Without much delay, Ye Qiu followed the shop owner, got a bag of saltpeter, and left.
He arrived at the carving workshop where he worked, entered his private studio, took out a pestle to grind the saltpeter, and then sifted it.
"All the ingredients are here."
Ye Qiu took out some charcoal and sulfur, which he had already prepared, from a drawer, and mixed the three in different proportions.
Although the method for making gunpowder was relatively simple, Ye Qiu didn't know the proportions of these ingredients, so he would have to experiment multiple times himself.
It was simply that he didn't feel safe entering the Hunting Soul Forest alone; his current Sharingan still had no offensive capabilities, and Ye Qiu hadn't yet tried the control effect of illusions on Spirit Beasts.
In any case, it was better to be prepared.
Leaving the bustling market, he arrived at a small grove far from human habitation and began his day's experiments.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"...
"Bang!"
After several duds, he finally heard a sound. Following that, Ye Qiu sped up...
At sunset,
A disheveled Ye Qiu finally set off on his way back, walking with a much lighter step.
Although the power of the gunpowder wasn't as great as he had imagined, a change in quantity could lead to a change in quality, even if it was troublesome.
However, it was more than enough to deal with thousand-year Spirit Beasts.
Against Spirit Masters, it was a bit of a hindrance. In actual combat, Spirit Masters are much smaller than Spirit Beasts and too mobile; the dynamite pack would explode before they even ran away.
Currently, the gunpowder Ye Qiu made was still only suitable for large-scale combat and dealing with Spirit Beasts.
"I'm back!"
Ye Qiu's voice rang out in the Seventh Dorm.
"Xiao Qiu, you're finally back! I was so bored without you here!"
Only Xiao Wu was in the Seventh Dorm. Tang San had gone to Grandmaster's place to study, and everyone else had their own work. Almost every day at this time, Xiao Wu would wait in the dormitory for Ye Qiu to return.
Like a swallow returning to its nest, she threw herself into Ye Qiu's embrace.
Sniffing, "Xiao Qiu, what's that smell on you? It's really strong."
"Your clothes and hair are all messy, cough cough!" As she spoke, she used her hand to help Ye Qiu comb his hair and patted the dust off his clothes, causing a fit of coughing.
"Alright, alright!" Ye Qiu grabbed her hand, "I need to take a shower first. How about you help me buy something to eat?"
"No problem, but..." She responded loudly at first, then suddenly became a bit hesitant, blushing and looking at Ye Qiu eagerly.
"What's wrong?" Ye Qiu asked, puzzled.
"I... I don't have any gold coins. Tang San was the one who paid for my meal today."
Xiao Wu's resentful gaze made Ye Qiu a little awkward.
Although she could receive one gold coin from Spirit Hall every month, this money basically ended up in Ye Qiu's pocket.
This was indeed his oversight. He took out his money pouch and placed it in Xiao Wu's hand, "Here, take it and spend it. If you're not full, you can buy more."
"That's great, Xiao Qiu, you're so good!" After hugging Ye Qiu again, she skipped out of the dormitory.
Leaving Ye Qiu standing in place, muttering to himself: "Am I good? She's really a silly rabbit. Hehe!"
...
After dinner, Xiao Wu tried to pull Ye Qiu out for a walk again, but he refused.
"Come on~ Xiao Qiu, I'll show you something good!"
"What good thing?"
"Ta-da-da-da~" Xiao Wu's sleeve slid down, revealing her forearm, on which was a delicate item like a wrist guard, with several sharp, short arrows embedded around it.
"This is... a Sleeve Arrow!" Ye Qiu's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Tang San to already be giving out Hidden Weapons.
"Eh? Xiao Qiu, do you know what this is? Tang San said this was his secret!" Xiao Wu was also surprised that Ye Qiu recognized it; she had originally wanted to show it off.
"This is indeed his secret. Only he can make these things called Hidden Weapons," Ye Qiu explained.
"Xiao Qiu, you know about Hidden Weapons?!" Xiao Wu had only heard this term today and hadn't expected Ye Qiu to already know about it.
However, she didn't think much of it and still wanted to pull Ye Qiu out for a walk, "Let's go, I'll show you its power! How about it?"
"Alright then."
"Then let's go~ Hehe!" She pulled Ye Qiu and rushed out the door together.
They strolled to the small lake and sat side by side under a tree.
"Let's start," Ye Qiu urged.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Hmph, I'll shoot it now." Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at him; he was such a blockhead.
"Watch carefully." Before her words fell, Xiao Wu aimed her arm at a nearby tree trunk, and a sound of cutting wind rang out. "Whoosh!"
Thud! The arrow embedded itself several inches deep into the tree trunk.
Ye Qiu didn't need to go forward to check; his already activated Sharingan saw everything clearly.
"How is it? Is it powerful?" Xiao Wu raised her eyebrows, with a hint of pride.
"It's alright..." Ye Qiu nodded.
To be honest, he was a little disappointed, or rather, he had set his expectations too high.
Mechanism-based Hidden Weapons seemed decent now, but their lethality was limited. These Hidden Weapons would only have their 'poison' as a redeeming quality in the later stages.
However, Hidden Weapons, Hidden Weapons, the emphasis is on the 'hidden' part. It's all about fighting unfairly and catching people off guard.
It was just that the Douluo natives didn't understand these things, otherwise Tang San wouldn't have had so many shining moments.
"Can you take it off and let me see it?" Although it wouldn't be useful later, it didn't stop Ye Qiu from studying it; he had his own plans.
"Let you see it?" Xiao Wu was startled for a moment, then her eyes darted around.
"No?"
"Of course... of course not!" She quickly responded excitedly; Xiao Wu didn't want to refuse Ye Qiu at all.
With a flushed face, she lowered her head and extended her arm, whispering, "Actually, you don't have to take it off..."
"Uh (~_~;)" Ye Qiu rubbed his forehead speechlessly. Did this hooligan rabbit always like to take advantage of him?
"Alright then!"
Just as Ye Qiu was about to reach out, she beat him to it, and their fingers interlaced.
Facing his strange gaze, Xiao Wu was a bit incoherent, "Just... just look at it like this, it's... it's convenient!"
Ignoring these details, Ye Qiu lifted the black silk, and his Sharingan appeared. The tiny pupil in the very center glowed with a purple hue, dissecting the structure of the sleeve arrow one by one.
'As expected, a trick was played. If someone tries to dismantle it, it will automatically self-destruct. However, I've seen it clearly!' Ye Qiu carefully examined the sleeve arrow.
Xiao Wu also observed Ye Qiu from the side, her crimson eyes unblinking.
As if she thought of something, she asked, "Xiao Qiu, do you not like Tang San?"
"What are you talking about? How could I like a guy?" He put down Xiao Wu's arm, and his blood-red eyes with a hint of purple looked at her.
Ye Qiu froze. Before him was a expanse of white.
Xiao Wu also met his eyes, her little heart pounding, her face like a fiery cloud, "I... I didn't mean that. I meant you don't seem to get along with him very well."
...Seeing Ye Qiu unresponsive for a long time, Xiao Wu called out again, "Ye Qiu?"
"Ah? Oh." Ye Qiu snapped back to reality, shook his head, and closed his Sharingan, silently chanting Amitabha three times, hoping the Buddha would forgive him.