Blue Silver Grass Strategy (Douluo Dalu Fiction)

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Wood Plant City, a spacious mansion in the southern part of the city.

"Knock knock knock—"

Carrying the wind and snow, Ling Yi raised his hand to knock on the tall and wide gate.

"Who is it—" a weak voice called out.

At the same time, the thick gate was pulled open from the inside, and a young man's head peeked out.

Seeing the young man, Ling Yi immediately smiled and asked, "A Lai, is Master at home?"

Hearing his name, the young man's eyes widened, the drowsiness in his eyes instantly fading. Upon recognizing Ling Yi's face, he exclaimed with joy, "Young Master Yi is back—?!"

This was the youngest and most cherished disciple of their lord, even the last disciple!

Old Master Jin was nearly eighty years old. Although he was a Soul Master and his body was still robust from years of wielding a hammer, he was no longer young and no longer had the energy to teach new disciples.

Even Ling Yi, his youngest disciple, was only taken as his thirteenth personal disciple because of his exceptional talent. Initially, he was taught by the fifth disciple, Wang Meng, and others. When they could no longer teach him, Old Master Jin took over personally.

Since three years ago, when Young Master Yi graduated early from the [Green Leaf Junior Soul Master Academy] and went to Coldwind City, he had only sent letters every two or three months and had not been seen since.

To be honest, not only did Old Master Jin often mention him, but A Lai, as a servant of the Jin Family, also missed Young Master Yi, who spoke kindly and always wore a smile.

After all, such a kind and warm master, who made everyone feel as if they were basking in a gentle breeze, was rare in all of Wood Plant City.

Overjoyed, A Lai pulled the gate wide open, ignoring the cold wind and snow, and with a beaming smile, he replied, "Yes, yes, the lord is at home. It has been snowing heavily for days, so he hasn't gone out—"

"That's good~"

Ling Yi smiled and walked in, warmly welcomed by A Lai.

As he walked, Ling Yi pulled the basket on his shoulder with his left hand, reached in with his right, and took out a small oil-paper package, handing it to A Lai, "Here, I brought this back from Coldwind City. It's a kind of dried fruit called frozen autumn pear, sweet and sour. It's quite tasty. Give it to your child to try—"

Without giving A Lai a chance to refuse, he stuffed it into A Lai's arms and continued walking toward the main hall in the courtyard.

A Lai, looking at Ling Yi's familiar smile and the retreating figure, suddenly felt that the heavy snow wasn't so cold anymore.

He called out softly from behind, "Hey—! Thank you, Young Master Yi—!"

Ling Yi didn't turn back, just raised his hand and waved.

...

"What?! You... Yi... you, have become... a Blacksmith Master—?!!"

In the main hall of the Jin residence, Old Master Jin, dressed in a sable fur coat, sat in the main seat, his bushy white eyebrows raised, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. The small teapot in his hand almost shattered from the force of his grip.

Seeing the old man's incredulous face, Ling Yi smiled and stepped forward, taking the small teapot that was shaking in the old man's hand and placing it on the table.

He picked up the kettle from the small stove and added water, then said with a smile, "Yes, Master. Didn't I mention in my letters that Master Lou Gao temporarily stopped his travels and stayed at Cold Wind Camp, teaching me forging techniques—"

"Now, not only have I learned the complete 81 techniques of the [Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique], but under Master Lou Gao's guidance, I have also mastered several special alloy smelting techniques that require less force. I can now forge Thousand-Forged level weapons and armor—"

Sitting in the large chair, Old Master Jin's expression was dazed. He mechanically took the small teapot from Ling Yi's hands, brought it to his lips, and sipped the warm tea. Feeling the warmth flow down his throat, he slowly came to his senses.

Looking at Ling Yi, who remained calm and composed, Old Master Jin's face lit up with joy, and he laughed heartily, "Good! Hahaha—! Good—! Very good—!!"

One could say that Old Master Jin was even happier about Ling Yi becoming a Blacksmith Master than Ling Yi himself.

Before Ling Yi, the old man had taken in twelve personal disciples, and countless other named and unnamed apprentices. But in the forty years since he returned to [Waterwood Principality], not a single disciple had achieved the rank of Blacksmith Master.

Even his longest-serving and most experienced disciple, Zhang Tie, who was nearly fifty, was still stuck at the Advanced Blacksmith level.

The other personal disciples could forge weapons of varying quality. The best, like the fifth disciple, Wang Meng, and the eldest disciple, Zhang Tie, could forge 800-Forged weapons. The weaker ones, like the ninth disciple, could only manage 600-Forged.

Wood Plant City was too small, and [Waterwood Principality] was too small!

The demand for weapons and armor above 500-Forged in the entire principality was not insignificant, but compared to importing raw ore and having domestic blacksmiths forge them, many factions within the principality preferred to purchase finished products directly from the neighboring [Tian Dou Empire].

Only native Soul Masters and Soul Master families, along with the principality's official institutions, would entrust their orders for weapons and armor to domestic advanced blacksmiths.

However, these blacksmiths often took on large, low-demand orders from others, leaving them too busy to handle new business, leading to a decrease in customer retention.

This vicious cycle limited the high-quality work experience that Old Master Jin's disciples could obtain, making it even more difficult for them to improve.

Unlike Ling Yi, who, from the beginning, had the backing of the [Jingeng Blacksmith Shop] and possessed excellent skills, they could get enough materials from the fifth disciple, Wang Meng, and Old Master Jin to practice.

Later, at Cold Wind Camp, the military's various weapon consumptions were significant. With the support of the principality's military, there was always a steady supply of raw materials. As long as the quality of the weapons and armor Ling Yi forged was up to standard, there would be no objections to his large-scale use of various metals.

It's important to note that metal ores, high-temperature coke, and other materials all cost money.

The blacksmithing profession on the Douluo Continent was never a wealthy one!

Old Master Jin's disciples were all his flesh and blood, and he had children and relatives of his own. He couldn't fully support any one disciple by spending money to intensify their forging training.

Therefore, when Ling Yi proposed joining the military three years ago, the old man, after his initial shock, was convinced by Ling Yi's argument that the military's abundant logistics support would help him hone his skills.

Now, just three years later, Ling Yi had become a Blacksmith Master?!

While Ling Yi's exceptional talent and the personal guidance of the Master Blacksmith, Lou Gao, played a significant role, the ample logistics support at Cold Wind Camp was undoubtedly a major factor in his success!

This realization made Old Master Jin's thoughts start to stir.

Perhaps, sending disciples to the military logistics department for training was a good idea?

(End of Chapter)