Chapter 1449: Before You Joust
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
With a flicker of silver light, Gu Yuena was back in her own room.
The blush that was on her face was nowhere to be seen now. In its place was only coldness.
She looked out the window with a somewhat forlorn gaze. ‘He’s here, in that direction. But what should I do? Although I guessed that he’d come, now that he’s really here, why’s my heart so flustered?’
…
The streets and alleys of Mingdu City were filled with discussions about the Joust For A Spouse Festival. The Silver Dragon Princess’s photos and posters had sold out like hot cakes. Some of the merchandise was only sold at the Spirit Pagoda. The Spirit Pagoda delegated the right-to-sell to some brokers and they made a fortune.
With the income they obtained from the broadcast licenses, ticket sales and registration fees, the Spirit Pagoda did not suffer any financial loss for this festival. Also, the Spirit Pagoda was the only party that knew the cost of producing man-made spirit souls. Overall, not only would this greatly help them win over public opinion, they were also making a profit out of all this.
The Spirit Pagoda had also prepared a large number of generous prizes. These prizes appeared to have high value, but they were basically produced by the Spirit Pagoda itself. Especially when the bulk of their prizes were spirit souls, their actual cost was very low.
…
“Uncle master,” Tang Wulin bowed reverently toward the middle-aged man in front of him.
The middle-aged man smiled and patted his shoulder “I didn’t think that you’d grow this quickly. So you’ve become a Title Douluo in such a short time. Unleash your battle armor. Let me see it.”
“Alright!” Tang Wulin agreed. With a thought, his Dragon Moon Song battle armor covered his body.
The glittering, translucent battle armor appeared surreal, and the metallic surface had a texture all of its own. His battle armor seemed to be forged from golden crystals.
The middle-aged man raised a hand and pressed on his breastplate, tapping it lightly with his fingers a few times. Faint streaks of light swirled along the battle armor’s surface.
After making some rough observations, the middle-aged man nodded his head satisfactorily. “Our career requires us to be perfectionists, because only perfectionists can forge the best metals and make the finest battle armors. You’re doing very well in this regard. Very good. Your soul forge is basically mastered. I reckon that this has something to do with the speed at which your cultivation base is improving. In addition to that, your spiritual power is already at Spirit Domain realm. Now, you have all the basics. From today onward, I’ll teach you Heavenly Refinement.”
Yes, the middle-aged man standing in front of Tang Wulin was his uncle master. He was definitely one of the most powerful personas in the Douluo Federation. The Divine Craftsman of the generation, the Blacksmith’s Association’s president, Zhen Hua.
Ever since the assassination attempt, Zhen Hua’s security had been tightened. Nobody knew where he was at all times.
Even the federal government, the Spirit Pagoda included, put much of their attention on this Divine Craftsman.
When the Holy Spirit Cult worked together with the Spirit Pagoda before, it was proposed that they would kidnap Zhen Hua and make him produce four-word battle armor for them. Even though Qiangu Dongfeng had wanted to work together with them in dealing with Shrek Academy very badly, he did not agree to that proposition. The importance of this Divine Craftsman was evident.
In the soul masters’ realm, it was because of this Divine Craftsman’s presence that the Douluo Federation was able to completely dominate the other two continents, as well as the Holy Spirit Cult.
Although the Holy Spirit Cult was powerful, they did not have any true four-word battle armor masters. Even a being such as the Underworld King Douluo Ha Luosa had only managed to equip his three-word battle armor with a four-word battle armor’s effects through countless years of nurturing. However, it was not real four-word battle armor. In other words, he had paid too high a price to obtain four-word battle armor.
Although Zhen Hua rarely moved these days, with him here, it was highly beneficial for the great forces in the Federation.
Hence, all of them protected this Divine Craftsman dearly. Naturally, the Blacksmith’s Association’s status rose like a ship on a rising tide.
A Blacksmith’s Association with and without a Divine Craftsman were like two different organizations. The treatment it received would be as different as the skies were from the earth.
Tang Wulin did not look for Zhen Hua in Heaven Dou City. This Divine Craftsman was already in Mingdu City, and there were more resources to protect himself with here.
It was not easy to deal with the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua either. Not only was he a four-word battle armor master, he was also a divine mecha master. His divine mecha’s greatest specialty was that it protected him. Even if a being such as the Underworld Douluo Ha Luosa launched a sneak attack on him, Zhen Hua would not be immediately under threat. All he needed was a little time and he would be able to escape.
During his current trip to Mingdu City, other than participating in the Joust For A Spouse Festival, Tang Wulin had another goal, and that was to learn Heavenly Refinement from his uncle master.
Many prerequisites were needed to learn Heavenly Refinement. One must have a nine-ringed cultivation base of a Title Douluo. One must also have an extremely deep understanding of and firm foundation in soul forging before one could attempt Heavenly Refining.
Within the Blacksmith’s Association, there were only three individuals who met these criteria, however, they were not able to achieve that breakthrough.
Tang Wulin’s teacher, Mu Chen, who was also a rank-8 blacksmith, was stuck at that level as well. He had achieved a nine-ringed cultivation base by consuming some heaven-and-earth treasures, but it did nothing to improve his own forging level.
That was also Mu Chen’s greatest regret in his life.
For Tang Wulin, Heavenly Refinement was something that he had to learn. This was because he had to rely on his own strength to make four-word battle armor, and the only way he could do that was to put some effort in improving his forging skills. With his current cultivation base and body’s ability, he could already consider the matter of making four-word battle armor.
In the future, he wanted to test his strength against true masters at their peak. He could not do so without four-word battle armor.
“Please teach me, Uncle master,” said Tang Wulin reverently.
As he looked at him, Zhen Hua displayed a genuinely comforted smile. “I’ve long been waiting for this day. I’d thought that I had to wait at least five to ten years for you to reach this stage. However, you’re a proud son of the heavens, after all. You’re much faster than I expected.”
“Heavenly Refinement is actually an act beyond the capability of a human. If you want to carry out Heavy Refinement, you must not only have a deep understanding about the metal itself, but you must also have a certain degree of enlightenment regarding the laws of Heaven and Earth. In Heavenly Refinement, the blacksmith himself won’t be the one forging the metal. The more important part is to guide the divine and earthly powers to initiate a complete and thorough modification of the metal.”
“Simply put, Heavenly Refinement is like turning the metal into a living spirit. That’s what we call the power of creation, and it’s the most important thing. Heavenly Refinement is the guiding of heaven and earth power to turn this created life into an expert. This process is akin to the Awakening Ceremony we soul masters experience during our sixth birthday. If the awakening was a success, then there’s a possibility for us to become soul masters. If we fail, then we can only be an ordinary person.”
“The greatest problem in Heavenly Refinement is the success rate. Even with my many years of experience, my success rate is less than ten percent. Hence, the making of every four-word battle armor would consume a sea of resources.”
“In a certain sense, Heavenly Refinement is a kind of enlightenment through perception. I can’t teach you the detailed technique. In truth, it won’t even be exaggerating to say that Heavenly Refinement is a game of luck. I say this because the origin energy will constantly shift throughout the process of Heavenly Refinement. If you’re lucky, your chances of succeeding will be higher. That’s why, the most important thing is for you to experience the Heavenly Refinement process. Then, you’ll have to connect that with all that you’ve learned up until now.”
“Remember, no Divine Craftsman is the same, as it has always been in history. I am also different from my own teacher. Everyone has their own Heavenly Refinement path, since everyone had their own understanding of the laws of Heaven and Earth. You will use your own understanding and apply it to the metal which you’re going to Heaven Refine. Once you succeed, it’ll become a Heaven Refined divine metal. The process of turning it into a divine metal will be very difficult. Hence, you must prepare your heart and mind well. You must not be impatient, as you’re always one with the heaven and earth powers throughout the Heavenly Refinement process. If you become impatient, you might very well plunge into madness.”