Sights of Treasure Sword City

"Little brother, what did you come to my smithy to buy? I have armor, blades, swords, daggers, and all sorts of farming tools. The prices are very reasonable, and if you need a large quantity, I can even give you a discount."

Jerry smiled at Su Tianyu as he introduced each of the things his shop made.

"Boss, I'm not here to buy anything. I'd like to rent a forge in your shop. Would you be willing to rent one to me? I'll make sure you're happy with the price."

With several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to his name, Su Tianyu could afford to buy a smaller smithy in Treasure Sword City.

But that would be too conspicuous for Su Tianyu, who had only just arrived in Treasure Sword City. Renting a forge would be enough for him to make Hidden Weapons without attracting too much attention and putting himself in danger.

After hearing Su Tianyu out, Jerry looked troubled. He thought it over for a while and decided to rent out a forge. His smithy hadn't received any orders in some time, and the forge was sitting idle anyway. He might as well rent it out and earn some Gold Soul Coins.

With that thought, Jerry smiled at Su Tianyu and spoke.

"Little brother, I'll agree to rent you a forge in my shop. I won't ask too much of you. How does five hundred Gold Soul Coins a month sound?"

Jerry looked him up and down. Su Tianyu's clothes weren't particularly elaborate, and Jerry estimated that the fabric of his white outfit was worth around ten Gold Soul Coins. That meant the young man who had come to his shop was a Soul Master.

Su Tianyu thought for a moment. Five hundred coins a month was a small sum to him, but the size of the boss's shop clearly didn't warrant a price of five hundred Gold Soul Coins a month. He promptly spoke up.

"Boss, your shop isn't very big. Five hundred Gold Soul Coins is too high. There aren't many items on display either, so you clearly don't have many orders to fill. How about this? I'll offer four hundred Gold Soul Coins a month. Will you rent it to me for that?"

"Well..."

After hearing Su Tianyu's offer, Jerry looked a little troubled. Renting out a forge for four hundred Gold Soul Coins clearly wouldn't earn him many coins.

The fuel used to forge the iron alone cost around two hundred and fifty Gold Soul Coins a month. Add to that the wear on the forge and hammer from working iron, and he would make less than a hundred Gold Soul Coins at most.

Jerry gave a wry smile. "Little brother, you've bargained a bit too hard. I won't earn many Gold Soul Coins renting it to you for that. But let's call it making a friend. I'll rent it to you. You should know that a dagger made in my shop is worth several Gold Soul Coins, and blades and swords go for several hundred apiece.

"As for full-body armor, the labor alone costs over a thousand Gold Soul Coins. If a customer wants the shop to provide the materials too, the final price comes to more than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins. Little brother, at four hundred Gold Soul Coins a month for a forge, I really won't make much. I'm only renting it to you for the sake of making a friend."

"Many thanks, boss. I'd be glad to be your friend," Su Tianyu thanked the shopkeeper.

Su Tianyu then took a bundle from his Storage Soul Tool. Inside were exactly four hundred Gold Soul Coins, neatly arranged.

Jerry took the bundle from Su Tianyu and carefully weighed it in his hand for a while before smiling. "Thank you, little brother. If there's anything you don't know in the future, you can come and ask me. I know Treasure Sword City very well. I've been here for almost twenty years."

A glint flashed in Su Tianyu's eyes. This was just what he needed to help him buy some rare metals in Treasure Sword City, so he hurriedly asked Jerry a question.

"Boss, do you know where rare metals are sold in Treasure Sword City? Metals like Heavenly Meteoric Iron or Deep Sea Cold Iron?"

"Hmm, most of the metals you mentioned aren't available on the market. If you want to buy them, you'll have to try the Treasure Sword Auction House in the city center. As for trying to find a bargain at the street markets, you could lose every coin you spend, or even waste your money on a piece of scrap metal."

Jerry patiently explained the various rules of Treasure Sword City to Su Tianyu, sparing him many detours. Su Tianyu was deeply grateful to the boss he had only recently met.

After thanking him, Su Tianyu went to the center of Treasure Sword City.

Walking along the bustling street, he saw lavishly decorated shops everywhere he looked, each a different color. There were buildings in the styles of the continent's major cities, such as Heaven Dou City's white-jade tiles and glazed roofs, as well as the bold five-colored glazed roof tiles of the Star Luo Empire described in books.

The streets were crowded with merchants from the two empires who had come to trade. Most of the profiteers had been drawn here by the two forging cities famous across the continent. Armor, blades, and swords sold for relatively few Gold Soul Coins in the city, so many profiteers bought and resold them, passing goods from one hand to the other to earn a considerable number of Gold Soul Coins.

When he reached the Treasure Sword Auction House, he saw the Treasure Sword Auction Venue, which occupied over a hundred mu of land. Its largest building was over a thousand meters across and more than a hundred meters tall. Its entire exterior was coated in a thin layer of gold, making it clear at a glance that the auction venue had a powerful backing.

Of the buildings flanking the towering, imposing auction venue, one was built of white-jade bricks, indicating that it served as a trading house for Soul Masters of the Heaven Dou Empire. The remaining trading house was built of bricks in five colors and served as a place for Soul Masters from the Star Luo Empire to exchange and trade items.

Before long, Su Tianyu arrived at the Treasure Sword Auction House's plaza. He gazed at the towering, magnificent building not far away. The entire structure was resplendent, gleaming with dazzling golden light in the sun.

Su Tianyu crossed the vast plaza and arrived at the entrance to the Treasure Sword Auction Venue. He stepped inside.

Beyond the resplendent entrance, red carpets covered the floor, stretching from the doorway to the end of the hall's corridor. Several enormous crystal lamps hung high above the hall, and the walls bore all kinds of exquisite carvings. Under the crystal light, the hall looked exceptionally luxurious and refined.

At the reception desk in the hall, Su Tianyu took five Gold Soul Coins from his robes and handed them to the cute young woman on staff. He asked him when the auction house would hold its next auction and learned that it would take place five evenings later. He then walked out of the Treasure Sword Auction House's hall under the young woman's reluctant gaze.

After leaving the Treasure Sword Auction Venue, Su Tianyu went to a place not far from the shop where he had just rented the forge. He picked a hotel at random and settled down to rest, quietly waiting for the auction five evenings later.