Target: Gengxin City

Target—Gengxin City

Three months later, in Xiao Yu's room.

Before a massive metal table, Xiao Yu focused his mind and steadied his breathing, gripping a metal carving knife as he carefully engraved the piece of metal before him.

Nearby, metal blocks abandoned halfway through carving could be seen everywhere. Clearly, these were materials scrapped from Xiao Yu's failed attempts at making Soul Tools.

Xiao Yu moved slowly, treating every stroke with extreme care. As time passed, intricate patterns gradually emerged across the metal block.

After a long while, Xiao Yu finally stopped after making the last cut and picking out some tiny metal shavings.

"Finally, it's done!"

Xiao Yu let out a long breath and slowly slumped back in his chair. He gave a wry shake of his head, then gently rubbed his temples to ease his somewhat muddled mind.

And this was only a Level 1 Soul Tool!

Xiao Yu had to admit that he had underestimated the difficulty of making Soul Tools. He had thought that with blueprints in hand, it would be a simple, natural process. Now, however, he realized he had still underestimated them. They were the crystallization of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years of accumulated wisdom. Without painstaking study, mastering them would be impossible. But did he have that kind of time?

Over the past three months, he had spent almost all his time producing Soul Tools. He had barely cultivated at all, and his Soul Power had not risen by a single level. The only consolation was that his spiritual power had improved considerably.

"I need to find a solution. The development of Soul Tools is important, but I absolutely cannot neglect my cultivation because of it. In the end, top-tier combat power is still what decides victory. Soul Tools may widen the gap between Soul Masters of the same rank, but they can hardly threaten a Level 100 powerhouse."

Xiao Yu's eyes gleamed as a solution suddenly came to him—the Blacksmiths' Association.

The creation of Soul Tools involved forging, shaping, casting, tempering, and polishing. Other than the final inscription of the core formation, nearly every step was closely related to a blacksmith's work. Even with the final inscription, though blacksmiths had never dabbled in it, Xiao Yu believed that Advanced Blacksmiths must strive for perfection in their craft and had surely performed fine metal engraving before. That shared similarities with inscribing Soul Tool cores.

As long as they could find the common ground, they would quickly grasp the manufacturing techniques. Moreover, with detailed blueprints in hand, blacksmiths would face far fewer obstacles in transitioning into Soul Engineers.

Especially Divine Blacksmith Lou Gao, the man who had created the Wrath of the Buddha Tang Lotus. With his talent and diligence, he would very likely step into the ranks of Advanced Soul Engineers in a very short time.

As for going to the Sun Moon Continent to seek out ready-made Soul Engineers, the difficulty was simply far too great.

First, the Sun Moon Continent would not collide with Douluo Continent until several thousand years later. No one knew how far it currently was from Douluo Continent. With nothing but a vast ocean and not even a direction to follow, where was he supposed to find the Sun Moon Continent?

Second, even if he were lucky enough to find the Sun Moon Continent, how much time would it take? Tang San would become a god at the age of twenty-four. Xiao Yu did not have much time left.

Finally, just as the original nations of Douluo Continent in Douluo II rejected the Sun Moon Empire, would the Sun Moon Continent not reject outsiders? They were living perfectly well in their own country, so why would they cross the sea to follow him to Douluo Continent?

Therefore, at present, the Blacksmiths' Association was Xiao Yu's only choice.

Furthermore, creating Soul Tools consumed an enormous amount of rare metals. No matter what, Xiao Yu had to make a trip to Gengxin City, the Metal City where the Blacksmiths' Association was located.

As if it had detected Xiao Yu's thoughts, the system suddenly issued a mission at that moment:

"Ding, system Red-level Task issued: Recruit Divine Blacksmith Lou Gao into Nine Stars Hall and sever Tang San's fateful opportunity."

In the original work, Lou Gao had developed three of the Tang Sect's greatest hidden weapons: the Peacock Plume, the Wrath of the Buddha Tang Lotus, and the Storm Pear Blossom Needle. His assistance to Tang San had been anything but minor, so he truly warranted a Red-level reward.

"Looks like I have one more reason to go to Gengxin City!"

Having spent three straight months researching Soul Tool production, Xiao Yu gave himself a small break. After resting for two days and restoring both his Soul Power and mental state to their peak, he finally set off for Gengxin City.

Mu and Black Tortoise had to remain behind to guard the sect and handle its affairs, while Hui Huo was a lone wolf who neither cared about nor understood sect affairs. Thus, Xiao Yu's safety fell to this Soul Douluo. Besides Hui Huo, Zilong, Xie Wu, Miyi Mei, and Iao would also accompany Xiao Yu to Gengxin City. Given their ages and cultivation, the four of them would certainly join Xiao Yu in the Advanced Academy Soul Master Elite Tournament in the future, so naturally Xiao Yu wanted to take them out more often.

Eden should have come as well, but like in his previous life, the second male lead of Ω was aloof and cold. Claiming that he disliked liveliness, he went off to cultivate in seclusion by himself.

Xiao Yu did not force the issue. He had known Eden's personality in his previous life, and there was no need to force someone else to change. He was not some selfless God King who would use a round of beatings and PUA to turn a perfectly fine child of destiny into a loyal watchdog.

At that moment, in Notting City a thousand miles away, a certain God King who had already found himself a famous teacher suddenly felt a chill run down his back and could not help sneezing twice.

"Xiao San, have you caught a cold because the weather has gotten colder lately?"

Having finally tricked an Innate Full Soul Power sucker—no, disciple—into becoming his student, Master Yu Xiaogang doted on Tang San immensely. Seeing this, he asked with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine, Teacher!"

Tang San wiped his nose and shook his head.

Seeing that Tang San truly did not look like he had caught a cold, Yu Xiaogang began explaining his invincible theories to Tang San once more.

As for Xiao Yu, after wiping out several sects in succession, he had become considerably wealthier. At the very least, he no longer had to rough it as he had when he went to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain soul rings. Before setting out, he had arranged for two carriages to be hired, allowing him to cultivate peacefully while traveling.

Gengxin City was located within the Star Luo Empire, closer to the empire's inland regions. The Silvia Kingdom, meanwhile, lay in the northwestern corner of the Heaven Dou Empire. The two were separated by more than a thousand miles, and by the time Xiao Yu's group arrived in Gengxin City, nearly a month and a half had passed.

Gengxin City was one of the Star Luo Empire's main cities, but it could not be considered a famous one. Even among the main cities, it ranked only in the lower-middle tier. Douluo Continent was a world of Soul Masters, so it was only natural that a city of metal received little attention. Blacksmiths held no higher status than ordinary commoners. The Blacksmiths' Association wielded some influence only within this city. Spirit Hall was essentially the Soul Master Association, yet it could affect the entire continent's situation. From this, one could see just how enormous the gap between blacksmiths and Soul Masters was.

"Whew, we're finally here!"

With their destination close at hand, the group got out of the carriages. From afar, they could see Gengxin City's towering walls.

Gengxin City's walls were entirely iron-gray, giving the impression that they had been cast from metal. Though they had yet to enter the city, the group could already vaguely sense the metallic aura emanating from Gengxin City.

"Young Master, how should we proceed?"

The unicorn Xie Wu asked Xiao Yu respectfully. Judging from his behavior in his previous life, the man had a bit of a lackey streak in him.

"Let's enter the city first and find a guide. We're unfamiliar with this place, so it's best to learn about the situation first."

Xiao Yu spoke calmly. Although Xie Wu clearly meant to curry favor with him, Xiao Yu did not dislike it. Besides, Xie Wu was not the kind of useless flatterer who only knew how to suck up. He had also been making the most of the journey to cultivate. Xiao Yu reckoned that, at the latest, Xie Wu should break through Level 30 on the return trip.