Prince Xue Xing inwardly cursed Su Ming for being two-faced.
If Su Ming wanted to resolve the issue, why didn't he discuss it with him back then, instead of immediately throwing him out?
It must be because of Dugu Bo that this kid now wants to mend their relationship.
Hmph!
He snorted coldly in his heart. Prince Xue Xing temporarily swallowed his previous grievances.
For Dugu Bo's sake, he would talk for now, to see if this kid was sincere about negotiating and how he planned to solve the current problem.
Although he was already considering the possibility of negotiation, his words remained sharp.
"So, you came to find this Prince this time... could it be that you want this Prince to help your Association solve its problems?"
"We truly need Your Highness's assistance for this." Su Ming cupped his hands, adopting the posture of someone asking for a favor.
Seeing Su Ming's attitude, Dugu Bo, who was watching from the side, nodded inwardly.
This Su Ming was truly giving him face.
He had also heard about the previous incident where Su Ming directly threw Xue Xing out. For whom was Su Ming making such a significant change in attitude now?
Was it not for him, Dugu Bo?
See, this is the face of the mighty Poison Douluo.
Noticing the change in Dugu Bo's expression, Prince Xue Xing knew that even if he could suppress Su Ming a little, he should still restrain that thought. Suppressing his voice, he asked, "What can this Prince do?"
"Grant passage."
"Grant passage?"
"I've heard that Brother Xue intends to send troops against the Balak Kingdom?"
"Yes."
"Your Highness merely needs not to obstruct it."
"Are you trying to interfere in Heaven Dou's internal affairs?" Prince Xue Xing said coldly.
"How long can Your Highness block Xue Qinghe?" Su Ming wasn't just giving Xue Xing an out; his gaze was intense as he stared at Xue Xing, pressing him. "Forging technology is developing. Thousand Refined with Spirit is a bottleneck; once broken through, the path is smooth. It changes daily, and its impact on the Spirit Master world grows increasingly intense. The Suotuo City Blacksmith Association is located in the Balak Kingdom. The Heaven Dou royal family strengthening its control over the Balak Kingdom is the general trend. Does Your Highness truly believe you can stop it?"
Yes, the credit for controlling the Balak Kingdom would go to Xue Qinghe, but by delaying, the Heaven Dou Empire would suffer the greatest losses.
Xue Qinghe's reason for sending troops was flimsy – it was due to the dispute between Dai Weis and the local forces in Suotuo City – but even a trivial matter could serve as an excuse if it worked.
Prince Xue Xing fell silent.
He very much wanted to question Su Ming about where he got the confidence to claim that forging technology could affect the entire Spirit Master world.
But he glanced at Dugu Bo and didn't voice it.
He hadn't figured out the reason for Dugu Bo joining the Blacksmith Association before, but now he had a guess.
"Your Highness, only by allowing Xue Qinghe to send troops will the demands of the Star Luo royalty reach the same level as yours. At that time, I will propose a reasonable solution."
"What solution?"
Prince Xue Xing's gaze was intense as he stared at Su Ming, his expression clearly stating that unless Su Ming told him the plan, and he was sure it was beneficial, he couldn't cooperate.
Su Ming thought for a moment, then glanced at Dugu Bo.
The meaning was obvious.
It was only for Dugu Bo's sake that he was revealing this plan.
"Establish a city called Heaven Refinement City on the border between the two empires. The Blacksmith Association headquarters will be established in Heaven Refinement City. Simultaneously, the personnel from the current two associations will be reconcentrated in Heaven Refinement City. Until the number of blacksmiths develops to a certain scale, the Blacksmith Association will not split again. The Suotuo City and Gengxin City branches will serve as transit cities for the Association's cooperation with the two great empires. What does Your Highness think of this?"
What does he think?
Not great!
Prince Xue Xing cursed inwardly; this was about taking a bite out of both great empires!
Moreover, this development model was all too familiar – wasn't it just like the Spirit Hall establishing Spirit City?
So unoriginal!
But Prince Xue Xing found he had no way to refuse this proposal now.
Seeing Prince Xue Xing's ugly expression and his silence, Su Ming gently reminded him.
"After all, the land provided would be from the Balak Kingdom. What is Your Highness hesitating about?"
Prince Xue Xing roared inwardly.
The Balak Kingdom is also part of the Heaven Dou Empire!
But he had to admit that the Balak Kingdom was now semi-independent, and the plan Su Ming described was, overall, beneficial for the Heaven Dou Empire.
The key was Su Ming's earlier little gesture.
The fact that Su Ming could reveal this information was entirely for Dugu Bo's sake.
Did Su Ming lose out?
No.
Because Prince Xue Xing could no longer prevent Su Ming from building the city.
Otherwise, he would be the one not giving face to Dugu Bo.
Favors are consumed; Prince Xue Xing understood this clearly.
At this moment, Su Ming seemed to be deliberately baiting him, provoking him, Prince Xue Xing, slowly competing for Dugu Bo's favor.
How scheming!
Prince Xue Xing couldn't even tell if Su Ming came to solve the problem or to drive a wedge between him and Dugu Bo, preparing to gradually steal Dugu Bo away from him.
Taking a deep breath and sorting through the matter once more, Prince Xue Xing finally agreed to Su Ming's 'request'.
"This Prince will no longer obstruct Xue Qinghe from sending troops. I hope you take action quickly."
"Your Highness can rest assured."
Su Ming looked at Dugu Bo, indicating he had finished talking with the other party.
Dugu Bo coughed twice, said a few brief words, and then took Su Ming away.
Prince Xue Xing watched Su Ming's departing back and snorted coldly.
"Such great ambition! I hope he doesn't bite off more than he can chew!"
Before leaving Gengxin City, Su Ming pulled Dugu Bo back to the Association and called for Zhu Jiuyang.
He used the Evil Spirit Masters' faith power to cloud Zhu Jiuyang's soul, allowing his Spirit Power to increase faster over the next year.
After opening the permissions, Zhu Jiuyang's Spirit Power growth wouldn't be slow – one could even say it would double.
But Su Ming still asked Dugu Bo for a medicinal formula that could accelerate Spirit Power cultivation.
"You kid, you haven't accomplished anything for this old man yet, but you've already taken quite a few things from me."
Dugu Bo complained to Su Ming after leaving the Association.
"Hehe, this is called timely fulfillment. As for the development of Spirit Refinement technology, Senior need not worry. This junior still has some confidence in forging."
"Kid, don't tell me you've already achieved Spirit Refinement?"
"Not yet. I just lack some stimulation. When Senior mentioned the spiritual site before, I felt it could succeed. Previously, I only did closed-door forging within the Association, never considering the forging environment. Now, following Senior to that valley, with the empowerment of Senior's treasured land, Spirit Refinement will surely succeed."
Dugu Bo's initially stern expression softened a little.
Although Su Ming's words praised his own forging talent, they were also not lacking in flattery towards him, which he found quite pleasing.
A founding master who created the forging system only gained inspiration under this old man's guidance!
One month later.
Sunset Forest.
Passing through layers of poisonous miasma, Su Ming suddenly felt everything open up before him. The valley ahead blazed with radiant light, the dazzling colors making the entire valley seem like a paradise.
The valley was filled with boundless life energy, making one's body and mind feel comfortable.
"Be careful. The life energy here is mixed with Ice Fire energy, which constantly places a burden on the body," Dugu Bo reminded him.
(Chapter End)