Blacksmiths' Association

"Gengxin City has the most blacksmith shops of any city. Only here are blacksmiths truly valued. It is said that Gengxin City alone has over a thousand blacksmith shops and tens of thousands of blacksmiths. Many blacksmiths from other cities come here specifically to take blacksmith assessments. If they can pass the Advanced Blacksmith assessment, they can remain in this city. Simply put, this is a paradise for blacksmiths."

As the saying went, money could make the devil turn millstones. After Xiao Yu and the others entered Gengxin City, they spent a little money to hire a local guide.

A local guide's greatest skill was reading people. Xiao Yu and the others' clothing and bearing made it clear that they were no ordinary people. More importantly, the guide himself was a Soul Master, and his martial soul possessed a spiritual attribute. When he met the gaze of Hui Huo, who had remained silent behind Xiao Yu's group, his martial soul conveyed overwhelming terror to him, as if he were facing a peerless ferocious beast. He immediately understood that these people were not ones he could afford to provoke.

Thus, he was exceptionally enthusiastic toward Xiao Yu and the others, tirelessly introducing Gengxin City to them. "Although blacksmiths are not valued by the two great empires, military weapons and equipment, farming tools, buildings, and furniture all require blacksmiths. The higher the blacksmith's rank, the more valuable the things they forge become.

"Blacksmiths are generally divided into seven ranks. From lowest to highest, they are: Apprentice Blacksmith, Intermediate Blacksmith, Advanced Blacksmith, Blacksmith Master, Grandmaster Blacksmith, Blacksmith Grandmaster, and Divine Blacksmith.

"At present, Gengxin City has only one Divine Blacksmith: Senior Lou Gao, president of the Blacksmiths' Association. However, he is aloof by nature and rarely agrees to forge for others anymore. If you gentlemen have need of anything, I can recommend several excellent blacksmith shops. They belong to Masters Si Long and Si Yu, among others. They are all Lou Gao's personal disciples and Blacksmith Grandmasters. Everything they forge is of the finest quality and will certainly satisfy you honored guests."

"Thank you."

Xiao Yu smiled faintly, but shook his head. "However, the purpose of our trip is to visit Master Lou Gao. Please lead the way."

"Certainly."

Seeing that Xiao Yu was clearly the one in charge, the guide said no more and immediately led the group toward the central district of Gengxin City.

Gengxin City itself was not particularly large. Before long, they arrived at its central district.

"Honored guests, this is the headquarters of the Blacksmiths' Association."

Following the direction of the guide's finger, Xiao Yu and the others saw an imposing, towering structure.

It was a simple and rugged spherical castle. The entire structure lacked any ornate decorations. Its three gates stood open, with an endless stream of people coming and going.

Xiao Yu's group strolled into the main hall with the crowd. The guide began explaining again. "The headquarters has five floors. The first floor is the trading area, where blacksmiths bring their proudest works or various metals to trade. Of course, there are also merchants who specialize in selling all kinds of metals. The left side of the hall is where blacksmiths consign their finished products, while the right side is the metal trading area. The association takes a five percent commission, so most blacksmiths who consign goods here hold the rank of Blacksmith Master.

"At the headquarters, prices may be a little higher than outside, but quality is absolutely guaranteed. Every item is appraised and evaluated by the association before being priced. If you honored guests need finished products or rare metals, you can buy here without concern. The Blacksmiths' Association would never tarnish its own reputation.

"Outside, prices may be cheaper, but quality cannot be guaranteed. Whether you can find something good depends entirely on your luck."

Xiao Yu nodded. Shopping worked the same way in this life as it had in his previous one. If one wanted assured quality and quantity, higher prices were unavoidable. Focusing solely on bargains made it easy to fall into a trap.

The guide continued, "The second floor is the high-end trading area. Rare metals are generally traded there. The third floor is the blacksmith registration and assessment area, specifically for evaluating blacksmith ranks. The fourth floor is the VIP area, as well as the auction area. Particularly precious and rare forged items are auctioned there regularly. The fifth floor is the Blacksmiths' Association's office area. Master Lou Gao's forging room is on the fifth floor."

Xiao Yu glanced around the hall. After several months of studying Soul Tools, he had gained a general understanding of rare metals. With just that brief look, he spotted six types of rare metal of mid-to-high-grade quality.

However, Xiao Yu did not immediately rush to the trading area to make purchases. He had a small scheme of his own. If he could successfully recruit Lou Gao and the Blacksmiths' Association, could he not buy directly at the association's friendly price? Although he had brought plenty of money on this trip, before the sect established a stable source of income, it was still living off its reserves. It was better to save wherever possible. As for making the Blacksmiths' Association foot the bill, his skin was not that thick.

Having made up his mind, Xiao Yu no longer hesitated and headed directly for the stairs.

In the original story, Tang San and Titan had guards inspect them almost every time they went up a floor, but Xiao Yu encountered no such situation. He guessed that after the Soul Hunting Operation, Spirit Hall had accelerated its efforts to annex the Blacksmiths' Association. That bishop, Miles, was an ignorant bastard who bullied men and women alike. He probably could not think of any better methods and only knew how to send people to cause trouble in order to pressure the Blacksmiths' Association. That was likely why the association had strengthened its guards.

Xiao Yu made his way up to the fourth floor before he was finally stopped by a guard from the Blacksmiths' Association. After all, the fifth floor was the association's office area, and every Blacksmith Grandmaster had a private forging room there. It would have been unreasonable for there to be no guards at all.

"Hello, we have come to visit Master Lou Gao. We would like to ask him to forge a divine weapon for us. Here are the blueprints."

Xiao Yu smiled politely and took out a blueprint from his Storage Spirit Tool. It was a copy he had made of a Rank Seven Soul Tool blueprint. In the original story, Tang San had lured Lou Gao into the Tang Sect with the manufacturing blueprint for the Storm Pear Blossom Needle. Xiao Yu could use the same method. For a genius like Lou Gao, who was obsessed with forging, this was the only thing that could move him.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Get lost, get lost! Don't insult Master Lou Gao's eyes with this!"

Unexpectedly, the guard merely gave the blueprint a cursory glance before tossing it aside like garbage. He then stepped forward and began driving Xiao Yu's group downstairs.

Xiao Yu's expression immediately darkened. Looking at the impatient guard before him, was running into a few snobbish fools whenever one went out really standard protagonist treatment?

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