Nightmare Immortal Era

Chapter 28: Purchasing Steel

Yang Ning arrived at the North Family's booth and saw a young man holding a book with a troubled expression on his face. He appeared to be in his early twenties.

"Hello, are you here to buy ore?" the young man asked. "My name is Bei Qiuming, you can call me Xiaobei!"

"Well, I'm twelve years old, so calling you Xiaobei doesn't seem appropriate," Yang Ning replied.

"Oh, you're one of the Immortal Seedlings from this year?" Since Bei Qiuming was doing business at the entrance of the Immortal Ascension Academy, he naturally knew what was going on inside. "You should be in your first year, why are you out here buying materials?"

"Oh, we're going to enter the Fixed Monster Valley in two months, so I want to buy some materials to make equipment!" Yang Ning smiled.

"First year and going to the Fixed Monster Valley?" Bei Qiuming was taken aback. "Isn't that a suicide mission?"

I also think so, but I can't say that.

"They say it's just a peripheral activity, and there will be teachers taking care of us, so nothing will happen!" Yang Ning smiled.

"Alright!" Bei Qiuming nodded, although he still had some doubts. "In that case, you've come to the right place. You're only in your first year, so time is limited. I doubt you'll have time to learn how to refine ore. Luckily, my family sells finished steel. If you don't mind, you can buy the finished products and process them when you get back!"

"According to what you're saying, are the other shops selling ore?" Yang Ning asked.

"Yes!" Bei Qiuming nodded. "They say that as a refiner, you must have a deep understanding of every step of the refining process, so naturally, you have to start with refining ore!"

Yang Ning was speechless. Isn't this crazy? Which scientist has to breed their own mice for experiments? Don't they just buy them?

But it seems that this is the mainstream thinking in this world.

"Don't you agree?" Yang Ning asked.

"It's not a matter of agreement or disagreement!" Bei Qiuming smiled. "It's just that I've heard that the Primary Origin Pill Cauldron Sect has a different way of refining. They have specialized people for refining ore, specialized people for studying steel, and specialized people for casting steel!"

"This way, you can't cultivate a master refiner!" someone selling ore nearby interjected.

"But you have to admit that doing it this way can quickly produce a large number of weapons with similar quality!" Bei Qiuming smiled. "Our Extreme Eternal is not doing well in this regard. There is little communication between refiners, which means that many things that newcomers spend decades researching may have already been done by their predecessors. Moreover, different refiners have different ideas and levels of skill, resulting in different weapon styles and varying quality. I remember Haiyunjun has protested many times!"

"Hmph, I think you've been influenced by the strange ideas of the Primary Origin Pill Cauldron Sect!" the person weakly retorted. "If they're so amazing, why don't they forge a Dao Weapon or Immortal Weapon?"

Bei Qiuming opened his mouth, wanting to say that Dao Weapons and Immortal Weapons take tens of thousands of years to create, and the Primary Origin Pill Cauldron Sect has only been established for less than twenty thousand years, so how could they forge one?

And besides, how do you know that the Daoist family isn't forging one?

"I won't say anymore!" Bei Qiuming shook his head and looked at Yang Ning. "Take a look at our steel, we have quite a variety!"

Yang Ning pointed to a piece of gray-silver steel and asked, "What kind of steel is this?"

He recognized it. This was the material his flying sword was made of!

"Oh, this is Snow Mingjing Iron," Bei Qiuming said. "This type of iron ore can only be refined from the Snow Mingjing Iron Ore found in the southeastern Man Family's territory. The production is extremely scarce, so the price is naturally high!"

Man Family, isn't that the family where Lin Jingyun's adoptive mother is from?

"Snow Mingjing Iron Ore." Yang Ning understood why the same elemental proportions couldn't produce the same effect metal in the Spirit Realm. It turned out to be naturally formed.

Many times, the performance of an alloy is not only determined by the composition ratio, but also by the growth of atomic crystals over a long period of time, which can also affect the final result.

"What about this?" This was a piece of dark gray steel ingot, with a dull color. On Earth, it was called high carbon steel.

"This is called Mojin, suitable for cultivators who practice Thunder Martial Dao techniques," Bei Qiuming explained.

"Did you invent this?" Yang Ning asked.

"Yes!" Bei Qiuming nodded.

"Why isn't the price of the ore next door, which is used to refine Mojin, increasing?" Yang Ning asked.

"So you know about that too!" Bei Qiuming was surprised and quickly explained, "Unlike Fiery Flame Steel, Mojin is a low-end steel that can be forged as long as there is iron. But Fiery Flame Steel can only be made from Scarlet Iron. Although the eight major families have great power, they still can't control the circulation of all iron ore. They can only restrict our development through Scarlet Iron!"

Yang Ning nodded and asked, "I see. So what are you planning to do? Can you break through this restriction?"

Bei Qiuming nodded seriously. "Of course we can. Even if the eight major ore merchants are strong, they can't cover the sky with one hand!"

He actually doesn't have much confidence, he's just pretending to be strong, but Yang Ning saw through it.

Yang Ning didn't ask further, he just casually picked up a piece of so-called "Scarlet Flame Steel".

This thing is called Scarlet Flame Steel, but in reality, it's neither red nor fiery. When you look at it under the sun, it actually has a faint blue reflection.

After reading the description, it turns out that Scarlet Flame Steel is not only tough, wear-resistant, and impact-resistant, but it can also withstand temperatures of nearly 3000℃, making it extremely effective for fire-based martial arts.

And in the Martial Dao techniques, the most popular ones are fire-based techniques.

Firstly, because they are the simplest, stacking force fields can increase the temperature.

Secondly, the ocean is nearby, and fire-based techniques are very effective against sea monsters and sea beasts.

Because of this, Scarlet Flame Steel has a huge market. The Northern Family, who invented Scarlet Flame Steel, is even more remarkable. It's like discovering a gold mine!

Unfortunately, the Northern Family doesn't have its own Sakura Red Iron Mine and can only suffer from suppression by the eight major mining merchants.

"Tanks, gun barrels, gears can all be cast with Scarlet Flame Steel, as well as future gun barrels, and even the casing of jet engines, turbofan engine blades!" Nightmare Energy can also provide protection, but his mental power is not unlimited, so he saves it whenever possible.

Moreover, the better the material's performance, the less mental energy it consumes.

"The Northern Family is a family that is still being suppressed by the eight major mining merchants and is on the verge of bankruptcy. I am a lone individual. If I can obtain some materials, I will be even more powerless to resist the suppression. It's better to control the source of Scarlet Flame Steel and even the Northern Family in my own hands."

"In this way, I have a white glove. Secondly, I have a channel to secretly purchase materials myself. Thirdly, the eight major mining merchants have an unsightly appearance and are severely overcharging. I don't want to cooperate with them. And fourthly, the Northern Family is one of the few families with research and development capabilities in Extreme Eternal. It's hard to say they won't come up with other materials in the future, which would save me a lot of time!"

Yang Ning's thoughts surged, but he didn't mention it on the spot. In the eyes of outsiders, he was just a small fan of the Physical Body Realm Second Layer, and he didn't have the qualifications to take over such a large family.

Moreover, Yang Ning didn't know the nature of the Northern Family, and he only heard one side of the conflict between the two sides. What if both sides were lying?

For example, it's not impossible for the eight major mining merchants and the Northern Family to be the same entity!

Just like the vendors who sell liangpi noodles on both sides of the road, one side sells for ten yuan and the other side sells for fifteen yuan. Customers who buy for ten yuan think they've gotten a good deal, but in reality, the boss is the one making money.

After studying at the stall for a long time, Yang Ning handed over a list: "I want these things."

Just as the boss of the Nangong Family said, the Northern Family's goods are indeed cheap. Finished steel is only slightly more expensive than the neighboring ore.

Although it still needs to be processed by Yang Ning, it's already quite convenient.

"Free delivery! But, are you sure about this many?" Bei Qiuming looked at the materials on the list. There are so many things that even four people, let alone forty people, couldn't use up. Could it be for a small group?

"Don't I still need to experiment?" Yang Ning smiled, "I have prepared something special for this trip to the Fixed Monster Valley. It will definitely surprise everyone!"

"Is that so? Then I must go and see!" Bei Qiuming smiled.

"You can go and watch?" Yang Ning was taken aback, "Are you participating too?"

I remember this is a school activity, right?

"Fixed Monster Valley is a secret realm completely controlled by Immortal Ascension Academy. The environment inside and outside is arranged by the academy. Even the Demonic Beasts inside are sent by the school for people to capture!" Bei Qiuming nodded, "So every time there is a trial in the Fixed Monster Valley, Immortal Ascension Academy will also use the Circle Light Art and Water Mirror Art to open it to the public!"

"And there's live streaming?!" Yang Ning suddenly became excited, "To become famous in one day! By the way, if I perform well, can I advertise for you and get a discount on these ores?"

"If you really attract a lot of attention at that time, and if our Northern Family is still around, I will refund you fifty percent of the money you spent today!" Bei Qiuming also replied seriously.

"Do you have the authority to do that?"

"You may not know, but I am the young master of the Northern Family!"

"That's good. I'll show you my performance then. By the way, can these things be delivered?" Yang Ning bought quite a lot of things.

"They will be delivered, to your room!"

"Then deliver them to Room 1275 of the Kangjinlong Residence. Yang Ning will receive them!" Yang Ning took out his identity card again, "Can I pay with the money inside?"

"That's possible!" Bei Qiuming nodded quickly.

"Good!" Yang Ning swiped his card. Although he didn't buy many types of materials, the quantity was large, and he spent 250,000 in one go!

But it's not over yet. He still hasn't bought wood, biological materials, and oil materials.

(End of this chapter)