Finals ended, and the long vacation began.
Yan Qing continued his primitive accumulation of capital, taking orders in bulk at the Blacksmith Association.
Before long, he had cleaned out all the Blacksmith Association's Thousand Refinement forging orders.
Yan Qing saw that there was no money left to make. That would not do-he had to open up new channels for taking orders.
Looking back on how Yan Qing had come to the Douluo Federation, he had used the system's world map.
His world map had two portals, so he could still teleport back to the Star Luo Continent.
There was a Blacksmith Association on the Star Luo Continent too, and he could take forging orders on that side as well.
At the same time, he posted commissions for his own Battle Armor's design and manufacture on both sides' soul communicator networks.
Since the threshold for One-Word Battle Armor was not high, both manufacturing and design services were far too sought-after. His commissions had been posted for several days without a response.
Yan Qing was almost out of patience. He even considered running to Shrek City to "happen across" Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi ahead of time.
A trade request appeared as his soul communicator refreshed.
Unexpectedly, the offer came from the Star Luo Empire.
The other party's requirements were also strange: they would only accept Thousand Refined rare metals as payment.
Their prices were extremely favorable too. Since Yan Qing himself was a blacksmith, the cost of completing the entire set of Battle Armor actually came to less than a third of the market price.
With his strong awareness of scams, Yan Qing initially thought this was a pig-butchering scam-for example, they might simply pocket the Battle Armor materials he sent over.
He first tested the waters by completing the Battle Armor design commission. The other party did indeed honestly send over the Battle Armor blueprints, and he could find no fault with them from any angle.
Reassured, Yan Qing proceeded with the subsequent transaction. Before long, a complete set of Battle Armor arrived at the workshop he rented in the Star Luo Empire.
After repeated inspections, he found absolutely nothing wrong with the Battle Armor. He had become a One-Word Battle Armor Master.
Before he even had time to name his Battle Armor, the other party sent another message:
Would he be interested in deeper cooperation? They needed a large, stable, long-term supply of Thousand Refined metals.
A business card had also been sent along with the Battle Armor.
It bore an organization's name and contact information, with a small metal bell emblem at the bottom.
Yan Qing held up the card and examined it closely, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
If he added a little color to this metal bell, say, green...
"Holy shit, isn't this the Dark Bell?"
In a secluded cottage in the Star Luo Empire.
Lilina lounged lazily on a reclining chair, idly playing with her braid.
The Dragon Devouring Plan, devised at the cost of countless resources, had failed completely. Her Soul Power had barely risen by one rank, still unable to cross the threshold into Super Douluo.
It was precisely this crucial gap that kept her from joining the Four Heavenly Kings.
At the thought, she could not help gritting her teeth, the image of a young man appearing in her mind.
It was all that little rat's fault. Who knew how he had gotten in, but he had ruined her grand undertaking.
The higher-ups had also held her accountable for the previous operation. Her punishment was to be sent here to oversee these tedious metal orders.
Whether in the Douluo Federation or on the Star Luo Continent, the shared consensus was that no services related to Battle Armor would be provided to any member of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Controls on rare metals were not strict, but purchasing finished forged metals from the Blacksmith Association required registration.
This hardly stumped the Holy Spirit Cult. Even if buying through legitimate channels was difficult, they could still obtain plenty by paying blacksmiths a premium for private purchases or through underground black markets.
Light footsteps approached, and a Holy Spirit Cult member entered, bowing as he reported to Lilina.
"Reporting to Lady Bell, we've found an anonymous blacksmith who has already worked with us several times."
"This time, he's taken over a hundred of our orders in one go. Should we approve them?"
"Give them to him."
Lilina answered unhurriedly, without even raising her head.
"Lady Bell, the materials and deposits for this batch add up to nearly ten million Federation coins."
Lilina blinked, perhaps considering the value of ten million Federation coins.
"Then let me ask you: has he taken orders from us before?"
"Yes. The finished products he delivered for his previous two orders were both very well made."
Her subordinate replied.
"Then trade with him."
Lilina made the decision, an eerie light filling her eyes.
"As long as they're on this continent, no one can swallow up our holy cult's property!"
"As long as I'm not on this continent, who the hell will know I took your stuff?"
At that moment, Yan Qing's eyes were also burning with excitement.
He had to admit that the Holy Spirit Cult moved fast. In just half a day, crates of metal were already sitting in his workshop.
Yan Qing surveyed the mountain of materials as though he were looking at bundles of Federation coins. He had really struck it rich this time.
Three large soul-powered trucks were parked at the back door of his workshop.
An unending stream of resources was loaded onto them. Once the last load was aboard, the trucks set off for the location Yan Qing had designated in advance.
After all the workers had left, Yan Qing opened the world map.
"So sorry, but I'm making a run for it."
A perfect evacuation from the Star Luo Continent, bringing out ten million Federation coins!
The other end of the portal was still in the Blacksmith Association, and the cargo packed his forging room to the brim.
Mu Xi happened to pass by and stared wide-eyed at the room full of rare metals.
"Yan Qing, which Blacksmith Association did you rob?"
Yan Qing replied with complete conviction.
"How could I? A mysterious organization saw my enormous potential for growth and specifically invested these funds in me!"
At the cottage in the Star Luo Empire, a cult member rushed inside in a panic.
"Bad news, Lady Bell! The delivery deadline has arrived, but that anonymous Blacksmith Association still hasn't delivered the finished products."
"Hmm? Do I have to teach you how to handle the next steps?"
Lilina took a sip of tea, her brows creasing slightly.
"We took some men to his workshop. It was already empty."
"How interesting. Unfortunately, in the Star Luo Empire, no one has ever managed to hide under my nose."
Lilina gently rubbed her fingertips against her teacup, a vicious curve lifting the corners of her lips.
"As long as he's human, he'll leave traces of his life."
Her fingers abruptly tightened, crushing the teacup to pieces.
"Mobilize every cult member on the Star Luo Continent. Investigate every fifth- and sixth-rank blacksmith, one by one. I only want results. You don't have to leave anyone alive!"
The cult member dared not say anything more and hurried out to relay the order.
For a time, undercurrents surged through the Star Luo Empire's underground forces, and large numbers of high-ranking Soul Masters appeared at the Blacksmith Association without warning.
Rumors that the Holy Spirit Cult had turned out in full force left the Star Luo Empire's blacksmiths gripped by anxiety.
After an entire night of investigation, the Holy Spirit Cult still came up empty-handed.
"Reporting... reporting to my lady, we haven't found any trace of him."
"It's as if he evaporated from the face of the earth. And we haven't found any records of his life..."
The cult member felt somewhat uneasy as he said this, sweat already beading across his forehead.
Bang!
Sure enough, the entire cottage darkened. Dark green Soul Power erupted, slamming him hard against the wall.
The cult member let out a muffled groan and struggled to push himself upright, not daring to resist in the slightest.
Lilina slowly stood, her previous languor swept away, her eyes filled with bloodthirsty light.
"If you useless fools can't find him, I'll do it myself!"