NOVEL WEB Chapter 70: Life’s Blueprint
The depth of Lou Gao's expertise in forging is truly remarkable.
In the original story, Lou Gao spent ten years conducting countless experiments to blend eight rare metals in a specific ratio, creating a unique, flexible memory metal. The "Eight Treasures Wishful Soft Armor" crafted from this miraculous metal could extend to accommodate a beast soul master's doubled body size after spirit transformation, maintaining its defensive capabilities.
Such is its elasticity that it can withstand the sixth spirit ability of an attack-type soul master.
This feat is exemplified by the daughter of two generations of pontiffs from the Spirit Hall, the Angel God of the new timeline, Qian Renxue.
Throughout the ages on the Douluo Continent, such an existence is undoubtedly deemed a divine tool.
What does a sixth spirit ability, the hallmark of a Soul Emperor, signify in a world where a Soul Elder can be knighted by the Heaven Dou Empire and a Soul Sect can achieve viscount status?
Even when Qian Renxue, with her substantial spiritual foundation and high-quality spirit attributes, was gradually weakened in battle against Tang San, her full-force strike to kill Tang San was beyond ordinary sixty-level power.
Yet, the "Eight Treasures Wishful Soft Armor" not only withstood this attack but also protected its wearer, Xiao Wu, from harm, making it one of Lou Gao's two created masterpieces after a decade of research.
Truth be told, in the original story, had Lou Gao not been persuaded into crafting Tang Sect's supreme mechanical hidden weapons, exhausting his efforts and even sacrificing his life to unleash the Sharpness of the "Deep Sea Silver Essence" with his lifeblood, subsequently creating Tang San's world-renowned mechanical hidden weapon—the "Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle," he might have spent those five years completely focused on forging the "Eight Treasures Wishful Soft Armor," capable of forming a team specifically designed to take down titled Douluo!
Ling Yi couldn't fathom how Tang San, in his past life, managed to forge the 'Buddha Fury Tang Lotus' on his own. It required the assistance of the Super Douluo Tang Xiao and the personal craftsmanship of the Soul Saint-level divine artisan Lou Gao.
Ling Yi vividly remembered that when Tang San took the leap off the cliff to prove his resolve, he was already twenty-nine years old.
Then, Tang San had spent twenty years perfecting the Tang Clan's greatest covert weapon, the 'Buddha Fury Tang Lotus'?
Emmm…
Setting aside the bewildering aspects of the original story that begged to be criticized, Ling Yi made a resolute decision upon meeting Lou Gao. Witnessing Lou Gao's unique and striking appearance, and hearing the terms 'Gengxin City' and 'Lou Gao,' he decided: he must latch onto this powerful connection!
Lou Gao, at a mere forty years old, stood on the cusp of becoming a Soul Emperor with his high-level Soul King power, coupled with his master blacksmith skills and inherited theoretical knowledge from the divine craftsman Tie Futu. As a vice president of the Blacksmith Association, headquartered in 'Gengxin City' of the Xing Luo Empire, his influence spanned the entire Douluo Continent, impacting every blacksmith to varying degrees. For the currently confined Ling Yi, Lou Gao represented a perfect gateway to a higher level within the Douluo Continent.
Though Ling Yi wouldn't rashly step onto the central stage of the Douluo Continent, swarming with experts, until his strength had reached a sufficient pinnacle and his foundation was solidified, owning a ticket to the arena and standing outside without access were entirely different scenarios!
With this mindset, Ling Yi approached learning the 'Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique' with utmost diligence, activating his mental faculties to their fullest potential, focusing his mind and entering a state of 'super-ego' learning and practicing.
He demonstrated to Lou Gao what it meant to master the 81 moves of the 'Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique' instantaneously—techniques that usually required a full day to learn—just by observing once and asking questions once, showcasing the swiftness of his learning on the spot.
After a little 'Ling Yi-style' shock, Lou Gao's initially task-oriented attitude changed immediately.
If not for the relationship between his master and Ling Yi's master, which put them on equal footing as senior brothers, Lou Gao would have considered taking him as a disciple.
Even if he couldn't take him in as a disciple, having such a talented junior brother already gave Lou Gao plenty of ideas on how to show off to that guy Titan next time they met.
To Ling Yi, Lou Gao was not just a ticket to the central stage of Douluo Continent. With his comprehensive forging skills and vast knowledge of metal alloys, along with the various metallic properties and trait data on the Douluo Continent, he was akin to how Yu Xiaogang was for Tang San.
The difference lay in Yu Xiaogang's weak personal capabilities, with only a theoretical database of martial souls and spirit beasts that barely ever proved useful, providing minimal help to Tang San.
The educational debt between them, after the appearance of the celestial herb "Nine Grade Violet Ganoderma" which allowed Yu Xiaogang to break through his thirty-level bottleneck, should actually be reversed; Yu Xiaogang owed Tang San a life-changing debt.
But the relationship between Lou Gao and Ling Yi was entirely different.
Later, while carrying the principality's top-tier forging techniques, Ling Yi would return to 'Woodland City'. By uniting forces without alerting or raising suspicions from other factions within the principality, he would integrate all blacksmiths from the Shui Mu Principality, forming a 'Blacksmith Association - Shui Mu Principality Branch'.
By then, although his strength might still leave much to be desired, he would at least be a small powerholder, wielding access to varied resources in a way completely unparalleled.
Afterward, Ling Yi loyally develops the "Blacksmith Association - Shuimu Principality Branch". While assisting the diverse powers of Shuimu Principality, he leverages the branch's resources to swiftly gather the materials necessary for his soul power advancement.
During this dormant phase, Ling Yi predicts he will need approximately ten years to elevate his soul power to that of a Soul Elder, and perhaps even a Soul Ancestor.
By that time, Ling Yi will be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. A Soul Ancestor of such age is remarkable anywhere on Douluo Continent.
At that point, Ling Yi intends to consider, using his position as president of the "Blacksmith Association - Shuimu Principality Branch," to traverse the continent, heading north and south for thousands of miles to reach "Gengxin City" in the Star Luo Empire for the next step of his life plan...
However, Lou Gao’s unexpected arrival reveals a shortcut to Ling Yi's path!
This is the second time Ling Yi prepares to modify his life plan.
The first was due to the recommendation letter from Master Jiang in Beikouhe Town, which allowed Ling Yi to connect with Elder Jin, one of the three master craftsmen in the Shuimu Principality.
Similarly, it was Elder Jin's presence that made Ling Yi give up a few more years at the "Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy" and forgo using Master Huang's line, a retired veteran in Beikouhe Town, to enter the principality's military program.
Compared to the retired veteran Master Huang, the connections Elder Jin has are naturally of a much higher caliber. The various benefits he brings, both overt and covert, can greatly enrich one’s life.
Now, let's focus on extracting all that we can from Lou Gao's wealth of blacksmithing knowledge and skills.
Advanced forging techniques, the secrets of various metal alloy formulas, and even insights related to martial souls and soul beasts— as a high-ranking Soul King, Lou Gao is indeed a glorious treasure trove for the current Ling Yi!
He desires it all!
But is Lou Gao willing to teach him?
Heh, Senior Brother Lou, you wouldn’t want your master’s disciple’s extraordinary blacksmith talent to go to waste, would you?
The future godsmith and president of the Blacksmith Association, Lou Gao holds the blacksmith profession and its honor with such high regard that he'd entrust his life solely to defend its name!
Even though he hasn't reached that level yet, the seed of that ambition was already planted in his heart the moment he became a blacksmith, a godsmith disciple under Iron Pagoda, and the young president of the Blacksmith Association!
(End of Chapter)
