints related to soul tools, without holding anything back!"

"Alright, since that's the case, then I'll follow you from now on!"

Lou Gao slapped his thigh and exclaimed "Great!" Then he turned to Si Long and asked, "Si Long, what about you? What are your thoughts?"

Silong immediately declared, "Teacher, this is a great thing that will change the status of us blacksmiths. Silong will definitely follow you. I think Siyu and Sidi must feel the same way."

Lou Gao nodded, then turned to Xiao Yu and said, "Please rest in Gengxin City for a few more days, young master. Once we have settled the matters of the Blacksmith Association, we will set off with you."

"Master Lou, you're too kind!"

Xiao Yu knew that the Blacksmiths' Association was such a large organization that Lou Gao and his group couldn't possibly leave easily, so he added, "Actually, I have another purpose for this trip. Manufacturing soul tools requires a large amount of metal, so I need to purchase a lot of metal. I wonder if Master Lou Gao can help with this?"

"That's easy!"

Lou Gao laughed heartily, "I wouldn't mind if this old man paid the bill!"

"That definitely won't do!"

Xiao Yu said solemnly, "As the saying goes, without rules, there can be no order. The Nine Star Palace has its own rules and will never take away the private property of any disciple, much less harm the interests of any disciple!"

Lou Gao nodded again upon hearing this, feeling even more favorably disposed towards the Nine Star Palace, a sect he didn't yet know much about. He then said to Si Long, "Si Long, I'll leave this to you. Whatever metal the young master and his group need, just let the association know, and we'll waive the fees!"

(End of this chapter)