CHAPTER 1069: CHAPTER 590: ZHAO DOUAN’S SECRET WEAPON

"Who is this officer looking for?" The small door of the Heavenly Master Mansion opened, and a young man dressed in a cotton priest robe inquired with curiosity.

Wearing a mask, Zhao Douan replied calmly, "I’m here at the invitation of Priest Gongshu Tianyuan. Please inform him that the Deputy Arresting Officer from Lihua Hall has arrived."

Without showing his face, Zhao Douan found it difficult to "show face" to enter.

The priest was stunned for a moment and didn’t dare to delay. After saying "please wait a moment," he quickly closed the door and went to confirm.

Outside the Heavenly Master Mansion during winter, the place was cold and deserted. Zhao Douan stood in the wind for a while, basking in the sun, before the priest returned and respectfully invited him inside.

Following a familiar path, they arrived outside the courtyard where Gongshu Tianyuan was located. Before entering, the sound of "ding ding dang dang" hammering noises came from inside the "workshop."

The guiding priest turned to leave, and Zhao Douan pushed open the courtyard door alone. He saw the courtyard covered with white snow and followed the sound, pushing open a door within the courtyard, only to be stunned.

In this house, transformed into a "workshop" or "work space" by Gongshu Tianyuan, there were no conventional furniture, only scattered wooden racks and workbenches, along with tools scattered on the ground.

And in the center of the workspace, there stood a gigantic "big cannon." This cannon was many times larger than ordinary powerful cannons, almost like a giant beast, crouching indoors with a height almost touching the beams.

Atop the massive and intimidating cannon barrel, sat a slightly chubby young man in a dirty robe, full of sweat, swinging a small hammer to strike.

Pausing for a moment, he stretched his neck from the top of the cannon and his eyes brightened upon seeing Zhao Douan: "Brother Zhao!"

Gongshu Tianyuan nimbly flipped down, lightly landing on the ground like a goose feather, wiped his sweat, then wiped his dirty hands repeatedly on his robe, before eagerly extending his right hand: "I didn’t expect you to visit today. To avoid exposing your identity, I didn’t greet you outside. I hope you understand. Are you here to see Master?"

This was the "handshake" etiquette he learned from Zhao Douan.

"No, I came specifically to see you today." Zhao Douan shook his hand and explained, "Didn’t you say last time that if I had any suggestions for improvement while using this puppet substitute, I should come to you for feedback? Here is my review from using it over this period... um, my usage insights."

After releasing his hand, he took out a few sheets of paper from his sleeve.

Gongshu Tianyuan solemnly accepted them with both hands, showing a serious intention to read, and then self-deprecatingly said, "It’s too messy here, not a suitable place to talk. Shall we go to the next room and sit down to chat?"

Zhao Douan nodded, and they both walked out of the workspace into the next room for guests.

"Brother Gongshu, that big cannon in the room is..." Zhao Douan couldn’t help but ask as soon as he sat down.

Gongshu Tianyuan gave an "oh" and proudly puffed out his chest, showing a proud expression: "Didn’t you ask me to further study new firearms earlier this year? I’ve been keeping busy these past few months. The firearms used by your Divine Mechanism Camp have temporarily reached a bottleneck for improvement, but during my research on cannons, I was inspired and received new magic techniques and ideas from the [Artisan God], thus exploring the potential of combining cannon structure with magic techniques to achieve the power limit..."

Zhao Douan listened in amazement and finally exclaimed in surprise, "Are you saying you’ve made an ’experimental’ weapon that can’t be mass-produced?"

This was news to him.

Gongshu Tianyuan couldn’t hide his smug expression: "I haven’t named this cannon yet, but I’m planning to call it the ’Heavenly Element Cannon.’ It’s nearing completion. At most, it’ll be finished by the end of the year. I initially planned to surprise you once it’s done."

Zhao Douan asked in confusion, "Is it really that powerful?"

Gongshu Tianyuan smiled faintly and uttered a shocking sentence: "According to my calculated results, theoretically, the Heavenly Element Cannon, when fully charged with mana, can unleash force close to the Heavenly Human Realm."

"Really?!" Zhao Douan was genuinely stunned.

A cannon capable of matching the power of a Heavenly Human? Can he really whip up such a thing?

He finally became a bit serious, his expression turning solemn: "Brother Gongshu, this is no joke."

Gongshu Tianyuan was not happy: "Brother Zhao, you might not trust my character, but don’t question my expertise!"

This was a bold remark from Priest Zhu Dian: "It’s not impossible, just like how you once used the Red Flame Saint Armor to briefly exhibit magic at the Heavenly Human Realm. If ancient armor could accomplish it hundreds of years ago, as a disciple of the Heavenly Master and a cultivator of the Artisan God, why would I fall short of the ancients?"

"Besides, don’t just look at the cannon’s large size; I’ve also inscribed a shrinking array and feather-light array on it. This can reduce its weight to the level of common powerful cannons, making it easy to transport. Moreover, to ensure accuracy, it has an automatic targeting ability. Once locked by the cannon mouth, it is comparable to being locked by a Heavenly Human cultivator’s divine sense."

After boasting, he coughed and added, "Of course, it doesn’t come without a cost. Its consumption is also significant. According to my estimation, even in a place full of spiritual energy, it would take a hundred days to fully charge if using an energy gathering array. Additionally, after firing, the cannon itself will be damaged and require refurbishing."

But Zhao Douan’s eyes were already glowing!

A mobile, Qi Mechanism locking, Heavenly Human Level cannon... the strategic significance of such a device is self-evident.

If it could be secretly dispatched to the Eastern Front, at a critical moment, give the enemy a blast... without engaging Heavenly Human Realm cultivators, it is virtually a nuclear weapon in scale.