Douluo Dragon King: I, Huo Linfei, the Mecha Illusionary Lin God

The train slowed down and pulled into the station. Huo Linfei and Tang Wulin carried their luggage off the platform and were immediately stunned by the scene before them.

The largest building in Aolai City is only five or six stories high, while any building in Donghai City has more than ten or twenty stories.

The streets were wide, guided vehicles flowed endlessly, pedestrians hurried by, and the air was filled with a unique sense of hustle and bustle characteristic of a metropolis.

"So big..." Tang Wulin murmured.

"This is nothing," Huo Linfei said calmly. "I've heard Shrek City is bigger and Mingdu is more prosperous. We'll be going there someday."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a piercing alarm sound from the sky.

Looking up, I saw three silver-white mechs flying over the city.

The mechs were about five meters tall, with a streamlined design and blue flames shooting from their backs. They flew in a triangular formation, with the middle mech holding a struggling human figure in its hand.

"It's a mecha from the city's law enforcement team!" a passerby exclaimed.

"Another wanted criminal caught? How many is that this month?"

"I heard he was a three-ring Soul Master who robbed a Soul Guidance Shop in the city, but he was subdued by the mecha team in ten minutes."

Tang Wulin stared wide-eyed: "Wow, that's amazing... Mechs can really fly!"

Huo Linfei also looked on, but his eyes didn't show envy; instead, they showed... disdain.

"That's it?" He curled his lip. "Flight speed is less than 300 kilometers per hour, turning is clumsy, weapon system is limited, and the armor thickness probably can't even withstand a few hits from my flames."

Tang Wulin turned his head: "Big brother, have you seen even more powerful mechs?"

Huo Linfei remained silent for a few seconds.

He thought of the Phantom Scale God. That fifty-meter-tall red mecha could travel through space, withstand starship bombardment, transform, combine, and unleash world-destroying attacks like the "Fire Cloud Technique."

Compared to the Phantom God, those silver-white mechs from before looked like toys.

"I've seen it," Huo Linfei said softly, "It's ten thousand times more powerful than this."

Tang Wulin asked curiously, "Where did you meet her?"

"In my dreams," Huo Linfei grinned, brushing it off.

But that was only partly true. For the past three years, he had indeed been pondering the matter of the Illusionary Scale God.

At night, he often dreamed of piloting the Phantom God in battle. Upon waking, he would draw the blueprints of the Phantom God bit by bit, relying on his memory.

Those blueprints are now in his luggage, a thick stack of them.

It wasn't just the original blueprints. Huo Linfei also designed a modification plan based on the characteristics of this world: how to use a soul guide core to replace the super beast energy, how to use forged metal to strengthen the armor, and how to integrate the soul skill system into the mecha's control...

He even researched a lot of information and learned that the mechs in this world are divided into levels: white ordinary level, yellow hundred-year level, purple thousand-year level, black ten-thousand-year level, and the legendary red god level.

Huo Linfei estimated that if the Illusionary Scale God were to descend in its entirety, it would be at least a Red God-level being. But God-level was not the limit—he wanted to modify and upgrade it, to make the Illusionary Scale God a being that surpassed God-level.

That's why he studied forging so diligently.

That's why he came to Donghai City.

"Let's go, let's find a place to stay first." Huo Linfei picked up his luggage. "We'll report to the academy tomorrow."

"Okay." Tang Wulin followed.

The two found a hotel near the station and stayed there. That night, Huo Linfei spread the blueprints on the bed and studied them carefully by the light of the soul-guided lamp.

Tang Wulin leaned closer to look. He couldn't understand the complex mechanical structures, but he could make out the text labeled next to them: "Big brother, this... this is a mecha design blueprint?"

"Hmm." Huo Linfei didn't even look up. "My Illusionary Lin God."

"Phantom Qilin God?" Tang Wulin remembered his older brother mentioning this name before. "Is that the one you were talking about... ten thousand times more powerful than those mechs we just saw?"

"More than ten thousand times." Huo Linfei pointed to a structure on the blueprint.

"See this? This is the energy transfer system. Current mechs use soul-guided batteries, which have short battery life and low output. My Phantom Scale God uses an 'alien energy core,' which theoretically allows for unlimited battery life."

He pointed to another spot: "And this, the shape-shifting structure. The Phantom Scale God can switch between beast and human forms; the beast form excels in speed, while the human form excels in combat."

Tang Wulin was completely confused, but thought it was amazing: "Big brother, are you really going to build this?"

"Of course." Huo Linfei's eyes lit up. "Donghai City is the starting point. It has the best metal market, the most comprehensive soul guidance technology, and the Blacksmith Association—I'm going to take the blacksmith exam first so I can get a discount on materials."

"I'm going too!" Tang Wulin said. "Teacher Mang said I can take the Level 4 Blacksmith exam now."

"Alright, let's go together." Huo Linfei put away the blueprints. "But you go to the academy to register first tomorrow, and I'll go directly to the Blacksmith Association. It'll be more efficient if we split up."

Tang Wulin nodded: "Okay."

The two parted ways at the hotel entrance early the next morning.

Tang Wulin, carrying his luggage, headed towards Donghai Academy according to the map. Huo Linfei, on the other hand, traveled light, taking only his forging hammer and a few metal samples, heading straight for the Forging Masters Association.

The Blacksmiths' Guild of Donghai City is located in the city center, a magnificent gray building. Two huge anvil sculptures stand at the entrance, with the eight characters "Forged through countless hammer blows, achieving brilliance" engraved on them.

Huo Linfei looked up and grinned, "Pretty impressive."

He pushed the door open and went in.

The hall was spacious, with a ceiling over ten meters high. In the very center was a huge circular counter, behind which sat several uniformed staff members.

On both sides are rest areas where people are sitting and waiting for their business. At the far end are several corridors leading to different testing areas and workshops.

Huo Linfei walked straight to the counter.

"Hello, I'd like to get certified as a blacksmith," he said to the young girl behind the counter.

The girl looked up and saw a red-haired boy. She paused for a moment and said, "Little brother, have you come to the wrong place? This is the Blacksmith Association, not the Soul Master Association."

"I didn't go to the wrong place," Huo Linfei said. "I'm here to take the blacksmith exam."

The girl frowned: "How old are you?"

Nine years old.

"Nine years old?" The girl laughed. "Little brother, stop fooling around. The minimum age for blacksmith certification is twelve, and you need to pass a basic assessment..."

"I know the rules," Huo Linfei interrupted her, "but I'm going to take the test anyway. Call your supervisor here."

The girl was a little annoyed: "Little brother, if you keep doing this, I'm going to call security."

Huo Linfei sighed. He knew this would happen.

"Here you go." He placed the package on his back on the counter, opened it to reveal a forging hammer and several pieces of metal inside. "Take a look at these first, then decide whether to call security or not."

The girl glanced at it. The forging hammer was ordinary, but those pieces of metal…

She picked up one of the pieces of red copper. The metal was warm to the touch, and flame-like patterns flowed slowly across its surface, as if it were alive.

"This is..." The girl's expression changed.

"Thousand-refined red copper," Huo Linfei said. "I forged it."

The girl's hand trembled, and the metal almost fell. She quickly steadied herself and examined it carefully. The more she looked, the more serious her expression became.

She had seen plenty of high-quality refined metal, but one with such a high level of spirituality was rare. Moreover, the patterns and texture clearly indicated that it was approaching the first grade of high-quality refined metal.