Another Exchange: An Entire Lithography Machine Production Line!

"That's right. Why? Do you want to go?"

"Of course. Shrek Academy has plenty of things I need, after all."

At the thought of Shrek Academy's many treasures, Xiang Bei couldn't help feeling tempted.

To exchange for better things in the space, he needed antiques. And where on the continent had the most ancient artifacts?

Shrek Academy, of course. With ten thousand years of history behind it, even a blade of grass pulled from its grounds was a treasure brimming with life.

"All right, I'll add you to the exchange delegation."

Having seen what the artificial intelligence could do, Jing Hongchen left, satisfied.

Xiang Bei turned to Meng Hongchen. "By the way, Xiao Meng, does Mingde Hall still have any obsolete Soul Tools that count as antiques?"

"Yes, Brother Bei. I'll go get them for you right now."

Meng Hongchen hurried off and soon returned with a pile of badly damaged Soul Tools.

"Xiao Yu, scan these Soul Tools and check their functions and ages."

"Okay, Master."

On the screen, the big, fat blue fish struck a pose as if straining with all its might, its chubby little face scrunched up.

One minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

"Scan complete. Soul Tool Flintlock Gun, single-shot mode. Estimated to be an old object over a hundred years old."

"Soul Crystal Cannon barrel. It's old, but not much use."

"A bit slow," Xiang Bei thought to himself. Xiao Yu had taken so long to scan just a few objects that it could hardly assist in combat.

Most importantly,

He noticed that scanning a pile of junk had already cost Xiao Yu the Soul Power of three Level 8 Milk Bottles, not counting the Snow Empress's origin power.

"Its computing power is still too low, and I need to solve the power supply problem too. I have to be sparing with the Snow Empress's origin power. It's supposed to be the core power source for the Soul Guidance Virtual World in the future."

After realizing this,

Xiang Bei took out the Soul Tool Flintlock Gun and silently recited,

"Enter."

The stars wheeled and shifted, and he arrived in that mysterious space once more.

One of the brilliant stars overhead moved away from the others and sped toward him.

Douluo Continent.

Pope's Palace.

"It's starting. He's starting again." Bibi Dong's attention was fixed entirely on the sky screen.

"What is he planning to exchange that piece of junk in his hand for this time?"

But he had said before that he was going to Shrek Academy for an academic exchange. Heh!

This was also a good chance to see what Shrek would look like ten thousand years from now.

At this point,

The figure of a man appeared in her eyes without her realizing it, and tears slid from their corners. "Xiaogang."

But soon,

The figure vanished in an instant, replaced by a blond figure she hated to the core.

"Qian Family! I'll destroy you all! And you too, damn you, Qian Daoliu!"

Shrek Academy.

Yu Xiaogang spoke with confidence. "Watch, Xiaosan. This young man must have realized the importance of a Soul Master's cultivation. This time, he'll definitely exchange for something related to improving his cultivation!"

"From my observations, I've found that no matter how powerful Soul Tools are, they're ultimately just external objects. They need a Soul Master's cultivation to support them. For example, their Level 9 Soul Engineers must be Titled Douluo!"

Hearing this,

Tang San was deeply impressed. "Amazing, Teacher! You could see so much!"

His teacher truly lived up to his title, seeing through to the heart of the matter so easily.

Even among my Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, the advanced Hidden Weapon techniques all require Mysterious Heaven Skill cultivation to support them. External objects may be powerful, but they consume enormous resources as well.

"Taking Grandmaster as my teacher was the best decision I've ever made!"

Flender walked over with a smile.

"Xiaogang, you're in luck. After the Heaven Dou Crown Prince finished watching the sky screen just now, he specifically sent people to deliver a large quantity of metal. He said he wanted to fund our Shrek Academy's Soul Tool research, and he even invited you to be dean!"

"Really?" Yu Xiaogang's face lit up with wild joy. "Haha, His Highness the Crown Prince is truly farsighted. With me, a theoretical grandmaster, assisting, we'll soon be able to begin the preliminary research into Soul Tools.

"The Soul Tools I develop will surely greatly increase the speed at which Soul Masters cultivate!"

"Soul Masters... are the true mainstream and core of the future!"

Tang San looked at the metal piled up like a small mountain not far away, and his eyes lit up. "So much metal! There's a chance I can bring Tang Sect Hidden Weapons into being too!"

Heaven Dou Empire.

Xue Ye personally visited the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, where father and son met.

"Qinghe, I heard you supplied Shrek Academy with a large shipment of metal. Is that true?"

"Father." Xue Qinghe paused, then said, "Shrek Academy has a theoretical grandmaster in residence, and it's an academy as well. With them doing the research, Heaven Dou can sit back and reap the rewards."

"Rest assured, Father. I've already ordered people to keep Shrek Academy under surveillance. The Soul Tools they develop will certainly be put to use by Heaven Dou."

Xue Ye burst out laughing. "Good! Excellent! You truly are my good son."

"Hmph!" Xue Qinghe sneered inwardly. A good son? Unfortunately, your good son died long ago. Once the Soul Tools have been developed, I'll have Douluo Qian Jun send the results to Spirit City at once.

I, Qian Renxue, will surely unite the continent and ascend to the Angel Godhood!

The sky screen.

The familiar middle-aged man appeared, his voice excited.

"What good stuff have you got this time?"

Xiang Bei took out the flintlock gun and handed it to the middle-aged man, whose eyes suddenly blazed with excitement.

"Th-this... this is a first-rate antique!"

Click!

The man pulled back the gun's bolt, testing how it felt to load, and even leaned close to listen to the sound.

Then he put the flintlock gun away.

"It's been a long time since I've seen something this old. Young man, I'm very satisfied. What do you want? Just name it."

"I want all the technical documentation for lithography machines, plus a production line. Hmm... if possible, throw in some raw materials too."

Having said that,

Xiang Bei anxiously waited for the man's response, watching his expression all the while.

Compared to his flintlock gun, his demands could no longer be described as a lion opening its jaws wide. This was a taotie opening its jaws wide.

If the man refused, he really had no other options.

To improve computing power, he needed chips. But the best chip he could currently carve was more than ten square centimeters in size, and even that had required the help of Jing Hongchen, a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

The middle-aged man didn't answer immediately. His brow furrowed slightly. "How much raw material do you want?"

Hearing that there was hope, Xiang Bei immediately held up five fingers.

"How much is that?"

"However much you think it's worth."

Hearing this,

The middle-aged man fell silent. The things Xiang Bei traded were tens of thousands of years old, and they had been preserved so well. If he offered too little, the young man might refuse to trade.

"If it's five thousand tons, I can accept that, but fifty thousand tons is too much. After all, synthesizing this stuff isn't without cost."

Xiang Bei's eyelid twitched sharply, and for a moment he could hardly react.

He looked deeply at the man, then spoke as if to confirm it. "All right, five thousand tons."

After a pause, he stressed, "Those five thousand tons must include all the materials needed for manufacturing, including rare metals with properties similar to titanium, molybdenum and tungsten."

"Don't worry, they'll all be included. There'll be enough material for you to make tens of thousands of lithography machines." The middle-aged man wore a troubled expression, but in his heart he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this trade was nearly a thousand times more expensive than the last one,

He still had a considerable profit margin. The documentation and production line were worth nothing; the materials were what cost money. Fortunately, the Atomic Synthesis Machine routinely synthesized materials in quantities equivalent to the output of an entire planet.