Firearm Blueprints

Hu Liena's face darkened with anger. Given the way she was dressed and Ling Chen's child-sized body, he could see up there if he looked up. He had caught more than a glimpse a few times.

If it had been a child who saw, she wouldn't have cared much. But the person in front of her clearly wasn't a child.

Ling Chen scratched his head awkwardly. This was hard to explain. Whether or not Hu Liena had been wearing anything, Ling Chen had looked, and no matter what he said, he'd been the one to benefit.

With his current body, he couldn't exactly claim he was a giant baby.

"Uh... well..."

Ling Chen pursed his lips and stared absentmindedly at the dungeon ceiling, poking his fingers together.

"Smack!"

Hu Liena's hand passed through the cell bars and slapped Ling Chen across the face. Blushing, she scolded him.

"Pervert!"

Ling Chen clutched his swollen, reddened cheek. The searing pain left him unable to speak for a moment.

But when he saw that Hu Liena's cheeks were even redder than his, he couldn't tell whether she was angry or embarrassed. He met her eyes, then hurriedly looked away.

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment. Taking advantage of the lull, Ling Chen even snuck in a quick recollection.

But soon, Ling Chen rubbed his face and turned to Hu Liena with a serious expression.

"Any other questions?"

Hu Liena snorted. She was clearly still angry, but she still had to complete her mission.

"One last question. Why did you choose to leave with Tang San?"

As Hu Liena asked, she couldn't help lowering her head. She still couldn't let it go.

Ling Chen: ?

Listen to yourself! Are you seriously asking me to oppose the future Sea God and Asura God? And join you in hunting down Xiao Wu?

What level was he? He was a measly little runt in his teens or twenties. It was already a miracle he'd survived this long. He had no desire to take one of Tang San's Hidden Weapons. That would hurt like hell.

Ling Chen gave a couple of light coughs and smiled helplessly.

"Everyone has their own choices. Just as you chose to trust Tang San back then, I chose to trust him, too."

At that answer, Hu Liena's heart gave a sudden thump.

"You think the same way?"

Ling Chen nodded without hesitation, though that wasn't what he really thought.

What a load of crap! Didn't he know what Tang San would be like later? Dual gods, dual standards—what a god of double standards. Tang San just hadn't shown his true colors yet, and Ling Chen wasn't strong enough to make a move.

Biding his time under someone else's roof was simply the best option for Ling Chen right now.

Hu Liena had asked everything she needed to. Next, she would take the information back and report to Bibi Dong.

Hu Liena had barely left the dungeon when Yan was already waiting along her path.

"Nana, why did it take so long to deliver a meal? Isn't that kid refusing to eat anything from Spirit Hall?"

Hu Liena rolled her eyes at Yan and ignored him.

Seeing this, Yan hurried after her. He endured Hu Liena's indifferent attitude toward him.

He could understand Hu Liena fussing over Tang San, that pretty-boy, and ignoring him. But if she was ignoring him for the sake of a seven-year-old, then something was wrong.

"Nana, what's going on with you? I could understand if Tang San had bewitched you for a while, but this..."

Hu Liena stared at Yan, speechless. He was even more full of himself than she was.

"That's enough, Yan! Has His Holiness the Pope not punished you? I'm carrying out a mission for His Holiness to atone for my mistakes. If you've got nothing to do, go train! Don't get your arm chopped off again next time!"

Hu Liena rolled her eyes at Yan once more and headed toward Spirit Hall's main palace, leaving Yan standing there in a daze.

The dungeon was protected by a special formation that only Hu Liena could enter, so there was no way Yan could sneak in to investigate.

He followed Hu Liena to the main palace first. After eavesdropping on the information Ling Chen had provided, he slipped away in regret.

He had wronged Hu Liena. She had spent all that time in the dungeon just to gather information.

Ling Chen lay on the bed, deep in thought.

Tang San should have already started building the Tang Sect by now, though Ling Chen wasn't sure how far he'd gotten.

Besides, Ling Chen still hadn't obtained a new Soul Ring to improve his strength.

The White Dragon in the Dragon Pillar Space had already eaten quite a few Soul Rings. Until Ling Chen stacked those Soul Rings together, he felt restless all over.

"I'll ask Hu Liena tomorrow if she can take me to hunt Soul Beasts."

Ling Chen hadn't released his clone yet. He could use the excuse of hunting Soul Beasts to have the clone hide in the Heaven Dou Empire for a while.

It wouldn't be long before Qian Renxue's identity was exposed. Then chaos would be just around the corner. After Qian Renxue's defeat, he could follow the clues and find Qian Daoliu.

When the time came, he could have the clone he left outside search the corpse, then use one move of Form-Shift Shadow-Exchange to switch places with the clone here in the dungeon. That would let him escape completely unscathed.

However, Ling Chen still needed to draw up some designs to earn Bibi Dong's trust for the time being.

The next day, Hu Liena came to deliver food as usual. But when she heard that Ling Chen wanted to obtain a Soul Ring, she refused.

"Once your domain is unleashed, it won't be easy for us to bring you back. That's why His Holiness the Pope has you confined here. She's afraid you'll interfere with her plans."

Ling Chen chuckled. As if he couldn't leave this place right now.

"What? Does His Holiness the Pope want to keep me here forever? Or use me to negotiate with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

Hu Liena nodded silently.

"For now, that's the situation. We need the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to give up its position among the Upper Three Sects."

Ling Chen spread his hands. Bibi Dong could scheme all she wanted; in the end, she'd still die at Tang San's hands.

"Spirit Hall sure knows how to have fun, but it's all pointless. I think there's something Spirit Hall might be interested in."

Ling Chen placed a set of blueprints in Hu Liena's hands. She opened them and saw a long-barreled weapon.

"What is this...?"

Ling Chen chuckled. Were Tang Sect Hidden Weapons really that impressive? Aside from Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, weren't they all just cold weapons?

But in Ling Chen's original world, how could you call something a weapon of mass destruction if it didn't come with a little nuclear punch?

"This is a firearm. The blueprints include instructions for making and using it. I hope His Holiness the Pope will let me go out and obtain a Soul Ring. I can come back after you've finished testing the weapon."

This was half a pledge of allegiance from Ling Chen. If he could turn Spirit Hall into his own faction, he'd be more than capable of dealing with the Tang Sect later.

Hu Liena took the blueprints and left. She didn't have much say in the matter, so everything was up to Bibi Dong.

The firearm Ling Chen had given her was just a primitive matchlock—the Firearm. Given Douluo Continent's current metalworking techniques, this was all they could make.

But this was only the beginning. Ling Chen would have to cobble together a couple of cannons to open Bibi Dong's eyes.