Luo Gao and Titan hadn't been in contact for many years, and he had only heard rumors about the Tang Sect's retreat from the world. He knew that after the fall of the former affiliated sects of the Haotian Sect, they had scattered in all directions.
As for where Titan's family had settled, Luo Gao had no idea. Over the years, Titan hadn't contacted him, and Luo Gao even thought that Titan had tragically died in the upheaval.
Titan, having known Luo Gao for many years, was very familiar with his character and habits. So, when Luo Gao asked this question, Titan could tell immediately what was going on in his mind just by looking at his expression. His old face darkened as he muttered:
"Tian Dou Empire, Tian Dou City."
"Tian Dou City?" Luo Gao, upon receiving the answer, turned to his eldest disciple and said, "Si Long, if you run into any unsolvable troubles, go to Tian Dou City and find Vice-President Titan, got it?"
Without waiting for Si Long to reply, Luo Gao quickly dismissed him.
"Alright, I have things to do. You can leave now."
"Understood, master," Si Long replied.
As soon as Si Long disappeared from the forge room, Luo Gao hurried over to Tang San, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Tang kid, I've already agreed to join your Tang Sect. Why don't you take out that more powerful hidden weapon you mentioned?"
Luo Gao's eager expression made Tang San smile even more, his tone calm and unhurried, giving off the feeling of someone who was in complete control.
"Senior, as the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, it may not be appropriate for you to call me 'Tang kid' anymore."
After speaking, Tang San noticed that Luo Gao was still somewhat unwilling to back down. He then took out a rolled-up blueprint from his Soul Guidance Device, waved it in front of Luo Gao, and quickly put it away again.
As expected, Luo Gao was immediately attracted by the glimpse of the blueprint.
When he saw Tang San put it away, Luo Gao inwardly cursed him as a little fox, but immediately dropped his pride and said flatteringly:
"Sect Master, since I've joined the great Tang Sect, could you please show me that blueprint? Just one more look, even if it's only for a second!"
Tang San, having naturally understood the way to handle subordinates, decided it was time to give Luo Gao a little reward.
"Senior, you are a master; you don't need to start at the bottom. From now on, I'll promote you to the Tang Sect's Forging Elder."
Saying this, Tang San took out the same blueprint and handed it to Luo Gao, saying:
"This is the forging blueprint for our Tang Sect's first mechanical-type hidden weapon—the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus."
"The Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus is incredibly powerful. I'm confident that even a Title Douluo would be either dead or severely injured if hit by it!"
As Tang San spoke these words, his eyes shone with intense fervor. Compared to the enthusiasm in Luo Gao's eyes, there was a hint of wild ambition mixed in Tang San's gaze.
The Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus required two key materials: Cold Iron and Super-concentrated Gunpowder.
Tang San had memorized the formula for the Super-concentrated Gunpowder and was confident he could find the necessary materials in this world and successfully concoct it.
Luo Gao's skill, as demonstrated in the bits and pieces he'd shown, had earned Tang San's trust. Therefore, Tang San was confident that, with sufficient Cold Iron, Luo Gao could successfully forge the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus under his guidance.
Meanwhile, Luo Gao was so absorbed in examining the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus blueprint that he completely ignored his surroundings. His eyes were fixed on the designs on the paper.
After what seemed like a long time, Luo Gao reluctantly put the blueprint down and, noticing Tang San, who was half-asleep on the side, said:
"Sect Master, the design of the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus is truly a masterpiece."
"Making the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus requires two things. The super-concentrated gunpowder is something I don't understand very well, but this so-called Cold Iron... I think it might be this thing."
With that, Luo Gao took out a fist-sized piece of black ore.
The ore radiated a faint cold aura, and as soon as Tang San felt the chill, his drowsiness instantly vanished.
Rubbing his eyes, Tang San didn't quite catch what Luo Gao had just said. But when he felt the cold aura from the ore, he instinctively reached for the sleeve crossbow on his other wrist, and his Purple Extreme Magic Eyes activated.
"This is..."
Seeing the ore, Tang San froze for a moment, then exclaimed loudly:
"Cold Iron! This is Cold Iron!"
However, when Tang San saw the size of the ore, his initial excitement quickly turned to disappointment.
"Too little, way too little. This small amount of Cold Iron isn't even enough to make one Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, let alone more."
Luo Gao, upon hearing Tang San's words, didn't show any signs of disappointment. On the contrary, his excitement only grew.
"So the Cold Heart Iron Essence is the Cold Iron! I was wondering if there were metals in this world I didn't know about."
"Now that I think about it, perhaps this metal is extremely ancient. Back then, Cold Heart Iron Essence wasn't called this, but Cold Iron instead."
"Now that we've confirmed that this is Cold Iron, there's no need to worry, Sect Master."
"The Cold Heart Iron Essence in all of Gengxin City may not be abundant, but with my name on it, I'm sure I can gather four or five kilograms easily."
"Plus, with the piece I've already collected, that should be enough to make two Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus."
When Tang San heard this, his eyes, which had dulled, immediately regained their shine. Excitement surged through his body.
Four or five kilograms of Cold Iron, even with some losses in the production process, was enough to forge two Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus.
Moreover, since Gengxin City was known as the City of Metals, it wasn't out of the question to find more Cold Iron or even the legendary Deep Sea Sunken Silver.
If Black Iron is called "Black Pattern Iron" here, and Cold Iron is known as Cold Heart Iron Essence, what would Deep Sea Sunken Silver be called here?
...
Gengxin City, streets.
Two men were walking arm-in-arm, conversing quietly.
"Old Wang, when do you think our mission will end?"
"Hard to say. When Lord Duke assigned us this task, he didn't specify how long it would take. So, Old Li, we just have to keep waiting."
"Yeah, looks like that's the only choice."
The two of them had been sent to Gengxin City by Lin Rong two years ago to find a few items:
A yellowish, murky crystal the size of a human head.
A piece of black ore with a cold aura, about one meter in diameter.
A piece of grayish, ordinary ore, only a third the size of the black ore, bought together with the black ore in the same store, as a buy-one-get-one-free gift.
Lin Rong had particularly instructed them to prioritize street vendors, followed by small shops, and lastly, large stores.
In the original story, these three items cost less than two gold soul coins to purchase, and the two shopkeepers thought they had made a great deal.
Apart from Deep Sea Sunken Silver, both the board crystal and Cold Heart Iron Essence were precious metals that were recorded in history. Yet, those two shopkeepers failed to recognize them.
Such a lack of knowledge made it almost impossible for those two to run a major shop.