Flender was about to turn and leave when Qin Yun suddenly called out to him.
“Dean, I’ve made a Breakthrough to level forty.”
“I can prepare to add my fourth spirit ring.”
Flender slowly turned around, his face first showing astonishment, which instantly turned into barely concealed ecstasy.
“That’s wonderful!”
“What requirements do you have for your fourth spirit ring?”
“Just tell me whatever you need, and I, Flender, will risk this old face of mine to get it for you.”
Flender knew that the way Qin Yun’s Spirit added spirit rings was different from ordinary Spirits.
Flender had also helped with the element collection for the second and third spirit rings.
There are a total of eighteen elements in the fourth period:
Potassium, calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, gallium, germanium, arsenic, selenium, bromine, krypton.
The first few elements, potassium and calcium, are relatively common in nature.
But a few items further down are quite tricky.
Qin Yun raised his eyes to look at Flender.
“Gallium and germanium are rare metals with extremely low content in nature.
I need to find Ore containing these elements, even in trace amounts.
As long as I can get in touch with the element bodies, I can use them as a catalyst to complete the activation.”
After hearing this, Flender frowned slightly at first, then slowly relaxed.
“I don’t quite understand this gallium or germanium you’re talking about.”
“But if you say you want ‘rare metals’, then I certainly know.”
“There is a place on the Douluo Continent that specifically tinkers with these iron chunks.”
“The City of Metal!”
“The headquarters of the Blacksmith’s Association is right there, and over ninety percent of the rare Ore materials on the continent pass through there.”
“You can likely find what you need there.”
Qin Yun was stunned for a moment as some information about the City of Metal from the original work flooded into his mind.
The City of Metal, also known as the City of Blacksmiths, is located in the southwest of the Star Luo Empire and is the blacksmiths’ Holy Land on the continent.
“Get ready.”
Flender said, “We’ll set out early tomorrow morning.”
“Alright.” Qin Yun nodded.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Qin Yun had already packed his bags and was waiting on the playground.
Flender dumped the daily Cultivate of newcomers like Tang San all at once onto Zhao Wuji.
Before leaving, he patted Zhao Wuji on the shoulder and exhorted him.
“Just make sure you don’t train the kids to the point of crippling them.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
Zhao Wuji rolled his eyes, but didn’t say much else.
The two traveled swiftly all the way to the southwest.
Although Flender’s flight Spirit Ability wasn’t top-tier, it was more than enough to carry Qin Yun along the way.
The two skimmed over villages, towns, and mountains, and the scenery beneath their feet gradually transitioned from plains to hills.
Soon, a city that looked out of place with its surroundings appeared at the end of their vision.
The outline of the City of Metal was sketched by countless towering chimneys, iron frames, and steam pipes.
Viewed from afar, it looked like a giant steel beast crouching on the earth.
At the city gate stood a three-zhang-tall anvil sculpture, and crossed hammers and pliers were cast on the anvil’s surface.
This was the emblem of the Blacksmith’s Association.
Flender brought Qin Yun in through the city gate.
A breath mixed with rust, charcoal fire, soot, and Ore dust hit their faces.
Both sides of the streets in the city were densely packed with blacksmith shops, with thousands of shops of all sizes standing in close succession.
The clanging sounds of hammers striking anvils rose and fell one after another, and the steam pipes high above spewed out clusters of white mist from time to time.
The entire city rhythmically pulsated amidst the collision of heat waves and metal.
Qin Yun walked all the way along the main street, stopping every few steps to see if there were any suitable element fluctuations.
Common metals like potassium and calcium were relatively easy, and could be seen inside the passing blacksmith shops.
His fingertips moved slightly, guiding out extremely trace amounts of element molecules with his spirit power.
These invisible energies slowly converged into the element spectrum in his palm, turning into two small light spots embedded in their proper positions within the fourth period.
But rare metals like gallium and germanium were difficult.
He wandered around the city for a full two hours, walking through dozens of streets and alleys.
Although those blacksmith shops were piled with various metal materials, there was never the Aura of the two elements he needed.
“Dean, searching like this is too inefficient.”
Qin Yun stopped at the entrance of an alley.
“Ordinary blacksmith shops are unlikely to have gallium and germanium.
I have to go to the most core place—the Blacksmith’s Association headquarters.”
“There should be some there.”
Flender nodded.
The two turned into a wide street, and at the end stood a grand Aura-filled gray masonry building.
The huge emblem of the Blacksmith’s Association was carved on the front wall, and the two cast-copper doors were over three zhang high.
The two walked into the main hall, and a scent mixed with engine oil, metal, and old paper rushed towards them.
Dozens of rows of wooden shelves were displayed in the hall, filled with Ore specimens from all over the continent.
Qin Yun’s gaze swept quickly across those Ores, and a faint restlessness surged in his heart.
The surface of this Ore was grayish-brown, interspersed with fine silver-white textures, emitting a dim luster under the light.
Sphalerite, also known as zinc blende, is one of the main Ores for extracting germanium and gallium.
“This piece…”
Qin Yun extended his hand, and his fingertips had already sensed the faint pulsation of gallium and germanium elements inside the Ore.
Just as he was about to lean in to observe closely,
a thin old man behind the counter wearing thick crystal lenses suddenly reached out a bamboo ruler, blocking it between him and the Ore with a “pa” sound.
“Sorry!” The old man didn’t even raise his head, still fiddling with the beads of an abacus in his hand.
“If you’re not buying, you aren’t allowed to touch.”
“How much?”
Flender pressed his hands on the counter.
“Name a price, I’m buying this stone.”
The thin old man’s hand playing with the abacus paused for a moment, then looked at Flender’s old Jianghu face, and slowly quoted a number.
The corners of Flender’s mouth twitched.
He glared at the old man and said, “Is this stone of yours made of gold?”
“Just for this grayish, palm-sized gadget, you’re asking me for this price?”
The thin old man pushed his glasses expressionlessly.
“This is sphalerite, and there is only one piece with such good quality in the entire association.”
“Tch~~”
The two haggled back and forth for a full cup of tea’s time, arguing from the Ore’s quality to the association’s pricing rules, and dragging everything from the Ore’s origin to human relations and worldly sophistication.
In the end, Flender bought it at nearly seventy percent of the original price.
“Take it.”
Flender looked back at Qin Yun, lowered his voice, and muttered:
“Listen up, kid—if your fourth spirit ring doesn’t turn out strong when condensed, I’ll come back and settle this score with you.”
Though his words sounded fierce, the corners of his eyes carried a hint of unhideable smiles.
Although Flender loved money, he was still willing to spend money on Qin Yun.
Qin Yun took the piece of Ore.
He gave a low acknowledgment and looked up at Flender.
His voice was clear and resolute: “Dean, rest assured, this trip was worth it.”
Flender snorted, turned his head away, walked outward with his hands behind his back in big strides, urging as he walked:
“Let’s go, let’s go, we’re in a hurry to get back.”