Douluo Continent: Half-level Innate Realm, but a Sword Cultivator with a Heart-Only Mind

When the two young men from the blacksmiths' association arrived between the third and fourth floors, the two guards stationed there looked at them with surprise and confusion.

"Wang Li, Zhou Xin, what are you two doing here instead of staying on the first floor maintaining order?"

Wang Li and Zhou Xin, two young men, bowed respectfully to the two middle-aged men in front of them.

"Greetings, Lord Silong and Lord Siyu."

Although these two middle-aged men are ordinary guards, they are genuine blacksmith masters with extremely high status in the blacksmith association. They are also the personal disciples of the master blacksmith Lou Gao. They only take turns serving as guards here because of Lou Gao.

After bowing, Wang Li respectfully said, "Reporting to the two gentlemen, Zhou Xin and I have important matters to report."

"What is it?" Si Long asked.

Wang Li immediately told Silong and Siyu about his previous discovery.

After listening, the two looked at each other, their faces showing seriousness.

Previously, Gengxin City's metals were mostly produced and sold locally, especially rare metals, which were first forged into various finished products by blacksmiths and then sold to the nobles of the two great empires through other channels.

But two years ago, for some unknown reason, people suddenly started collecting rare metals on a large scale.

The price of rare metals in Gengxin City even rose sharply because of this.

At first, the blacksmiths' association didn't take the matter seriously, since the metal capital had no shortage of metal.

Until the Spirit Hall Master of Gengxin City intervened and disrupted the market.

The main hall of the Spirit Hall in Gengxin City first released positive news about rare metals, claiming that it urgently needed rare metals and was willing to spend a lot of money to acquire them.

In a very short period of time, they acquired a large quantity of rare metals, driving up their prices to extremely high levels.

Then, under the pretext of needing to raise funds, they instructed the merchants who sold rare metals to prepare the rare metals in advance so that the Spirit Hall could directly conduct the transaction once the funds were raised.

As a result, merchants of all sizes throughout Gengxin City tried every means to hoard rare metals, even paying three or five times the price to acquire them, all in order to sell them to the Spirit Hall for a good price.

However, as time went on, news spread that the Spirit Hall no longer needed rare metals.

Now, those merchants who bought rare metals at high prices are left with rotten metals in their hands and have no choice but to keep lowering prices to sell them.

But ordinary people don't need that many rare metals.

Even if the blacksmiths' association is willing to help, they can't just be taken advantage of, can they?

Moreover, many masters and grandmasters within the blacksmiths' association were involved.

In particular, some merchants who were blinded by profit and borrowed money to buy rare metals in the hopes of hoarding them were wiped out of their fortunes.

But as time went on, people gradually noticed something amiss.

While the prices of rare metals were being driven up, there were people secretly fueling the fire, simultaneously raising prices and selling off rare metals.

After the Spirit Hall refused to buy rare metals, these people reappeared and bought back the rare metals from the merchants at extremely low prices.

The blacksmiths' association, which was the first to discover this clue, then realized that they had all been set up.

The mastermind behind this scheme is most likely the main hall of the Spirit Hall in Gengxin City.

The master craftsman Lou Gao once led a group to the main hall of the Martial Soul Hall in Gengxin City to demand an explanation.

However, Miles, the main hall master of the Spirit Hall in Gengxin City, was extremely arrogant. Although he was only a Soul Emperor, he did not take the Blacksmith Association, which had several Soul Saints, seriously at all.

Because of the Spirit Hall, the Blacksmiths' Association knew that the Spirit Hall was maliciously manipulating the rare metals market in Gengxin City, but they still couldn't do anything about it.

Ultimately, the Blacksmith Association lacks substantial evidence that all of this was done by the main hall of the Martial Soul Hall in Gengxin City.

Moreover, the reason why the vast majority of merchants lose everything is because of their own greed.

When the prices of rare metals were driven to their highest point, there were quite a few astute individuals who saw through the scheme.

But it's no use. Even if some people know it's a trap, they still have a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).

This is why Silong and Siyu looked so serious after hearing the story.

Si Long said in a deep voice, "It seems we need to meet with those people to see if they are genuinely interested in buying rare metals, or if they want to stir up another storm."

Siyu nodded and said, "I'll go inform the teacher."

...

the other side.

Qi Dao and his group strolled around the high-end trading area on the second floor.

The rare metals for sale here were not as plentiful as he had imagined; after browsing around, he had only acquired five tons of rare metals.

It seems like a lot, but it's not much more than the first floor.

Most importantly, Qi Dao keenly noticed that some merchants on the second floor had strange expressions on their faces after discovering his large-scale purchase of rare metals, and a hint of lingering fear.

However, although Qi Dao didn't gain much from the second-floor trading area, Ning Rongrong identified several dozen pieces of ore.

Of course, she relaxed her selection criteria.

If we only count the minerals that caused the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to react strongly, there are only five or six of them in total.

Just after Qi Dao and his three companions finished their stroll, five people suddenly approached from a distance.

The leader was a short, stout old man wearing metal armor who looked amiable.

Four middle-aged men followed behind him.

Judging from their attire and the subtle aura they exuded, Qi Dao immediately guessed their identities.

Lou Gao and his four disciples!

The moment Lou Gao and his four disciples appeared, all the merchants around them stood up and bowed to him.

"Greetings, Chairman!"

Lou Gao waved his hand dismissively, then led his four disciples toward Qi Dao and his group of four.

When he saw that Qi Dao was so young, a look of surprise flashed across his face, but then when he saw Li Luo following behind Qi Dao, his expression immediately hardened.

Without releasing the power of their soul rings, a soul master can only guess their approximate strength by sensing the invisible aura they exude.

Although Lou Gao couldn't discern Li Luo's exact level as a Soul Saint, he could deduce that they were both Soul Saints.

Even the other two women, who looked very young, exuded a powerful aura.

Especially the tall woman, whose aura was no weaker than that of the Soul Emperor, which made Lou Gao think that there was something wrong with his perception.

As for the young man who was leading the group...

The building's height was even more unpredictable, which left him puzzled.

Surely this young man isn't more capable than him?

How could that be? He looks to be only in his early twenties.

In the end, Lou Gao could only deduce that Qi Dao had used some special method to conceal his aura.

And it turned out just as he had thought.

Qi Dao's control over his own soul power and aura had reached an exquisite level, so Lou Gao, a mere Soul Saint, naturally couldn't discern his true strength.

Regardless of the circumstances, the fact that a Soul Saint could protect him was enough for Lou Gao to conclude that this young man was no ordinary person.

So he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Gentlemen, may I have a word with you in private?"

"good!"

Qi Dao raised an eyebrow, not expecting that the Blacksmiths Association would contact him first before he had even approached them.

This is a good opportunity to ask what happened in Gengxin City during this time.

His intuition told him that something must have happened in Gengxin City.

Moreover, it is mostly related to the Martial Soul Main Hall of Gengxin City.