Jing Qian had long since learned from A'bao the locations of the twenty-four licensed stores, along with the fields of trade each monopolized.
He strolled to the front of the Gongye store and stepped inside.
The Gongye store specialized in metal smelting, controlling more than eighty percent of Hunzhou's trade in metals and materials.
Behind it stood two powerful cultivators at the Dragon Elephant realm, both holding mid-level positions in the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Artisan Supervisory Office.
Compared to the Jing clan, the Gongye clan was far stronger, a true giant among stores.
After entering, Jing Qian casually beckoned over a serving attendant and asked:
"I wish to borrow your ninth-grade forging furnace. What would the cost be? Could you grant me some convenience?"
The attendant bowed and replied:
"Honored guest, our store has only two ninth-grade furnaces. To qualify for their use, you must first purchase treasured metal materials from us.
As for borrowing the furnace for a day, the fee is three ingots of yuan gold."
Jing Qian's teeth clenched at the price.
It was outrageous.
Since arriving at the seaport market, he had gained a full understanding of the purchasing power of this world's currency.
A single copper-knife coin could sustain an ordinary family for two or three months. Its value was solid.
Even a ninth-grade material of the White Fang tier sold for no more than ten yuan gold ingots.
And weapons or magical tools forged from such material, after labor costs, fetched around twenty ingots at most.
Yet simply borrowing Gongye's furnace for a day cost him three ingots!
Even if he borrowed the fire for ten days, it still wouldn't be enough to refine a single ninth-grade artifact. The cost of renting the furnace far exceeded the final value of the artifact itself, a clear tactic to squeeze independent cultivators out of existence.
But Jing Qian had his reasons for needing the furnace. He could only respond:
"Does your store purchase ninth-grade weapons?"
The attendant immediately said:
"Of course we do, honored guest. Please follow me."
Jing Qian was led into a private chamber, where items were appraised.
From his Void Realm, he produced all of his ninth-grade weapons except for his copper hammer and tossed them onto the floor.
He then bargained fiercely with the Gongye staff.
At last, by trading four ninth-grade weapons and three ninth-grade sea demon materials, he secured ten pieces of ninth-grade Sea Fang Iron at the White Fang tier, along with three days of free use of the ninth-grade furnace.
With the deal struck, he was soon led into another sealed chamber, where a bronze furnace taller than a man awaited.
He laid out the ten pieces of Sea Fang Iron neatly before him.
With a surge of power, he activated the furnace, then drew out his copper hammer artifact and began refining the iron one piece at a time.
He carefully controlled the flow of his energy. The ninth-grade furnace roared to life, flames blazing within, painting the chamber in a fiery glow.
The copper hammer struck rhythmically against the workbench, its deep and steady thuds blending with the crackling melt of the Sea Fang Iron, forming a unique song of the forge.
From his memories, Jing Qian had inherited a wealth of knowledge in forging and refinement. After being organized and clarified by the Worldly Insight, it gave him a solid and mature foundation in smithing.
Handling the Sea Fang Iron posed no challenge to him.
In barely half a day, all ten pieces had been forged into the shape of a sword embryo.
The sword embryo gleamed with a uniform luster, its body smooth and rounded, with no edge yet opened.
Within each embryo, he had carved a complex sword-shaped rune using his own spiritual power.
These embryos were the essential raw materials for forging the Sword Fang Life Pattern.
Guided by the power of the Worldly Insight, he had already mastered the refining method of this Life Pattern.
It was easy for him to forge them into shape!
Jing Qian waited as the sword embryos slowly cooled, his thoughts drifting.
His choice of the Sword Fang Life Pattern was not only because of his lifelong passion and obsession with the sword.
By borrowing the power of the Sumeru Life Pattern, he could also greatly compensate for the Sword Fang's shortcomings. This was another crucial reason.
In truth, the Sea Fang Iron he used came from sea demons.
It was a unique alloy refined from the teeth of sea beasts, after repeated tempering.
The crocodile dragon's tooth in his possession, if put into a furnace, could also be smelted into seventh-grade Sea Fang Iron.
For him, obtaining sea demon fangs was easy. But finding a cheap and reliable furnace was far harder.
He was even considering applying for a transfer from the Maritime Office to the Artisan Supervision Bureau.
After waiting a little longer, the sword embryos had cooled somewhat. He picked one up and brought it toward his mouth.
Infusing his Life Essence power into his teeth, he activated the Sword Fang's secret art and bit down hard.
A ninth-grade sword embryo of solid metal was actually devoured by him in just a few bites!
Immediately, a strange energy surged upward through his teeth and into his Sea of Consciousness.
There, a small sword shaped like a tiger's fang, the Sword Fang Life Pattern suddenly took form.
The Sword Fang Life Pattern was complete!
In that instant, he felt as though a small sword had been born within his body.
The sword fused with his spiritual power, flowing and circulating through his entire being.
A chillingly sharp sword intent arose with it, like a shard of icy crystal slicing through his meridians.
It was exhilarating.
Memories of countless hours of sword practice floated through his mind like falling snow, drawn to resonate with that small inner sword.
With the Sword Fang refined, Jing Qian turned his consciousness and descended into the Stele of Fate space.
Outside the safe zone, only the Crocodile Dragon and the Snow Maiden remained as his "rations."
Until today, both of these soul remnants were far stronger than he was. He hadn't even been able to break through their defenses.
But now, he was no longer unarmed.
At his fingertips coiled a small white jade sword, carved in the shape of a tiger fang.
He could feel clearly that the blade contained an exceptionally sharp strand of sword intent!
Compared to before, his strength had leapt forward by an entire tier.
With a flash, Jing Qian slipped into the dimensional void and crept toward the Snow Maiden.
Her spirit was still clad in a Dharma Image, its defenses as strong as they had been in life.
Since moving her into the Stele space, Jing Qian had tried to strike her many times.
But without a weapon, his attacks had been too weak to penetrate her defenses.
All that changed with the birth of the Sword Fang Life Pattern.
Moving through the void, he came up behind the Snow Maiden and emerged into reality.
Like a shadow, he pressed close to the nape of her neck, and with a flick of his right hand, he lightly struck.
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