Chapter 143

Facing the flourishing Qian Renxue, Xueke could only avoid her edge and temporarily yield.

Because of his previous arrogance, Xueke was subjected to a series of pua by Qian Renxue, was left beside Qian Renxue to work as a maid to pay off debts, and Qian Renxue arranged a room for them.

According to the fee for a single strike by a healing-system Soul Ancestor, Xueke needs to pay fifty gold soul coins; even if they are feigning unconsciousness, it is not free treatment.

Although Xueke is not short of money, in order to find an excuse to stay she had to pretend to be penniless; she demanded to work off the debt, calculating wages at one silver soul coin per day.

This also counts as a lesson Qian Renxue gave her; even though she currently has no money, relying on the cultivation speed of innate full soul power, she will be able to repay it quickly by collecting subsidies from the Spirit Hall.

After settling the suspected transmigrator Ake, Qian Renxue then lay in the room and tormented Xueke for two days; she is quite vindictive.

Two days later, Si Long came again to the Spirit Hall to request someone; Qian Renxue followed him out of the main hall of the Spirit Hall, got on a carriage and headed straight for the central district of Gengxin City.

Si Long was uneasy all the way, sitting stiffly, but fortunately Gengxin City itself is not too large, so after a short while they arrived at the central district of Gengxin City and the carriage stopped.

Si Long glanced out of the carriage window and said, 'We have arrived, Your Highness, please alight.' He was the first to jump down, then lifted the carriage curtain and reached out to help her, but Qian Renxue smilingly declined.

The carriage stopped before a tall building; looking up, this massive structure is at least thirty meters high, covers an extensive area, and being able to occupy such a large space in the city center shows its importance to this city.

Overall, the building resembles the hellish slaughter field of the Slaughter City; above the building hangs a dark iron plaque with no characters, only two protruding patterns: a hammer and a chisel.

Without asking Qian Renxue, one knows what place this is; beyond doubt, this is the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association.

This massive building looks somewhat rugged, with no ornate decoration; even the gate lacks a guard, yet the flow of people coming and going is incessant, the three main doors stand open, and from outside one can see the bustling crowd inside.

Si Long smilingly introduced to Qian Renxue: 'Our headquarters here is divided into five floors; the first floor is the trading area, where blacksmiths bring their proud works or some metals to trade, and of course there are also merchants specializing in selling various metals.'

'The second floor is the high-end trading area, where rare metals are generally traded; the third floor is the blacksmith registration and assessment area, dedicated to conducting blacksmith rank evaluations.'

'The fourth floor is the VIP area and also the auction area, where especially precious and rare cast items are regularly auctioned; the fifth floor is the office area of our Blacksmith Association.'

'Master Lou Gao is currently on the fifth floor; do you want to see him now?'

Qian Renxue nodded, 'Then now.'

Everyone entered the Blacksmith Association headquarters; the first-floor hall was somewhat noisy, this is a fully open hall, aside from the massive pillars supporting the building, it is an empty space, with only a ring of counters along the outer wall, behind which are displayed various forged products of the blacksmiths.

Si Long, while guiding her, explained: 'The first-floor hall is mainly divided into two areas; the left side is where blacksmiths consign their finished products, the right side is the metal trading area, the association takes a five percent handling fee from it, so most of the blacksmiths who come to consign hold the rank of blacksmith master; this place is crowded, mainly with merchants from all over, who can directly bid on items they fancy.'

Qian Renxue nodded and observed carefully; indeed as Si Long said, although there were many people in the hall, few were dressed as blacksmiths, most looked like merchants, some inquiring prices, some discussing, altogether a lively scene.

Si Long said somewhat proudly: 'Compared to outside, prices in the headquarters are a bit higher, but quality is absolutely guaranteed; our Blacksmith Association does not engage in fraud, all items are only priced after being authenticated and evaluated by the association; although there are many blacksmith shops outside where one might find cheap goodies, amateurs are easily cheated, just like the situation just now.'

While speaking, Si Long led her to the side stairwell to go up; there were two guards at the stairwell entrance, but they let them pass immediately upon seeing Si Long.

Upon stepping onto the second floor, the feeling changed instantly; the second floor is not as tall as the first, nor fully open; first impression is quiet, lacking the noise of the floor below; this floor is partitioned into shop-like units, with two rows of shops separated by a pedestrian walkway about five meters wide, and in the spacious area there are at least hundreds of shops on this second floor.

Si Long continued: 'This is the high-end trading area; those who can open a shop here all have some background, and it is similarly divided into a finished goods area and a metal area; there are plenty of good items here, but correspondingly the prices are relatively high; if Your Highness is interested, I can accompany you at any time and will certainly not disappoint you.'

His introduction was certainly not just to show off the Blacksmith Association; more importantly, he hoped to stroll around together with Qian Renxue.

'Mm, if there is time.'

Qian Renxue merely glanced briefly and felt that the goods on the second floor were indeed of much better quality than those hanging behind the counters on the first floor, but there was nothing that interested her.

Between the stairs from the second to the third floor, there are likewise two guards, but they differ clearly from the two below; according to Qian Renxue's spiritual sense perception, the lower two guards, though also soul masters, feel not very strong to her, about thirtieth-rank soul power, whereas these two guards, around forty years old, possess at least fiftieth-rank soul power cultivation.

Seeing Si Long leading Qian Renxue approach, their faces instantly lit up with surprise and delight.

'Your Highness Qian Ling'er actually came to the Blacksmith Association; please this way!'

The two guards hastily stepped to the side, their demeanor extremely respectful.

During this period, Qian Renxue has been far from generally popular in Gengxin City.

Si Long also couldn't help teasing: 'Even without me, I suppose Your Highness could directly enter the third floor, right?'

Upon going up to the third and fourth floors, what one sees are closed doors, unable to view the interior details; standing before the doors are Lou Gao's other two disciples, Si Yu and Si Di.

Lou Gao has four disciples in total, who take turns guarding here; originally the schedule had Si Long and Si Yu together, while the other two formed another group, but since Si Long is now fetching Qian Renxue, Si Di has come to cover the shift.

Si Yu's eyes lit up upon seeing the two: 'Your Highness, you have finally come; I will take you up, the teacher is currently in the forging room, lately he has been busy making armor; if it weren't for your arrival, he would surely not be seen by anyone else.'

Qian Renxue gave an affirmative hum and followed them onward.

Between the fourth and fifth floors there are no guards; only a single door blocks the stairwell, its material indiscernible, likely an alloy of various metals.

Si Long walked to the alloy door, raised his hand and tapped lightly; he tapped with a rhythm. Watching his movements, Qian Renxue observed with interest; relying on spiritually assisted careful observation, she discovered that each finger strike by Si Long hit a different spot with varying force, and the metal door correspondingly emitted faint clicking sounds. After Si Long had tapped a total of thirty-six times, the metal door gave a series of creaks and slowly opened sideways, revealing the passage upward.

Good fellow, the password door has actually been rigged up; this layer upon layer feels even tighter than the Spirit Hall—ultimately it's because our strength is too weak, so we can only rely on external forces to protect ourselves.

Under the guidance of Si Long and Si Yu, Qian Renxue finally ascended to the highest level of the Blacksmith Association headquarters, the fifth floor.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, she immediately heard some clinking sounds; Si Long whispered to Qian Renxue: 'Actually, this fifth floor is the private forging area exclusively for high-level blacksmiths of the Blacksmith Association; each blacksmith of rank Grand Master or above has his own spot here, and Si Yu and I also have our own forging rooms.'

Each forging room door bears only a simple number; from the outermost to the innermost, there are thirty-six forging rooms in total, of which only four or five actually emit sound; evidently, in this era when blacksmiths are not highly regarded, Grand Master-level blacksmiths are exceedingly rare.

Si Long led Qian Renxue to stop before the innermost Number One forging room, respectfully standing at the door and knocking on the metal door.

This forging room emitted no forging sound; as Si Long knocked, an irritated voice immediately sounded from inside: 'Who! Didn't I already say that? I'm waiting for a guest! No forging today!'

Si Long hastily said respectfully: 'Master, it's me; Your Highness has arrived.'

Upon hearing Si Long's words, the irritated voice vanished at once; after a short while, accompanied by a series of clicking sounds, the wide iron door slid open slowly, revealing the bright room inside; strangely, this forging room has no windows, yet it is bright because a magic-tool lamp hangs from the indoor ceiling, which is indeed quite luxurious.

The one who opened the door was a short, stout old man, about 1.6 meters tall, but his waist circumference also seemed to be around 1.6 meters; he had protruding ears, small eyes, a mess of short hair that looked as if it hadn't been washed for days, wore a large robe, and his chubby face was smeared with something resembling metal powder.

This short, stout old man is the current president of the Blacksmith Association headquarters, the Divine Craftsman Lou Gao; frankly, from his appearance one cannot see any trace of a divine craftsman, he looks more like a mild-mannered fat old man.

'You finally came! Quick, quick, quick! Come in quickly! Tell me quickly what exactly you mean by that battle armor?! For the past two days, whenever I tried to forge it, I just couldn't get it right; I simply cannot make the metal merge into the body as you said.'

As soon as the door opened, the stout old man's loud voice rang out.

Qian Renxue gave a light chuckle: 'I haven't seen you looking for me before; why are you in a hurry now?'

'You little girl, so stingy? This time it's my fault, alright? Come in quickly and help me take a look.'

Lou Gao did not linger, continuing inward; Qian Renxue followed behind him into the spacious forging room, while Si Long and Si Yu did not enter, quietly withdrawing, as they still had their own posts to guard.

The forging room looked messy, yet it is indeed spacious, over five hundred square meters; all kinds of miscellaneous metal are scattered about on both sides, and in the corner a dark forging furnace and matching bellows are particularly eye-catching, the furnace giving a feeling of biting cold.

That furnace and bellows are actually made of black iron, and not just black iron; they also seem to be mixed with some other metals, forming a special alloy.

And in the midst of the room is a circular platform, which looks more like a massive metal pillar standing there, only one meter high, appearing extremely solid.

Lou Gao brought Qian Renxue to the platform; on it stands a wooden humanoid rack supporting a piece of armor, which is a full-body suit, or rather cannot be called armor, because it looks more like a thin garment.

It is entirely deep blue, flashing with a faint metallic luster; the dense material resembles clothing more than armor, and that subtle sheen can be discerned even from a distance; the overall design has no protruding parts, essentially just a close-fitting garment.

Lou Gao proudly looked at the soft armor in front of him and said in a low voice, "I have named it the Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor. Its toughness can withstand the sixth soul skill of an assault-type soul master. What's most miraculous is that, although it is made of metal, it itself is extremely elastic; even if a beast soul master's body doubles in size after using their martial soul, it can still expand accordingly to achieve the same defensive effect."

"This Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor is made by fusing eight different metals in a special ratio into a special extensible memory metal, which is then shaped by drawing. So far, in this casting field, only I have the ability to refine this metal. I have researched this metal for a full ten years, and after finding many rare metals and undergoing countless trials, I finally succeeded in producing it."

"Extensible memory metal, a metal with elasticity—I once thought I had created a miracle."

"Every blacksmith who has seen it calls it a divine artifact! I was originally proud of it, but even so, it still cannot be integrated into the human body! Compared to the battle armor you mentioned that can fuse with the body, what I have spent over ten years building is ultimately just a mundane object. Indeed, the battle armor you spoke of is the true divine artifact! How exactly is it made? Can you let me see the finished product?"

Lou Gao gazed intensely at Qian Renxue, nervously awaiting her answer—whether the battle armor is real or merely a deception.

Qian Renxue released her soul bone armor; in an instant, silver-purple light burst from her body, as if she had become the galaxy, with countless stars.

A faint kirin roar sounded from her body, and at each of her joints, as well as her forehead, chest, and other vital points, silver-purple light spots lit up, with silver lines connecting these spots.

The light spots combined, and a splendid suit of armor appeared on her body; Qian Renxue's soul bone armor itself presents as an extraordinary silver-purple hue, its entire metallic form like crystal, sparkling with brilliant light.

A pair of huge silver-purple wings unfolded behind her; these wings look as if they are made of countless scales pieced together. When spread, they span over four meters wide; when folded, they completely cover her entire back. When the full-body armor is worn on her and the visor falls, a bolt of lightning flame naturally forms on Qian Renxue's body.

After the soul bone's transformation, a pair of wings was added; according to Dou San's battle armor ranking, Qian Renxue's soul bone armor has already reached the level of two-word battle armor.

"This... this is battle armor! It truly emerges from the body! Isn't it completely replacing the soul bone?"

"Hahaha! It's really true! It even has wings—divinely skillful! Divinely skillful! This is truly the divine artifact!" Lou Gao obsessively stared at the armor on Qian Renxue's body, wanting to touch it but she dodged him.

Qian Renxue stepped back a few paces, displeased, and said, "You old fool, don't you know men and women should be kept separate?"

Lou Gao stared blankly for a moment, then fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing loudly to Qian Renxue, and respectfully said, "It was my offense! Please forgive me! I am willing to be your apprentice, only hoping that the Divine Craftsman will accept me as a disciple."

"Divine Craftsman! I want to forge battle armor! I also want to create a divine artifact!"

4600(End of chapter)