bookbashuk Chapter 173 The Blacksmiths' Association of Gengxin City
Chapter 173 The Blacksmiths' Association of Gengxin City
Chapter 173 The Blacksmiths' Association of Gengxin City (Part Two)
Upon hearing Xue'er's words, Siyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, we blacksmiths never play tricks in our lives. Otherwise, we wouldn't entrust the things we've made to them for auction. Besides, it's rare to see a young man who knows so much."
Apart from fellow blacksmiths, what noble son or sect disciple would care about the effort a blacksmith puts into forging iron? Xiao Yan's heartfelt words did indeed win the blacksmiths' favor.
"Senior Brother, this young man is here to buy Niobium-Tantalum Crystal. I remember we have a few hundred grams of it in our inventory."
After answering Xue'er, Siyu turned to her senior brother Sidi, who was walking towards her, and explained the purpose of Xiao Yan and the others' visit.
Xue'er lowered her guard after hearing Siyu's answer. Xiao Yan looked at her and sighed inwardly, realizing that she had come from the imperial palace and had not had much contact with these enthusiastic blacksmith uncles.
At least the blacksmiths Xiao Yan has encountered so far have all been quite good.
"Yes, but what can a few hundred grams of niobium-tantalum crystal make? That mineral was just something our master bought from the far north at a high price. It turned out that, apart from being able to be inlaid on armor to look nice, it's difficult for it to react with other ores and metals. Young brother, what do you want this crystal for?"
Sisi leaned closer and looked at Xiao Yan. He was dressed in extraordinary clothes and had a heroic air about him. It seemed that the latter wanted the mineral and wanted to use it as decoration. If it were inlaid indoors, it would be as crystal clear as the stars in the night sky.
"This is my second purpose for coming here." Xiao Yan said, taking out the piece of Heavenly Fire Refined Iron that was radiating heat from his storage device. He had given the Refined Iron to the Rolling Beast to absorb after acquiring it, and now the violent fire element emanating from its body had diminished considerably.
"What is this?" Lou Gao's two disciples widened their eyes at the same time, looked at each other, and were quite certain that they were not mistaken. This piece of refined iron was the one that their master had been thinking about day and night but could not conquer.
"Young man, it's unrealistic to expect our master to forge this piece of refined iron for you," Sisi said truthfully, frowning. To this day, this piece of refined iron remains a knot in their master's heart.
Lou Gao believed that it wasn't that his forging skills were insufficient to grind and hammer the mineral, but rather that the flame temperature simply couldn't meet the demands of a mineral that had grown in the center of magma, which was why he was helpless.
"Of course I know about this. I also know how to break this deadlock. What I need to do is to fill the core badge made of refined iron with a chain made of niobium-tantalum crystal. Only niobium-tantalum crystal can contain such a fire element mineral. So of course I brought a way to solve the fire problem for Senior Lou Gao."
Xiao Yan's eyes were resolute. Despite Si Di's repeated attempts to analyze the other party, he found that this young man was impeccable. If he hadn't practiced hundreds of times just to get a chance to see his master, then this young man might have been able to solve the most basic but also most helpless problem of the flame temperature not being able to reach the target area.
"————" Si Di pondered for a moment, then nodded to Si Yu. As Lou Gao's fourth disciple, he immediately understood his senior brother's meaning and walked towards the inner courtyard.
Although their master keeps saying he's going into seclusion, they all know that Lou Gao is just torturing himself.
If this young man can truly resolve Lou Gao's inner conflict, it would be a good thing for the entire blacksmiths' association.
"Young brother, if you can really solve the fire problem as you say, then let alone this niobium-tantalum crystal, I estimate that our master will personally handle the entire creation of this ornament."
He was already clutching the blueprints Xiao Yan had handed him, examining them repeatedly.
The ornaments on the drawing were not complicated; in fact, in the eyes of the blacksmith, they were just a low-class trinket.
However, the materials needed were actually two types of ores: extreme ice and extreme fire.
This was beyond the capabilities of ordinary master-level blacksmiths; only their master, Lou Gao, could handle it.
If he could actually strike the Heavenly Fire Refined Iron and hear the pleasant sound it produced, Lou Gao would surely be very willing.
"In that case, I'll trouble you, Uncle. By the way, Uncle Sidi, I'd like to ask if you're a native of the Star Luo Empire? Well, my friend and I came from Tian Dou, so we're not very familiar with this place."
"Tian Dou? Where is that? I came here to become a disciple of Master Lou Gao, so I am also from Tian Dou." Si Di felt a sense of joy, like meeting an old friend in a foreign land, when she heard Xiao Yan's words.
No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity with Xiao Yan when he looked at him.
Gengxin City is located near the border of Xingluo, and as a metal capital, it often attracts people from other places.
"I was born in Notting City." Xiao Yan felt that this information was probably known better than any nobleman from Tiandou City, so there was nothing to hide.
"There are still many things I don't understand about Xingluo, so I thought I'd ask them."
"If that's the case, then the best place to go is the Spirit Hall. The Spirit Hall is all over the Douluo Continent. However, if you don't have much of a connection with the Spirit Hall in the Star Luo region, I advise you to have less contact with it."
"Oh, how so?"
"The Spirit Hall here is nothing like the Heavenly Dou Kingdom. At least the royal family in the Heavenly Dou Kingdom would impose some restrictions, but the Spirit Hall here in the Star Luo Kingdom seems to be in cahoots with the Star Luo royal family. Maybe I'm being harsh, but at least the Star Luo royal family never cares. Otherwise, the Spirit Hall wouldn't act like local tyrants in this Star Luo Empire. You've probably seen those vendors selling minerals by the roadside, young man. It's because of them that our Blacksmith Association has lost a lot of its money-making opportunities, and its reputation has been affected. People who come to this metal capital because of its reputation mostly come with the intention of buying some metal. Instead, these worthless stones on the roadside are making a fortune. These people never even set up their goods properly. Anyway, laymen watch the show, but experts see the details."
"If they're acting like this, shouldn't your blacksmiths' association step in and stop them?" Xue'er asked, puzzled.
"It's not that easy. As I just mentioned about the Spirit Hall, these vendors are very clever. Half of their profits are offered to Bishop Miles of the Spirit Hall. The city lord of Gengxin City takes benefits from both sides and turns a blind eye. Now, on the surface, only our Blacksmiths' Association can fight them." At this point, Sisi sighed.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Uncle Sidi. No wonder the carriage we encountered on the way here today was so domineering; it almost took someone's life."
"That must be Miles' godson. Even Miles wouldn't usually act so arrogantly. Calling him his godson is a stretch; he's only about five years younger than him. It's like he's forcibly trying to establish a connection. These days—"
"So, if I want to learn more about Xingluo, I still need to go to the Spirit Hall?" Xiao Yan felt somewhat resistant to this place. If the Spirit Hall within the Heaven Dou Empire had earned him fifty percent of goodwill, it had now been squandered by Xingluo.