Lou Gao had been blacksmithing for so many years and had only ever seen one piece of this; its rarity was obvious. If he sold it all to Yun Ming, what would he have left to play with? Lou Gao said, feeling somewhat reluctant.
"Young friend, can we negotiate? Leave me half. No, is one-third acceptable?"
In Lou Gao's eyes, he saw a pure passion for forging. Yun Ming expressed his respect for this, but...
"No, I do not accept bargaining."
Nothing else mattered today; he had to secure this Ether White Gold. It concerned the evolution of his Battle Armor. Besides, even this one piece might not be enough, so how could Yun Ming possibly agree to split it?
Hearing Yun Ming's such decisive refusal, Lou Gao's mood soured, and he tried to haggle.
"For you to want it all is a bit too greedy. Just some information regarding metals in exchange for my entire piece of metal—that doesn't seem quite right, does it?"
Yun Ming wore a smile and said calmly.
"President Lou, let's speak plainly. If you could figure out the properties and usage of this metal, would you still be bargaining with me? Furthermore, I can guarantee that in this world today, apart from me, no one else understands it."
"Also, I said I am buying it, not just trading it for information. I can tell you right now: I offer four million Gold Soul Coins."
"My terms are non-negotiable. Whether you want to go through with this deal or not is up to you."
Yun Ming understood Ether White Gold. He knew that with current technical means and Lou Gao's cultivation, it was impossible to crack its mysteries, let alone use it. Therefore, this deal was entirely on his terms.
Watching Yun Ming's confident and unbothered demeanor, Lou Gao felt very conflicted.
Yun Ming was right; he had exhausted all means and still couldn't do a thing with this item. Keeping it in his hands was less useful than a steamed bun.
Moreover, Yun Ming's offer had truly startled Lou Gao. He had initially thought that if Yun Ming offered a few tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins, it would be impressive, but he never expected him to start at four million. Four million Gold Soul Coins! For the current metal market, this was an unimaginably astronomical price, absurdly high.
That Yun Ming could offer such a high price proved that this Ether White Gold was indeed of immense value, but it also showed that Yun Ming was a man of integrity. Otherwise, if Yun Ming hadn't offered so much money, how would he have known this item was so precious?
Lou Gao understood the logic and could see the point, but letting such a treasure slip through his fingers left him feeling unwilling!
Lou Gao wondered if he should try to leverage the subsequent transaction to pressure Yun Ming. Although he didn't know the details of that deal, the fact that they had sought him out meant it was surely a massive order. However, this thought only flashed through his mind for an instant before he abandoned it. Yun Ming was so forthright that he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing, and he couldn't harm the interests of the guild.
Fortunately, he gave up on the idea; otherwise, Yun Ming would have certainly shown him just how vast the power of the top echelons of the Soul Master World and the business world truly was. It was true that Yun Ming appeared here for rare metals, but it was even more so because he wanted to take a look; otherwise, procurement of this nature was merely a matter of a single word from him.
Lou Gao's thoughts raced, and he hit upon a good idea.
"Young friend is forthright, and this old man admires that. However, since you are unwilling to give up, neither am I."
"I hear from your earlier words that you also understand forging. In that case, let us have a competition."
"If you win, this Ether White Gold, which is my private property, can be gifted to you. But if I win, you leave me half. Shall we decide based on our forging strength?"
Hearing Lou Gao's proposal, Yun Ming's expression became somewhat strange. His forging techniques came from twenty thousand years in the future; for Lou Gao to compete with him on this was purely a gift. He was being forced to bully the weak with his strength! But for the sake of the Ether White Gold, he had no other choice.
"Fine, I agree."
Hearing Yun Ming's agreement, Lou Gao nodded and said.
"Since that is the case, let me explain the specific rules."
"In the blacksmithing world, there is a saying that those who can forge divine artifacts using divine materials are merely ordinary blacksmiths, while those who can forge divine artifacts using common iron are the true God Craftsmen."
"So, we shall compete on this today: let us see whose work, crafted from common iron, is more refined."
Yun Ming: "..."
Yun Ming could not agree with such an un-Soul Master-like statement. The facts of later generations had proven everything.
Lou Gao continued.
"However, I am much older than you, so the same starting conditions might be unfair."
"How about this: you forge first, and after you finish, I will only use half of your time to forge. How about that?"
"Done."
Yun Ming agreed casually. It didn't matter; if Lou Gao still had a chance to win after Yun Ming finished forging, then his forging studies would have been in vain.
Lou Gao nodded, started the Forging Furnace, and signaled that Yun Ming could begin.
Yun Ming did not dawdle. Feeling that the temperature inside the furnace was sufficient, he placed the pig iron inside and began to forge-heat it. Once the iron block inside the furnace was thoroughly red-hot, Yun Ming placed it onto the forging table. The Phoenix Cry Ring on his hand flashed, and a Soul-Forged Tungsten Copper Hammer appeared in his grip.
Lou Gao looked at the hammer in Yun Ming's hand, his eyes lighting up as he swallowed hard. As a blacksmith, the thing he was most familiar with was a hammer, and the one in Yun Ming's hand was, in his view, the absolute pinnacle of hammers. Aside from Martial Soul hammers, he had never seen a hammer so full of spirit.
Yun Ming took a deep breath, his entire body seeming to straighten up at that moment. His essence, energy, and spirit fused into one instantly, and a sharp light erupted from his eyes.
Watching this state of forging, Lou Gao nodded—not bad, very good. Lou Gao began to look forward to Yun Ming's forging level, and then... Yun Ming gave him a small shock of his true strength.
Looking at the red-hot iron block before him, Yun Ming raised the Tungsten Copper Hammer above his head, exerting force starting from his calves, transmitting it to his waist, then all the way to his back, arms, wrists, and the Soul-Forged Tungsten Copper Hammer.
The Tungsten Copper Hammer carried a piercing sonic boom, like a meteor chasing the moon, and smashed down onto the pig iron on the forging table.
"BOOM!" A roar echoed, and the entire forging table vibrated violently, the sound causing the glass in the room to tremble.
Lou Gao paid no mind to the commotion of Yun Ming's full-force swing, because he had been completely captivated by the changes in the pig iron under Yun Ming's hammer.
With one strike from Yun Ming, the pig iron on the forging table, which had been red-hot, changed its appearance in an instant.
Given the force of Yun Ming's swing, let alone the pig iron, it was a question of whether the forging table itself could survive. Yet, unexpectedly, this strike landed on the pig iron as if it only acted upon the iron and not the table, which was exceptionally bizarre. Moreover, the pig iron began to ripple and fluctuate like a rice cake, and streams of foreign impurities were expelled as a result.
In the blink of an eye, the original large piece of pig iron was reduced to only one-third of its original size. According to the calculations of later generations, this piece of iron should have already reached the level of Hundred-Refined.
Having witnessed the entire process, Lou Gao could no longer care about any bets or wagers. He stared at the iron block on the forging table, exclaiming repeatedly.
"A divine technique, truly a divine technique."
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader