Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

He patted his forehead, a hint of annoyance on his face, but quickly suppressed by the excitement of about to acquire a spirit ring.

“It’s alright,” he muttered to himself. “I can ask my father for two more when I see him next time. Besides, I need one for myself when I absorb a spirit ring this time.”

Only when he thought of the pills that allowed him to absorb a spirit ring beyond his level did Yu Xiaogang regain a little of his rationality.

His future reputation and the proof of his theories will depend on these two exceptionally talented disciples.

"After a few days, once I successfully absorb my third soul ring, I'll go to my father for the pills," Yu Xiaogang thought to himself, a self-deprecating smile on his face.

"When the time comes, I'll give them the pills again. They'll then understand how much their teacher cares for them and how I helped them find such a precious opportunity..."

He could almost see Tang San and Cinderella moved to tears of gratitude, and his mood grew even more cheerful as he buried himself back into his great work of creating spirit rings.

Chapter 157 Hundred Refinement Workshop

After leaving Yu Xiaogang's house, Cinderella and Tang San found everything new and exciting. Moreover, as the imperial city of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City was naturally bustling and lively.

Moreover, Tang San was a Tang Clan assassin in his previous life, who devoted himself to studying hidden weapons. In the end, he jumped off a cliff to prove his loyalty after being discovered secretly learning the inner sect's secret techniques.

Although Tangmenbao, where he lived, was grand, it was full of strict rules and cold machinery. He had never seen such a lively and vibrant scene of human life.

He had hardly ever gone shopping before, especially not in this bustling metropolis of another world.

As for Cinderella, needless to say, as Cinderella, she was constantly bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters. She didn't eat or sleep well, had no friends, and hardly owned any decent dresses. She spent her days surrounded by dust and the stove and had no time to play. Her only joy was communicating with small animals like mice and birds.

After being summoned to this world by Lin Wan, before awakening their martial souls, they stayed in Holy Soul Village with Tang San. After awakening their martial souls, they went to school in the remote Notting City and didn't have much time to relax.

Therefore, everything they saw was new and exciting.

The streets were bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, laughing and talking, and the rumble of carts and horses rolling over the cobblestones mingled together, creating a vibrant energy that assaulted the senses of the two men.

Shops lined both sides of the road, their banners fluttering in the breeze. Vendors selling all sorts of snacks emitted enticing aromas: golden-brown, juicy roasted soul beast meat, plump, steaming pastries, and translucent sugar figurines…

All of this made Cinderella secretly swallow.

There were also shops selling exotic items, with their windows displaying shimmering soul tools, colorful fabrics, uniquely shaped handicrafts, and even some low-level soul beast cubs that looked quite docile and kept in cages.

The two walked slowly forward with the flow of people, and Cinderella was simply overwhelmed by the sights.

Tang San silently followed half a step beside Cinderella, seemingly also observing the street scene, but in reality, all his senses were in a subtle state of alertness.

He carefully protected Cinderella, preventing her from being bumped by pedestrians, while his sharp gaze swept over everyone who approached, especially those men whose eyes lingered on Cinderella's outstanding appearance, each of whom would elicit a fleeting chill from the depths of his eyes.

In his mind, any factor that might pose a threat to his sister must be guarded against.

"Sis, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Tang San noticed Cinderella's gaze sweeping over the food stalls several times and asked in a low voice.

Cinderella rubbed her stomach and nodded with a smile: "I am a little hungry."

Tang San immediately led her to a relatively clean and tidy stall and bought two steaming hot pancakes filled with thick portions of soul beast meat and fresh vegetables.

Cinderella took it and ate it in small bites.

"Is it good?" Tang San looked at her, his eyes softening slightly.

"Yes!" Cinderella nodded.

"You should try it, it's delicious."

Tang San also took a bite of the sesame seed cake in his hand, chewing slowly. It tasted quite good, but his attention was mostly focused on his surroundings.

While eating, he discreetly observed the layout of the street, the direction of the flow of people, and the locations of the blacksmith shops and building materials stores.

Tang San had visited blacksmith shops in Notting City before, but Notting City was too remote, and the blacksmith shops were all too small. They didn't have any good metals at all, and most of them were not as good as the metal that Tang San forged himself.

Therefore, upon arriving in Tiandou City, Tang San was eager to find a large blacksmith shop or materials store to buy some high-quality metals to forge some powerful hidden weapons.

"Sister, let's go that way." Tang San pointed to a fork in the road, where the clanging of blacksmithing was more frequent.

“Okay.” Cinderella naturally had no objections.

The further you go in that direction, the more weapon shops, armor shops, and blacksmith shops there are on both sides of the street. The air is filled with the smell of metal and charcoal.

Tang San's gaze became focused. He slowed his pace, looking at each shop one by one, observing the quality of the samples displayed at the shop entrances, and listening to the forging sounds coming from inside to judge the craftsman's skill.

Some shops displayed forged swords hanging at their entrances, gleaming coldly. Others displayed armor, heavy and sturdy. Still others displayed strangely shaped metal components of unknown purpose.

As Tang San walked, his pace gradually slowed down. His gaze passed over the stalls ahead and settled on the storefront of a shop that looked to be quite large.

The shop's storefront was much more spacious than the surrounding shops, made of heavy solid wood, with a black plaque with gold lettering hanging above the door, bearing the three large characters "Bai Lian Fang" in a flamboyant style.

Several finished weapon samples—swords, spears, and halberds—were displayed on either side of the entrance, gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.

Even from a distance, one could faintly hear the rhythmic forging sounds emanating from inside, steady and powerful.

This is quite different from the small-scale blacksmith shops in Nottingham.

Tang San's heart raced slightly. He could sense that this shop might have something he needed.

"Shall we go take a look?" Cinderella could tell that Tang San was interested in this.

"Mm." Tang San nodded.

The two crossed the street and headed towards the Hundred Refinement Workshop. The closer they got, the more they could sense the extraordinary nature of this shop. The flow of people coming and going was clearly dominated by Soul Masters, and their clothing and demeanor were different from ordinary civilians.

A waiter dressed in a clean and neat outfit stood at the entrance, wearing a professional smile, but with sharp eyes, sizing up the customers coming and going.

Tang San and Cinderella walked to the door. The shopkeeper's gaze swept over them. When he saw their simple clothes and young faces, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but his smile did not diminish. He simply stepped forward and politely asked, "Gentlemen, what would you like? Our Hundred Refinements Workshop undertakes the customization of all kinds of weapons and the sale of metal materials. The quality is absolutely guaranteed."

His tone was neither warm nor cold; it was a businesslike politeness.

Tang San didn't care about the other party's attitude; his gaze had already passed over the shop assistant and landed inside the shop.

The interior was very spacious, with tall shelves standing against the walls, displaying various metal ingots and raw ores, some of which even emitted faint energy fluctuations.

On the other side was a huge display stand, on which were displayed many completed weapons and armor, gleaming coldly.

"Let's take a look at the materials first," Tang San replied calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Chapter 158 Black Iron

Seeing this, the waiter stopped being overly enthusiastic and stepped aside to make way, gesturing for them to make themselves at home: "Please make yourself at home, and feel free to call me if you need anything."

Tang San nodded slightly and walked into the Hundred Refinement Workshop with Cinderella.

The store was more spacious inside than outside, and a peculiar smell of metal, charcoal and grease filled the air.

Rows of tall shelves stand against the wall, neatly stacked with metal ingots of various purities and unpolished ore raw materials.

From the most common pig iron and refined iron to the expensive sunken silver and black iron, and even some special metals that shimmer with strange luster and whose names Tang San couldn't recall, everything is available here.

On the other side of the display stand, there are finished weapons and armor. The swords are sharp and the armor is thick and solid, gleaming coldly under the lights. They are obviously made by skilled craftsmen.

Tang San's gaze skipped over the finished products and went straight to the area where the metal materials were piled up.

He stretched out his finger and gently tapped the metal he had his eye on, listening to the sound it made.

Then pick up a small piece and weigh it to feel its density and texture.

Cinderella quietly followed Tang San without saying a word to disturb him, after all, Tang San was the expert when it came to choosing metal.

"This piece of sunken silver has too many impurities, lacks toughness, and is easily broken."

"The black iron is not bad, with high density, but unfortunately it has tiny pores inside, which affects its strength."

"Hmm? This piece of cloud-patterned steel was quenched at a slightly higher temperature, resulting in coarse internal grains. What a pity."

Tang San quickly made his judgment in his mind, his brows furrowing slightly.

Compared to this place, the blacksmith's shop in Nottingham is like a garbage dump versus a treasure trove.

The materials here are diverse and of much higher quality, but they still fall short of his standards for crafting high-grade hidden weapons.

What he needs is a special metal that is purer, more uniform, and can effectively conduct soul power and internal force.

Just as Tang San was feeling slightly disappointed and was about to check the next shelf, his gaze inadvertently swept over an inconspicuous wooden box in the corner.

The wooden box was half-open, inside which were piled several dark, unremarkable metal ingots, their surfaces even somewhat rough, like unrefined ore.

However, Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes keenly detected that beneath the dark surface, there was a faint, restrained silver-gray luster flowing within.

He paused, walked over, and picked up a piece.

It feels slightly heavy in the hand, even heavier than refined iron of the same volume.

It felt cool to the touch, and its texture was extremely fine and uniform. He tried to infuse a wisp of his soul power into it.

The moment the soul power surged in, a glint flashed in Tang San's eyes.

Unimpeded!

This seemingly unremarkable piece of black metal had an exceptionally good conductivity for the soul power he had cultivated with his Xuan Tian Gong, with almost no loss or obstruction.

Moreover, after the soul power flowed through it, a strange resonance seemed to occur inside the metal, making it even more resilient.

"What kind of metal is this?" Tang San looked up at the man who had followed him.

The waiter glanced at it, a hint of surprise on his face, then smiled and said, "Sir, you have a good eye. This is Black Xuan Iron, a very rare metal, produced in the far north, and its output is extremely limited. It is extremely hard and has excellent toughness, especially in its ability to conduct soul power. However, because it is extremely difficult to refine and has a rough and unsightly surface, it is not easy to forge, so there are not many people who know its value, and the price is not cheap."

"How much does it cost?" Tang San asked directly.

The shopkeeper quoted a price, which was indeed nearly 50% more expensive than the same weight of black iron.

Tang San didn't haggle. He simply picked up the other pieces of black iron and examined them carefully. After confirming that the quality was about the same, he pointed to the half-box of black iron and said, "I'll take all of these."

The shopkeeper was taken aback, not expecting this seemingly young and plainly dressed boy to be so generous. This half-box of black iron was quite valuable.

"Guest, are you sure? This black iron is quite heavy, and..."

"Confirmed." Tang San interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. He took out a money pouch from the Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moonlit Night, containing the gold soul coins that Tang Hao had left behind when he departed. "Count them, is it enough?"

This "Moonlit Night over the Twenty-Four Bridges" was naturally a gift from Yu Xiaogang.

Not only Tang San wore the ring on his waist, but Cinderella also wore a more exquisite ring on her finger, which was also more convenient for storing things.

Before setting off for Tiandou City, Yu Xiaogang handed over these two soul tools to them.

The stated reason was that the trip would take several days, giving them time to pack their belongings. But the deeper reason, which both knew perfectly well, was that this theoretical master was constantly thinking about how to get closer to them.

From daily guidance to occasional expressions of concern, and now this seemingly casual yet deliberate gift, all he hopes is that they will be grateful and willingly formally become his disciples in the future, becoming living testimonies for him to prove his theories.

Tang San and Cinderella tacitly accepted the gift, maintaining a facade of harmony as master and disciple by addressing each other as "teacher."

After all, it would be foolish not to take advantage of a good deal. As for whether he will actually become an apprentice in the future? That's a matter for later.