An Industry Gathering
"Old Liu, you're here too—"
"Of course, it's rare for a truly outstanding figure to emerge among our blacksmiths, and with the support of three veteran Blacksmith, he's convened a meeting of all the blacksmiths in the duchy. How could I possibly be absent from such a grand occasion—?"
In the south of the city of "Wood Plant City", in front of the gate of the Jin Mansion, two muscular men, one tall and one short, were talking and each led a young man toward the open gate.
Du Jun, who was standing outside the door, immediately stepped forward and greeted them with a smile, "Master Ba Lu, Master Liu Kuang, thank you both for coming from afar..."
As the acting manager of [Jin Geng Blacksmith Shop], Du Jun may not be as skilled in forging as his fellow apprentices, but he is definitely an outlier among blacksmiths when it comes to welcoming and seeing off customers, and he is particularly good at it.
"Ah Lai, quickly lead the two masters inside and brew a pot of good tea!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Du Jun called over the young man who was waiting nearby and led the two high-ranking blacksmiths from Azure City Water Wood Duchy, into the mansion.
Upon entering the gate, the group saw a courtyard covering more than two acres, where nearly a hundred figures were sitting or standing in small groups.
"Master Chai—"
The tall, strong man named Ba Lu spotted a familiar face in the distance and immediately called out to it.
"Um?"
In a corner of the courtyard, a lean but muscular man standing with several burly men looked over upon hearing the voice. After recognizing the person, he immediately smiled, waved, and shouted, "Ha—!"
Who do we have here? It's you, Ba Lu!
Come on, let me introduce you to some new buddies!
Seeing this, Ba Lu nodded to Ah Lai beside him, said thank you, and then strode over with Liu Kuang and their apprentices.
The group met up and introduced themselves to each other.
Among them, Master Chai Yi, like Ba Lu and Liu Kuang, are all high-level blacksmiths from "Azure City".
The other muscular, hulking men were from ' Cold Wind City ' and were also high-level blacksmiths.
Or rather, of the nearly one hundred people in the Jin family's courtyard, apart from a small number of young people, the other fifty or sixty, who were slightly older, were all senior blacksmiths capable of supporting a blacksmith shop on a bustling street in the city.
Time flowed slowly, and the number of people in the courtyard gradually increased. The tea and snacks around each person were changed several times, but no one showed any impatience.
The three veteran Blacksmith the Water Wood Duchy, Jin Gang, Fu Shan, and Li Qiang, along with the newly recruited fourteen-year-old Blacksmith Ling Yi, jointly summoned these senior blacksmiths, which was certainly not to amuse them.
Moreover, within this courtyard, there are disciples of the three veteran Blacksmith, who, through introductions from acquaintances, are getting to know each of the senior blacksmiths.
In an instant, hearty laughter and conversation filled the air, dispelling the chill of early spring along with the bright sunshine in the sky.
The main hall of the Jin residence is spacious, bright, and simply furnished, which is very much in line with Old Master Jin's straightforward personality.
At this moment, there were only six figures in this huge hall.
Six people sat down at a specially made round table.
As the head of the household and the eldest son, Old Master Jin sat with his back to the inner side of the hall, facing the main entrance. To his left and right were Fu Shan and Li Qiang, two Blacksmith with connections to the military and the imperial court.
To Fu Shan's left sat Ling Yi quietly, a warm smile on his lips.
The two figures sitting opposite the four were a handsome middle-aged man in a blue robe, whose face, like Ling Yi's, naturally carried a slight smile that subconsciously inspired goodwill. The other was a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved fur coat, his face as rugged as his short hair, exuding a wildness akin to wind and snow, despite the sub-zero temperatures.
These two, the handsome middle-aged man named Qingqiu Li, are the owners of the Coast Blacksmith Shop in Azure City, and are also highly skilled blacksmiths. They are also the most influential blacksmiths in the Azure City region.
This was not because his forging skills were the best, but simply because the handsome middle-aged man was a level 45 Agility Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor.
Such strength ranks second in the entire Jin family today, even surpassing Fu Shan and Li Qiang, who are also Soul Ancestor.
As for the one ranked first, it was the short-haired man who was still wearing a thin fur coat despite the freezing weather.
Long Ang, from Cold Wind City, is the owner of Blue Flame Blacksmith Shop and a level 48 Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor.
At the same time, he was also the most skilled blacksmith in the entire [Water Wood Duchy] who was closest to Blacksmith.
Yes, he is still the most advanced Blacksmith, closest to the master blacksmith.
A pair of tiger-like eyes scanned Ling Yi from head to toe, finally settling on that handsome, fair-skinned face with a touch of boyishness. Long Ang's voice boomed. "You're a real talent, kid. I've seen that ' Thousand Scale Armor ' and even studied it myself. I must say, I, Long Ang, approve of you becoming Blacksmith!"
"Whoosh—" *4
As Long Ang finished speaking, everyone except Ling Yi —including Old Master Jin, Fu Shan, Li Qiang, and Qingqiu Li —breathed with relief.
The atmosphere, which had been somewhat somber because Long Ang hadn't said a word since entering, relaxed at this moment.
Ling Yi, with a humble expression and a slight forward lean, said calmly, "I am deeply honored to receive Long Ang Ling Yi's recognition—"
Although he was Blacksmith and the other party was a high-level blacksmith, given that the other party was only two steps away from becoming Soul King, and also had a powerful Soul Master family behind him, there were only a dozen or so people in the entire [Water Wood Duchy] who would dare to disrespect him.
Didn't you see the other four people at the table all showing this person respect?
"Hmm~"
Long Ang nodded noncommittally, looked around, and finally looked at the three Old Master Jin, asking, "You should have heard about my temperament. Let's not waste any more time. Tell me, what is it that you have gathered so many of us senior blacksmiths here to discuss?"
Your previous letter was also unclear—"
After he finished speaking, Long Ang's tiger-like eyes met Old Master Jin's pupils.
Beside them, Fu Shan and the others also turned their gazes to look at Old Master Jin.
"Cough--"
Under the gaze of these people, Old Master Jin suddenly felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him. He opened his mouth, then coughed lightly and turned his gaze to Ling Yi next to Fu Shan, saying, "Well, that... Ah Yi, could you tell Master Long Ang and Master Qingqiu Li about what you discussed with Little Fu and Little Li earlier?"
Following Old Master Jin's words, the gazes of the people at the table shifted to Ling Yi.
Ling Yi's gaze first swept over Old Master Jin, Fu Shan, and Li Qiang, especially the latter two. If one did not know, seeing their expressions at this moment, one would probably think that they, like Long Ang and Qingqiu Li opposite them, knew nothing at all.
Ling Yi shook his head helplessly at the performance of his three teammates, but remained expressionless on the surface. He nodded, stood up, and reached into his pocket to take out a stack of folded papers.
Spreading the papers out on the table, Ling Yi looked around and asked, "Master, seniors, how much do you know about the current ironware market in the [Water Wood Duchy]?"