Chapter 42: The Ways of the Douluo World, Su Yuntao Challenges a Spirit Elder
"The so-called power behind the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop..."
Tang Shan felt a trace of curiosity in his heart.
"A power behind it does indeed exist."
Iron Bell's expression carried a hint of oddity.
"Back then, my Senior Brother and I intended to make more money off those great nobles. As for furniture and farm tools, we wouldn't raise the prices arbitrarily. We competed with each other; he was responsible for maliciously hiking prices, while I would suppress them, then slowly raise the actual price bit by bit. But we never expected—"
Iron Bell didn't finish his sentence, but Tang Shan already understood.
The two brothers originally wanted to play a double act, but they didn't expect those major powers to be pushed so hard that they actually supported the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop to compete against the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop.
From then on, the Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop had backing. The Iron Dragon brothers achieved their goal of slowly raising prices, and the other factions successfully curbed the Iron Dragon Blacksmith Shop's malicious price hikes. It was practically a triple win; everyone won big.
"Those major powers didn't use any other methods?"
Tang Shan found it hard to believe that those who came to a blacksmith shop to purchase weapons and armor would be kind-hearted people.
Iron Bell shook his head gently.
"There were definitely other methods used against my Senior Brother; the key was whether it was worth it. Even though we earn quite a bit, this money is, if not a drop in the ocean, then certainly not much to the powers purchasing armor and weapons."
"Senior Brother is, after all, a Spirit King. As long as the price could be brought down, there was no need to use underhanded tactics. After all, compared to those gold coins, the powers behind them value Face more."
"My Senior Brother's malicious price hikes were equivalent to treating them like suckers. As long as the final price dropped back down, it gave them enough Face, and everything could be discussed."
Tang Shan couldn't help but sigh at the reality of this world.
Just as Iron Bell said, gold coins were merely a string of numbers to truly major powers. They valued Face more, or perhaps their so-called prestige.
Coupled with Iron Dragon's own strength, since there was a more stable way to solve the problem, there was truly no need to resort to underhanded tactics.
Otherwise, if the cleanup wasn't thorough enough, for powers like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School or the great nobles of Heaven Dou City to go through so much trouble to target a blacksmith shop owner... if such a reputation spread, even if the owner was in the wrong, the loss to their own reputation would still be immeasurable.
A single sentence like, 'Your power is so immense, yet you specifically target a small boss; isn't that a bit too petty?' would be enough to give them a real headache.
"Master Tie, I'll be going now."
No longer concerned with the trap the brothers Iron Dragon and Iron Bell had set for those big shots, Tang Shan exchanged some forging insights with Iron Bell and then got up to leave.
"Alright."
Watching the young man's figure fade into the distance, Iron Bell's gaze grew distant. Tang Shan, I hope you can continue forward on the path of forging.
Walking out of the blacksmith shop, Tang Shan looked back at the plaque above his head, a slight stir in his heart.
All sorts of people met and crossed paths with him, only to separate again. It was so real and so profound.
This was the Douluo Continent, and he was currently right here on this Douluo Continent.
"Everything packed up?"
Su Haichao walked out of the room and looked at Tang Shan standing at the door.
Tang Shan nodded. "The daily necessities are ready; they're all in the Storage Ring."
"Good. Let's go watch your big brother's final Spirit fight and see if he can truly challenge a Spirit Elder."
O
"As long as the opponent doesn't have a standard Spirit Elder's spirit ring configuration and isn't an exceptionally experienced Spirit Elder, there's basically no possibility of defeat."
Tang Shan still had quite a bit of confidence in Su Yuntao. After all, over the past few days, through sparring with him, Su Yuntao had basically mastered the method to enter the 'Martial Soul Fusion' state.
The name 'Alternative Spirit Avatar' didn't sound very impressive. Su Yuntao felt this state was a Fusion of the Spirit's combat experience and himself, so he simply called this special state 'Martial Soul Fusion.'
"But he participated in two-on-one Spirit fights a few days ago and even lost twice."
Su Haichao clearly didn't agree with Tang Shan's view, but the smile on his Face undoubtedly showed he was extremely satisfied with Su Yuntao's performance at the Great Spirit Arena.
"That was purely a matter of luck."
Tang Shan recalled Su Yuntao's few defeats and couldn't help but sigh that Su Yuntao's luck was indeed terrible.
The first defeat was the day before yesterday. At that time, Su Yuntao had just completely mastered the 'Martial Soul Fusion' state and was in high Spirits, only to be dealt a sudden blow.
His opponents were a pair of twins whose Spirits were a lion and a tiger respectively.
Our Brother Tao originally wanted to play out a scene of 'The king of beasts' throne rotates, today it's my turn.' The early development of the battle went exactly as he expected; relying on the Martial Soul Fusion state, he suppressed the two Spirit Grandmasters single-handedly.
But who would have thought that just as he was about to eliminate one of them, the two brothers actually rushed toward each other.
Before Su Yuntao could react, a complete Spirit Fusion Ability came straight at him.
They were both Spirit Grandmasters, but the opponent used a Spirit Fusion Ability to counter his Martial Soul Fusion; he really couldn't win that.
Thus, Su Yuntao's first defeat in a Spirit fight was born.
The second defeat was yesterday. If the defeat from the day before was bad luck due to encountering a Spirit Fusion Ability, then Su Yuntao seriously suspected his second defeat was absolutely a setup.
Just how unlucky did one have to be to encounter two Spirit Masters with full yellow spirit ring configurations in three consecutive matches at the Great Spirit Arena?
Even if spirit power could be restored, physical strength, mental force, and the mental effort spent dealing with opponents were not so easily recovered.
After fighting six Spirit Grandmasters with standard spirit ring configurations in a row, even with Su Yuntao's thousand-year spirit ring being incredibly powerful and the combat experience granted by Martial Soul Fusion being rich, he ultimately couldn't withstand the war of attrition and was defeated.
"Surely he won't encounter another Spirit Elder with a standard spirit ring configuration this time? If he really does, Dad, I suggest letting Big Brother go to Heaven Dou City by himself. With this kind of luck, if we're with him, who knows what accidents we'll run into on the road."
Tang Shan couldn't help but complain about Su Yuntao's terrible luck over the past two days; it was truly hard to imagine encountering such a string of troublesome opponents.
Arriving at the Great Spirit Arena, they greeted Elder Xuan at the entrance. The match hadn't started yet.
Taking out the tickets prepared in advance, the two entered the main arena. At this moment, the host was working hard to build up the atmosphere.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this Spirit fight is absolutely a brilliant showdown rarely seen in a century! Our popular contestant, Lone Wolf, will challenge a Spirit Elder! A Spirit Grandmaster challenging a Spirit Elder—this is an extremely rare sight—"
Waves of enthusiastic cheers echoed throughout the Great Spirit Arena. Many audience members were even holding signs that said 'Lone Wolf.'
Although less than ten days had passed, Su Yuntao had already accumulated immense popularity.
Initially, it was because of his millennium second spirit ring. Later, everyone began to pay attention to his consecutive wins, and finally, they were completely captivated by his brilliant two-on-one battles.
It could be said that lately, almost everyone who came to the Great Spirit Arena knew the name 'Lone Wolf.'
"Now, I announce, the match officially begins!"
As the host exited the arena, this highly anticipated Spirit fight officially raised its curtain.
"Huh, what a coincidence."
Tang Shan keenly noticed that his big brother's opponent's Spirit also seemed to be a wolf.
"It's a Storm Devil Wolf."
Su Haichao had clearly noticed this as well and identified the opponent's Spirit with a bit of judgment.
Three yellow spirit rings pulsed slowly from top to bottom. Cyan fur emerged from the opponent's body, and invisible air currents swirled around him.
Spirit Elder Wind Wolf, Spirit: Storm Devil Wolf. Recalling the information about his opponent, a look of heat flashed in Su Yuntao's eyes.
"Then let you be my last opponent in Stark City!"
One yellow and one purple spirit ring beneath his feet lit up simultaneously. In his mind, a Lone Wolf seemed to gallop from afar and slammed into his body.
In an instant, the aura on Su Yuntao's body changed abruptly, carrying both ferocity and a hint of coldness. Two contradictory states appeared on him at the same time.
Su Yuntao's opponent, 'Wind Wolf,' or rather the Spirit Master Wind Wave, looked at the Spirit Grandmaster who had already activated his spirit rings and didn't dare to be careless.
After all, when the Spirit Arena invited him to fight 'Lone Wolf,' they had already shown him the opponent's startling record and rapid progress. Especially in the battle the day before yesterday, 'Lone Wolf' seemed to have lost for the first time, but his combat power had undergone a terrifying transformation, and his practical experience had skyrocketed. Wind Wave, who had occasionally observed that battle, could clearly feel that the opponent's combat experience was probably not inferior to his own, a Spirit Master who had struggled in the Spirit Arena for three or four years.
First Soul Skill, Wind Blade!
Cyan air currents condensed in front of Wind Wave. However, he didn't attack immediately, instead controlling the skill to move back and forth around him.
The second yellow spirit ring beneath his feet lit up. Wind Wave's physical attributes were significantly enhanced, and he charged straight toward the rapidly approaching Su Yuntao.
Sharp wolf claws collided head-on, producing a crisp metallic clashing sound.
Clang!
Wolf claws touched wolf claws, grinding out a series of dazzling sparks.
With the support of his enhancement soul skill, Su Yuntao's overall strength was clearly a notch higher than Wind Wave's. After a head-on clash, Wind Wave instinctively retreated.
Su Yuntao, who was about to take the opportunity to pursue, was slightly hindered by the Wind Blade circling Wind Wave. This delay of a moment allowed the opponent to quickly adjust his state.
"This battle might be a bit troublesome."
Tang Shan saw the situation as soon as they clashed and realized where the problem lay.
In terms of raw strength alone, Su Yuntao undoubtedly surpassed that Spirit Elder. However, the opponent was not only experienced in battle but also extremely cautious. A perfectly good Wind Blade soul skill was being used by him for defensive purposes, specifically to block the opponent's attacks. One could only say that this duel would likely be another bitter struggle.
Such strong patience.
At this time, Wind Wave, whose spirit power was mostly depleted, looked solemnly at Su Yuntao, who was constantly searching for an opening like a Lone Wolf beside him.
He had pre-imagined many battle outcomes, but he never expected the opponent to be so difficult to deal with.
His third soul skill was Wind Trap, which could form a small whirlwind at the opponent's feet to restrict their movement speed. Combined with his other two soul skills, although his attack power wasn't overwhelming, it was enough to be a headache.
Many previous opponents had gradually lost their patience under his constant harassment, revealing huge openings and being defeated.
But the young man before him, who looked no more than twenty years old, was completely different. Despite the hint of youth still visible on his Face, his eyes held a calmness like a deep pool.
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