Wood Style Realm in Douluo Continent

Ning Fengzhi was about to say something when he received a voice transmission from Dugu Bo, prompting him to change his tone.

"Alright, since this is your means of livelihood, I won't press you further."

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment: "However, under these circumstances, you'll need to demonstrate your sincerity. The Hidden Sand Projectiles alone aren't enough to make me agree to your terms."

"Senior, rest assured. Since you haven't forced me, I will naturally show my sincerity." Tang San thought of his limited assets and the scene where he and Xiao Wu were stopped at the auction house entrance.

After a moment of consideration, he said, "I also have the Zhuge Divine Crossbow and Sleeve Arrows."

Ning Fengzhi nodded repeatedly: "In that case, I'll place an initial order of five hundred for each. We can discuss further needs later."

Although he hadn't seen these items before, he maintained a polite demeanor as if he were familiar with them.

"I have some urgent matters to attend to today, so I'll need to leave shortly. Here are five hundred Gold Soul Coins as a verbal deposit. Leave your address, and I'll have someone contact you later to discuss the cooperation details."

Considering that he shouldn't stay in Tang San's presence for too long to avoid being recognized by passersby, Ning Fengzhi pretended to remember an important matter and made up an excuse.

"No problem, Senior. I'm a student at the Blue Lightning Advanced Academy. You can send someone to find me there." Tang San smiled as he accepted the copper card handed to him by Ning Fengzhi.

"Alright, then I'll take my leave." Ning Fengzhi exchanged a few pleasantries before leaving the auction hall with Sword Douluo.

Seeing this, Li Xun quickly followed along with Dugu Bo.

"Brother, we've struck it rich!" Li Xun heard Xiao Wu's excited voice as they were about to leave, and he couldn't help but smile.

Backstage at the auction house.

"Uncle Dugu, why are you and Xiao Xun here?" Ning Fengzhi looked at Dugu Bo and Li Xun with some confusion.

"Haha... I accompanied Xiao Xun to handle some business, and we happened to pass by, so I thought I'd show him around."

Dugu Bo hadn't expected Ning Fengzhi to ask him first and couldn't help but laugh, quickly making up a lie.

"Then why didn't you come forward when you saw me and Uncle Jian?" Ning Fengzhi noticed the uncertainty in Dugu Bo's eyes and turned to Li Xun.

"Tang San and Xiao Wu were right next to you at the time. I thought it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, so Grandpa Dugu and I stayed hidden behind you."

Having experienced such situations many times, Li Xun answered smoothly.

Ning Fengzhi glanced at Sword Douluo, who couldn't suppress a smile, and chose not to pursue the matter further.

After handing over the Gold Soul Coins to the auction house staff and giving a piece of clothing to the Catwoman, the group left the auction house.

At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's headquarters in Heavenly Dou City.

"Xiao Xun, you just had Uncle Dugu send me a message, telling me to buy all the hidden weapons Tang San could sell. What's your plan?"

Ning Fengzhi was puzzled: "These weapons are consumables. Even if we have five hundred of each, they will eventually wear out. Are we supposed to rely on Tang San for repairs in the future?"

"Not to mention the effectiveness of his other weapons, if he ever finds out our true identities, would he still provide repair services?"

As the saying goes, it's better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

When he learned that Tang San wasn't planning to sell the manufacturing methods, he had already decided not to make the purchase. It was only after receiving the message from Dugu Bo that he changed his tone.

"Teacher, regardless of Tang San's other qualities, he is reliable when it comes to hidden weapons."

Li Xun looked relaxed, without a trace of worry about the future: "I was afraid Tang San would find out you're my teacher, so I asked you to buy more in one go."

"For the upcoming transactions, you shouldn't participate directly. Find someone trustworthy and arrange for them to conduct the transactions under a different identity."

Tang San's hidden weapons originated from the Tang Sect's "Hundred Solutions of Hidden Weapons," so their quality was naturally beyond question.

Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was no longer threatened by the Soul Hunt Operation, considering the weak combat strength of its disciples, adding some offensive methods could indeed serve as a life-saving measure.

Moreover, the sect was so wealthy—what was the point of hoarding money?

Now, spending a little money to have Tang San act as a production line worker seemed quite amusing to Li Xun.

Thousands of hidden weapons—even with the speed of the Thousand-Handed Asura, it would take a long time, right? And his goal didn't stop there.

"Teacher, do you think that even if a hidden weapon has many intricate mechanisms, if ten thousand people disassemble and analyze it, could they replicate it?" Li Xun chuckled as he sipped his tea.

He had been pondering this question for a while.

Not to mention items like the Buddha's Fury Lotus, Guanyin's Tears, or the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles, which were indeed difficult to replicate, but even the Zhuge Divine Crossbow and Sleeve Arrows—could their designs, despite the added mechanisms, really be that ingenious?

What has been humanity's most distinctive ability throughout history? The ability to replicate through collective wisdom.

"Brilliant!" Dugu Bo slammed the table.

"Indeed feasible," Sword Douluo nodded, thinking of the various hidden weapons Tang San had used in Suotuo City. The hidden weapons Tang San had revealed so far weren't particularly ingenious.

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"But what if Tang San added something during the assembly process that wasn't in the blueprints?" Ning Fengzhi frowned slightly, not as optimistic.

Because throughout history, many things have disappeared into the river of time due to their inability to be replicated.

"Teacher, don't worry. No matter how many hidden tricks he leaves, it won't matter," Li Xun chuckled. "With five hundred finished products and design blueprints for each, we have plenty of room for error."

After all, these were just mechanical hidden weapons, not high-precision equipment. With sufficient funds and a human wave strategy, it was like dealing with a beauty wrapped in a blanket.

"What do you plan to do?" Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment, gradually breaking into a smile.

He had indeed been blinded by the surface of the unknown, but upon closer thought, all of this was actually quite ordinary.

"Burn money," Li Xun took out paper and began planning. "Since we're doing this, let's do it to the best of our ability. Let's start by building a factory for twenty thousand people. Then, recruit top craftsmen from across the continent with high salaries."

"Among them, let's hire ten thousand skilled blacksmiths first," Li Xun suddenly looked up as he wrote. "Teacher, I've heard that the best blacksmiths on the continent must come from the Clear Sky Sect. Is that true?"

"That's true. Even if they don't, they must have some connection to the Clear Sky Sect," Ning Fengzhi nodded. "The most famous among them is the Blacksmith Association."

"Then there's no need for anti-theft measures," Li Xun considered. "We'll use money to pave the way."

Even if someone successfully steals the techniques, it would take many years to equip their disciples on the same scale as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

Since it was a matter of many years later, he didn't need to worry about it. Moreover, even if everyone had a Zhuge Divine Crossbow now, it wouldn't be him who was anxious.

"Recruit 5,000 carpenters and 2,000 people who are fond of ingenious crafts. Also, bring in 500 painters." Li Xun paused at this point and thought for a moment: "And recruit 2,500 street children for training."

"Teacher, do you think this composition of personnel is acceptable?"

Ning Fengzhi smiled: "Just follow your ideas. If you feel it's insufficient, you can always add more."

The number of 20,000 people might sound intimidating, but the personnel expenses weren't actually that high.

In a year, it might not even cost as much as a single female slave.

Seeing his teacher nod, Li Xun smiled, but then his smile gradually faded as he thought about the Gold Soul Coins Tang San might gain from this transaction.

No, he still needed to figure out a way to get the money back.

(End of Chapter)