Outside, there was a forest full of natural atmosphere. After Ning Fengzhi stepped into the stone wall, it was as if he had entered a world of metal.
He listened to the constant clanging sounds, saw blacksmiths busy in the distance, felt the high temperature of the furnaces, and gained a new understanding of the ambition of the Star Crown Sect.
What else could they be doing with so many blacksmiths if not making weapons? Letting them sit and play dice and drink?
As a sect that supported spirit masters, the Qibao Glazed Sect had conducted many transactions with Gengxin City. Ning Fengzhi recognized many familiar faces among the blacksmiths.
He had said that the number of blacksmiths in Gengxin City had declined, and even the cost of weapon forging had increased. It turned out they had all been recruited by the Star Crown Sect.
However, what puzzled Ning Fengzhi was that the blacksmiths were refining metal, yet there were no weapons—no swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, or tridents.
"Master Ning, please come this way."
Ning Fengzhi followed the elder into a small room, which was decorated like an ordinary reception room.
While he was still puzzled, the elder walked to a metal wall, took out a small rectangular block with a rich metallic texture from a storage soul guide, twisted it a few times, and inserted it into a slot in the wall.
Was there something else inside? A large number of blacksmiths were merely the periphery of the Star Crown Sect's secret base. Could it be that the metals they refined were used here?
As the wall slowly opened from the middle, a blue light lit up, and a figure stepped out from behind the door. After seeing it was the sect master and a few others, they nodded at each other.
"Silong?"
"Master Sect Leader Ning, long time no see."
Ning Fengzhi was indeed a little surprised to see this familiar face. He had met Master Lou Gao several times, and Silong, his best disciple, had also been seen many times.
And if Silong was here, what about Master Lou Gao, who had disappeared with him?
Ning Fengzhi had some guesses in his mind. Perhaps Lou Gao's disappearance had nothing to do with the Spirit Hall. They had been on guard all along, but against the wrong target.
He went inside and saw that Master Lou Gao was indeed there. Not only him, but also several great blacksmiths who had vanished from Gengxin City—all enthusiastically crafting something at a production table.
Looking around, Ning Fengzhi suddenly felt a little dazed. Was this still the Douluo Continent? What was on these walls, and what was on the table?
They looked like soul guides, but clearly far more advanced. Could they be new weapons developed by the Star Crown Sect?
"Master Ning, please come this way."
What next? Ning Fengzhi followed the grand elder to an adjacent lift.
As the lift slowly rose, Ning Fengzhi could see through the gaps in the metal railing that they had arrived at a training ground. He could still recognize the targets and mannequins in the distance.
He couldn't help but laugh at his own thoughts. The richest sect leader in the Douluo Continent world really seemed like a villager now.
The grand elder took them out of the lift and headed toward the training ground. He took out a first-level long-range soul guide beam from the storage soul guide and handed it to Ning Fengzhi.
"What is this?"
"Master Sect Leader Ning, please inject your soul power into this soul guide and aim at the target on the opposite side."
Ning Fengzhi did as instructed and didn't feel anything unusual until he saw the target on the other side pierced.
Their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had also found some of these items in ruins. At most, their power was equivalent to a full-strength strike from a soul master, and the strongest only reached the soul master level—barely useful.
However, as the elder brought out more advanced and powerful soul guides, Ning Fengzhi's expression gradually changed.
Until the elder produced a seventh-level soul guide and handed it to Ning Fengzhi.
"Master Sect Leader Ning, would you like to try this one?"
"Very well."
A soul guide comparable to a Soul Emperor's attack was already surprising to Ning Fengzhi. And now another one? Could its power reach the Soul Saint level?
His mood shifted from surprise to delight. Although he didn't know where the Star Crown Sect obtained such powerful soul guides, it was certainly something that could alter the balance of power on the Douluo Continent.
Especially for their Qibao Glazed Sect, the importance of such a device was no less than a Title Douluo.
As he injected his soul power into the seventh-level soul guide in his hand, violent energy gathered at its muzzle and suddenly erupted, shaking the entire large training ground.
Soul Saint-level—this power was definitely equivalent to a Soul Saint.
Ning Fengzhi kept staring at the soul guide in his hand, his eyes full of excitement, but he quickly restrained himself. He was about to conduct an unprecedented negotiation with the Star Crown Sect, and he needed to stay calm.
"This item is quite powerful. I wonder if your sect is considering selling it."
"Master Ning, don't worry. We haven't even shown you everything we have."
Then, the grand elder produced defensive and close-combat soul guides, demonstrating their functions one by one to Ning Fengzhi.
"Master Ning, I can provide you with three sets of these items, but you know the current situation on the continent is quite special. We are still in a confidential phase."
"Of course, that's understandable."
Now fully aware, Ning Fengzhi suddenly recalled the massive team of craftsmen he had seen earlier and even felt a chill in his heart.
Such powerful soul guides could be mass-produced, which would have a major impact on many powers across the continent.
Especially for sects and their affiliated families—armed with these soul guides, they could even battle combat-type soul masters.
"What are your sect's conditions? Please tell me."
"Master Ning, you jest. We need the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to be completely under our command. Do you understand what I mean?"
As expected, that was their real goal. Ning Fengzhi's heart trembled as he looked at the seventh-level soul guide in his hand, unsure of what to think.
Seeing Ning Fengzhi hesitate, the elder smiled broadly and took out their treasured item—an eighth-level soul guide cannon—from the storage soul guide device.
At present, he only had a seventh-level soul guide in his hand, and this item was seized from the director of the Soul Guide Device Research Institute in Rising Sun City.
"What is this?"
Ning Fengzhi instinctively wanted to reach for it, but the elder pulled his hand back just in time. He only intended to show it, not hand it over.
"You have a seventh-level soul guide beam in your hand, and I have an eighth-level soul guide cannon in mine. Master Ning should understand what this means."
Understand? Of course he understood. Ning Fengzhi no longer hesitated, looking at the eighth-level soul guide cannon in the elder's hand, and nodded heavily.
The Star Crown Sect had many hidden strengths, and clearly their goal wasn't just self-defense. They would definitely go to war with Spirit Hall in the future.
In this gamble, they—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—would follow.