Douluo Dalu - Volume 01-48

by Tang Jia San Shao

  Yesterday, after Meyers ‘fucked off’, running back to the Lord Hall pissing his pants in terror, it seemed to him that he might be out of luck. Showing that kind of side of him to a Spirit Hall elder level power, the punishment would definitely come soon after. Such thoughts made him wait for a whole day, trembling and witless. But nothing happened.

  Meyers heart then relaxed, secretly thinking that, it seemed the elder was just passing through. Perhaps the elder was here to discuss annexing the blacksmith association? That he didn’t come to find him proved that the elder didn’t intend to rebuke him. Thinking of this, he immediately thought somewhat wrong, and today prepared to come participate in the auction. First to see whether the elder was still here, and second also to cause some trouble for the blacksmith association in passing. No matter from what view he considered it, he didn’t believe a Spirit Hall elder would really stand on the association’s side. He just didn’t anticipate that the elder was basically fake.

  Faintly flickering with light, Tang San’s expression was ice cold. He didn’t make a sound, only waving his hand to Ning Rongrong.

  Ning Rongrong was a bit surprised, but as Tang San wanted, she didn’t bid again.

  Meyers’ bid became the final price, forty thousand gold spirit coins. Even though this profound iron was worth far more than that in Tang San’s eyes, in fact, to blacksmiths and ironworkers who were never valued on the Douluo Continent, this price was already sky high.

  The auction continued. Even though the first item went for a high price, the last two bids were a bit abrupt. Not only couldn’t it improve the atmosphere, on the contrary it gave a somewhat suppressed feeling. The next several items were all finished products, only some weapons and such, and basically didn’t reach a very high price.

  The fifth item was finally another chunk of uncommon metal, its price no longer under the profound iron. Its value wasn’t below that of the precious profound iron, and its weight also reached more than fifty kilograms. The appearance of the refined gold undoubtedly made the auction enter another high mark.

  Under Tang San’s direction, Ning Rongrong acted once again. When the price rose above twenty thousand gold spirit coins, Meyers’ loathsome voice appeared anew.

  “Thirty thousand gold spirit coins.”

  Low comments began to echo within the auction. The same number twice making high bids for rare metals would naturally draw people’s attention.

  Ning Rongrong’s eyes revealed a bit of anger, and was just about to raise the sign when she was again barred by Tang San. Tang San’s lips moved, and a string of words reached Ning Rongrong’s ear. He only spoke one sentence, but Ning Rongrong’s mood very quickly settled down. This refined gold was also won by Meyers for thirty thousand gold spirit coins.

  Meyers was secretly pleased with himself. Having suppressed the auction twice, after the auction ended he had ways to torment the blacksmith association. For example, using Spirit Hall’s name as guarantee to pay in installment, but always delaying it after getting possession of the items, relying on delaying Spirit Hall’s compromise with himself. He had a belly full of similar rotten ideas.

  Next, for a few items that weren’t particularly heavy, or some not so valuable metals, Ning Rongrong successfully won the bids. Tang San’s meaning was very clear, as long as they were precious rare metals, they would bid for and win all of them.

  Ning Rongrong also proceeded according to his intent. Very soon, Ning Rongrong and Meyers had become the focus of the entire auction, being the most frequent bidders.

  Moreover, any time Meyers bid, Ning Rongrong would without exception keep silent, basically not fighting him. This made Meyers a bit baffled, but he also didn’t care. He was specially finding the most expensive items to bid for.

  Finally, it was time for the last item. This time it was a small trolley being pushed out, covered by red cloth, enveloping what seemed to be two people. It was of course impossible for the blacksmith association to auction slaves, and this item immediately drew everyone’s attention.

  After the item was arranged properly, Si Di drew a deep breath. He of course felt that the auction today was strange, but the auction had to go on, this related to the reputation of the association.

  “The next item is the final one of today’s auction, and also the finale. I think that I only need to use one sentence to explain its value. This is in fact two single items. Their maker is my teacher, the blacksmith association president, divine craftsman Lou Gao.”

  These words immediately caused an uproar. In fact, ever since Lou Gao became a divine craftsman, he had very rarely produced goods. Even if made, they wouldn’t be auctioned. Now that two of Lou Gao’s works unexpectedly appeared, the passion stirred up was obvious. Even Meyers was distracted. Everyone knew that Lou Gao’s works were absolute treasures.

  Si Di saw that the auction was already stirred up, and said with a slight smile:

  “Fine, next we’ll auction the first one.”

  As he spoke, he pulled the red cloth off the somewhat taller of the figures.

  That was of course not a person, but rather a wooden mannequin. That wasn’t important, what was important was the item the mannequin was wearing.

  That was a set of full body armor. Or one might say that it couldn’t be described as armor, because it actually seemed like a set of thin clothing.

  Its whole body appeared deep blue, glittering with a faint metallic luster, the detailed texture seeming even more like clothes. That faint glinting could even be differentiated by those very far away. The whole design had no prominent features, seeming no more than underclothes.

  Si Di looked with a somewhat infatuated gaze at these clothes. Drawing a deep breath, he said:

  “My teacher named it Eight Treasure Wishful Soft Armor. Its resilient enough to withstand the sixt spirit ability of a power attack spirit master. Most miraculous is that, even though it’s only made from metal, it’s extremely flexible, and will expand even along with a beast Spirit Master doubling in size while wearing it, providing the same defensive effect. This Eight Treasure Wishful Soft Armor is made from eight different metals fused according special methods into a special stretchable memory metal thread. In the present age, only our teacher, divine craftsman Lou Gao has the ability to refine such metal. Having this soft armor is equivalent to having your own second life. I don’t want to introduce it further, I use my life, spirit, and everything, to guarantee to all honored guests that this is absolutely a creation on the divine tool level. Divine craftsman Lou Gao researched this metal for a full ten years, and searched for numerous rare metals and countless experiments to produce it. The starting price is two hundred fifty thousand gold spirit coins. Everyone can start bidding now.”

  Tang San looked at Lou Gao next to him. Lou Gao was already resting with closed eyes, as if this item had no relation to him.

  Stretchable memory metal, elastic metal. This was simply a miracle. Even with Tang San’s comprehension of forging, he was still unable to understand just how Lou Gao had done it. And Tai Tan, equally a divine craftsman, muttered with an admiring expression:

  “He actually successfully researched it. It seems I’m no longer his equal.”

  “Five hundred thousand gold spirit coins. And I’ll give the same for the other one. Altogether one million gold spirit coins. I think there’s no need to continue the auction.”

  Meyers didn’t wait for anyone else to bid this time, and directly sealed the price.

  One million gold spirit coins, that was absolutely a truly astronomical sum in a very real sense. Everyone present grew quiet, and Meyers face beneath the black mask brimmed with pride. He had already thought it through. After the auction ended, he would return to gather people at the Lord Spirit Hall in the name of fund raising, the bring all his subordinates with masks to steal it. Originally he only planned to cause a disturbance, but the appearance of these two divine tool level armors moved him completely. He had already thought about it. Without a doubt, th
e other set was for a woman, and he was preparing to offer it to Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong. And as for that male set, of course that would stay with him. He believed he could definitely hide it. With this suit of armor, his strength would undoubtedly rise by a large chunk. Without the need to worry about defense, one could naturally attack without the slightest misgivings. And with offering tribute upwards, perhaps he could earn a promotion and leave this common city.

  Lou Gao slowly raised his head, and Tang San sitting next to him clearly sensed anger from this divine craftsman. From the start of the auction until now, anyone could understand that Meyers’ completely unreasonable bidding was in order to cause trouble. The other goods didn’t matter, but these two sets of armors on stage were the result of Lou Gao’s heart’s blood. How could he tolerate such blasphemy?

  The auction still had to continue, but nobody could compete with Meyers’ last bid. A figure like one million gold spirit coins wouldn’t easily appear even in the top auction halls of the Continent, let alone a completely unimportant auction like the blacksmith association. The customers here were all only metal traders, and no real rich existences. It was also because it was impossible to meet strong bidders that Meyers dared be so absolutely unrestrained. Ultimately, it was still as said, the blacksmith industry really was too low on the Douluo Continent.

  Si Di kept a smile on his face with difficulty, declaring the success of Meyers’ bid, and simultaneously the end of the auction.

  Lou Gao was first to stand, heading out with large strides. Oscar accompanied Ning Rongrong to pay for the things they had won. Tang San silently led Xiao Wu and the others to leave behind Lou Gao.

  Back at Lou Gao’s forge, Lou Gao’s complexion was already very unsightly. Before long, his youngest disciple Si Di walked in with an indignant expression.

  “It’s too bullying. Teacher. That bidder was Meyers. That fellow said he’d return to gather money and already left.”

  Si Di’s face was deep red from anger, clearly his fury was at a peak. But mixed in amidst the anger, there was also a trace of helplessness. Even if Meyers was deliberately causing trouble, what could they do? The blacksmith association and Spirit Hall were basically incomparable.

  Lou Gao’s face was already ashen,

  “Put away those Yin Yang Eight Treasure Wishful Soft Armors, and don’t take them out for auction again. Spirit Hall, well Spirit Hall…..”

  After Si Di’s anger, his face also held a faint concern,

  “Teacher, before Meyers left he told us to prepare to hand the things over to him, he’d come take them with the money in a little while. I’m afraid he won’t easily let off the two divine tools you forged. Won’t we think of countermeasures?”

  Lou Gao fiercely smacked a table,

  “What? He’s a tiny bishop, don’t tell me he dares rob it forcefully?”

  Tang San spoke up, calmly saying:

  “That isn’t improbable. Don’t tell me you’re not aware of Spirit Hall’s position on the Continent?”

  Tai Tan clapped lou Gao’s shoulder,

  “Don’t worry, old friend. With us here, we won’t let them snatch your treasures. I still haven’t had time to congratulate you on developing such a metal.”

  Lou Gao’s eyes revealed a trace of grief,

  “What use is that? We’re still at the mercy of others. What Tang San said is right, I’m afraid Meyers will take it by force. Tai Tan, I know your strength, but even if you can help me block it once, you can’t stay at the blacksmith association forever. Even if you did, the gap between us and Spirit Hall is still impassable.”

  Tang San said:

  “Senior, leave this to me. At least regarding those two divine tools of yours and Spirit Hall, this is just Gengxin City’s Lord Spirit Hall.”

  The pupils of Lou Gao’s eyes contracted slightly,

  “Kid, what do you mean?”

  Tang San smiled slightly, but the icy chill that smile contained made Lou Gao shiver all over,

  “Senior is joining Tang Sect, so consider this a reciprocal gift of greeting from Tang Sect.”

  At this point he paused slightly, and the chill radiating from him clearly grew more intense, the ice cold, almost tangible killing intent filling the entire forge. Tang San spit out seven syllables one by one,

  “Moon——less—— win——dy—— kill——ing—— night——”

  Si Di still wasn’t familiar with Tang San and the others, but now hearing Tang San speak such words in this atmosphere of killing intent, he immediately felt shocked and cold. For some reason, even though this person was so young, the feeling his words brimmed with made people believe.

  The expression in Lou Gao’s eyes also turned severe. Even if he didn’t have any fighting strength, he was still a Spirit Sage level power. Facing Tang San’s killing intent, he only felt his blood boiling,

  “Good, you help me get rid of them, and I’ll sell you the items they won for at the initial bidding price.”

  Tang San’s eyes flashed,

  “Including those two divine tools?”

  Lou Gao’s eyes revealed a trace of hesitation, but he still nodded:

  “Including those. At least if you get them, I can still see them frequently. I also believe that you will put the things I made to their proper use.”

  Ma Hongjun grinned, saying:

  “Old Lou, I still believe you shouldn’t charge, and give them to us for free.”

  Lou Gao glared sharply at Fatty,

  “Bullshit, do you think our blacksmith association is a charity?”

  At this time, Ning Rongrong and Oscar had also returned, just in time to hear what Tang San said just now. Neither of them said anything, this was something they had already planned in advance. Ning Rongrong took Xiao Wu’s hand from Tang San, and Oscar took out more than ten sausages of varying kinds and handed them to Tang San.

  Tang San laughed out loud, saying:

  “It’s been quite a while since I had your big sausage. Little Ao, isn’t there any use for us common Spirit Masters to eat your clone mirror sausage?”

  Oscar shook his head, saying:

  “I haven’t tried it either, but it should presumably be useful. As for how much effect it can display, I’m not clear on either. It’s possible it will conflict with your own spirit rings. That’s why I won’t propose that you use it. We’ll experiment once we get back.”

  Tang San nodded, some plans already in his heart. Each Spirit Master’s spirit had their own characteristics, and with different characteristics, the direction they were good at was naturally also different. The appearance of Oscar’s clone mirror sausage, undoubtedly broke the rules that Spirit Masters could only rely on their own spirits. If, when fighting the enemy, they could use spirit abilities the enemy didn’t expect when least expected, they could catch the opponent off guard even if they weren’t strong. However, this could only be tested once they had returned.

  Watching Tang San and Ma Hongjun leave, Lou Gao couldn’t help doubtfully ask Tai Tan:

  “Aren’t you going with them?”

  Tai Tan smiled:

  “Old friend, you understand too little about the young master. In terms of spirit power, I really am a lot higher than young master. But speaking of overall strength, young master is still above me, and in terms of killing techniques, it’s even harder for me to keep up. You wait for the news.”

  Lou Gao was shocked. He suddenly discovered that, in his heart, that youth called Tang San was already enveloped with a dense sheen of mystery.

  Outside, Ma Hongjun immediately gathered next to Tang San, speaking in a low voice:

  “Third brother, should I give you a black cloth to cover your face?”

  Tang San shot him a glance,

  “Fatty, your preparations are quite comprehensive!”

  Ma Hongjun grinned,

  “I’ve wandered outside for so many years, how could I travel without preparations? Inevitably there will be some times you can’t show your face, say
the word.”

  Tang San said with a smiled yet not a smile:

  “When imitating the dog to steal chickens[1]? Or when going to release your evil fire?”

  “Eh……”

  Fatty looked somewhat awkwardly at Tang San,

  “Third brother, how can you always guess right? Let me have some secrets, alright?”

  Tang San snapped:

  “It’s easier to change the mountains and rivers than someone’s character, wouldn’t I know you? This time we aren’t going to play dogs, showing faces doesn’t matter. As long as we have anyone who sees us depart this world, is there any need to fear our identities leaking?”

  Only Ma Hongjun could hear Tang San’s voice, but at this moment, he could hear a great many things from Tang San’s calm words. Recalling the cold fluctuation in Tang San’s calm eyes that day Meyers wanted to take liberties with Xiao Wu, Fatty secretly heaved a long sight. Spirit Hall really was out of luck. Even directly offending third brother was less of a provocation than harming Xiao Wu. As one of the Shrek Seven Devils, how could he not know that Xiao Wu was Tang San’s taboo.

  Because Xiao Wu sacrificed herself and died due to Spirit Hall’s actions, only resurrecting with great difficulty, then again taken liberties with by a Spirit Hall bishop here, it’d be a wonder if Tang San could still hold back his rage.

  Dense night mist filled the air, hiding the bright moonlight. The air was a bit cold, and also somewhat quiet. Two silhouettes walked forward in such a quiet night.

  Tang San suddenly halted,

  “It seems we won’t need to go to them.”

  Ma Hongjun immediately caught on. The two moved sideways and hid in the darkness.

  Before long, clamor gradually came through from the distance. A group of several dozen people were just walking in their direction. In the lead was the person who had taken liberties with Xiao Wu that day, Meyers, and the people behind him were also all Spirit Masters in Spirit Hall clothing.

  Tang San stood quietly in the corner, his right hand pressing down on Fatty’s shoulder, transmitting words:

  “The Spirit Masters of Gengxin City’s Lord Spirit Hall should all be here. For divine tools, the whole nest came out in force. You head directly to the Lord Spirit Hall, set fire to it from the outside. If you encounter Spirit Masters as long as they aren’t strong, kill without pardon. If you don’t, burn their old den.”