Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 50 How about I take you guys out for some fresh air? Look how listless you all are!
Young Gilas seemed to understand the words "Star Sand, Void Stone." Its little head, which had been lying down, suddenly lifted up, its scarlet eyes blinked, and its little ears perked up slightly, as if it had developed some peculiar interest in the name.

Lin Xia also felt a little tricky, but was more excited.

Once the problem is identified, the direction becomes clear.

Lin Xia replied:
"Teacher, it seems that our key next step is to find rare metals that contain spatial properties, or even their powder or associated minerals!"

"Only by solving the problem of the material 'container' can our engraved magic array truly unleash its power!"

Upon hearing this, Lou Gao rushed to the secret storage room behind the forging room, rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and after a moment, carefully returned carrying a palm-sized, dusty ebony box.

Upon opening the box, one finds a thin layer of fine sand shimmering with a deep, dark blue hue, seemingly containing twinkling starlight—stardust powder, which is extremely rare and precious.

"Come on, Xia! This time, let's take it one step at a time!"

Lou Gao's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"Using this stardust powder as the main material, supplemented with mithril and refined gold that can bear soul power, I will personally shape, fuse, and forge the vessel!"

This time, Lou Gao's movements were more focused and steady. He was no longer in a hurry to succeed, but instead used the Thousand-Fold Golden Hand technique to its fullest extent.

The diamond chisel transforms into a needle that guides the soul power, while the jet-black forging hammer guides the stardust powder and molten mithril and fine metals together with high-frequency micro-vibrations.

Each strike embodies a profound understanding of the material's properties, striving to make this base, which bears the power of space, flawless.

Lin Xia watched intently as the ordinary refined gold and mithril ingot gradually changed shape under Lou Gao's miraculous skill, its interior seemingly filled with flowing starlight, emitting a restrained yet profound spatial fluctuation.

After the carrier was formed, Lou Gao took a deep breath and picked up the smallest soul power engraving needle.

This time, Lou Gao was no longer just pursuing a replica. Instead, with a deeper understanding of the array structure, he concentrated his spiritual and soul power to the extreme and meticulously re-engraved the storage array patterns on the luminous metal plate.

Each stroke was accompanied by the resonance of soul power and stardust powder, with a faint light flowing through the patterns, as if they had come alive.

Time slips away in intense focus.

When the last stroke was completed, the entire forging room seemed to fall silent for a moment.

The palm-sized metal plate was no longer a cold, lifeless object; it emitted a soft and stable silver-blue halo, and its intricate patterns flickered like breathing, with a clear spatial fluctuation emanating from it.

"It's done! This time... it feels completely different!"

Lou Gao's voice carried an barely suppressed excitement and a hint of nervousness.

Lin Xia's heart also raced.

"Teacher, please try it!"

Lou Gao picked up a piece of ordinary refined iron ore, carefully approached the center of the metal plate, and with a slight thought, infused it with his soul power. A flash of light, and the ore vanished without a trace!

There was no instability, no fluctuations or disorder; the light of the magic array remained steady.

Lou Gao closed his eyes and focused his mind to sense things. This time, he clearly "saw" a stable, tiny but real storage space, with the ore lying quietly inside.

With another thought, a flash of light appeared, and the ore instantly reappeared in his hand!

"It's done! It really is done! Hahahaha!!"

Lou Gao could no longer contain himself and burst into deafening laughter. He threw the ore aside and jumped up and down like a child, his immense joy almost bursting through the roof of the forge.

Lou Gao patted Lin Xia's shoulder hard, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Xia! We succeeded! A real soul tool! Forged by our own hands!"

Lin Xia also smiled sincerely, her excitement beyond words.

This is not just about copying a storage soul tool, but about personally creating a soul tool from scratch!
However, after the initial joy of success, the next few days quickly succumbed to a certain degree of boredom and stagnation. Lou Gao was completely engrossed. He was like a child who had discovered a new toy, or perhaps a master craftsman who had opened Pandora's box.

Lou Gao immediately rummaged through boxes and cabinets, finding all the soul tools that the Blacksmith Association had kept hidden away—whether intact or broken.

There were short-range sound transmission devices, small spheres that provided dim lighting, amulets that could generate weak shields, and even the remains of several offensive soul tools.

"Replicate them! Replicate them all!"

The building stands tall and imposing, its eyes burning with a fierce spirit of exploration.

Thus began the tedious process of replicating the original.

With his master craftsmanship and increasingly profound understanding of soul-guided patterns, Lou Gao began a frenzied manufacturing spree, combining various rare metal materials in the association's inventory—star sand powder, mithril, fine gold, cold iron, purple electric iron, fire crystal powder, and so on.

One after another, soul tools with different functions were created in Lou Gao's hands: a transmitter, an illumination ball, a talisman... He even managed to repair a broken attack array, which could emit a weak beam of soul power.

The forging room was filled with towering "masterpieces," shimmering with light and intertwining with energy fluctuations, resembling a small exhibition hall of soul guides.

Every time he successfully replicated something, Lou Gao would excitedly pull Lin Xia aside to demonstrate it, his face beaming with immense pride.

Lin Xia was initially thrilled by each success, but gradually, he also noticed the problem.

This is completely a case of "knowing what it is, but not why it is".

They were merely copying the form of known magic arrays, but they remained completely ignorant of the underlying operating rules, energy conversion principles, and effects produced by different combinations of patterns.

When Lou Gao finally finished replicating all the types of soul tools he could find, and even used up almost all the compatible rare materials in the association's inventory, the finished products piled up in the forging room were shining brightly. But when Lin Xia looked at these "replicas", a sense of powerlessness rose in her heart.

Soul-guided mech?

What's needed is a completely new, complex, multi-system collaborative original soul-guiding array!
And right now, they haven't even touched the most basic threshold of "originality".

The mech's drive, transmission, defense, weapon systems... every subsystem requires original design; it's like a towering peak with no end in sight.

Lou Gao looked at the empty material box beside him, and then at the mountain of replicas piled on the ground. His addictive enthusiasm was finally extinguished a little, and his face showed a regretful feeling of not having had enough and a trace of bewilderment in the face of the unknown.

Lou Gao rubbed his hands together, his gaze sweeping over Lin Xia, who was also deep in thought, before finally landing on Young Gilas, who was listlessly scratching at the last piece of adamantite ore with his little paws.

The little guy has been really bored lately, protesting all day long with "yo-ji yo-ji".

A rare, embarrassed smile appeared on Lou Gao's old, bearded face, tinged with the awkwardness of "slapping himself in the face."

Lou Gao cleared his throat, walked to Lin Xia's side, and said in as "gentle" a tone as possible:

"Ahem... Xia, you see... we've produced quite a few soul tools, but... the key to this soul-guided mecha is still that we can't draw new blueprints."

Lou Gao pointed to the empty material boxes.

"Even a clever cook can't cook without rice. With no ingredients available, it's hard to come up with anything new... well, I'm a bit stuck."

Lou Gao paused, his gaze flickering, as if recalling his previous, resolute warning. His old face flushed slightly, but he still forced himself to speak:

"Um... I remember there are several rich mineral deposits around Gengjin City that have been explored but haven't been mined yet. Maybe... they contain the special minerals we need?"

"For example... the raw ore of Void Stone? Or other associated minerals containing special soul power? Staying in the city all the time isn't a solution..."

Lou Gao carefully observed Lin Xia's expression, lowering his voice to a level that sounded both coaxing and reluctant.

"How about... I take you, teacher, and we go prospecting for a bit more? Just to give this little guy some fresh air. Look how listless he is."

(End of this chapter)