Diary System—Chapter 123: Does a Rubbish Hidden Weapon Also Require Human Blood to Activate?
For her third soul skill, Dugu Yan wanted a defensive-type ability. Soul beasts with defensive attributes were rarely found in ordinary or royal soul-hunting forests—they were almost exclusive to the Star Dou Great Forest.
This wasn't surprising. Royal hunting grounds primarily served the needs of the nobility and mostly housed tiger- or cat-type soul beasts. Dragon-type soul beasts were practically nonexistent there.
While massaging Zhu Zhuqing's slender arm, Dai Yichen's thoughts wandered. He hadn't written in his diary yet today.
—
[Diary Entry]
[Today, I'm finally setting out for Gengxin City to contact the Blacksmith Association. I hope what I've prepared can catch the interest of Senior Lou Gao. Initially, I wanted to directly present a few blueprints for soul guidance devices. But then I thought—Lou Gao may be a master blacksmith, but he's not trained in making soul guidance devices like those from the Sun Moon Continent. He can't compare with the future generations who craft battle armor twenty thousand years from now.]
[He still needs time to learn. There's no other way. I'll have to rely on the Tang Sect's hidden weapons from Tang San's past life. Heh.]
[Among the machine-operated hidden weapons, the most common and mass-producible are: the Silent Sleeve Dart, Flying God Claw, and the Godly Zhuge Crossbow. Of these, the Godly Zhuge Crossbow can kill any Soul King or lower-ranked opponent if used by surprise.]
[Its manufacturing cost is relatively low—about 70 gold soul coins—making it extremely cost-effective. The downside, of course, is that it's a consumable hidden weapon and will get damaged with use. The arrows themselves aren't cheap either. In the short term, it's the best bang for the buck. But long term, we'll need to develop offensive soul guidance devices like soul cannons. Unfortunately, that level of tech is beyond Lou Gao's current capabilities.]
[Among all Tang San's hidden weapons, the most powerful are the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, the Torrential Pear Blossom Needles, and the Peacock Plume. Crafting any of the three is no easier than forging advanced soul guidance devices. But their power? Terrifying.]
[These hidden weapons could injure even a Titled Douluo. Some of the weaker ones might die outright if struck by one.]
—
Dugu Yan: Why does it sound like you're describing my grandfather?
Dugu Yan read the diary silently, her expression cold, secretly grinding her teeth in frustration.
Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up with interest. If every direct descendant in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could be equipped with a set of such mass-produced mechanical hidden weapons, wouldn't their self-defense abilities soar?
As for the cost?
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had wealth that rivaled kingdoms. Money was the least of their concerns.
Still, Ning Rongrong felt a pang of helplessness. The sect's relationship with the Star Luo Empire was far from warm. If she were older, she might be able to persuade her father and grandfather to act. But having only awakened her martial soul less than a year ago, her influence was limited. Even if her family doted on her, they wouldn't necessarily heed her advice on national alliances.
She clenched her small fists. 'I need to do something!'
Then she remembered something.
Tang San, who had the Clear Sky Hammer as his martial soul, ended up representing the Heaven Dou Empire in the All-Continent Soul Master Elite Tournament. And if she recalled correctly, the dean of Yuexuan, Tang Yuehua, was also from the Clear Sky Sect.
Before the sect's seclusion, they had supported the Star Luo Empire. Yet now, Yuehua was comfortably living in the Heaven Dou Empire. Emperor Xue Ye hadn't forced her out, nor had he prevented his daughter, Princess Xue Ke, from studying at Yuexuan.
So… why couldn't she go to Star Luo Royal Academy?
Who said the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had to study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy?
In the original timeline, didn't she end up attending Shrek Academy anyway? Thinking about it now, she couldn't even remember what she had been thinking at the time.
She also recalled how, when she mentioned the idea of building a gravity training room, the blacksmiths in the Heaven Dou Empire were clueless. Most didn't even understand the concept.
Maybe Gengxin City would be different.
And if she went there, maybe—just maybe—she could meet Dai Yichen. She had long wanted to see him with her own eyes.
Better to act than to overthink.
In a low-level soul master academy, Xiao Wu overheard the news about Gengxin City. Her expression changed slightly, though she remained silent. No one could tell what was going through her mind.
—
[But speaking of the Torrential Pear Blossom Needle, I get angry all over again. In the original timeline, Lou Gao died crafting it—sacrificing his life by throwing himself into the forging furnace to temper the weapon with his blood.]
[A divine craftsman, dead just to activate the weapon's full potential. What a waste.]
[It's ridiculous that such a "legendary" hidden weapon required a life sacrifice. Sure, maybe in this world it's strong enough to injure low-ranked Titled Douluo, but in Tang San's original martial arts world, it wasn't all that impressive.]
[Even Tang San himself dodged a barrage of Torrential Pear Blossom Needles launched by the elders of the Tang Sect. He relied on agility and footwork to avoid them all. That was when he was only 29 years old—he might have had comparable cultivation, but certainly not superior.]
[If he could dodge them, what about other, stronger sects in the martial arts world?]
[If I recall correctly, the Tang Sect was located in the Bashu region. It surely wasn't the only sect there. One sect that stood out was the Shushan Sword Sect—immortal cultivators, not just martial artists. Yet we heard so little about them.]
[How did the Tang Sect, a killer sect reliant on poison and hidden weapons, acquire a Taoist inner technique like Mysterious Heaven Skill?]
[That's always struck me as odd. Shushan, being a Taoist sect, might be the real origin of such techniques.]
[Where did the Tang Sect get its skills? That's a mystery I'd love to solve one day.]
—
(End of Chapter)