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Chapter 60: The Deal
"Ah… sorry, I was being presumptuous."
Xuan Ziwen came back to his senses and coughed awkwardly.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
A technique of this level would obviously not be handed over so easily.
He raised his hand and made a solemn vow.
"I swear upon my martial soul. If I reveal anything related to this technique without your permission, I will never again study soul tools for the rest of my life."
"Thank you for cooperating."
Bai Chen finally relaxed.
In the world of Douluo, oaths carried real weight.
Especially an oath sworn upon one's martial soul—no soul master would dare break such a curse.
For Xuan Ziwen to swear like that was enough to show his sincerity.
This was also another reason Bai Chen had chosen him.
Xuan Ziwen's talent in soul tool engineering was terrifyingly high.
However, he had not yet fully matured.
Within the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, there were certainly people more qualified to teach than him.
The reason Bai Chen chose Xuan Ziwen was because of a unique trait:
Purity.
He was a pure researcher who rarely schemed or exploited others.
In the original story, even when he was Huo Yuhao's teacher and deeply curious about the structure of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, he never tried to use his authority to force information out.
Instead, he politely negotiated and offered to exchange his own research knowledge.
That alone showed he was not someone who relied on power or pressure.
Later, when he decided to leave the Sun Moon Empire after being moved by Huo Yuhao, he still left behind the crucial Sealed Milk Bottle technology.
This invention caused a massive technological leap for the empire.
At that point, he could already be considered a Tang Sect member.
Even if he had taken the technology with him, no one would have blamed him.
Yet he still chose to leave it behind.
That said everything about his character.
It was precisely this combination of talent and integrity that made Bai Chen choose him.
Bai Chen took out a piece of metal and confirmed:
"Senior, are you sure no one will come into your lab?"
"No."
Xuan Ziwen answered immediately.
"Although a junior girl occasionally drops by, she's currently busy sparring with someone today. She definitely won't come."
"Good."
Bai Chen placed the metal on the experimental table.
"Explaining it verbally is too troublesome. I'll just show you directly."
With that, he lifted the black-gold forging hammer and began forging with intense concentration.
The sound of metal striking metal filled the laboratory.
In less than ten minutes, a piece of Second-Grade Thousand-Refined metal was completed.
As Bai Chen's forging skills improved, he had begun producing First-Grade Thousand Refinement occasionally.
His success rate for Second-Grade Thousand Refinement had already exceeded 50%.
Even among Level 4 blacksmiths, this was an excellent result.
Bai Chen handed the refined metal to Xuan Ziwen.
"Here. This is the finished product of my technique."
"..."
However, instead of immediately grabbing the metal, Xuan Ziwen stared at Bai Chen as if he were looking at a monster.
"You… are you really just a one-ring soul master?"
The raw strength Bai Chen displayed during forging had genuinely shocked him.
Although Xuan Ziwen currently had seven rings, his cultivation had been forcefully raised through expensive drugs.
It didn't represent real combat ability.
On top of that, he had devoted nearly all his time to research.
Without soul tools, even a stronger Soul King could defeat him easily.
Bai Chen smiled and reminded him:
"My own special circumstances are actually one of the core factors of this technique."
"Alright, alright. I won't leak your information."
Xuan Ziwen rolled his eyes impatiently.
But his hands moved quickly.
He grabbed the metal from Bai Chen and began carefully examining it.
"Hmm… compared to before forging, the hardness and ductility have both increased…"
"And even the soul power conductivity has improved…"
Soon he once again entered the same absent-minded research trance Bai Chen had seen earlier.
Bai Chen was already used to it.
He simply pulled up a chair and sat down.
After a long while, Xuan Ziwen finally placed the metal down and exhaled deeply.
"This is an incredible technique."
"If it were made public, it would cause a massive upheaval in the entire soul tool world."
"I'm glad you recognize its value."
"Enough with the pleasantries."
Xuan Ziwen dragged over a chair and sat down across from Bai Chen.
"Tell me. What exactly is your goal?"
He might be obsessed with soul tools, but that didn't mean he was stupid.
Everything Bai Chen had done since approaching him clearly showed this child had come prepared.
He just didn't know when this little monster had started targeting him.
Surprisingly, Xuan Ziwen didn't feel very resistant.
Perhaps because Bai Chen had behaved politely the entire time.
More than suspicion, he simply felt curiosity.
Bai Chen answered seriously.
"I want you to become my teacher and teach me soul tool technology."
"In exchange, I will teach you this forging technique."
"…That's it?"
Xuan Ziwen was stunned.
Before seeing the finished Thousand-Refined metal, he had actually considered buying the technique.
But after witnessing its quality, he had completely abandoned that idea.
The technology was simply too valuable.
He couldn't afford it.
Yet Bai Chen was offering it so casually that Xuan Ziwen almost felt like he was dreaming.
Bai Chen shook his head slightly.
"Senior, I should clarify something."
"Our agreement has no time limit."
"That means once you agree, you must remain my teacher indefinitely."
"But that goes both ways, doesn't it?"
Xuan Ziwen replied calmly.
"According to your terms, you'll also remain my forging teacher indefinitely."
"That's correct."
"Then we have a deal."
Xuan Ziwen said cheerfully.
"From now on, please take care of me—uh… sorry, what was your name again?"
Bai Chen laughed.
"Bai Chen."
"Oh right. Bai Chen."
Xuan Ziwen smiled brightly and extended his hand.
"From today onward, I'll be relying on you."
Bai Chen reached out and shook it firmly.
Just like that, their mutual agreement was officially sealed.
After releasing the handshake, Bai Chen smiled and added casually:
"By the way, Teacher Xuan… would you be interested in leaving the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy and developing your career in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
"Oh?"
Xuan Ziwen suddenly understood.
"So you're from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"That means this technique also came from your sect, right?"
"Well… that certainly explains things."