Douluo Amon: I am the Heavenly Venerable of the Dragon King

Page 185

As the elevator descended, Lu Fa took out a helmet from his storage soul tool and put it directly on his head—yes, he put a helmet on his head.

His short, platinum blonde hair was particularly striking. After the last continent-wide live broadcast, he was practically famous throughout the entire continent; most master craftsmen weren't as well-known as him.

In the Douluo Continent today, if you randomly ask someone if they know the Divine Craftsman Zhenhua, ordinary people might not. But if you ask them if they know Lu Fa, they will definitely say yes.

This is the reach of SoulNet's live stream, especially considering that Lu Fa is not only handsome but also has striking platinum blonde short hair, plus he is a fourteen-year-old One-Word Battle Armor Master who defeated Shrek Academy students despite being much older.

Even after more than half a year, Lu Fa's popularity has not decreased much. If he dares to appear openly in the Blacksmith Association, he will definitely be surrounded by many people.

As the elevator doors opened, a person wearing a helmet and a middle-aged man walked out of the elevator openly.

Along the way, Lufana's peculiar attire attracted the attention of many people in the Blacksmiths' Association, but they only glanced at him a few times and did not go up to bother him.

After all, it's someone else's hobby, and they can't interfere. Besides, people who come to the Blacksmith Association are usually either blacksmiths who come to commission forging or to take on tasks. They don't have that much time to care about someone with a special appearance.

……

And so, Lu Fa and Dang Hongchen successfully left the Blacksmith Association.

The most distinctive feature of Tian Dou City is that it doesn't have any particularly tall buildings. Many of its original buildings are very well preserved, making it the place with the most original buildings in the entire Douluo Continent.

Lu Fa wandered through the streets and alleys, strolling leisurely through some old streets. Although he was preparing to use a sting operation, he naturally wanted to relax since he had a rare opportunity to get out, while Dang Hongchen quietly followed behind Lu Fa.

As they walked, the two unknowingly came to a shop selling rare metals. Lu Fa thought for a moment and went inside. Since he had some free time, he didn't mind looking at these ordinary shops.

He currently purchases rare metals from the Blacksmiths' Guild, as the prices are lower than those sold outside the guild due to the guild's internal channels. However, he has yet to see any shops outside that sell rare metals.

The two went inside. At this moment, in addition to the shop assistant, there were two other people standing in the shop, an old man and a young man. The older man looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with gray hair, a tall and robust figure, and a pair of particularly deep eyes that did not show any signs of the cloudiness of old age.

The other person was not only young, but also a girl, who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was extremely beautiful and had a slender figure.

At that moment, a shop assistant was standing respectfully beside the two of them, introducing something with a smile.

"Welcome! Hello, is there anything I can help you with? I can show you around." Seeing Lu Fa enter, another employee walked over politely.

"No need, we'll just look around casually," Lufa dismissed him.

Upon hearing this, the shop assistant didn't deliberately follow the two. Some eccentric blacksmiths, when examining rare metals, genuinely don't want to be disturbed by others. Especially since this guy was wearing a helmet; he certainly fit the description of an eccentric blacksmith.

Seeing the Level 6 Blacksmith Badge on Dang Hongchen's body, the shop assistant tactfully withdrew. With a blacksmith master by his side, there was no need for an outsider like him to introduce him.

Lu Fa looked at the rare metals on the shelf. He recognized most of them; most were just ordinary items. The prices were only about 10% higher than what he had bought at the Blacksmith's Guild.

"A very ordinary shop." That was Lu Fa's assessment.

A crisp "ding" rang in Lu Fa's ears. He turned his head and saw the old woman and the young woman who had been in the shop earlier. The young woman was now tapping a piece of metal with a small hammer, about half a foot long, and said:

"The echo is melodious, which is good, but it lasts too long. This proves that the metal itself is relatively fragile. Although it is very compatible with elements, the volume that remains after purification is very small, and its overall quality is weak with no special characteristics."

"Oh." Lufa looked at the girl with interest. Usually, only experts who know a lot about rare metals use a touchstone when selecting them. The touchstone can detect the differences in metals by striking them.

Lu Fa looked at the girl's hands. Her palms were as white as jade, her fingers were particularly long and slender, and her hands were no less than the size of an adult man's but much more delicate.

"This is a blacksmith, and at least a level three blacksmith." Experienced blacksmiths can always tell whether someone is a blacksmith from certain details about them.

The young woman's technique was clearly very skillful. From the way she used the touchstone hammer to her confident gaze, it was clear that she was no slouch in forging.

Although her specific level is unknown, judging from the way she used the touch hammer, she must be at least a level three blacksmith.

Of course, what attracted Lu Fa's attention even more was the old man beside the girl. He possessed a perfect harmony of spirit, energy, and character, and his aura was incredibly powerful. In terms of cultivation, he should be no less than Dang Hongchen, meaning that this old man was a Soul Douluo.

His hands were calloused and larger than the average person's, so he must be a blacksmith, and a high-ranking one at that.

When Lu Fa came over to look, the old man was stunned by his attire. Wearing a helmet in broad daylight, what was that all about?

However, upon seeing Dang Hongchen beside him, the old man smiled kindly at them. After all, the sixth-level blacksmith badge on Dang Hongchen's body wasn't for nothing.

"Ding!" The girl struck another piece of metal, the echo short and powerful. She frowned and said, "This should be a very hard metal, with an extremely high internal density. I can hear from the echo that it has a strong sense of self. It probably isn't very suitable for fusing with soul power. What a pity."

Hearing the girl's words, the old man remained calm. However, Dang Hongchen and the shop assistant's gazes became strange, because the metal the girl was striking was called cloud copper.

This rare metal is actually quite common in the Douluo Continent; it's one of the mass-produced metals used in white-level mechs. Anyone who has ever been involved in forging should be familiar with this metal.

Judging from the young girl's skillful technique, she should be able to recognize this metal at a glance. Why would she need to tap it to confirm?

How much does this rare metal cost?

The girl turned around and saw Lu Fa and Dang Hongchen watching behind her. She first glanced curiously at Lu Fa, who was dressed strangely. Then she pointed at Yun Tong and asked the shop assistant.

Chapter 299 Endless Fire Domain

"Federal currency?" The girl's expression stiffened slightly; she suddenly remembered that she didn't seem to have any currency from the Douluo Continent. However, she quickly regained her composure, then looked at the shop assistant and calmly asked, "Do you accept refined metals here?"

"Yes, of course we accept them, but we only accept metals that are refined to a thousand times or more." The shop assistant nodded. They were a small branch of the Blacksmiths' Association, which not only sold metals but also recycled them.

But generally speaking, wouldn't it be better to sell metal through the Blacksmith's Guild? Of course, the shop assistant wouldn't ask such a question without thinking; perhaps this girl was simply too lazy to go to the Blacksmith's Guild?

As long as there's sales and profits, the shop assistants don't intend to pry into the girl's background.

"Okay, then take a look at the price of this metal." The girl took out a piece of blue metal from her storage soul tool.

"Spirit-forged Blue Copper!" Dang Hongchen looked at the metal in surprise. The metal was emitting a crystal-clear blue light, and the internal patterns came to life, running in a regular pattern. This was the performance of spirit-forged metal.

Among rare metals, blue-impregnated copper is definitely one of the most difficult to forge. This is because blue-impregnated copper possesses extremely high internal activity, requiring constant combing during the purification process to prevent this activity from dissipating, making purification extremely challenging.

Spirit-forged blue-coated copper is quite valuable!

The girl calmly said, "Let's just exchange the spirit-forged blue copper for a rare metal. You can give me an estimate."

"Okay." The shop assistant immediately picked up the blue copper piece carefully and began to examine it closely. As a shop assistant in this store, he was obviously quite skilled at assessing rare metals.

"Your blue-coated copper is of excellent quality. If we were to exchange it for any of the rare metals you just looked at, it would be worth 350 pieces." The shop assistant quickly gave his assessment.

"Three hundred and fifty yuan!" the girl said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes." The shop assistant nodded. Spirit-forged metals are rare to begin with, let alone blue-coated copper. In addition, most of the rare metals the girl exchanged were common items, so the price seemed very reasonable.

"This price is indeed very fair, and our two friends who have come from afar need not be surprised."

At this moment, Dang Hongchen spoke up, saying that blue-coated copper is one of the more precious types of rare metals.

Not to mention, this piece of blue-colored copper in front of us is clearly a top-grade spirit-forged metal just by looking at its color. It's just exchanging some common metals, so the price the shop assistant offered is indeed very fair.

Meanwhile, Dang Hongchen had already guessed the identities of the old man and the young man before him. They were clearly blacksmiths, yet they didn't recognize the metals commonly found on the continent, and were even exchanging rare metals, indicating that they likely didn't possess a large amount of Federal Currency.

Based on the news that came out some time ago, Dang Hongchen had already guessed the identities of the old man and the young man. They were probably not from Douluo Continent, but from another continent.

"May I ask your Excellency?"

The old man looked at Dang Hongchen in surprise. They were indeed from another continent, but they shouldn't have been recognized so easily. Even the shop assistants nearby were only surprised that the two didn't recognize Yun Tong, and didn't think much of it.

The person in front of them, who could quickly recognize that they were not from the Douluo Continent, must be of extraordinary status.

Dang Hongchen said neither arrogantly nor humbly, "The Hongchen family, Dang Hongchen." At the same time, his attitude became a little colder. Their Hongchen family was a member of the Federation, and belonged to the hawkish faction.

Because of the growing scarcity of resources on the mainland, they have evolved from being neutral to becoming supporters of the hawks when it comes to launching wars against other continents.

Not to mention, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy is an academy specifically for training talent for the Federation. Naturally, he wouldn't be very enthusiastic towards people from other continents.

The old man nodded. "So you are members of the Red Dust Clan. I am Chang Gongyan, and this is my apprentice, Lin Yuhan. We are from the Star Luo Continent, and we came here with an exchange group." As he spoke, the old man pointed to the girl beside him.

"I came to Tiandou City this time simply because I heard of the renowned craftsman Zhenhua and came here specifically to learn from him."

Chang Gongyan did not reveal his true purpose for coming to Tiandou City, only saying that he came to communicate with Zhenhua.

"I see." Dang Hongchen nodded. He assumed that Chang Gongyan wanted to learn forging techniques from Zhenhua. After all, it wasn't a secret that there were no master craftsmen on the Star Luo Continent.

At this moment, the shop assistant also packed up the metal that Lin Yuhan needed and brought it over. After seeing Lin Yuhan put away the rare metal, Chang Gongyan said goodbye and hurriedly took her away.

"Strange fellow?" Looking at Chang Gongyan's hurried farewell, Dang Hongchen instinctively sensed something was amiss and frowned.

"Forget it, it's none of my business." Shaking his head, Dang Hongchen stopped thinking about Chang Gongyan. After all, he was a member of the exchange group. Did he really dare to cause trouble in Tiandou City?

If they dare to cause trouble, it could easily provoke conflict between the two continents. Given the current behavior of those hawkish members, it could really escalate into a war between the two continents if they're not careful. Chang Gongyan doesn't seem like such an irrational person.

"Let's just focus on our job." Dang Hongchen looked at Lu Fa. He didn't care what Chang Gongyan was up to; all he needed to do was ensure Lu Fa's safety.

Lu Fa glanced at the shop and quickly lost interest; it was all just ordinary stuff. If he really wanted some precious rare metals, it would be more reliable to go to Zhen Hua at the Blacksmiths' Association.

With his current level of soul forging ability, Zhenhua can basically find any metal he needs.

Occasionally, Zhenhua would have him use some special metals for spirit forging, saying that although he couldn't forge souls at will yet, he could get more familiar with the properties of different metals.

……

Lu Fa and Dang Hongchen walked out of the shop and came to a snack street. The quaint shops on both sides of the road seemed to take them back to a bygone era. Every now and then, the aroma of snacks wafted over.

Suddenly, Lu Fa stopped in front of a shop, staring at the four large characters "Endless Fire Domain" above, and fell silent.

At this moment, Dang Hongchen, who was standing behind, saw Lu Fa stop at the entrance of the store and thought he was hungry, so he suggested, "I didn't expect to find a branch of this store here. I remember you haven't eaten anything since this morning, right?"

If you're hungry, you can try the food at this shop. They also have a branch in Mingdu; I tried it last time, and it was pretty good. Since they have a branch in Tiandou City, the food probably won't be too bad either.

Upon hearing this, Lu Fa looked at Dang Hongchen in surprise, "Teacher Dang, do you know this shop?"

Dang Hongchen nodded and smiled, "Of course I know. This Endless Fire Domain may look like a barbecue restaurant, but it has quite a background. It seems to be backed by the Spirit Pagoda and some councilors."

Not only is the food delicious, but the price is also quite reasonable, making it a rare find among honest businesses.

"There's also a branch of this restaurant in Mingdu. I've tried it before, and the taste is absolutely amazing. It's also cheaper than other barbecue restaurants of the same kind."

I remember the Yuhao Grilled Fish branch in Mingdu almost went bankrupt because of this restaurant! There's even a saying about it circulating in Mingdu.

"What is it?" Lufa asked curiously.

After pondering for a moment, Dang Hongchen laughed and said, "Once the Endless Fire Domain appears, there will be no barbecue restaurants within a hundred miles. That's because their food is indeed of high quality and low price, so whenever they open a branch, they can easily drive the surrounding barbecue restaurants out of business."