Supreme Martial Venerable: Starting with the White Ape Cloak Hammer skill point allocation

Chapter 101 The Battle of a Hundred Furnaces (Please Subscribe)

Several days later, Zhou Yuan had just finished upgrading the "Blazing Fire Soldier Technique" and the excruciating pain had not yet completely subsided when he heard a knock on the door.

Zhuo Changyu opened the door and a moment later brought in Cao Deli, the owner of Dewang Furnace.

"Why did Boss Cao come over today?"

Is there something wrong with the weapon I forged?

Zhou Yuan asked calmly while wiping his sweat.

He hasn't left his house these past few days, but he has already completed the orders delivered by Dewang Furnace.

The forged weapons were also personally delivered to the Dewang furnace by Zhuo Changyu.

Later, Zhuo Changying delivered another cartload of charcoal, but he didn't mention Hu Laosan at all. In fact, Zhuo Changying didn't even mention his relationship with Zhou Yuan to Dewang Lu.

Zhou Yuan had originally thought that if the Zhuo family tried to curry favor with him, he would immediately cut off their hopes. But now, he could maintain normal relations with Zhuo Changying.

"No, there's nothing wrong with the weapon. The customer is very satisfied. I trust your skills, Master Zhou."

Cao Deli's chubby face was full of smiles.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Ever since that Cao family member met with misfortune, the Cao family's Dewang Furnace brand is in jeopardy.

Seeing that the Cao family had lost power, all the blacksmiths who used to work in the shop went to climb the social ladder.

With great difficulty, Cao Deli managed to hire Zhou Yuan, an outsider who was skilled in weapon forging.

This was the only way to stabilize Dewang Furnace's business.

"I've come here today to discuss the 'Battle of a Hundred Furnaces' with you, Master Zhou."

Cao Deli said, his tone slightly ingratiating.

"A battle of a hundred furnaces?"

Zhou Yuan looked puzzled.

"This battle of a hundred furnaces is a unique feature of Jiangzhou Prefecture."

Master Zhou, as you know, our Jiangzhou Prefecture is backed by Shenbing Valley, and the city has the most blacksmith shops.

These blacksmith shops hold a competition every three years to determine market share.

Cao Deli said.

"Market share can be divided? Does this array of a hundred furnaces determine which company's weapons customers buy?"

Zhou Yuan asked with some doubt.

"That's impossible."

Cao Deli shook his head. "But all the blacksmith shops in Jiangzhou Prefecture get their iron from the same source. The Hundred Furnaces Battle is about dividing up that share."

To be honest, even a small shop like our Dewang Furnace could easily sell a few hundred weapons a year.

But even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice. Without iron, no matter how good your skills or how many customers you have, how many weapons can you buy?

After Cao Deli explained, Zhou Yuan suddenly understood.

Emotions control the market share of weapons in Jiangzhou Prefecture through raw materials.

Those who have more raw materials can forge more weapons and naturally sell more weapons.

The raw materials were all controlled by Shenbing Valley, and no one dared to secretly send iron materials into Jiangzhou Prefecture through other means.

The allocation of raw materials was determined through the "Battle of the Hundred Furnaces." The higher the ranking, the more raw materials one received, and the greater the corresponding benefits.

Zhou Yuan only needed to think for a moment to understand how intense the battle of the hundred furnaces was.

"Boss Cao, you want me to represent Dewang Furnace in the 'Battle of a Hundred Furnaces'?"

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and refused, saying, "I'm sorry, I still have to participate in this year's martial arts examination, so I'm afraid I won't have time to participate in the Hundred Furnace Battle."

"Master Zhou, the martial arts examination and the Hundred Furnaces Battle do not conflict in terms of timing."

Cao Deli said urgently, "Moreover, the Battle of the Hundred Furnaces is just a test of weapon forging skills, and there is no danger involved."

"If Master Zhou is willing to represent Dewang Furnaces in the Hundred Furnaces Battle, I am willing to offer him a thousand taels of silver as a tea fee."

As long as they participate in the Hundred Furnaces Battle, even if their ranking is poor, Dewang Furnace's reputation can be preserved.

Otherwise, Dewang Furnace would either have to close down or buy iron materials from other shops at high prices to make a living.

But what they bought at such high prices were just scraps from other shops.

"Feel sorry."

Zhou Yuan shook his head again.

"Boss Cao, is this Hundred Furnace Battle open to anyone? Or are there any conditions?"

If an outsider participates in the Hundred Furnaces Competition and wins a certain ranking, will they be able to open a furnace and start a business in Jiangzhou Prefecture?

Zhuo Changyu suddenly asked.

Cao Deli blinked his small eyes.

He didn't want to answer, but this wasn't a secret; he could find out by asking around.

"Yes."

His voice was a little hoarse as he asked, "Master Zhou, do you want to establish your own brand in Jiangzhou Prefecture?"

How could someone as shrewd as him not understand what Zhuo Changyu meant?

They have the skill of forging weapons; they don't necessarily have to rely on Dewang Furnace.

An average blacksmith may not be good at business, and even if he opens his own blacksmith shop, it is easy for it to go bankrupt.

But Zhou Yuan is different; he has a virtuous wife.

This Mrs. Zhou is exceptionally shrewd and very knowledgeable about business. If she were to open a blacksmith shop, the business would surely be successful.

"Master Zhou, Madam Zhou, it's not easy to establish a business in Jiangzhou Prefecture. Even if you participate in the Hundred Furnaces Battle independently and win a good ranking, where will you open your shop?"

Do you think you can get things done by bribing people in the city?

What would you do if a gang came to cause trouble?

Cao Deli said seriously, "I know that you are a martial arts scholar, and even a county-level scholar, but to put it bluntly, in Jiangzhou Prefecture, you can hit ten martial arts scholars by throwing a brick, two of whom are county-level scholars."

In the county town, a martial arts scholar naturally held some status, but in this prefecture, even the title of martial arts scholar couldn't intimidate the street gangs.

Although Cao Deli exaggerated a bit, what he said was also true.

Opening a shop, especially a blacksmith shop, in the state capital is not so easy.

"Even if we don't open our own shop, we can still resell the iron materials to other blacksmith shops after we get our share."

This is an incredibly profitable business.

Zhuo Changyu said.

"Mrs. Zhou, you're oversimplifying things."

Cao Deli shook his head and said, "Do you believe it or not, if you do this, you may win a place in the Hundred Furnaces Battle today, but you will be lying dead in the streets tomorrow?"

Although my Cao family has lost power, my Cao family members were once disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley, and some of my fellow disciples are still alive. Therefore, my Cao family can live up to the name of Dewang Furnace.

Go and take a look. Of all the shops in the city, which one doesn't have a connection to Shenbing Valley?

"That being said, we can also collaborate with other companies."

Zhuo Changyu's expression remained unchanged. "For such an important matter, Boss Cao only wants to spend one thousand taels of silver?"

Cao Deli gave a wry smile and began to explain.

Zhou Yuan leisurely sipped his tea, watching Zhuo Changyu and Cao Deli engage in a heated debate, haggling over the price.

Finally, Zhuo Changyu forced Cao Deli to agree to the condition that he give up 10% of the shares of Dewang Furnace and that Zhou Yuan represent Dewang Furnace in the Hundred Furnaces Battle.

A 10% stake in Dewang Furnace yields approximately 1,000 taels of silver in dividends annually.

One option is a one-time payment of one thousand taels of silver, and the other is an annual payment of one thousand taels of silver.

After seeing Cao Deli off, Zhou Yuan smiled and gave Zhuo Changyu a thumbs up.

With Zhuo Changyu around, it really saved him a lot of effort.

Even if he were to negotiate with that fat bastard Cao Deli, the outcome might not be any better than with Zhuo Changyu.

"Brother Yuan, Cao Deli wasn't lying. We don't have the background of Shenbing Valley, and there are many things we can't solve if we want to open our own blacksmith shop."

Therefore, unless you, Brother Yuan, join the Divine Weapon Valley, cooperating with Cao Deli is the best option at present.

Zhuo Changyu said.

Zhou Yuan nodded. "Changyu, you are truly my capable helper."

Zhuo Changyu's face instantly turned as red as an apple.

For several days in a row, Zhuo Changyu was busy running around, finding out all the details about the Battle of the Hundred Furnaces.

This "Battle of a Hundred Furnaces" is actually quite simple: each shop sends a weapon crafted by its master craftsman to participate.

The weapon-forging masters of Shenbing Valley reviewed the results and ranked them into four groups: 1, 2, 3, and 4.

"The blacksmith shops in Jiangzhou Prefecture are divided into five-star shops, four-star shops, and three-star shops."

Samsung stores have blacksmiths who can forge ordinary weapons.

Four-star shops require a blacksmith capable of forging powerful weapons to be present.

Five-star shops all have master blacksmiths who can forge spiritual weapons.

Dewang Furnace is only a three-star shop, so it only needs to participate in the ordinary soldier competition.

Zhuo Changyu said to Zhou Yuan, "Brother Yuan, you only need to forge a mortal weapon for Cao Deli before the fifteenth of next month, and the rest..."

We don't need to worry about that.

Zhou Yuan nodded. He was going to help Dewang Furnace forge weapons anyway, so forging a common weapon on the side wouldn't interfere with his martial arts training.

The only thing to be careful about is not to reveal the "Collection of Military Maneuvers".

If Zhou Yuan is more concerned about something else.

In Jiangzhou Prefecture, passing the martial arts exam can lead to success, and this battle of a hundred furnaces is also an opportunity.

Divine Weapon Valley not only recruits martial arts geniuses, but also weapon forging geniuses.

For ordinary people, there are two paths to join the Divine Weapon Valley.

One path is to pass the imperial martial arts examination; the other is to make a name for oneself in the Battle of the Hundred Furnaces.

Just like Zhou Yuan's university in his previous life, there were two paths: the college entrance examination and competitions.

As for things like being admitted to university based on artistic talent, those are outside the scope of ordinary people and need not be discussed.

Zhou Yuan knew that if he wanted to continue on the path of martial arts and eventually become a martial arts scholar, then joining the Divine Weapon Valley was a must.

Even if you pass the martial arts exam, it doesn't guarantee you'll be accepted into the Divine Weapon Valley; your innate talent and physical attributes also matter.

His physical constitution is extremely poor. Even after the reformation, he will only be a lower-middle-class student. Even if he passes the martial arts examination in the future, the chances of him being able to join the Divine Weapon Valley are not high.

Back then, Luo Boyan practically sentenced him to death.

"If one can stand out in the Battle of the Hundred Furnaces and become a disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley with his talent in weapon forging, then he will also have the opportunity to come into contact with superior martial arts."

"Some of the weapon forgers participating in the Hundred Furnaces Battle can even forge spirit weapons. Compared to them, I don't have any advantage."

Zhou Yuan was aware of his own situation. Although he had obtained a fragment of the "Collection of Military Skills," he had put more effort into martial arts, and his weapon-forging skills were only average.

"However, Divine Weapon Valley recruits weapon-forging geniuses, not just skilled weapon-forging practitioners. After all, no matter how superb one's weapon-forging skills are, can they surpass those of Divine Weapon Valley?"

Zhou Yuan thought to himself, "So I'm not trying to show off how strong my weapon-forging skills are, but rather to use a surprise tactic to let the judges see my talent for weapon forging."

The best solution is to forge an unprecedented ordinary weapon, one that isn't even mentioned in the "Collection of Military Axes"—

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment, and gradually came up with an idea.

In his previous life, he was a fan of cold weapons and was very familiar with some of them.

The stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade. Although the cold weapons in this world are stronger than those in the previous world, the cold weapons in the previous world also had some unique features.

"This is it. I don't know how powerful the weapon is, but among ordinary weapons, it should be unmatched."

Once Zhou Yuan made up his mind, he immediately got to work.

The deadline for submitting the weapons in the Hundred Furnaces Battle is fast approaching, and he must forge them as soon as possible.

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