The group entered the city. According to the timeline, Master Blacksmith Lou Gao should still be here.
Tianlin certainly didn't want him to be taken away by Tang San and Tai Tan like in the original story. Right now, Tang San and Xue Beng were busy trying to win over the Clear Sky Sect, so they probably wouldn't have time to bother with this place.
"Gengxin City is the city with the most blacksmith shops. Only here are blacksmiths truly respected. It's said that there are over a thousand blacksmith shops in the entire Gengxin City, with tens of thousands of blacksmiths. Many blacksmiths from other cities come here to take the blacksmith assessment, and if they pass the advanced exam, they can stay in the city. Simply put, this is a paradise for blacksmiths."
"Although blacksmiths aren't valued by the two great empires, the military's weapons, farm tools, construction, and furniture all require blacksmiths. The higher the blacksmith's level, the more valuable their work is," Tianlin explained.
Ma Hongjun asked in surprise, "Huh, boss, are blacksmiths ranked like soul masters too?"
Tianlin nodded, "Yes, blacksmiths are generally divided into seven ranks, from low to high: Junior Blacksmith, Intermediate Blacksmith, Senior Blacksmith, Blacksmith Artisan, Blacksmith Master, Blacksmith Grandmaster, and Divine Blacksmith."
"Currently, there are only three Divine Blacksmiths on the continent. Our purpose here is to recruit one of them, and the most skilled—Lou Gao, the president of the Blacksmith Association!"
"Vice Sect Master, you want him to forge the strongest divine weapon, right?" Bai He looked at Tianlin, roughly guessing his intentions.
"That's right. My Soul Infusion technique isn't hard—any soul master can learn it. Ordinary soul-infused weapons can be mass-produced by regular blacksmiths, greatly enhancing the combat strength of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect support disciples as well as your agility clan!" Tianlin admitted. "The disaster of the soul-hunting operation has passed, and the Spirit Hall has suffered heavy losses. They won't pose much threat for a while, so we'll have a long period to catch our breath."
"During this time, we must not be idle. Before Spirit Hall fully recovers, I want to strengthen our sect to be a match for them."
"But those mass-produced weapons are just for ordinary soul masters. For someone like you, Senior Bai He—or even like my Uncle Ning, a Titled Douluo—ordinary weapons can't withstand your soul power for long. In battle, they'll break after just a few moves, so what's the point?"
Bai He nodded. Tianlin was right. Not only could ordinary weapons not withstand the power of a Soul Douluo, but their opponents would also be just as strong. If he faced a soul master with an overwhelming attack, his weapon might shatter instantly.
However, if Bai He wielded a divine sword like Lingfeng Sword, Tianlin was confident that if they clashed head-on, it would not be Bai He's sword that broke and led to his death, but rather, the opponent's martial soul would be shattered or worse.
If Tang San could roam the Douluo Continent relying on hidden weapons, then Tianlin would let Shu Mountain's sword-forging techniques shine this time.
Just then, the group heard a loud voice hawking ahead. "Don't miss out! The Azure Sky Sword forged by the direct disciple of Lou Gao, the president of the Blacksmith Association and King of Divine Blacksmiths—only one, offered at a discount!"
"Lou Gao?" Ning Rongrong asked doubtfully, "Brother Sword, isn't that the Divine Blacksmith you mentioned? Why does his disciple need to hawk swords on the street?"
"Perhaps. Because blacksmiths aren't respected, the Blacksmith Association doesn't have it easy. To make more money to buy ore, sometimes they have to swallow their pride and sell on the streets," Tianlin replied. "Let's go take a look."
A crowd had already gathered around the source of the commotion, drawn by Lou Gao's fame.
It was a very ordinary blacksmith shop. The seller was a shirtless, bronze-skinned middle-aged man holding a sword that looked extremely sharp.
"Boss, how's this sword? Can it match the one you gave Xiangxiang?" Ma Hongjun asked curiously.
Tianlin frowned, "Match? That thing in his hand is trash."
As he finished, Tianlin glared, and a wave of sword energy swept across the man's body. He felt a sudden pain but found nothing wrong with himself.
"Hey, look at that sword!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Everyone looked. The sword now only had a hilt left—the blade had turned to powder.
"After that earth-shaking battle between Qian Daoliu and Chen Xin, Tianlin's mastery of swordsmanship has improved again. He can unleash sword energy with just his eyes, and so effortlessly!" Dragon Duke was secretly amazed. Even he, a Titled Douluo, couldn't compare to Tianlin's control over power.
"Let's go. No need to waste time on this guy!" Tianlin had no interest in the conman. After reducing the sword to powder, nobody would believe him anymore.
As they left, they heard the furious roars of the man behind, "Who? Who ruined my sword?"
The man's eyes swept over the crowd. Most were too scared to respond, but Tianlin's group remained calm as if they hadn't heard him.
Unusual things have a reason. His gaze locked on Tianlin's group.
But he didn't act rashly. If they did it, they must be powerful soul masters, and he, a mere blacksmith, couldn't afford to offend them.
However, while he couldn't offend them, someone else could.
Such a poor-quality sword meant he couldn't be Lou Gao's disciple. But if he could swagger around under Lou Gao's name in this City of Metal, it could only mean one thing—he had someone backing him.
This man was a subordinate of the Spirit Hall's lord in Gengxin City, usually relying on such scams to make money for his master.
Now that his scam was exposed by Tianlin, he was angry and anxious about how to explain it to his master.
At that moment, his gaze was drawn to Ning Rongrong and Bai Chenxiang—"Two such stunning beauties… there's probably not a third in all of Gengxin City. Excellent, now not only will the lord not blame me, he'll reward me!"
Tianlin's group was unaware of his thoughts. As it was getting late, they found an inn for the night, planning to visit the Blacksmith Association the next morning.