Old Rhino!

Longxing City, in the northern Star Luo Empire.

Its walls were a good stretch lower than Dragonhide City's, and the iron studs on its gates were mottled with rust. The soldiers guarding the city dozed against the foot of the wall, too lazy even to question anyone.

By the time they reached Longxing City, Lin Yuan was already making plans.

Niu Gao was a Soul Douluo, and the Defense Clan could both fight and build. As the business grew, the manpower of the Breaking Clan and the Speed Clan alone would sooner or later fall short.

"I want to bring the Defense Clan in."

Bai He froze for a moment. Yang Wudi looked over as well.

"Niu Gao?"

"Yes." Lin Yuan nodded. "The business keeps expanding, and we don't have enough people. Besides, the Defense Clan is already close to your two clans. Bringing them in would be a natural next step."

Bai He looked at him. "But the profit shares—you're really willing to give that much away?"

"I make money to raise the Gugas. I have enough now. Even if I earned more, I couldn't spend it all," Lin Yuan said. "It'll come out of my share. Give him twenty percent."

Yang Wudi nodded. "As long as you've thought it through."

Bai He led the way through three streets and into a narrow alley. At its end stood a vermilion gate with door knockers polished to a bright shine.

"Old Rhino!" Bai He knocked on the gate.

The man who opened it was burly, nearly two meters tall, with shoulders as broad as a door. He looked at Bai He, then at Yang Wudi and Lin Yuan behind him.

"Old Bai? Old Yang?"

"Old Niu, it's been a while," Yang Wudi said.

Niu Gao stepped aside.

"Come in."

They crossed the front courtyard, which was piled high with stone, timber, and iron parts. Several clan members were grinding stone bricks, their movements deft and meticulous.

Niu Gao led the three into the main hall. Inside stood a long bluestone table and several grand armchairs.

"What wind blew you two here?" Niu Gao asked as he sat down.

"We're here to talk business," Lin Yuan said.

Niu Gao sized up the child, then glanced at Bai He and Yang Wudi.

"Who's this kid?"

"Lin Yuan," Bai He said. "The owner of Guga Milk Tea."

Niu Gao frowned. He had heard of Guga Milk Tea. A few milk tea shops had opened in Dragonhide City and become a sensation across half the Star Luo Empire within a year. He had never expected their owner to be a child.

"What business?"

"The milk tea shops' production can't keep up. We need assembly line equipment," Lin Yuan said. "I heard the Defense Clan specializes in construction, so I'd like your help."

Niu Gao leaned back in his chair.

"An assembly line?"

"We break the production process into separate steps. Water flows automatically to each workstation, ingredients are sorted automatically, and the finished products are conveyed automatically. The entire process runs along an assembly line."

Niu Gao stood and walked into the courtyard. He picked up a stone brick and turned it over twice to examine it.

"It can be done. But to build the kind of assembly line you're talking about, I can't make all those precision gears and conveyor mechanisms on my own."

He set down the brick and turned to Lin Yuan.

"We'll need someone. Lou Gao. He started out as a blacksmith, and no one in the Star Luo Empire can match his mechanism craft. The gears he makes have a margin of error no greater than the width of a hair. He's in Longxing City too, two streets away."

"Let's discuss the profit shares first."

"Profit shares?" Niu Gao frowned.

Yang Wudi set down his teacup.

"Old Niu, we didn't come just for an assembly line." He looked at Niu Gao. "The Breaking Clan and the Speed Clan have already tied our fortunes to Lin Yuan's. You know about the milk tea shops. One year's share of the profits is enough for the seven hundred-odd people in our two clans to turn their lives around."

Bai He picked up the thread. "We want you to join us. The Defense Clan specializes in construction. The assembly line is only the first step. There'll be plenty more to do afterward."

Lin Yuan took the contract he had drafted earlier from inside his clothes and spread it on the table. Niu Gao lowered his head and studied it for a long while.

"I don't trust things like signing contracts."

The courtyard fell silent.

"Back then, how many things did the Clear Sky Sect sign in black and white? When we built the sect, they promised we'd weather the storms in the same boat and share in the good fortune. Once the sect was built, they sealed the mountain and drove us out. Those contracts became a pile of wastepaper."

He lifted his head and looked at Lin Yuan.

"So I don't trust contracts on paper."

Lin Yuan stood and walked up to Niu Gao. He barely reached Niu Gao's waist, but as he tilted his head to look up at him, his eyes never blinked.

"Then let's swear a Martial Soul Oath."

Niu Gao stared at him.

Then he held out his right hand.

"A Martial Soul Oath."

Lin Yuan held out his right hand as well. Bai He and Yang Wudi rose at the same time and extended their right hands. Four streams of Soul Power collided in the air, and phantom images of their Martial Souls flashed behind them before vanishing.

"By our Martial Souls, we swear never to stab one another in the back or break our agreement. Should we violate this oath, may our Martial Souls shatter and all our Soul Power be lost."

The Soul Power dispersed into specks of light that settled over the four of them.

Niu Gao withdrew his hand and wiped his face.

"So how do we divide the profits?"

Bai He said, "We settled it before we came. Thirty percent for Lin Yuan, thirty percent for me and Old Yang, twenty percent for the Speed Clan, and twenty percent for your Defense Clan. Lin Yuan took it out of his own share."

Niu Gao opened his mouth and looked at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan said, "Then it's settled."

"Building an assembly line will cost quite a bit in stone, iron parts, and labor," Niu Gao said. "You understand that, right?"

Bai He laughed.

"Money isn't a problem. Just build it."

Niu Gao was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Go invite Lou Gao."

An hour later, Lou Gao was sitting in the courtyard.

He was a small, thin old man whose hands were covered in calluses, with iron filings embedded beneath his nails. Even after sitting down, his fingers unconsciously traced the shapes of gears on the table.

"An assembly line? Interesting." Lou Gao perked up. "Iron chains or belts for the drive? How many sorting outlets? How big are the mixing vats?"

Niu Gao pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Let them finish first."

Lou Gao shut his mouth, but his fingers kept drawing on the table.

Niu Gao briefly explained the equipment the assembly line would need. After listening, Lou Gao nodded.

"As long as the pay is enough, anything can be discussed."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"From what you're saying, each set of assembly line equipment would cost at least a thousand Gold Soul Coins, right?"

Lou Gao narrowed his eyes.

"About that. Iron chains for the drive, adjustable speed. Six sorting outlets, with an inspection station at every stage. Mixing vats with a capacity of three dou, enough to mix fifty cups at a time. The precision gears alone will number over a hundred."

"Money isn't a problem," Lin Yuan said. "But I need quality. Every gear must have a margin of error no greater than the width of a hair. Can you do that?"

Lou Gao stared at him for two seconds, then grinned.

"Little fellow, go ask around. When it comes to mechanism craft in the Star Luo Empire, if I call myself second, no one dares claim first."

He stood, his fingers tracing gears in the air again.

"The plans are in my head. I'll give them to you tomorrow."

Three days later, in Dragonhide City.

They had bought that plot on the outskirts once they had made some money. The courtyards housing the seven hundred-odd members of the Breaking Clan and the Speed Clan stood side by side, forming one continuous stretch. The assembly line would be built beside the river for easy access to water.

Niu Gao arrived on the outskirts with more than two hundred clan members and dozens of carts loaded with stone and iron parts, a grand procession. Lou Gao followed at the very back, carrying a large wooden chest filled with gears and tools that clattered with every step.

Bai He stood at the edge of the plot, holding a blueprint densely covered with the assembly line's structure. Niu Gao crouched on the ground, drawing sketches in the dirt with a twig, erasing them, drawing again, then erasing again. Lou Gao crouched on the other side, drawing gear structures ten times more detailed than Niu Gao's sketches.

Several Gugas ran about on the ground. Little Moon sat in a nearby tree, her silver-gray eyes watching the busy people below. After a while, she used Teleportation to appear behind Dark Gold Guga and patted her shoulder. Dark Gold Guga turned, only to find her laughing in another tree ten meters away.

"...Just you wait, Guga!"

Lin Yuan stood at the edge of the plot, watching the bustling open ground before him.

A year ago, the lord of Nuoding City had hunted him down, forcing him to flee into the Star Luo Empire with three Gugas. A year later, dozens of milk tea shops had opened throughout the Star Luo Empire, and three Soul Douluo-level partners stood at his side.

Partners, they said, but they were more like friends who transcended the gap in their ages. Yang Wudi had a sharp tongue and a soft heart, Bai He loved money but stood by his friends, and Niu Gao was honest and stubborn. Each of the three was a formidable figure in his own right.

Lin Yuan drew his gaze back.

Then he remembered the lord of Nuoding City.

His eyes turned cold.

"The lord of Nuoding City, huh," he murmured. "Just you wait. See if I don't beat you to death."

Bai He turned his head.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." Lin Yuan smoothed his expression. "Let's get to work."

The wind swept across the barren ground, carrying the mingled scent of earth and rust.

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