The rare metal industry plays an important role in Mingdu.
The training of soul masters and the production of powerful soul guides require the use of massive amounts of rare metals. As long as you can participate in this large-scale industrial chain, even if you only get a small piece of the pie, it will be enough to bring huge benefits.
No force would resist such a temptation, but in Mingdu, only the top forces were qualified to get involved.
Part of the metal industry was firmly in the hands of the royal family, while the other part was fought over by the three major underground forces. In the previous underground soul mentor competition, the three major underground forces had a fierce duel with Mingdu's underground rare metal industry as a bet, and the Ordinary Alliance finally won the championship.
The Second Ice and Snow Emperor was indifferent to the uselessness of rarities, but Huo Yuhao, as a soul mentor, certainly understood the importance of rare metals. The Ordinary League was willing to give up part of its rare metal industry to cooperate with the Northern League. This sincerity was not unreasonable.
But Huo Yuhao didn't think that the Ordinary Alliance would give up such a huge benefit for no reason. The other party must have some kind of demands.
He looked at Shao Jie with a smile and said meaningfully: "This gift from the Ordinary League is indeed valuable, but it seems a little too precious. I'm afraid the Northern League can't afford it."
The tone that sounded very humble and ordinary sounded full of beating to Shao Jie's ears. A few more drops of cold sweat fell on his forehead, and he forced himself to calm down and said: "We in the Ordinary Alliance naturally understand that such a huge industry of rare metals cannot be owned by our family."
"To be honest, in the past, the Ordinary League would have chosen to cooperate with the royal family, but now, the Ordinary League has a better partner."
Huo Yuhao followed his words and said, "This better partner is the Northern Alliance, right?"
"Exactly." Shao Jie bowed his hands and said, "If you cooperate with the royal family, you will inevitably have to go through the hands of the prince. That will naturally make you the enemy of the Northern Alliance."
"We believe that Prince Xu Sheng will become a wiser king with more vision and talent than Prince Xu Tianran, so we present this great gift with the sincerity of the Pingfan Alliance."
Huo Yuhao raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "It seems that the people behind the Ordinary Alliance have really extraordinary vision. This will be the most correct choice you make."
Seeing that Huo Yuhao was very satisfied, Shao Jie was overjoyed and said: "The first gift that the Ping An League gave to the North League was the ownership of the Southeast Mining Area."
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly when he heard the words Southeast Mining Area. He had heard a little bit about this mining area.
This mining area is located on the outskirts of the southeastern part of Mingdu. It is a huge mining area with a long history. It has been developed for at least hundreds of years. It once had rich metal deposits and is also a famous place in Mingdu.
But this mining area can't be said to be of much value.
First of all, although this mining area is large and rich in metal mineral deposits, they are basically ordinary metals such as copper, silver, and iron, and their development value is far less than that of rare metal mines.
Moreover, after hundreds of years of development, the metal resources in the southeastern mining area have also been exploited to an extent, and have gradually declined over the past few decades.
Generally speaking, the southeastern mining area is not considered a good mining area now, so much so that the royal family and other forces do not like it.
The Ordinary League gave the ownership of the Southeast Mining Area as a gift to the Northern League, which seemed to be a perfunctory matter.
Noticing Huo Yuhao's frown, Shao Jie quickly explained before his expression turned ugly: "You don't know something. Although everyone in Mingdu knows that the southeast mining area is a mess, it will soon be robbed by major forces. I want it now.”
"Why?" Huo Yuhao became slightly more interested.
Shao Jie explained: "This year, the Baiyu Silver Mine, the largest silver mine in the Southeast Mining Area, has gradually been mined. If this silver mine is exhausted, the value of the Southeast Mining Area will be even lower."
"However……"
He changed the topic and showed an excited smile: "Who would have thought that mithril was found in the lower layer of the white jade and silver mine, and the content is not low."
"In other words, there is a mithril mine hidden under the white jade silver mine that has not been discovered before."
His expression was extremely excited. There was only one word difference between silver and mithril, but the value was not of the same order of magnitude. The value of this mithril mine alone is not comparable to that of other metals in the southeastern mining area.
Hearing that there might be a mithril mine, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but be stunned for a moment: "How come such a precious mine has not been discovered before?"
Shao Jie explained: "The white jade and silver mine was developed more than a hundred years ago. At that time, people thought it was just an ordinary silver mine. It was only this year when the white jade and silver mine gradually bottomed out that people discovered what was hidden underneath. Mithril.”
"This news came out not long ago. The mining area was immediately blocked, but there is no airtight wall in the world. News of the mithril mine has slowly spread in the southeast of Mingdu, but it has not reached the city center yet. Moreover, In addition to mithril, there may also be ebony and ebony.”
His eyes kept flashing and he seemed a little excited. There are even more precious rare metals buried under the depleted mineral deposits, and this benefit is enough to move any force.
But now, the Ordinary League is going to give this treasure away as a gift.
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment and said calmly: "I understand, we will send someone there as soon as possible."
Shao Jie saluted: "If you need the Ordinary Alliance, please feel free to ask. If the leader of the Shangguan Alliance gives orders, I will do my best to help the Northern Alliance."
"No need to trouble you, I have my own arrangements."
Huo Yuhao declined his help.
Shao Jie did not force it and said consciously: "In that case, we won't bother you anymore. The largest mine owner in the southeast mining area is named Ding Yi. He is a fifth-level soul master. As long as he is found, he can take over the entire southeast mining area. "
As he spoke, he had already stood up and was about to leave.
"Well, then we, the Northern League, won't have any guests either."
Huo Yuhao waved slightly and bid farewell to the members of the Ordinary League.
After Shao Jie left the Qingse Hotel, he took a deep breath. Although it is a big gift, once this investment is successful, the return it will bring to the Ordinary League will be hundreds and thousands of times.
In the Qingse Hotel, Huo Yuhao looked happy and murmured to himself.
"It turned out to be a mithril mine, what a big deal..."
Huo Qiuer couldn't help but exclaimed: "It's indeed a big deal. If you are bribed by the Ordinary League because of this, I can understand."
Huo Yuhao asked casually on a whim: "Since you are also a soul master, let me give you a test. What kind of soul guide is a rare metal like mithril usually used for?"
Huo Qiuer shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Huo Yuhao said with a puzzled look on his face: "How come you don't even know such basic soul master knowledge? There are four ways to use mithril. I'll teach you. Remember."
"Hey, who wants you to teach me? It doesn't hurt to stand and talk." Huo Qiu'er snorted coldly, "The first time I saw a metal like mithril was at the previous underground soul mentor competition."
"Before that, let alone using it to make soul guidance devices, I had never even seen it in the Tianhun Empire."
Huo Yuhao became even more confused: "That's not true. You must know that in Mingde Hall, everyone has a certain monthly quota of mithril, and they can get at least one hundred grams."
Huo Qiu'er glared at him fiercely: "You also know it's Mingdetang. Where is the mithril mine in the Tianhun Empire?"
"The Sun and Moon Empire strictly controls the export of rare metals. Many rare metals can only be obtained through smuggling."
Huo Yuhao finally came back to his senses, the doubts on his face were relieved, and then he showed a melancholy expression.
Soul guidance technology is the general trend of the times. Don't Douluo Three Kingdoms know this? Of course they also want to vigorously develop soul guidance technology to enhance national strength, but in addition to the resistance from traditional soul master thinking, the objective condition of lack of metal resources is also an insurmountable restriction.
Without enough metal resources for those young soul masters to learn trial and error, how could the Douluo Three Kingdoms, which was already hundreds of years behind the Sun and Moon Empire, catch up with the Sun and Moon?
Huo Qiuer shrugged and glanced at the Ice Emperor next to him.
Ice Emperor frowned and replied to himself: "The four uses of Mithril... It has good adaptability to elements, isolates breath, strengthens the core array, and the other one is..."
She lowered her head in thought, but couldn't remember the fourth use of mithril.
Huo Qiu'er was stunned and looked at the Ice Emperor in surprise: "You actually know that too?"
The Ice Emperor said calmly: "I have also dabbled in soul guidance devices before."
Huo Qiuer was stunned for a while, not understanding that the Ice Emperor, a soul beast, would also be interested in soul guidance devices.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao slowly stood up.
"In that case, let's go to the southeast mining area and check out the construction progress of the Sun and Moon Temple of Heaven on the way to the southern suburbs."
…
He called Chen An and gave him some brief instructions, and told him that if Ji Juechen came, he would arrange for him to hold the place in the hotel. Afterwards, Huo Yuhao stepped on his flying board and quickly headed southeast of Mingdu.
Tianmeng and the Ice and Snow Emperor returned to the sea of spirits, and Huo Qiuer flew side by side with him, with another flying board built for her by Huo Yuhao under her feet.
The flying board is completely different from the common wing-type flying soul guides, and its use pays more attention to the mastery of balance. However, Huo Qiuer was able to control it skillfully in just the second time, flying in the air very gracefully.
As Huo Qiuer flew, she asked Huo Yuhao, who was flying side by side: "I don't know much about metals. How much is this mithril mine worth? It deserves your attention."
After thinking about it, Huo Yuhao made a small circle with his right hand: "Let's put it this way, the monthly quota of mithril for a low-level researcher at Mingde Hall is only one hundred grams, which is such a small amount, but it is enough for him to strengthen a high-level item. A quality level five soul guide."
"The more advanced the soul guide, the more mithril it needs to be used. A mithril mine, even the smallest one, is completely worth the effort of several ninth-level soul masters to come and snatch it regardless of their image."
"Not to mention that according to the known information, there may be associated mines such as black gold and black steel underneath this mithril mine."
He paused and pondered: "Moreover, this mithril mine is under the southeast mining area, so it has a unique geographical advantage."
Huo Qiuer quickly understood what he meant: "You mean... because this mining area is close to Mingdu?"
Huo Yuhao nodded and confirmed her guess: "Yes. Most of the mining areas in the Sun and Moon Empire are near the Jingyang Mountains, Mingdou Mountains and other mineral veins. And the southeast mining area is at the foot of Mingdu. I think this news If word spreads, the royal family will never sit idly by and watch."
"No force can ever have too much of such a precious strategic material as mithril."
The two flew very fast. While talking, the two left the center of Mingdu on the flying board and slowly entered the southeastern suburbs. On the distant horizon in front of them, a vast plain gradually appeared, and then not far away, undulating low mountains and hills appeared one after another.
The horizon was far beyond the range of mental detection, but Huo Yuhao could still clearly see the distant buildings with his excellent eyesight.
The suburbs of Mingdu were supposed to be sparsely populated, but instead large-scale villages and towns appeared. Just a preliminary estimate, there are at least a thousand people living here.
The villages and towns slowly entered Huo Yuhao's mental detection. Under the vast perception, in addition to the residents living here, there was also an unusually strong aura.
Metal.
Thick strata and high-density metals have a strong inhibitory effect on Huo Yuhao's mental detection. Penetrating them consumes more mental energy. Under normal circumstances, Huo Yuhao will not waste his mental energy here.
The place where metal is particularly abundant is under those low mountains. In the intricate underground passages in several nearby low mountains, many people can be detected walking around and digging something at the same time.
Obviously, this is a metal mine, but they are not precious and rare metals, but very ordinary copper and silver mines. The workers who shuttle through the underground passages use simple tools to mine the ores, collect them, and wait to be shipped out. and then further refined.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but frown slightly when he detected this.
These mines are of relatively inferior quality. Not only are the metal content in the ore low, but there is not much ore left. The entire mountain has almost been hollowed out, so he can easily detect it. There is no development value anymore. .
However, these are just a few nearby mines. In the distance, beyond the range of his mental detection, there are several other residential areas and more endless low mountains. It is impossible to know the specific information among them.
Here is the southeast mining area of Mingdu.
Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiuer controlled the flyboard to land quietly in the forest outside the residential area without attracting anyone's attention.
After receiving the information shared by Huo Yuhao, Huo Qiuer couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "It seems that there are no soul masters, and the highest level of cultivation is only the third ring."
"Um."
Huo Yuhao responded lightly. The Southeast Mining Area was a relatively famous place in Mingdu, but this was his first time here, and he was no less surprised than Huo Qiuer.
Most of these workers involved in mining had less than ten levels of soul power, and the tools in their hands were not more efficient soul-guided hoes and pickaxes, but ordinary steel, and mining operations were labor-intensive and labor-intensive.
As for the people living in this residential area, most of them are civilians without soul power.
But what surprised Huo Yuhao even more was not these, but the way the residents communicated.
Huo Yuhao had already approached the residential area, and several families were chatting about their parents' personal affairs. The content was nothing more than gossiping about someone's private life.
Huo Yuhao looked at them from a distance and listened carefully to their way of speaking, especially seriously.
"What are you doing?" Huo Qiuer asked doubtfully.
"Listening to the tone of their voices, did you notice anything wrong?" Huo Yuhao asked consciously.
Huo Qiuer also listened carefully and replied uncertainly: "What a strong accent."
Huo Yuhao nodded: "Yes, this is Xingluo's accent, which means they were originally from the Xingluo Empire."
But these families are not the only ones with Xingluo accents. Almost everyone in the area has a similar accent.
"I guess these people are immigrants from the Star Luo Empire. This is an immigrant community."
(End of chapter)
