Chapter 148: The Greedy Corporations and the Tempering Castle

Chapter 148: The Greedy Corporations and the Tempering Castle

"How shameless! We're dealing with the mist crisis and securing the Sulfur River Nuclear Power Plant, and now they're saying we're afraid to fight them!" Lin Zeyu was furious.

As soon as he returned, he received messages from various circles inquiring about the matter.

News of the Great Xia Swordsman's alleged reluctance to fight and the official expulsion of the Japanese Sword Saint had spread like wildfire.

Lu Heng was initially unaware of the situation, only learning about it from Lin Zeyu, and he remained calm after hearing the whole story.

When the opponent resorts to media tactics, it's a sign that they're afraid to take direct action.

Lu Heng's usual approach is to take action rather than just talk.

Moreover, the mist had appeared all over the world.

Japan was no exception, with mist appearing on many of its islands.

The Japanese Sword Saint from Kyushu was more concerned with restoring his disciple's reputation than protecting the nuclear power plant.

Lu Heng had no interest in responding to such matters; if they dared to show up, he was ready to fight.

In a duel, the winner is always right.

The more rumors the loser spreads, the more they resemble a clown.

Therefore, if Saito Makoto dared to challenge him again, Lu Heng would accept.

...

The next day, the weather was clear and the temperature was just right.

After more than two months, the 9th bridge hole of the Century Bridge had become known among the Awakened community.

Consequently, there were always people stationed beneath the Century Bridge.

As the Abyssal Invasion entered its mid-stage, over ten Tempering Masters had emerged within Great Xia.

Not only the Haruka Corporation but many other conglomerates entered the scene, investing heavily in cultivating Tempering Masters.

However, these Tempering Masters needed to enter the Abyssal Battlefield to use the tempering furnaces there.

Thus, the Tempering Castle, the tempering channel on Bluesphere, remained a scarce resource.

As a result, various corporations were eager to send people into the Tempering Castle to secure this channel for weapon tempering.

This made the Century Bridge a hotly contested area among the conglomerates, leading to constant conflicts.

Under these circumstances, it was no longer suitable to keep the doors open.

Lin Zeyu also had a headache over this matter: "It seems like the Tempering Castle hasn't opened for many days. What should we do? Can we still enter now? The company has taken on many orders during this period, and we'll have to compensate if we can't fulfill them."

As the Abyssal Invasion reached its mid-stage, more and more Awakened individuals had entered the Abyssal Battlefield.

The number of Abyssal Beings appearing worldwide was increasing, and so were the drops of Cores and tempering materials.

Consequently, the number of Awakened individuals with tempering needs began to rise.

At present, Huan Yu Corporation was the only company in Great Xia that dared to guarantee a 75% success rate for tempering.

This was an irresistible temptation for the Awakened.

As a result, tempering orders poured in like snowflakes.

After being away for over ten days, they had accumulated over thirty orders that needed to be completed quickly.

Lu Heng had planned to go to the Tempering Castle today to forge the Aurora Blade for the third time.

The Flame Demon's extracted Obsidian Forging Stone was a B-Class Forging Stone, suitable for tempering C-Class and B-Class weapons.

However, one Obsidian Forging Stone was insufficient for tempering a B-Class weapon.

Forcing the tempering would result in a low success rate.

Fortunately, Lu Heng had another forging material—the famous Japanese sword, Fusonokami Kageuchi, a B-Class Tachi with excellent attributes.

Nevertheless, Lu Heng had no use for it, so it was better to use it as a forging material.

After packing his belongings and gathering the forging materials, Lu Heng prepared to leave. He waved to Lin Zeyu and said, "Let's go to the Tempering Castle."

Lin Zeyu quickly jumped off the sofa and asked, "Are we going through the Century Bridge? It's not accessible now; several conglomerates have sent people to guard it around the clock."

Lu Heng smiled and said, "Just follow me, and bring the materials."

"Alright!" Lin Zeyu's eyes lit up with excitement for no apparent reason.

He didn't know how Lu Heng planned to enter the Tempering Castle, but he was certain Lu Heng had a way.

The two got into a car and drove to the riverbank road, stopping about 500 meters from the Century Bridge.

Lin Zeyu quickly got out of the car and looked towards the Century Bridge.

With just a glance, he noticed several Awakened individuals stationed on the riverbank, clearly not pedestrians or tourists, but sentries from the conglomerates.

Lin Zeyu took the box from the car and curiously asked, "Are we going to use invisibility? But Su Muyu isn't here."

Lu Heng didn't answer his question; instead, he got out of the car and walked directly into the old clock tower on the riverbank road, climbing the stairs to the upper floors.

Lin Zeyu's eyes lit up when he realized they weren't heading for the Century Bridge: "Is this a new entrance?"

"Yes, you can consider taking over this clock tower," Lu Heng said casually.

"I'll have someone buy the clock tower as soon as I get back," Lin Zeyu replied. Hearing that it was a new entrance, he knew it was crucial to secure it.

If it became like the 9th bridge hole of the Century Bridge, occupied by other conglomerates, it would be a significant loss.

The large clock on the clock tower was actually disused and in a state of disrepair.

A rumor had spread a couple of years ago that the clock tower would be demolished and rebuilt.

However, for unknown reasons, nothing further was said about it.

Lu Heng climbed to the top of the clock tower, turned the clock's mechanism to set the hour and minute hands to twelve, and then turned around and walked into the wall beside him.

Stepping through walls was not a new experience for Lin Zeyu, so he quickly followed, taking a step into the wall.

In the next moment, he found himself in the courtyard of Tempering Castle.

This time, Grumble wasn't playing with cockroaches in the courtyard, and his whereabouts were unknown.

Lin Zeyu shouted, "Master Grumble, we're here to see you! I've brought the best pastries from the Coastal area."

Hearing the voice, Grumble appeared at the castle entrance, looking dispirited.

"What's going on?" Lu Heng asked curiously.

"It's so boring. As soon as I open the castle doors, a bunch of strange people come in. Last time, someone even sneaked in to steal things. Now I'm afraid to open the doors. But if no one comes, it's too boring," Grumble began to complain.

Lu Heng thought for a moment and asked, "When do you want people to come in, and how many each time? Let's see if I can help you come up with a solution."

Grumble tilted his head and thought for a moment. He wanted to allow visitors once every three days, with about ten people each time, but he preferred if they could be screened beforehand.

Hearing his request, Lu Heng smiled and said, "That's easy. Let's make it a fixed schedule and open the castle on Wednesdays and Saturdays."

"As for who to invite, we can let Lin Zeyu handle it. We can create a Tempering Castle Club with a membership system, allowing only screened individuals to enter."

Upon hearing such a great opportunity, Lin Zeyu quickly agreed, "I can handle this. I'll make sure it's done well and satisfy the master. Whether it's beautiful women or extremely beautiful women, it's not a problem."

Lu Heng gave him a sidelong glance, wondering if he was planning to use beauty to charm Grumble. If it were that easy, the wealthy conglomerates would have already taken over Tempering Castle.

After all, for the top conglomerates at the peak of the pyramid, beauty was not a scarce resource.

Seeing Grumble's interest in the matter, Lu Heng took the box from Lin Zeyu's hands and said, "I'll go and temper, while you discuss the details with the master."

"No problem, master. We'll go inside and discuss the details. I'll record your requirements and ensure everything is handled perfectly," Lin Zeyu said, putting his arm around Grumble's shoulder as they walked into the castle, ready to set up the Tempering Castle Club.

If this project succeeded, he would gain access to the Tempering Castle.

With this power, he could take off right from where he stood.

...

Lu Heng arrived at the forging room and started by completing the commercial orders he had accepted.

There were a total of 37 commercial orders, 35 of which required tempering, and two required spirit infusion.

Lu Heng first performed the tempering, successfully completing 32 out of 35 attempts.

His tempering success rate was 91.4%, far exceeding the minimum success rate guaranteed by Huan Yu.

The high success rate was also due to the relatively low tempering levels of the weapons in these orders.

The lower the tempering level of a weapon, the higher the success rate of tempering.

After completing the tempering, he performed spirit infusion twice, both of which were successful.

Huan Yu did accept spirit infusion orders, but without any guaranteed success.

Currently, spirit infusion materials were scarce, and there were too many types of them.

For example, there was only one set of Molten Armor spirit infusion materials available in the market, and no second set could be found.

Even if a guaranteed success rate was offered for spirit infusion, if it failed, a second set of materials for a second attempt would be impossible to find.

Moreover, spirit infusion was more challenging than tempering, and the major conglomerates were still competing in the tempering business, lacking the capability to enter the spirit infusion market.

Therefore, only Lu Heng could accept spirit infusion orders, and the success of the infusion depended on his luck. If it failed, the client would have to bear the consequences.

For those unwilling to take the risk, the solution was simple—don't accept the order.

Fortunately, both spirit infusions this time were successful.

[Spirit Infusion completed. Tempering Mastery Experience +50]



After 35 temperings and two spirit infusions, Lu Heng's Tempering Mastery experience was finally maxed out.

[Tempering Mastery Experience reached (2000/2000). Promoted to Advanced Tempering Master.]



[Sub-Profession: Advanced Tempering Master (10/3000)]



[Advanced Tempering Master: Tempering Success Rate +30%, Spirit Infusion Success Rate +20%, Flame Resistance +30%]



With the sub-profession upgrade, both tempering and spirit infusion success rates increased, and flame resistance improved to 30%.

Previously, Huan Yu had adjusted the payment method for commercial orders, requiring the client to pay with tempering materials.

Therefore, for these 37 orders, Lu Heng earned five pieces of Tempering Essence.

Lu Heng then proceeded to temper the Aurora Blade, pouring in Tempering Essence and performing the steps of melting, pouring, tempering, and cooling...

After two consecutive temperings, the Aurora Blade's tempering level increased from +7 to +9, reaching the highest tempering level.

[Exceptional Aurora Blade +9 (Abyssal Assimilation)]



[Item Grade: B-Class]



[Specifications: Length 132 cm, Blade Width 3.6 cm, Weight 1.8 kg]



[Attributes: Attack Power 230]



[Effects: Soul Slayer LV2, Keen Blade]



[Evaluation: A weapon forged from Aurora Ore, causing Keen Blade damage on attack. Excellent quality, a rare sword-type weapon.]



After completing the tempering, Lu Heng swung the Aurora Blade, testing its performance at the highest tempering level.

Soon after, Lin Zeyu and Grumble entered the forging room, laughing and chatting, clearly having a great time.

Taking advantage of Grumble's good mood, Lu Heng said, "Master Grumble, I've brought forging materials. Let's perform a three-fold forging on the Aurora Blade."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end