Douluo: Dragon King's Divine Elegy

Chapter 84: Gold and Water Intertwined, Fulfilling the Vision of a God-Level Battle Armor
"You brought out so much spirit-forged metal, you must have something on your mind, right?"

Walking along the forest path, Ye Xinglan had an expression that said, "I see right through Nan Liujing."

"Shh." Nan Liujing held up his finger and made a shushing gesture.

Ye Xinglan was amused, and her laughter was pleasant to hear.

Nan Liujing released his spiritual power to make sure no one was around, and said in a low voice, "I haven't even started what to do yet. You'll understand once I actually do it."

"What else can I say besides support you?" Ye Xinglan shrugged, then stopped and said, "I still need to hone my sword intent, so I'll be leaving now."

"Okay." Nan Liujing watched the other person leave.

Before, if I didn't answer the phone, I could understand that I was in class. But now?
Nan Liujing took out his phone again and called Yuan Enyehui, but unfortunately, he still didn't answer.

Shaking his head in resignation, he immediately set off for the food street near the Foreign Languages ​​Institute.

Shrek Academy has classes in the morning, and the afternoons are free time. You can cultivate if you want, or do other things if you want.

You can book a room in the nearby neighborhood and no one will say anything to you.

Soul Masters do develop faster.

Upon arriving at the food street, you can see many students and passersby.

Ignoring the person who recognized him, Nan Liujing calmly walked into the milk tea shop called 'Three Dances of Love'.

Unlike when Na'er came a few years ago, there are now several wallpapers on the walls depicting Xiao Wu's sacrifice to Tang San, and the pictures are quite beautiful.

This is certainly not the real Xiao Wu and Tang San, but rather the two actors who portray them.

The store was about 70% full and very lively. Nan Liujing spotted Yuan En Yehui at a glance, wearing a vest and with her stunningly beautiful face restored. Even though all the waitresses in the store were beautiful, it couldn't hide her beauty in the slightest.

In particular, the unique nature of the Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul endowed her with a physical talent that was in no way inferior to that of the Wu Siduo bloodline inheritance.

It was simply an exquisitely beautiful rose.

Yuan Enhui was quite busy at the moment, constantly moving back and forth between the front desk and the guest seats, no wonder he didn't have time to answer the phone.

"Would you like a drink..." Nan Liujing had just sat down when Yuan Enyehui happened to walk over and asked. After seeing his face clearly, she couldn't help but be stunned, "Are you done with your work?"

"I called you but you didn't answer, so I was just wandering around when I had nothing to do, and luckily we bumped into each other," Nan Liujing said with a smile.

Yuan Enhui suddenly realized and said apologetically, "Sorry, I left my phone in the lounge."

"It's nothing," Nan Liujing said with a smile. "By the way, do you have any recommendations?"

"You can scan this QR code with your student card, and then you can order food." Yuan Enhui immediately got to work.

Nan Liujing looked down and indeed saw a QR code on the table with a groove in the middle for swiping a card.

Scan the QR code on the desk with your student card, and a screen of light will appear, displaying a clear, page-like image of various drinks and snacks.

The price remains as high as ever.

"This one has the best cost performance." Yuan Enhui watched from the side and guessed that Nan Liujing had difficulty making choices, so he whispered a reminder.

Nan Liujing looked over and saw a drink called Starry Night Cold Brew Tea, priced at 25 contribution points, which is equivalent to 2,500 Federal Credits.

"That's too cheap." After Nan Liujing designated a waiter, he pointed at the price list, which then changed from high to low.

Under Yuan Enhui's astonished gaze, he ordered a fruit tea called "Summer Sunshine," priced at 1,000 contribution points.

This shop has a unique feature: the staff receive a 10% cut of the price of each drink sold.

In other words, Yuan En Ye Hui earned a net gain of 100 contribution points from this one cup.

That's why she came here to work.

"I like to drink expensive things," Nan Liujing explained casually.

Yuan Enhui pursed her lips, the word "thank you" stuck in her throat. She knew the other party was protecting her face, and there was no need for her to expose them.

Besides, she really needs to contribute; at worst, she can find an opportunity to repay it later.

Yuan Enhui's expression changed slightly as his gaze inadvertently swept over the student card information after payment, and he blurted out, "Sixty-seven thousand contribution points?"

"It was earned through blacksmithing, don't get excited," Nan Liujing said casually.

"You're a blacksmith?" A hint of surprise flashed in Yuan En Ye Hui's eyes.

"Hmm." Nanliu nodded.

"Excuse me..." Yuan Enhui was about to ask what level the other party was when suddenly the receptionist's voice came through the Bluetooth headset, "Xiao Ye, the food is almost ready, please prepare to pick it up."

"Please wait a moment." Yuan Enhui returned with a cup that had a capacity of nearly one liter.

The tea soup is orange-red, and the transparent cup reflects shimmering aurora-like ripples, with fruit pulp scattered inside like solar flares.

The ingredients must be of high quality to justify such a high price; the pulp comes from a fruit that is at least fifty years old and grown under the scorching sun.

"Can you forge metal of the highest grade?" Yuan Enhui asked respectfully, a hint of color appearing on his pale face.

Nan Liujing held a straw and stuck it into the cup: "I used to forge Thousand-Refined First-Grade items quite often."

Yuan Enhui's beautiful eyes lit up. He used to forge frequently, which meant that his professional level was at least level four!
"If there's anything, we can talk after you get off work. Remember to call me back." Nan Liujing stood up and looked at her.

The store was crowded, and the mention of 67,000 had already attracted a lot of attention.

“Okay.” Yuan Enhui was a sensible person.

Picking up the blazing summer sun, Nan Liujing turned and left the milk tea shop.

Following the road signs, he soon arrived at a large building.

A sign for the Shrek Blacksmiths Guild and a hammer hung on the gate.

Upon entering, there is a counter on one side of the hall, and not far away are fifteen windows with soul guidance screens hanging next to them.

It was lunchtime, and the entire association was quiet with very few people moving around; almost all of them were blacksmiths.

"It's not working hours right now, please come back at 2 PM to post your task." The male student behind the counter saw Nan Liujing, mistook him for the student posting the task, and said lazily.

"I'm here to sell spirit-forged spirit alloys," Nan Liujing said bluntly.

"Huh?" Just a second ago he was bored, but upon hearing the words "spirit forging," the male student's eyes widened suddenly. "Spirit forging has spirit alloys?"

"Is there an appraiser here?" Nan Liujing asked.

"Yes, there are." The male student stood up excitedly, walked out from behind the counter and guided Nan Liujing, "Please come with me, the chairman is just doing a spot check in the appraisal room."

Nan Liujing's brows relaxed; it was good that Feng Wuyu, the Fiery Dragon Douluo, was here.

Following the male student deeper into the association, they soon arrived at the room with the sign for the appraisal room hanging on the door.

"Insufficient purification, uneven metal texture, and noisy metallic feedback. Damn it, none of you bastards give me a moment's peace of mind!"

The door was open, and a rude shout could be heard echoing through the room.

The male trainee remained calm, clearly used to it.

Nan Liujing went closer and saw a burly man appraising a pile of metal bearing the names of blacksmiths.

The burly man had long, messy red hair. He was only 1.7 meters tall, but his shoulders were unusually broad, and his arms were as thick as some people's thighs. He also seemed to be carrying a scorching aura.

"Bang bang."

The male student knocked on the door.

"What's wrong?" Feng Wuyu asked irritably.

"Elder Feng, someone wants to sell spirit-forged spirit alloys," the male student said. Upon hearing this, Feng Wuyu turned his head, his gaze meeting Nan Liujing's.

“It’s you.” Feng Wuyu was quite surprised.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Blazing Dragon," Nan Liujing said, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Hey kid, that's none of your business. Go play somewhere else," Feng Wuyu said to the male student as if shooing away a fly.

After the male student left, Feng Wuyu said, "Come in."

Nan Liujing went inside.

Feng Wuyu said in a deep voice, "Did you personally forge all the spirit-forged alloys in your spiritual forging?"

"Yes." Nan Liujing responded.

"Take it out and let this old man have a look," Feng Wuyu said.

Nan Liujing did not refuse. With a wave of his left hand, patches of faint light appeared in an empty space in the identification room.

Pieces of spirit-forged alloys with different properties were stacked together.

Feng Wuyu hurriedly stepped forward and picked up a piece of fire-attribute spirit alloy. His vertical pupil-shaped eyes suddenly narrowed: "A spirit alloy with three metals fused together? You've already reached this level?"

"It's mainly because the teacher is good," Nan Liujing said with a faint smile.

Feng Wuyu's eyes shifted as he took out a testing device and aimed it at the metal. The degree of fusion quickly appeared.

Eighty percent.

His gaze was focused as he quickly tested the other metals.

There are a total of twenty-seven pieces of spirit-forged spirit alloy, all of which have a fusion rate of 80%.

This discovery left Feng Wuyu speechless.

This kid not only has amazing talent for forging, but he can even control the score!

Even a level seven master craftsman can't control the score.

"May I ask Elder Feng, these metals should be able to be put on the shelves?" Nan Liujing asked.

"Of course I can." Feng Wuyu hesitated before speaking.

Nan Liujing immediately understood and asked, "Did you give any instructions?"

Feng Wuyu plopped down on a bench not far away, waved his thick hand, and the door closed automatically. He said in a deep voice, "Tell me the truth, how many pieces of spirit-forged spirit alloy can you forge in a day?"

Nan Liujing gave an ambiguous answer: "Quite a few."

Rubbing his temples, Feng Wuyu said in a deep voice, "Are you interested in making a deal with me?"

“Please speak.” Nan Liujing raised an eyebrow.

Feng Wuyu said, "You were taught by Zhenhua, so he must have told you about a metal called 'metal and water in harmony'."

"You have it?" Nan Liujing was no longer calm.

Feng Wuyu smiled and said, "I have a piece of it for now, and it belongs to me personally and is not under the jurisdiction of the academy."

After a moment's hesitation, Nan Liujing asked, "What kind of deal do you want to make?"

The "Gold and Water Intermingling" technique allows any metal to reach its maximum affinity with each other, and significantly reduces the difficulty of forging, making it a priceless treasure.

It is said that a 95% fusion rate in forging metals can fuse nine metals together, but in reality, no one has ever achieved this.

The more metals are fused together, the more difficult the forging becomes, because the confusion and conflict caused by the fusion of different metals must be calculated. Only a senior level 6 blacksmith can complete the fusion of three metals, a level 7 blacksmith can complete it of four metals, a level 8 blacksmith can complete it of five metals, and only a master craftsman can complete it of six metals, and the failure rate is quite high.

But Nan Liujing is different. Relying on the dimensional imprint, he can communicate spiritually with metals and is not worried about the chaos caused by the fusion of multiple metals or the conflict between metals. Therefore, his ambition is to create a four-word battle armor with 100% fusion and the fusion of nine metals.

Unfortunately, even with the help of the dimensional imprint, he could only raise the fusion rate to a stable 99% at most. That last bit was like an insurmountable chasm, difficult to cross.

It may seem like a difference of only one percent, and not important, but Nan Liujing suspected that the four-word battle armor forged by the Nine Gold Heavenly Forging with 100% fusion could very well become a divine artifact.

Feng Wuyu actually possessed such a precious treasure. In the original timeline... oh, right, he did perish in that massive explosion, so he probably didn't even have time to give it to Tang Wulin.

"Luckily, you know what you're doing," Feng Wuyu said. "Did you know that the academy is divided into three factions?"

"I know." Nanliu nodded.

Feng Wuyu sighed: "When I was young, I was a student of the Wild School. My talent was not very good back then. I only broke through to Soul Emperor at the age of thirty-four and barely graduated from the outer academy as a One-Word Battle Armor Master."

"At that time, I had already considered taking a position at the Blacksmiths' Guild. Do you know why I ultimately stayed?"

Nan Liujing remembered that he broke through to the seventh level of Saint Craftsman at the age of thirty-four, so he was specially allowed to be admitted to the Inner Academy.

"I don't know," he said.

Feng Wuyu said helplessly, "It's all because of the injustices suffered by the wild students."

A look of surprise appeared in Nan Liujing's eyes.

Feng Wuyu said solemnly, "In the early days, Shrek Academy was not as large as it is today, and there were no factions. It was simply a matter of whether you had enough talent. If you did, you would be noticed by the higher-ups and designated as a disciple for training, with a direct path to the Sea God Pavilion in the future. Outer Academy students also had good opportunities for advancement. In short, they all had a bright future."

"But with the establishment of the Federation and the suppression of those forces that refused to obey, everything changed. The leaders of these forces had some backbone and did not join the Sun and Moon Federation, but their power was too small and they were easily destroyed, so they simply banded together and joined the Academy."

"This defection led to a surge in the academy's Soul Master strength, making it a thorn in the side of the Federation. However, to avoid a full-scale war, the Federation swallowed its pride and endured it. But who could have imagined that after these Soul Master forces joined the academy, with each generation, although ordinary people were born, the majority of the new generation possessed Soul Power."

"Under such circumstances, their descendants began to occupy various positions in the academy. They dared not seize the most important positions, but they almost monopolized the lower ones. Even if they were stopped later, they only managed to give up a tiny bit. After all, they are no longer the stray dogs they once were."

"From this period onwards, wild-type students emerged. They were all talented Soul Masters with some background, but they faced invisible suppression in all aspects after entering the academy, especially in the field of metal forging."

"The requirement for graduating from the outer academy or entering the inner academy is to become a one-word battle armor master. However, only 30% of the academy's blacksmiths are wild students, while the remaining 70% all come from various affiliated forces. Do you think wild students can grow and thrive under such a comparison?"

"Back then, I was also holding my breath, and I would rather not make two-word battle armor than not get my blacksmith level to the seventh-level Saint Craftsman, just hoping to change the status quo in the future. Unfortunately, after so many years of hard work, there has been no progress."

Nan Liujing suddenly realized: "So that's why you check the students' work in the association from time to time? So that you can teach them."

“That’s right.” Feng Wuyu readily admitted, “Blacksmithing is a very tedious profession. In the early stages, unless you really love it or have great talent, most Soul Masters would choose this path. Many freshmen from the outer academy are either mecha manufacturers or mecha designers; there are very few blacksmiths.”

"Getting back to the point," Feng Wuyu said, "The terms of the deal are simple. You will provide ten pieces of spirit-forged alloy with three metals fused together each month, which will only be sold to wild-type students for six months. If you are willing, I will give you the Gold-Water Blend right now."

Nan Liujing fell silent.

It's not that this transaction is difficult; on the contrary, compared to the value of the gold and water elements, it's incredibly easy.

A piece of gold and water containing the size of a child's fist is worth the same as a complete god-level mech, and it is extremely rare. Even his teacher, the master craftsman, only has a single piece.

As for the spirit-forged spirit alloy, he can make ten of those a day. Feng Wuyu's deal with him is practically a free gift.

In particular, Feng Wuyu said that it was sold to wild students, not given to students, which is a fundamental difference.

"Are you willing to give me an answer or not?" Feng Wuyu said impatiently, scratching his head.

"What would you think if I told you that my initial idea was to sell only to wild-type students?" Nan Liujing asked with a smile.

Feng Wuyu was stunned.

Nan Liujing did not provide an explanation.

In six months, the Inner Academy Grand Competition will begin. In previous years, the winners of each competition were the direct descendants, followed by the collateral descendants, while the wild descendants were the worst performers overall, mainly because their battle armor was of poor quality or they were missing two-word battle armor.

Feng Wuyu just happened to set a six-month deadline; he had his own ideas.

Nan Liujing's mind started working. He provided metal so that the wild students could finally show off in the competition and accept his kindness.

Since few of these students will stay at Shrek Academy anyway, they can be conveniently taken into the Spirit Pagoda.

(End of this chapter)