Chicken Soup Returns

Since half a year ago, people have been coming to Gengxin City with Ling Yi's handwritten letters to find Lou Gao at the Blacksmith Association. Lou Gao has been busy ever since.

In the past six months, the Lou Gao has housed more than 2,700 young men and women, enabling them to settle down and make a living in the villages and towns surrounding Gengxin City and seven or eight other cities.

Because of this, Lou Gao's originally round figure became a bit slender, and he was exhausted.

Although there is no household registration system in the Douluo Continent, in a relatively backward social environment, people in a village or town see each other all the time and are basically acquaintances. If a stranger suddenly moves in, it will still be a bit conspicuous.

Not to mention, nearly three thousand young adults came all at once!

Of course, it is also because these are all young and strong men with excellent physical strength who are good at working that their integration is relatively smooth.

Some of the good-looking ones even managed to hit it off with local girls in a very short time, getting married and truly integrating into the community.

In the past six months, there have been quite a few such cases of couples getting married; there are probably several hundred.

Lou Gao gradually revealed the results of the past six months to Tie Futu, his tired, round face showing a hint of joy.

"Although only a little over 1,200 people chose to become blacksmiths, and the vast majority of them were ordinary people without Soul Power, they had still fought on the battlefield. Whether it was physical fitness or their ability to learn and master strength, they had some advantages..."

Lou Gao grinned like a Maitreya Buddha, laughing heartily, "In just a few years, our Blacksmith Association will have at least a thousand more intermediate blacksmiths, and there will even be some advanced blacksmiths..."

He thought of those dozens of Soul Scholar with Soul Power. With the Blacksmith Association's now systematic and optimized teaching capabilities, the threshold of Hundred Refinement would definitely not be able to stop these people.

With this fresh blood, even though they are all from the lower levels, if they are scattered throughout the Star Luo Empire, or even sent to various parts of the Douluo Continent, then the influence of the Blacksmith Association will also spread there.

Furthermore, according to Ling Yi's secret message, only by having these high-level blacksmiths and below scattered throughout the continent could the Blacksmith Association be prevented from appearing in the sight of various forces too early.

If it were Blacksmith or higher, their every move would easily attract attention, which might lead to the Blacksmith Association being targeted by certain forces.

Before the emergence of Soul Douluo- level or higher powerhouse in the Blacksmith Association, keeping a low profile and quietly making a fortune is the best option.

Silently listening to Lou Gao's narration, Tie Futu slowed down the speed of his hammer swing, but became more steady.

"Although the development of the association is important."

"But!"

"Your own skills are more important!"

The resounding voice of the Ironclad Tie Futu echoed in Casting Room No. 1.

"Yes, Master!" Lou Gao subconsciously straightened up and answered loudly.

"Clang! Clang! Clang...!"

The hammer continued to strike, Tie Futu's eyes were deep, his dark pupils reflecting the crimson metal. In the intervals between the clanging of metal, his clear words rang out once again.

"I remember that in Ling's letter, he mentioned that it is appropriate to delegate tasks to people with the corresponding abilities."

"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing is to put the right people in the right positions."

"Where do you think you should be in?"

Lou Gao remained silent. His initial excitement was instantly calmed down by his master Tie Futu's few words.

He looked up at the roof, as if he could see through the several-meter-thick granite to the golden light falling from the sky.

Just like Ling Yi, who once guided him with just a few words.

At this moment, his master once again used Ling Yi's words to enlighten him.

who is he?

Lou Gao is one of only two Divine Craftsman in the Douluo Continent!

The position of President of the Blacksmith Association is only one of Lou Gao's many roles, not his entire identity!

Ling Yi was worried that focusing too much on Lou Gao big picture would lead to neglecting the essentials of casting and materials research, so he deliberately included some inspirational quotes in those letters.

This can be considered a different kind of "encouragement to study".

Even a Divine Craftsman blacksmith must place the tools in the most important position.

In the past, because the future was uncertain, both the veteran Divine Craftsman Tie Futu and the newly promoted Divine Craftsman Lou Gao focused more on maintaining their feel for forging skills and paid more attention to the melting of various metal alloys.

But when Ling Yi selflessly revealed his conjectures about "Spirit Refinement" to the master and disciple in secret, and even gave them a sample of spiritual metal such as "Heavy Dark Steel", they realized that there was still a way forward!

The enthusiasm that Tie Futu displayed at that moment was the first time Lou Gao had ever seen it in the decades since he became their disciple.

If it weren't for Lou Gao's earnest and persistent persuasion, the Tie Futu would have been prepared to abandon everything in Gengxin City and run to the Water Wood Duchy to find Ling Yi.

"Ling said that with the current size of the Blacksmith Association, it cannot protect these things that are enough to influence small-scale wars on the continent."

Tie Futu continued, "We are still in a period of dormancy, quietly consolidating our foundation. It's only right that we settle those people, but you must also distinguish between them and not put the cart before the horse!"

"Ling said that he would be responsible for proposing the ideas and theories, while the two of us would be responsible for verifying, experimenting, confirming feasibility, and summarizing the experience..."

"Waiting for the day when a true ' Douluo ' will emerge from among the blacksmiths!"

"Whether it's Titled Douluo or Soul Douluo!"

Tie Futu stared at the crimson metal block, its deep, dark eyes flashing with intense heat.

"As Ling said, a person's life is like a process of constantly being forged and tempered by life."

"However, some people survived and became world-renowned artifacts!"

"But some people couldn't persevere through the rigorous training and ended up as a pile of junk with no recycling value!"

"But regardless of the material, the most important thing is the blacksmith's skill and the choice of forging direction for that material!"

"On the path of becoming Soul Master, there's little hope for either of us; we're not cut out for it!"

"You brat, you've probably reached the end of your life by the time you reach the Soul Saint."

"However, fortunately, we can do something for future generations, for Ling Xiaozi, on the path of blacksmithing, to pave a way for them—!"

Every word, every syllable of the Tie Futu, struck Lou Gao's heart like a heavy hammer.

When only the sound of hammering remained in the No. 1 foundry, Lou Gao suddenly turned around and strode towards the door.

Sensing Lou Gao's movement, Tie Futu turned around for the first time and shouted, "You brat, where are you going?!"

Lou Gao paused, then replied, "I'll arrange things at the association, then go next door to do some activities and see if my skills have improved!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he opened the door and left without looking back.

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on the old face of the Tie Futu, but it vanished in an instant.

Inside the No. 1 foundry, only this old man, whose life had entered its twilight years, remained, silently wielding his hammer and pedaling the bellows lever.

The wind blows the fire, and in the fire, a metal block emerges with a unique luster.

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The next chapter will be updated tonight~