A Douluo, After All
Who touched it?
Once Si Long and the others return in a while, ask them who can't make it to tomorrow's banquet; that should be pretty much it.
Ling Yi, who had a shortlist of candidates in mind but was currently only guessing, did not directly answer Lou Gao's question.
When I returned to Gengxin City, I discovered the gap in the wall, which looked exactly like the spatial tearing effect caused by the activation of spatial energy within the "Starry Sky Stone".
Ling Yi immediately sensed the lingering smell of blood in the air, thanks to his powerful five senses.
Following the almost imperceptible scent of blood, Ling Yi tracked it all the way from the fifth floor to a window on the third floor.
"Tsk, it seems there was a considerable amount of bleeding. Although the other party should have sealed the wound immediately, it's been so many days, yet there's still some residue left—"
Of course, the air circulation inside the [Blacksmith Association Headquarters] building is much smoother than in the open air outside, which is why Ling Yi was still able to detect subtle clues several days later.
After the other party jumped out of the window, all the clues were lost.
For more than a year, the various scattered pieces of information that Ling Yi sent out were not aimed at any one important figure, but at all the powerful figures in the entire ' Gengxin City '.
However, everyone has a different personality. In Ling Yi's judgment, the probability of City Lord Arthur Candir being the first to jump out is the highest, followed by the controller behind the South City Trade Market, "Jin Gang Axe" Winston Soul Emperor...
However, Xiang Guyun provided Ling Yi with a piece of information: Kuku Kandir, the eldest son of the City Lord’s Mansion and this new junior apprentice, had lingered around the Blacksmith Association headquarters for a period of time ten days ago.
When Kuku Kandir returned to practice forging the next day, he didn't make any mistakes, but his forging efficiency dropped by about one-fifth.
Of course, during those days, Pan De, the manager of the Great Soul Fighting Arena, and his cousin Pan Da, had a strange behavior, as they had directly missed a group practice session on a certain morning.
Shaking his head, Ling Yi chuckled as he looked at Lou Gao and the Tie Futu cast a questioning glance his way, "It's still uncertain who it is, but it seems they won't have time to make any further moves against our Blacksmith Association, at least not in the short term."
"After all, my uncle has now become Soul Douluo. Putting aside combat, the sheer pressure he generates when he channels his Soul Power is enough to render any Soul Master below the Soul King helpless!"
"Besides, whether it's Soul King or Soul Emperor, apart from those super geniuses with the most top-tier Martial Soul, they're all weaklings who can be easily dealt with by Martial Uncle..."
"Looking at the entire ' Gengxin City,' apart from Bishop Yao Qi, who is about to be transferred to ' Spirit City,' my martial uncle is already the undisputed number one powerhouse!"
"From this day forward, in Gengxin City, and even in several other small and medium-sized cities within hundreds of miles, our Blacksmith Association will become the true dominant force."
"Even the Star Luo City side would recognize this leading role."
"Of course, we are still very weak right now, and there is absolutely no need for us to completely control everything within our sphere of influence like the [Clear Sky Sect], the [Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan], and the [White Armored Earth Dragon Sect]. Giving the official representatives of the Empire and the agents of other forces here a certain amount of authority will help our [Blacksmith Association] increase its influence and expand its presence in this region..."
"So, how should we plan the association's future development?" Lou Gao asked at the opportune moment.
"Hmm—" Ling Yi paused for a few seconds, then raised his head and said, "Let's take the route to the upper levels first."
"The upper route?" Tie Futu stepped forward, standing alongside Lou Gao, and asked Ling Yi.
"That's right." Ling Yi nodded and explained, "Given the current size of the Blacksmith Association, it would be too much trouble and too much work to completely integrate the lower-level members. We just need to plan a complete trade system, just like I did in the Water Wood Duchy before, which will basically revitalize the blacksmith business of the entire association's middle and lower levels."
"Currently, the best option is to unite all Blacksmith and above, and develop together with them..."
In his past life, Ling Yi had a conversation with a female student from a business school. Although she didn't end up staying with a big company in Shanghai, but instead followed Ling Yi to the small commodity wholesale market next door to start an e-commerce business, they still learned a lot from each other during that time.
For example, there's the economic theory proposed by a certain leader of the United States—the trickle-down effect.
Simply put, this theory suggests that during economic development, the poor, vulnerable groups, or impoverished areas are not given special preferential treatment. Instead, the groups or areas that develop first benefit the poor through consumption and employment, thereby driving their development and prosperity. Alternatively, it argues that government subsidies can flow from large corporations to small businesses and consumers, thus better promoting economic growth.
Just like the champagne towers at many banquets, the top glass is filled first, and the champagne will naturally flow into the empty glasses below.
In the context of the Douluo Continent and the Blacksmith Association, Ling Yi's suggestion is to first use the two Divine Craftsman, Tie Futu and Lou Gao, along with Ling Yi himself (a quasi- Divine Craftsman), as representatives. Through a systematic approach to technology, they should support a series of Blacksmith, Master Blacksmith, and Grandmaster Blacksmith to elevate their skills, thereby enhancing their productivity and production quality, ultimately leading to greater social status and wealth.
Then, through these high-level leaders who have been strengthened in advance, they will drive the progress of senior blacksmiths and lower-level members in their respective regions, ultimately achieving the integration and strengthening of the Blacksmith Association and the blacksmith industry.
Of course, to achieve this goal, Ling Yi, Tie Futu, and Lou Gao will need at least three five-year periods.
The first five years will be dedicated to cultivating a new generation of blacksmiths capable of mastering "Spirit Refinement," enabling them to possess sufficient strength comparable to that of Soul Master of the same level.
In the second five years, through the previous batches of new blacksmiths, or forging masters, the plan of experienced blacksmiths mentoring new ones and strong blacksmiths guiding weak ones will be completed within the territory of the Star Luo Empire, that is, within the influence range of the Blacksmith Association.
The third five-year period will spread this change, or rather, transformation, throughout the entire Douluo Continent.
The unforeseen events and obstacles encountered will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and Ling Yi alone absolutely cannot complete it. Even if he transforms his human brain into an electronic supercomputer, it will still be insufficient to handle such a massive project.
Furthermore, even with only Tie Futu as a Soul Douluo, it's impossible to support this plan. At most, it can complete most of the first five years. The second step is something that Tie Futu alone cannot handle, let alone the third step.
As for whether the cups at the top of the Blacksmith Association will grow larger and larger over time, or even infinitely larger, due to their capacity or desires, resulting in a situation where the wine on top piles up so much that the cups below can't hold any more wine?
Ling Yi, his throat dry from explaining, took out three crystal glasses and a bottle of fruit wine from his Storage Soul Tool.
He poured the cups for Tie Futu and Lou Gao, clinked glasses, and Ling Yi took a sip before chuckling softly:
"This is the Douluo Continent— "
Never mind, I'll post it as soon as it's done. I'm so sleepy, time for bed~