Chapter 291: Chapter 261: The Blacksmith's City: Gengxin City
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Listening to those powerful words, Bibi Dong's heart raced, as if witnessing the greatness of a profound idea.
Is everyone truly a beacon of light?
In other words, even if the Spirit Hall ultimately fails, as long as someone inherits this will, others will rise again, advancing courageously and unyieldingly.
If so, then the Spirit Hall will no longer belong solely to the Angel lineage, but will be guided by that powerful thought and will!
So that's it—
Revenge can be this magnificent and grand!
But does such an idea really exist?
Tang San continued, "The ants on the ground are insignificant, while the great birds in the sky soar high. We need to spread the message: even if one lives like an ant, one should aspire to the ambitions of a great bird."
"Even if one's spirit lacks soul power and one cannot become a Soul Master, they can still contribute their own talents."
"I believe, Your Holiness, you are well aware that ordinary people, apart from lacking the spirit talent of Soul Masters, are not inferior in other aspects, especially in intellect."
"Only because they lack access to advanced knowledge, have not experienced proper education, and are limited by poverty, they are looked down upon by the nobles."
"The Spirit Hall is built upon Soul Masters, but the majority of the population consists of ordinary people. Ninety-nine percent of the wealth on the continent is created by them. They are the foundation of productivity."
"If you, as the Pope, wish to establish a nation, you must base it on them, not just on Soul Masters."
Bibi Dong was deeply shaken and took a moment to regain her composure before asking, "How should we spread this message?"
"As I have said, Your Holiness can discuss with others in the Spirit Hall, make adjustments, and then publish it. Arrange for personnel to promote it and send grassroots members of the Spirit Hall to the countryside to establish Spirit Academies. On my way here, I noticed many Spirit Hall members are idle; it's time to make them work harder."
Bibi Dong said, "The Spirit Hall lacks funds."
"You can request funds from the two empires. After all, hasn't the Spirit Hall done this before? You can hold a press conference, claiming it's for the people's benefit, to help the continent's residents better understand common knowledge. Discuss this with the emperors of the two empires." Tang San suggested, "This way, residents of major cities will see it. If it succeeds, the people will support you, and the Spirit Hall will naturally win their hearts; if it fails, they will blame the emperors of the two empires."
"Is this about the Soul Guidance cameras? This technology has indeed changed the situation on the continent," Bibi Dong sighed softly. "But if we do this, my mystique as the Pope will be completely unveiled."
"Whether it's the current Pope of the Spirit Hall or the future emperor of a nation, they must frequently appear before the people. Otherwise, how will the populace know who the Pope or emperor is? In some remote areas, they might not even know there has been a change in leadership," Tang San argued with his own logic.
This was indeed a problem.
In fact, Bibi Dong knew that some city masters of the Spirit Hall's branches had only learned a year ago that she was the current Pope.
Without the advent of the Soul Guidance cameras, some of these branch masters might never know what was happening in Spirit City during their lifetime.
However, the rapid dissemination of information also brought another issue: if the Spirit Hall intended to establish a nation or go to war in the future, they would need more appropriate and justifiable reasons.
"Very well, the world should recognize me as the Pope of the Spirit Hall!" Bibi Dong pondered for a while and agreed, then brought up another matter, "Tang San, I want to marry Nana to you. What do you think?"
"I do not accept arranged marriages," Tang San said firmly. "Moreover, I am not familiar with her. We can discuss it after we get to know each other better."
Bibi Dong was momentarily speechless.
Was this acceptance?
Or rejection?
"Forget it, I won't force it," Bibi Dong said, changing the subject. "I heard you've been forging recently. Have you created any divine weapons?"
"I've only been refining metals," Tang San said, presenting the patterned metals he had forged and explaining his unique forging techniques.
Bibi Dong listened attentively, infusing her soul power into the three pieces of patterned metal before her. She found their soul power conductivity excellent, especially the five-patterned copper, which was so full of life it seemed almost sentient.
"If this metal were to come to life, could it be killed? And if it dies, would it drop a soul ring?" Bibi Dong suddenly wondered.
"Uh..." Tang San hadn't considered this before, but given that the non-human, cultivatable creatures of the Douluo Continent could drop soul rings, he speculated, "It should be possible, but it would be very difficult to kill. Even if it gains life, it remains metal in essence. To kill it, one would need to transform the metal into another substance or disrupt the energy flow patterns. In doing so, the forged metal would likely be ruined."
"Probably," Bibi Dong nodded, her beautiful eyes examining the patterned metal closely. "If weapons could be made from this metal and grow on their own, they might truly become divine weapons!"
"In fact, weapons forged from this metal could already be considered divine!"
Tang San responded modestly, "Not quite, but I do intend to forge a divine weapon. Your Holiness can wait and see."
"Oh? Then I am curious to see what kind of divine weapon you can forge," Bibi Dong waved her hand, and the three pieces of soul-forged metal floated back to Tang San, who stored them in his wristband.
"Rest assured, Your Holiness, the divine weapon I intend to forge will allow a Soul Saint to contend with a level 100 Titled Douluo!" Tang San's eyes sparkled with a hint of determination.
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Gengxin City
Three days later, Tang San, accompanied by Ning Rongrong, hurried to this blacksmith city within the Star Luo Empire.
Compared to other cities, this place had a flavor of the Industrial Revolution.
The city's buildings resembled modern high-rises, square and practical, filled with steam and rotating gears, making the entire city feel like a living fortress.
However, this also made the city's temperature one or two degrees higher than the outside.
"It's time for you to showcase your talents, Miss Rongrong,"
Tang San led Ning Rongrong to the ore market, stepping aside to let her choose the minerals.
Ning Rongrong, born into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, could use her martial spirit to sense valuable minerals and gems. That's why Tang San brought her along for this expedition.
"Hmph, finally, my talent can shine!" Ning Rongrong approached a stall and purchased a piece of pitch-black metal.
Tang San could sense the fire attribute energy within it. With his current spiritual power, even if he didn't recognize all metals, he could perceive their density and inherent properties. His treasure-hunting ability was on par with Ning Rongrong's.
The reason he brought her was that an extra pair of hands would make things easier, allowing them to procure more rare metals.
This time, he and Ning Rongrong had brought storage soul tools capable of holding nearly ten thousand tons of cargo!
Of course, it wasn't a single storage soul tool, but a collection of them. Once they finished their purchases, they could have the local Spirit Hall branch master transport everything to Spirit City.
This was one of the conveniences of the Spirit Hall's ruling system—no matter what they bought, they could have the local Spirit Hall transport it, saving time and effort.
Meanwhile, the extensive purchasing by Tang San and Ning Rongrong caught the attention of local powers in Gengxin City.
At the Blacksmith Association:
A tall, muscular young man approached an elderly, stout man who was swinging a hammer, sparks flying from the piece of mithril on the forge. This elder was none other than the renowned Divine Craftsman of the Douluo Continent, Lou Gao.
The young man was his disciple, Si Long.
Knowing that Lou Gao was completely absorbed in his forging, Si Long did not interrupt but waited patiently for his master to finish.
An hour later, Lou Gao stopped hammering and laughed heartily, "Not bad, another piece of thousand-refined mithril, and it even shows a hint of sentience. It seems my forging skills have improved again."
"Congratulations, Master!" As Lou Gao's disciple, Si Long was equally devoted to the craft. His master's progress in forging also meant future advancements for him.
"Haha, just a minor improvement, nothing worth mentioning." Lou Gao suddenly became serious, instructing Si Long, "Shouldn't you be practicing your forging techniques? Why are you here? I've taught you all I can. This method to imbue a hint of sentience into metal is something I only recently figured out, and I still haven't perfected it. How did you get wind of this?"
Embarrassed, Si Long explained, "Master, it's not about that. Two people have come to the city and are buying up large quantities of rare metals."
"Large quantities?" Lou Gao's expression turned serious, though his tone carried a hint of sarcasm. "Just two people? Sounds like a secretive purchase. Could it be that the two empires are preparing for war? But there's been no such news."
"I don't know about that, but I do know who they are. They are last year's Continental Elite Tournament champions," Si Long replied. "One of them is Ning Rongrong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, who joined the Spirit Hall personally. The other is Tang San, the captain of the Tian Dou Imperial Team, a commoner by birth but possessing the bloodline of the Haotian Clan. He is most likely the son of that famous figure and is now the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall."
"Tang San? It's him!" Lou Gao was startled.
When it came to Tang San, Lou Gao had only one thought: extraordinary.
Defeating a rank 98 Super Douluo as a Soul King... that's beyond exceptional!
However, what interested Lou Gao the most was Tang San's strength. From the ongoing broadcasts of the Continental Elite Tournament, Lou Gao keenly observed that Tang San was also a blacksmith. His control over power was incredibly precise, even surpassing the Haotian Clan's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique.
"Invite him to the Blacksmith Association... No! I'll go myself!"
---
In the Douluo Dalu universe during the first period, Lou Gao's forging skills were regarded as those of a Divine Craftsman. However, by the third period, they would only be considered spirit forging, equivalent to a level five blacksmith. Ultimately, to forge the Peacock Plume, Lou Gao sacrificed himself in the furnace, possibly achieving the level of fusion forging.
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(End of Chapter)
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