Chapter 13: Magic Core Firearm – Thunderfire Plume!
Inside Jiang Lin's forging chamber, materials of all types were neatly arranged—metals, non-metals, and even various body parts from Tier 1 to Tier 3 magical beasts. He had personally gathered them all over time.
The most satisfying of these materials, in Jiang Lin's opinion, was a Tier 3 item on the top shelf: a fiery-red Silver-Striped Flame Rhino Horn, resembling a piece of molten jade. It was the only Tier 3 material he had managed to obtain, and it was thanks to Mr. Yao's Wan Yao Pharmacy. The horn was also a type of medicinal material. When a mercenary group sold it to the pharmacy, Jiang Lin happened to spot it and shamelessly pestered Mr. Yao until he gave in.
Now that he thought about it, Jiang Lin figured his "familiar old face" probably had some kind of special charm effect on Mr. Yao…
"3 grams of Flowstone Graphite, 1 gram of powdered Silver-Striped Flame Rhino Horn, 5 grams of Fire-Devouring Sparrow magic core fragments…"
After dozens of failures, Jiang Lin finally succeeded in developing a specialized liquid metal conductor with exceptionally high fire-attribute Dou Qi conductivity. Once refined and fused, the result was a glowing red liquid speckled with flickering purple starlight. Its magical trait: it would solidify when heated, but turn liquid again under extreme heat—fire becomes metal, and heat melts it back.
"Scaled-down burst-combustion circuit structure in position."
In the blazing forge, Jiang Lin stared at the fist-sized metal core on the table, then quickly trimmed it down to the size of a pigeon egg. He wrapped soft iron wire along the grooves, applied insulation materials, then withdrew the wire and injected his custom liquid conductor. A few seconds in the furnace solidified it into a metal core.
Next, he took out a set of pre-cast metal components and began assembling them on the spot. After fitting the core into the center, its outer connector matched the interior grooves of a tubular component. Seeing no issues, he locked it into place.
After working half the day, Jiang Lin finally completed assembly using mortise-and-tenon joints. He finished by casting a layer of Tier 2 violet gold powder on the outside. After one last refinement in the furnace, a purple-red rod resembling a detonator emerged.
Jiang Lin looked at the "fire stick" in his hand and, on a whim, engraved a tiny image of a skyward-facing puppy in an inconspicuous spot.
And with that, the second Dou Weapon forged under Jiang Lin's unique forging system was complete.
Top-tier Mid Yellow Rank Dou Weapon – Thunderfire Plume
Entirely purple-red with golden luster. Shaped like a small rod, 6.3 inches long. Contains a burst-combustion core. Base includes a removable Grade 1 fire-type magic core. Comes with three interchangeable "Qi-Piercing Needles." Rotating the base rapidly triggers internal friction, igniting the core and launching a steel needle with explosive force. At close range, it can pierce Dou Qi Veils and injure even Battle Masters.
Note: Due to the properties of the custom liquid conductor, when the fire-core approaches its overload threshold, the conductor melts and depressurizes. A portion of the resulting gas backflows into the air chamber, forcing the base to eject and cut off the Dou Qi circuit.
Drenched in sweat, Jiang Lin looked at the result of half a month of labor and couldn't help but feel dazed.
If he'd made something like this in his previous life, Jiang Lin wouldn't have needed to worry about money for the rest of his days.
This was essentially a prototype for a firearm—or more accurately, a magically enhanced prototype firearm.
But in this world of Dou Qi, Jiang Lin had to admit: Thunderfire Plume was, at most, just a toy. Useful in early stages for self-defense, maybe—but relying on it in the long term would be foolish.
Still, Jiang Lin had never placed too much hope in this weapon to begin with.
He picked up the Thunderfire Plume, aimed at a wooden beam in the corner, and twisted the base with a click.
Bang!
A jolt ran through Jiang Lin's palm. In the distance, the thick wooden beam had been pierced clean through, a hole the size of a finger boring straight into it. The impact even split the wood into pieces, and the needle—a disposable, chopstick-thick steel dart—had embedded itself halfway into the wall.
"It really does have the lethality of a firearm… I'll make something better in the future. This one I'll give to Xiao Yi Xian for self-defense. Not bad at all." Jiang Lin evaluated the power and craftsmanship, nodding in satisfaction.
With that level of penetration and suddenness, even a Great Battle Master could be injured if caught off guard. Ordinary fighters could be hurt by a regular needle, but those with Dou Qi Veils would require one of Jiang Lin's custom Qi-Piercing Needles—made from materials that weaken Dou Qi flow.
"With this knowledge, technically I could recreate machine guns or cannons…"
He imagined himself wielding a magic-powered minigun, mowing down enemies on the battlefield.
"No, no—that's asking for death!"
Jiang Lin shuddered and quickly pushed the dangerous fantasy out of his mind.
"The metaphysical is Dao; my path of forging is to carry Dao through tools. Obsessing over destructive weaponry is falling into the trap of materialist ideology."
Traditional firearms couldn't kill high-level cultivators in this world. They were a crude, inefficient use of energy. The Thunderfire Plume was just a byproduct of experimentation—a prototype from Jiang Lin's new school of thought, which he called Magic Core Stream.
Weapons of the Magic Core Stream allowed low-tier fighters to unleash massive Dou Qi bursts, letting them fight far above their level.
However, their damage was primarily heat and shockwave based—limited in effect. Against Dou Emperors or above, magic core firearms were nearly useless. In fact, they'd likely be more harmful to society than helpful, as high-level fighters could nullify their effects while replicating or outclassing them easily.
Thus, in a world where individual power had no clear ceiling, traditional weaponry's limited conversion logic doomed it to mediocrity. Instead, Jiang Lin's true path lay in Dao-bearing Tools—weapons that carried principles, not just energy.
For instance, even something like a nuke—a purely physical weapon—might not break through a Dou Sovereign's defense, let alone harm a Dou Saint with spatial mastery.
But if that nuke were a Dao-level artifact, capable of shattering or collapsing space with its explosion—then even a Dou Saint would flee without hesitation.
(END CHAPTER)
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