20demayo Chapter 379 Gengxin City, the Metal Capital
Chapter 379 Gengxin City, the Metal Capital
Chapter 379 The Metal Capital—Gengxin City
Inside the Grand Duke of the Underworld's mansion.
Upon learning that Zhu Zhuqing had returned to the family, Zhu Zhuyun rushed over.
The two sisters met in a courtyard within the family compound, a residence specifically designated for potential heirs.
He saw his younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing, who was completely unharmed.
Zhu Zhuyun's eyes held a complex mix of emotions: doubt, confusion, surprise, joy, pity, and affection.
But after a moment, it turned cold again.
"Oh, my dear sister, you're still alive?"
Zhu Zhuyun spoke lightly, her tone laced with provocation, and said coldly to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Yes, I'm still alive and well. I've disappointed my sister!"
Seeing her older sister Zhu Zhuyun blocking her way, Zhu Zhuqing frowned, her expression cold, and she retorted without flinching.
Huh? What's wrong with this girl? She used to be so submissive, but now she seems different. She's actually learned to argue back? Zhu Zhuyun was speechless for a moment, as if she had noticed some changes in Zhu Zhuqing that were different from usual.
She gave Zhu Zhuqing a deep look.
Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing's face was rosy and she was in good health, without any signs of injury, he was a little confused.
After thinking for a moment, she asked:
"You were so badly injured, how did you heal overnight?"
"None of your business!"
Zhu Zhuqing said coldly.
She felt a surge of anger whenever she thought about the injuries she had sustained.
If it weren't for her sister's sneak attack, she wouldn't have been so badly injured and powerless to fight back, forced to flee in a sorry state.
Fortunately, she met Brother Ye, who saved her life with top-quality medicinal herbs.
Otherwise, even if she didn't die at her sister's hands, she would have perished in the mouths of the soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Looking at her older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, in front of her.
Zhu Zhuqing was very unhappy, filled with malice and hatred, and didn't want to talk to her at all.
Although Brother Ye had mentioned that his sister didn't seem to genuinely want to kill her, she couldn't suppress the hatred welling up inside her and found it hard to believe this.
After all, her older sister had been targeting and suppressing her for three years, not just for a day or two.
She couldn't swallow this insult.
If she could, she would rather defeat her sister and return all the humiliation her sister had brought her over the past three years.
After saying this, Zhu Zhuqing walked around Zhu Zhuyun, who was blocking her way, and headed towards her room.
Zhu Zhuyun had no idea what Zhu Zhuqing was thinking, but she could clearly feel the coldness and hatred in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, and a bitter feeling welled up inside her.
"Oh, my silly little sister, I gave you a chance to run away, why did you come back? Do you really want to fight me to the death?"
"But how could you possibly be a match for me, your elder sister? You're too naive! Returning to the family will only lead to your death."
Watching Zhu Zhuqing's figure gradually disappear into the distance.
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuyun's beautiful eyes narrowed, her gaze fixed on the clothes Zhu Zhuqing was wearing:
"That jacket... belongs to that lecherous man."
She recognized that coat all too well.
She had one in her storage soul tool.
They are exactly the same in terms of material, style, and color.
Watching Zhu Zhuqing's figure completely disappear, Zhu Zhuyun's bulging chest heaved violently, her jade-like hands clenched into fists, and she gritted her teeth, coldly snorting viciously:
"Damn lecherous bastard, couldn't you have just taken Zhuqing away? Why did you bring her back?! You dare ruin my plans, don't let me see you again, or else... hmph~~"
…………
The little incident that happened when the sisters Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing met inside the Grand Duke of Youming's mansion was unknown to Ye Qifeng and his two companions.
Under Feng Xian's guidance.
Ye Qifeng and Nihuang passed through the inner city and arrived at the outer city, which is in the southern region, on the other side of Xingluo City.
Xingluo City is bordered by the Xingdou Great Forest to the north. When Ye Qifeng and his companions arrived at Xingluo City, they entered the city through the north gate.
The northern area outside Xingluo City is close to the Xingdou Great Forest, so most of the residents there are commoner Soul Masters.
In contrast, the southern region, on the other hand, is inhabited almost entirely by ordinary civilians.
Fengxian's home is located on one of the more dilapidated streets in the southern area.
After arriving at Fengxian's house.
Ye Qifeng and Nihuang soon met Fengxian's mother, who was bedridden.
Fengxian's mother was named Qin Lan. She was also a young lady from a noble family. She was gentle, well-educated, and reasonable. After marrying Fengxian's father, who came from a military family, she gave birth to a daughter, Fengxian.
The family of three originally lived a fairly happy life.
However, a sudden change occurred later. Her husband's family declined in the brutal struggles of Xingluo, and her maternal family, which relied on her husband's family for survival, also suffered as a result and ceased to exist.
Of the two noble families, only Fengxian's mother and young Fengxian survived, but they were stripped of their noble status and demoted to commoners.
Fengxian's mother was just a young lady from a noble family, and also an ordinary person.
Aside from enjoying tending to flowers and plants and knowing a little about herbs and medicine, he knows nothing else and has no other abilities.
You could say she was the kind of lady who needed to be waited on.
It was truly difficult for a frail woman like her to struggle for survival in the Star Luo Imperial City, a place with a strict hierarchy and brutal power struggles, with the young Feng Xian by her side.
The family suffered a series of misfortunes, and Fengxian's mother was already deeply affected and depressed. In order to help her daughter live, she worked too hard, which led to her heart damage and illness.
Because of the inability to earn money and several moves, the family's savings dwindled and were quickly depleted.
If it weren't for the fact that Feng Xian could receive a monthly allowance of one gold soul coin from the Spirit Hall, she and her mother would probably not have survived long ago.
However, in the expensive city of Xingluo, this amount of money was just a drop in the ocean and could not meet the treatment needs of Fengxian's mother. As a result, her illness could not be cured for a long time and instead became more and more serious, eventually leaving her bedridden.
Fengxian's mother is only thirty years old, the prime of a woman's life, but she is now bedridden due to a serious illness, waiting to die in despair.
When Ye Qifeng and Nihuang arrived at Fengxian's house.
Feng Xian's mother, Qin Lan, was already extremely weak and on her deathbed. If she did not receive timely treatment, she would likely pass away soon.
Fortunately, Ye Qifeng arrived in time. He quickly took out the top-grade medicinal herb that could bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded. He plucked a bright green leaf and fed it to Fengxian's mother, saving her life.
Not only that.
Sensing that Qin Lan was somewhat weak and her mind was damaged, Ye Qifeng took out a top-grade spiritual herb and gave it to her to help her repair her mind and strengthen her spirit.
Feng Xian's mother, Qin Lan's, illness was thus completely cured by Ye Qifeng.
After rescuing Fengxian's mother.
Ye Qifeng and Nihuang then revealed their identities and their purpose for coming.
When they expressed their admiration for Feng Xian's talent and hoped that Feng Xian would join the Spirit Hall and go to Spirit City with them.
Qin Lan, Feng Xian's mother, was deeply grateful for Ye Qifeng's life-saving grace and agreed without hesitation.
Now, the mother and daughter are no longer nobles, and she is just a useless mother who can't do anything. Not only can she not help her daughter, but she will also hold her daughter back.
In the rigidly hierarchical Star Luo City, there is no future to speak of, and it is hard to say whether one can even survive.
Now that the two benefactors of the Spirit Hall have recognized her talent and want to take her to Spirit City, Qin Lan is more than willing.
She had also heard of Wuhun City.
That was the headquarters of the Spirit Hall, the most powerful force on the entire continent, and the supreme holy land in the hearts of those powerful Soul Masters.
If my daughter can go to the Spirit Hall, with her talent, she will definitely receive excellent training and will surely stand out in the future.
Since that's the case, why not let our daughter go out and explore the world? That way, we won't waste her exceptional talent.
Therefore, for the sake of her daughter's future, Qin Lan was willing to let go.
Qin Lan was overjoyed and welcomed Ye Qifeng and Nihuang's suggestion.
But Feng Xian hesitated.
Although she was very tempted, the thought of leaving her mother made her feel somewhat resistant.
Fengxian knew very well what was wrong with her mother.
After all, her mother was not a Soul Master, but just a weak woman. In the past, as a noble lady and wife, she almost never lifted a finger to do housework, and she is not much better off now.
If they are separated from me and have no one to take care of them, they will probably have a hard time surviving.
However, when Ye Qifeng said he would take her mother with him, Feng Xian was overjoyed and immediately agreed without any further hesitation.
Anyway, bringing Feng Xian's mother, Qin Lan, back to Wuhun City was just a piece of cake.
Ye Qifeng already had plans for her.
According to Feng Xian, Qin Lan is naturally quiet, loves cultivating flowers and plants, enjoys interacting with them, and has some knowledge of herbs and medicine.
That's how it is.
Why not let her go to Ju Douluo Yueguan's courtyard to help take care of the flowers and plants?
Presumably, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan would not refuse.
…………
After discussing everything...
Ye Qifeng and Nihuang, who originally wanted to find a hotel to stay in, were invited to stay by the hospitable mother and daughter Qin Lan and Feng Xian and ended up staying at their home.
Fengxian's house is quite small, with only two small rooms, and usually the mother and daughter each live in one room.
Now that two more people have moved in, there aren't enough rooms.
Because Nihuang always acted very intimately in front of Ye Qifeng, Qin Lan accidentally saw this scene and mistakenly thought that the two of them were a couple. So she asked her daughter Fengxian to move in and sleep with her, leaving the room empty for them.
This left Ye Qifeng completely dumbfounded.
That night, he originally planned to spend the night in the living room, cultivating, but Nihuang dragged him into the room without explanation. Well, don't overthink it, he just slept normally.
Next.
Ye Qifeng and Nihuang stayed at Fengxian's house for another two days.
The next day, Ye Qifeng selected a rare medicinal herb and gave it to Feng Xian.
After consuming the immortal herb, Feng Xian's martial soul, the Fangtian Halberd, unsurprisingly evolved into a super martial soul and awakened the power of a demon god.
On the third day, accompanied by Qin Lan and her daughter Feng Xian, Ye Qifeng and Nihuang strolled around Xingluo City for a day.
During the trip, he also visited the Spirit Temple in Star Luo City, met with the Platinum Bishop stationed there, obtained information about the Star Luo Empire, and gave some instructions.
On the fourth day, Ye Qifeng and Nihuang took Fengxian to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Fengxian's second soul ring.
Fengxian's mother, Qin Lan, stayed behind to pack her belongings and sell the house.
Although Qin Lan was a naive and delicate woman, she was the one who bought the house, so she was quite familiar with the process of selling it.
Because the price was set very low, the house was in high demand and sold quickly.
After acquiring the spirit rings.
Ye Qifeng, Nihuang, and Fengxian returned to Xingluo City, picked up Qin Lan, and rented a carriage.
The four of them left Xingluo City together.
However, they did not go directly to Wuhun City.
Their destination was the Metal Capital, located deep in the southwestern heart of the Star Luo Empire.
Gengxin City!
…………
Gengxin City is one of the main cities of the Star Luo Empire, located in the southwest of the empire, close to the inland region.
It cannot be considered a famous city; among all major cities, it is only a mid-to-lower-tier city.
However, this city is home to many rare metals from the continent, as well as large quantities of common metals, which is why Gengxin City has a special name – "The Metal Capital".
For this reason, the city is also home to many blacksmiths. It can be said that Gengxin City has the most blacksmiths and blacksmith shops of all the cities in the entire Douluo Continent, without exception.
According to statistics, there are over a thousand blacksmith shops in the entire city of Gengxin, and the number of blacksmiths is in the tens of thousands.
Therefore, it is also known as "the blacksmith's paradise".
The headquarters of the Mainland Blacksmiths Association is located in this city.
However, Douluo Continent is, after all, a world of Soul Masters. Blacksmiths are not highly regarded in the eyes of the world, so their status is not high, roughly the same as that of commoners.
Therefore, the Blacksmiths' Guild only had some influence within Gengxin City; outside of the city, it was almost useless.
All these factors combined have led to Gengxin City, a city of metal, being relatively unknown on the continent.
However, even so, the importance of Gengxin City cannot be ignored.
Although blacksmiths are not valued by the two great empires of Tiandou and Xingluo, both the military and the people rely on their smelting and forging techniques.
Whether it's military weapons and equipment or civilian agricultural tools, furniture, construction tools, etc., all require the participation of blacksmiths.
In particular, the weapons and equipment needed by the military are of paramount strategic importance.
Although Douluo Continent is a world of Soul Masters who rely on the combat abilities of Martial Souls, it is still a world of cold weapons, especially for ordinary armies with low-end combat power.
The strength of an ordinary army depends not only on the quality of its soldiers but also on the quality of its weapons and equipment.
Whether weapons and equipment are good or bad depends on the availability of metal resources and the skill of blacksmiths in smelting and forging.
Furthermore, the more skilled the blacksmith, the higher the value and the greater the power of the weapons and equipment they forge.
High-level blacksmiths, apart from those from the Haotian Sect and the Power Clan, are all concentrated in the Blacksmiths' Association headquarters in Gengxin City.
Therefore, Gengxin City possesses the most complete metal resources, the most blacksmiths, and the strongest smelting and forging technology.
Its strategic significance is self-evident.
By controlling Gengxin City, one would essentially control the vast majority of the continent's metal resources, most of the blacksmiths in the Blacksmiths' Guild, and the world's most advanced smelting and forging techniques.
Therefore, no matter what, the Spirit Hall must bring Gengxin City under its control and use it for its own purposes.
Ye Qifeng and Nihuang came for this reason.
Thank you to [伊笑动我心] for the 888 Qidian Coins! Thank you to [克非] for the 100 Qidian Coins!
(End of this chapter)