One month later.
Shrek City.
Blacksmith Association.
Spirit Masters flowed in and out of the Association building in an endless stream.
Although it was built much later, this was Shrek City after all, gathering the most Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent.
Even though the Blacksmith Association branch in Shrek City had no Forging Master stationed there, due to the ten-thousand-year-long reverence for Shrek Academy, some Spirit Masters still believed this branch would develop and surpass others later.
Spirit Masters suitable for forging all registered at the Association and attempted to join forging.
"Our President is learning alongside us?"
"The President is from the Body Sect. Didn't you watch the Great Spirit Arena Tournament? He, a Spirit Ancestor, could beat up a Spirit King in a one-on-one fight."
"But what does that have to do with him becoming President?"
"You're being too dumb. The Blacksmith Association is, frankly, a faction. Becoming President definitely depends on connections too."
"Don't let his ordinary appearance fool you. Judging by his tournament performance, he'll at least become a Titled Douluo in the future."
"Is that so? Then it's fine."
Amid the discussions about President Zhang Wei, other bits of gossip gradually began to mix in.
"Heh heh, you definitely don't know this, but this Zhang Wei was actually a student of Shrek Academy before."
"Oh? How so?"
Instantly, the number of Spirit Masters participating in the topic doubled, with many others nearby pricking up their ears to eavesdrop.
"My second brother's aunt's great-aunt's grandson's nephew is a student at Shrek Academy, in the same year as Zhang Wei. It seems Zhang Wei was expelled."
"Ah? Expelled?"
Even more people eavesdropped.
The President of the Shrek City Blacksmith Association branch was actually expelled from Shrek?
"This news is correct. My son also studied at Shrek Academy and graduated just two years ago. Zhang Wei was in their class. I really saw Zhang Wei when I picked up my child back then."
"Why? Is Zhang Wei so talented, and Shrek Academy didn't want him?"
"What else? Shrek doesn't know how to nurture people. President Zhang Wei's Spirit Rings weren't good, and his Martial Spirit potential wasn't unearthed back then. Shrek thought he was trash and expelled him."
"Ah? If even Shrek couldn't unearth it, could the Body Sect do it?"
"That's why they say those with Body Martial Spirits should go to the Body Sect."
"Heh, it's not that Body Martial Spirits should go to the Body Sect, but that geniuses don't necessarily need to go to Shrek. What Shrek Academy provides is a platform for geniuses to compete. Their own nurturing of geniuses is basically zero. If you become a powerhouse, it's because you yourself are a genius."
"Hey, are you trying to get yourself killed? This is Shrek City."
"This is the Blacksmith Association. The President has a grudge against Shrek; can't I still speak ill of Shrek?"
That person was quite arrogant, very confident. At this point, his voice was even very loud, so loud that people outside the building could hear it.
Zhang Wei's forging rhythm paused for a moment. He glanced at the speaker and memorized him.
Someone was puzzled.
"If you have such a low opinion of Shrek, why come to the Shrek branch? Wouldn't it be better to go directly to Gengxin City?"
"Hmph, because I'm the same as our President Zhang Wei – both expelled from Shrek." Hatred flashed in that person's eyes: "Shrek Academy doesn't care about the students' health at all, forcing high-pressure training. Those who can't endure it are kicked out of the academy, handled as expulsions. Before, I didn't dare to blame Shrek and could only swallow my anger."
Zhang Wei directly stopped forging and carefully memorized this person.
As if noticing Zhang Wei's gaze, that person became even more zealous.
"Someone has stepped forward on their own?" Su Ming received Zhang Wei's message, thought about it, and responded: "If you want to reuse him, then do so. As long as it complies with the Association's rules, you can decide the rest yourself."
Just spreading Zhang Wei's background was enough to attract those Spirit Masters dissatisfied with Shrek; this was something Su Ming hadn't expected.
"It seems the tournament defeat and the break in their ten-thousand-year glory have dealt a heavy blow to Shrek's reputation."
It wasn't that Shrek's fans had turned into haters.
Rather, the haters who originally didn't dare show their heads now dared to speak up.
It seemed like no major change, but it was the beginning of a storm.
Su Ming set aside Zhang Wei's matter and began creating the Spirit Tool based on the core formation provided by Electrolux.
This was a Level 5 Spirit Tool.
Its principle was to sense the faith of Evil Spirit Masters.
The domain of faith was very mysterious. Even a small Spirit Ancestor like Su Ming could sense it; he could even sense it back when he was a Spirit Elder, although that was a special circumstance. But it was enough to show that this was a very broad power system.
A very profound power, the conditions for sensing it were special. As long as the conditions were met, even the weakest could feel it.
"The grade of the Evil-Illuminating Mirror determines its detection range. A Level 5 Spirit Tool Evil-Illuminating Mirror has a detection range of only about one city district, less than one-tenth of a small city, but it falls within the scope of mass production."
The usage requirements for a Level 5 Spirit Tool were relatively easy to meet. As a special Spirit Tool, even a Spirit Ancestor could activate it.
In just half an hour, a large mirror half a meter in diameter appeared on the production table in front of Su Ming.
Small red dots appeared on the mirror's display.
Matching the positions he sensed, Su Ming was very satisfied.
"Every Evil Spirit Master I can sense, this Level 5 Spirit Tool can detect."
This wasn't hard to understand because it wasn't detecting spiritual power fluctuations or Spirit Power fluctuations, but faith.
This was very difficult to counter.
In principle, it stood at the highest point.
Moreover, it was only with Electrolux's help that Su Ming could develop it.
Taking the Evil-Illuminating Mirror, Su Ming went to Jing Hongchen's office again.
"Hall Master, the Evil-Illuminating Mirror has been developed. You can test it. If there are no issues, the Level 5 Spirit Engineers of Mingde Hall can be dispatched."
Jing Hongchen took the Evil-Illuminating Mirror from Su Ming, infused it with Spirit Power, and saw vivid red dots.
"The larger and more distinct the red dot, the stronger the Evil Spirit Master's talent, not necessarily their strength."
Su Ming reminded him.
Generally, talent among Evil Spirit Masters was quickly realized, so one could alternatively judge an Evil Spirit Master's strength by the size of the dot, but one also had to be wary of certain special Evil Spirit Masters.
What if there was a truly twisted Evil Spirit Master who believed they weren't evil, thinking of light, causing their Evil Spirit Master faith to be weakened? Even if they were a Titled Douluo, they might only show a signal equivalent to a Spirit Emperor or lower.
"I understand. Don't worry, within half a month, Mingde Hall will prioritize supplying the Evil-Illuminating Mirrors to the five cities that have Blacksmith Associations, including the Imperial Capital."
"Acceptable."
It wasn't that Su Ming didn't care about the safety of people in other cities.
Popularizing the Evil-Illuminating Mirror required time, after all.
For his own interests, he naturally had to ensure the safety of the five Blacksmith Associations first.
"Four-layer coverage. Within these five cities, for any location, I require that it must be covered by at least four Evil-Illuminating Mirrors."
When Su Ming said this, Jing Hongchen's face twitched.
Wasn't this building a turtle shell?
***
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(Chapter 237 - End)