In the Adventurer's Guild, Shi Feng was currently applying to build a blacksmith's workshop within the guild headquarters.
"Sir, here is the list of available blacksmith's workshop styles, as well as the roster of blacksmiths. You may choose freely from anything listed." The receptionist NPC handed two lists to Shi Feng with a smile.
In the Divine Realm, buildings didn't come in a single standardized design. There were countless variations, and you could even design your own—though that was extremely time-consuming. Unless you wanted to showcase a guild's uniqueness, most people simply picked from the hundreds of pre-made styles available.
Upgrading a building only required an upgrade token, with no extra cost. But constructing a new building or renovating an existing one required significant spending, and the price varied greatly depending on the building's footprint, materials, and functions.
A guild's blacksmith's workshop was incredibly important, which was why Shi Feng needed to choose carefully.
Blacksmith's workshops came in three tiers: ordinary, refined, and luxurious, with prices increasing at each level and functionality improving accordingly.
An ordinary workshop cost between 100 and 200 gold. It allowed guild members to repair their equipment and sell unwanted items to the workshop's NPC merchants.
A refined workshop cost between 300 and 500 gold. Beyond the ordinary workshop's functions, it featured more luxurious and attractive materials, and included a weapon maintenance feature—weapons stored inside would suffer significantly reduced durability loss over a period of time. It also allowed you to hire a decent intermediate blacksmith.
Don't underestimate blacksmiths. Different NPC blacksmiths had different skill levels, which affected how long repairs took and how effective their maintenance work was. Hiring a capable blacksmith was therefore very important.
A luxurious workshop cost between 800 and 1,000 gold. Beyond the refined workshop's functions, it included a rest area where guild members could store double experience—though it only accumulated at 20% of normal experience over a 48-hour period. More importantly, it came with a forging room, and an advanced one at that—far superior to the forges at Star Trace Commerce. This meant higher success rates when forging weapons and equipment, as well as the ability to hire superior advanced blacksmiths.
"For the guild's future development, it's probably best to get everything done right the first time. I'll go with this 1,000 gold model." After browsing for a while, Shi Feng selected the largest luxurious-tier blacksmith's workshop, which could accommodate ten blacksmiths. Having settled on the workshop, he immediately began selecting blacksmiths.
Between system reward gold and the proceeds from Dragon Scale Sets he'd been auctioning off in Black Wing City—each set selling for over 300 gold—Shi Feng had now sold more than twenty sets. His current gold reserves exceeded 8,000, more than any other guild in the Star Moon Kingdom currently possessed. And with more Dragon Scale Sets still to be sold, his income would only skyrocket from here. Naturally, he had no qualms about building the best and largest blacksmith's workshop possible.
After that, Shi Feng selected ten advanced blacksmiths, each commanding a monthly salary ranging from 3 to 5 gold. They were the most skilled blacksmiths currently available.
Once the blacksmith's workshop matters were settled, Shi Feng found a secluded spot and switched back to his original character, Night Edge, then hitched a ride on a carriage back to the Zero Wing headquarters.
When Shi Feng arrived, he found the entrance absolutely packed with people—an incredibly lively scene.
Two Berserkers in Dragon Scale Sets were stationed at the guild gates, maintaining order. The radiant glow of their Gold-grade equipment sets left the players queuing to sign up completely mesmerized.
"Is that Gold-grade equipment?"
"I saw it online. That's the Dragon Scale Set—each one is worth over 300 gold now. Zero Wing is insanely rich. They bought two full sets?"
"Not just two—I heard the Zero Wing guild vault still has another Dragon Scale Set available for exchange."
While many marveled at Zero Wing's wealth, they were equally drawn to the newly constructed blacksmith's workshop.
Building a blacksmith's workshop wasn't as troublesome as a guild hall, which required lengthy construction time. Since the workshop had far fewer functions than a full guild hall, it could be erected extremely quickly—just pay the fee, and it would be complete in less than ten minutes.
The workshop stood three stories tall, its luxurious, upscale design and materials making eyes light up. Players felt as though they'd wandered into a royal capital's premium blacksmith's forge. The interior area could easily accommodate hundreds of people, rivaling the floor space of an ordinary guild hall.
"This is the most opulent blacksmith's workshop I've ever seen!"
"This practically makes it impossible for One Smile to Seduce All to compete. Zero Wing's blacksmith's workshop alone is nearly on par with One Smile to Seduce All's guild hall, and the decor and facilities completely blow theirs out of the water."
"I heard from people in Zero Wing that this workshop even has a weapon maintenance feature. That means durability loss on your weapons drops dramatically over time. Imagine how much gold you'd save grinding mobs and running dungeons out in the field."
"Forget everything else—I'm joining Zero Wing no matter what, just for this workshop!"
The free players who had come to sign up for Zero Wing's recruitment trials were filled with deep awe at the guild's transformation, and their desire to join burned even fiercer.
Watching more and more players flock to register, Zero Wing's members felt an incredible rush of pride. Now, all they had to do was walk down the street wearing their Six-Wing emblem and heads would turn. Every free player who spotted them wore an expression of envy.
"Night Edge, over here!" Not far from the guild entrance, Siyu Qingxuan spotted Shi Feng approaching and waved him over.
Shi Feng walked over promptly.
Standing beside Siyu Qingxuan was a top-tier expert whom Shi Feng recognized immediately.
In his previous life, Shi Feng had known of Zhan Wuji, but Zhan Wuji had never known of him. And it wasn't just Zhan Wuji himself—his five companions were all extraordinary experts. They lived in an entirely different stratum of existence. Shi Feng had never had any opportunity to access the upper echelons of the Divine Realm, let alone its pinnacle.
"Night Edge, let me introduce you. This is Zhan Wuji—he's the one who wanted to discuss a trade with you." Siyu Qingxuan made the introductions.
Zhan Wuji studied Shi Feng with undisguised astonishment in his eyes.
The pressure he felt from Shi Feng was immense.
He'd never expected that besides Black Flame, Zero Wing harbored another expert of such unfathomable depth.
"Hello, I'm Night Edge," Shi Feng said with a smile, turning to Zhan Wuji. "This isn't really the place to talk. Why don't we head inside and chat at our leisure?"
With that, Shi Feng led the group into the rest area of the guild headquarters' blacksmith's workshop.
The rest area had an elegant ambiance and offered complimentary beverages—it was hardly any worse than a restaurant outside.
"Wow, is this really a blacksmith's workshop?" Qing Zhu, who had been trailing behind Siyu Qingxuan, stared with shining eyes as though she'd discovered a new continent, and whispered, "Siyu, look—that's the weapon maintenance room. The weapons inside are all such high quality, and even the blacksmiths are rare advanced-level ones. You absolutely have to put in a good word with Night Edge for us. A guild福利 this good—it'd be a real shame not to join!" (To be continued.)