"Divine Blacksmith Lou Gao founded the Blacksmith Association, gathering the world's finest forging talents under one roof. Over the decades, he has forged countless weapons for our Star Luo Empire. His service has benefited the realm, and his loyalty and diligence merit commendation.
I hereby confer upon Lou Gao the title of Sacred-forged Marquis, hereditary in perpetuity, and award him one hundred thousand gold and twenty mineral veins.
Gengxin City and its surrounding lands are granted to the Lou Family as their fief, to be inherited through the generations. It shall never fall under any province's jurisdiction, nor may any kingdom interfere.
The city's mineral veins, taxes, weapons, and armor shall all be administered solely by the Lou Family. The empire shall encroach upon them not so much as a hair's breadth, in recognition of his decades of service.
His grandson, Lou Xu, is a gifted young man. I have long heard of his virtues and hold him in high regard. I hereby confer upon him the title of Earl, award him one Thousand-Year Soul Bone, and permit him to study at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Henceforth, the Dai Family of Star Luo and the Lou Family of blacksmiths shall share weal and woe, honor and disgrace alike. May the Lou Family remember our longstanding friendship and not disappoint my hopes.
By imperial decree."
As the herald's voice fell silent, the gathered crowd sank into deathly stillness.
The sound of the decree being rolled shut echoed clearly across the square. Thousands stood openmouthed, as though their throats had all been seized at once.
A private fief? Hereditary in perpetuity? Sole authority over taxes, with no imperial interference?
They had been commoners all their lives. Who had ever seen an entire city bestowed upon someone like this?
A sudden roar! Someone let out the first cry of astonishment, and the crowd instantly boiled over.
Cheers erupted like mountains roaring and seas surging, each wave louder than the last, nearly shattering the windows of the tall buildings.
"My lord Sacred-forged Marquis, please receive the decree."
The Dai and Lou families would share weal and woe?
Still reeling from the contents of the imperial decree, Lou Gao somewhat numbly accepted it from the smiling herald.
The ruler of a nation had openly extended an olive branch. He had no reason to refuse.
After accepting the wooden box containing the tokens and rewards as well, Lou Gao cupped his hands and saw the herald off.
"Long live Chairman Lou!"
"We'll never have to pay mineral taxes to the kingdom again!"
Amid the crowd's cheers, Lou Gao turned to glance at Lou Xu behind him, his back held rigidly straight.
He forced a smile and returned the greetings in every direction with cupped hands, his movements as precise as if they had been cast from a mold.
Behind him, the sharp-eyed Si Long noticed that his teacher's hands were trembling slightly.
After finishing the handover, they returned to the office.
Lou Gao tossed everything onto the desk, while Si Long stood to one side.
"You humans are such a bother." Xiong Jun lounged on the sofa, tearing huge bites from a roasted beast leg, too uninterested to pay the others any attention.
Xiao Wu wanted to step forward for a look, but Lou Xu shot her a glare, and she retreated sheepishly.
Lou Xu opened the wooden box. Inside lay a document, two badges, and a Thousand-Year Soul Bone glittering with crystalline light.
"Service to the realm, rewarded with a marquisate, not a hair's breadth of encroachment, sharing weal and woe..."
He picked up the decree and read it word by word, the corners of his lips curling slightly.
Lou Xu paid no heed to the line about going to Star Luo City to study.
Dai Changkong was shrewd indeed. He had agreed to every condition with an ease so unusual it was suspicious.
From the looks of it, he wanted to seize the opportunity to lash Xiong Jun and the Blacksmith Association to Star Luo's warship.
Buy one, get two free.
If he hadn't watched a few palace intrigue dramas, he might almost have believed Dai Changkong genuinely wanted to mend the broken mirror with grandfather and grandson and restore harmony between sovereign and subjects.
Lou Xu tossed the decree onto the desk with a soft chuckle.
"City Lord of Gengxin City-my lord Sacred-forged Marquis, Dai Changkong wants to bring us both into his fold and have us advance and retreat alongside the Dai Family. What do you think?"
"You little brat, whether he's seeking peace or bringing us into his fold, decide for yourself..."
Lou Gao leaned back in his chair, gently rubbing the Marquis insignia between his fingers.
"He agreed to the conditions so easily, and bestowed this title of Sacred-forged Marquis even more easily."
His voice was low.
"Ever since I accepted that decree, I've felt uncomfortable all over. Xu, you earned this fief, and Senior Xiong Jun fought for it. I've swung a hammer all my life, but I'm only a Soul Saint. What right do I have to reap rewards without lifting a finger?"
He had been powerless when Di Tian carried Lou Xu away, and when Dai Weisi came to force their hand, Xiong Jun had been the one to act. No matter how he looked at it, the title of Sacred-forged Marquis sat awkwardly with him.
He set the insignia gently back on the desk, his gaze moving slowly between Lou Xu and Si Long.
Thinking of the Eight-Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor project they had just formally established, he silently made up his mind.
"I'm just a blacksmith. What do I know about being a city lord...? Si Long, I'm planning to go into seclusion to research something. I'll leave Gengxin City and the Blacksmith Association to you."
Si Long swallowed but did not dare speak.
The office fell quiet for a moment.
"Grandpa, you're the mighty leg I cling to. There's no point talking like that," Lou Xu suddenly said.
"You command respect for both your character and your standing. Everyone wants you to be city lord."
"Besides..." He changed tack.
"This fief isn't some empty title. It's the starting point for us to establish our own school!"
Under the puzzled gazes of master and disciple, he told Xiao Wu to fetch his manuscript and spread the entire stack of papers across the desk.
"There are only three divine blacksmiths on the entire continent. Tang Hao blunders ahead recklessly, and Tai Tan's mind is a restless monkey, his thoughts a galloping horse."
"But you have a complete theoretical foundation and unrivaled craftsmanship. Rather than shutting yourself into a dead end, why not call in my four senior brothers and help me research this?"
He tapped the densely packed writing, symbols, and diagrams on the pages.
"Runic Forging."
"A forging system I devised using the knowledge inherited through my Martial Soul. By engraving runic arrays into metal, even ordinary people could unleash Soul Skills!"
Lou Xu's tone was earnest.
"Grandpa, this research can't happen without you. Please don't belittle yourself."
Let ordinary people... unleash Soul Skills?
Lou Gao's breathing quickened.
He stared blankly at the papers on the desk and carefully reached out to touch them, just as he had when he first touched a forging hammer decades ago.
After leafing through them for a while, he murmured his first words, making Lou Xu laugh aloud.
"This... engraving runes into metal? Wouldn't thermal expansion and contraction during quenching shatter all these circuits?"
"Don't you always say that good iron doesn't fear returning to the furnace, and a good smith doesn't fear a slow fire?"
"..."
The sun was sinking, and lights began to glow in household after household throughout Gengxin City. The forge fires painted half the sky red.
The new plaque had yet to be hung over the City Lord's Mansion, but people were already running through the streets of their own accord, spreading the news.
"Have you heard? Chairman Lou will be in charge of Gengxin City from now on!"
"Mineral taxes are being halved! Halved!"
The distant clamor drifted in as Lou Xu stood by the window, toying with the Thousand-Year Soul Bone between his fingers.
His grandfather was organizing materials and manpower, so the task of coming to the City Lord's Mansion to inventory the rewards had fallen to him.
Financial statements, land deeds, military authority... the chief steward reported with a bow, laying everything out so clearly that not a single fault could be found.
Those who served at the emperor's side certainly were considerate. Worried that grandfather and grandson might struggle to adjust at first, they had even found several ordinary people to help manage the city's affairs.
He realized he might have underestimated Xiong Jun's deterrent power.
Or rather, underestimated this imperious, iron-blooded emperor's determination to recruit powerful individuals and prodigies.
Unfortunately, Dai Changkong had grown old after all.
Star Luo would eventually pass to those two blockheads, and he had no interest in poverty relief.
Everyone worked until the sky turned dark before finally finishing.
After they left, Lou Xu sat in the imposing courtyard. A wisp of primal fire appeared, drawing the Soul Bone in his hand into the furnace anvil and converting it into pure life energy.
After closing his eyes to sense it, Lou Xu clenched his fists.
It was still a little short of what he had consumed last time.
If he asked his second senior brother for a few good materials later, that should be enough to forge the divine artifact he wanted.
With nothing else to do for the moment, he took a ring bearing half an engraved rune from inside his clothes, summoned the Star-Iron Furnace Anvil, and used the pointed spike on his hammer's handle as a pen to continue completing the rune.
The night gradually swallowed his shadow.
A blue light suddenly flared, making Xiong Jun turn sharply to look from his corner. Only after seeing that it came from Lou Xu's tinkering did he close his eyes and resume resting.
Lou Xu looked at the ring in his hand, delight showing on his face.
While writing the manuscript, he had tried engraving several runes. Once activated with primal fire, they had all worked very well.
This ring's effect was the one he looked forward to most.
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