Gengxin City

Strength. It still came down to strength.

In the end, he was simply too weak. He had to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

Lin Rong took a deep breath and entered an empty Mind State, shutting out the cluttered thoughts as he focused single-mindedly on cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture.

At the same time.

Star Luo Empire.

Southwest, Gengxin City.

"Elder Tai Tan, is this the blacksmithing holy land you spoke of—the City of Metals, Gengxin City?"

Tang San sat inside the carriage, gazing through the window at the steel metropolis in the distance.

Unlike Heaven Dou City, the most towering and magnificent city in Tang San's memories, Gengxin City before him gave him a sense of grandeur and awe.

Even from so far away, he seemed able to hear the sound of metal being hammered.

Even its tall, thick city walls were iron-gray, looking as though they had been cast entirely from metal and giving off a heavy metallic tang.

"It truly lives up to its reputation!"

Over the past year or so, the Strength Clan's metal reserves had been almost entirely depleted in the process of forging hidden weapons.

Thus, Tai Tan had mentioned Gengxin City to Tang San.

Metal could be bought elsewhere as well, but Gengxin City offered cheaper prices.

Especially for bulk purchases, which could save quite a few Gold Soul Coins.

Moreover, the Rare Metals needed to forge superior hidden weapons could only be fully procured in Gengxin City.

As for why Tang San had come along, it was because Tai Tan had said he wanted to introduce him to someone.

Someone with the greatest hope of forging those three peerless hidden weapons.

I hope Gengxin City has Cold Iron Iron Mother—and that Divine Craftsman Lou Gao's skills truly are as extraordinary as they say.

If everything goes smoothly, with my successful experience from my past life and Lou Gao being skilled enough himself, we may be able to forge the Tang Sect's number one mechanical hidden weapon—the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus—within four months!

With that in hand, I refuse to believe I won't be able to subdue the other three clans of the Single Attribute Four Great Clans!

Tang San narrowed his eyes at Gengxin City in the distance. A sharp gleam flashed through the thin slits of his eyes.

Over the past year or so, Tang Yuehua and Tai Tan had gradually told him quite a few stories about the Clear Sky Sect's past.

Among them was information regarding the Single Attribute Four Great Clans.

Niu Gao, chief of the Defense Clan, was close to Tai Tan, while Bai He, chief of the Speed Clan, was Tang San's Granduncle. Subduing those two clans would not be much of a problem.

Only the Breaking Clan would be difficult to deal with. Its chief, Yang Wudi, harbored an extremely deep resentment toward the Clear Sky Sect.

Though Tang San himself had no favorable impression of the Clear Sky Sect either, it had ultimately affected his efforts to subdue the clan.

The Breaking Clan excelled at refining medicine and poisons, making it exceptionally suited to developing the poison-related portion of the Tang Sect's legacy.

Therefore, Tang San had high hopes for the Breaking Clan and naturally intended to do everything possible to bring it into the Tang Sect.

"That useless Clear Sky Sect really knows how to cause me trouble!"

At that thought, Tang San subconsciously touched his cheek and remembered how, at the Clear Sky Sect, those old bastards had relied on their strength and seniority to bully him.

Tang San would never forget that day, because he had suffered humiliation unlike anything he had ever endured in his life.

Once he forged the three great peerless hidden weapons—the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, and Peacock Plume—

He would personally ascend the Clear Sky Sect's mountaintop and use the hidden weapons in his hand to show those old bastards exactly why flowers were so red!

The humiliation he had suffered at the Clear Sky Sect that day would be repaid tenfold!

But to accomplish all of that, he first had to find the Rare Metals needed to forge those three peerless hidden weapons: Cold Iron Iron Mother (Cold Heart Iron Essence), Deep Sea Silver, and Mysterious Iron (Black Veined Iron).

Tang Yuehua had once told Tang San—

As the number one support-type martial soul in the world, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda not only guaranteed that its wielders possessed the innate skill Ring Fusion, but also granted them incredibly powerful treasure-appraisal abilities.

That was why the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had become the wealthiest sect on the entire continent.

If only a soul master with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda as their martial soul could help procure the Rare Metals on this trip.

With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's treasure-appraisal ability, so long as Gengxin City had Cold Iron Iron Mother, Deep Sea Silver, and Mysterious Iron, they would certainly be able to find and purchase them.

Unfortunately, this matter involved Tang Sect secrets. Tang San could not reveal the crucial details to anyone who was not a Tang Sect disciple.

If I can merge the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect into the Tang Sect someday, it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave the procurement of Rare Metals to them, given their abundant wealth!

As Tang San envisioned the Tang Sect's future, his anticipation for Gengxin City grew ever stronger.

Whether Gengxin City could provide Cold Iron Iron Mother was beyond Tang San's control. All he could do was hope.

That made verifying whether Divine Craftsman Lou Gao was qualified to forge the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus the most urgent matter in Tang San's mind.

Thus, after Tang San's group entered Gengxin City, they headed straight for the Blacksmith Association Headquarters.

It was a tall building located in the central district of Gengxin City.

The building had five floors. Above its entrance hung a dark iron plaque bearing raised images of a hammer and a chisel.

The first floor was the trading area, the second floor the high-end trading area, the third floor the blacksmith registration and assessment area, the fourth floor the VIP area, and the fifth floor the Blacksmith Association's offices.

As the president of the Blacksmith Association, Divine Craftsman Lou Gao's office was naturally located in the heart of the fifth floor.

With Tai Tan, the vice president of the Blacksmith Association, leading the way, Tang San and his group arrived at the fifth floor without obstruction.

On the fifth floor, Si Long, one of Lou Gao's four personal disciples, led the way ahead. His peripheral vision occasionally drifted toward Tang San as he thought:

Who exactly is this person? How could Vice President Tai Tan address him as Sect Master?

Even if he is that man's son, Vice President Tai Tan should call him Young Master. Why...

As they proceeded inward, Tang San occasionally heard the sounds of forging coming from the rooms they passed. He could not help but feel puzzled. Wasn't this supposed to be the office area?

Noticing Tang San's puzzled expression, Si Long explained, "The Blacksmith Association's so-called offices are actually private forging rooms reserved for individual use."

"Every blacksmith of master rank or above has a place of their own here."

"Teacher's forging room is Forging Room Number One, at the very end of the fifth floor."

"We're here. This is it."

Si Long stood respectfully before the metal door and raised his hand to knock.

"Who is it?"

A gruff voice came from within the forging room.

Si Long hurriedly answered, "Teacher, pardon the disturbance. Vice President Tai Tan has business with you, so this disciple came to notify you."

After that, no sound came from inside the forging room.

Not long afterward, amid a series of mechanical clicks, the broad iron door slowly slid open, revealing a brightly lit room.

There were no windows in the room. The only reason it was so bright was because a Soul Tool lamp had been lavishly hung from the ceiling.

As the door opened, Tang San finally saw the Divine Craftsman Lou Gao whom Tai Tan had mentioned.

He was a short, fat old man.

He was one meter sixty tall, with a waistline of one meter sixty.

He had protruding ears, tiny eyes, messy short hair, a loose robe, and metal powder still clinging to his face.

Though one should not judge a person by appearances, did this man really possess the skill to forge the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus?

Just as Tang San was thinking this, a gruff voice sounded beside his ear.

"Hey, kid, what the hell are you staring at?"