Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The long table in the center of the hall was filled with all sorts of objects.

The blacksmith girl cleared her throat, stood up, and placed an antique-looking dagger on the table.

"A self-defense dagger forged from high-quality steel, with tiny, tough runes engraved on the handle, making it difficult to break. Price: 5 pounds."

She called out loudly, her eyes scanning the crowd expectantly.

However, the hall was completely silent.

Everyone just glanced at it and then looked away.

She had taken out this dagger at the last afternoon tea party, and it was priced at five pounds.

For ordinary people, five pounds is too expensive to buy a weapon for self-defense; while for extraordinary individuals, such conventional weapons, which can only deal with low-level beasts, seem too useless and cannot break through the defenses of even slightly stronger alien species.

Clearly, it hasn't sold yet.

This time, still no one was willing to pay.

The blacksmith sighed, somewhat discouraged, and prepared to put the dagger back into her bag.

Just then, a calm voice came from the corner.

"Miss, are you a blacksmith?"

The blacksmith paused in her work, looked up, and gazed at Xilun, who was sitting by the window.

She looked Xilun over carefully, and seeing his serious expression, she nodded slightly.

"I am."

Xilun stood up and walked to the long table.

"I have the materials for an extraordinary relic. I would like to ask if it is possible to craft it into a suitable item?"

Upon hearing the words "extraordinary relics," the group, who had initially shown little interest, began to cast curious glances at each other.

Xilun reached inside his trench coat and pulled out a thick, coarse cloth bag.

He untied the ropes and pulled out a neatly folded leather item.

As Xilun slowly unfolded it on the table, a faint smell of the sea wafted out.

This is a complete piece of leather, about two square meters in size, with a grayish-white surface, extremely tough texture, and a faint, cold metallic luster.

Everyone present craned their necks, staring intently at the material.

After a moment, the tall, thin man wearing a monocle tentatively spoke:

"What kind of marine creature's skin is this? Judging from the texture and feel, it looks like shark skin?"

Xilun nodded slightly, readily admitting it.

"It's the skin of a great white shark."

Upon hearing this, a soft gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

The man looked at Xilun in surprise:

"White shark? In the sea, adult white sharks are quite powerful, definitely considered ferocious among low-level alien species."

Moreover, sharks often hunt in groups, making them extremely difficult to hunt alone.

A hint of awe crept into his gaze as he looked at Xilun.

The mid-level knight also came over, reaching out to touch the edge of the leather, feeling its rough yet indestructible texture, and praised it without reservation:

"Very good sharkskin, extremely intact, almost no damage."

He adjusted his glasses and offered his advice:

"This thing is waterproof and tough, and can be made into a life jacket specifically for deep-sea divers."

Whether it's warmth or protection, it's absolutely top-notch.

The blacksmith girl ignored the comments from the others.

As a professional foundry worker, her eyes gleamed with the excitement of a hunter.

She picked up the magnifying glass on the table and carefully observed the surface texture of the sharkskin, even pressing it hard with her fingers a few times to test its elasticity and toughness.

After a moment, she put down the magnifying glass and nodded in satisfaction.

"It is indeed a material of extremely high quality. It still retains a faint trace of extraordinary properties."

She looked up at Xilun, her tone becoming professional and efficient: "What do you plan to make with it? I will charge based on the difficulty of processing and the consumption of auxiliary materials."

Xilun pondered for a moment.

He is about to face a python hunt at night, and a junior knight fighting tournament a few months later. What he needs is protective gear to save his life.

"If possible, it would be best to make it into a close-fitting soft armor," Siren said.

Upon hearing this, the blacksmith's daughter frowned slightly.

She hesitated for a moment, then tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

"This skin was shed from a different species and has been tanned, so it can only be worn by normal people."

If you absolutely must make it into soft armor, that's not impossible.

At this point, she raised her head, looked directly into Xilun's eyes, and spoke in a serious tone.

"However, from a professional point of view, I think it is very inappropriate."

Xilun was taken aback. "Why?"

The blacksmith pointed to the surface of the sharkskin and patiently explained:

"That's right. The surface structure of shark skin is not ordinary smooth leather, but a special scutes structure."

"If you look closely, these tiny bumps are arranged densely, just like teeth."

This structure makes its skin extremely smooth in water, and also makes it wear-resistant and cut-resistant.

She shook her head, rejecting the soft armor proposal.

"If it were used to make close-fitting inner armor, not to mention that the shield-scale structure makes processing and stitching extremely difficult."

Most fatally, it brings a serious problem—it gets extremely hot.

Noticing Xilun's somewhat puzzled expression, she explained further:

"Shark skin itself has an extremely strong heat-locking ability, and the soft armor made from it is airtight."

Wearing it for extended periods prevents body heat from dissipating, making you feel like you're in an oven.

"If it's summer, or during intense combat when you sweat, the sweat trapped inside can even lead to large-scale skin ulceration and serious illness."

Upon hearing this, Xilun felt a chill run down his spine.

His cultivation technique, the Giant Whale Guiding Technique, already made his blood and qi extremely violent, resulting in an extremely high body temperature during battle. If he were to wear this thing, he would probably suffocate before he was even killed.

"Since it's so serious," Siren asked humbly, "do you have any good suggestions?"

The blacksmith girl stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"Generally speaking, we use this hard and wear-resistant material to make the outer skin of shields, or to reinforce the outer layer of arm armor to block blunt weapons and sharp blades."

She looked Xiren up and down, seemingly assessing his fighting style.

Xilun thought for a moment.

The shield was too bulky and unsuitable for his sweeping, powerful gunplay; the arm armor was decent, but it seemed a waste of such a large piece of good leather.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he turned around and grabbed the bulletproof black umbrella that was leaning against the corner of the wall.

He opened the black umbrella with a "bang" and held it up in front of the blacksmith girl.

"Look, how about this one?"

The blacksmith's daughter was taken aback, and reached out to take the black umbrella.

She carefully examined the structure of the umbrella ribs and the material of the canopy, then tapped the canopy with her fingers, producing a dull sound.

"The umbrella is made of good material; the ribs are made of high-strength alloy, and the canopy seems to be mixed with some kind of bulletproof fiber," the blacksmith commented.

Xilun nodded: "Yes, this umbrella has some bulletproof properties and is my usual self-defense weapon."

He pointed to the sharkskin on the table.

"What if we cut this piece of sharkskin, wrapped it around the umbrella surface, and then re-sewed it in place? What would the result be?"

The blacksmith's eyes lit up, and she continued to examine the black umbrella, quickly simulating the modification process in her mind.

She analyzed thoughtfully, "That's a brilliant idea!"

"The umbrella's original bulletproof properties, combined with the sharkskin-like shield-like structure, will result in a qualitative leap in its defensive capabilities."

"It can effectively buffer against the fire of large-caliber muskets, and it also has a strong resistance against the slashing of swords and other weapons."

Even the rough surface of sharkskin can trap enemy weapons.

The blacksmith girl became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she were witnessing the birth of a masterpiece.

"If you intend to use it for umbrella lining, the processing is very simple."

Simply cut it into a suitable fan shape and sew it onto the existing frame using specially made, extraordinary alloy thread.

She gestured to indicate the area of ​​the sharkskin.

"Moreover, after the umbrella surface is finished, there will still be a small portion of this leather left over."

She offered highly professional advice: "I suggest you sew the leftover scraps onto the forearm area of ​​your usual trench coat or combat uniform."

"This way, if you encounter a sudden attack and don't have time to open your umbrella, you can raise your hands and cross them to resist."

Using the sharkskin on his forearm, he managed to block a fatal attack from the enemy.

Upon hearing this, a hint of admiration flashed in Xilun's eyes.

This solution perfectly met his needs.

He nodded slightly and decisively said, "That's perfect, let's do it your way."

The blacksmith's daughter smiled with satisfaction; this was quite a deal.

"Then, after the party ends, let's find a quiet place to discuss the processing fees and pickup time in detail."

Xilun thought for a moment, then looked at the blacksmith girl and asked earnestly:

"Miss Blacksmith, do you accept custom-made weapons?"

The blacksmith girl was taken aback, but then her smile blossomed like a flower, and she nodded repeatedly.

"I'll take it! Of course I'll take it! As long as you can afford the price, even if you want to slay a dragon, I can forge a dragon-slaying weapon for you!"

Xiren lost interest in the rest of the party.

The ancient parchment, incomplete potion recipes, or even the strangely imbued bones brought out by the extraordinary individuals in the hall might be priceless in the eyes of occult scholars, but they were of no use to Xiren, who was about to face a life-or-death battle.

He is now more interested in the extent to which he can build his weapons.

The nine-meter-long python, its body wreathed in faint electric arcs, weighed heavily on my heart like a mountain.

Without a suitable weapon, it's really difficult to fight against monsters of that level by hand-to-hand combat.

Finally, the old-fashioned grandfather clock on the wall chimed.

The party came to an end.

Everyone put on masks and hoods, and in a tacit agreement, they staggered their departure times and left the mansion one after another through different secret doors.

Xilun followed the blacksmith girl out of the back alley.

The sky outside was already somewhat overcast, with thick clouds piling up over the lower city, and a heavy, damp atmosphere filled the air, suggesting an impending downpour.

"Where are you taking me?" Xiren lowered the brim of his hat, his eyes scanning the surrounding streets warily.

The blacksmith girl tightened her braid at the back of her head and casually unbuttoned the two brass buttons on her collar.

Spending a long time in the stuffy mansion caused a fine layer of sweat to seep onto her fair neck, making it feel somewhat hot and stuffy.

"Go to my worktable."

She led the way without looking back, her steps light and quick. "It's very close, just around the corner on that street."

The two walked a few steps along the uneven stone path and soon turned into a narrow house sandwiched between two tall buildings.

She took out a brass key, opened the somewhat old oak door, and turned to Siren, saying:

"Come in, the house is a bit messy, please don't mind."

Xilun paused slightly, peering through the half-open door crack.

In the cramped living room, leftover lunch boxes, oil-stained clothes, hammers of various sizes, and metal utensils reeking of machine oil were scattered haphazardly.

Even finding a place to stay requires careful selection.

She was clearly too lazy to clean up the mess, so she went straight to the corner of the living room and opened a heavy iron cabinet door leading to the basement.

"Would you like to take a look around?"

She stood before the steps leading underground, her eyes gleaming with the fervor of a craftsman. "I'm more inspired at the workbench, and I feel more grounded when doing business there."

Xilun pursed his lips, said nothing more, and followed her down the steps.

The basement was quiet and secluded from all the noise of the outside streets.

As the blacksmith lady pulled the switch on the wall, the dim light instantly illuminated the dark space.

To Siren's surprise, the basement was extremely spacious. The walls were neatly covered with forging tools of all sizes, from delicate carving knives to heavy iron hammers.

On the left and right sides stood a dozen sturdy wooden weapon racks, displaying various items such as knives, swords, axes, and shields, which gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the light.

As for the huge workbench in the center, it was scattered with all sorts of complicated measuring tools, drawings and cutting tools.

"Just take a look. These are all weapons I made to practice during my apprenticeship. They're not worth much."

She made a casual introduction, then sat down at the table and poured two cups of hot tea from the iron kettle next to her.

Xilun took the teacup, took a sip of the warm tea to moisten his slightly dry throat, and got straight to the point.

"What do we do next?"

The blacksmith smiled and pulled a thick booklet and a fountain pen from the drawer.

"It's very simple. The first commission is to process your piece of sharkskin onto the umbrella surface, and then cut a little bit and sew it onto the arm armor."

This doesn't require a furnace; I only charge a labor fee, about 2 to 5 pounds, and it can be done in half an hour.

She turned to a blank page in the booklet and looked up at Xilun.

"We'll mainly talk about your custom-made weapons." She started taking notes on a piece of paper. "What types of weapons?"

"A gun," Siron answered without hesitation.

"length?"

"About 2.4 meters."

"Describe its characteristics." The blacksmith paused, waiting for Xilun to continue.

Xilun thought for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

He recalled the imposing presence of Mentor Lund's crimson spear in his mind, but he also knew that his current blood and energy were simply not capable of controlling such an extraordinary weapon.

The blacksmith girl looked up at him, then put down her pen.

"It seems you haven't made up your mind yet." She pondered for a moment, then stood up. "During my junior foundry stage, I created some of my proudest collectibles."

There are three firearms among them. You can take a look and get a feel for them before you speak.

She walked to the weapon rack at the far left and reached out to rip off the dust cover.

Xilun's gaze immediately swept over.

Three long spears, each with a different design, were neatly laid out horizontally on the shelf.