Chapter 222: The Forging Situation

Chapter 222: The Forging Situation

As the tenth month of the Abyssal Descent era approached, the number of Tempered Masters among humans had been steadily increasing.

The number of Tempered Masters had grown, but there was only one Tempering Forge, the one within Forge Castle.

Many metahuman organizations had attempted to construct Tempering Forges on Blue Planet, but none had succeeded.

Since the fundamental rules differed, it was naturally impossible to replicate the Tempering Forge.

With more Tempered Masters, the number of them entering Forge Castle through the Flame Emblem Club was also on the rise.

Among them were not only Daxia's Tempered Masters but also many others from various countries who managed to enter the castle through different means.

Some even gained the approval of Guru Master Gru, who agreed to let them use the Tempering Forge.

As the number of Tempered Masters increased, the metahumans ventured into higher-level Abyssal Battlefields, acquiring more and more Tempering Materials.

The demand for tempering among metahumans was also growing.

Therefore, the Flame Emblem Club couldn't monopolize the tempering process forever.

Moreover, around the eleventh month of the Abyssal Descent, a second Tempering Forge would likely appear in the Western world.

According to the timeline, this would happen next, and Blue Planet would have its second Tempering Forge.

If Forge Castle didn't accept other Tempered Masters, these masters would naturally turn to the Western world.

Thus, Lu Heng wouldn't oppose Guru Master Gru accepting other Tempered Masters; it was an inevitable development as time progressed.

However, some didn't just want to use the Tempering Forge; they had other motives.

...

Lu Heng had come today to process the accumulated tempering orders that had piled up during this time.

After a brief chat with Guru Master Gru, Su Muyu also arrived.

Lu Heng pulled her to the castle's back garden and spoke to her about something very important, "You need to find time to teleport to the Sekis Civilization and pay a visit to Xavier Matrix."

"Is it related to the tech data?" Su Muyu could guess that the matter concerned the Sekis Civilization's tech data but wasn't sure about the specifics.

Lu Heng nodded, "Yes, it's related to the tech data. We might not be able to drag this issue out any longer, so we need to find a solution."

At this point, Lu Heng leaned closer to her ear and whispered what she should do after finding Xavier Matrix.

"Alright, I don't have anything else to do today, so I'll teleport to the Sekis Civilization right away." Su Muyu felt that this matter was indeed crucial, and she wanted to get it done as soon as possible to put her mind at ease.

"That's good. If you have any problems, you can contact Yuan Yaoyao." Lu Heng didn't have the spatial anchor point for the Sekis Civilization, so he couldn't teleport there.

Fortunately, Yuan Yaoyao had a close relationship with Xavier Matrix, so Su Muyu could go alone without worrying.

After discussing the matter, Su Muyu returned to prepare and then teleported to the second Gaia of the Sekis world.

...

It was almost ten o'clock when Lin Ze Yu finally arrived with the tempering materials and the weapons that needed tempering.

This time, there were many accumulated orders—twelve boxes of weapons and a full box of tempering materials.

Most of the current orders had already undergone tempering, with a tempering level generally above +3.

Lu Heng had assigned Yuan Hecheng to handle orders below +3 since, after advancing his secondary profession to Advanced Tempered Master, tempering weapons below +3 rarely granted professional experience, making it inefficient.

By assigning Yuan Hecheng to handle these orders, Lu Heng was cultivating a direct lineage of Tempered Masters, enhancing their future competitiveness in the tempering industry.

These +3 and above weapons were invaluable treasures to their owners.

Therefore, each one was carefully stored in a customized box for protection.

These weapons weren't stored in the Flame Emblem Club; instead, clients placed tempering orders, and the club would then notify them of the tempering time, after which they would send over the weapons and materials.

At this moment, the clients who had brought their weapons for tempering were waiting in the Flame Emblem Club.

Yuan Hecheng, as the tempering assistant, had also arrived early.

He had been responsible for communicating with the clients, understanding their needs, and explaining the precautions for tempering.

Although Lu Heng's tempering success rate had always been stable, it was still necessary to clarify the precautions beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings.

Currently, Forge Castle's tempering service was unique, so explaining the precautions was just a formality, and they wouldn't accept orders if the clients didn't agree.

As for advance funding or providing materials for tempering, it was out of the question.

After Yuan Hecheng finished communicating with the clients, he escorted the boxes of materials and followed Lin Ze Yu into Forge Castle.

Upon entering, Lin Ze Yu grabbed Lu Heng's arm and said, "Come with me for a moment; I have something important to tell you."

Lu Heng turned to Yuan Hecheng and instructed, "You start the preparations."

"Okay," Yuan Hecheng nodded and then directed the staff to send the weapons and materials to the forging chamber.

...

Lin Ze Yu led Lu Heng to the second-floor tearoom and said, "We just returned yesterday, and the club manager told me something that I think you should know."

Previously, they had gone to Fusang to help the Banseer Tribe, and before that, there was the incident of enemy spies stealing tech data. All in all, they had been away from Forge Castle for nearly a month, which was why so many orders had accumulated, and Yuan Hecheng had handled the tempering for orders below +3; otherwise, the number of orders would have been even higher.

Lin Ze Yu muttered, "Recently, Forge Castle has been accepting many Tempered Masters, and they're starting to compete with us for business."

Lu Heng didn't seem concerned about this, "In the future, there will be more and more Metahumans in need of tempering, and it will eventually develop into an industry that no single person can handle alone."

Lin Ze Yu added, "I know that, as long as we maintain control over high-level tempering, we'll be fine. But I heard from the club manager that someone has been trying to increase their favorability with Guru. From their actions, it seems they want to replace us."

Lu Heng's face remained unworried.

Noticing this, Lin Ze Yu reminded him, "Don't take it lightly. I heard that this Tempered Master, Gao Yuankui, has the backing of the Zhuo family, with both official and military connections."

...

After their discussion, Lu Heng and Lin Ze Yu headed towards the Forging Chamber. At the entrance, they encountered two Tempered Masters, accompanied by a team of five, who looked highly professional.

The lead Tempered Master, upon noticing their approach, turned and greeted them, "Hello, Master Lu, I'm Gao Yuankui, also a Tempered Master."

"I'm not worthy of the title 'Master'," Lu Heng replied.

This Gao Yuankui was the one Lin Ze Yu had mentioned earlier, with official connections, and he had been trying to get closer to Guru.

Lu Heng vaguely remembered the name from his previous life, knowing he was an officially trained Tempered Master.

There had been rumors about him, but they were quickly suppressed by the government.

As Lu Heng had no prior interactions with him, he smiled and nodded in acknowledgment of the greeting.

Gao Yuankui continued, "I didn't know Master Lu needed the Tempering Forge; otherwise, I would have scheduled a different time. It's fine, I'll wait outside while you use it."

Lin Ze Yu glanced at him and retorted, "You're not waiting outside to let us use it first, are you planning to compete with us?"

Hearing this clear challenge, Gao Yuankui smiled and replied, "Of course, everything in Forge Castle should prioritize Young Master Lin."

Lu Heng had already entered the Forging Chamber and, seeing that Lin Ze Yu had provoked him without any reaction, turned back to take a second look.

His composure indicated a deep Intrigue.

Lin Ze Yu followed him into the chamber and instructed the door to be closed, denying Gao Yuankui the opportunity to observe.

By the time their conversation ended, Yuan Hecheng had completed the preparations, and the Tempering Forge was ready.

Lu Heng began the tempering process with a calm mindset, unaffected by Lin Ze Yu's earlier words.

Twelve weapons, all with a tempering level of +3 or higher, including one at +6, were to be tempered.

With Yuan Hecheng assisting, three weapons could be tempered simultaneously, making the process efficient.

In less than three hours, all twelve weapons were successfully tempered.

A total of 37 tempering attempts were made, with only 3 failures, resulting in a success rate of over 90%.

After completing the tempering, Lu Heng's Tempered Master experience increased to (1060/3000), a rapid improvement.

Yuan Hecheng, as the tempering assistant, also gained some Professional Experience.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end