Am I Supposed to Agree or Disagree?

Is Ling Xin the Golden Edge Witch?

Luo Jun felt a little dizzy...

But upon closer inspection, Golden Edge Witch appeared in Ningdong before, and Ling Xin also studied in Ningdong... Golden Edge Witch took the entrance exam for Ningdong, Ling Xin appeared in the exam hall, though her specific cultivation level was still unknown... Golden Edge Witch was a Ling Family's clan, and Ling Xin also shared the surname Ling... It all makes sense!

Why didn't I think of this before!

Luo Jun's mind raced, his astonishment fleeting. Ling Kai, oblivious to his surprise, continued, "The Ling Family's clan only accepts Lineage with exceptional talent and strength... Children in the clan undergo testing at a very young age, and those with outstanding talent are selected for training within the clan. This is called the Clan Reserve Class."

"However, entering the preparatory class does not guarantee becoming a member of the royal family. Besides having exceptional talent, one must also be able to monetize that talent. The preparatory class assesses cultivation progress annually, and those who fall behind are eliminated. Ultimately, one must break through to the Heart Refining Realm before the age of twenty and pass the royal family trials before the age of twenty-five to officially join the royal family."

At this point, Ling Kai sighed, "To be honest, I wasn't bad-talented when I was young, and I even went to a preparatory class, but I fell behind in less than three years..."

"And this Ling Xin is also one of the top geniuses among the Clan Descendant. She broke through to the Heart Refining Realm at the age of thirteen and completed the royal family trial at the age of fifteen! This achievement would rank her among the top three in the Ling Family's hundred-year history!"

Luo Jun looked at Ling Kai: "Is there anyone stronger than her?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Kai sighed, "They're all from his family... In the history of the Ling Family, the fastest to complete the clan trial was Ling Yao, who broke through to the Heart Refining Realm at the age of twelve and completed the trial at the age of thirteen, two years faster than Ling Xin... There was another one named Ling Jue, whose achievements were the same as Ling Xin's, but he was from the previous generation, and was the biological father of Ling Xin and Ling Yao."

"Ling Xin... Golden Edge Witch and Ling Yao are actually siblings?" Luo Jun exclaimed in surprise.

Could it, like the Midnight Mask, also have the ability to distort cognition? Not only can it distort cognition, but it can also resist corruption. Could it be a Legendary Treasure Item...?

"Oh dear, I've said a bit too much..." Ling Kai immediately stopped him. "Anyway, there's been progress on your borrowing of the Divine Smithing Furnace, and it'll be opening soon, right? The guild has arranged to discuss it in detail with you tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. I just came to give you a heads-up..."

Having found a reasonable justification for his actions, Luo Jun turned off the lights and went to sleep with a clear conscience!

Luo Jun suddenly remembered that Ling Xin had mentioned in the underground that she had an acquaintance she hadn't spoken to much, who was also an orphan. Could she be talking about me?

Am I that important to her?

No... Luo Jun shook his head. Ling Xin had mentioned that the orphan had said something to her, something like not letting her circumstances defeat her. I don't remember ever having that kind of conversation with her... People she talks about are acquaintances; even if they didn't talk much, at least they left a deep impression. Someone like me, who's practically invisible, probably wouldn't even leave an impression...

Oh dear, I'm overthinking it. I haven't even exchanged more than a few words with her...

Besides, if she really cared about me that much, inviting her to a movie wouldn't be so difficult...

Ling Kai knew that Mister Ye disliked rambling, so after stating the important points and exchanging a few brief pleasantries, he left, leaving Luo Jun alone in the room to process the information he had just received...

In the very center sat Ling Yi, the rotating manager. To his left sat White-bearded Old Man dressed in plain clothes. He had seen this old man before; he was the rotating head of the Artifact Bureau and should be a master craftsman.

Ling Xin is the Golden Edge Witch... Now that I think about it, the Golden Edge Witch's figure and voice are exactly the same as Ling Xin's. Why didn't I make that connection before?

Luo Jun thought of Ling Xin's mask.

I never expected this! My classmate, with whom I've spent so much time, is actually the big boss of the cultivation world. Luckily, I didn't offend her in class before, or I wouldn't even know how I died...

Luo Jun sighed. No matter what, they were classmates, and it seemed a bit unfair to take her "treasure book" that she had collected... Oh dear, I saved her life, it's good enough that I don't expect her to repay me with her body, what's a little material?

He sat on the sofa, with Ling Kai standing next to him, and three people sitting opposite him.

Etc!

No, according to others, when they put on the Midnight Mask, their features were Blur, but when they looked at the Golden Edge Witch, her features were still very clear; they were just unconsciously ignoring them... So, it seems that the mask's ability to conceal identity is not as good as the Midnight Mask.

On the other side sat the masked Golden Edge Witch... Now Luo Jun knew she was Ling Xin...

This Emergency Purification is extremely costly. If a hunter is severely contaminated and cannot survive until the Gate Opening Day, they will need to pay a huge amount of Wildlands Coin to apply for this service. Even large teams may go bankrupt due to this.

"Yes." Ling Kai's gossip spirit flared up. "Back then, Ling Jue was the most dazzling rising star in the clan, a role model for countless Lineage members. If he hadn't died at the hands of the apostles in another world, the position of clan head would be his now, not Ling Ao's! At that time, Ling Xin was still young. If Ling Yao hadn't already shown amazing talent, this branch would probably have disappeared under the Lineage's power struggles..."

It seems I was overthinking it...

Looking at her exposed neck and wrists, there were still dark marks, but the scales were no longer visible, which should be the result of the guild's Emergency Purification.

"Apostle?" This was yet another new concept that Luo Jun had never heard of.

At 10 a. m. the next day, Luo Jun arrived at the guild on time.

However, as a member of the royal family and an outstanding genius, Ling Xin will naturally receive treatment at all costs from the guild.

"Regarding your request for the Divine Smithing Furnace, Ling Xin has already expressed her willingness to relinquish the opportunity," Ling Yi said, handing Luo Jun a list. "These are Auxiliary Materials that Ling Xin had previously accumulated, intending to use for forging weapons. She has also decided to contribute them. Are you satisfied with what you've seen?"

Luo Jun was a complete novice when it came to forging and refining. Looking at the materials on the list, he had never even heard of most of them, but since Ling Xin had chosen them, it was clear that they were all top-quality materials.

Saying I'm satisfied? Would that make me seem too easily fooled? Saying I'm not satisfied? What's wrong with me? I can't really put my finger on it...

After a long silence, Luo Jun coughed unconsciously.

Ling Yi, sitting opposite him, trembled slightly, swallowed hard, and glanced at the Refining Masters beside him.

At this moment, Ling Kai suddenly took the list. "Manager, I don't think this is enough..."

Ling Yi looked at Ling Kai, a hint of pleading in his eyes.

"As far as I know, Ling Xin wants to forge a thin, light longsword," Ling Kai analyzed. "Regardless of whether the materials used for such a lightweight weapon are compatible with the heavy hammer, the materials used will definitely be relatively few. I think that, on top of that, we need to add at least some larger pieces of material."

As he spoke, he handed the list to Luo Jun: "Mister Ye, what do you think?"

Luo Jun nodded. "That makes sense, that's exactly what I was going to mention... but I'm not sure about the guild's sincerity."

"The guild's sincerity..." Ling Yi hesitated. He originally wanted Ye to propose the conditions so he could apply. But now that the responsibility had been shifted to him, how could he quote a price? If he offered too much, he was afraid the higher-ups would be dissatisfied; if he offered too little, he was afraid of angering Ye. He was really in a dilemma.

"Mister Ou Ye is a master weapon refiner, why don't we listen to his opinion?" Ling Kai suggested at just the right moment.

The Old Man stroked his beard. "I've looked at the list. Although the longsword and hammer are different in style, they are both melee weapons, so the materials are fine... But as Ling Kai said, for a heavy hammer, these Auxiliary Materials might not be enough. Luckily, from the previous mission, the hunters brought back the corpse of a Dark Hair Giant Ape. Its spine is excellent material for forging heavy weapons, so I think we can add it!"

Ling Yi nodded upon hearing this and said, "Good idea, what do you think, Mister Ye?"

At this point, Luo Jun had also figured out the situation to some extent, and snorted coldly, "I killed that black-haired monkey, but I didn't have time to bring back the spoils of war because I was saving this young lady from the royal family. I thought the guild had already taken this information into account. From what you're saying, you didn't even consider it?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Yi broke out in a sweat. "No, no... It's only right. If you need anything else, please let me know."

"That depends on what you have." Luo Jun was becoming increasingly adept at it.

Ling Yi thought to himself, "We have way too many, but we can't just empty the entire materials warehouse and give them all to you for this one weapon, can we?"

At this moment, Ling Xin suddenly spoke up.

"When my brother forged the River-Sinking Stone Sword, he prepared too many materials and there are still quite a few left over. I can make the decision for him."

As she spoke, she took the list and added several more items to it.

Luo Jun naturally didn't recognize them, but he noticed that Ling Kai's eyes lit up when he saw the materials.

"Not bad." Luo Jun nodded. "However, my hammer is still considerably heavier than his sword..."

"There are several materials listed here, and we have backups in the warehouse," Mister Ou Ye said. "We can increase the quantity."

"In addition, I hope the hammer has a feature that makes it easy to return to your hand after it's dropped," Luo Jun began to boldly state his conditions.

"It's a bit difficult to design these special effects..." Mr. Ouye frowned. "Let alone using the Divine Smithing Furnace, even we Refining Masters can't always create the special effects we want when forging magical artifacts... However, based on my experience, I can add some materials that have been used to create similar effects before."

As they talked, Luo Jun realized that the strength he had displayed had made the guild take him very seriously. With his confidence boosted, he felt more confident in negotiating. He even secretly rolled two dice to try and maximize his profits.

"Alright, that's about it..." Looking at the revised and significantly longer list, Mister Ou Ye stopped them. "These materials are already excessive; we definitely won't use them all. I'll adjust the quantities according to Mister Ye's requirements..."

Ling Yi breathed a sigh of relief, "Alright, I'll apply for reimbursement according to this standard. However, the approval process needs to be back to reality, and the result may take some time. Mister Ye mentioned before that his next trip to the Savage Wilderness might not be until next year, but this opportunity must be used before the end of the year. I suggest that you leave the blank. After we finalize the details, we will find the most experienced craftsman to help you with the materials. You can come and pick it up after the forging is completed. How about that?"

"We'll release the specific completion time via a code message through the guild's official account. Once you see it, you can contact Ling Kai to pick it up."

Luo Jun had no objection to this, since he didn't know how to operate it anyway. As for the hammer blank, it was something the guild didn't value anyway, so there was no way he could steal it.

Let's do it this way.

(End of this chapter)