The short, stout old man stepped forward and carefully examined Tang San, shaking his head the whole time.
"Titan, you old dog, when did you get another grandson?"
"Look at these skinny arms and legs, they don't resemble a descendant of you, a gorilla, at all."
This person was incredibly rude!
Tang San clenched his fists upon hearing this, but the social etiquette Tang Yuehua had taught him proved effective. He knew he needed a favor from this person and couldn't afford to fall out with him.
So, Tang San pretended to be unconcerned and said:
"Senior, you jest. I am not Elder Titan's descendant."
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Tang San, the Sect Master of the Tang Sect. Elder Titan has already agreed to join the Tang Sect and is an elder of my Tang Sect."
Seeing this, Titan, who was standing behind Tang San, also chimed in with an explanation:
"You fat oaf, this is the Sect Master of my Tang Sect, not my grandson."
"If my useless grandson were even half as outstanding as the Sect Master, I would be content."
After speaking, Titan pointed at the short, stout old man and introduced him to Tang San:
"Sect Master, this is my good friend, and also the president of the Blacksmith Association, Lou Gao, one of the three Divine Craftsmen in the world today."
Sect Master? Tang Sect?
These words left Lou Gao rather confused.
He first cast a suspicious glance at Tang San, then shifted his gaze to Titan's head, voicing his doubt:
"Titan, you old fossil, you haven't gone senile, have you?"
"To recognize some unlicked cub as some sect master, are you dying of some incurable disease, or am I experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations?"
"Do you need me to slap some sense into you, you old fool!"
"You fat oaf, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Lou Gao's slightly pitying gaze caused Titan's blood pressure to skyrocket. He immediately lunged forward, grabbed Lou Gao, and shook him, splattering saliva all over Lou Gao's face.
"I am perfectly lucid, not dying of any incurable disease, nor am I senile!"
"The young master is the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, and I am an elder of the Tang Sect, do you understand?"
Lou Gao, feeling dizzy from being shaken, quickly said, "Alright, alright, stop shaking me, let me down."
After Titan set Lou Gao down, Lou Gao wiped the saliva off his face with his sleeve before grumbling:
"Young Master? So, he's that person's son. You old fool didn't say so earlier."
"Otherwise, why would I have said what I just said?"
He then turned his head to look at Tang San and asked:
"Young Tang, why aren't you a direct disciple of the Clear Sky Sect? Why establish your own faction and create this... Tang Sect? What are you doing this for?"
Between the two of them, Tang San, who had been ignored for a while, offered a standard smile and politely explained:
"The Clear Sky Sect is the Clear Sky Sect, and the Tang Sect is the Tang Sect."
"A man should strive for self-reliance. I am unwilling to live off the legacy of my ancestors; instead, I aspire to forge my own path in this world."
"I happened upon a wondrous book, and with it as my foundation, I intend to establish a brand new sect – the Tang Sect."
"This wondrous book records various powerful weapons and their forging methods. These weapons are collectively known as Hidden Weapons."
"Unlike Spirit Tools, which require Soul Power to activate, Hidden Weapons can be used by ordinary people, even those without Soul Power."
"For example, the Zhuge Crossbow in my hand, I wonder if the pre..."
Before Tang San could finish speaking, the Zhuge Crossbow he had just taken out was snatched away by Lou Gao with lightning speed.
"What exquisite craftsmanship!" Lou Gao carefully examined the item in his hand.
Immediately after, a series of afterimages flashed. Tang San, even without activating his Purple Demon Eye beforehand, couldn't clearly see Lou Gao's movements.
In an instant, the Zhuge Crossbow in Lou Gao's hand had been disassembled into parts scattered across the forging table.
"Amazing!" Tang San was shocked by the skill Lou Gao displayed. He thought to himself:
"This is my first time seeing the Zhuge Crossbow, and he was able to completely disassemble a fully assembled one just by looking at it."
"No wonder Titan holds him in such high regard. With such skill, he is indeed worthy of becoming a disciple of my Tang Sect."
At this moment, Lou Gao was looking down at the forging table, searching for something.
"What was that sound just now? It sounded like metal being damaged?"
Soon, he discovered a few damaged parts.
"My technique is definitely not the issue, so the problem must be..."
Lou Gao turned his head to look at Tang San, his small eyes widened, and his tone was somewhat unfriendly.
"Young Tang, did you tamper with this thing?"
"Naturally!" Tang San stepped forward with an air of magnanimity, his expression unchanged, and replied:
"The Zhuge Crossbow is a core inheritance of my Tang Sect. To prevent outsiders from obtaining it and reverse-engineering it, I naturally had to include anti-disassembly measures."
"Without the unique disassembly techniques of my Tang Sect, no matter how intricate the mechanism, it would trigger these anti-disassembly measures."
"Senior has already witnessed the exquisite construction of the Zhuge Crossbow. Allow me to elaborate on its power."
"The Zhuge Crossbow contains forty-eight crossbow bolts. Each time the spring mechanism is wound, it can fire sixteen bolts instantaneously."
"Its power is so great that even a four-ring Soul Ancestor specializing in defense would need to use their third spirit ability to have a chance of blocking it."
"Within fifty meters is the effective kill range of the Zhuge Crossbow. Beyond fifty meters, its power is significantly reduced, which is one of its few drawbacks."
As Tang San explained, Lou Gao listened and studied the parts on the forging platform, nodding occasionally.
With Lou Gao's knowledge, he could naturally discern from these parts and their construction that Tang San was not exaggerating. His expression of joy grew even more pronounced.
Seeing that Lou Gao's curiosity had been fully piqued, Tang San spoke his final sentence with an air of mystery:
"And among the various hidden weapons of my Tang Sect, this Zhuge Crossbow is merely mid-tier. There are many more powerful hidden weapons that you, Senior, cannot even imagine."
"What? There are even stronger hidden weapons?" Lou Gao abruptly turned around, his worldview, cultivated over many years, being refreshed once again in a short period.
"Show them to me, old man, or I won't believe you!"
"Senior, what you say is a bit presumptuous," Tang San replied, shaking his head.
"Hidden weapons are the foundation of my Tang Sect's existence. Being able to show the Zhuge Crossbow to Senior is already a special exception made out of respect for Elder Titan."
"If you wish to..."
However, Tang San's words were once again interrupted by Lou Gao.
"Enough, young man Tang. You don't need to say anything else. I'll join the Tang Sect right now."
Having said that, Lou Gao shouted towards the outside of the door, "Si Long, get over here!"
Within mere breaths, Si Long rushed over rapidly and stood before Lou Gao, respectfully asking, "Teacher, what do you need from your disciple?"
Lou Gao waved his hand, placing it on Si Long's shoulder, and instructed, "From now on, you are the president of the Blacksmith Association. I'm tired of staying here and want to travel the continent and live it up."
"When I'm no longer around, you four brothers must work together to run the association well."
"If you encounter any unsolvable problems, go find that old fellow Titan. After all, he's the vice president of the Blacksmith Association."
"That old fellow Titan lives at... lives at..."
Lou Gao's words faltered, and he turned his head towards Titan, scratching his head and asking, "Old fellow, where do you live now?"
The original text wrote the characters "机璜".
I searched online and found that "璜" is a type of jade shaped like a half-bi.
Searching for "机璜" yielded no meaningful results.
In the Zhuge Crossbow, the "机簧" acts like a spring.
Therefore, the correct way to write it should be "机簧", not "机璜" as written in the original text.
This is not the first time the original author has made such a mistake.
For example, they wrote "马车地盘" (carriage chassis) instead of "马车底盘" (carriage chassis).
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