With Ren Yuan, a blacksmith master, lending a hand, the trouble was smoothed over as if it had never existed in the first place. The soldier captain slunk away in embarrassment. Although the crowd dispersed, none of them were willing to go far, watching Titan from a distance with expressions of deep reverence, the burning light in their eyes seeming as if they wished they could melt him with their gazes.
Titan walked back to Tang San and said with some embarrassment, "Young Master, this old man was reckless."
Ren Yuan, who had been following alongside him, felt his legs go weak at these words and nearly collapsed to the ground. Y-Young… Young Master? The Divine Artisan was actually calling someone who looked no older than twenty a "Young Master"? Heavens! What on earth was going on? Looking at Tang San, who was holding the hand of the stunningly beautiful Xiao Wu with an air of effortless calm, Ren Yuan couldn't help but feel a twinge of inferiority. He had never seen such a handsome young man and such a breathtakingly beautiful girl.
Tang San seemed not to notice Ren Yuan's strange stare. He looked at Titan and smiled faintly. "We were going to meet this Divine Artisan Lou Gao anyway. Arriving a little earlier makes no difference."
Titan naturally knew that the surrounding citizens were all watching from afar. He said to Tang San, "Young Master, let's get back in the carriage. After meeting Lou Gao, I'll take you on a proper tour of Gengxin City."
The group reboarded the carriages. Ren Yuan had the good fortune of riding in the same carriage as Titan, and they headed straight for the central district of Gengxin City.
Ren Yuan very much wanted to ask Titan who Tang San was, but he knew his status was too low to ask such questions — better to keep his mouth shut. He merely directed the carriage's route while his gaze kept drifting toward Tang San across from him. But Tang San simply held Xiao Wu's hand, eyes closed, resting in peace.
Gengxin City itself was not particularly large, and before long they arrived at the central district. The carriages came to a stop.
Ren Yuan glanced out of the carriage window. "We're here. Everyone, please disembark." He was the first to hop down and proactively pulled back the curtain.
Titan, Tang San, and Xiao Wu stepped down one after another. In the carriage behind them, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Ma Hongjun also climbed out.
The moment everyone alighted, they couldn't help but look up.
The carriages had stopped before a towering building. Looking up, the massive structure was at least thirty meters tall and occupied an enormous footprint — to command such a large space in the city center spoke volumes about its importance to the city. Overall, the building bore a resemblance to the great Battle Spirit Arena of Sotuo City. Suspended at the very top of the facade was a dark iron plaque, bearing no text — only the raised relief of a hammer and a chisel.
No one needed to ask to know what this place was. Without question, this was the headquarters of the Blacksmith's Association.
The enormous building had a rather rugged appearance, with no ornate decorations whatsoever. There weren't even guards at the main entrance. Yet the flow of people coming and going was ceaseless. Three large doors stood open, and from outside one could see the bustling crowd within.
Titan introduced the building to everyone. "The headquarters has five floors. The first floor is the trading area — blacksmiths bring their finest work and various metals here to trade. Naturally, there are also merchants who specialize in selling all manner of metals. The second floor is the premium trading area. Rare metals are generally traded on the second floor. The third floor is the blacksmith certification and assessment area, where blacksmith rank examinations are conducted. The fourth floor is the VIP area, which also serves as the auction hall. Particularly precious and rare forged items are auctioned there on a regular basis. And the fifth floor is the Blacksmith's Association's administrative area. Ren Yuan — none of that has changed, has it? It's been quite a while since I've been to headquarters."
Ren Yuan hastily answered with an obsequious smile, "Nothing has changed, nothing has changed. These have been our Blacksmith's Association's rules for years. Are you heading straight to the fifth floor to see Chairman Lou Gao?"
Titan chuckled. "Since we're here, we should visit an old friend first. Young Master, let's go."
The group entered the Blacksmith's headquarters. The ground-floor hall was somewhat noisy — it was a fully open space with nothing but massive supporting pillars and wide-open floor area. Only along the outermost perimeter, against the walls, was there a long ring of counters. Behind them, various finished products forged by blacksmiths were displayed.
Without waiting for Titan to say anything, Ren Yuan stepped forward and explained, "The ground-floor hall is mainly divided into two areas. On the left, blacksmiths consign their finished products for sale. On the right is the metals trading area. The Association takes a five percent commission on all transactions. As a result, most blacksmiths who consign their goods here hold the rank of Blacksmith Master. This place is crowded mainly because of the merchants from all over. If you see something you fancy, you can bid on it directly."
Tang San nodded and observed carefully. Sure enough, just as Ren Yuan had described, while the hall was packed with people, few were dressed as blacksmiths — most had the appearance of merchants. Some were asking about prices, others were negotiating. The scene was lively.
Ren Yuan said with some pride, "Relatively speaking, prices at the headquarters tend to be a bit higher than outside. But the quality is absolutely guaranteed. All items are appraised and evaluated by the Association before a price is set. While there are plenty of blacksmith shops outside where you might find a bargain, uninformed merchants can easily be taken advantage of. Just like that situation earlier."
As he spoke, Ren Yuan led the group to the side staircase. Two guards stood at the entrance, but one of the two clansmen Titan had brought produced something and flashed it before the guards' eyes. They were naturally allowed to pass.
Stepping onto the second floor, the atmosphere was immediately different. The second floor was not as tall as the first, nor was it completely open. The first thing one noticed was the quiet. Gone was the noise from below. The space was divided into individual shop-like units. Between the two rows of shops, pedestrian walkways about five meters wide stretched out, and across the vast floor area, there had to be several hundred shops at a minimum.
Ren Yuan said, "This is the premium trading area. Only those with established reputations can open a shop here. It's similarly divided into finished goods and metals. There's plenty of fine merchandise, but correspondingly, the prices are higher. If anyone's interested, feel free to browse." His explanation was naturally not directed at Titan — it was precisely because of the way Titan treated Tang San that he was being so thorough.
Tang San only gave a cursory glance around. Indeed, the goods sold on this second floor were of noticeably higher quality than what hung behind the counters on the first.
Ren Yuan accompanied the group all the way to the staircase leading from the second to the third floor before finally stopping. With a humble bow, he said, "I can only escort you this far."
Titan nodded at him. "You've done well. Thank you."
Between the second and third floors, there were again two guards, but these were markedly different from the ones below. Tang San's spiritual power was extraordinarily keen — though the guards below had also been Soul Masters, they hadn't felt particularly strong to him, probably only around the thirtieth rank in Soul Power. But the pair before him now compelled his attention. These two guards, both roughly forty years of age, possessed at least fiftieth-rank Soul Power. Seeing the group approach, they immediately raised their hands to block the way, saying nothing, simply regarding them calmly.
The two clansmen Titan had brought quickly stepped forward. This time, Tang San saw clearly — the clansman on the left, of the Strength Clan, produced a golden token and flashed it before the two guards' eyes.
The guards' expressions changed, and they hastily stepped aside, their demeanor deeply respectful.
Titan deliberately hung half a step behind Tang San and Xiao Wu. "Young Master, please."
The third and fourth floors both had closed doors upon ascending, making it impossible to see what lay within. And between each floor, there were also two pairs of guards. The guards between the third and fourth floors, in particular, gave Tang San a start — he could sense that these two individuals were genuinely capable of posing a threat to him. Though they hadn't deliberately released their Soul Power, Tang San could still perceive that they possessed strength at or above the seventieth rank — Soul Saint level. As expected of the Blacksmith's Association headquarters — to employ Soul Saints as guards spoke volumes about how highly they valued the fourth floor.
The moment these two guards saw Titan, they froze. The guard on the left said, "Vice Chairman Titan, what brings you here? It's been so long!"
Titan chuckled. "It certainly has been a while. You two are still guarding the stairs for Lou Gao! Young Master, let me introduce you. These two are both Soul Saints and long-time members of the Association. They volunteered to serve here. In fact, their forging skills are second only to the Divine Artisan — both are Grandmaster-level craftsmen. The reason they're willing to guard the stairs is all because of Lou Gao. They are his personal disciples. Lou Gao has four disciples in total, and they take turns standing guard here. The one on the left is called Si Long, and the one on the right is Si Yu. That fellow who gave us trouble earlier — he must be Si Di's son, one of the other two."
Tang San nodded to the two men before him. Upon hearing Titan address Tang San as "Young Master," Si Long and Si Yu were visibly shocked. Si Long hastily said, "Uncle Titan, I'll take you up. Teacher is in the forging room right now. Recently, the old master obtained something from who knows where and has been studying it nonstop. I reckon if it were anyone else instead of you, he wouldn't see them at all."
Titan chuckled. "Good. I'd like to see what he's been working on."
Between the fourth and fifth floors, there were no guards. Only a large door blocked the stairway. Tang San couldn't immediately identify what material it was made of — likely some multi-metal alloy.
Si Long walked up to the alloy door and tapped on it lightly with his hand. His tapping was rhythmic, and watching his movements, Tang San narrowed his eyes. With the aid of his spiritual power for close observation, he noticed that each tap landed on a different spot with varying force. From within the metal door came faint sounds of mechanical latches.
After Si Long had tapped exactly thirty-six times, the metal door emitted a creaking sound and slowly swung open, revealing the path upward.
Titan waved to the two clansmen he had brought. "You two stay here and wait." Only then did he ascend with Tang San, following Si Long to the Blacksmith's Association's highest floor — the fifth.
The moment they stepped onto the fifth floor, everyone could hear the clanging sounds of hammering. Titan whispered an explanation to Tang San. "Actually, this fifth floor is a private forging area reserved exclusively for the Association's high-ranking blacksmiths. Every blacksmith at the Grandmaster level or above has their own designated space here. I used to have one too, but since I don't live in Gengxin City and rarely come back to forge here, I returned it to the Association."
Each forging room had only a simple number on its door. From the outermost to the innermost, there were thirty-six rooms in total. Of those, only four or five were producing sounds. Clearly, in an era where blacksmiths were not held in high regard, Grandmaster-level craftsmen were exceedingly rare.
Si Long led the group to the innermost room, Number One, and stopped. Standing respectfully beside the door, he knocked on the metal surface.
This particular forging room emitted no sounds of smithing. The moment Si Long knocked, a voice from inside snapped irritably, "Did I not already say? No one is to disturb me."
Si Long hastily replied in a respectful tone, "Teacher, it's me. I'm sorry to disturb you, but Vice Chairman Titan has arrived. I had no choice but to notify you. Please forgive me."
As soon as Si Long's words reached inside, the irritated voice fell silent. Before long, accompanied by a series of mechanical clicks, the broad iron door slowly slid open, revealing a brightly lit room within. Strangely, this forging room had no windows at all — the brightness came entirely from a magitech lamp hanging from the ceiling. It was quite the extravagant luxury.
The person who had opened the door was a short, stout old man. He stood about one meter sixty tall, but his waistline was probably equally wide. He had protruding ears, small eyes, and a mop of unkempt short hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in days. He wore a loose robe, and his round, fleshy face was dusted with what appeared to be metal powder.
"Titan, you old thing — you're still alive?" The moment the door opened, the stout old man's booming voice rang out.
Titan laughed heartily. "Lou Gao, you fat old goat — you're several years older than me, and you're still kicking around. How could I possibly be dead?"
Indeed, this stout old man was none other than the current chairman of the Blacksmith's Association headquarters — the Divine Artisan, Lou Gao. Truth be told, from his appearance, he looked nothing like a Divine Artisan. He looked more like a kindly, rotund old grandfather.
"All right, all right, you old fool — perfect timing. Come here, come here, let me show you something wonderful. I've been puzzling over it for days. The person who invented this was truly a genius." Even as he spoke, without so much as a glance at the people behind Titan, he seized Titan's sleeve and dragged him inside.
Titan was taken aback for a moment but quickly followed. As patriarch of the Strength Clan, Titan stood over two meters tall and was powerfully built. Lou Gao, meanwhile, was barely one meter sixty with an enormous waistline. Having this little old man dragging the giant Titan along inside made for quite the bizarre sight.
The Shrek Five Devils followed Titan into the spacious forging room. Si Long, however, did not enter — he quietly slipped away, for he had his own post to maintain.