Chapter 79: The Imperial Capital Blacksmith Guild's Investigative Mercenary Team!
Whether Jiang Lin was a madman or not, even he didn't know. But one thing was certain—he was a damn genius!
After all, who would've thought to cultivate a technique meant only for foundational training to such a high level?
Isn't it said that seventh-grade pills can summon tribulation clouds and even give birth to spiritual consciousness?
Jiang Lin pointed at his own head: "Am I not spiritual consciousness? Am I or am I not?! I've been sharp since I was a kid! Definitely sharper than those dumb spirit minds born from heaven and earth!"
Seventh-tier spirit artifacts are supposed to stir the wrath of the world's Dou Qi?
Hell, I directly cultivate Earth-tier Dou Techniques! Once the Dou Qi Furnace is fired up—don't you tell me it hasn't stirred the world's energy!
Since the Forging Fire Art treated the human body like a piece of equipment to be forged, Jiang Lin figured he might as well refine himself into a humanoid spirit artifact. As for whether it would succeed or not... well, he'd just take it one step at a time.
What researcher ever knew their project was going to succeed before actually trying?
But ultimately, the accidental development of the half-step Earth-tier Dou Technique "Dou Qi Furnace" while creating the Dou Qi Engine gave Jiang Lin insight into the concept of Earth-tier Dou Techniques—and even a glimpse into the realm of seventh-tier spirit artifacts. That solidified his determination to continue cultivating the Forging Fire Art.
Originally, he had been hesitant, even planning to trade his Tier One and Two flying Dou Device blueprints to the Jia Ma Empire in exchange for a better fire-type technique. He had started to reach the limits of the Forging Fire Art and considered giving it up.
But the unexpected breakthrough with the Dou Qi Furnace awakened him to the greater meaning of the "Earth-tier" concept. By connecting the Dou Crystal, Dou Qi Furnace, and the Forging Fire Art, he realized he might actually be able to continue down this path.
And since there was a chance—no matter how small—he was going to take it. After all, he was the kind of guy who wouldn't leave the Magic Beast Mountain Range until he had explored it 100%. Given the possibility to continue cultivating the Forging Fire Art, there was no way he wouldn't give it a try.
"Let's go, Ying Jiang! Let's head home! A bright future awaits us!"
With a clear mind and a joyful heart, Jiang Lin adjusted his crimson-gold four-winged Feather Sheath Wings, drew a few loops in the air, and soared through one of them alongside Ying Jiang, heading toward another direction of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
Meanwhile, in a stone forest below the mountains Jiang Lin flew over, a group of mercenaries were gathered around a Thunder-Avoiding Black Rhino covered in black-gold scales, discussing their mission. Hearing the faint roar from the sky, they instinctively looked up—only to see a streak of crimson-gold flame followed closely by a blue-purple light shooting through the air.
Blood Beast Team leader Mu Yun silently watched the sky as his teammates exclaimed in surprise, "That mutated blue eagle—it looks like the mount of that young blacksmith, Jiang Lin, doesn't it?"
Jiang Lin was often seen flying Ying Jiang to Wutan City. Many had noticed that the frequently appearing mutated blue eagle around Wutan likely belonged to him. If not for Jiang Lin's official Tier Two blacksmith status, several Dou Shi and Da Dou Shi would've already made a move on the beast.
Since Qingshan Town was close to Wutan, many knew that the eagle had originally been a normal blue eagle—just a bit more intelligent than most—but nothing else special. However, after following Jiang Lin, it mutated. Its feathers changed from blue to a blue-purple hue, sparking much curiosity.
And of course, the Blood Beast Mercenary Group, sent to Qingshan Town on an investigation mission, was well aware of all this.
Not only did they know the eagle's wings had turned blue-purple, but they also knew the color of Jiang Lin's Dou Qi.
"If that eagle doesn't have a second fire-type Dou Qi user, then that crimson-gold flame must be Jiang Lin's Dou Qi," Mu Yun remarked, clicking his tongue as he watched the flash streak across the sky.
Due to his Dou Qi being a fusion of fire and metal, its color wasn't traditional red—it was a brilliant crimson-gold. Even among blacksmiths, Jiang Lin's Dou Qi was dazzling—far prettier than that dull red flame Pei Su used to wield.
"No wonder he was willing to trade away that low-tier Huang flying Dou Technique… he must've developed something better for himself," someone behind Mu Yun muttered.
When it comes to flying techniques, no one could say they weren't interested. That was why Mu Yun's team had spent two to three months here, investigating blacksmiths in Qingshan Town and tracking down a Tier Three Thunder-Avoiding Black Rhino—enduring tough conditions just to find out what kind of flying technique Jiang Lin had created.
Even if Jiang Lin had only offered a single-use Dou Technique scroll, they'd have been curious enough to try it. But instead, he provided a full technique manual that could be trained repeatedly.
"Keep what you need, trade what you don't—that's the way of a true blacksmith." Mu Yun smiled faintly and motioned for the team to start dismantling the Thunder-Avoiding Black Rhino, carefully extracting its most precious materials and placing them into the only spatial ring in his possession—a tiny one-cubic-meter ring.
Spatial rings were extremely rare Dou Devices. The materials were rare, and so were the high-tier blacksmiths who could craft them. If they weren't reusable and long-lasting, Mu Yun's five-man Da Dou Shi mercenary team wouldn't have been able to afford even the smallest one.
That Tier Two blacksmith Pei Su who died at Jiang Lin's hands? The small spatial ring he had came as a gift from the Blacksmith Guild upon joining. Even alchemists weren't treated that generously—their guilds usually only offered ingredients. But the blacksmith guild? Join up, get a ring. Earn enough credit, and you could trade up for a better one through internal channels.
"Pei Su's spatial ring is almost certainly in the hands of that little girl from Myriad Medicine Hall. That wildfire two years ago lines up with the time he arrived in Wutan. So, brothers, our mission is complete."
Having collected the rhino's most valuable parts—its hide, horn, and magic core—and placed them in the ring, Mu Yun sighed lightly toward his four teammates.
Their team, a three-star mercenary unit from the Imperial Capital, had been sent by the Blacksmith Guild a year ago to investigate Pei Su's sudden disappearance. Unaware that Pei Su had basically gotten himself killed, the Blood Beast Mercenary Group followed his trail step by step all the way to Qingshan Town.
Just one year of silence, and the guild had already issued a mission to find him…
But thinking of the guild's name list, with only a little over a hundred blacksmiths total, Mu Yun deeply understood why they acted so quickly.
(END CHAPTER)
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