"Mao Jiang! You had such a fine material, yet you only made a halberd shaft! Give it to me! We can still salvage it if we take it apart now!"
"Impossible! Zhu Ling, behave yourself. This is something Lord Zhongtian requested!"
"Stop talking nonsense and give it to me!"
"Forget it!"
Huang Yu saw the two Expert Level Blacksmiths fighting over a halberd.
Judging by the purple-red patterns on the halberd shaft, it was probably the equipment Lord Zhongtian wanted.
What surprised him, however, was this.
Among the two Expert Level Blacksmiths who had been promoted this time, one was actually a female blacksmith.
This was the first high-level female professional to appear in his territory.
Neither of the two Expert Level Blacksmiths looked very old.
The male blacksmith was named Mao Jiang.
He had a baby face, was not tall, and looked somewhat frail.
The female blacksmith was named Zhu Ling.
She had delicate features, a slightly chubby face, and wore black-rimmed glasses.
Beneath her glasses, her eyes gleamed with slyness. Rather than seeming quiet and refined, she looked mischievous and eccentric.
Mao Jiang wore a look of resistance as he clung tightly to the halberd in his arms.
Although he looked angry, he spoke softly, giving the impression of someone who dared to be angry but not voice his complaint.
Zhu Ling, on the other hand, was forthright and bold.
She gripped the halberd with both hands, braced one foot against the wall behind Mao Jiang, and insisted on snatching the halberd from his arms.
"Cough, cough."
He had been there for a while.
Seeing that nobody had noticed him, Huang Yu gave two light coughs.
The Apprentice Level Blacksmiths watching the spectacle turned around and saw Huang Yu. They hurriedly bowed and guiltily rushed back to their stations.
It gave Huang Yu the feeling of a teacher entering the classroom.
Upon hearing the coughs, Mao Jiang turned his head.
When he saw Huang Yu had arrived, he panicked and released the halberd in his hands.
"Ah!"
Mao Jiang had suddenly let go. Zhu Ling, whose eyes were fixed solely on the halberd, was caught off guard and went flying, crashing into a stack of Leather Armor behind her.
The Leather Armor had already been piled very high. The armor on top slid down, burying Zhu Ling beneath it.
Huang Yu's brow twitched.
If that had been a pile of swords and blades, wouldn't the Expert Level Blacksmith he had just obtained have been hacked to pieces?
Seeing the blacksmiths standing there dumbfounded, Huang Yu sighed.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get her out!"
Only then did the blacksmiths spring to life like machines that had suddenly been switched on.
They scrambled into action.
They rushed forward and moved the scattered Leather Armor aside.
They rescued Zhu Ling, who was hugging the halberd and grinning foolishly, her glasses askew and her hair in disarray.
Huang Yu shook his head.
It seemed that his territory had produced a real handful.
He brought up the information panels for the two of them.
Blacksmith: Mao Jiang Level: Expert Level Specialty: Polearms Potential: 3% chance of advancing to Saint Blacksmith.
Blacksmith: Zhu Ling Level: Expert Level Specialty: All Types Note: Zhu Ling possesses an imagination that runs wild. Her forging is entirely unrestricted by equipment type. In her eyes, if a prosthetic limb could let its user walk as swiftly as flying, and a prosthetic eye could protect its user from illusions, then it was a good piece of equipment! Although the price might be that the user had to cut off one leg or replace one eye... Potential: 5% chance of advancing to Saint Blacksmith.
Huang Yu was somewhat surprised.
Both of their potentials were actually very high.
Especially Zhu Ling.
Her chance of advancing to Saint Blacksmith was actually 5%!
She had the highest talent among the five Expert Level Blacksmiths.
However... after looking at Zhu Ling's information panel a few more times, Huang Yu was dumbfounded.
Prosthetic limbs, prosthetic eyes...
Good heavens.
Was she still following the Magic Pattern Mech style in the morning, only to develop toward cyberpunk in the afternoon?
If this continued, would the style of his territory evolve in the direction of Piltover and Zaun?
Steadying himself, Huang Yu asked the two of them:
"What were you doing just now?"
Seeing Zhu Ling hugging the halberd and staring at him warily, Mao Jiang said indignantly:
"This morning, my lord gave me a piece of Flame Thunder Wood. Under Expert Baili's guidance, I forged this Flame Thunder Halberd!"
"But Zhu Ling said I wasted the Flame Thunder Wood and wanted to take it apart for research!"
"My Flame Thunder Halberd is clearly the finest weapon among Rare Grade equipment!"
Hearing Mao Jiang report him to Huang Yu, and seeing Huang Yu glance over, Zhu Ling immediately came to her senses and hurriedly retorted:
"What's wrong with Rare Grade equipment?"
"Lord, take a look at this Flame Thunder Wood!"
"Look at these mesmerizing purple-red patterns!"
"These are traces of energy flowing naturally!"
"Maybe they contain the secrets of Magic Patterns!"
Zhu Ling stroked the shaft of the Flame Thunder Halberd and spoke with absolute conviction.
But combined with her unreliable appearance, Huang Yu could not help feeling that she was making things up.
Hearing Zhu Ling's words, Mao Jiang rolled his eyes and said:
"Materials with elemental energy basically all have similar patterns, all right?"
"You're not researching Magic Patterns!"
"You're obviously just coveting its attributes!"
After hearing the two argue, Huang Yu roughly understood what had happened.
There were indeed more Rare, Excellent, and even Perfect Grade materials in the warehouse now.
But they were still far from enough for a team of seventy blacksmiths.
Under Huang Yu's rules, only Expert Level Blacksmiths had the right to freely take materials from the warehouse without his approval.
Most Apprentice Level Blacksmiths could only access Common and Fine Grade materials.
Now that Zhu Ling had seen the Flame Thunder Wood in Mao Jiang's hands, she had wanted to trick it away for her own use.
"This Flame Thunder Halberd won't do!"
Huang Yu stepped forward and took the Flame Thunder Halberd back from Zhu Ling's arms.
Zhu Ling clung to the halberd with both hands, her clear eyes fixed on Huang Yu with a pitiful gaze.
She looked as if she were about to cry the next moment.
For a moment, Huang Yu felt like a wicked uncle who had snatched a little girl's Barbie doll.
His heart filled with guilt.
"Let go, Zhu Ling!"
"Don't look at me like that!"
Huang Yu was both amused and exasperated.
"I have a use for this weapon. You absolutely cannot take it apart."
"But since you and Mao Jiang have advanced to Expert Level Blacksmiths, your treatment will be the same as Baili and the others. From now on, you can use the warehouse materials however you like!"
Hearing Huang Yu's words, Zhu Ling's eyes lit up.
She immediately released the Flame Thunder Halberd and instead hugged Huang Yu's arm, offering a couple of perfunctory compliments.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
"Lord, you're mighty!"
"Lord, you're the most handsome!"
Afterward, Zhu Ling released Huang Yu's arm without the slightest reluctance.
She dashed toward the warehouse.
Mao Jiang looked at Huang Yu expectantly.
After Huang Yu nodded, he excitedly followed Zhu Ling toward the warehouse.
Huang Yu did not mind.
He said to the remaining Apprentice Level Blacksmiths:
"Everyone, work hard as well. Once you advance to Expert Level Blacksmiths, the warehouse materials will be fully open to you."
"If you need high-grade materials to advance to Expert Level, you can also apply to me!"
Hearing Huang Yu's promise, the remaining sixty-five Apprentice Level Blacksmiths immediately became excited.
They all rubbed their fists and prepared to show off their skills in the time to come.
They would advance to Expert Level Blacksmith as soon as possible.
Before you continue