"Miles is dead!"
The entire city of Gengxin fell into chaos after daybreak.
Who was Miles?
A Platinum Bishop!
His status was equivalent to a Spirit Douluo. Even the City Lord of Gengxin wouldn't dare show him the slightest disrespect.
Because of this, even though he was only a Spirit Emperor, he had been able to tyrannize Gengxin, committing arson, murder, and pillage for so many years, despite the city having over five Spirit Sages.
Even Su Ming and Zhu Jiuyang basically gave him a wide berth, avoiding this piece of trash unless absolutely necessary. Of course, Miles also knew his place and never caused any trouble for Zhu Jiuyang's faction.
Now, Miles was dead.
Without any warning.
The City Lord of Gengxin, Zhao Tieshan, was under the most pressure; he had been cursing the murderer who killed Miles all morning.
However, no amount of cursing would change the situation. He could only continuously urge the city guards under his command to seal off Gengxin, strictly prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.
"Spirit Metal has leaked out. Miles also obtained Spirit Metal and must have informed Spirit Hall. The envoy from Spirit Hall has probably already set out. And at this critical moment, Miles is dead!"
Zhao Tieshan suspected someone was targeting him.
The profits from Spirit Metal were enormous. The Blacksmiths Association was destined to become the vortex of the Spirit Master world, and similarly, the position of City Lord of Gengxin, where the Association was located, would inevitably be coveted.
Zhao Tieshan had considered that he might be replaced by various means, but he never imagined the other party would be so bold as to directly kill a Platinum Bishop.
"The Blacksmiths Association must be anxious too. The top priority now is to find the murderer. I need to form a united front with them."
Zhao Tieshan thought it was his competitors causing trouble. Similarly, the Blacksmiths Association would also believe that the person who killed Miles this time was targeting them.
Blacksmiths Association.
Fifth Floor.
Upon learning the news of Miles's death, all the Grandmaster-level blacksmiths in closed-door cultivation came out.
Lou Gao was also alerted.
At this moment, the group of people with the highest forging skills currently in the Association had gathered in Lou Gao's forging room.
Everyone's gaze was focused on Zhu Jiuyang.
Within the entire Association, the one with the highest cultivation was Zhu Jiuyang, and the one with the most significant background was also him.
Crucially, currently, only his faction mastered the Spirit Refinement technique.
Zhu Jiuyang's expression was relatively calm. He himself actually had the ability to kill Miles and wasn't afraid of retaliation.
Now, as others looked at him, except for Su Ming, the rest were probably wondering if he was the one who killed Miles.
"It wasn't me who killed Miles."
He spoke first to clear his name.
Then, he began analyzing the circumstances surrounding Miles's death.
"Miles's death is inevitably closely related to us, and to the upcoming cooperation we are to have with the major forces of the Star Luo Empire and Spirit Hall."
"Everyone present is also aware that the Association intended to remain neutral from the start, planning to cooperate with both great empires and Spirit Hall simultaneously, and on this basis, not rejecting cooperation with clans."
"However, this is our idea. Some people will certainly not be content with this."
"President Zhu, do you think the Star Luo Empire is behind this?" Si Long's face was grim as he voiced a conjecture.
After the Association's reform, there were now three Presidents: Lou Gao, Su Ming, and Zhu Jiuyang. The one actually responsible for the day-to-day operations, acting as the workhorse, was Su Ming's senior brother, Huo Lie.
Strictly speaking, Huo Lie's status was higher than that of former Grandmaster-level blacksmiths like Si Long.
Huo Lie wasn't present this time because he had sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough, was about to break through to level 60, and had already entered seclusion.
Si Long's conjecture resonated with everyone present.
Lou Gao also couldn't help but nod, agreeing with Si Long's guess.
The possibility of the Star Luo Empire being responsible was the greatest. Because angering Spirit Hall would make it much more difficult for the Blacksmiths Association to achieve its desired neutrality through cooperation with Spirit Hall.
After all, Gengxin City was within the borders of the Star Luo Empire. Without Spirit Hall's support, it would be very difficult to establish cooperation with the Heaven Dou Empire. By then, with some arrangements, perhaps the Blacksmiths Association could be made completely dependent on the Star Luo royal family, usable only by them.
"One cannot rule out Spirit Hall staging this themselves," Su Ming said.
He spoke up now, offering another perspective.
"Miles was no good news for our Association. Spirit Hall certainly understands this. Perhaps eliminating Miles is to facilitate better cooperation later."
Without the annoying Miles, both sides could accept each other more easily.
"Moreover, with a Platinum Bishop dying because of our cooperation, Spirit Hall can claim a certain moral high ground in various aspects, thus gaining an advantage in the cooperation. After all, they are already a step behind the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. This move might allow them to directly catch up to the leading Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
Su Ming's logic was also very sound.
After he finished speaking, Lou Gao couldn't help but nod.
It made sense.
Duan Jin couldn't help but speak up: "Couldn't it just be a normal revenge killing?"
"The possibility is small," Zhu Jiuyang said.
While everyone was discussing, the door to the forging room was knocked.
Everyone exchanged glances, and Si Long went to open the door.
Outside were two people: Ning Yuan and Chen Xin.
"Lord Sword Douluo, please take the seat of honor."
Zhu Jiuyang made a gesture of invitation.
Chen Xin nodded in acknowledgment and took a seat. Ning Yuan stood to the side. He cleared his throat slightly, and his first words were to disclaim any involvement.
"It wasn't us who killed Miles. His death has nothing to do with our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
"Naturally, we do not suspect your esteemed clan either," Zhu Jiuyang said.
Ning Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Additionally, Elder Sword has some information that might be useful to everyone."
Oh?
The gazes of those present focused on Chen Xin.
To be honest, having a Titled Douluo sitting among them put everyone under immense pressure.
Now, as they all stared at Chen Xin, they felt restless, feeling they were being audacious by exerting pressure on a Titled Douluo.
Chen Xin paid no mind to these subtleties.
"Two days ago, a Titled Douluo passed through Gengxin City. He probed the Association and should have sensed my presence, after which he concealed himself."
A Titled Douluo?
Su Ming's expression changed slightly.
He looked at Si Long.
According to Si Long's conjecture, it was highly possible the Star Luo Empire had acted, and everything fit the Star Luo Empire's interests.
Two days...
The auction for Spirit Metal was four days ago. From obtaining the Spirit Metal, realizing its significance, to dispatching a Titled Douluo to investigate in Gengxin City, was two days enough?
As if knowing what everyone was thinking, Chen Xin spoke: "If I were to set out from Gengxin City, I could reach Star Luo City within a day."
Enough!
Chen Xin answered the doubt in everyone's hearts.
Because of Chen Xin's information, their suspicions about the culprit leaned in a certain direction.
Based on the currently known information, the possibility of the Star Luo Empire killing Miles was the greatest.
As for whether the Star Luo royal family had Titled Douluos, that was beyond doubt.
Unlike the Heaven Dou Empire's constant enfeoffment and decentralization, leading to numerous clans, the Star Luo Empire's rule was much more unified, without分裂的分封王国 (fēn fēng wángguó - split enfeoffed kingdoms) or super clans like the Top Three Clans.
Under such a system, the Titled Douluos within the Star Luo Empire's territory were naturally concentrated in the royal family, specifically in the Hall of Worship established by the Star Luo royal family.
"On the surface, the Star Luo royal family has three Titled Douluos: the current Star Luo Emperor, the White Tiger Douluo; the Star Crown Douluo; and the Star Cloud Douluo."
Chen Xin listed the three known Titled Douluos of the Star Luo royal family according to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's knowledge.
"The White Tiger Douluo probably wouldn't act personally. Both the Star Crown Douluo and the Star Cloud Douluo are known for their Stellar Energy. Among them, the Star Crown Douluo's cultivation leans towards the support type. If an assassination was dispatched, the Star Cloud Douluo is the most likely."
The Star Crown Martial Spirit combined assault and support characteristics, making it a very powerful top-tier Martial Spirit. The key point was that even if one followed the path of a support-type Spirit Master, it wouldn't reduce their cultivation speed.
This was the inheritance Martial Spirit of the Star Luo royal family in the Douluo Dalu 2 era.
Currently, it was the Douluo Dalu 1 era, and the Star Luo royal family was still the Dai family, inheriting the White Tiger Martial Spirit.
As for the Star Cloud Douluo, based on Chen Xin's introduction, the information matched what Su Ming knew about the Star Cloud Douluo from the Douluo Dalu 2 period quite closely—Martial Spirit: Star Cloud Fan, possessing both speed-attack and power-attack capabilities, with excellent concealment and stealth abilities.
This was a powerful Martial Spirit with a lineage that continued into the Douluo Dalu 2 era.
Star Crown, Star Cloud Fan...
To be fair, the powerful families of the Star Luo Empire were quite accomplished in stellar attributes.
Su Ming couldn't help but marvel inwardly; the structure of the Star Luo Empire was truly stable. From Douluo 1 to Douluo 2, aside from the imperial throne shifting from the Dai family of the White Tiger Douluo to the Xu family of the Star Crown Martial Spirit, everything else was stably inherited.
(End of Chapter)