As Bai Qingxue spoke in the main hall, Mo Shan and the others finally snapped out of their state of clarity, awkwardly filing into the VIP reception room.
After Mo Shan and the others stepped inside, none of them quite knew what to say.
The clarity they had felt in the main hall had already been remarkable, but the moment they entered the reception room, the sensation grew even sharper — the mysterious energy here was clearly several times denser than outside.
If they could train here, never mind anything else — just a few days would be enough to elevate their combat skills to an entirely new level.
Such a "treasured ground" would surely be treated as a sacred training site by every major power, with only their core experts permitted to set foot inside. And yet Zero Wing was using it as a reception room…
Extravagant!
Absolutely extravagant!
The spacious reception room, large enough to rival a basketball court, had a Swordsman clad in a pitch-black cloak sitting quietly on the sofa. His entire outfit consisted of ancient-looking equipment. Across from him sat a woman whose level had barely reached one hundred. She radiated no imposing aura whatsoever — in fact, she seemed even less impressive than an ordinary adventurer. However, the Advanced Master Blacksmith badge pinned to her clothes was dazzlingly conspicuous.
This woman was none other than Gloomy Smile, who had been managing the Torchfire Trading Company all along. Through long periods of frenzied research and equipment crafting, she had successfully advanced to Advanced Master Blacksmith.
"Guild Leader, this is the absolute limit of what we can produce right now," Gloomy Smile said, placing several pieces of equipment on the table with a look of regret. "The forging techniques involved are far too intricate. Producing a complete set in the short term is, I'm afraid, impossible."
As Gloomy Smile laid out the equipment from her inventory onto the table, Mo Shan and the others couldn't help but stare wide-eyed.
Every piece she had taken out not only appeared to be part of a complete set but also radiated the distinctive visual effects unique to Gold-grade equipment.
In other words, the set on the table was a full Gold-grade equipment set!
A Gold-grade set above level one hundred!
Even with both of their guilds combined, they probably didn't have more than a few such sets. But Zero Wing could craft them on its own? And judging from Gloomy Smile's tone, these were considered failures — what on earth did that mean?
As Mo Shan and the others entered the reception room, Shi Feng shifted his gaze toward them.
"You must be from Dark Rhapsody and the Divine Spirits Society. Please, have a seat," Shi Feng said, smiling in amusement at how Mo Shan and the others couldn't tear their eyes away from the failed pieces on the table. "It seems you're quite interested in the Dark Demon Set."
After returning to Stone Forest City, he had immediately handed the Dark Demon Set's design blueprint to Gloomy Smile, leaving the crafting entirely to her. After all, he had far too many things to handle — even if he learned the techniques, he wouldn't have time to craft the Dark Demon Set himself. Gloomy Smile, on the other hand, devoted herself entirely to forging, and her rate of improvement far surpassed his. She had been the first to reach Advanced Master Blacksmith, and her progress had exceeded all his expectations.
It wasn't just Gloomy Smile who had become an Advanced Master Blacksmith, either. Shuang Keke, who had her hands full with other matters, had actually advanced to Advanced Master Blacksmith a step before Gloomy Smile — the very first among them. That meant the Torchfire Trading Company now boasted two Advanced Master Blacksmiths.
However, crafting the Dark Demon Set proved even more difficult than he had imagined. Even with both of them working together, they could only just barely produce Gold-grade versions, and the success rate was dismal — even with all manner of rare materials to boost the odds, they only managed about fifty percent.
"My apologies, we were rude," the middle-aged man from the Divine Spirits Society said quickly upon hearing Shi Feng's words. "It's just that a Gold-grade set above level one hundred is exceedingly rare. We never imagined your guild could actually produce them — truly astonishing."
"It's quite alright. There's nothing about this that needs to be kept secret," Shi Feng said dismissively. "Now that both Dark Rhapsody and the Divine Spirits Society are cooperating with us at Zero Wing, there's no need to stand on ceremony. If any of you are interested, I'd have no problem selling you a few sets."
The secret of the Dark Demon Set's design blueprint had long since been exposed — it simply hadn't reached the Eastern Continent yet. So there was no need to hide or guard anything. Moreover, once these Dark Demon Sets were crafted, they would all be placed in the guild warehouse for the guild's top experts to exchange for. Keeping them secret would be impossible. On the contrary, the sooner word got out, the better — it would attract even more experts to join Zero Wing.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, are you serious?" Mo Shan couldn't help but ask.