Turning Down the Invitation

In the hotel lobby, near the entrance, Ling Yi, Ah Yin, Yang Shelly, Yang Pojun sat down at a square table.

"It is Ling Yi's honor to have gained the appreciation of Master Yang."

As Ling Yi spoke, he stood up, first adding hot water to the teacup in front of Yang Pojun, then pouring water for Ah Yin and Yang Shelly on either side, and finally for himself.

Setting down the teapot, Ling Yi 'Ling Yi smile remained unchanged, and he said tactfully, "However, I am aware of my meager strength and limited knowledge, and I am still in the learning stage. I really dare not accept the invitation from the [Breaking Clan]."

Just now, under Yang Shelly's introduction, Yang Pojun formally met Ling Yi, the third Divine Craftsman in the Douluo Continent.

Then, in keeping with the Swift as Thunder and Wind of the Yang Clan family of the "Breaking Clan", Yang Pojun directly conveyed the message from the second master of the main branch, Yang Wushuang: to invite the Divine Craftsman Ling Yi to join the "Breaking Clan" and become a retainer of the Yang Clan.

A dozen days ago, Yang Wushuang accompanied Tang Hao, the true second young master of the Clear Sky Sect, and others to Gengxin City. During their conversation, they learned about Divine Craftsman such as the "Eight-Ridged Armor-Piercing Spear" and the "Azure Nether Sword," as well as Ling Yi, the newly Divine Craftsman forged the "Azure Nether Sword," who had a good relationship with Yang Shelly, a collateral descendant of the Breaking Clan. At that time, Yang Wushuang had the idea of recruiting Ling Yi through Yang Shelly.

Admittedly, blacksmiths are not highly regarded in the Douluo Continent, but every profession has its top figures.

In any faction, Divine Craftsman would no longer be a dispensable figure.

Originally, Divine Craftsman were all presidents of the Blacksmith Association, and it was virtually impossible for them to be recruited by other forces.

Since it's not their own business, no matter how high your status is among the blacksmiths, all factions can disregard you.

If you need to use their skills, just give them the market price, and the transaction will be settled. Given the size of the Blacksmith Association, they probably wouldn't dare refuse or overcharge you.

But Ling Yi's appearance made Yang Wushuang realize the possibility of having another Divine Craftsman in their family.

It's a very simple principle: it's better to have it yourself than to have it from others.

Although the [Breaking Clan] does not engage in the ironware and ore market, but focuses on the herbal medicine market, if a Divine Craftsman serves in the clan, whether it is to arrange for the creation of various weapons and equipment for members of the Yang Clan family, or to use this as a medium to intervene in the ironware market, it is a sure-fire way to make money.

Imagine if every member of the [Breaking Clan] had a "Sunken Silver Inner Armor" and all their Soul Skill were focused on attack, wouldn't they be able to fight even more wildly?

Or, like the "Azure Nether Sword", forge an "Eight-Ridged Armor-Piercing Spear" of the same level and give it to the Yang clan members with ordinary Martial Soul aptitude. With the boost to combat power from such a divine sword and spear, and the Yang Clan family's honing of spear techniques, wouldn't it mean that every member of the Yang Clan is Soul Master?

Of course, Yang Wushuang also knew that forging a divine weapon would be quite costly.

However, the Blacksmith Association, a third-rate force, could not afford the cost of such large-scale production. But for the Yang Clan Breaking Clan, who controlled most of the herbal medicine business in the Douluo Continent, this was just a drop in the ocean.

The Weiyi constraint is Ling Yi, who is Divine Craftsman. How much time does it take to forge each divine weapon, and what is the success rate?

"Young Master Ling, won't you reconsider?"

Yang Pojun frowned slightly, glanced at Yang Shelly beside him, and saw that she calmly took a sip of tea from her cup. He could only offer a word of advice to Ling Yi himself.

"I'm sorry." Ling Yi put down his teacup and said to Yang Pojun in a gentle yet firm tone, "I've been away from home for many days, and I'm eager to return. I can only disappoint Second Master Yang and Senior Yang's kindness—"

Because of Yang Pojun's straightforwardness, Ling Yi didn't bother with any formalities or pleasantries, and directly expressed his refusal.

"Alright." Yang Pojun nodded with some regret, giving up on trying to persuade him further.

Zuo You was a blacksmith, and although he was Divine Craftsman, Yang Pojun still trusted his own Martial Soul more.

As for the thin inner armor that could withstand the fourth and Fifth Soul Skill of Power Attack System Soul Master, Yang Pojun felt that it was perfectly acceptable to order it with money, and there was no need to recruit people into the company.

Of course, Yang Pojun understood Yang Wushuang's meaning. He felt that by recruiting people into the Breaking Clan, the divine weapons and armor could be prioritized for supplying their own family members, and that they should be kept as secret as possible from being obtained by other Soul Master families on the continent.

A monopoly that others don't have is, at any level, a highly self-serving thing.

But now that Ling Yi has clearly refused, and his own Xiao Bai is watching coldly, Yang Pojun knows that the chances of this succeeding are too low, so he naturally stops forcing it.

After all, regardless of the relationship between Lou Gao and Tai Tan, or between Ling Yi and Lou Gao, or the promise of a ten- Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring that Tang Hao made when he exchanged the "Azure Nether Sword" for Tang Yuehua, or even out of consideration for his little niece Yang Shelly, Yang Pojun couldn't use his power to intimidate others.

Well, the fact that the interests represented by Ling Yi had not reached a certain limit is also a reason.

After leaving the topic of recruitment behind, Yang Pojun chatted with Yang Shelly about the Yang Clan family's affairs. Then, during his conversation with Ling Yi, he discovered that Ling Yi also had considerable knowledge and insights into herbs. He immediately became interested again and they chatted freely.

"What?!" Yang Pojun's eyes widened, staring at Ling Yi in disbelief. "In the past two years, the prices of more than a dozen kinds of herbs in the Heaven Dou Empire have skyrocketed. Those medicinal formulas circulating among the Heaven Dou Border Army were actually developed by you, Ah Yi?!"

"Aren't you a blacksmith?!"

This is truly unbelievable! A Healing System Soul Master, not only is he neglecting his duties as a blacksmith, but at such a young age, he has reached the pinnacle of the blacksmithing industry and become Divine Craftsman, which is already outrageous. You are also proficient in the properties of various herbs and even develop your own prescriptions. Are you trying to reach the heavens?

"Hehe~" Ling Yi waved his hand with a smile, modestly saying, "It's not really research and development. I just improved some folk remedies that were originally circulating at the grassroots level. Moreover, in the process, many doctors in both the [Water Wood Duchy] army and the [Heaven Dou Empire] border army provided me with considerable assistance..."

"Ling Yi dared not take credit for the formulation of those prescriptions all by himself."

These are indeed true. In the early stages of learning pharmacology, these physicians did indeed share all the knowledge they possessed with Ling Yi, Healing System Soul Master was diligent, inquisitive, and not ashamed to ask questions.

Yang Pojun: "..."

Do you want to hear what you're saying?

Do you know how many generations of our clan members and how much effort it took to figure out and verify the effectiveness of those medicines from the Breaking Clan?