Plate Crystal Hair Gold
The massive, rugged Blacksmith Association Hall had no ornate decorations and no guards at the entrance.
At this time, a constant stream of people came and went, and the three doors were wide open, allowing a view of the bustling crowd inside from the outside.
At the doorway, Xiang Guyun watched Ling Yi and Yang Shelly walk inside, feeling somewhat dazed.
"So this is... Soul Elder—?"
Xiang Guyun murmured something to himself, then turned his head to meet a pair of large eyes. He couldn't help but ask, "Treading Snow, tell me honestly, Brother Yi... he really became Soul Elder?"
Upon hearing this question, Treading Snow rolled her big eyes upwards, snorted, and completely ignored Xiang Guyun's words.
But in that look, it seemed to say, didn't the 'mistress' just say that the master is already Soul Elder?
Beside them, Yang Shelly's chestnut horse looked at Xiang Guyun and Treading Snow, who were "interacting," completely bewildered and unaware of anything.
Xiang Guyun didn't expect that Treading Snow, a single horse, could answer his questions, but that look just now, wasn't it contempt? It really was contempt, wasn't it?
"Alright—!"
With a shout, Xiang Guyun stopped Treading Snow and led the two fine horses, one black and one red, towards the back of the association.
In the lobby on the first floor of the association, Ling Yi put on the Blacksmith badge that Lou Gao had personally given him a few years ago. He and Yang Shelly did not rush to find Lou Gao, but instead strolled around with the crowd in this noisy environment like ordinary guests.
This is a completely open hall, mostly empty space except for the massive pillars supporting the building. Only at the outermost edge, along the wall, is a large circle of counters displaying various finished products forged by blacksmiths.
After a quick look, Ling Yi discovered that the hall on this floor was mainly divided into two areas: on the left, blacksmiths were consigning various finished products, while on the right was a trading area for all kinds of metals.
During a previous reunion with Xiang Guyun, Ling Yi learned from the latter that the Blacksmith Association would take a 5% commission on transactions made here.
Compared to the 10% commission charged by auction houses, the commission here is much lower, which is why many blacksmiths of Blacksmith caliber consign their works here. After all, the foot traffic here is very high, mostly merchants from all over the country, who can directly bid to buy whatever they want.
"Brother Yi, this place is even more lively than the ' Dragon Rising City ' supermarket!"
Looking at the bustling scene of people inquiring about prices and discussing, Yang Shelly couldn't help but recall her time in "Dragon Rising City" and couldn't help but say to Ling Yi beside her.
"It is lively, indeed~" Ling Yi nodded and chuckled, "However, I would say each has its own unique characteristics."
"Dragon Rising City serves as a trade bridge between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire. The large market there sells all kinds of goods."
"And here," Ling Yi looked around, then continued, "It's almost entirely filled with various metal products or raw mineral materials..."
"I took a look, and the prices here are a bit higher than elsewhere, about five percent higher. That probably includes the association's handling fee."
"However, the merchants who made the purchases didn't lose out either. The goods displayed here have all been appraised and evaluated by the association before being priced. They're buying genuine products that are good value for money."
"After all, if you buy the same thing elsewhere, the quality can't be guaranteed, and you might get scammed at any time..."
The two talked and looked around as they walked, arriving at the side staircase of the first-floor lobby. There were two guards there. Their gazes lingered briefly on the Blacksmith's badge on Ling Yi's chest, and they looked at Ling Yi's excessively handsome face with some surprise.
Ling Yi returned the smile with a warm smile and nodded.
The two guards didn't say anything, just nodded and smiled in response, and then let Ling Yi and his companion pass.
With their keen eyesight, they could naturally tell that the Blacksmith badge on Ling Yi's chest was definitely genuine. Although Ling Yi looked very young, with the power of his Martial Soul, as long as one's strength was high, maintaining a youthful appearance was not a particularly magical thing.
As they climbed the steps, Ling Yi introduced the place to Yang Shelly: "I heard from Senior Brother Lou Gao before that the General Association is divided into five floors. The first floor is the trading area, where blacksmiths bring their best works or metals to trade. Of course, there are also merchants who specialize in selling various metals. Those are what you just saw—"
The second floor is the high-end trading area, where rare metals are generally traded. The third floor is the blacksmith registration and assessment area, specifically for assessing blacksmith skill levels. The fourth floor is the VIP area, which also serves as the auction area, where particularly valuable and rare forged items are auctioned regularly. And the fifth floor is the office area of the [Blacksmith Association]..."
Behind them, at the top of the stairs on the first floor, two guards looked at each other, listening to Ling Yi's words coming from above.
"Just now..." The guard on the left couldn't help but turn back to glance at Ling Yi and his companion, who had already stepped onto the second floor, and asked his partner, "Did that incredibly handsome young man mention the Guild Master?"
Hearing the voice, which sounded somewhat unsteady due to surprise, the guard on the right also responded in a daze, "Hmm... it seems... it is... right—"
It can't be just a case of having the same name, right?
The guard on the right thought to himself, "But the name ' Lou Gao ' is mentioned here at the Blacksmith Association; it doesn't seem like a coincidence at all."
The problem is, that young man seemed to be calling the president... senior brother?!
On the second floor, Ling Yi paid no attention to the two guards at the top of the stairs. He was in a daze because of the way he addressed them as "Senior Brother Lou Gao". Instead of going directly to the stairs leading to the third floor, he took Yang Shelly with him and wandered around the second floor.
Compared to the first-floor lobby, the second floor is not as tall, nor is it completely open-plan; instead, it is divided into individual shops. There is a sidewalk about five meters wide between the two rows of shops, and in this vast area, there are at least several hundred shops on the second floor.
Despite the many shops, it's not noisy here; it's much quieter than downstairs.
Clearly, those who can open shops in this upscale trading area on the second floor have a certain level of expertise. They don't need to shout and hawk their wares like they do downstairs; they can simply wait for discerning customers to come to them.
After a quick look at the various exquisite works in the finished product area, some of which even inspired Ling Yi Ling Yi, he finally stepped into the area that specialized in selling various metals and raw materials.
"Refined gold, silver marrow, copper mother metal, Mysterious Iron, tungsten steel, Zi Yaoshi, water-gloss sand..."
Inside the metal section, Ling Yi looked at the precious metal ores displayed in the most prominent positions, muttering to himself, his eyes filled with undisguised joy.
Beside her, Yang Shelly looked at Ling Yi's appearance and smiled sincerely.
"Huh?"
In front of a shop, Ling Yi stopped and looked at the pieces of mineral raw materials on the shelves inside.
After taking a closer look, Ling Yi stepped into the shop and headed straight for the shelf he had previously noticed, his eyes fixed on the crystals in the bottom shelf.
It was a piece of crystal about the size of a baby's head, somewhat cloudy. If you only looked at the crystal, it seemed to be of very poor quality, not very transparent, and somewhat yellowish with an impure color.
However, within this crystal, there exists a large area of shimmering gold.
"Guest, this is a ' Plate Crystal Hair Gold '. If you wish, the price is 1200 Gold Soul Coin."
Just then, a young man in his twenties walked up to Ling Yi, stopped two meters away, and said politely.
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Ling Yi shifted his gaze from the murky crystal to the young man, and said with a smile, "1200 Gold Soul Coin isn't too expensive. May I ask your name, sir?"
At this Shi Nian's gaze lingered on the Blacksmith's badge on Ling Yi's chest. Hearing Ling Yi's question, he looked at Ling Yi as if waking from a dream, and subconsciously said, "My name is Si Long..."