"Good, what a fine way to exchange hostages!"
Xue Qinghe crumpled the list in his hand and threw it away fiercely.
He stood up and began pacing back and forth.
"Our Heaven Dou Empire is hospitable; we won't do anything to Dai Weis and the others. But the Star Luo Empire is too shameless. If we send our people over, wouldn't they be heading into a trap with no return?"
He paced back and forth.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
No return?
"Xue Beng has a mischievous character. He could learn forging to temper his disposition."
He immediately began drafting a list, including all the noble scions from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy who were close friends with Xue Beng, and then filled out the other half with Spirit Masters he himself favored, preliminarily deciding on the personnel the Heaven Dou royal family would send to the Blacksmiths Association.
Of course, he still had to submit the list to the Heaven Dou Emperor – that is, 'his' father – for approval. Only with his consent would this list be valid.
"I hope they can manage to acquire the Thousand Refined Spirit Metal technique."
Star Luo City.
Imperial Palace.
"The Blacksmiths Association is going too far!"
Dai Batian tore the letter in his hand to shreds.
"Your Majesty, the Eldest Prince has already been sent to Suoto City. Should we go to Suoto City to bring His Highness back?"
Hearing this, Dai Batian's face twitched slightly.
With the Star Luo royal family's capabilities, they could indeed do this.
Even if the Blacksmiths Association pursued the matter, the royal family could definitely settle it with an acceptable price.
But he couldn't do that.
Damn it, his younger son, Dai Mubai, was also over there.
He had finally managed to turn a blind eye and let the boy run off. Send someone to catch him and bring him back now?
"Find another Spirit Emperor, select one from the Sun Family, and send him to Suoto City to protect my sons."
After speaking, Dai Batian waved his hand, signaling the official to convey the order.
Hearing Dai Batian's decree, the official's expression also turned somewhat strange.
The Sun Family...
Wasn't that the family of the Zhu family's youngest daughter's father?
Because of that Zhu Zhuqing matter, the Sun Family never got along with the Eldest Prince...
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
One month later.
Zhu Jiuyang received urging from multiple sides.
The Star Luo royal family repeatedly stated that having people from the two empires enter each other's territory was truly improper and disrespectful to the Heaven Dou Empire. They demanded that their own people be recalled to Star Luo territory to put the Heaven Dou Empire at ease.
The people from the Heaven Dou royal family had also arrived. Prince Xue Xing had actually come along. He filed numerous appeals within the Blacksmiths Association, demanding the same as the Star Luo royal family.
"Zhu Jiuyang, what kind of trouble are you stirring up? Aren't you afraid your actions might trigger a war between the two empires? How many innocent people would die tragically then?"
Zhu Jiuyang looked at Xue Xing, who wore an expression of righteous indignation, and sneered.
"The Spirit Hall has made a statement. The Spirit Hall Main Halls in both cities will cooperate to ensure the safety of the Blacksmiths Association personnel. Whichever of your two empires dares to cause trouble first, the Spirit Hall will be the first to object."
Don't look at me. This time, the Spirit Hall is backing this. We have no say.
Hearing this, Xue Xing found himself in a difficult position.
If the Spirit Hall was backing it, then they really had to go along with the Blacksmiths Association's arrangement?
No!
It was too dangerous.
The two empires might not dare to defy the Spirit Hall's words by assassinating each other's people within their own borders, but damn it, Xue Qinghe could arrange for people to assassinate his own family members within the opposing empire!
Would the Star Luo Empire protect Xue Beng?
Not necessarily.
Or rather, it was unpredictable.
"Xue Xing, you are not on the list, not covered by the protection. I'd advise you to return to Heaven Dou quickly to avoid complications," Zhu Jiuyang reminded.
Xue Xing snorted coldly.
"That is no concern of yours, President Zhu. For this trip, although I did not manage to invite the Poison Douluo to accompany me, I did secure his promise. If I die, regardless of who is responsible, the Poison Douluo will pay a visit to the responsible party."
A trace of apprehension flashed in Zhu Jiuyang's eyes.
Dugu Bo was not someone to be trifled with.
Although among the Titled Douluo, the Poison Douluo's strength might not seem top-tier, and he was a lone wolf without a powerful sect behind him, it was precisely for that reason he was feared.
A lone wolf.
Who uses poison?
And is a Titled Douluo.
On the continent, there was no one you'd rather mess with less than him.
Zhu Jiuyang saw Xue Xing out and closed his door to visitors.
In the following days, he was pressured by both sides, demanding that the personnel of the two factions be swapped back.
Zhu Jiuyang seemed persuaded and reluctantly offered a compromise: both sides should cooperate, take a step back, and cede jurisdiction over the areas along the route between Gengxin City and Suoto City to the Blacksmiths Association. This would facilitate exchange and, more importantly, better ensure the safety of both parties.
Naturally, neither side agreed.
Thus, the situation reached a stalemate.
Another five days later.
Su Ming had a general understanding of the current situation.
"You've worked hard, Teacher."
Zhu Jiuyang had been busy with association matters lately, truly handling the actual work. Moreover, Zhu Jiuyang frequently brought Su Ming, who wasn't doing much, into the spotlight, gradually building him up as the spiritual symbol of the Blacksmiths Association, similar to Lou Gao in the former Iron Smiths Association.
"It's fine. This is all I can do for now. Your ambitions are great, but your steps are too large."
Zhu Jiuyang smiled wryly.
They really were too large.
But he was just stating a fact, not blaming Su Ming.
Because he had participated in this step throughout and also felt like they had accidentally taken too large a stride.
"Teacher, I'll need to trouble you to continue haggling with them."
"It's fine. Both sides are being restrained, and everything is developing smoothly. They are obviously also considering the suggestion I made," Zhu Jiuyang said. "This teacher will go instruct Tianya in forging now. Once we train a new forging master, the two royal families will behave."
"Alright." Su Ming seemed to suddenly remember something and reminded Zhu Jiuyang, "By the way, Teacher, remember to keep an eye on Suoto City. If conflict breaks out there, report it to Xue Qinghe. The more exaggerated, the better. It would be best if he led troops to attack Balak. I have a feeling that area will be the breakthrough point."
After Zhu Jiuyang left, Su Ming once again immersed himself in the design of the low-specification Two-Word Battle Armor.
The design was still too difficult. Even the 'brute-force' version, which simply required mindlessly nesting three types of Core Formations, was extremely challenging. The planning and application of spiritual nature also taxed the mind of this Level Four Mecha Designer to the utmost.
"Douluo 1 is just too troublesome."
Su Ming couldn't help but complain.
In this era, Titled Douluos were far too rare.
His early development also didn't give him a suitable reason to come into contact with a Titled Douluo and recruit them.
"Having a Spirit Douluo as a teacher in the Douluo 1 era was already an excellent start. I didn't expect it to feel insufficient so soon."
He began to envy the Su Ming of Douluo 2 and Douluo 3.
Douluo 3 Needless to say, Titled Douluo were everywhere, Super Douluo were as common as dogs.
He could even come into contact with Limit Douluo from time to time.
Coupled with the fact that the Douluo 3 Su Ming was good at finding masters, even if his steps were large, someone would back him up. He could create an Ancestor of Spirit Souls, attract the attention of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, and still conceal himself, leisurely moving to another city to cultivate.
As for the Douluo 2 Su Ming...
(End of Chapter)