Watching Celuola glare with her almond-shaped eyes wide, hands on her slender waist, looking exactly like an angry lioness, Shi Feng couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
Just a moment ago she'd been giving him the cold shoulder, and now she'd been completely tamed by him.
The Blazing Fire Star was Celuola's signature and most famous weapon — the kind of equipment that Swordsman players dreamed of obtaining.
In his previous life, every Swordsman who knew of Celuola would come here begging her to forge the Blazing Fire Star. Many professional Swordsmen were willing to go bankrupt just to get one, and even he, who had eventually become the Sword King, had spent an incredibly long time before finally managing to get his hands on one.
Although his goal was already achieved, Shi Feng pretended to hesitate, which immediately made Celuola even more nervous. If that old fool Plucite actually got his hands on such a large piece of Starfire Crystal, he would never stop showing off at her place.
"You should know that I'm the greatest Master Blacksmith in White River City. Nothing I forge is ordinary. And right now I'm in a fantastic mood — I'll even use my exclusive rare materials to craft a Blazing Fire Star tailored specifically for you. If you don't believe me, come inside and see for yourself." Celuola hurriedly pulled Shi Feng into her smithy, eager to show him her masterpieces.
The moment he stepped inside, he could immediately tell that the interior and exterior were two completely different worlds. Outside was a rundown shack, but inside was opulent beyond measure, with exquisite weapons and equipment displayed in crystal showcases.
None of the weapons and equipment here were ordinary — every single one was Gold-grade or above. What made them true masterpieces was that, at the same quality tier, their stats far surpassed comparable equipment.
"So, see that dark red greatsword hanging at the very top? I forged that epic-grade weapon with my own hands." Celuola puffed out her impressive chest, boasting proudly.
Indeed, just as Celuola had said, the most powerful piece of equipment in the entire collection was that epic-grade level 120 greatsword. Its stats were far superior to Mavis's Guardian, and it was Celuola's finest work — the only epic-grade item she had ever produced.
The reason Celuola was known as a genius of the forging world was precisely because she had accidentally created this epic-grade weapon. For a Master Blacksmith to produce an epic-grade item was virtually impossible — the success rate was simply too low. Typically, only a Grandmaster Blacksmith could accomplish such a feat. Unfortunately, after that, she had never made further progress, always remaining just one step away from the Grandmaster rank.
That was why Celuola didn't want to be disturbed by anyone. She had been living in seclusion in White River City's Free District, devoting herself entirely to perfecting her forging techniques.
"Now you see how amazing I am, right? Aside from those old monsters living in hiding, nobody can beat me in forging." Celuola's gaze drifted back to the Starfire Crystal in Shi Feng's hand, and she smiled. "With my skills and that Starfire Crystal of yours, I guarantee I can forge an outstanding Blazing Fire Star. And since Lord Weissman sent you to me, naturally I'll give it my absolute best effort."
Shi Feng smiled and handed the Starfire Crystal to Celuola. "Then I'll be counting on you, Master Celuola."
Celuola's face lit up as she accepted the Starfire Crystal, and she immediately moved to rush into the Forging Room to start crafting the Blazing Fire Star.
"Master Celuola, please wait a moment," Shi Feng called out quickly.
"What, trying to back out now?" Celuola frowned slightly, reluctant to part with the Starfire Crystal in her hands.
"You misunderstand, Master Celuola. I think this might be able to help." Shi Feng produced a piece of Rune Steel that he had received as a system reward. It could increase the success rate and had a chance to enhance the item's stats.
When Celuola saw the Rune Steel, her eyes widened in surprise. She immediately snatched it from Shi Feng's hand. Her beautiful eyes studied Shi Feng as her tongue darted out to lick her glistening lips. She giggled, "I didn't expect you to have so many treasures. Bring out anything else you've got."
"Fine. I have one more thing I can lend you temporarily." Under Celuola's intense gaze, Shi Feng couldn't help but laugh, and he brought out the Book of Forging.
Celuola's eyes went wide, staring fixedly at the Book of Forging in Shi Feng's hand, too shocked to speak.
"This is a Book of Forging written by a Divine Artisan! Why… why do you have this?" Celuola was utterly stunned, her voice trembling with excitement. She looked ready to snatch the book away right then and study it.
"Master Celuola, I'm sure you understand how precious this is. I can lend it to you temporarily. I hope you'll make good use of it and forge a true masterpiece." Shi Feng had very high expectations for the Blazing Fire Star, so he naturally held nothing back. Besides, an NPC could never claim ownership of a player's items.
"Really?" Celuola could hardly believe her ears. In her excitement, she threw her arms around Shi Feng and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then grabbed the Book of Forging and dashed into her personal Forging Room. "Just wait here for a while — I promise I won't let you down."
Shi Feng was momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered and shook his head with an amused smile.
Forging weapons and equipment would take quite some time, so with nothing better to do, Shi Feng continued refining the luxury edition guide for White River City. After all, the amount of information about White River City was enormous, and even though he had outlined what to cover, it wasn't something that could be explained in a few sentences.
Time slipped by, and before he knew it, more than two hours had passed since Shi Feng entered White River City.
Meanwhile, the various towns outside White River City were bustling with activity. Players were constantly purchasing or trading for Whetstones and frantically grinding in high-level monster zones.
"Qingxue, there are more and more people here. It's slowed our leveling down a lot. What if I go level in the Dark Valley instead?" Zhao Yueru dispatched a near-death level 10 Shadow Werewolf with a Three-Link Flame Burst, then turned to Bai Qingxue.
Originally, this level 10 area hadn't been so crowded with players, but thanks to Shi Feng, level 8 and 9 players had flooded in, causing the population to keep growing. Each area only had so many leveling resources, and the more players there were, the fewer resources each one could get. With fewer resources, leveling naturally slowed down, which was why Zhao Yueru suggested moving to the higher-level Dark Valley.
The Dark Valley was a level 11 to 14 monster zone. With their current equipment, they could handle level 11 or 12 monsters just fine — the danger would be considerably higher, but the leveling speed would definitely be much faster. The Dark Valley wasn't far from here; it would only take half an hour on foot. With a speed scroll, they could get there in just over ten minutes.
Bai Qingxue surveyed their surroundings and saw that the player count had indeed increased significantly. They were all elites from various major guilds — skilled at pulling and competing for monsters — which meant fewer and fewer kills for them. Their leveling speed had dropped to at least half of what it had been at the start, and players were still flocking in. At this rate, even after seven or eight hours of grinding, they probably wouldn't reach level 10.
"Fine. Once we pick up the new Whetstones, we'll head to the Dark Valley." Bai Qingxue glanced at her weapon's durability — only 9 points remained. Since her weapon was Mythril Rank, it could hold out for roughly another hour before reaching its critical threshold.
Just then, Bai Qingxue's communicator buzzed.
She was about to dismiss the call, but when she saw it was Shi Feng, a faint smile crossed her face.
Earlier, after Shi Feng entered White River City, she had tried contacting him as well, but he had turned off his communicator entirely. Unable to reach him, she had simply left a message. Now that Shi was reaching out to her, he had probably seen it.