Chapter 43

In the early morning, at the East Street of Wulong Town.

Merchants bustled about the street, coming and going like the wind. They all looked as serious as Old Ban from the Treasure Pavilion, but no one knew what kind of contraband they were carrying in their bags.

Tang Zheng got up early and, stepping in the first rays of the morning sun, headed to the Hundred Refinements Workshop.

He wasn't sure about the prices at the Hundred Refinements Workshop, but compared to the daggers at the Treasure Pavilion, he thought three pieces of purple gold should be enough, after all, it was just a one-star dagger.

Meng Fenghua had repeatedly reminded him not to choose two-star or three-star daggers.

The moment Tang Zheng stepped into the Hundred Refinements Workshop, he sensed something was off...

The shop door was open, but there was no one behind the counter.

"Is anyone there?" Tang Zheng looked around, "I want to buy a dagger."

No response.

If it weren't for the constant clanging sounds coming from the yard behind the shop, he would have thought he had walked into another Sealed Door Village.

Tang Zheng had to clear his throat and shout loudly, "I want to buy—something!"

After a full twenty seconds, a craftsman dressed in rough cloth emerged from the yard behind.

He hadn't even put down his axe, and sweat was still on his forehead, clearly annoyed by the customer who had interrupted his work. He frowned and said coldly, "All the finished products are hanging here, with prices written below. Can't you read?"

Tang Zheng was taken aback!

He finally understood why the Treasure Pavilion, despite its poor business practices, still managed to do business all over the world. It wasn't that they were good at business; it was that their competitors were even worse.

"I want a one-star dagger that a warrior can use..." Before Tang Zheng could finish his sentence, the craftsman ignored him and turned back to the yard to continue working.

Thus, the shop of the Hundred Refinements Workshop was left with Tang Zheng alone again.

At least the Treasure Pavilion had a shop assistant, and that assistant was very knowledgeable and familiar with the shop, knowing exactly where each martial technique book was placed.

But the Hundred Refinements Workshop was completely...

Tang Zheng almost wanted to shout, "Thief! Thief!"

"I'm here to buy something, to buy something..." Tang Zheng tried to suppress his urge to be silly and started looking around the shop.

The Hundred Refinements Workshop wasn't very large, roughly the size of the weapon section of the Treasure Pavilion's outer hall.

However, the quality of the weapons here was far superior to those in the Treasure Pavilion's outer hall.

The weapons in the Treasure Pavilion's outer hall rarely had a star energy resonance rate over sixty, but when Tang Zheng glanced around the Hundred Refinements Workshop, every weapon had a star energy resonance rate over sixty!

Even the weapons in the Treasure Pavilion's inner hall were just the standard level of the Hundred Refinements Workshop.

"Looks like I came to the right place," Tang Zheng slowly found the shelf where the daggers were displayed.

The Hundred Refinements Workshop didn't have many daggers. Compared to the hundreds of swords hanging on an entire wall, the mere dozen or so daggers seemed particularly scarce.

However, among these dozen daggers, nine were suitable for one-star use.

The Hundred Refinements Workshop, with its near-census-level authority, knew that there weren't many strong people in Wulong Town, and one-star weapons were in the highest demand.

Among the nine daggers, Tang Zheng immediately skipped over the other eight and focused on the one with a star energy resonance rate of eighty-two!

This dagger was named "Sheathless," with a star energy resonance rate of eighty-two, the highest among all the weapons in the Hundred Refinements Workshop.

Of course, its price was also the highest, at 230 pieces of purple gold!

On the market, a one-star dagger usually cost between 60 to 80 silver ingots, and a more expensive one might cost 2 to 3 pieces of purple gold. If it reached 10 pieces of purple gold, it would be a high-quality weapon sold in the Treasure Pavilion's outer hall.

Even the other one-star weapons in the Hundred Refinements Workshop rarely exceeded 100 pieces of purple gold.

Weapons priced over 100 pieces of purple gold were mostly three-star or higher!

"Let me try it out," Tang Zheng reached out and took the dagger from the rack.

The feel of "Sheathless" in his hand wasn't as good as the "Meteorite" he had seen at the Treasure Pavilion yesterday, but the resonance with star energy was indeed much higher, and the array patterns were densely arranged. Tang Zheng brought it close to his eyes and quickly examined the first stroke of the array pattern.

But he hadn't even looked for a few seconds when there was a commotion from the back yard.

Four or five craftsmen burst out, their star constellations rising!

Seeing Tang Zheng pick up the dagger, one of them immediately shouted, "Put it down! Who told you to touch it?!"

Tang Zheng raised his head, frowning slightly.

Not allowed to touch?

How can you buy something if you can't touch it!

Tang Zheng didn't have a clear concept of star energy resonance; he judged the true quality of a dagger by whether it felt comfortable to use.

"Put it back quickly!"

"Take your dirty hands off Master Lu Huang's work!"

"Put it down and get out."

The craftsmen surrounded him.

Most of their star constellations were axes or hammers, at least one-star in strength, and the one in front was even a two-star warrior!

Tang Zheng suddenly laughed, "Ha, how can you buy something without looking at it? Are you saying the Hundred Refinements Workshop is a black market?"

"Look? A dagger with a star energy resonance rate of eighty-two, a masterpiece among masterpieces, what's there to look at?"

"Does star energy resonance rate represent everything?" Tang Zheng sneered.

A dagger with a high star energy resonance rate isn't necessarily one that fits ergonomically.

If it's not comfortable to use, what's the point of having good data?

The two-star craftsman sized up Tang Zheng, "What do you mean? Look clearly! This is the Hundred Refinements Workshop! Do the weapons produced here need your approval?"

"Fine. I'll buy this dagger." Tang Zheng shook his head, his interest in buying completely ruined. He didn't want to stay any longer and was ready to pay and leave.

Hearing him say he would buy it, the craftsmen were momentarily stunned.

230 pieces of purple gold wasn't something just anyone could afford!

To be honest, at this price in Wulong Town, it was basically a display item, not something for sale, especially since it was just a one-star dagger...

Only a fool would spend 230 pieces of purple gold on a one-star dagger!

"Want to buy?" The two-star craftsman, after a moment of hesitation, looked at Tang Zheng with displeasure and extended his hand, "Give me your identity plate!"

"Identity plate?" Tang Zheng asked, "Do you need an identity plate to buy a weapon?"

He suddenly understood why Ban Yilou had been so pleased!

Ban Yilou must have known that without an identity plate, it was impossible to buy anything at the Hundred Refinements Workshop.

"The weapons of the Hundred Refinements Workshop are all masterpieces, especially those by masters, which cannot fall into the hands of commoners." The two-star craftsman, clearly hurt by Tang Zheng's words, said, "The Hundred Refinements Workshop has ten things it does not sell. Do you understand the rules?"

"Ten things it does not sell?" Tang Zheng followed the craftsman's finger and looked over.

Sure enough, on the wall just inside the door of the Hundred Refinements Workshop, there was a large sign with the words "Hundred Refinements Workshop, Ten Things Not Sold" in large letters!

No sale to the low-born, no sale to foreigners, no sale to lawyers, no sale to midwives, no sale to alcoholics, no sale to drug addicts, no sale to those without a star, no sale to those over thirty and unmarried, no sale to those whose grandparents and grandchildren live separately.

The last rule: no sale to those wanted by the Wenhua, Huajian, Tianqin, Qiantang, Donglong, Qianye, and Liuyun families!

"Are you kidding me? You even care if someone is married!" Tang Zheng couldn't describe his feelings.

"Do you want to buy it or not?" The two-star craftsman raised his chin coldly, "The time of the craftsmen of the Hundred Refinements Workshop is precious. We don't have time to waste on nonsense."

"Ha..." Tang Zheng felt that his trip to the Hundred Refinements Workshop had really broadened his horizons, "A dagger that's just okay, and you guys are blowing it up to the sky!"

The two-star craftsman, once again rebuffed by Tang Zheng, threw his hammer to the ground with a thud, "Just okay? You say this dagger is just okay?"

Tang Zheng spread his hands and smiled, "Just being honest."

"Boy! Remember my name, Mo Feng!" The two-star craftsman's eyes were red, "If you can find any one-star dagger in Wulong Town with a higher star energy resonance rate than 'Sheathless,' I, Mo Feng, will commit suicide in front of you."

Tang Zheng laughed, "Hey, tech geek, I have nothing to do, do I need your life?"

Mo Feng pointed at Tang Zheng's nose fiercely, "Then what do you want?"

"One-star, star energy resonance rate over eighty-two, right?" Tang Zheng had already turned around, waving his hand, "If I bring it, will you invite Master Lu Huang to personally forge it for me... Can you make that decision?"

"..." The two-star craftsman's chest rose and fell, hesitating for a full twenty seconds before gritting his teeth, "No problem!"

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