Watching the one man and one beast rush off and disappear beyond the forging room doorway, the smile on Lou Gao's face faded as he swiftly regained the dignified bearing of the President of the Blacksmith Association.
He immediately summoned Si Di and several other core disciples.
"I will be taking Xia'er out for a trip. The duration is uncertain, at least one or two months, possibly more than half a year."
Lou Gao spoke concisely, his tone leaving no room for dispute.
"For the Association's daily affairs and major decisions, the three of you will deliberate and decide together. If you truly cannot make a judgment, use the Association's emergency communication channel to contact me but do not disturb me unless absolutely necessary."
Si Di and the others responded respectfully, their faces showing traces of concern and reluctance.
Unable to hold back, Si Di stepped forward and asked in a lowered voice,
"Teacher, you and Junior Brother… safety must come first. There is one more matter. The appointment document for the new Bishop from the Spirit Hall has already arrived. He should be on the way. How should we respond? Do we need to stay on guard as we did with Meyers back then…?"
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed through Lou Gao's eyes before he waved his hand, his expression calm.
"Silong mentioned this in his letter as well. Meyers brought it upon himself, he is a thing of the past."
"According to the intelligence Silong gathered in Spirit City, this newly appointed Bishop has a fairly good reputation and conducts himself properly. You only need to receive him in accordance with Association regulations, neither servile nor arrogant."
"Once Silong returns, he will have the clearest understanding of recent Association matters and how to deal with the new Bishop. Listen to his opinions more."
Lou Gao looked toward the steady Si Di, who nodded firmly.
"Rest assured, Teacher. I understand the proper limits. My fellow disciples and I will handle things appropriately and ensure no further turbulence arises from the personnel changes."
"Mm, very good."
Lou Gao nodded in satisfaction.
"Go. Attend to your respective duties."
After the disciples withdrew, the forging room returned to silence, leaving only the crackling sounds of dying embers in the furnace.
Lou Gao did not immediately deal with the accumulated documents. Instead, he walked to a corner and opened the chest that stored precious scraps and experimental materials.
His gaze settled on several fragments of Void Stone, shimmering with deep dark-silver luster, stardust flowing within them.
"The Spirit Hall's new Bishop… hm. I hope he's someone who understands the rules."
Lou Gao muttered softly, though there was little worry in his eyes.
What concerned him more was his own safety in the perilous lands they were about to enter.
"After all, I'm only a Soul Sage. Forging—I excel at that. Fighting… I'll still have to rely on equipment!"
Lou Gao's gaze grew intensely focused, as if he were facing the embryonic form of a peerless divine weapon.
Carefully, he picked up a fragment of Void Stone, his fingertips gently tracing the profound natural patterns upon it.
"Purple Lightning Iron Ore can be made into lightning-fire bombs… then what about this Void Stone, which contains spatial power?"
A bold and wild idea took shape in his mind, like a spark thrown into a furnace, instantly igniting his passion.
"Void bullets? Warheads that tear apart spatial barriers? Or perhaps… interference rounds that can temporarily distort spatial trajectories?"
No hesitation—once the idea formed, action followed!
Lou Gao immediately drew down all the protective curtains.
Like the most devout believer facing a divine revelation, he began attempting to carefully replicate and simplify the living stardust patterns of the Void Stone onto the inner walls of specially crafted mithril bullet casings.
Each stroke embodied his lifetime of experience and the essence of his newly acquired understanding of Soul Guidance formations. Soul power was compressed and guided to the extreme, attempting to confine the violent spatial force within a tiny space.
Flashes of failed firelight and faint tremors of spatial ripples occasionally appeared within the silent room, yet Lou Gao's eyes burned with intensity as he worked without pause.
To him, this was not merely the manufacture of ammunition, it was a priceless opportunity to gain deeper understanding and practical mastery of spatial power!
The responsibility of safeguarding his disciple, combined with his thirst to explore unknown forces, drove him into a state of astonishing focus.
Inside the forging room, time itself seemed distorted by the power of the Void Stone. An entire night passed swiftly amid the clinking of engraving tools and the radiance of Soul power.
The next morning.
Lin Xia's spatial Soul Guidance Ring was already packed full of dried rations, jerky, water flasks, and various medicinal concoctions sorted into sealed jade bottles. As he arrived at the entrance of the Blacksmith Association, Lou Gao happened to push the door open as well.
Lou Gao looked surprisingly spirited. Though there was a trace of bloodshot fatigue in his eyes from staying up all night, his entire presence was like a blade drawn from its sheath—sharp and imposing.
Looking at Lin Xia, Lou Gao asked directly,
"Everything prepared?"
"Yes. I followed your instructions—everything that could be brought, I brought in sufficient quantity."
Lin Xia patted his pack. Larvitar also poked its head out from beside his leg and let out a cheerful "Larvitar", indicating that it was in excellent condition.
Lou Gao patted the storage Soul Guidance device at his waist and grinned broadly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"I've prepared a few little things for self-defense as well. Let's go!"
Master and disciple, along with one eager little miner, set off without the slightest hesitation. Facing the rising morning sun over Gengxin City, they strode decisively toward the south.
Lou Gao did not even turn back to take another look at the Blacksmith Association he had managed for most of his life. All responsibilities and arrangements had already been settled.
At this moment, his eyes were fixed solely on the faintly perceptible pulse of subterranean fire in the southern horizon, and on the treasures hidden deep within the raging flames, treasures capable of changing the future.
The journey was long and arduous.
The two of them crossed mountains and rivers, traversing desolate wilderness untouched by human presence, dense primeval forests, and jagged, rocky highlands.
Larvitar became both the vanguard and the sentry along the way. Its innate affinity with stone, combined with the mysterious changes brought about by consuming Void Stone, was fully displayed throughout the journey.
At first, Lou Gao relied on his extensive prospecting experience and an ancient map marked with legendary mineral sites and geological features to guide their direction.
However, on the seventh day after departure, while resting beside a dried-up riverbed, Larvitar—who had been gnawing on a piece of Purple Lightning Iron as a "snack"—suddenly stopped.
Its small nose twitched sharply several times, its crimson eyes flaring with sudden brilliance as it turned toward an inconspicuous rock wall downstream, half-concealed by creeping vines. It let out a short, excited cry of "Larvi! Lar-vi!"
"Hm? Little guy, did you find something?"
Lin Xia immediately became alert.
Larvitar eagerly pointed at the rock wall with its small claws, transmitting a strong sensory impression, an intense "fragrance" mixed with metallic and earth-element energy.
Lou Gao walked over skeptically and probed the area with his Soul power, but detected no obvious anomalies.
"This place… the geological structure is somewhat unusual, but the energy reaction is very weak. It doesn't look like a rich vein."
Yet Larvitar remained unusually insistent, even starting to scrape away the moss and loose stones on the rock wall with its claws.
"Teacher, should we let it try?"
Lin Xia had absolute faith in Larvitar's sensory abilities—especially when it came to "eating."
Lou Gao pondered briefly, then nodded.
"Alright. It won't take much effort anyway."
With permission granted, Larvitar instantly transformed into a humanoid drilling machine.
"Clang! Crack! Boom—!"
The hard rock was torn apart like tofu beneath its sharp claws.
After digging downward less than ten meters, a mineral vein shimmering with azure-gold luster and radiating dense, razor-sharp metallic energy was suddenly revealed before the three of them!
"Azure Edge Iron Essence?! And such a high-purity vein!"
----
For additional chapter's
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu