Murong Huai's Plan

Martial Soul City, Engineering Department.

After Murong Huai left the Pope Palace, he was guided by Tu Zhen and his companion toward the Engineering Department. The Engineering Department of Martial Soul Hall was massive, housing thousands of craftsmen covering architecture, blacksmithing, carpentry, masonry, and more; it was an all-encompassing institution, and Star Dome Valley itself had been constructed by their hand.

The Martial Soul Hall Engineering Department stood in a solemn area. Its outer walls were built from hard, pitch-black mysterious iron stone, cold and heavy, with runes engraved upon them that shimmered with a faint light, as if guarding against external intrusion. The towering archway resembled the maw of a giant beast, majestic and intimidating, striking awe into anyone before they even stepped inside.

Walking within, the courtyard was spacious and tidy. The ground was paved with smooth bluestone, polished by the passage of time to a warm, lustrous sheen.

Passing through the courtyard, one arrived at the Engineering Hall, the core of the department. Inside, the furnaces roared with light, and a scorching heat rushed to meet them. In the massive crucibles, molten metal surged like golden streams.

Craftsmen dressed in specialized attire, tools in hand, focused on forging various weapons; the rhythmic clanging of hammers wove together into a passionate symphony.

The surrounding walls were hung with all manner of weapon prototypes and architectural blueprints, each one—whether archaic or intricate—displaying the exquisite skill and boundless creativity of the craftsmen.

In the corners of the hall, rare materials were piled high, radiating unique glows and auras.

As the three of them reached the front desk of the hall, a burly man wearing short leather armor stepped forward.

"My lords, this is the Martial Soul Hall Engineering Department. I am the master craftsman Zhang Wu. How may I assist you?"

Zhang Wu did not immediately question their identities; after all, anyone capable of entering this place held a position of no small significance.

Hearing this, Murong Huai produced the Pope Token directly.

"I need to take twenty people: fifteen craftsmen, four master craftsmen, and one grandmaster craftsman."

The term "craftsman" was all-encompassing, and blacksmiths were a subset of this. The ranks of craftsmen were the same as those in the original records: junior craftsman, intermediate craftsman, senior craftsman, master craftsman, grandmaster craftsman, and divine craftsman.

Upon hearing Murong Huai's request, Zhang Wu was stunned. The Grand Elder had ordered the construction of dozens of warships within half a year, and the entire Engineering Department was currently scrambling to meet that quota. Manpower was not exactly abundant, but seeing the Pope Token, he knew the person before him was at least of Elder rank.

"Please forgive me, Elder, but the Engineering Department is currently fully committed to building warships and cannot spare so many hands."

The main issue was that the people Murong Huai required were all above the rank of master craftsman, which were indeed difficult to assemble. Hearing Zhang Wu's words, Murong Huai did not blame him, as he had already understood the situation.

"Then how many can you scrape together?"

Zhang Wu calculated carefully and replied:

"Reporting to the Elder, with the current shortage, twenty people can be gathered, but the bulk of our master and grandmaster craftsmen have been dispatched to the warships. I can currently assemble three master craftsmen, ten craftsmen, and the rest will have to be senior craftsmen."

Hearing this, Murong Huai nodded.

"That will suffice. However, have these men bring along some blacksmiths and report to Murong Mansion tomorrow with their tools."

"Yes, Elder." Zhang Wu was somewhat surprised that the other party was from Murong Mansion, and he quickly bowed.

Subsequently, Murong Huai and his two companions turned and left the Engineering Department.

Murong Mansion.

"Mother, could you please mobilize a group of men for me from the Martial Soul Sanctuary? I have a use for them."

"Oh, is that all? How many do you need?" Hearing Murong Huai's request, Wu Xianyun did not ask what it was for, simply asking for the number.

"Hmm... about a hundred should do. Ordinary guards will suffice," Murong Huai thought for a moment before saying.

Although Murong Huai was the Holy Son of Martial Soul Hall, he currently held no real power and lacked his own faction.

At these words, Wu Xianyun beckoned, and a maidservant nearby bowed.

"Yes, My Lady." Having said that, the maidservant hurried out of Murong Mansion.

In less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the maidservant returned and addressed Murong Huai:

"Young Master, everyone is already waiting at the gate."

"Good, I understand." Murong Huai nodded. At this moment, Tu Zhen also walked in and first bowed to Wu Xianyun.

"Hall Master Wu."

The latter nodded, and then Tu Zhen took out a map and handed it to Murong Huai.

"Holy Son, the things you asked me to investigate have been confirmed. Your subordinate has already ordered the saltpeter, sulfur... about a thousand catties of each."

"Oh, saltpeter? Huai'er, isn't this for gunpowder? Are you planning to make fireworks?" Wu Xianyun asked, somewhat puzzled by Tu Zhen's report.

"Yes, it is gunpowder, but not for fireworks—it is for firearms."

Indeed, if one wanted to rapidly and significantly increase the strength of an army, one had to rely on external forces. Although Murong Huai did not know how to manufacture Soul Tools, he was certainly well-versed in firearms.

He did not believe that firearms would be any weaker than those so-called Soul Tools. No matter how strong a Soul Tool was, how far could its effective range be? How great could its destructive power be?

Consider global coverage, consider world peace through nuclear deterrence... besides, firearms did not require soul power to operate; the room for development was immense.

What Murong Huai wanted to create were firearms based on gunpowder. Come to think of it, Douluo Continent had gunpowder, but it had barely been developed, remaining stagnant at the stage of fireworks and firecrackers.

It was only later that the Tang Sect established by Tang San seemed to use gunpowder for some hidden weapons, but that was still firmly in the era of cold weapons.

Furthermore, the state of industrialization was truly chaotic. The Great Soul Arena already had electronic screens, yet long-distance communication still relied on carrier pigeons. Roads were paved, yet people still traveled by horse-drawn carriages. He simply could not understand this society that developed rapidly in some areas and sluggishly in others.

Although Murong Huai had been a 996 office worker in his previous life, he had also been a science genius, a national top scorer in science, and a reserve member of a research institute. He had deep knowledge of thermal weapons; he had hands-on experience with artillery, firearms, and even missiles.

The technology of Douluo Continent was currently not advanced enough to build weapons of mass destruction, but crafting some relatively simple firearms would be quite effective. Since he was heading overseas, he would mount these firearms on the warships.

"Firearms? What are those?" Wu Xianyun asked, confused.

"Hmm... they are just some fireworks with a bit more power..." Murong Huai thought for a moment.

"Forget it, do as you please... just don't get yourself hurt." Wu Xianyun waved her hand; as long as Murong Huai was willing, he could do whatever he wanted.

"Alright, Mother, I'm off then." Hearing this, Murong Huai smiled and left with Tu Zhen.

Outside Murong Mansion, one hundred fully equipped guards from the Martial Soul Sanctuary stood waiting in formation. Seeing this, Murong Huai nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad. Tu Zhen, take them and move all the ordered saltpeter, sulfur... everything into the Murong Mansion."

"Yes, Holy Son."

After finishing these arrangements, Murong Huai walked into the mansion. Upon reaching his room, he took out a pen and began to draw on paper. The pen tip moved with great proficiency in Murong Huai's hand; every straight line he drew was precise, and every arc was flawless. This was the experience Murong Huai had honed in his past life—his eyes were the ruler, and his hands were the machine tool.

After a while, a series of blueprints were laid out on the table, detailing gun carriages, component sizes, and more. In the center lay a drawing of a massive cannon, with the annotation "Red Barbarian Cannon" written beside it.

Indeed, what Murong Huai had drawn was the Red Barbarian Cannon. With its long range, immense power, and ability to be mounted on warships, it would significantly enhance the naval combat capabilities of the Martial Soul Hall army.

Furthermore, the Red Barbarian Cannon was not overly difficult to manufacture. While its specific power still required testing, it would certainly live up to expectations.

The reason he did not tell Qian Daoliu and the others directly was that the current Douluo Continent had no concept of firearms. It was better to create the physical object and let the facts speak for themselves.

Moreover, Murong Huai was very confident in it; a firearm that had been passed down for a thousand years would undoubtedly shine brilliantly on the Douluo Continent.