Special Soul Power Patterns!?

"Loyal to Spirit Hall?"

Lin Xia silently mulled over those words, a trace of detachment and disdain in the depths of his eyes.

Lin Xia acknowledged that Spirit Hall's existence had positive significance for the Continent Order, and he was grateful for the awakening bestowed by the Nuoding City Branch back then.

But to tie himself completely to Spirit Hall's war chariot and become one of its loyal lackeys?

That was absolutely impossible.

His goal had always been to grow stronger through the one-of-a-kind path of "Eat Ore," to explore the limits of power alongside Larvitar, and ultimately gain absolute strength sufficient to look down upon everything.

Joining Spirit Hall, or even drawing upon its influence and resources in the future, would only be cooperation and mutual exploitation. It was merely a way to find a temporary Protective Umbrella for the Blacksmith Association and for himself before he had fully grown strong.

Loyalty?

That meant staying true to his own path, not sacrificing himself to some organization.

"Xiao Xia?"

A soft call laden with complicated emotions pulled Lin Xia back from his thoughts.

Lin Xia turned to look and saw that his teacher, Lou Gao, was still standing where he had been, his brow tightly furrowed. His normally bold and ruddy face now looked somewhat ashen and lost.

Lou Gao unconsciously rubbed the hem of his Craftsman Robe, stained with soup, while his gaze drifted toward the direction Ghostly Shadow had disappeared. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, yet did not know where to begin. An indescribably strange atmosphere surrounded him.

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

Lin Xia asked with concern as he walked to Lou Gao's side.

Lin Xia could sense the intense turmoil in his teacher's Inner Heart, far removed from the calm he displayed on the surface.

Lou Gao let out a heavy sigh, filled with six years of suppression, confusion over the sudden reversal, and a trace of indescribable loss.

Lou Gao raised his head and looked at Lin Xia, his expression complicated.

"Sigh... it just feels... strange! Extremely strange!"

Lou Gao vigorously scratched at his thick beard.

"This Old Man... I've spent six whole years in Gengjin City fighting Miles and those Spirit Hall lackeys under him! Six years!"

"Openly and secretly, frustration, anger, vigilance... every day, I lived in fear that they'd find some excuse to swallow up the Association or smash it apart!"

"This anger, this damned resentment, has been stuck in my chest for so long that it was nearly turning into cardiopathy!"

Lou Gao paused, his tone thick with absurdity.

"And what happened? A single letter was sent up, the Pope flew into a rage and directly dispatched a Titled Douluo, saying the matter would be handled with utmost severity? Those bastards who rode roughshod over us are about to be dealt with by their own people?"

"The Blacksmith Association is even going to submit to Spirit Hall? This... this change came too fast! So fast that this Old Man... I can barely wrap my head around it!"

"It's like... like throwing One Punch without even touching your opponent, only for him to fall down on his own and say he wants to become sworn brothers with you. This feeling... it's fucking awkward!"

Lou Gao slapped his forehead hard, as if trying to knock away that sense of unreality.

"This Old Man has lived to this age, yet I've never encountered anything so... so dramatic! I hated them for six years, guarded against them for six years, and now they suddenly became our own people? Something in my heart just... just doesn't sit right!"

Lin Xia listened carefully and nodded in understanding.

Lou Gao's feelings were entirely genuine. The ingrained mindset born from long-term hostility and oppression could not be reversed overnight.

Lin Xia comforted him.

"Teacher, I understand how you feel. But look at it from another angle—this proves our earlier judgment was correct. What Miles and his ilk did could not stand the light of day at all. It completely went against the will of Spirit Hall's upper ranks, or at least Your Holiness the Pope. We chose to submit a letter to seek justice, and also to prevent an even more violent conflict from erupting prematurely."

Lin Xia's tone turned serious.

"Think about it. If Miles had been allowed to continue, his appetite would only have grown, and his methods would only have become more despicable. Once he tore off all pretense, or the Association could no longer endure and conflict broke out, what would the result have been?"

"To preserve the authority of a Temple Bishop, Spirit Hall would likely have chosen to suppress the Association even if it knew he was in the wrong!"

"At that point, there would have been bloodshed everywhere and mutual destruction. That would have been the ending we least wanted to see. Resolving it this way may feel... strange, but it cost the least and produced the best result. At the very least, the Association has been preserved, and the disciples and craftsmen can live peacefully."

Lou Gao listened in silence, his large callused hand unconsciously rubbing the cold surface of the Stone Table.

Lin Xia's words were like a basin of Cold Water, extinguishing the agitated heat in his heart.

He thought of the exploited craftsmen, the materials in the Association warehouse that had been forcibly requisitioned, and Miles's hateful face... Yes, compared to those tangible humiliations and the disaster that might have erupted in the future, what did this little mental discomfort amount to?

Lou Gao let out another heavy sigh, as though expelling all the pent-up frustration of the past six years. The confusion and conflict on his face gradually gave way to relief and exhaustion.

Lou Gao shook his head, his voice much lower.

"Enough, enough... you're right, Kid. If it's a blessing, it isn't a curse; if it's a curse, there's no avoiding it. As long as we can protect the livelihoods and safety of everyone in the Association, this Old Man's discomfort is worth shit!"

Lou Gao waved a hand, clearly unwilling to keep dwelling on the matter. He only wanted his chaotic thoughts to settle as soon as possible.

Just then, Lin Xia sharply noticed the dark silver Spatial Soul Tool Ring on the ring finger of his Left Hand. A Flash of Light gleamed in his eyes, and he suddenly thought of something.

"Teacher, look at my Storage Ring."

Lou Gao subconsciously followed Lin Xia's finger with his gaze.

Lin Xia continued.

"Why is it that, over these past dozen days in the Forge Room, we've been racking our brains over those materials, yet we still can't figure out the Core Drive of the Soul Tool Mech?"

"There's nothing wrong with our forging techniques. The Thousand Layered Tremor Gold Hand is enough to handle the most precise metal components, and our understanding of Soul Power far exceeds that of ordinary blacksmiths. So where exactly is the crucial bottleneck?"

Lin Xia's question instantly pulled Lou Gao back into that field that both excited and tormented him.

Lou Gao's brow furrowed again as he shook his head in distress.

"That's right! Metal fusion, structural design, power transmission... this Old Man believes I've touched the threshold of every one of them, yet I'm always... always just one breath short!"

"When Soul Power is poured in, it either dissipates, clashes, or becomes lifeless. It never feels like it has truly 'come alive'! It's as though... as though there's a missing bridge that lets Soul Power communicate with machinery..."

Lin Xia lightly tapped the faintly visible, intricate and profound Silver Pattern on the ring's surface, his voice clear and certain.

"Teacher, look at this—these special Soul Power patterns!"

"Patterns?"

Lou Gao froze, his gaze instantly focusing on Lin Xia's ring.

He had naturally seen those delicate, Spider Web-like patterns glimmering with faint light countless times, but he had never connected them with the grand concept of a mecha.

Now that Lin Xia had pointed it out, it was as though lightning had split apart the fog!