Chapter 31

Chen Hai sought Zhou Jingyuan's cooperation to expand the Medicine Master's Armory in Mengyi City. If they were to purely hire a few master craftsmen to forge high-quality armor and weapons for sale, it would not be profitable in the short term.

They invested two thousand points of sect merit, equivalent to twenty million coins in Yan currency. While this was not a significant amount in the Taowei Sect, it was still a considerable sum in the secular society of Mengyi City. Chen Hai and his team were not content with small-scale operations in Mengyi City; they placed greater importance on how to effectively utilize the resources of the Dao Academy.

Not only did the Dao Academy's Armory have dozens of craftsmen and a large number of junior Dao soldiers serving as apprentices, but under the leadership of several Spirit Realm overseers, they could produce a batch of high-quality armor and weapons each year. They could also obtain a large number of weapons and armor from other Dao Academies and even the Inner Gates of the Seven Peaks, which disciples could exchange for sect merit.

The high-level mystic weapons and precious armor, as well as the rare and powerful magical weapons and spirit swords that only Spirit Realm disciples could fully utilize, had exorbitant exchange costs. However, ordinary weapons and armor were very cheap.

This was mainly because the Dao Academy's Armory recruits, primarily from noble families, would not lack ordinary weapons and armor, even if they were vassals of these families. The Armory mainly produced ordinary weapons and armor in bulk each year.

After all, the craftsmen, primarily composed of Black Robe disciples, were only capable of forging ordinary weapons and armor and did not have the ability to refine magical artifacts...

Over the years, the Dao Academy's Armory had accumulated a large number of high-quality weapons and armor, but lacked a channel to sell them.

Chen Hai intended to use sect merit to exchange these high-quality weapons and armor from the Dao Academy and bring them to the Medicine Master's Armory for renovation and upgrade. Besides adding trace amounts of Cold Pattern Iron, Red Marrow Copper, and other rare treasures to these weapons and armor to significantly improve their quality, he also used Dragon Blood Wood, Red Sandalwood, high-grade animal skins, gold, silver, and gems to embellish them to perfection.

Then, through special processing techniques, he aged these weapons and armor to give them an ancient and elegant appearance, marked them with the "Medicine Master's Armory" stamp, and put them up for sale in the storefront.

Mengyi City, as the support center of the Iron Stream Ridge defense line, housed the headquarters of the Iron Stream Garrison. Most of the civil and military officers of the Iron Stream Garrison had their families settled in Mengyi City. Additionally, as a major town and key point on the main route between Jin and Yan provinces, Mengyi City saw a constant flow of merchants and travelers. Many sect disciples and independent cultivators who ventured into the vast desert and sea for exploration and cultivation also stayed in Mengyi City. These factors contributed to the prosperity of Mengyi City.

Mengyi City was lined with shops, and there were several armories scattered throughout the city. The Medicine Master's Armory, wanting to establish itself in Mengyi City, had both Ge Tong and Shen Kun approach the venture with a cautious attitude. However, after a month and a half of meticulous preparation, the first batch of twenty high-quality weapons and armor, which had been renovated and upgraded, were sold out by passing merchants in less than three days.

On the third day of the official opening of the Medicine Master's Armory, Chen Hai, Ge Tong, Zhou Jingyuan, and Shen Kun all came to oversee the operations.

Sitting in the backyard of the armory, Shen Kun picked up a Cold Iron Sword and praised it, saying, "If I didn't know your tricks, I would be moved by this sword..."

This Cold Iron Sword was actually a high-quality iron sword, with only a trace amount of Cold Pattern Iron added. After the initial addition of Cold Pattern Iron, Chen Hai and Zhou Jingyuan inserted the sword into a wooden box filled with ash from wisteria grass, residue from mist rain tea, paste from green oak rock, and mixed black iron sand. They immersed it in spiritual spring water for a whole month, then took it out and reforged it, adding a small amount of Red Marrow Copper.

This was an improved processing method that Chen Hai and Zhou Jingyuan had developed after their discussions, making the Cold Iron Sword appear comparable to a high-quality mystic weapon that was hard to come by in a hundred years.

From the Dao Academy's Armory, such a high-quality iron sword could be exchanged for just twelve points of sect merit, but after the processing, the Medicine Master's Armory sold it for the equivalent of sixty points of sect merit in Yan currency. The first batch of ten high-quality iron swords was snatched up by a wealthy escort company.

Ge Tong, being an honest person, knew the secret behind it and was somewhat worried, saying, "If the other party discovers the secret, they might come to cause trouble."

Chen Hai, holding a partially formed wooden carving, laughed and said, "Which high-quality mystic weapon in the Dao Academy is worth less than two hundred points of sect merit? Outsiders would have to pay a handling fee to exchange it through Dao soldiers. The Cold Iron Swords we sell, though not as good as high-quality mystic weapons, are of excellent quality and appearance. Besides, we don't exaggerate or misrepresent the items we sell in the Medicine Master's Armory. Each weapon and armor is clearly priced, and those who are willing to buy can do so. How can they have the face to come and cause trouble?"

Shen Kun had not expected that the Medicine Master's Armory would make nearly three hundred points of sect merit in profit in just a month and a half, after deducting the bonuses for the craftsmen, material costs, and tributes to various parties.

Although Shen Kun only had a ten percent share in the armory, even this was better than his income from serving in the Iron Stream Garrison.

Shen Kun, though not greedy, was happy to think that the future profits from the Medicine Master's Armory would be enough to support his and his son Shen Xiu's cultivation in the Dao Academy.

Seeing Chen Hai always carrying a carving knife in Mengyi City, Shen Kun changed the topic and asked, "I see that Junior Brother Yao is always fiddling with a carving knife. Is he planning to sell this wooden carving in the armory?"

"This wooden carving can be sold in the armory, but it is priced at one thousand points of sect merit. I wonder how many people will be willing to buy it," Chen Hai said with a smile.

Hearing this, Shen Kun was startled and took the wooden carving from Chen Hai to examine it carefully.

The wooden carving, about three to four inches tall, was already roughly shaped. Under Shen Kun's scrutiny, it seemed to exude a sense of a fish leaping against the current, almost as if it were about to burst out of the wood. Shen Kun was shocked and said, "Can Junior Brother Yao already infuse the essence of martial arts into the carving through his knife?"

"Still needs some refinement," Chen Hai said with a smile.

Chen Hai had learned carving from a young age and had put in a lot of effort in jade carving after entering the cultural circle. After sitting in seclusion for two months, his body was in poor condition and needed time to recover. He could not engage in intense cultivation or personally demonstrate the Fish Transforming into Dragon secret form to Ge Tong. He thought about whether he could carve the four martial arts secret forms involved in the Fish Transforming into Dragon into four wooden carvings.

Although he could smoothly retrieve the martial arts secret form diagrams from the puppet's ancestral sea of consciousness through the snake bracelet, the initial carving on a hundred-year-old willow tree was extremely clumsy. It felt as if there was a barrier in his mind, preventing him from finding the fluidity he used to have when carving.

At first, Chen Hai thought it was just because he had changed into Yao Xing's body and was not used to it, but when he tried carving other items, his skills returned.

At this point, Chen Hai confirmed that infusing the essence and true meaning of martial arts secret forms into wooden carvings was not an easy task. However, if he could overcome this hurdle, his understanding of the martial arts secret forms would surely reach a new level.

As long as he provided ideas for the Medicine Master's Armory and the armory, he did not need to worry about the specifics. With regular cultivation on hold, Chen Hai had nothing to do and spent his days playing with a carving knife.

Although he had already taught the Fish Transforming into Dragon to Ge Tong, he became obsessed with carving, even treating it as a form of cultivation. Even after the armory officially opened, he and Ge Tong, Zhou Jingyuan, and Shen Kun were in Mengyi City, he never put down his carving knife.

It was only in the past few days that Chen Hai found some feeling in his carving, making the small wooden carving somewhat lifelike, but the form and spirit were still not completely consistent with the martial arts secret form diagrams in the puppet's ancestral sea of consciousness.

If this wooden carving were complete, it would be equivalent to a basic profound technique. Selling it in the armory for one thousand points of sect merit would not be considered unfair, but it would require a true connoisseur to be willing to pay.

Chen Hai and his team were chatting in the backyard, excited about the successful start of the armory over the past three days, when a commotion suddenly came from the front yard.

Chen Hai and his team listened carefully and learned the reason for the argument in the front yard.

Their first batch of twenty carefully crafted weapons and armor had been swept up by passing merchants, and the supply was insufficient. A few sample pieces of armor and weapons were left, but they were not for sale until new stock arrived, even though the prices had not been raised.

However, this group of customers could not wait for two months and were willing to pay a higher price to take the two sample pieces they wanted today.

Chen Hai and his team were not in the business of one-time deals. The shopkeeper in charge of customer service was trying to politely refuse their unreasonable request.

Among the group of customers were men and women. Chen Hai recognized the voices and walked to the front yard with Zhou Jingyuan, peeking in to see Chen Qing, who had kicked him to the Iron Stream Ridge Dao Academy, standing in the shop with a group of young men and women dressed in fine clothes.

One of the young men in fine clothes wanted to buy two swords from the counter but did not expect to be refused and was now yelling at the shopkeeper behind the counter.

Apart from Su Zilin standing next to Chen Qing, Zhao Shan and Qian Wenyi, two family guards, were waiting outside the shop, not even allowed to enter with the group.

The shopkeeper, unsure how to deal with the arrogant group, saw Chen Hai and Zhou Jingyuan and passed the problem to them, saying, "The rules are set by our owners, and I cannot make decisions. Now that our two owners are here, please let the young master discuss it with them..."