Duan Lin shook his head.
"Gone?" Lei Zhen was quite disappointed.
It wasn't just Lei Zhen; Du Busi also sighed.
If the understanding was correct, the metal that turned into a Spirit Beast in Duan Lin's account corresponded to Su Ming's Spirit Refined metal. Being able to study such a Spirit Beast would be a huge help to Su Ming in perfecting his Spirit Refinement technique.
"Was this Spirit Metal forged by you?"
Duan Lin looked at Su Ming and hesitantly asked the question.
Even though there were elders present, it was Su Ming who had presented the metal, so he could only think this.
"Yes."
"Truly, each generation has its own talents emerge. Our Blacksmith Association hasn't forged Spirit Metal for a long time either. The last Divine Blacksmith was five hundred years ago."
Su Ming said, "These are all my works."
As he spoke, he directly displayed eight other pieces of Spirit Metal.
"Huh?"
Duan Lin was stunned.
He looked at the eight pieces of Spirit Metal in Su Ming's hand, then at the piece of Spirit Metal in his own hand, and gulped.
"You..."
He thought of a possibility.
"Can you... forge ordinary metal into Spirit Metal too?"
When he said this, he was full of hope.
He hoped Su Ming would give an affirmative answer.
If they could truly break free from material restrictions, the status of blacksmiths would rise rapidly.
"Yes. I've further researched the Spirit Refinement method on top of ordinary Spirit Metal and successfully forged a living Spirit Refined metal. It's currently with my teacher." Su Ming looked at Du Busi.
Understanding, Du Busi raised his hand, and a piece of metal directly grew out of his palm.
"Hiss~"
Duan Lin looked at the metal in Du Busi's hand and drew a sharp breath.
Metal emerging directly from a Spirit Master's body meant it had already fused with the Spirit Master's physique.
No, it should be him!
"Your purpose for coming here probably isn't to commission work from us, is it?" Duan Lin realized that Su Ming and the others' objective seemed unusual.
If they were here to place an order, they wouldn't need to showcase Spirit Metal and Spirit Refined metal.
"We represent the Body Sect and wish to cooperate with the Blacksmith Association. What does President Duan think?" Su Ming said.
He was direct, without beating around the bush.
"How would we cooperate?"
"The Blacksmith Association will be renamed the Blacksmith Association. I will serve as the Association President. The technique for forging Spirit Metal will be made available to you. How about that?"
Duan Lin agreed immediately.
"Good!"
The Body Sect was a major sect. In the entire continent, only Shrek Academy could afford to provoke the Body Sect.
With such a powerful backer coming to them, Duan Lin didn't hesitate for a second and chose cooperation immediately.
Not cooperating might end very badly.
Of course, the main reason was still Duan Lin's craving for the Spirit Metal forging technique.
Su Ming looked towards Elders Lei Zhen and Eight-Arms.
"In the future, these two elders will also hold vice-president positions. They are both Titled Douluo. With them overseeing things, the Blacksmith Association can develop rapidly. Ideally, within three years, establish at least one branch in each of the three great empires."
The corners of Duan Lin's mouth twitched slightly.
Was this the confidence of a major power?
Spreading the association throughout the three Douluo nations within three years.
What normal commercial enterprise would dare say that?
Even having a Titled Douluo backing you wouldn't guarantee you could establish your influence across three nations within three years.
But what Su Ming said wasn't impossible. The Body Sect represented not one Titled Douluo, but a group of them. More importantly, it was their deterrence, and additionally, the special product—Spirit Metal.
If Spirit Metal could be mass-produced, the Blacksmith Association would possess an absolute advantage.
"Although the two elders haven't mastered the Spirit Metal forging technique yet, they are quite interested in forging. President Duan, feel free to exchange ideas with them when you have time."
Duan Lin smiled obsequiously, "Certainly, certainly."
"Besides the association's reform, I've also brought rare metal vein detection equipment this time. I hope the association can organize personnel to conduct surveys within the Star Luo Empire to see if we can find rare metal veins."
"Rare metals?" Duan Lin was truly shocked this time.
Rare metal detection equipment—that wasn't something the three Douluo empires should have.
"We are very serious," Su Ming said sternly. "The development of the Blacksmith Association is crucial for the Body Sect. President Duan, you must take this to heart."
"Duan Lin will definitely live up to this trust," Duan Lin also said seriously, clasping his fists.
He also recognized the opportunity.
Su Ming didn't leave immediately. He and Du Busi stayed in Gengxin City to witness the reform of the Blacksmith Association.
All blacksmiths were reclassified.
In the current era, with Spirit Engineers existing from Level 1 to 9, Su Ming didn't沿用 (reuse) the reform content from his Douluo 1 time. Instead, he defined blacksmiths from Level 1 to 9.
"Level 1 and 2 Blacksmiths correspond to the Hundred Refinements level. Level 3 and 4 correspond to the Thousand Refinements level. To be called a Master, one must master the forging of Spirit Metal. Level 5 is Spirit Refinement Grandmaster."
"The difference between Level 2 and Level 1 lies in the processing of metal parts; the same goes for Level 4 and Level 3. Therefore, Level 6 Blacksmiths are also at the Spirit Refinement level, but they must master additional metal processing. Shaping is already covered in Level 2 and 4. My idea here is the fusion of rare metals, combining multiple rare metals to forge Spirit Alloy."
Su Ming was copying the answers directly from the solution key, making arrangements with ease.
"After Fusion Forging, the next step is to consider breaking through Spirit Refinement. I feel granting life isn't enough. Just like Spirit Beasts, there should be inheritance—passing on the blacksmith's ability system to the forged metal through forging, bestowing it with a soul. This could be called Soul Refinement."
Three months later, Du Busi left, returning to the Body Sect to begin organizing the sect's younger disciples to go to the Blacksmith Association.
After doing this, he secretly crossed into the Sun Moon Empire and went to the Su family.
After staying in Gengxin City for half a year, Su Ming finally received good news.
"Star Luo City is going to host a medium-sized auction."
"Which auction house?"
Su Ming inquired which auction house it was and got the answer 'Star Light Auction House' from Duan Lin.
It was the Star Light Auction House's auction he wanted!
"How long until it starts?"
"Six months later."
"I want to participate in this auction."
Su Ming calculated the timing. Shrek Academy had only been in session for just over four months. There was still over half a year until the next term started. The auction would likely be very close to the time Huo Yuhao would sneak out of the Duke's mansion.
"First, go to Star Luo City to wait for the auction. Spend the next three months creating a set of monitoring Spirit Tools. One month before the auction, start monitoring the roads outside the White Tiger Duke's mansion. If the auction happens first and then I encounter Huo Yuhao, that's perfect. If the auction is too late, then directly purchase the Carnivorous Spirit Carving Knife from the auction house. Spending a little extra money doesn't matter."
Having made his decision, Su Ming began closed-door forging. He spent four days consecutively forging nine pieces of Spirit Metal at the Thousand Refinements, Grade One level.
"President Duan, prepare the association. In about half a year, after this Star Light Auction House auction, the association will face challenges from the Star Luo royal family and various major forces."
Before leaving, Su Ming gave Duan Lin a heads-up.
Duan Lin understood Su Ming's meaning.
This auction would be the opportunity for Spirit Metal to become famous across the continent.
The Douluo 2 Su Ming had a powerful backing. His approach was simpler and more brutal than Douluo 1 Su Ming's—he would directly showcase Spirit Metal at the auction, introducing it to the Spirit Master world.
"Elder Lei Zhen, Elder Eight-Arms, I will set off first for Star Luo City to scout the location. I will notify you when it's time to participate in the auction."
...
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(End of Chapter)