Auction

"Hiss!"

"To think it's the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer! Where did this child come from? This is terrifying!"

The examiner naturally recognized the hammer technique Tang San was displaying. In Gengxin City, the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer was known to almost everyone, and most blacksmiths even knew a thing or two about it.

However, those who knew it could never master it completely, unable to stack the strikes up to the eighty-first hammer.

But Tang San was different. He had been personally taught the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer by the current Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao. Although Tang San's current soul power could not support it in actual combat, using a forging hammer against a piece of iron ore that would neither resist nor move, executing eighty-one strikes was naturally more than enough.

Right before the examiner's stunned eyes, Tang San had only stacked thirty-six strikes before the ordinary piece of iron ore in front of him was beaten to a glowing red, achieving one hundred percent purification.

"Thirty-six strikes of the Disorder Splitting Wind! One hundred percent purification! Heavens, what am I seeing? And he's just a child, a nine-year-old child!"

The examiner was so excited he couldn't control himself; he gripped Tang San's shoulders, trembling with agitation.

"Child, what is your name?"

"My name is Tang San, Uncle."

"Tang San, surname Tang... could he be a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect? No, that can't be right. The Clear Sky Sect sealed its mountains years ago; we haven't heard any news from them in a long time."

"Child, what is your martial soul?"

Tang San didn't quite understand why this examiner wanted to ask about his martial soul, but he answered truthfully nonetheless.

"Uncle, my martial soul is Blue Silver Grass."

Hearing that Tang San's martial soul was not the Clear Sky Hammer, or even a hammer-type martial soul at all, the examiner felt a sudden sense of regret.

"Sigh, what a pity. Even if your martial soul wasn't the Clear Sky Hammer, even just a regular hammer would have sufficed!"

"But instead, it's the trash martial soul, Blue Silver Grass."

"Truly, heaven is jealous of talent!"

The metals on the Douluo Continent were not ordinary; relying solely on standard forging hammers, there were some metals that even the most superb forging skills could not shape.

Therefore, soul masters who possessed hammer-type martial souls had more talent in the blacksmithing trade.

Furthermore, there were those with extremely powerful strength-type martial souls, such as the head of the Strength Clan—Titan.

As the head of the Strength Clan, Titan was a high-level soul douluo whose martial soul was the Great Strength Ape.

There were two master craftsmen in Gengxin City; one was Titan, the head of the Strength Clan, and the other was Lou Gao.

Comparing their forging skills overall, Titan was not as skilled as Lou Gao, but Titan was a high-level soul douluo while Lou Gao was only an ordinary soul saint. When it came to forging certain exceptionally hard metals, Titan held the advantage.

But in the examiner's eyes, Tang San possessed neither of these advantages. Even though Tang San was barely nine years old and could execute the thirty-six-strike combo of the Disorder Splitting Wind, the examiner did not believe Tang San could reach Lou Gao's level.

Moreover, Tang San's martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, meaning his ultimate achievements in soul power level would not be very high.

Thus, the examiner felt great pity for Tang San's talent.

Yet, he still wore a smile, not wanting to discourage such a gifted child.

"Child, congratulations on passing the primary blacksmith examination. You can come back in two and a half days to collect your primary blacksmith certificate."

Two and a half days later, Tang San went to the Blacksmith Association to collect his primary blacksmith certificate.

Previously, because of their age, Li Luo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu were restricted from entering many places. Now that Tang San had the primary blacksmith certificate, it served as a universal pass in Gengxin City, where the status of craftsmen was extremely high.

It just so happened that the Grand Auction House in Gengxin City was holding an auction today, so Li Luo took Tang San and Xiao Wu to attend.

Thanks to Tang San's status as a primary blacksmith, no one stopped them, and the three of them entered with ease.

Tang San found the manager of the auction house and brought out the Godly Zhuge Crossbow he had crafted.

"I want to auction a long-range hidden weapon."

Tang San said to the manager.

"Hidden weapon?"

The manager was somewhat puzzled, as if it were the first time he had heard the term.

On the Douluo Continent, where everyone possessed a martial soul, soul masters had very little need for weapons.

Common weapons were usually just short blades, daggers, or other personal knives, or perhaps defensive gear like inner armor.

Therefore, the manager was quite surprised when he heard Tang San use the term "hidden weapon."

However, Gengxin City had many craftsmen, so it was not surprising that someone could forge all sorts of strange things.

"That is fine, but I need you to demonstrate what this hidden weapon can do so that the auction house can provide an appraisal."

"This hidden weapon is called the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. It is a long-range offensive hidden weapon with immense attack power; hitting a vital point can instantly kill a powerhouse at the soul ancestor level."

"Hiss, soul ancestor level! Child, don't joke around. If you intentionally exaggerate to deceive our Grand Auction House, you might be blacklisted."

"I am not joking. If you don't believe me, I can demonstrate the power of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow for you myself."

The auction house manager had someone bring over a solid wooden board that was two and a half meters thick.

"Please!"

The manager stepped aside to let Tang San prove the power of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow himself.

Tang San raised the Godly Zhuge Crossbow and aimed at the wooden board to fire.

A sound of air being torn apart rang out as the crossbow bolt embedded itself deep into the wooden board, piercing three inches into the timber.

The supervisor's face blossomed into a wide grin upon witnessing the power of the Godly Zhuge Crossbow.

"Little brother, I have now seen the power of your hidden weapon for myself; it is truly extraordinary!"

"I wonder if you have any more of these in stock? If you do, our auction house is willing to purchase them at a high price."

The Godly Zhuge Crossbow had made a massive impact on the auction house supervisor; as a businessman, he naturally recognized its immense value.

Even an ordinary adult, provided they possessed a Godly Zhuge Crossbow, would have the potential to kill a powerhouse at the Soul Ancestor level.

What this meant was clear: if the empire's military could master the production of such a hidden weapon, they could build an army of ten thousand men comparable to Soul Ancestors in a very short amount of time.

Beyond that, a weapon with this level of lethality held an incredibly strong appeal for ordinary soul masters as well.

This was especially true for support-type sects represented by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; as long as a disciple with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul possessed a Godly Zhuge Crossbow, it would be equivalent to them wielding the lethality of a battle-type Soul Ancestor.

This was a massive deal, but since the Grand Auction House was spread across the entire Douluo Continent, they were perfectly positioned to swallow such a large market and monopolize the business.

The supervisor felt that his chance for a promotion, a raise, and reaching the pinnacle of his life had arrived today, so he began to probe Tang San, hoping to find out if this hidden weapon could be mass-produced.

"Uncle, I don't have any extra Godly Zhuge Crossbows on me right now."

Having lived two lifetimes, Tang San saw right through the little schemes in the supervisor's eyes; of course, he had extra Godly Zhuge Crossbows.

He had crafted four sets in total, with himself, Li Luo, and Xiao Wu each taking one.

He had kept the final set specifically for the auction to secure his first pot of gold.