Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

The Gengxin City was a place Chen Ming had always planned to visit.

The three Great Divine Blacksmiths of Douluo Continent had always been a focal point for him. From the very beginning, Chen Ming had set his sights on Lou Gao, planning to enlist this master craftsman—who in the original story was utterly obsessed with forging higher-level creations—to help him perfect a battle armor, an invention that should not appear for twenty thousands of years.

For soul masters, battle armor was undoubtedly a divine treasure. The value of a three-word set of battle armor rivaled that of a full set of ten-thousand-year-old soul bones. A four-word battle armor provided even greater enhancements to a soul master than a full set of hundred-thousand-year-old soul bones.

Chen Ming intended to one day ascend to godhood, and forging his divine tools would be an inevitable part of that journey.

A good divine weapon could vastly enhance a god's combat power. Take the Sea God, for example—a first-rank god who, thanks to the Sea God Trident, a super-divine weapon, held a status in the Divine Realm only half a tier below the five God Kings. The Sea God Trident was so powerful that Tang San used it far into the God King Battle.

But Chen Ming's ambitions went beyond just a single divine weapon. He wanted an entire set—not merely divine equipment, but a full suite of personalized divine tools.

From weapons to armor, from helmets to boots, he wanted everything custom-made to suit him perfectly.

However, forging divine tools was anything but a simple process. In the Douluo Continent, where forging was still in its infancy, creating a set of divine tools would require unimaginable effort and time.

According to the original story, four-word battle armor was considered a true semi-divine tool. After being nurtured with divine power and divine sense, it could become an actual divine weapon.

Hearing Chen Ming's description, Lou Gao let out a bitter smile, his eyes filled with despair.

Ignoring the pressure coming from Chen Ming, the old man, whose sore spot had been touched, sighed deeply and spoke his heart.

"Blacksmiths aren't as powerful as that. It's just exaggerated praise from ancient texts."

"Ever since my martial soul awakened at the age of six, I became an apprentice in a blacksmith shop. At twenty, I apprenticed under the greatest blacksmith of the time. By the age of fifty, I had become a Divine Blacksmith myself. For the past twenty-plus years, I've devoted myself to refining my craft, striving to reach a higher level."

"To tell the truth, I can vaguely sense the spirit within metals. But as for how to awaken it, I've tried countless methods over the years without even the slightest success."

"Perhaps the books you've read, young Chen Ming, or the words of your predecessors, are just exaggerations. Even as a Divine Blacksmith, I cannot reach the stage of awakening a metal's spirit. Maybe, in ancient times, there were Divine Blacksmiths capable of such feats. But as far as I know, even they could only awaken the spirit—it was a limit."

As Lou Gao spoke, his heart ached deeply. To someone who had dedicated his life to the craft of blacksmithing, the inability to progress further in forging techniques was even more painful than his inability to advance in soul power.

The stagnation of his soul power could be attributed to his lack of talent. Others had reached the levels of Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo, but he simply couldn't.

However, in the realm of forging, he had already become a Divine Blacksmith. His skills had even surpassed those of his master and grandmaster. Yet, when he looked ahead, there was no path forward.

Now, Lou Gao could only pin his hopes on materials that were inherently imbued with spirit, hoping that by studying their natural properties, he might push the limits of the blacksmithing craft.

"Not necessarily so," Chen Ming said with a smile as he took out a murky crystal from the storage pouch at his waist.

Though the crystal in Chen Ming's hand appeared dull and murky—worthless in the eyes of most, not even worth a single gold soul coin—Lou Gao's eyes lit up with excitement the moment he saw it.

"Plate Crystal Gold? This large? Could it be ten-thousand-year-old Plate Crystal Gold?" Lou Gao's expression was a mix of excitement and doubt as Chen Ming ignited a blue flame in his hand.

The flame was the manifestation of Ultimate Fire. Under Chen Ming's control, the terrifyingly destructive power of the flame became extremely restrained, causing no harm to the surroundings. Only Lou Gao, sitting nearby, could discern through his experience and keen eyes that the flame's temperature surpassed anything he had ever seen.

The murky crystalized Plate Crystal Gold was placed into the fire. In an instant, the crystal vaporized, and the Plate Gold within began to melt under the intense heat. Under Chen Ming's control, the molten Plate Gold gradually gathered together.

Watching Chen Ming's mastery of fire manipulation, Lou Gao unconsciously held his breath, focusing all his attention on the Plate Gold slowly melting in the flames.

Bit by bit, the Plate Gold melted, forming a small golden sphere about the size of a thumb's fingernail. Under Chen Ming's control, the sphere's inherent spirit began to awaken.

At the peak of this process, Chen Ming raised his left hand, which was imbued with icy soul power. When the sphere's spirit reached its limit, the Ultimate Fire abruptly extinguished, and Chen Ming placed the golden sphere into the icy soul power in his left hand.

Under the cooling effect of the Ultimate Ice soul power, the forcibly awakened spirit within the golden sphere gradually stabilized. A few minutes later, the now smaller sphere—about the size of a pinky nail—was placed on the table by Chen Ming.

Lou Gao, unable to suppress his curiosity, quickly picked up the golden sphere and examined it with all his senses.

He could feel it. Within the sphere was the metal spirit he had spent his entire life pursuing.

In that brief moment, the Plate Gold's metal properties had been fully awakened!

"Lord Chen Ming!"

"Master Chen! Are you taking disciples?!" Though nearly eighty years old, Lou Gao wept like a child. Holding the golden sphere high, tears streamed down his face as he looked at Chen Ming. His body tilted forward, prepared to kneel.

In the original story, Lou Gao had been drawn into the Tang Sect after witnessing Tang San's knowledge and techniques. Eventually, he even sacrificed himself by leaping into a furnace, using his life to awaken the sharpness of Deep Sea Sunken Silver.

This was a man who had dedicated his entire life to pursuing the pinnacle of blacksmithing, willing to pay any price—even his life—without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing this scene, Chen Ming quickly stops Lou Gao, helping the elderly man back into his seat before explaining.

"Master Lou, there's no need for such formalities. I'm truly not a master. I just happened to read ancient texts, possess some innate talent in the area of spirit, and had a few fortunate encounters that enabled me to awaken the spirit within metal."

"As for blacksmithing techniques, I must admit I know next to nothing. I'm like someone with seven orifices but only six are open—one remains completely blocked."

"I have some understanding of higher levels, which is why I planned to go to Gengxin City to seek out Master Lou. Meeting you here at the Heaven Dou Royal Auction House—don't you think it's a sign that fate has brought us together?"