Chapter 69: Lou Gao the Man

Standing before an enormous workbench, Ling Yi wore a solemn expression, his brow tight with concentration as he meticulously assembled the parts laid out before him.

Piece by piece, dark golden metal scales clicked and slotted together through intricate joints and connections akin to the mortise and tenon structures.

Pauldron, breastplate, cuisse, fauld... Each component took shape in Ling Yi's hands, forming a complete suit of armor that exuded an aura of Eastern fantasy.

This suit was reminiscent of the full metal armors from Ling Yi's previous life during the Song dynasty, designed with the classical aesthetic beauty often seen in period dramas, predominantly dark gold with red and black accents.

Yet beneath this artistic exterior lay its formidable defensive capabilities.

Ling Yi could assure Jiang Yuan, who was soon to don this armor, that with this 'Thousand Scales Armor', he could virtually ignore any attacks below a third soul skill from standard assault-type soul masters.

Moreover, even a third soul skill strike from an assault-type master would be withstood more than three times by this entirely metal-crafted 'Thousand Scales Armor'.

Comprising 1,825 pieces of alloy scales, forged from a variety of precious metals and repeatedly tempered by Ling Yi himself, the armor boasted unrivaled toughness. Any weapon wielded by an ordinary soul master, no matter how powerful, could only leave the faintest mark, easily wiped away.

By December of the Douluo calendar year 2604, the chill of winter had set in again, marking over half a year since Lou Gao arrived at the Northern Gale Camp of the Waterwood Principality.

Seven months ago, Lou Gao initially intended to pass on the complete set of the "Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique" to Ling Yi, fulfilling the wishes of his teacher, the Iron Pagoda, and honoring the decades-long bond between his teacher and his senior brother.

However, during the teaching process, Lou Gao discovered that Ling Yi was indeed a super forging genius, just as Uncle King Kong had said!

To avoid squandering such a rare born blacksmith talent, Lou Gao decided to put in some extra effort to guide this 'junior brother.'

Little did Lou Gao know, the subsequent development of events spun out of control like a runaway wild horse, completely exceeding his expectations.

Genius! A true genius!!

This was Lou Gao's assessment of Ling Yi within less than three days of interaction.

On the very first day of their meeting, Lou Gao demonstrated the entire "Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique" to Ling Yi, all eighty-one forms, not a single one left out.

And then, as Ling Yi disassembled and practiced each form, he only asked Lou Gao to clarify once. Instantly, he showcased the eighty-one forms of the "Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique" on the spot!

Although his movements were slightly stiff and his control over some of the strength was a bit immature, it was evident to Lou Gao that this was just the beginning for such a prodigious talent.

But!

How could it be that he only needed to look at it once, ask a few questions, and he had already mastered the "Random Cloak Hammer Technique" that had stumped tens of thousands of blacksmiths in Douluo Continent?!

On the first day, as Lou Gao was still in a daze, Ling Yi had already reflected on and practiced the entire "Random Cloak Hammer Technique."

Early the next morning, after Lou Gao made some inquiries with the workers on duty at the military workshop and headed to the forging area, he saw Ling Yi wielding the forging hammer with a natural and seamless grace.

"Random Cloak Hammer Technique," has he already mastered it to that extent?!

However, when Lou Gao finally voiced his question, he received this reply from Ling Yi:

"There's the beginner's stage, the stage of preliminary insight, room-entry stage, slight accomplishment, complete mastery, supreme proficiency, reaching pinnacle, and returning to simplicity!

I would say I've barely reached slight accomplishment. I'm still some way off from full mastery. As for reaching the perfect realm of supreme proficiency, and the subsequent pinnacle and simplicity—those distant stages are even further away for me."

At that moment, Lou Gao's mind was in complete disarray.

"These... what on earth are these things?"

Regardless of Lou Gao's internal chaos, Ling Yi continued to practice the 'Random Cloak Hammer Technique' on his own. Through relentless hammering of metal materials, he mused on the flow of strength in every swing, and the subtle variations in the rebound force when striking metal. These insights were reflected in Ling Yi's mind, making the forging hammer in his hand increasingly become an extension of his will, eagerly absorbing the principles and effects of force with each hammer swing.

The eighty-one moves of the 'Random Cloak Hammer Technique' danced vividly as Ling Yi seemed to become a human whirlwind, spinning rapidly within the forging area, creating a unique spectacle.

It must be said, the 'Random Cloak Hammer Technique' truly deserves its reputation as the most powerful casting technique for removing impurities from metal. Mastering the full eighty-one moves, Ling Yi, in just one day, elevated his skill in material forging from six hundred and twenty-five strikes to seven hundred and ninety!

He was just a step away from reaching the eight hundred strike mastery, making significant progress towards the blacksmith's threshold of a thousand strikes!

In between his training with the 'Random Cloak Hammer Technique', whenever his strength waned and rest was needed, Ling Yi would invigorate himself with a dose of 'Soul Skill: Life Abundant'. As his body slowly regained its vigor, he would approach the massive workbench in the forging area to study metal ingots of various sizes, colors, and shapes—some similar, some different.

The second threshold for a blacksmith is to smelt alloy materials that can withstand a thousand hammerings, enhancing the material's qualities instead of weakening them.

Harder metals become harder, tougher metals become tougher, or a balance of both must be achieved...

This involves understanding the melting points metals can endure, their reactions to exceeding or falling short of these temperatures, and whether the properties of different metals complement or cancel each other. Many such variables stand as hurdles before advanced blacksmiths.

Of course, on the current Douluo Continent, the metal formulas discovered by pioneers have greatly lowered the difficulty threshold for refining metal alloys for a second time.

Almost all senior blacksmiths nowadays can learn one or two alloy formulas publicly released by the [Blacksmith Association] as long as they sincerely seek guidance.

After learning these formulas, they need to truly master them. Through practice and observation, they can skillfully control every detail, thus overcoming one of the thresholds to becoming a master blacksmith.

Unfortunately, even such a 'low threshold' with a formula in hand still stumps over seventy percent of senior blacksmiths.

The smelting between different metals also greatly relies on innate talent.

It's like cooking; using the same ingredients, the same spices, and the same stove and utensils, different chefs can produce dishes with a vast difference in taste and quality!

Fortunately, Ling Yi is like a gifted chef, precisely balancing the combination of ingredients, the amount of seasoning, and the intensity of heat. The 'dishes' he crafts, although they don't literally shine, perfectly achieve the optimal results documented in the formulas!

And Lou Gao is currently one of the most authoritative figures in metal research on Douluo Continent.

In fact, Ling Yi, who possesses memories of the original timeline of this world from his past life, knows that the term 'one of' can even be omitted when it comes to Lou Gao's expertise.

Currently, the only divine craftsman on the Douluo Continent, Iron Pagoda, will not be discussed here; Ling Yi does not know much about him. However, we can look at the original work's three great craftsmen: Tang Hao, Titan, and Lou Gao.

Tang Hao is a Titled Douluo, Titan is a Soul Douluo, and Lou Gao is a Soul Saint. The strongest among them, Tang Hao, is also the youngest, while the weakest, Lou Gao, is actually a few years older than Titan.

There was a moment when Titan spoke to Tang San: 'Lou Gao is the president of the Blacksmith Association. Saying he is the king of craftsmen is not incorrect. After your father retired, in the field of forging, I and he have a fair share of victories. I am more adept at refining and forging various metals, while he is better at intricate techniques.'

(End of Chapter)