Several days later.

In Hanping Prefecture, at Master Shuimo's casting room.

The blaze roared fiercely, the temperature was much higher than elsewhere, and the thick cloth curtains fluttered in the wind. Peering inside, one could see the fiery gusts turning the room a blazing red...

The youth leaned on his fine blade, carrying a round shield on his back, waiting outside with patience.

Today was the day to collect his shield, so he had arrived early.

Joining him was Ling, as always.

Since everyone else was busy, and Ling had nothing to do, she quietly followed Song Cheng.

Ling was clearly a girl with family heritage, exuding the refined aura of tea and the unique gaze of a proud family's maiden. She was somewhat shrewd, but not overly so; shameless, yet with limits; harboring her own little schemes, but always controllable by her master.

How else could she have been forgiven so easily after her past interactions with Shi Yi, if not because Miss An saw her as a "potential danger barometer"?

Miss An was good at judging people, knowing that Ling was "useless" and posed no threat...

The role of such a girl by Song Cheng's side was that of a "little housekeeper," a "walking purse," an "assistive seeing device," and so on. After all, the family had a system, and you had to follow procedures to get money from the treasury.

Song Cheng couldn't possibly handle the procedures himself, could he?

Therefore, these matters all fell to Ling.

Besides, Ling could also spare Blind Song many unnecessary troubles, as others could tell at a glance she had a background—so they would not dare to provoke him easily.

The West Market was bustling with people, with a steady flow of carriages and horses occasionally brushing past the two from behind, accompanied by a mix of various sounds.

Most of these were the noise of buying and selling, but sometimes other snippets would emerge...

Song Cheng suddenly furrowed his brow; he faintly caught a whisper that vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"...done yet, sealing..."

The voice was very faint, and even with Blind Song's keen hearing, he only caught fragments.

After pondering for a moment, he filled in the gaps—"Have you heard, they are sealing the city."

"Oh my, why isn't it ready yet?" Ling, who apparently hadn't heard, muttered, "My Lord, let me go urge them. They leave us hanging outside in this big sun."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "Let's wait a bit longer."

With the human tide like waves, he stood immovable as a reef.

The wind at the street corner picked up, carrying the chaos pressed beneath the surface of calm...

But signs of turbulence were emerging.

If he had just arrived, the youth would probably have been in turmoil,

Just like when he was helpless and anxious in Tang River Village;

Just like when he fled to Shanghe County, panicked and desperate, like a dog without a home;

Or even when he first encountered the Human Skin Ghost in Shanghe County, there was a trace of panic in his heart.

Coming from lowly beginnings, one inevitably gets their shoes muddied. No matter what you do, you seem like a clown; no matter what you do, you face criticism. Poverty strains a marriage to grief, and a fallen hero crawls beneath others.

But now, after several turns of fate, he had gained an air of composure.

Not many people came and went at Master Shuimo's machinery store, far fewer than at the blacksmith's shop, but as far as Song Cheng knew, this store made a tidy profit.

Weapons of the same caliber, once labeled as "mechanical," could triple in price or more.

And mechanical weapons were something that only a Form Realm Warrior could truly wield to their potential.

It was mostly the great families that would equip their top warriors with such items, with the idea that "even if they can't exhibit their full power, they still surpass ordinary weapons."

Or perhaps some young masters would have one made as a status symbol, to boast and show off.

But those were mostly "mechanical swords," "mechanical knives," commonly known as "Weapon Pills."

"Weapon Pill," as the name implies, is about the size of a pill, transforming into a weapon upon activation.

But...

Forging a "mechanical shield" was unheard of until then.

Shields are large and require more materials, naturally making them more expensive.

A typical "mechanical knife" might cost eight or nine hundred taels of silver, whereas this "mechanical shield" demanded a staggering one thousand four hundred taels!

Absolutely unbelievable...

Only because he was the son-in-law of Ruyi Commerce Chamber could he afford such a purchase.

Soon after, the thick curtain was lifted, and a muscular man poked his head out, saying, "The mechanical shield is ready."

With that, he saw the blind man outside, uncertain, then looked toward the little tea girl next to the blind man. Ling showed a smile and called out, "Master Tie, is it ready?"

Ignoring her, Master Tie grew even more doubtful and added, "Who will use it?"

Song Cheng responded, "I will."

Master Tie was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, "A blind man using a shield?"

His voice was tinged with laughter toward the end.

This matter would become the talk of the town in his machinery store, fodder for conversation for a long time.

A blind man with a shield—quite the rarity indeed!

Song Cheng replied, "Yes, I'll use it."

Master Tie couldn't help but burst into laughter and then said, "Then let me get it out for you, to save you from bumping around in here and accidentally hurting yourself."

Song Cheng was unfazed and waited. After a while, a wooden box was handed to him. He took it and then took out a metal pellet the size of a pigeon's egg from the box.

Master Tie instructed him on how to use it, and Song Cheng did as he was told.

He cut his fingertip and dripped blood onto the Weapon Pill.

The blood fell onto the surface of the Weapon Pill and was quickly absorbed like water into cotton.

"Place it on your forehead, close to the skin," Master Tie urged.

Song Cheng did exactly that.

A strange sensation of "Out-of-body Soul" emerged.

But instead of his soul leaving his body, it naturally extended a thread, connecting to the Weapon Pill that had been stained with his blood.

It was as if the Weapon Pill became an extension of his body.

Master Tie said, "Our machinery is operated with thoughts, give it a try."

Song Cheng removed his original shield, then with a thought, the Weapon Pill suddenly burst open, and a half-man-high green square shield appeared in front of him.

And the straps on the shield naturally wrapped around his left arm.

The youth moved his right hand and grasped the knife staff.

Jiao Mountain.

The shield is like a mountain, the knife like a jiao dragon.

Gang Qi spread along, instantly filling both weapons, a feeling far superior to the ordinary shield he carried on his back.

Song Cheng also glanced at his own data.

His strength had increased from the original "103~206" to "119~236".

This shield provided him with a 19-point increase... it was truly a case of "money is power".

"Thank you."

Song Cheng said, then with another thought, he retracted the "Mechanical Shield" and continued shopping with Ling.

Frankly, the "Mechanical Shield" had left him quite shocked.

At first, he thought it was the kind that "you press a certain mechanism and then the Weapon Pill goes click-click and transforms," but he never expected it to be this type of "blood-activated, soul-linked" Weapon Pill.

And feeling its weight, it was just a small steel ball.

This probably involved "space" again.

Song Cheng casually asked, "Ling, do you understand this mechanical Weapon Pill?"

"It must be some kind of magical metallic material, I guess," Ling replied nonsensically; she wouldn't know.

...

...

The two had planned their route for the day.

The Machinery Casting Room of Master Shuimo was their first stop, and the second stop was the Thousand Treasures Pavilion, in the northeast corner of the West Market.

As for "Thousand Treasures Pavilion", Ling said a lot about how expensive the items were. The martial artists from the An Family, including Shi Yi, would just stand outside and look, not even having the courage to walk in.

When mentioning "Shi Yi", Ling blanched and quickly covered her mouth.

Song Cheng was speechless.

He couldn't help thinking, could Ling with her status even dream of betraying Miss An?

It was downright fanciful...

After hearing a great deal from Ling, he also had an understanding of the "Thousand Treasures Pavilion".

It was basically a "high-end marketplace" for warriors, where one could expect to feel the shock of "walking into a shop on some floor while shopping before crossing over and discovering that the clothes sold inside cost a month's salary".

Not only that, to enter the "Thousand Treasures Pavilion" one had to pay an Entry Level fee of thirty taels of Silver.

Even if you bought nothing, this fee had to be paid.

However, An Chenyu was quite bold. She simply took out a silver note for Five Thousand Taels and let Song Cheng go to "Thousand Treasures Pavilion" to take a look and buy some necessary items.

Song Cheng had helped her greatly, and she had not forgotten what she ought to do in return.

Soon, the two of them stood in front of the pavilion.

The pavilion had three floors and the entrance had nine steps, making it so high off the ground that it almost gave off a feeling of looking down on the surroundings.

Ling paid sixty taels of Silver and entered. The stores inside did not actively come up to them, and gradually... Ling's nervousness eased a bit, and she began to read the names of the stores one by one to Song Cheng.

"Young Master, this one sells pills that can directly improve martial arts cultivation. The sign over there boasts 'Turning you from a weakling to reaching Power Realm Perfection in two months'."

Ling was astounded.

"Young Master, here... there's even a 'Gambling Arms Shop', the weapons inside some have rusted, others look normal, and some are sealed in boxes with only the type of weapon labelled... Who would buy these, it's insane," Ling said with disdain.

Song Cheng said, "Let's check out this shop first."

Ling: ???

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