Chapter 187 - 134: Jiangdong Furnace Master
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[Exotic Treasure Name]: Yun Shao.
[Exotic Treasure Level]: Green.
[Exotic Treasure Effect]: After blowing the whistle, your luck is slightly enhanced for three breaths. A single-use Exotic Treasure.
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Luck was such an ethereal, elusive thing.
There was no specific value to quantify it.
And its effects weren’t always concrete. For example, if he were eating a meal and blew the Yun Shao, the slight boost in luck might only ensure he didn’t choke on his food or bite into a piece of ginger within those three breaths.
But if he were upgrading a building at that moment...
It might just grant him a...
"Direction of Qualitative Upgrade."
Currently, there were several Directions of Qualitative Upgrade available in the camp.
One of them was for the City Wall.
"[Thorn Armor]: All City Walls connected to this one will gain the ’Thorn Armor’ effect. Before the wall’s maximum durability is reached, a small portion of the enemy’s attack strength will be reflected back onto the attacker (Ordinary)."
Although it was only Ordinary...
He quite liked this effect. It was essentially a passive ability that didn’t consume extra Ghost Stones and had no special activation conditions. The more effects like this, the better.
He planned to connect the City Wall in front of Cave No. 1 with the 170-kilometer Jiangbei Defense Line once it was complete, giving the entire defensive structure this effect.
"Heh heh..."
Thinking of this scene...
Chen Fan suddenly found himself looking forward to the Jiangbei battle four years from now.
The last time the Jiangbei Defense Line fell, it was because the Architects weren’t good enough. From the images in the Jade Scroll left by the Immortal Celestial Master, he knew that there had been a considerable number of Architects stationed at the Jiangbei Defense Line back then. There were 12 Architects at the Immortal Celestial Master’s level, and one who was even stronger.
But...
It still wasn’t enough.
This time was different.
He was in charge this time. As long as there were no major flaws in his plan, the Jiangbei Defense Line he built would consume fewer resources, have stronger effects, and completely turn Jiangbei into an iron fortress!
Just then—
Lame Monkey suddenly limped over, hobbling quickly. He leaned in and whispered in Chen Fan’s ear, "Young Master, a ragged old man just appeared at the city gate. He looks like an Artifact Refiner."
"But he’s not entering the city, just standing at the gate."
"He’s already drawn quite a crowd."
"Oh?"
Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully. He truly needed a High Level Artifact Refiner. A large batch of materials was sitting in the Warehouse with no one to forge them. The Earth Gold had been sitting there for a long time, and still, no one could work with it.
But he needed a Level 7 Artifact Refiner.
Any lower was useless.
"Did he say what level of Artifact Refiner he is?"
"He didn’t say. He’s completely silent, but from the look of him, he can’t be low-level."
"Come, I’ll go see for myself."
...
「Mortal City」
It was situated near Nameless Mountain.
It was noon, and many merchant guilds were coming and going through the city gate. Mortal City had only this single gate. No matter which direction one came from, they had to circle around to this entrance. Upon entering, they would see the Mortal Realm Marketplace lining both sides of the street.
The crowd wasn’t particularly large.
After all, Mortal City didn’t have many ordinary people; it was primarily composed of merchant guilds from various factions.
At this moment, the passing merchants all wore strange expressions as they looked at an old man standing before the city gate.
This old man was rather bizarre.
On such a cold day, he was dressed in rags and appeared to have no protective Exotic Treasure on him. His skin was red from the cold.
He was filthy from head to toe, and his hair was like a bird’s nest.
In his hand, he held a tattered Banner.
On it were two lines of messy characters.
It looked like a limerick.
"..."
Surrounded by Lame Monkey and a few others, Chen Fan walked out of Mortal City’s gate. He looked at the grimy old man standing there, his gaze lingering on the Banner as he murmured softly.
"The refining fire never dies; it seeks a worthy branch to perch upon."
"A forging hammer in exchange for a roof over my head."
And written across the top...
"Selling my life in a chaotic world."
The gazes of the surrounding merchant guilds also turned toward them. Although they didn’t form a circle, it was obvious that everyone had tacitly slowed their movements, glancing over from time to time.
Perhaps it was because there wasn’t much entertainment in this world.
He found that the people of this world truly loved to watch drama unfold.
If there was drama, they’d happily watch.
If there was no drama, they’d make some up to watch.
"Do you have a title?"
Chen Fan walked up to the ragged old man and asked.
The old man’s eyelids drooped. Without even raising his head, he pulled a beggar’s chicken from his robes, tore off a leg, and stuffed it into his mouth, grease dripping everywhere. With juice smearing his hands, he sneered, completely unconcerned about his appearance.
"This old one has long forgotten my name."
"I only know that the world has given me a title, something like the ’Jiangdong Furnace Master’."
The next moment—
Gasps of shock erupted from the crowd.
"My heavens, it’s actually the Jiangdong Furnace Master! I heard he was a High Level Artifact Refiner from the Guanxi Plain who later settled in Jiangdong and established his own faction. Every Spirit Treasure he forges is a masterpiece!"
"Isn’t that the truth! I never expected to see the Jiangdong Furnace Master here!"
"For so many years, I’ve only heard the name of the Jiangdong Furnace Master, but I’ve never seen him in person. To think I’d run into him here."
"I heard that any Spirit Treasure the Jiangdong Furnace Master casually forges can sell for a high price."
"Is he going to join the Mortal Realm? Is he abandoning his own faction? Can the Mortal Realm even afford him? Many great factions tried to invite the Jiangdong Furnace Master to join them in the past, but he refused them all, mocking them by saying ’rotten wood is not worth perching on’."
"It seems the Jiangdong Furnace Master truly recognizes the Mortal Realm’s worth!"
Voices echoed from every corner of the crowd.
Some people nodded in sudden realization; they had indeed heard of the Jiangdong Furnace Master’s title. But others, those from Jiangnan or Jiangxi, were a bit embarrassed. They weren’t very familiar with Jiangdong and had never heard of this figure.
But it seemed he was a person of great renown.
These days, anyone who had their own title was no Ordinary person.
For example, the Jiangbei Old Demon or the Jiangdong Furnace Master.
Wherever they went, others had to show them some respect.
...
"Hmph."
The ragged old man, still standing in place, paid no mind to his image and sat down cross-legged. He didn’t look up at Chen Fan, merely scratching his head, plucking out a flea, and casually popping it into his mouth before sneering.
"Just some common title from the martial world."
"Not worth mentioning."
He said nothing more.
Just then—
Zhou Mo led some men out from the city gate, strode to Chen Fan’s side, and whispered a report in his ear.
"..."
Chen Fan’s expression gradually turned strange. He looked at the old man sitting cross-legged on the ground. After hearing Zhou Mo’s report, he suddenly realized he had underestimated the people of this world.
"So, you’ve come here to join the Mortal Realm?"
"I wouldn’t go that far."
The old man shook his head, spat out the chicken bone in his mouth, and lay down on the ground, saying lazily, "I heard the Mortal Realm has been making a name for itself lately, so I came to see what kind of person Domain Lord Chen is. Having met you today, you are indeed impressive."
"An Artifact Refiner’s job is to sell their life to a faction. I dissolved my previous one because I was too lazy to manage it. If Domain Lord Chen can pay the price for my life, it’s not impossible for me to stay."
"But, Domain Lord Chen, you only have one chance to make an offer."
"If the price isn’t right, I won’t listen to a second one."
Chen Fan suddenly smiled. "How about you come inside with me, and I’ll privately give you a price I think you’ll find impossible to refuse?"
"Fine by me."
The old man did a kip-up, springing to his feet. He casually wiped the grease from his hands on his clothes, completely ignoring the expressions of the onlookers as he followed Chen Fan into Mortal City.
...
「Mortal City, inside a room.」
Chen Fan sat in a chair, holding a cup of hot tea as he looked at the sloppy old man standing in the room. Lame Monkey and Zhou Mo stood on either side of him. After a long pause, he finally smiled and spoke.
"Senior, may I ask what level of Artifact Refiner you are, exactly?"
"Level 9."
The ragged old man nonchalantly scratched his crotch, brought his hand up to his nose for a sniff, and then answered casually. There wasn’t a trace of pride in his words; instead, he seemed completely indifferent, as if being a Level 9 Artifact Refiner was nothing worth mentioning.
But in reality,
a Level 9 Artifact Refiner was an absolute top-tier expert, whether in Jiangdong or Jiangnan!
The largest Artifact Refining faction in Jiangnan was the Furnace Fire Sect, but it was said that even their strongest Artifact Refiner was only Level 9.