Yu Xiaogang didn't know how to thank Ma Hongjun.
He also didn't know how to explain the mutation of his martial soul.
"You changed my destiny, and I, Yu Xiaogang, will remember this kindness for the rest of my life." After putting away his martial soul, Yu Xiaogang looked at Ma Hongjun with immense gratitude.
"Hongjun, thank you for helping your teacher change his destiny. From now on, you are my brother."
"Good lad, I didn't expect Xiaogang to meet you and complete the martial soul mutation. I should have let you two meet sooner."
...
With such a shocking opening, the introductions became much more intimate.
Perhaps because Yu Xiaogang's martial soul was connected to Ma Hongjun's Dragon Soul Spear, there was an invisible sense of closeness between the two.
"Xiaogang, what's your new martial soul called? It doesn't look like the Golden Sacred Dragon." Flander said.
"I don't know either. I haven't seen this kind of martial soul in the books I've read. I think this might be a completely new martial soul.
Perhaps we can give it a new name."
After the master finished speaking, he looked at Ma Hongjun.
"Hongjun, what do you think is a suitable name?"
"Let's call it Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. Judging from its appearance, that name is the most fitting."
"Hmm, very descriptive!"
"Five-Clawed Golden Dragon!"
Grandmaster was still excited. Having completed his martial soul mutation, he had broken through to level 30, which would undoubtedly make future cultivation much easier.
Although he was no longer young, it didn't affect his fighting spirit at all.
Arriving at the training ground, he definitely wanted to test the power of his new martial soul.
"Mubai, you fight Grandmaster."
To feel the power, Dai Mubai, also possessing a top-tier beast martial soul, was undoubtedly the best opponent for Grandmaster. White
Tiger versus Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.
The martial souls unfolded. Dai Mubai's soul rings were two yellow and one purple. Although Grandmaster only had two yellow rings, his aura was in no way inferior to the White Tiger's.
Without using soul skills, the two martial souls clashed. Dai Mubai's martial soul was attached to his body, while Grandmaster controlled the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon with his will.
Golden light clashed with white light in a pure hand-to-hand combat. Despite an eight-level difference, Grandmaster and Dai Mubai were evenly matched. Grandmaster couldn't gain the upper hand, but he showed no signs of defeat. It's worth
noting that the White Tiger is also a top-tier beast spirit. While slightly inferior to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, it shouldn't be unable to defeat an opponent with an eight-level difference.
This clearly demonstrates that the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon is stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. In other words, the most powerful beast spirit in the Douluo Continent now belongs to Grandmaster's Five-Clawed Golden Dragon.
Grandmaster understands this best, as he's still adapting to the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. Once he's fully familiar with it, defeating the White Tiger, despite the eight-level difference, might not be a problem.
Next came the spirit skill competition. After the spirit mutation, Grandmaster's spirit skills changed, no longer resembling Luo Sanpao's farting skills.
His first spirit skill was Dragon's Roar, increasing his power by 30%. His
second spirit skill was Dragon's Breath, exhaling golden energy with the same effect as before: hypnotic sleep, reducing the opponent's attack power—essentially weakening them.
With the combined power of Grandmaster's first and second skills, along with the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon's powerful attack and defense, even Dai Mubai, who possessed a thousand-year-old soul skill, was ultimately defeated. After
the match, Grandmaster and Flander rekindled their past friendship.
"Flander, come with me to the Star Dou Great Forest again tomorrow."
Now that his confidence had returned, Grandmaster was no longer as sullen as before, and he was no longer polite to his longtime brother.
"Of course!" Flander laughed.
So Flander, who had just returned and whose injuries had not yet healed, set off for the Star Dou Great Forest with Grandmaster early the next morning.
Zhao Wuji was worried and wanted to accompany them, but Grandmaster and Flander seemed to not want a third party involved, so they refused Zhao Wuji and happily headed into the wilderness. With
the Dean absent and everyone exhausted from several days of work, Zhao Wuji simply gave everyone a day off to rest.
It just so happened that Ma Hongjun and Tang San were preparing to study the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.
This powerful hidden weapon was enough to cause great damage to Soul Sect experts.
With Ning Rongrong's request, mass production was inevitable, which Tang San couldn't handle alone.
Ma Hongjun brought Ning Rongrong, and Meng Yiran followed Tang San; the four of them arrived in Soto City together.
Meng Yiran came with the intention of learning hidden weapons, and Tang San had no reason to refuse.
Now, Ma Hongjun was in a difficult position. Judging from Meng Yiran's offensive, he didn't know how long Tang San could hold out. He had promised Xiao Wu to keep an eye on Tang San, otherwise he would have other women. He
still owed her grandfather a favor and a soul bone; he couldn't very well cause trouble for Meng Yiran.
It was a tough situation!
Although Ma Hongjun didn't think there was anything wrong with the three-seven and four-seven principle in this world,
that was for a special kind of man like him. For someone as pure and conservative as Tang San, it was obviously unsuitable.
"Little San, playing with hidden weapons is fine, but don't shoot them recklessly! Xiao Wu is still waiting for you in the Star Dou Great Forest."
Ma Hongjun, arm in arm with Tang San, walked ahead, jokingly but seriously speaking.
Behind them, Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran were already chatting. Knowing that Meng Yiran's target wasn't her brother, she felt much better. Besides, she and Meng Yiran were actually similar types of people, so they had a lot to talk about. Ma Hongjun was a little worried that the two might quarrel, since they were both quite headstrong. Fortunately,
they seemed to be getting along well; it seemed that women could generally become good friends as long as they didn't involve each other's men.
Ma Hongjun had been in Soto City for three years and was relatively familiar with the city.
Leading Tang San, the four of them arrived at the largest blacksmith shop in Soto City.
The blacksmith shop was simply called the Blacksmith Shop, not because the owner named it randomly, but because the owner's surname was Tie (Iron). Of course, the blacksmith
shop couldn't manufacture hidden weapons. Tang San's idea was that he would draw the parts needed for the hidden weapons, and then the blacksmith shop would manufacture them, with him responsible for the final assembly.
Even before entering the blacksmith shop, they could already hear the dense, crisp sound of hammering.
This blacksmith shop had a wide range of products, basically encompassing everything that could be made of iron, from tools and weapons to armor.
There were six or seven clerks responsible for reception, and when Ma Hongjun and his group of four entered, one of them immediately came to greet them.
Tang San looked at the strong men working on the blacksmith's block, a look of delight on his face. Tang San had been a blacksmith himself, learning from his father since childhood, so he could naturally see the skill and technique of these men.
Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran, true to their reputation as little devils, made the clerk a little embarrassed, while the two, though blushing slightly, still curiously looked around.
The shop was full of men; because of the proximity to the furnace, the temperature inside was extremely high, and all the hundred-plus men wore long, special blacksmith's robes. Their
upper bodies were bare, revealing their strong, muscular physiques.
Clearly, these men rarely saw female guests. None of them dared look Ning Rongrong and her companion directly in the eye, despite their strong desire to see them. They only dared to steal glances.
Judging from their luxurious attire, they were undoubtedly wealthy and influential, and these men were afraid of offending their distinguished guests.
In Douluo Continent, blacksmithing was a lowly profession, much like the migrant worker brothers in Ma Hongjun's previous life. These simple, honest people were mostly straightforward and kind.
Among them were some young apprentices, who were naturally attracted to the two beauties, Ning Rongrong and her companion, but were now blushing from their furtive glances. However
, the two girls, true to their carefree and somewhat mischievous nature, remained unfazed, even finding it somewhat exciting.
"Call your manager over, I'm here to discuss a big deal!" Ma Hongjun said with a smile.
Soon, a middle-aged man approached.
"Hello, I'm the owner here, my name is Tie Xin. What kind of big business do you want to discuss?"
Ma Hongjun sensed the fluctuations of soul power emanating from the middle-aged man. This man was a Soul Master; no wonder he owned such a large-scale blacksmith shop.
"Hello, boss. I'd like to ask first, how much income does your blacksmith shop generate in a year?"
Ma Hongjun asked, displaying an air of wealth and arrogance.
In fact, Ma Hongjun was now considered quite wealthy; his Fairy Robe Pavilion was now a multi-million gold soul coin-sized listed company in another world.
Comparing the purchasing power of the two worlds, a million gold soul coins was equivalent to his "small goal, one hundred million" in his previous life.
Tie Xin was unsure of Ma Hongjun's intentions, but since Ma Hongjun seemed like a wealthy young master, he immediately replied,
"Around one hundred thousand gold soul coins!"
Actually, Tie Xin had already given an inflated figure. Business at the blacksmith shop wasn't good; maintaining an income of seventy thousand was already quite good.
"One hundred thousand, huh? Not bad!" Ma Hongjun said casually, his tone incredibly arrogant.
"If this deal goes well, I'll take over your entire blacksmith shop."
Tie Xin looked at Ma Hongjun incredulously. Judging from what he'd just said, taking over their blacksmith shop would cost at least 100,000 gold soul coins a year.
This young boy, though he looked like a young master, didn't know which young master in Soto City could casually throw around 100,000 gold soul coins—that was no small sum.
So, he found it unbelievable. He
immediately retorted
, "Are you kidding me?!"
Ma Hongjun laughed, taking out a gold card from his jade belt.
This kind of gold card represented at least one million gold soul coins!
"Your surname is Tie, so I'll call you Old Tie!"
Saying this, Ma Hongjun held the gold card in his left hand, put his right hand on Tie Xin's shoulder, and waved the gold card in front of him.
"Old Tie, do I look like someone who's short of a little money?!"