Watching the three approach, President Zhu Wen hurriedly strode forward to meet them.
The dozen or so core members of the Blacksmith Association behind him followed closely, a group of burly, broad-shouldered men stepping in unison. The heavy sound of their footsteps echoed through the empty street, creating quite an impressive aura.
President Zhu Wen's gaze swept quickly over the three people opposite him, eventually landing on Princess Xu Jiujiu as expected.
A sincere and enthusiastic smile spread across his rugged face as he bowed slightly and cupped his hands, saying, "Princess Xu Jiujiu, your arrival truly brings great honor to our Blacksmith Association!"
Although the Blacksmith Association was not an official organization, they naturally dared not offend the Imperial family within the Star Luo Empire.
Princess Xu Jiujiu smiled slightly, waved her hand gently, and said in a natural tone, "President Zhu Wen, you are too kind. I am just passing by to have a look; I am not the protagonist today."
As she spoke, she naturally turned her head, her gaze falling on Huo Yuhao beside her.
Although President Zhu Wen already had an answer in his heart, he still played dumb on the surface.
He turned his head to look at Huo Yuhao, his dark face showing just the right amount of curiosity and confusion, and asked with cupped hands, "Forgive this old man's poor eyesight, but who is this?"
His words were half-true and half-false; the poor eyesight was feigned, but the confusion was real. He truly did not know the reason for this young man's visit.
Princess Xu Jiujiu smiled slightly and introduced, "This is the Hall Master of the Spirit Transmission Hall, Huo Yuhao."
"The Spirit Transmission Hall?"
This time, the confusion on President Zhu Wen's face was not feigned. Although many people were secretly discussing the mystery of the Spirit Transmission Hall, he had indeed not paid it any attention.
Huo Yuhao took the initiative to speak, explaining, "The Spirit Transmission Hall currently specializes in producing Spirit Tools. My visit today is specifically to discuss a collaboration with you, President Zhu Wen."
Upon hearing this, a flash of realization crossed President Zhu Wen's eyes.
As the President of the Blacksmith Association, he was well aware of the importance of metal Forging in the production of Spirit Tools.
Having understood the reason for their visit, the smile on President Zhu Wen's face became a bit more sincere.
He immediately stepped aside to open the gate, gesturing for them to enter, "I see. Then let's not stand at the door talking. The three of you, please come in. Let's go inside, sit down, and chat slowly!"
The interior layout of the Blacksmith Association was consistent with its rugged exterior style. There were no lavish decorations or exquisite furnishings; everything was primarily for practical use.
President Zhu Wen led everyone to a reception room. Besides Huo Yuhao, Princess Xu Jiujiu, and Jin Li, only three people from the Blacksmith Association remained: President Zhu Wen and the two Vice Presidents.
After sitting down, President Zhu Wen noticed that the person sitting in the main seat beside him was actually Huo Yuhao, not Princess Xu Jiujiu. This silently increased the level of importance he placed on Huo Yuhao.
After some brief pleasantries, the meeting officially entered the main topic.
President Zhu Wen set down his teacup and looked frankly at Huo Yuhao.
He asked straightforwardly, "Hall Master Huo, we are both straightforward people, so let's not beat around the bush. Regarding the collaboration you mentioned at the door, what exactly does it entail?"
Huo Yuhao had already prepared before coming, so he said directly, "It's very simple. We, the Spirit Transmission Hall, are responsible for providing the rare metal Materials, and the Blacksmith Association is responsible for Forging and processing them according to our requirements."
After hearing this, neither President Zhu Wen nor the two Vice Presidents showed any sign of surprise.
This type of collaboration model was nothing new; the Blacksmith Association had handled similar jobs in the past.
If it were just this, there would seem to be no reason to hesitate; an order delivered to their doorstep was not one to turn down.
But Huo Yuhao's next sentence caused the expressions of President Zhu Wen and the other two Vice Presidents to change instantly.
Huo Yuhao placed his teacup gently on the table, then raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping calmly across the faces of the three presidents one by one.
Then he said, enunciating each word clearly, "However, how to do the Forging must be up to me."
These words were not polite at all; they could even be called overbearing.
After all, Huo Yuhao was only a youth, while each of these three presidents was old enough to be his grandfather.
If it weren't for Princess Xu Jiujiu being present to preside over the meeting, these presidents would probably have already lost their temper.
Even so, the expressions of the three presidents darkened visibly.
After a brief and oppressive silence in the reception room, President Zhu Wen spoke slowly.
His voice was a bit lower than before, but his tone remained quite restrained: "Hall Master Huo, as the saying goes, there is a specialty in every trade."
"When it comes to making Spirit Tools, you Soul Engineers are the experts; we rough men who swing hammers naturally cannot compare."
"But when it comes to ironworking and Forging, I'm sorry, but this is a craft passed down through generations of our blacksmiths. I'm afraid you are not as good as us."
His words were already extremely polite, but the meaning was expressed clearly: laymen should not give blind instructions.
He paused, took a deep breath to calm his surging emotions, softened his tone a bit, and continued, "Hall Master Huo, actually, you can list the specific requirements for the Materials and give them to us."
"How much hardness is needed, what standard of toughness is required, what range the dimensional accuracy should be controlled within—our Blacksmith Association will naturally follow your requirements and come up with the most compliant Forging plan, guaranteeing that the forged Materials will not have a single flaw for you to pick at."
After hearing President Zhu Wen's words, Huo Yuhao did not show any expression of being offended or dissatisfied.
He remained calm and composed, the corners of his mouth even lifting slightly as he smiled and said, "President Zhu Wen, it's not that I don't believe in the craftsmanship of the Blacksmith Association, but rather that the requirements I'm talking about... you cannot achieve!"
If Huo Yuhao's previous sentence was somewhat overbearing, this one was a naked provocation.
Running to the Blacksmith Association's territory and saying, to the faces of the three presidents, that their ancestral craft could not meet his requirements—wasn't this like blocking their door and pointing fingers at their noses to insult them?
This was intolerable; what could be tolerated if this could not?
"Clap!"
A dull thud exploded in the quiet reception room.
Before President Zhu Wen could speak, Vice President Qu Tong slammed his palm heavily on the table, causing the thick solid wood table to tremble violently, and a few drops of tea splashed out of the cups.
This old blacksmith had white hair and beard, and his skin showed a unique dark red color from years of Forging by the furnace. His thick, bushy beard quivered with his heavy breathing.
He stood up abruptly, glaring at Huo Yuhao, his voice as loud as a ringing bronze bell: "Kid, I've been tolerating you for a long time!"
"I've been swinging a hammer for most of my life, from an apprentice to a Vice President. I've handled more iron Materials than you've eaten meals."
"How old are you, kid? You're barely out of diapers, and you dare to question the craftsmanship of the Blacksmith Association in front of me?"
The more Qu Tong spoke, the angrier he got, and his voice grew louder, making the window lattice of the reception room buzz: "If you don't trust our blacksmithing craft, don't come to our door to talk about any collaboration!"
"If you want us to do the work, yet you also want to boss us around, saying this won't do and that won't do, what kind of logic is that?"
Qu Tong poured out everything he had been holding inside in one breath, his chest heaving violently.
President Zhu Wen finally spoke, calling out in a deep voice: "Old Qu, sit down."
Qu Tong turned to look at President Zhu Wen, eventually snorting heavily through his nose, plopping back into his chair, crossing his arms, and turning his head away to stop looking at Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao watched this scene from beginning to end, but there was not a trace of anger or displeasure on his face.
Although President Zhu Wen maintained politeness and restraint from beginning to end, he had deliberately delayed stopping Qu Tong when he slammed the table and cursed, which was enough to explain the situation.
President Zhu Wen was also angry inside, but he could not vent it because of Princess Xu Jiujiu's presence.
However, all of this was within Huo Yuhao's expectations; one could even say this was the exact effect he wanted.
He did not offer any defense, but simply smiled slightly and slowly extended his right hand.
As his mind moved slightly, an object appeared out of thin air in his previously empty palm.
More accurately, it was a piece of rare metal.
It was a square cube with a side length of a little over three inches, with distinct edges and corners, cut very precisely.
Its color was extremely peculiar, the main body presenting a cold and pure silvery-white, as if it were a glacier peak that had not melted for Ten Thousand Years.
And on top of the silvery-white base color, fine and deep purple patterns were evenly distributed.
Most eerily, on the surface of this metal, there were patterns resembling eyes, as if countless sleeping eyes were quietly gazing at this World.
Whether it was Qu Tong, who had just slammed his full anger onto the table, President Zhu Wen, who had forcibly suppressed that anger in his heart, or the other Vice President, Lin Zhiyuan, who had remained silent throughout.
At this moment, the gazes of all three were as if stuck by a magnet, pinned tightly to the metal in Huo Yuhao's palm.
The entire reception room was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard. In their eyes, it seemed as if there was nothing else in the entire World except for that metal emitting a faint purple glow.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.