Blacksmiths! Times Have Changed!

Standing before two thousand people, Lin Ya showed no trace of restraint. On the contrary, he was excited, because he had already seen the future of Divine Machine Hundred Refinements.

"I know most of you were brought here in a daze," Lin Ya's voice was not loud, yet it carried a force that pierced through the clamor. "But I promise you that after today, you will never regret setting foot on this land."

Lin Ya made a gesture, and in an instant, the eight hundred dead soldiers Prince Xue Xing had brought directly surrounded the remaining people.

"What are you doing?! Why are you surrounding us?!"

"This is the Heaven Dou Empire! Is there no law in what you're doing?!"

"The Blacksmith Association is behind me! Don't do anything reckless!"

"You can rob me of my looks! But not my money!"

Watching the agitated crowd, Lin Ya directly took out a Loudspeaker artifact he had refined over the past few days from his soul tool.

It was a horn-shaped magical artifact. It could emit forceful qi, while also increasing the holder's volume.

"Quiet!"

In an instant, all the blacksmiths were intimidated by the sound, and the entire venue fell silent.

As blacksmiths, their soul power levels were not high to begin with. Most were only in their twenties, with very few even reaching level thirty. Naturally, Lin Ya's display intimidated them.

Lin Ya did not keep them in suspense. He directly took several small trinkets he had recently refined from his robes.

"Now watch carefully. This is the future of you blacksmiths!"

Before his words had even faded, he tossed the first item into the air.

It was a palm-sized lion dance head artifact, its carved wooden patterns lifelike. Its lion's maw gaped wide, and the moment it flew ten meters into the air, it suddenly unleashed a deafening lion's roar!

"Roar—!"

Invisible sound waves swept like tangible shockwaves toward the ancient locust tree at the edge of the square, so thick that three people would have struggled to wrap their arms around it. With a tremendous crack, its trunk exploded directly down the middle. Wood chips scattered everywhere, and its massive branches crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust!

—Artifact: Void Wail Roar!

The deathly silence in the square lasted for three seconds before the crowd erupted completely!

"What was that?! A martial soul?!"

"No, it has a physical form! That wasn't a martial soul!"

"If it isn't a martial soul, then how did it unleash that kind of attack?! Its power was almost comparable to a Soul Ancestor's strike!"

Cries of shock rose one after another. The blacksmiths stared at the falling Void Wail Roar, their eyes filled with disbelief.

They had spent their entire lives forging sabers, spears, swords, and halberds. Even their finest works were merely ordinary weapons capable of carrying a soul master's soul power. When had they ever seen an object capable of independently unleashing such powerful attacks?

Before they could recover from their shock, figures suddenly darted out from the surrounding woods and from behind the houses.

They were "maidservants" dressed in pink maid outfits, their hair tied into twin buns. Yet their movements were incomparably stiff, their faces entirely expressionless, and as they walked, they made creaking sounds like wood rubbing together.

Only when these maidservants drew near did everyone realize that their entire bodies were actually made of wood!

Puppets—Flower-like!

"Ah! What are those?!"

"Wood?! How can wood move?!"

"How creepy! I'm most afraid of things like that!"

The terrified cries had barely begun when dozens of Flower-like puppets suddenly accelerated in unison and lunged toward the blacksmiths. They raised their hands, each of them holding a black, gleaming standard-issue musket!

The next second, dense gunfire rang out!

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!

The bullets tore through the air with piercing whistles, raining down upon the crowd like raindrops!

At that critical instant, six round spheres radiating dense orange light suddenly flew out from the crowd. They spun rapidly in midair, instantly forming a perfect six-pointed star formation.

Buzz—!

A thick orange barrier unfolded from thin air, enveloping all the blacksmiths within it.

Clang clang clang! Clang clang clang!

The dense barrage of bullets struck the barrier, sending sparks flying, yet failed to leave even the slightest crack. Every attack was blocked, and not a single blacksmith suffered any harm.

—Artifact: Six Harmony Beads!

"Enough. Stand down."

Lin Ya's voice rang out again, his tone calm.

Over a hundred Flower-like puppets immediately ceased their attack. In perfectly synchronized movements, they put away their muskets, then turned and pulled brooms, mops, even sickles and buckets from behind their backs. They dispersed in orderly fashion and began clearing the wood chips and dust from the square, even taking the initiative to trim the weeds by the roadside.

The sheer contrast of the scene left every blacksmith staring blankly.

With a wave of his hand, Lin Ya summoned the Void Wail Roar and Six Harmony Beads back into his grasp, casually storing them in his soul tool. His gaze swept across the blacksmiths with their varied expressions as he declared loudly, "Do you see? None of these are martial souls. They are soul tools refined by my own hands!"

He deliberately emphasized the words "soul tools." Looking at the crowd below, which had instantly frozen, he continued, "And it's not just me who can refine them. As long as you are willing, you can create things like these too!"

Those words were like a ladle of water splashed into a pot of boiling oil, and the square exploded once more!

"Really?! We blacksmiths can truly refine things like this?!"

"Who are you trying to fool?! Soul tools have always been for support—how could they possibly have such powerful offensive force?!"

"My lord! I believe you! Please teach me! I'm willing to take you as my master!"

A burly blacksmith suddenly pushed through the crowd and bowed deeply to Lin Ya. "I'm a level 29 Grand Soul Master. I've been blacksmithing for thirty years, and I can handle any job! Master, please accept me as your disciple!"

"You call yourself level 29 and still have the nerve to compete?" Another middle-aged blacksmith shoved him aside and bowed as well. "My lord, I'm a level 35 Soul Elder! I'm highly talented—choose me!"

"Master, please accept this disciple's bow!"

"I want to become your disciple too! I'm willing to learn!"

In the blink of an eye, dozens of blacksmiths rushed to kneel before him. The crowd that had once been wary now held only a thirst for power and longing for the future.

They understood the plight of craftsmen on the Douluo Continent all too well.

Blades, spears, swords, and halberds were inferior to a single strike from an eleventh-level Soul Master's martial soul. Blacksmiths would always be lowly dependents at the bottom of society; even an ordinary deacon from Spirit Hall could bully them at will. But what Lin Ya had displayed just now gave them hope of changing their fate—blacksmiths, too, could forge weapons capable of destroying heaven and earth!

Looking at the fervent crowd, Lin Ya's lips curved into a faint smile, but he was not moved in the slightest.

There was a reason craftsmen held such low status in the era of Douluo One. And the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements in his hands contained the essence of the Eight Extraordinary Skills—how could he teach it so casually?

He had only met these people by chance. Trust had never been something built overnight.

Lin Ya pressed both hands downward, and a gentle wave of qi spread outward. The chaotic crowd instantly quieted, and everyone's gaze focused on him.

"It won't be that easy if you want to learn my artifact-refining methods."

Lin Ya raised three fingers. His tone was solemn, without the slightest hint of jest. "I'll give you three choices. Think carefully before you decide."

"First, become my direct subordinates."

As soon as he said that, the crowd quieted further.

"I can personally teach you the basic artifact-refining methods of Divine Machine Hundred Refinements. I'll also provide sufficient resources to help you break through from level 29 to level 30. In the future, you may even have a chance to reach level 40 and become Soul Ancestors."

The moment those words came out, the blacksmiths' breathing turned rapid. For people who had been trapped at level 29 their entire lives, breaking through to level 30 was an unattainable dream!

"But—" Lin Ya abruptly shifted his tone, his gaze turning sharp. "Once you acknowledge me as your master, I'll plant a restriction in your souls. The moment you betray me, your souls will scatter and dissipate!"

Lin Ya was not joking. Twin Hands, Divine Machine Hundred Refinements, and Spirit Binding and General Summoning combined could absolutely accomplish this—though it would only work on Soul Masters whose soul power was lower than his.

As for directly altering their memories with Twin Hands... setting aside whether it would be safe or whether the memories might recover later.

There were so many people. If he had to make up a different set of memories for each of them, Lin Ya would have nothing else to do every day but sit at home inventing memories.

He had not been some webnovel author in his previous life. How could he have that much energy to come up with all that?

Lin Ya's icy words sent chills through everyone present. A soul restriction meant they would no longer control their own lives. If they betrayed him, they would not even have a chance at reincarnation!

Whispers immediately rose from the crowd. Some were tempted, some hesitated, and others looked afraid.

Lin Ya ignored them and continued, "Second, become my workers."

"You can stay in Biyou Village and forge ordinary components according to my requirements. Your pay will be double that of the Blacksmith Association outside. Food and lodging will be provided, you'll have two days off every week, and there will be additional subsidies during the New Year and holidays. The benefits are generous."

He paused, then stated the crucial point. "But you'll only be able to master the forging method for a single component. You won't be able to learn the complete artifact-refining method. Between us, it will be a simple employment relationship."

This was the assembly-line model he had planned long ago. He would keep the black powder formula and the core assembly techniques for firearms firmly in the hands of his own people, while basic parts like rifling, seamless steel barrels, and magazines could be entrusted to these experienced blacksmiths.

"Third, you may refuse right now."

Lin Ya's expression became calm. "You may leave Biyou Village immediately. I'll use a secret technique to erase your memories of today. Just treat it as a trip to Notting City—you won't suffer any losses."

Only after laying out all three choices did Lin Ya look at them and say, "Now, you may choose."