Tianlin's words relieved Bai Chenxiang and Ma Hongjun. They'd thought if they met a good main hall master, they'd have to obey him.
Just showing respect and goodwill was fine. Even Bai Chenxiang, who hated Spirit Hall, could accept that. She'd seen many small Spirit Hall branches where the leaders genuinely cared for the people, worked hard to awaken children's martial souls for free, and never withheld subsidies. Some even tried to help her clan, advising them to claim their benefits and clarifying it didn't mean joining Spirit Hall.
For such people, even if they belonged to Spirit Hall, Bai Chenxiang couldn't truly hate them.
"Sword brother, why didn't you kill him? And why reveal your identity?" Ning Rongrong asked. "That guy holds grudges. Now that he knows you're alone, he'll definitely report to Spirit City and try to get you killed."
"You're right—he'll report it. But Spirit Hall isn't so easy to deal with right now," Tianlin smiled.
"After seeing the power of the Martial God and Mountain God I summoned, they know ordinary Title Douluos can't kill me. Only the Worship Hall elders could stand a chance. But Qian Daoliu has promised not to target the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect again, and his word is trustworthy—he swore on the Angel God's name. He won't break that easily.
"And if I were Spirit Hall, and heard that the two best talents of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were traveling alone, I'd assume they had a top-level guardian secretly following and wouldn't act rashly.
"In reality, that's exactly the case. Even if Qian Daoliu breaks his promise, we have the Star Shift Talisman to summon my master. After the last big battle, Qian Daoliu was wounded by my master's semi-divine sword energy—he won't recover for at least a year or two. He can't act. Gold Crocodile isn't around. Unless Spirit Hall risks everything, they can't threaten us.
"They won't do that—their enemies aren't just us, but also the Clear Sky Sect and both empires. If they use all their resources on us, unifying the continent would be a joke.
"As for Bibi Dong herself, well, who knows how much strength she really has left? So I guess that after hearing about me, Spirit Hall won't act rashly, but they won't ignore it either. Most likely, she'll come to meet me herself."
Hearing Tianlin say "she," Ning Rongrong, with a girl's intuition, instantly guessed who he meant.
She held Tianlin's hand uneasily. "You want to see her?"
"Yes. It's a good opportunity. Before, we always wore masks when talking. I want to have a candid conversation with her—some things need to be clarified sooner rather than later." Tianlin squeezed her hand. "Sorry, Rongrong, I guess I've been a bit of a scoundrel. After all these years together, I can't say I don't care about her at all. But I promise, you'll always be the most important person to me!"
"I understand—I trust you, sword brother!" Ning Rongrong pretended to smile lightly. Of course, she minded, but she wanted to trust Tianlin more.
"Thank you for what you did just now, Sword Prince," Si Long came over to thank Tianlin. He knew Tianlin had deliberately escalated things into a conflict between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall to protect the blacksmith association.
Otherwise, if he'd just taught Meyers a lesson, Meyers might have taken it out on the blacksmith association.
Spirit Hall itself had little interest in the blacksmith association. Compared to soul masters, blacksmiths were far less important. Absorbing the association was just Meyer's personal scheme—he wanted a kickback since the association made decent money in the city.
Now, after shouting those three times, Meyer was in trouble himself. He'd be thinking of how to make up for it, or hide the whole incident; otherwise, who knows how Spirit Hall would punish him.
So all the hatred naturally fell on Tianlin.
Out of gratitude, Si Long decided to be their guide for the day and accompany them to the ore market, to keep the crafty merchants from scamming the young people.
As a grandmaster-level blacksmith, he was fairly knowledgeable about ores.
But when they reached the market, he was stunned by Ning Rongrong. She picked a shop at random and scanned the stones on the table.
"This one, this one, and this one—Fatty, Chenxiang, catch!"
Soon, after finishing one store, she went to another, repeating the process. Bai Chenxiang and Ma Hongjun scrambled to catch the stones she tossed.
"Brother Tianlin, I know your sect is rich, but you can't just splurge like this. These stones haven't even been appraised—if they're all junk, you'll lose a fortune! Let me check them first before you buy," Si Long advised.
"No need to worry. I guarantee every stone Rongrong chooses is a treasure—not a single piece of junk," Tianlin said confidently.
Even among Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagodas, not all are equal. Ning Rongrong's pagoda was far superior to Ning Fengzhi's, and her ability to appraise treasures was the best in the sect—maybe even the whole continent.
If she wanted, she could become the richest woman on the Douluo Continent in no time, letting Tianlin live the good life.
By the time they returned to the blacksmith association, Ma Hongjun and Bai Chenxiang's storage soul tools were packed full.
Si Long hurried to appraise them. His Diamond Chisel martial soul wasn't great for combat, but it was perfect for stone cutting and appraisal.
Soon, as the black stones shattered, all the precious ores from the original story appeared before them—sheet metal, Coldheart Iron Essence, Deep Sea Silver Mother, and more.
"Little girl, are you interested in joining the blacksmith association? I guarantee your status here would be no less than my teacher's!" Si Long was so excited he forgot Ning Rongrong's identity.
For blacksmiths, ores are everything. The rarer the ore, the stronger the weapon. With Ning Rongrong around, would they ever lack ores again?
Ning Rongrong, startled by his enthusiasm, hid behind Tianlin. "Sorry, Senior Si Long. My father wants me to go back and inherit the sect."
Only then did Si Long remember—she wasn't an ordinary girl, but the heir of what was, in reality, already the number one sect in the land.
Why would she ever join the blacksmith association?