CHAPTER 124: 124 LIN BAI’S NEW WEAPON

Compared to the slow-paced grind of the NPCs, the Players were always full of zeal.

Within a short time, they dug out artifacts like the Alchemy Furnace, Herbal Medicine, Iron Ingots, and other materials buried in the ruins and placed them in the new Alchemy Workshop.

Lin Bai started his quest grind overnight. Players were very demanding when it came to gear, as who wouldn’t want to be decked out in top-tier equipment?

However, after casually asking Lin Bai and being denied by Lin, the Storekeeper, they simply wanted ordinary weapons.

Lin, the Storekeeper, was right; trying to create a super Magic Treasure with common iron—what a ridiculous thought!

Moreover, Lin, the Storekeeper, was their leader, and having just sealed a Golden Core expert, his prestige was at its peak; who would dare to order him around?

Therefore, Players were only left with two demands: a kitchen knife and a bow. Whatever Lin, the Storekeeper, used, they would use.

A unified weaponry style could prevent any issues with incompatible weapons when Lin Bai imparted his techniques in the future.

Lin Bai had planned to casually make a few weapons to satisfy the Players and complete the System task.

However, the System had instilled in him a wealth of knowledge—aesthetic principles, human engineering, material science, and more. Consequently, the weapons he crafted naturally exhibited magnificent forms and felt very comfortable to hold. Even without him threatening the Players, he received satisfactory feedback.

This was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Thus, Lin Bai easily obtained the Blacksmith’s Hammer.

The God of Craftsmen System updated the task: *Your deeds need recognition. You need to create your own weapon store. Reward: Blacksmith’s Pliers (10% increased success rate in Artifact Refining).*

Without hesitation, he instructed Crispy Rice to designate the adjacent building as a weapon shop.

Lin Bai received another reward: a pair of Pliers.

New task from the God of Craftsmen System: *Display the weapons you made in your weapon shop and successfully sell ten of them. Reward: Blacksmith’s Anvil (10% increased success rate in Artifact Refining).*

As dawn arrived, Lin Bai had no readily available weapons. Crafting weapons required time, so he temporarily put aside the God of Craftsmen System’s subsequent tasks and began to study the hammer and Pliers in his hand.

Both the hammer and the Pliers looked as though they were made by the same craftsman. They seemed very ordinary, but holding them felt as natural as moving his own limbs.

Unlike the Mysterious Ice Spring, which remained fixed once placed, the hammer and Pliers could be retrieved for use and stored away when not needed. It was as if the God of Craftsmen System had a built-in storage—it could even create a spring eye out of thin air, so it wasn’t unreasonable that the hammer and Pliers could be retracted into the System.

An increase in success rate by 10%? What kind of description is that? So far, his weapon crafts have never failed. An additional 10%... does that mean the weapons will become even more perfect?

Lin Bai tried to swing his new hammer. It felt just right; holding it made him want to smash something. Smash?

Suddenly, a peculiar idea surfaced in Lin Bai’s mind.

Thus, in front of all the Players, Lin Bai pulled out the kitchen knife he had previously crafted, placed it on a regular Anvil, and without hesitation, smashed down on it.

CLANG!

The ordinary kitchen knife instantly shattered.

"Holy shit!" Amidst the astonished glances of the Players, Lin Bai’s heartbeat slightly quickened.

Just now, he hadn’t used his Inner Strength, relying solely on his Artifact Refining skills and techniques.

But with just one light strike, his carefully crafted Stainless Steel Kitchen Knife had shattered.

In other words...

Lin Bai looked towards Crispy Rice and extended his hand. "Crispy Rice, give me your kitchen knife."

Crispy Rice hesitated for a moment before handing over the kitchen knife he had just received.

Lin Bai swung the hammer again at the kitchen knife, and, sure enough, it instantly shattered.

It’s true! His speculation was correct!

Lin Bai’s heartbeat started to race. A 10% success rate also means a 90% failure rate.

In other words, this so-called Blacksmith’s Hammer is actually a Hammer of Destruction... Usable on demand. A 90% destruction rate. I’ve struck gold!

Lin Bai immediately recognized the real value of the hammer.

After the kitchen knife, he finally had a second weapon suitable for combat.

Lin Bai was never a conventional craftsman. While others obsessed over the success rate, he saw the 90% failure rate.

His only regret was that the hammer’s handle was too short.

In a world where people flew high and low, launching sword energy attacks that could reach dozens of meters, using the hammer to destroy others’ weapons was a highly challenging maneuver.

Moreover, among the Martial Arts he possessed, there was no hammer technique!

"My kitchen knife..." Crispy Rice lamented, watching as the brand-new kitchen knife he had just received was destroyed by Lin Bai. He couldn’t help but cry out.

"I’ll make you a better one later." Lin Bai looked at Crispy Rice and beckoned to the people around him. "Come, come, come! Give me your kitchen knives. I’ll help you improve them."

Lin Bai was eager to validate his idea.

The Lonely Old Man and Crazy Man hesitantly handed back the weapons they had just received.

The Artifact Refining Master stared at Lin Bai strangely, wondering what he was trying to do.

Lin Bai ignored them.

This time, he took out the Pliers, held the kitchen knife with them, and heated the knife in the furnace until it was red hot. Then, he swung the hammer down again.

CLANG!

The kitchen knife shattered!

He repeated the process with the second knife. After this strike, the kitchen knife remained intact.

Lin Bai used the hammer to adjust the hammered part of the kitchen knife, then tempered, forged, and polished it, all in one smooth sequence.

After a while, a reworked kitchen knife was presented to everyone.

Lin Bai waved the newly reworked kitchen knife. A gleam of light flashed along the blade; it was quite dazzling. He casually chopped down onto the Iron Ingot beside him.

A CLANG resounded.

The Iron Ingot split in two.

The blade was perfectly intact.

"WHOA!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

Unable to contain their surprise at this scene, the Players burst into exclamations, including the curse word "holy shit."

Feeling a surge of heat glide through his palm, Lin Bai grimaced and gave Crispy Rice, who was looking on, an "ion perm" with his palm.

Crispy Rice felt wronged. "Lin, the Storekeeper, it wasn’t me who said it."

"As the Gang Leader, you’re responsible even if you didn’t say it. The Beggar Gang is forbidden from using profanity from now on." Lin Bai glared at him, no longer bothering to hide his annoyance about the repercussions of using ’holy shit’.

[*Resentment from Crispy Rice +1+1+1*]

[*Pleasure from Deng Lri, Lonely Old Man, Crazy Man +1+1+1*]

With so many systems at play, Lin Bai would benefit no matter what he did; he wouldn’t lose out in any situation.

"Lin, the Storekeeper, about this new kitchen knife?" Lonely Old Man interjected, ignoring the disgruntled Crispy Rice and bringing the conversation back to the kitchen knife.

"To be precise, this should be called a ’Sharp Kitchen Knife’," Lin Bai said, scrutinizing the re-forged kitchen knife with satisfaction. "Just now, I comprehended a new Artifact Refining method. There’s a 10% chance of improving a weapon’s quality. If you get any good Magic Treasures in the future and want to upgrade their grade, you can come to me and try your luck. For disciples of our own gang, the processing fee is half the weapon’s value. No compensation for damage."

The crowd was silent.

"Lin, the Storekeeper, is mastering more and more Skills! He can even enhance weapons now," Bitter Melon Vine quickly typed in the private chat channel. "We’ve struck gold!"

"Gold, my ass! A 10% success rate means a 90% chance of it shattering. That’s fucking ludicrous," Well Does Not Move grumbled.

"Who can predict luck? What if you’re a lucky bastard and succeed ten times in a row? You might get a legendary Divine Artifact directly from Lin, the Storekeeper!" Not Settling For Less chimed in.

"I feel like I’m seeing Kelly’s ghost in Lin, the Storekeeper," Lazy Cancer Endless added.

"No matter what, this is a good thing!" Lonely Old Man said. "Is our Beggar Gang short of money? We have advertisements, we have everything! Brothers, we’ve struck it rich!"

Listening to the Players’ private chat, Lin Bai smiled silently. The Blacksmith’s Hammer gives 10%, the Pliers 10%, the Anvil 10%...

He might even get rewards like a furnace and Bellows in the future. This is obviously a set. With the success rates stacking, the probability of him creating a Divine Artifact is very high.

The God of Craftsmen System is indeed amazing.

However, regardless of how great a Divine Artifact might be, without enough strength to protect it, it could bring disaster. Therefore, Lin Bai deliberately stated a lower success rate.

A 10% chance was enough to deter most people. But the tasks still needed to be done.

Lin Bai casually slid the freshly upgraded kitchen knife back into its sheath.

Bitter Melon Vine’s eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn’t help but remind him, "Lin, the Storekeeper, that’s my kitchen knife!"

"Your kitchen knife? Did I charge you for it?" Having completed the task, Lin Bai was in no mood to be courteous. "I’m not your servant. Didn’t I ask Crispy Rice to convert the adjacent room into a weapon shop? In the future, only weapons bought from my shop will be yours."

As he spoke, Lin Bai swung his hammer, destroying the kitchen knives on the Anvil one by one. "Artifact Refining is the foundation of a craftsman’s livelihood. Handouts will ultimately ruin this industry. Rules must be established, starting now."

[*Resentment from Crazy Man, Lonely Old Man, Bitter Melon Vine... +1+1+1*]

"If I had known, I wouldn’t have handed over my kitchen knife," Bitter Melon Vine said mournfully.

"I thought Lin, the Storekeeper, had turned over a new leaf! All that excitement for nothing," Crazy Man said.

"Be grateful! Lin, the Storekeeper, has already given out a lot since yesterday. If he kept on giving things away, I’d actually be more suspicious. Think about it, so far, the Beggar Gang hasn’t given any substantial reward to Lin, the Storekeeper!" Lonely Old Man said. "Lin, the Storekeeper, isn’t gaining any insights; he’s just taking the opportunity to promote his skills and, by doing so, put some pressure on us."

"But why would he do that? The Beggar Gang isn’t short of money," Crispy Rice asked.

"Of course, Lin, the Storekeeper, knows the Beggar Gang isn’t short of money. Do you think he’d enhance weapons bought from his shop for free?" Lonely Old Man said, his tone suggesting he had seen through Lin Bai’s intentions. "Believe it or not, for weapons bought from his Blacksmith Shop, every strike of his hammer during ’enhancement’ will destroy them."

"What is he trying to do?" The usually rational Crazy Man was also puzzled this time.

"Naturally, he wants us to go out, stir up trouble, and snatch Magic Treasures from others," Lonely Old Man said. "Remember what Lin, the Storekeeper, often says? He wants to build the Beggar Gang into the number one gang in the world! If we don’t make a name for ourselves, don’t cause trouble, when will the Beggar Gang become number one? Lin, the Storekeeper, is motivating us to grow quickly! I suspect Lin, the Storekeeper, also has a task to bring Fame to the Righteous Door Sect."

This lad is teachable! Listening to Lonely Old Man’s lengthy, fabricated theories, Lin Bai looked at him with gratification, thinking to himself that the Beggar Gang truly needed such talent.

If the chosen leader wasn’t impossible to replace, he would have done anything to promote Lonely Old Man...

"Lin, the Storekeeper, when will your weapon shop open?" Despite Lonely Old Man explaining Lin Bai’s sudden outburst, Bitter Melon Vine still felt somewhat regretful; after all, the weapons Lin Bai made looked much better than those sold outside.

"You all go start preparing for the ’Damaged Goods Exhibition.’ Find out the movements of all the major Sects in Qian City and report all their actions to me. Tonight, the weapons in the Blacksmith Shop should be ready to be listed." Lin Bai glanced at the sky and issued his orders.

Seeing there was no advantage to be gained from Lin Bai here, the Players dispersed in twos and threes, each attending to their own tasks.

Lin Bai didn’t continue with the God of Craftsmen System tasks. Instead, he activated Morning Flight, strolling leisurely through the air above Qian City, observing its layout.

Morning is when I’m at my strongest. If I don’t show off now, when will I?

I need to flaunt my Martial Power, show everyone in the city my strongest side. I want every cultivator to witness the heroic figure of Lin Bai, the Storekeeper, so they’ll think twice before trying to mess with me in the future.

Lin Bai didn’t believe that no one had noticed yesterday’s commotion. However, it felt strange that Return to Dragon View had shown no reaction afterward.

He wandered above the city, deliberately flying over the encampments of several major Sects. He was also trying to lure the snake from its hole, hoping to draw Daoist Qingling of Return to Dragon View out of the city and turn him into a Card too.

[*Fear from Zhao Yi +1+1+1*]

[*Hatred from Daoist Qingling +1+1+1*]

[*Shock from Sun Lie +1+1+1*]

[*Joy from Jiang Qingqin +1+1+1*]

As expected, when Lin Bai flew over the camps of those Sects, he easily garnered their emotional feedback.

Zhao Yi inexplicably radiated fear, presumably because he had witnessed Daoist Qingming’s demise.

Daoist Qingling was full of hatred for him but held back, staying in his room without showing his face. Lin Bai wasn’t sure what he was plotting and couldn’t spot him, thus being unable to strike him with Palm Thunder.

Releasing Daoist Qingming might force Daoist Qingling out, but Lin Bai felt there was no need for that yet. Since Daoist Qingming had chosen to remain hidden, Lin Bai was happy to continue growing stronger for a while longer.

With the System, Lin Bai’s strength changed daily. Even he didn’t know what new Skills he might acquire in the next moment!

However, not receiving any emotional feedback from Daoist Priest Qingfeng struck Lin Bai as strange. If Daoist Priest Qingfeng hadn’t come to Qian City, news of the Spiritual World Gap couldn’t have leaked!

And if news about the Spiritual World Gap hadn’t leaked, why would Return to Dragon View inexplicably attack them?

A hint of doubt flashed through Lin Bai’s mind. Something isn’t right.

At this time, Jiang Qingqin was sitting by the window, hugging her rabbit and pondering the reality of Spoken Law Follows. Looking up, she saw Lin Bai. She immediately rushed out of her room, leaped onto the rooftop in a few bounds, and waved at him. "Brother Lin, come down! My master wants to talk with you!"