Douluo Continent, my martial soul is a mushroom.

Chapter 91 The Metal Capital, Terminals and Base Stations

In the Longyan Province, there is a city that is famous throughout the continent—Gengxin City.

This is the largest blacksmithing center and metal trading center in mainland China. Here, you can find all kinds of common and rare metals, focusing on quality rather than quantity—truly deserving of the title "Metal Capital"!

……

Upon entering Gengxin City, the first thing you notice is the metallic aura that hits you.

This is a unique sensation of multiple senses mixed together: the sourness of iron, the heat of fire, the fishy smell of quenching oil, the bitterness of evaporating sweat, the choking of charcoal flames, and the clanging sounds of collisions. Once you've smelled it, it's hard to forget.

Curiously observing the street.

Blacksmith shops are everywhere along the way, the kind of traditional blacksmith shops where big hammers and small hammers clang and bang. Red-hot, yellowish iron blocks are deformed and stretched under the hammering of forging hammers, cooled, reheated, reshaped, and finally quenched and finished.

A very primitive way of doing things.

Perhaps this is a characteristic of the still-developing supernatural world? Advanced energy paired with the most primitive manual operations.

—That's really interesting. If it were a sociology professor, they could probably write a paper about it.

Chi Ping thought to himself.

"But ultimately it's because the technology isn't strong enough. If... well, never mind. Business comes first."

As you walk along the street, more of the features of Gengxin City come into view.

Chi Ping couldn't help but admire that although the blacksmiths here used very primitive methods, their craftsmanship and precision were at a very high level. For example, he saw a silver-plated fish-scale armor in a shop; although it was practically useless, the craftsmanship it displayed was commendable.

The armor plates are made of steel, less than 1 millimeter thick, with a visual error within 10 micrometers. This technology is comparable to that of machine tool processing.

—Perhaps it is indeed possible to outsource some of the processing to local blacksmith shops.

Continuing onward, a tall building soon came into view.

Looking up, the building was at least thirty meters tall and covered a vast area. Overall, it resembled almost the entire Soto City Arena. Hanging directly above the building was a dark iron plaque. It bore no words, only two raised designs: a hammer and a chisel.

This is the headquarters of the Blacksmiths' Association in the center of Gengxin City.

The complex is divided into five levels. The first level is the trading area. Blacksmiths bring their best works or metals here to trade, and there are also merchants who specialize in selling various metals. The second level is the high-end trading area, where extraordinary and rare metals are sold.

The third floor is the blacksmith registration and assessment area, the fourth floor is the VIP area, and the fifth floor is the office area of ​​the blacksmith association.

Quietly entering the association, Chi Ping only walked around the first floor, buying twenty kilograms of mithril and twenty kilograms of black iron. He then went to the second floor and bought ten high-quality crystals and some other rare materials.

……

In Gengxin City, blacksmiths are divided into junior blacksmiths, intermediate blacksmiths, senior blacksmiths, master blacksmiths, master blacksmiths, grandmaster blacksmiths, and divine blacksmiths.

A year ago, the five level 6 soul tools that Xue Qinghe gave him were all analyzed. After a year of reflection and mastery, Chi Ping is now able to design and manufacture level 4 soul tools on his own.

The purpose of his trip to Gengxin City was to purchase raw materials and perform preliminary processing for his first (or first batch) level 4 soul tool.

According to Ikehira's investigation, the blacksmith's skill level was sufficient to meet his processing requirements.

But Ikehira's plan was to create a thousand pieces at once, which made things very difficult for him.

Independent workshops rarely place orders for more than one hundred pieces; a thousand pieces is simply too large a quantity.

"Boss, can these parts be manufactured?"

This was Ikehira's fifth time asking.

The burly, black-haired, beardless middle-aged man carefully examined the blueprints in his hand and shook his head.

"These parts aren't complicated, but a thousand pieces are still too many. Our shop simply can't handle this order."

Chi Ping sighed. "Which store do you think can handle this order?"

The shop owner hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Does the customer absolutely have to have their hair done at one of these shops?"

Chi Ping said, "I have high standards for these parts. If they are made in different blacksmith shops, the craftsmen's skills will be different, and the consistency of the parts cannot be guaranteed."

The shop owner said, "If that's the case, then I'm afraid only the disciples of the Divine Craftsman can afford to eat in Gengxin City."

"A disciple of the Divine Craftsman..." Chi Ping pondered, his brows lowered. "My budget is only 50,000 gold soul coins. Can I afford it?"

As a Soul Emperor, and one whose combat power is comparable to a Soul Saint, coupled with other identities such as Soul Master, Chi Ping's earning speed is quite impressive.

The shop owner grinned. "Do you have any connection with Craftsman Lou Gao?"

Chi Ping shook his head.

The shop owner said, "Then you should lower your expectations a bit."

Chi Ping sighed, "That's all we can do. Judging from your expression, would you like me to introduce you to someone?"

The shop owner nodded. "Our shop has some connections with the other three workshops."

"250 items per household is acceptable," Chi Ping said, cupping his hands in greeting. "Then I'll trouble you, boss. Here's a deposit of 10,000 gold soul coins."

Chi Ping took out a gold note.

The shop owner accepted it with a smile.

"Please rest assured, I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

Three days later, the contract was finalized, and the four blacksmith shops jointly accepted an order for 1,000 parts, with delivery scheduled for one month later. They could check the progress and quality of the parts at any time.

……

Xue Qinghe once hoped that Chi Ping would design a communication soul tool, and Chi Ping always remembered that.

In addition, since Chi Ping himself came from a humble background and had traveled across the continent for three years, he also desired a communication soul tool that connected the entire continent.

Chi Ping spent a year designing a basic communication hardware system and a supporting software system.

Communication hardware systems can be divided into two parts: terminal systems and transmission systems. The terminal system is responsible for encoding, transmitting, receiving, and decoding signals, while the transmission system is responsible for transmitting signals.

The terminal system includes a signal receiver and transmitter, a decoder, an encoder, a processor, and a display. The signal receiver and transmitter are designed primarily based on mycelium, while other functional components are designed primarily using soul-guided technology.

The transmission system relies on mycelial channels that span the entire continent and a provisional network of one thousand base stations.

The maximum transmission distance of the mycelial channel is similar to the sensing limit of the pool plane, which is around 100 kilometers. To transmit the signal to a greater distance, a signal base station is needed as a relay to amplify and retransmit the signal.

At the same time, the base station also has simple processing functions, which can perform directional transmission and signal classification according to the received signal protocol, thereby improving transmission efficiency.

While timely transmission may not be possible for the time being, it is guaranteed that the data can be sent from one end of the mainland to the other within a day.

This signal base station and its supporting terminal are the first level 4 soul guide designed by Chi Ping.

The scale is a bit exaggerated, but in terms of technical level, it can only be considered level 4.

(End of this chapter)