"If you want to have Master forge something for you, today won't be your chance," the boy snorted. "But lucky for you, you ran into me. If you don't mind, just bring out your materials and I'll forge them for you!"
"You're an artifact master too?" Yang Kai looked at him in surprise.
The boy puffed out his chest, flipped his hair with a carefree flourish, and declared with pride, "What's so hard about simple artifact forging? I'm naturally gifted, and after all this time by Master's side, I've picked up quite a bit. Helping you would be no trouble at all. As for the compensation, though..."
Yang Kai curled his lip and turned to leave without a word.
This boy was only at the Void Returning Realm. Even if he really was an artifact master, how skilled could he possibly be? Yang Kai had come to seek out Master Sander specifically to repair a set of high-grade Spirit Cleansing Formations — a task far more difficult than forging from scratch. He was certain the boy lacked the ability for that.
"Don't walk away! You're looking down on me? Let me tell you, I'm a saint grade artifact master! Miss this chance and you'll regret it!" the boy shouted after him, stomping his feet, clearly feeling deeply insulted by Yang Kai.
…
Over the next several days, Yang Kai made a trip to Master Sander's place every single day. According to what the boy had said, the Master had already opened his doors twice this month, leaving one final chance — but the exact timing was unknown, so Yang Kai had no choice but to take his luck.
Unfortunately, after several days, Yang Kai still came up empty.
On the bright side, wandering the streets during this time had given him a thorough understanding of Heaven Spire City — its layout, customs, and the way things worked here.
Calculating that only a few days remained in the month, and fearing he might arrive too late on any given day and miss the Master's opening window — or fail to secure one of the ten spots — Yang Kai decided to stop roaming around entirely. Instead, he came directly to the place where the Master resided and settled in to wait.
He had thought he was arriving early enough to secure a good position, but upon actually reaching the site, he realized he was wrong.
Quite a few martial artists were already lined up in front of Master Sander's residence.
Yang Kai stared in mild shock.
But after a moment's thought, he understood. These people must have had the same idea as him — with so little time left in the month and one final opening still available, they had come early to wait as well.
He counted carefully and found that a total of nine people had arrived. In other words, including himself, that made the full ten.
Without a word, he quietly walked to the end of the line and took his place.
That sweeping boy seemed to thrive on having an audience. Upon seeing so many people, he launched into an aggressive sales pitch, boasting about his skills and trying to convince the martial artists to hand over their materials so he could forge their artifacts.
But the warriors who lived here clearly knew what the boy was capable of — a half-empty bucket that made the most noise. Everyone ignored his incessant chatter, no matter how extravagantly he painted his abilities.
The boy grew visibly annoyed.
Yang Kai chuckled softly. "Instead of wasting your time running your mouth here, why not go find some materials to practice with? You've been with the Master for quite some time from the look of it. Didn't the Master ever teach you that everything should be taken one step at a time? Aim too high and you'll accomplish nothing."
The boy muttered under his breath, "Mind your own business and just stand there quietly!"
Still, after being lectured like that, he lost the nerve to keep pestering the other martial artists. He spun around, went back inside, and shut the front door — out of sight, out of mind.
The martial artists who had come here were all waiting for Master Sander's doors to open, hoping to request his services. None of them knew each other, so no one struck up a conversation. Those who grew bored simply sat cross-legged on the spot and began circulating their cultivation.
No one dared cause trouble in front of the Master's residence, so there was no fear of attracting unwanted attention from the wrong people.
As time passed, more and more people arrived.
But most of the newcomers, upon seeing that ten people were already waiting, shook their heads in disappointment and turned to leave. They knew Master Sander's rules and understood that staying would accomplish nothing — they would simply have to wait for the next opportunity.
A few, however, had come prepared. They took out source crystals and attempted to purchase positions from the ten people already in line, including Yang Kai. Only two transactions were successfully completed.
These buyers naturally approached Yang Kai as well, but was he someone short on source crystals? He naturally shook his head in refusal.
After a full two days of waiting, the front door suddenly swung open. The boy strode out with his chest puffed up, cleared his throat with exaggerated formality, and announced in a loud voice, "This month's third forging session begins now! Will the ten people at the front of the line please follow me inside!"
Delight spread through the group. Everyone rose to their feet. After waiting this long, they had finally seen Master Sander open his doors for the third time. They all felt it was worth it, because Master Sander rarely failed in his work. His fees were steep, true, but his craftsmanship was impeccable — as long as you made a request, the Master could deliver.
"Hahaha, getting here early beats getting here just right!" A burst of laughter suddenly rang out, followed by a figure hurtling in from behind. The newcomer barged into the crowd with sheer dominance, muscling into a position. The powerful aura he unleashed sent a gust of wind sweeping outward, furrowing brows and drawing displeased expressions from everyone present.
But once they probed his cultivation level, that displeasure turned to wariness.
The man who had arrived was a powerhouse at the third level of the Dao Source Realm.
Among the ten people waiting, aside from Yang Kai who was also at the third level of the Dao Source Realm, only a woman dressed as a young matron shared that cultivation. The rest were at the first or second level, and none of them dared offend him.
The man wore a striking purple robe and cut a dashing figure, but there was an unmistakable air of superiority in the way his gaze swept over the crowd — as though no one in the entire world was worthy of his attention.