Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

...

"See for yourself!" Xia Yi casually tossed the spirit-forged Life Crystal Stone to Feng Wuyu and turned to leave the forging room.

"Hold on, what's the rush, kid?" Feng Wuyu blocked Xia Yi's path. As he looked at the spirit-forged Life Crystal Stone in his hand, he gazed at it as if he had encountered the most stunning beauty.

He repeatedly stroked the Life Crystal Stone in admiration.

Drool was almost dripping from his mouth.

The deeper his understanding of forging, the more shocked he was by Xia Yi's work.

The ability to enhance the vitality of metal was simply heaven-defying.

This ability would be immensely beneficial for Xia Yi's future advancement to a seventh, eighth, or even ninth-rank blacksmith.

"Anything else?" Xia Yi asked.

"Forge another piece of metal for me," Feng Wuyu thought for a moment and added, "I'll pay you with contribution points."

As the president of the Shrek Academy Blacksmiths' Association, the last thing Feng Wuyu lacked was contribution points.

Hearing this, Xia Yi immediately stopped leaving, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "What kind of metal do you want me to forge?"

Feng Wuyu first transferred ten thousand contribution points to Xia Yi, then retrieved a piece of dull, grayish metal from his storage soul tool. At first glance, it looked completely unremarkable—like an ordinary rock. He placed it on the forging table.

"This one. Spirit-forging, just like before." Feng Wuyu said without a change in expression.

"Are you really the president of Shrek Academy's Blacksmiths' Association?" Xia Yi asked through gritted teeth.

Starfall Iron—a top-tier rare metal. It did not originate from the Douluo Continent but was extracted from extraterrestrial meteorites that had fallen from space. It had an incredibly high density and was extremely heavy. The most remarkable thing about it was the special energy contained within. Weapons or mechas forged from Starfall Iron had an innate piercing effect. For this reason, top-tier mechas often used it to create sharp-edged weapons.

However, Starfall Iron was incredibly scarce, making it extremely difficult to obtain.

Xia Yi recognized it because it was recorded in the Rare Metals Encyclopedia that Mu Xi had given him.

This encyclopedia had many editions, but most only included common rare metals.

Mu Xi's version was personally edited by Zhen Hua.

Any rare metal Zhen Hua had encountered was recorded in it.

If Mu Xi hadn't memorized the entire encyclopedia by heart, she wouldn't have given it to Xia Yi so easily.

Although Starfall Iron appeared dull and gray, a closer look revealed densely packed dark-gold specks on its surface, making it quite unique.

What made Xia Yi grit his teeth was the fact that Starfall Iron could not be spirit-forged. In other words, it could only be refined up to the thousand-forging level. This severely diminished its value, making it more commonly used in top-tier mechas.

Because it couldn't undergo spirit-forging, even if it was thousand-forged to a level suitable for one-word battle armor, it was difficult to integrate with martial souls. As a result, few battle armor masters chose to use it.

Feng Wuyu knew that Starfall Iron couldn't be spirit-forged, yet he deliberately brought it out for Xia Yi to forge—how could Xia Yi not be pissed?

"Your forging hammer is quite special. Maybe it can give Starfall Iron some life after all," Feng Wuyu muttered.

Xia Yi thought for a moment before saying, "I can try, but if I fail, you can't blame me. Also, aside from the contribution points, whether I succeed or fail, you'll have to give me a piece of Starfall Iron as payment."

"You might as well go rob someone!" Feng Wuyu reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, jumping up in protest.

Starfall Iron wasn't as expensive as some top-tier rare metals, but it was exceedingly scarce.

Even the Shrek Academy Blacksmiths' Association had only about ten pieces.

Just a few days ago, Tang Wulin had taken two.

To prevent Xia Yi from eyeing his rare metal collection, Feng Wuyu had deliberately stored all his rare metals in his storage soul tool before bringing Xia Yi to his workshop.

As a result, several of the nearby racks, which were originally used to store rare metals, were completely empty.

"Don't be so quick to refuse. Think about it—if you succeed, you'll be the only person in the entire continent with spirit-forged Starfall Iron. Even Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua doesn't have any," Xia Yi chuckled, his voice dripping with temptation.

As fellow blacksmiths, the Shrek Academy Blacksmiths' Association and the Federation's Blacksmiths' Association were always competing with each other.

Xia Yi refused to believe that Feng Wuyu didn't want to have something over Zhen Hua.

Seeing Feng Wuyu hesitate, Xia Yi added, "Starfall Iron's inability to be spirit-forged has always limited its value. It's only considered precious because of its rarity. A single piece of spirit-forged Starfall Iron would be worth more than a hundred pieces of thousand-forged Starfall Iron. I'm only asking for one piece—you're getting an amazing deal."

"Quit trying to fool me!" Feng Wuyu snorted. "Spirit-forged Starfall Iron would indeed be valuable, but if you can forge it, then it would be far easier than forging a Life Crystal Stone. I'm already paying you ten thousand contribution points—what more do you want?"

Although Starfall Iron couldn't be spirit-forged, it wasn't as fragile as a Life Crystal Stone. It was much easier to forge.

If it were just thousand-forging, Starfall Iron's forging cost was less than one-fifth of a Life Crystal Stone's.

Because Starfall Iron couldn't be spirit-forged, neither the Shrek Academy Blacksmiths' Association nor the Federation's Blacksmiths' Association had set a price for it.

But if it could be spirit-forged, its price wouldn't be excessively high.

"That makes sense." Xia Yi nodded. "In that case, I want two pieces of Starfall Iron now."

"Two—" Feng Wuyu was momentarily stunned.

What kind of bargaining was this?

He had just agreed with Xia Yi's reasoning, and the kid raised the price?!

"Did you misspeak? Did you mean to say you'll forge two pieces, and I only have to give you one?" Feng Wuyu asked.

"You're overthinking it. I meant I'll forge one piece, and you give me two," Xia Yi said flatly.

"Are you crazy or am I? Even bandits aren't this greedy!" Feng Wuyu narrowed his eyes, his Title Douluo aura surging forth.

Xia Yi suddenly felt as if he was being crushed under a mountain.

But he still lifted his head to meet Feng Wuyu's gaze and calmly stated, "Now I want three."

"Y—" Feng Wuyu nearly coughed up blood in rage.

Just as he was about to discipline Xia Yi, he saw four fingers slowly extend from Xia Yi's hand.

"Stop! Stop! Fine, I'll give them to you!" Feng Wuyu finally relented.

He had no choice. Xia Yi was the only blacksmith with a chance of spirit-forging Starfall Iron.

At this price, he could still afford it.

But if Xia Yi kept raising the price, not even the Shrek Academy Blacksmiths' Association could cover the cost.

"Pleasure doing business," Xia Yi grinned. He had been certain Feng Wuyu would agree.

A spirit-forged piece of Starfall Iron was far more valuable than four thousand-forged ones.

If put up for auction, it would send high-level blacksmiths into a frenzy.

Even Zhen Hua himself might show up to bid.

To a blacksmith, a spirit-forged Starfall Iron was of immense research value.

Four pieces of Starfall Iron? If left in the Shrek Academy Blacksmiths' Association, they would remain just four thousand-forged blocks of metal.

But a single spirit-forged Starfall Iron?

Zhen Hua might trade ten—or even a hundred—pieces for it.

Xia Yi was betting on this, which was why he dared to ask for more.

"Fine, but if the spirit-forging fails, you get nothing!" Feng Wuyu gritted his teeth.

"No, I still get one," Xia Yi said flatly.

"What do you m—" Feng Wuyu started, but seeing Xia Yi raise another finger, he instantly shut up.

"Fine! Failure—one. Success—three."

With that, Feng Wuyu nearly coughed up blood from anger.

(End of Chapter)