Inner City Residency Slot!

After preparing the materials according to the Azure Fang Sword's material ratios, Li Changsheng began smelting and forging, crafting the Azure Fang Sword with utmost care.

With his skill as an Eighth-grade Blacksmith, even though this was his first time forging a Custom Weapon, he had the blueprint, the material ratios, and it was a relatively simple Custom Weapon. Failure was unlikely; at most, its quality would not be particularly high.

Before long, the Azure Fang Sword was successfully forged, its quality reaching Ninth Grade Middle Tier!

He had never forged a Custom Weapon before, so achieving such quality on his first attempt was already quite good. If he forged a few more, he should be able to create a Ninth Grade Upper Tier Azure Fang Sword.

Li Changsheng had forged the Azure Fang Sword quickly, so he now had to wait for the others to finish the second round.

A long while later, the second-round assessment finally came to an end.

This time, only ten people were selected, determined by quality.

Of them, only thirteen had successfully forged their Custom Weapons, and most of those thirteen had only forged Ninth Grade Lower Tier weapons.

After all, the Custom Weapons had been randomly assigned. Many blacksmiths were forging theirs for the first time, and they had only one chance, so the success rate was naturally low.

Thus, Li Changsheng naturally made it into the top ten.

Next came the third round, the final round of the competition.

There were no requirements for this round. They could choose whatever weapon they wished to forge, and could even choose to forge a Custom Weapon. Naturally, Custom Weapons were of a higher grade than ordinary weapons.

Li Changsheng did not possess blueprints for Eighth-grade Custom Weapons, so he was bound to be at a disadvantage in this round. Still, he could forge an Eighth-grade Weapon, so he would not end up in last place.

He immediately began forging Eighth-grade Armor, with the Blacksmith Guild naturally supplying the materials.

Forging Eighth-grade Armor took a long time. The Blacksmith Guild also provided meals during that period, but they were only given one chance to forge it.

Li Changsheng's forging skill was now somewhat stronger than before. He no longer needed eight days; he had a chance of successfully forging the Eighth-grade Armor in roughly seven or six days.

Sure enough, at noon on the sixth day, Li Changsheng successfully forged the Eighth-grade Armor. It bore the unique fluctuations of Eighth-grade Armor, though its quality was still only Eighth Grade Lower Tier.

Afterward, he left the Forging Room and handed the armor over to the judges. Then, he could return home and wait for news; there was no need to remain at the Blacksmith Guild branch.

Mainly because some blacksmiths took a rather long time to forge. Waiting here would undoubtedly be a waste of time.

After returning home, Li Changsheng focused on cultivating the Skin Polishing Martial Art Azure Steel Hand, tempering his stone skin as he strove to break through into the realm of Stone Skin Minor Accomplishment as soon as possible.

Ten days later.

Li Changsheng received a notice from a Blacksmith Guild member, asking him to visit the Blacksmith Guild branch. The results of the Blacksmith Tournament were out.

Blacksmith Guild branch.

When Li Changsheng arrived, the other nine had also come, all waiting for the results.

At that moment, a high-ranking member of the Blacksmith Guild appeared and announced the results.

"First place in the Blacksmith Tournament: Xiao Chen!"

"Second place in the Blacksmith Tournament: Ouyang Jiangxin!"

One blacksmith's ranking after another was announced. Only when they reached seventh place was Li Changsheng called.

"Seventh place in the Blacksmith Tournament: Li Changsheng!"

Li Changsheng was not disappointed by this ranking. He had only forged an ordinary Eighth Grade Lower Tier weapon, so this placing was reasonable enough.

Soon, all ten rankings had been announced, and the rewards began to be distributed.

The top three received the richest rewards. As the seventh-place winner, Li Changsheng's rewards were also quite good: an Inner City Residency Qualification, a mid-tier Skin Polishing Martial Art, and ten portions of Hundred Refinement Secret Medicine.

He could freely choose the mid-tier Skin Polishing Martial Art, though there were not many kinds available. There were only a dozen or so martial arts for him to choose from. After looking through them, he ultimately chose the mid-tier Skin Polishing Martial Art—Wind Shadow Leg. It could temper the skin of his legs, and once mastered, it would also make him extremely fast.

He was now a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist. Having already experienced sensing qi and blood, his physical condition had also become extraordinarily powerful. He no longer needed to put his legs through the stages of pebble skin grinding and Iron Sand Skin Grinding, and could directly begin cultivating the mid-tier Skin Polishing Martial Art Wind Shadow Leg by sensing qi and blood.

Wind Shadow Leg was certainly far better than Azure Steel Hand, but it was also much harder to begin. Given his aptitude, it would likely take a long time for him to cultivate Wind Shadow Leg to the Stone Skin Realm.

Still, Li Changsheng could take it slowly.

Besides, he had gained another ten portions of Hundred Refinement Secret Medicine. This secret medicine was far more effective than Azure Origin Secret Medicine for skin polishing, but it had no wound-healing effect—it was purely for skin polishing.

After putting away his rewards, Li Changsheng prepared to head home.

But on the way back, someone stopped him.

"Master Li, please wait. My young master wishes to meet you," the man said.

"I don't know your young master, and I'm not interested."

Li Changsheng refused directly.

However, qi and blood surged through the man's hands, suffusing them with a bronze-colored glow.

"A Bronze Skin Realm Martial Artist!"

Li Changsheng's pupils contracted.

He was merely a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist. Above the Stone Skin Realm was the Iron Skin Realm, and only after that came the Bronze Skin Realm.

Even Senior Brother Du Hai had only reached Iron Skin Realm Great Accomplishment. He was absolutely no match for this man.

"Lead the way," Li Changsheng said at once.

"Master Li, this way, please!"

The man led Li Changsheng to a pavilion in short order, where they met a young man in a private room.

"Master Li, please sit!"

the young man said.

After Li Changsheng sat down, he asked, "Who are you, sir? I don't believe I know you."

The young man said, "I am Zhang Baizang, eldest young master of the Zhang Family on Baiye Street in the outer city. I invited Master Li here because I want the Inner City Residency Slot on you!"

"An Inner City Residency Slot?" Li Changsheng frowned. "Such a slot can be traded?"

"Of course it can be traded!" Zhang Baizang said with a smile. "The inner city does not care about the mud-legged peasants of the outer city. Such Inner City Residency Slots are not that important to them, and they do not care who moves into the inner city. You should have received a silver certificate, yes? Whoever holds that certificate can reside in the inner city. Of course, to prevent the Blacksmith Guild from investigating, Master Li need only sign an automatic transfer agreement. Then the Blacksmith Guild will not pursue the matter either."

Li Changsheng asked curiously, "Young Master Zhang, while I do not know much about your Zhang Family, your family should not be weak. Could it be that you cannot even obtain an Inner City Residency Slot?"

"The Zhang Family can obtain one, but it would require paying a certain price, and they would not give it to me," Zhang Baizang said. "There are already many people in the inner city, and the number of slots allotted to the outer city each year is very small. Even with great strength, obtaining an Inner City Residency Slot is exceedingly difficult. The Blacksmith Guild's inner city slots are the easiest to acquire. The reason they are so easy to obtain is because the inner city needs blacksmiths to forge weapons for them—not because blacksmiths are all that important! Naturally, I have other ways to obtain an Inner City Residency Slot, but buying one from you is the easiest way!"

"Why does everyone want to enter the inner city?"

Li Changsheng asked the question he most wanted answered.