Diary System—Chapter 82: Training Blacksmiths? What a Joke! Hmm, It Smells a Bit.
Looking at the expression on his cheap father's face, Dai Yichen knew what he thought of blacksmiths.
He said helplessly, "Father, do you think that blacksmiths have no purpose other than making weapons for the army and farm tools for civilians?"
Dai Yutian nodded without hesitation and retorted, "Stinky boy, don't tell me that you want the imperial family to support blacksmiths?"
"Yeah," Dai Yichen replied, nodding.
Dai Yutian: …
"You'd better give me a reason that can convince me." He took a deep breath and didn't rush to refute, but from his expression, it was clear that if Dai Yichen's reasoning didn't move him, he would never agree.
Just a moment ago, he had agreed to train Ye Lingling based on her demonstrated value. He believed in Dai Yichen's charm, and that deal was undoubtedly in his favor.
But training blacksmiths? What a joke!
Let's not even discuss the blacksmiths across the entire continent. How many blacksmiths are there in the Star Luo Empire? He can't train them all, right?
This would cost a lot of money. Wouldn't it be better to use those funds to expand their armaments and obtain more training resources?
Although his imperial family is wealthy, a large portion of its annual expenditure goes toward the army, which is not comparable to the Heaven Dou Empire.
The income methods of the imperial family are fixed. Unlike the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, for whom making money is just about hard work. If funds are insufficient, he can't simply raise taxes, right? Since he has decided to reform, raising taxes further isn't an option.
Dai Yichen didn't intend to push for an immediate agreement from Dai Yutian; instead, he said, "Father, ordinary blacksmiths are naturally useless. Do you know how blacksmiths are classified?"
Dai Yutian shook his head; he had little interest in the levels of blacksmiths.
Dai Yichen continued, "Blacksmiths are divided into primary blacksmiths, intermediate blacksmiths, senior blacksmiths, master blacksmiths, grandmaster blacksmiths, and divine blacksmiths. It is said that there are only three divine blacksmiths on the mainland, one of whom is Lou Gao, the president of the Gengxin City Blacksmith Association."
"And what I need is at least a blacksmith above the master blacksmith level. Only at this level can they understand the production of certain simple soul guidance device parts."
This was also Dai Yichen's estimate. You have to reach the master blacksmith level to have the ability to make some soul guidance device parts.
However, in this era, the Sun Moon Continent has not yet collided with the Douluo Continent due to plate movements. The inhabitants of this continent are still only using storage soul guidance devices, so blacksmiths capable of creating storage soul guidance devices are likely to be at least at the master level.
Put simply, the two empires still overlook high-level blacksmiths. For instance, Lou Gao's creativity means that if he is provided with sufficient funding, he could potentially advance even further.
Dai Yichen remembered that in the original story, Lou Gao's collection included two pieces of Wishful Eight Treasure soft armor, capable of resisting the attacks of a soul emperor-level opponent's sixth soul skill. Its unique manufacturing process allowed the armor to automatically adjust according to the wearer's form.
In Dai Yichen's view, this kind of armor transcended ordinary military gear; it could be seen as a defensive soul guidance device or even the prototype of the later battle armor.
Additionally, Lou Gao improved the production method of the Torrential Pear Blossom Needle sacrifice, doubling its power and altering its design. It even transitioned to being driven by soul power, which could be regarded as a prototype of an attack soul guidance device.
This kind of innovation is something that even Tang Hao and Tai Tan, both master craftsmen like Lou Gao, cannot replicate because they lack the same level of wild imagination and exploratory desires.
Therefore, no matter the cost, Dai Yichen was determined to recruit Lou Gao. As for that lickspittle Tai Tan, he could go wherever he likes!
After Dai Yichen explained all this, Dai Yutian looked at his son with skepticism and curiosity. "Are you sure that master craftsmen have that kind of ability? Why do I feel like you know a lot more than I do?"
Dai Yichen smiled calmly. "Father, if you spent every day in the library aside from practicing, you would learn a lot. Sometimes you can't only focus on theoretical knowledge about martial souls; you should also read about other subjects."
"What I want is a blacksmith who has both high soul power and a high crafting level. This would be beneficial for us."
Dai Yutian couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "But why have you suddenly turned your attention to blacksmiths? It's only been a little over a year since your martial soul awakened, and you've been working tirelessly."
Dai Yichen had already prepared a response; he sighed helplessly, activated the White Tiger Armor, and looked at Dai Yutian. "Father, looking at my armor, don't you have any ideas? Although this thing is condensed from my martial soul, I suddenly thought: is it possible that armor like mine can be artificially created? Even if it doesn't perform as well as mine, if it can be mass-produced, it would be acceptable. Then, armor could be associated with other types of weapons—soul power-driven weapons, rather than the ordinary ones currently used by the army."
Dai Yutian felt a surge of realization!
He suddenly felt that his intelligence had been insulted; why hadn't he thought of this before?
Instead of waiting for his son to differentiate the sub-ability locks, he could study some different weapons and protective gear driven by soul power right away.
As the emperor of a nation, and considering his slow cultivation progress, he didn't see this as an overly convoluted approach. The only way forward was to develop other pathways.
His soul power level was nearing its limit, so he had to explore alternatives.
His son's words had opened his eyes.
After all, high-level blacksmiths could construct storage soul guidance devices, so given some time to study other types of soul guidance devices, they might succeed!
Right now, they were just short of substantial funds and time, both of which he possessed!
At that moment, Dai Yichen's words brought him back to reality.
"Father, as far as I know, the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association is in Gengxin City within the empire, right? How does the empire treat them?"
Dai Yutian suddenly realized that the empire had always overlooked their existence since he hadn't cared much before.
Now that he considered it, he had missed a major opportunity!
"Ahem." Dai Yutian felt slightly uncomfortable and avoided looking at Dai Yichen. "The imperial family hasn't provided them with any subsidies. After all, it was believed that they could simply purchase weapons and farming tools made by the blacksmiths."
(I'll add 2 chapters on Fri, Sat, and Sunday)
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(End of this chapter)