Lou Gao and Titan hadn't been in contact for years, only having heard rumors about the Clear Sky Sect's decision to go into seclusion back then.
He only knew that the former affiliates of the Clear Sky Sect had scattered like leaves in the wind after the pillar fell.
As for where Titan had led the Strength Clan to settle, Lou Gao was unaware.
Furthermore, since Titan hadn't contacted him all these years, Lou Gao had assumed that Titan had tragically perished in that incident!
Titan had known Lou Gao for many years and was well aware of this fat old man's character and habits.
Therefore, when Lou Gao asked that question, Titan could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression. His old face immediately darkened, and he replied in a muffled voice:
"The Heaven Dou Imperial Capital, Heaven Dou City."
"Heaven Dou City?" After receiving the answer, Lou Gao turned his head back to his eldest disciple and said:
"Si Long, if you encounter any trouble you can't solve in the future, go to Heaven Dou City and find Vice President Titan, understand?"
Without waiting for Si Long's reply, he began to usher him out.
"Alright, I still have things to attend to, you may leave now!"
"Yes, disciple understands."
As soon as Si Long's figure disappeared from the forging room, Lou Gao eagerly approached Tang San, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Tang San.
"Youngster Tang, I've already agreed to join your Tang Sect. Now, aren't you going to show me the more powerful Hidden Weapons you mentioned!"
Lou Gao's demeanor made Tang San's smile widen, and his tone was calm and unhurried, giving the impression of someone completely in control.
"Senior, I am the Sect Master of the Tang Sect. Since you have already joined the Tang Sect, calling me 'Youngster Tang' might be a bit inappropriate!"
After speaking, Tang San saw that Lou Gao was still a bit reluctant to let go of his pride. He took out a scroll from his Spirit Tool, unfurled a corner of it, flashed it before Lou Gao's eyes, and then immediately put it away.
As expected, Lou Gao was indeed captivated by the fleeting glimpse of the blueprint.
After seeing Tang San put the blueprint away, Lou Gao cursed him inwardly as a sly fox, then immediately abandoned his pride and said ingratiatingly:
"Sect Master, your disciple has joined the great Tang Sect. Look, could you please show that blueprint to your disciple again? Even just a glance would suffice!"
Giving a carrot after a stick.
At this moment, Tang San, without any formal instruction, had grasped the art of managing subordinates. He decided it was time to give Lou Gao a taste of success.
"Senior is a master craftsman; there's no need for you to start as a disciple. From this moment on, I promote you to be the Forging Elder of the Tang Sect."
Saying this, Tang San handed the blueprint he had taken out earlier to Lou Gao and said:
"This is the forging blueprint for my Tang Sect's first mechanical Hidden Weapon – the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus."
"The Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus has extremely high power. I have absolute confidence that even a Titled Douluo, if struck by it, will be either dead or crippled!"
As Tang San spoke these words, his eyes shone with extreme fervor. Even compared to the fervor in Lou Gao's eyes, his was only slightly less pure and nine parts ambition.
The production of the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus required two crucial components: Cold Iron Mother and highly concentrated gunpowder.
Tang San had already memorized the formula for the highly concentrated gunpowder and was confident he could find the ingredients for the formula in this world and successfully mix them.
Lou Gao's skills, even from the little he had shown, had earned Tang San's recognition.
Therefore, as long as he obtained enough Cold Iron Mother, Tang San was confident that Lou Gao, under his guidance, could successfully forge the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus.
Beside him, Lou Gao was engrossed in studying the blueprint for the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, completely oblivious to his surroundings, his eyes fixed only on the structural diagrams on the paper.
After an unknown amount of time, Lou Gao reluctantly put down the blueprint and said to Tang San, who was drowsily sitting nearby:
"Sect Master, the structure of this Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus is truly a marvel of craftsmanship."
"Regarding the two items needed to produce the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, I don't know much about this 'highly concentrated gunpowder'."
"But about this so-called Cold Iron Mother, could you take a look and see if this is it."
Saying this, Lou Gao produced a fist-sized piece of dark black ore.
A faint chill emanated from the surface of the ore. Tang San, suddenly stimulated by the cold, instantly shook off his drowsiness.
Just as he regained his senses, Tang San hadn't fully heard what Lou Gao had said. Stimulated by the ore, he instinctively placed his hand on the sleeve arrow on his other wrist, and his Purple Demon Eye also began to circulate.
"This is..."
The ore that came into view caused Tang San's movements to falter. Then, he exclaimed loudly:
"Cold Iron Mother! This is Cold Iron Mother!"
However, when Tang San clearly saw the quantity of the ore before him, his initial surprise turned into deep disappointment.
"It's too little, far too little. With this small amount of Cold Iron Mother, it's not even enough to forge one Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, let alone more."
Lou Gao, hearing Tang San's words, only became more excited.
"So, the Cold Heart Iron Essence really is the Cold Iron Mother mentioned in the blueprint. I was wondering back then, is there really a metal in this world that I don't know about?"
"Thinking about it now, perhaps this item is extremely ancient, and back then, Cold Heart Iron Essence wasn't called that, but rather Cold Iron Mother."
"Since we've confirmed this item is Cold Iron Mother, Sect Master, you needn't worry."
"Although there isn't much Cold Heart Iron Essence in the entire Gengxin City, with my name vouching for its search, finding four to five kilograms shouldn't be a problem."
"Adding this piece I've collected, it should be enough to satisfy the Cold Iron Mother needed to forge two Buddha's Fury Tang Lotuses."
Hearing this, Tang San's colorless eyes regained their luster, and excitement filled his entire body.
Four to five kilograms of Cold Iron Iron Mother, even with some loss during the crafting process, was indeed enough to create two Buddha's Fury Tang Lotuses.
Furthermore, Gengxin City, being the capital of metals, might very well have more Cold Iron Iron Mother, or even the legendary Deep Sea Silver.
Since Mysterious Iron was called Black Veined Iron here, and Cold Iron Iron Mother was called Cold Heart Iron Essence, what would Deep Sea Silver be called?
...
Gengxin City, on the street.
Two men walked shoulder to shoulder, talking in hushed tones.
"Old Wang, when do you think our lives will get better?"
"Hard to say. When the Duke assigned this mission, he didn't say how long it would take, so Old Li, we can only keep waiting."
"Yeah, that's all we can do."
These two had been sent by Lin Rong to Gengxin City two years ago to find a few items:
A murky yellow crystal about the size of a human head.
A piece of ore, one meter in diameter, with a black surface that exuded a cold aura.
And a gray, ordinary-looking piece of ore, one-third the size of the black ore. It was in the same shop, and was even a free bonus gift with the purchase of the black ore.
Lin Rong had specifically instructed them to prioritize street vendors, then small shops, and finally large stores.
This was because, in the original story, these three items were bought for less than two Gold Soul Coins in total.
The two shop owners had even felt like they had profited.
Aside from Deep Sea Silver, Crystal Clear Quartz and Cold Heart Iron Essence were both recorded precious metals, yet those two owners had failed to recognize their value.
With such poor judgment, the possibility of them being large establishments was extremely slim.
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