"Understood, I'll find Lou Gao right away!" Dragon Duke nodded and went up to the fourth floor.
Meanwhile, with pen and paper from Ning Rongrong, Tianlin began writing a very important letter—a key to their future.
If he wanted to unify the continent without relying on Spirit Hall, the sect alone wouldn't be enough. They'd need armies, territory, and logistics.
Tianlin had a way to get these. This time, he was sure he'd surprise Ning Fengzhi.
Soon, Dragon Duke returned and had already instructed Lou Gao to recruit blacksmiths. Although the Blacksmith Association had limited numbers, that didn't mean all blacksmiths in the world were concentrated here.
With Lou Gao's status, a single word from him would rally eighty percent of the world's blacksmiths. Even though Tang Hao and Tai Tan were both divine blacksmiths, in the hearts of all blacksmiths, their status couldn't compare to Lou Gao's.
Lou Gao's position among blacksmiths was like the Pope of Spirit Hall among soul masters. That's why Tianlin valued him so much.
Just in time, Tianlin finished writing his letter and handed it to Dragon Duke. "Senior, have you heard of this person? I'll trouble you to deliver this on your way back."
"Huh? This signature..." Elder Long frowned at the recipient's name, muttering, "You and your father-in-law really hit it off. Not long ago, when Old Poison and I went to hunt my ninth soul ring, we delivered a letter from him to this person's father. Now you're sending a letter to his son. Quite the tacit understanding."
"To his father?" Tianlin was stunned, quickly retrieving the letter. "Senior, no need to deliver this."
As expected, Ning Fengzhi was an old fox, coming up with the same idea as Tianlin. But while Tianlin relied on original work knowledge for his insight, Ning Fengzhi must have started making arrangements long ago.
Tianlin mused, "Was it during the Soul Master Tournament? No, probably earlier, maybe when I first entered Heaven Dou Imperial Academy."
But no matter what, since Ning Fengzhi had already made all the other arrangements, Tianlin didn't need to worry. After bringing back the blacksmiths, he could focus on raising the strength of himself, Ning Rongrong, and the other young generation.
In terms of the older generation, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could never match Spirit Hall, even though Chen Xin had reached Rank 99—it wasn't enough to face all of Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo.
Just Qian Daoliu alone, if Ning Fengzhi wasn't around, would mean that even if Chen Xin fought him again, the best result would be mutual destruction. Unless Chen Xin's swordsmanship took another step forward.
As for the others, Gu Rong was only as strong as the weakest two of the Worship.
Dugu Bo, with the Snow Swan Kiss, couldn't even beat a Rank 95, and even if he reached Rank 96, he could only defend against poison, not kill stronger foes. Against Rank 97 and above, he'd have no chance.
Therefore, the younger generation was their real hope of surpassing Spirit Hall.
"Sister Xue, since fate has pitted us against each other, let's fight openly and honorably on the battlefield. War knows no good or evil. No matter the outcome, we'll be enemies, but never mortal foes," Tianlin murmured, looking in the direction Qian Renxue had left.
…
Night soon fell. Qian Renxue's group had gone far, and Tianlin also planned to leave Gengxin City the next day. That night, he paid a visit to the Spirit Hall's branch hall.
Meyers was inside, furiously smashing things, enraged that Tianlin had escaped unharmed.
In the past, anyone who offended him saw their whole family die. But now, he was utterly powerless against Tianlin—both in strength and backing.
"What a madman. How did trash like you become head of the hall? Qian Xunji must have been blind!" Tianlin suddenly appeared behind him, mocking.
Startled, Meyers turned to see Tianlin's mocking smile. He was about to shout, but Tianlin's sword was too fast; before he could utter a sound, his head was severed by the demon sword.
"Sorry, but compared to you, I'm not really a villain. So the saying that the villain dies by talking too much doesn't apply to me!"
After killing him, Tianlin didn't forget to loot the place. Meyers had lorded over Gengxin City for so long—who knew how much he had hoarded?
Scanning the room, Tianlin smashed a wall with his palm—it was hollow, sure enough, there was a hidden chamber.
Inside, all the riches Meyers had extorted over the years were piled up—gold soul coins, jewels, and trinkets.
These meant nothing to Tianlin; Ning Fengzhi's pocket money was worth more.
"Utter waste. After all these years, not a single genuinely useful treasure. No ten-thousand-year soul bones, not even a few thousand-year ones. What's the point of just hoarding money?" Tianlin couldn't help but complain.
Still, a mosquito is meat, however small. He put all the money and jewels into his storage soul tool, planning to give some to the Blacksmith Association and return the rest to the people of Gengxin City—after all, it was their property originally.
Just then, two inconspicuous stones in a corner caught Tianlin's eye. One was pitch black, like charcoal, with a dead dragon carved on it. The other was crystal clear, glowing like a crystal ball. Tianlin could sense a powerful spiritual energy from both.
More importantly, his storage soul tool couldn't absorb these two stones.
"Could this be...?" Tianlin picked up the crystal ball and poured some soul power into it. Instantly, it lit up with the nine colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black, and white, illuminating the entire secret chamber like daylight.
"The Nine-Lustre Spirit Core! It really is the Nine-Lustre Spirit Core, the legendary divine stone described in the Shu Mountain Treasure Record's weapon-crafting chapter!"
"And the other one...?" Tianlin set down the Nine-Lustre Spirit Core and picked up the other stone. Palm-sized, yet incredibly heavy—several thousand pounds at least, though nothing to Tianlin.
Judging by appearance, it seemed ordinary, but if he was right, this stone with the dead dragon carving was likely Dragonfall Divine Iron, another kind of legendary divine stone. Otherwise, it couldn't possibly coexist with the Nine-Lustre Spirit Core.
Meyers probably stumbled upon these in Gengxin City, which was full of casting stones, not knowing their use but keeping them for their extraordinary looks. Now, Tianlin had picked up a huge bargain!