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Li Luochen prepared for the next round of negotiations. This time, the focus would be on soul-guided weapons—tools that could greatly enhance the self-defense capabilities of Ning Fengzhi's sect disciples. Ning Fengzhi placed immense importance on such equipment.
"Director Li, the soul-guided weapons you've provided have truly impressed us. They far surpass crossbows in power and range. May I ask how many units you have in stock, and what is the price?"
Ning Fengzhi was well aware of the might of these firearms. Equipping his core disciples with flintlock rifles would significantly increase their safety.
"I have tens of thousands of flintlock rifles in stock. Each costs three hundred gold spirit coins. How many does Lord Ning wish to purchase?"
Li Luochen spoke casually. The materials for flintlock rifles were simple—wood and forged ordinary metal—with production costs amounting to only four or five gold spirit coins per unit. Semi-automatic rifles and pistols were far more expensive, but Li Luochen had no intention of selling those.
"Hmm? Only flintlock rifles? What about semi-automatic rifles and pistols? Is Director Li willing to sell those as well?"
Ning Fengzhi wanted everything, including the blueprints, so they could produce them independently. This was an opportunity for immense wealth.
"The production cycle for semi-automatic rifles and pistols is too long, and the materials required are extensive. We haven't yet achieved mass production, and I'm not interested in trading those. However, I can offer an alternative."
Li Luochen then produced two sets of blueprints—one for the soul-guided flintlock rifle and another for a new design he called the soul-guided shotgun, or "Beretta."
"This soul-guided weapon is called a soul-guided shotgun, or Beretta. It's a close-range firearm capable of killing a Spirit Sage within ten steps—provided it hits its mark. Its power is extraordinary."
Ning Fengzhi's eyes suddenly gleamed with intense interest. A soul-guided flintlock rifle for long-range attacks and a soul-guided shotgun for close combat—perfect!
"However, the soul-guided shotgun holds only two rounds of ammunition at a time, but its reloading speed is fast—about five breaths to reload."
After finishing his explanation, Li Luochen took out a finished prototype of the soul-guided Beretta and turned to Bone Douluo. "Lord Bone Douluo, would you like to personally test the weapon's power?"
Bone Douluo paused for a moment, exchanged glances with Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin, and then stepped forward. "Very well, I'll take it."
Li Luochen aimed at Bone Douluo and fired twice—*Bang! Bang!*
Bone Douluo merely used his martial soul to create a bone shield, without employing any soul skills or expending much spirit power. As a Title Douluo renowned for his defense and unpredictable techniques, even Soul Douluos couldn't break through his defenses—how could this mere weapon pose a threat?
Bone Douluo was a staunch believer in personal strength, looking down on external enhancements. While relying solely on cultivation was indeed viable in the cultivation world, this was the Douluo Continent. How far could individual cultivation alone take someone?
Even Title Douluos could fall to accidents, and in tens of thousands of years, soul-guided weapons would dominate. Solo spirit masters would no longer be the mainstream; dual-cultivators mastering both soul-guided technology and martial arts would rise to prominence.
*Bang! Bang!*
The bullets shot out like a shower of flowers, striking Bone Douluo's bone shield.
*Crack!*
The shield shattered instantly. Bone Douluo had been confident that even a Soul Douluo would need a full-powered strike to break his shield—how could this tiny weapon do it?
Sword Douluo was also astonished. Could such a weapon really be this powerful?
Of course, Li Luochen's prototype was specially modified. He infused his own spirit power into it, amplifying its destructive force. This particular soul-guided Beretta could ambush and severely wound even a Title Douluo.
Moreover, Bone Douluo was only seven or eight steps away from Li Luochen—right within the weapon's optimal range.
Bone Douluo was stunned. Fortunately, as a Title Douluo, he managed to activate his martial soul and defensive abilities just as the bone shield shattered, blocking the fragments.
Bone Douluo was forced to release both his martial soul and soul rings, though it was still better than being injured by this tiny contraption.
"How's that, Lord Ning? What do you think of this weapon?"
Li Luochen smiled as he spoke.
Ning Fengzhi gazed at the scattered fragments around the room, each carrying significant destructive power. His eyes narrowed, as if making a firm decision.
"Director Li, I'll take as many of these as you have. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect doesn't lack funds!"
Ning Fengzhi's voice was resolute and confident.
"That depends on Lord Ning's sincerity. Gold spirit coins can buy weapons, but blueprints? Those cannot be purchased with mere coins."
Li Luochen sat back down and sipped his tea casually.
Ning Fengzhi's eyes darted around, then he glanced at Sword and Bone Douluo. Their expressions were similarly conflicted, as they had brought substantial bargaining chips this time.
The earlier soul bones were merely the vanguard. Aside from the fifty-thousand-year torso bone and forty-thousand-year right arm bone, the others were incomplete—either forearm or calf bones. Still, even incomplete ten-thousand-year soul bones were enough to make Title Douluos fight tooth and nail for them.
{T/N: I'm assuming he means they're damaged. The official works never mentioned anything about forearm or calf soul bones.}
After some deliberation, Ning Fengzhi made up his mind. He pulled out a red card and retrieved three more soul bones from the storage-type soul-guided device around his neck.
The energy emanating from these three soul bones was extremely high, rivaling the fifty-thousand-year torso bone.
"Director Li, I am a straightforward man. These three soul bones are among the most valuable in our sect, second only to our heritage soul bones. One is a fifty-thousand-year Fire Spirit Beast torso bone, another is a forty-eight-thousand-year Swift Advance right leg bone, and the last is a fifty-five-thousand-year Gale Eagle right leg bone.
Additionally, this red card has a limit of one hundred million gold spirit coins. What do you say? Is my sincerity sufficient?"
This was a massive sacrifice for Ning Fengzhi. To ensure his direct-line disciples had the means to protect themselves, gold spirit coins were a minor concern. One hundred million gold spirit coins amounted to only two or three years of income for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, representing only four to five percent of their treasury.
What mattered most were the soul bones. Most of these had been purchased, while those above forty thousand years were obtained through hunting soul beasts since the sect's founding. They were considered quasi-heritage soul bones.
The true heritage soul bones were in the possession of Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo. Sword Douluo possessed a seventy-thousand-year torso bone and a sixty-thousand-year left arm bone.
Bone Douluo had a pair of sixty-five-thousand-year left and right arm bones.
As for Ning Fengzhi himself, he possessed a fifty-thousand-year Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull Bone and a fifty-thousand-year teleportation-capable right leg bone. These were the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's heritage soul bones.
The two torso bones were also heritage soul bones, but their fire attributes were completely unsuitable for the sect. Moreover, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect hadn't produced a fire-attribute Title Douluo-level guardian elder in nearly two hundred years.
There were fire-attribute Soul Douluo elders, but the highest-ranked among them was only level eighty-four and already in their seventies. Ascension to Title Douluo was unlikely.
Ning Fengzhi had mixed feelings about these two torso bones. The fifty-thousand-year torso bone was exceptionally rare, its value comparable to a seventy-thousand-year limb bone. Trading it away now was painful.
As for the forty-thousand-year and fifty-thousand-year right leg bones, they were awkward fits. Both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo already possessed right leg bones—Sword Douluo's from his fifth soul ring and Bone Douluo's from his sixth soul ring.
Ning Fengzhi's right leg bone granted him teleportation, a skill passed down through generations of sect leaders for survival purposes. Ironically, he was now trading it away.
These soul bones represented nearly sixty percent of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's wealth, and they were irreplaceable treasures that money alone couldn't buy. However, for the sake of his sect's disciples' safety, Ning Fengzhi made the difficult decision to trade them.
Soul bones could always be acquired again as long as the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect remained intact. With the sect's business acumen, they wouldn't lack soul bones—it was merely a matter of funds. And the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect didn't lack money!
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