Soul Guidance Array Patterns

August, 2607 of the Douluo Calendar.

Without wind or clouds, the ' Gengxin City ' under the blazing sun was like a furnace, with the air itself distorted and rippling.

The ubiquitous ironware, under the scorching sun, resembled roasted sweet potatoes, transforming from its original hardness into soft and mushy texture.

[Blacksmith Association Headquarters], 5th floor.

She was 1.6 meters tall with a waist Lou Gao of 1.6 meters, and walked up carrying a brocade box.

As far as the eye could see, there were thirty-six foundry rooms lined up in a row, but at this moment only two or three of them were making the sound of large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate. A look of desolation flashed in Lou Gao's eyes.

However, immediately afterward, when he looked down at the brocade box in his hand, his gaze returned to firmness and fervor.

He strode forward until he reached the door of the innermost foundry, number one, and knocked on the heavy metal door.

A few breaths later, in the silent forge that seemed deserted, the metal door opened from the inside, revealing the figure of an elderly man with white hair.

"Master~" Lou Gao called out respectfully.

"Hmm~"

The white-haired old man, also known as the Divine Craftsman Tie Futu, nodded with a look of satisfaction and said, "Come in."

"Yes!"

Lou Gao responded and followed the turning Tie Futu into the foundry.

The foundry was very large, easily over 500 square meters. In the corners of both sides, metal ingots of different colors were neatly arranged. In the center of the foundry, slightly to the left, was a dark gold foundry furnace and a bellows of the same color, the flames inside the furnace were currently blazing.

A few meters away from the foundry, in the center of the room, is a cylindrical platform, three meters in diameter and about one meter high, made entirely of metal. At first glance, it gives people a sense of solidity and weight.

Lou Gao knew that this metal platform alone weighed over 100,000 jin!

"Tell me about it," Tie Futu, walking up to the forge and stepping on the bellows' linkage mechanism. "Why are you here instead of handling guild affairs outside?"

"Or is someone disrespecting you, the new president, and you need me to back you up?"

Two years ago, in May of the 2605th year of the Douluo Calendar, Lou Gao, six months after leaving the Water Wood Duchy, ended his journey across the Douluo Continent and returned to the Star Luo Empire, City of Metal, Gengxin City.

After returning to the Blacksmith Association, Lou Gao simply greeted his master Tie Futu, and then plunged into the foundry on the fifth floor, where he stayed for a full ten days.

Ten days later, Lou Gao walked out of the forging room carrying a thin, golden suit of armor and came to the Tie Futu.

That day, Tie Futu announced to everyone in the Blacksmith Association that his disciple, Lou Gao, had become the second Divine Craftsman on the Douluo Continent!

Anyone with doubts can come to Gengxin City and the Blacksmith Association to verify it for themselves!

Half a month later, after notifying many Blacksmith and above in the association, Tie Futu passed on his position as president to Lou Gao.

Tie Futu himself, after abdicating, moved to the No. 1 foundry on the fifth floor of the headquarters and devoted himself to studying casting techniques and various materials.

Over the past two years, under Lou Gao's leadership, the entire Blacksmith Association has seen a visible increase in both the number of blacksmith members and the overall economic situation compared to the Tie Futu era.

In Tie Futu's eyes, Lou Gao, aside from being somewhat inexperienced in forging compared to him, a veteran Divine Craftsman, was incredibly talented and destined to surpass his master in the future. Moreover, he possessed exceptional leadership skills!

When they learned of the association's development and the improvement of its soft and hard power, Tie Futu felt somewhat regretful.

It's not that I regret passing the chairmanship to Lou Gao, but rather that I didn't discover Lou Gao's talent earlier and pass the chairmanship down sooner.

Even though Lou Gao wasn't Divine Craftsman at the time, with his mentor's support, he could definitely showcase Lou Gao's full talents!

However, when Tie Futu expressed this regret to Lou Gao, Lou Gao shook his head, saying that if he had been put in charge of the Blacksmith Association earlier, he would have probably made a mess of the association long ago.

The reason why Lou Gao was able to lead the Blacksmith Association to such great success since taking office was simply because he had only superficially tested some of Ling Yi's ideas within the association.

But even this small taste was enough to give the previously lifeless and uncertain Blacksmith Association a new direction. Everyone gained hope and enthusiasm, and the association began to thrive.

Therefore, now, two years later, everyone in the entire Blacksmith Association, from the senior brothers and uncles of Tie Futu to those of Lou Gao's generation, is completely convinced of his worth.

Therefore, what Tie Futu said at the beginning was merely a joke about this disciple whom he was so proud of.

Even if, according to Lou Gao, he merely copied some of Ling Yi's ideas.

But having lived for so many years, and having managed to keep the Blacksmith Association alive amidst the various forces surrounding him on the Douluo Continent, Ironclad Tie Futu also had his own judgment.

Admittedly, that junior disciple named Ling Yi is a brilliant and insightful genius, but the fact that he was able to implement all of Ling Yi's ideas effectively within the considerable Blacksmith Association and achieve remarkable results shows that his own disciple, Lou Gao, still possesses outstanding leadership skills that cannot be ignored!

Hehe~

Lou Gao, in his thirties, looked like a child who had received a new toy, grinning at Tie Futu, his parent, his eyes brimming with excitement.

Placing the brocade box on a round, pure metal platform, Lou Gao opened the lid and said to Tie Futu, "Master, Junior Brother Ling Yi sent me a gift through someone. I've come to have you take a look at it—"

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Tie Futu showed a hint of surprise in his eyes, and felt quite curious about this rather familiar name.

Their gazes fell upon the open brocade box, and three things came into view.

In the center is a rolled-up parchment scroll, and on the left and right sides, there is a fist-sized transparent crystal and a fist-sized silver-gray metal ingot.

Tie Futu didn't look at the parchment scroll or the transparent crystal; instead, his gaze was fixed on the silver-gray metal ingot. He asked uncertainly, "This is... ' Deep Sea Heavy Silver '?"

The words had barely left his mouth when, before Lou Gao could reply, Tie Futu immediately shook his head, denying it himself. "That's not right!"

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed the silver-gray metal ingot.

Upon first handling it, Tie Futu's face showed an expression of "I knew it," and he turned his hand over, holding the metal ingot in his palm, and examined it closely.

First, he weighed it in his hand, then gripped it tightly. After releasing it, he looked at it from left to right. Then, he bent his fingers with his other hand and tapped the metal ingot with his knuckles, listening to the clanging sound.

Finally, it even scratched the surface of the metal ingot with its fingernail, stuck out its tongue to lick its fingernail, and squinted its eyes to feel something.

Lou Gao, standing nearby, watched Tie Futu's series of actions without interrupting, but patiently waited with a smile on his face.

Tie Futu savored the taste of the metal ingot, shaking his head as he did so. Suddenly, as if remembering something, the palm of his hand holding the metal ingot began to glow with Soul Power.

Under the control of the Tie Futu, the pale red Soul Power drilled into the silver-gray metal ingot.

The next second, the Tie Futu's eyes suddenly widened and lit up.

This "brightness" is not an adjective; there was actually light.

And the light source was the metal ingot he was holding in front of him!

At the same time, the Tie Futu's steady and powerful hand suddenly dropped a few centimeters before rising again and returning to its original position.

With piercing eyes, Tie Futu stared intently at the metal ingot in his hand, which had become more than half its original weight but had lost its luster. He abruptly turned his head and fixed his gaze on Lou Gao's eyes.

"Tell me, just now, were there any glowing patterns on this surface?!"

Sorry for the delay!