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

The fifth floor of the Blacksmiths' Association.

The sounds of hammering and striking filled the air.

The fifth floor has a total of thirty-six forging rooms, and only blacksmiths of the master level or above can have their own private space here.

After Lou Gao led Qi Dao and the other three to the fifth floor, they arrived at a reception room with excellent soundproofing.

Upon entering the reception room, Lou Gao gestured for Qi Dao and the other three to sit down, then asked, "I am Lou Gao. May I ask your esteemed names?"

Qi Dao smiled faintly and said, "My name is Qi Dao, and the three people beside me are Dugu Yan, the granddaughter of the Poison Douluo, Ning Rongrong, the young sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and Li Luo, the guest elder of the Heaven Dou Crown Prince's Mansion."

"What?!"

Lou Gao and his four disciples' expressions changed drastically after hearing Qi Dao's introduction.

Regardless of the identities behind Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong, Qi Dao's name alone is renowned throughout the Star Luo Empire.

In the Soul Master Competition, he single-handedly defeated the Soul Masters of the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique with the Clear Sky Hammer, and then decisively defeated the Spirit Hall team in the finals to win the championship.

Furthermore, he remained unmoved by the offers he received from both Pope Bibi Dong and the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire, Davis.

His talent and character are widely known throughout the mainland.

Lou Gao bowed with a hint of admiration and said, "So it is the Peerless King of the Heavenly Dou Empire in person. It is truly an honor for our Blacksmith Association that the Peerless King has come to visit us."

The four people behind him facing Qi Dao also showed him the same solemn respect.

Although Qi Dao's level was only Soul King when he participated in the Soul Master Competition a few months ago, the whole continent now knows that he is destined to become a peerless figure who will suppress an era, just like Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect and Qian Daoliu of the Spirit Hall.

Qi Dao smiled and waved his hand, saying, "President Lou Gao, you're too kind. I've heard that Gengxin City is the metal capital, so I've come here specifically to purchase some rare metals, just like any other customer."

Lou Gao asked curiously, "Does the Peerless King need rare metals?"

Qi Dao nodded slightly.

"I'll take as much as you can get. I just took a look around the VIP trading area on the second floor and bought some rare metals, but the quantity doesn't seem to be as much as I expected."

"Could something have happened in Gengxin City?"

In the past two years, Qian Renxue has also helped him make several purchases in Gengxin City, but the total amount of various rare metals acquired was only eight or nine tons.

It's worth noting that in the original story, when Tang San went to Gengxin City to buy metals, he purchased ten tons of iron essence alone.

If other rare metals are included, the amount is probably tens or even hundreds of tons.

Logically speaking, the rare metals in the entire Gengxin City and the Blacksmiths' Guild should be far more than these.

Lou Gao sighed.

Siyu had previously informed him that someone was buying up rare metals again, and he thought that someone was trying to do the same thing as two years ago, treating the blacksmiths like韭菜 (leeks) and harvesting them again.

But after learning the identities of Qi Dao and the other three, he immediately abandoned the idea.

Given the status of Qi Dao and others, especially Ning Rongrong, whose Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is the wealthiest sect on the entire continent, would they even be interested in this little bit of money?

Lou Gao immediately told the four people what had happened two years ago.

Qi Dao frowned after hearing this.

This looks a bit like the stock market system, doesn't it?

Needless to say, the one pulling the strings behind the scenes must be the Martial Soul Hall branch in Gengxin City.

They probably secretly acquired rare metals after receiving Qian Renxue's orders, and then deliberately staged a show to create the illusion of acquiring rare metals at high prices.

After the price of rare metals was driven up, they secretly sold the acquired rare metals at high prices.

Once the time is right and most of the rare metals they acquired in advance have been sold, they will then release a message that they will refuse to acquire rare metals.

They would secretly buy back the blacksmiths and merchants who hoarded rare metals at low prices when they were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Then, some of the recovered rare metals were transported to the Heaven Dou Empire to complete the task and earn funds from Qian Renxue.

In the past two years, Qianren Xuehua has spent more and more money, but received less and less rare metals.

It's not that the Martial Soul Main Hall of Gengxin City doesn't have rare metals; rather, it's something they did intentionally.

As for the claim that merchants hoarding rare metals caused their prices to soar.

Isn't he the merchant who hoarded the most rare metals?

One fish, three ways to cook it—what a clever idea from the Gengxin City Martial Soul Main Hall!

Qi Dao's expression was already icy cold.

Noticing the icy chill on Qi Dao's face, Lou Gao sighed, "Peerless King, you should be able to guess that this matter is related to the Martial Soul Hall of Gengxin City, but with the Martial Soul Hall backing us, there's nothing we can do about it."

At this point, the faces of Lou Gao and the others all showed resentment.

Miles, the master of the Martial Soul Hall in Gengxin City, was merely a Soul Emperor, yet he never took them seriously and repeatedly caused them trouble.

Lou Gao and his companions, out of fear of the Spirit Hall, could only swallow their anger in front of Miles most of the time.

"Don't worry, I know what's important."

After listening, Qi Dao temporarily put aside the matter of the Spirit Hall's main hall in Gengxin City and continued to ask, "President Lou Gao, I wonder how much rare metal your association still has in its inventory, and whether you have any intention to sell it?"

Lou Gao pondered for a moment and said, "Originally, our blacksmith association had about twelve or thirteen tons of each rare metal in stock, except for a few types such as black iron and sunken silver. However, because of what happened before, our blacksmith association now only has about five or six tons of each rare metal in stock."

At this point, Lou Gao blushed.

Previously, many masters and grandmasters of the blacksmith guild fell into the trap and were exploited by the Gengxin City Martial Soul Main Hall.

Although they eventually sold all the stockpiled rare metals, they still couldn't fill the hole.

Later, the blacksmiths' association intervened, helping them repay their various debts. They then distributed rare metals from the association's inventory to the blacksmiths so they could forge metals to pay off their debts.

Qi Dao nodded upon hearing this.

Five or six tons of each is enough.

So he said to Lou Gao, "President Lou Gao, I'll take all of these from the inventory!"

Upon hearing this, Lou Gao said in a deep voice, "Very well, I can make the decision to sell all the rare metals in my inventory to Wushuang Wang."

Normally, the Blacksmiths' Association does not sell all of its rare metals directly; it will at least keep a portion for the blacksmith masters stationed at the association's headquarters to use for forging.

However, Lou Gao was not an inflexible person, and naturally he was happy to take this opportunity to befriend Qi Dao.

Qi Dao smiled and cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Then I thank President Lou Gao for his kindness."

In the end, Qi Dao acquired all the rare metals in the Blacksmith Association's inventory for 360,000 gold soul coins.

Among rare metals, inexpensive rare metals such as iron essence cost only one gold soul coin per kilogram.

However, rare metals like Xuan Tie are expensive, and a kilogram of them can sell for more than a hundred gold soul coins.

Of course, there is a fundamental difference between iron essence and black iron.

Iron concentrate is made from ordinary refined iron through manual forging by blacksmiths, so it is produced in large quantities.

Black iron, on the other hand, needs to be mined naturally and is even rarer. Even the blacksmiths' association only has a stock of about 800 kilograms, which is enough for the association to use for two or three years.

Of course, selling all the rare metals to Qi Dao and his group wouldn't be a loss either.

Thirty-six hundred thousand gold soul coins is almost equivalent to the Blacksmith Association's operating revenue for nearly two years.

While forging these rare metals into finished products increases their value, forging requires time and effort, as well as finding buyers, making it no easy task.

If blacksmiths didn't have such a hard time making money, they wouldn't be the ones getting ripped off.

Qi Dao's one-off deal could actually alleviate some of their financial pressure at this time.