"This... this is!"
Lou Gao took the intermediate-grade Soul Tool material from Qian Duoduo's palm. As president of the Blacksmiths' Guild, he could naturally recognize the traces of forging on it.
Lou Gao gently stroked the iron surface. He could tell that the forging technique used on it was not very practiced, barely reaching the level of an intermediate blacksmith.
Lou Gao was confident that, if he were given this material to forge, he could turn it into high-grade material. He grinned foolishly at it.
Lou Gao seemed to have found a way forward for the Blacksmiths' Guild. Perhaps, in the future, the blacksmithing profession would flourish throughout the Douluo Continent.
"President Lou, just call me Old Qian. What do you think of this business proposition?"
Qian Duoduo prompted Lou Li from the side. Lou Li snapped fully back to his senses and nodded furiously.
"Yes, but I still need to discuss this with the elders!"
Reluctant to part with it, Lou Li handed the intermediate-grade material back to Qian Duoduo with a smile.
"President Gao, could you forge the parts on these blueprints?"
Qian Duoduo took out two blueprints, precisely the blueprints for his ninth-class Soul Tool and Fan Yu's seventh-class Soul Tool.
To advance to a ninth-class soul engineer, Qian Duoduo had to produce the Soul Tool on his blueprint. However, he lacked high-grade materials and had never been able to start. The same was true of Fan Yu.
Mu Changqing and Na'er were off to the side, looking at the third-class Soul Tool blueprint in Bei Bei's hands, while Fan Yu began meditating nearby.
"Well, as long as you give me suitable materials, I should be able to forge them! But forging them will probably take quite a while."
"Forging these Soul Tools will take at least three months!"
Lou Li took the two Soul Tool blueprints from Qian Duoduo and quietly studied them, stroking them one moment and exclaiming in wonder the next.
"We'll be staying here for the next year. As long as you forge these Soul Tools, payment won't be an issue!"
"President Lou, we'd also like to learn some forging techniques. Even if we don't become blacksmiths, it'll be a good way to strengthen our bodies!"
Qian Duoduo patted his chest and belly, then immediately took rare materials and expensive ores out of his Soul Tool.
None of these ores had been worked before, and they were very rare.
"That's no problem! As long as you sincerely want to learn, our blacksmithing lineage will certainly teach you everything we know!"
Lou Li wore a broad smile. It was rare for anyone to take an interest in blacksmithing, and he might be too happy to sleep that night.
"Old Qian! Come to a meeting with me! It'll give the Blacksmiths' Guild elders a chance to see this too!"
"All right! Fan Yu, come with me!"
Lou Li, Qian Duoduo, and Fan Yu immediately rose, preparing to leave the reception room. Lou Gao pushed open the door, revealing a young man in his early twenties standing outside.
"Lou Er! Take the children inside on a tour of the Blacksmiths' Guild!"
"Yes, Master!"
This young man was Lou Er, Lou Gao's direct disciple. His Martial Soul was an iron hammer, and his cultivation was that of a rank sixty-two Soul Emperor.
Lou Li and the other two immediately headed for the third floor of the Blacksmiths' Guild. The guild had three floors in total.
"Little brothers and sister! Let me take you to see how blacksmiths forge!"
Lou Er pushed open the door and entered. Mu Changqing and the others all turned their gazes toward him, and Bei Bei put down the Soul Tool blueprint in his hands.
The three immediately followed Lou Er out. Na'er trailed behind Mu Changqing, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
"This is the ore-sorting area!"
Lou Er brought the three to Room One. Through the glass window, Mu Changqing could see what was inside.
Several heaps of ore were piled in Room One. There were many varieties, and workers atop the heaps were constantly sorting them. The workers here were divided into two occupations.
The first were sorters, responsible for separating the different varieties of ore. The second were ore haulers, responsible for pushing the sorted ore away.
Mu Changqing felt that this was terribly inefficient. If Soul Tools were used to sort and transport the ore, who knew how many times more efficient it would be?
The main issue was that, in the understanding of the original Douluo Continent, Soul Tools were merely instruments of war. They had never applied them to everyday life.
"By the way, how much can you sort here in a day?"
Mu Changqing turned his head and asked Lou Er questioningly.
"We can sort three mountains of ore a day at most!"
Lou Er answered with a smile.
"Wouldn't sorting with Soul Tools be faster?"
Mu Changqing said only that before falling silent. Lou Er took it in too and grew quiet.
The four continued north along the corridor and finally reached Room Two. This was where ore was smelted and iron ore was cast.
Even through the window, Na'er could feel the blistering heat inside. She immediately took out a folding fan.
"Big brother! Are forging masters divided into ranks?"
"Big brother! Are forging masters divided into ranks?" Bei Bei stepped aside to ask Lou Er. He thought that, since he was already a soul engineer, there would be no harm in taking on another profession.
"Of course!"
"They're divided into six ranks: junior blacksmith, intermediate blacksmith, high-grade blacksmith, blacksmithing expert, master blacksmith, grandmaster blacksmith, and divine blacksmith!"
"My current blacksmith rank is high-grade blacksmith, while my master is a divine blacksmith!"
"You can call me Brother Lou!"
With a proud expression, Lou Er patiently explained it to Bei Bei. This was truly Bei Bei's first time understanding blacksmith ranks in such depth.
"Brother Lou! We'd like to familiarize ourselves with forging as soon as possible! Would that be all right?"
Mu Changqing pointed at the blacksmiths hammering ore inside. He genuinely wanted to try how heavy a hammer he could wield.
"Sure. Follow me in!"
Lou Er took out a card and placed it against the iron door. The door slowly opened, and all four immediately stepped inside.
"It's so hot, big brother!"
Na'er immediately came forward, took Mu Changqing's hand, and complained to him.
The four reached an open area. The blacksmiths inside were not distracted by their sudden appearance, instead concentrating fully on their forging.
"These hammers range from a hundred jin to five thousand jin! If you want to forge, choose one that feels right in your hands!"
Lou Er pointed at the large hammers on the iron platform and looked at the three behind him. Bei Bei raced ahead to the platform first.
Bei Bei began choosing a hammer and settled on a large eight-hundred-jin iron hammer, swinging it about in his hand. Mu Changqing eventually chose a fifteen-hundred-jin iron hammer.
Lou Er took out a pair of tongs, pulled two glowing-red pieces of iron from the furnace, and placed them in the forging area.
Mu Changqing stepped to one side and raised the iron hammer in his left hand. Spreading his legs, he lowered his waist to generate force and struck hard.
Bang-
The iron let out a piercing noise. The force of the impact left Mu Changqing's arm numb, and Bei Bei suffered the same.
"Heavens!"
Mu Changqing shook his numb arm. Whether he forged with a great deal of strength or only a little, the force would rebound. He had to learn to control his strength.
Finding it too hot, Na'er had already moved away from the center of their area.
"Your control over your strength is poor. It's too scattered."
Lou Er strode behind Bei Bei and Mu Changqing, examining the pieces of iron they had hammered.