NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 122: The Master Blacksmith
Led by Xiao Tie, Ling Yi and five others filed in, finding three desks inside along with three figures.
An elderly man sat with eyes closed in meditation, while two middle-aged men, each holding an item under study, were dressed in black robes—clearly the professionals here responsible for appraising the value of items.
Xiao Tie guided Ling Yi to the middle-aged man at the desk nearest the door, and said to Ling Yi, "Honored guest, this is our auction house's third appraiser..."
"Uncle Kui~," Xiao Tie addressed the third appraiser again, "Could you please appraise this guest's item and provide a valuation—"
"Oh?" Uncle Kui, the third appraiser, raised his head to glance at Xiao Tie, and then at Ling Yi and his group. Coincidentally, Ling Yi smiled and nodded in greeting, prompting Uncle Kui to put down the crystal disc in his hand and place it aside. He tapped his fingers on the desk and said, "Alright, please have the guest take out the item so I can take a look—"
"Ah Yin~," Ling Yi turned his head, looking past Qingqiu Xin, towards Long Yin, "Take it out."
"Sure thing, Yi Bro~," Long Yin promptly agreed, swiftly undoing the knot tied at his chest and removed the package from his back, handing it to Ling Yi.
Ling Yi received the package and placed it on the desk before him. Without any further ado, he opened it, revealing a set of clothing inside.
The garment was predominantly silver-gray, its dullness accentuated by the dark green wrapping cloth, making it appear rather unremarkable.
Ling Yi lifted the neatly folded garment and laid it flat on the desk, gesturing politely to the third appraiser seated across from him as if inviting him to examine it.
Seeing Ling Yi handle the garment so effortlessly, the third appraiser, who was initially intrigued by the garment's metallic sheen, adopted a calmer demeanor. He sat up straight, his expression neutral as he reached out to touch the vest-like clothing laid open before him.
Yet, the moment his fingers made contact with the garment, the third appraiser's expression changed dramatically. "This texture—?" he exclaimed.
To be a successful appraiser, one not only has to be well-informed and knowledgeable but also possesses keen sensory abilities.
Whether it's through sight, smell, or touch, appraisers must exhibit talents that surpass those of the average person.
Thus, with just a single touch, the third appraiser realized that the material of this vest was something extraordinary.
With a renewed interest sparkling in his eyes, he didn't continue to inspect the vest he had just put down. Instead, he grabbed a cloth from nearby to carefully wipe his hands before reaching for the vest again.
This time, the third appraiser grasped the shoulders of the vest and lifted it upward for a closer examination.
Unexpectedly, his movements paused as he glanced at Ling Yi, who still wore a faint smile. Without saying anything, the third appraiser applied a bit more force and finally lifted the vest, bringing it closer for inspection.
Next, the third appraiser stood up, pulled at the vest's fabric with considerable force, and then took a crystal, polished thin on both sides with a raised center. He bent over the table for a thorough look at the vest.
After examining it, he put down the crystal and picked up a gleaming dagger, maneuvering it over the vest with various techniques—stabbing, slashing at angles...
Already, his actions had caught the attention of the room's two other appraisers when he stood up to pull on the vest forcefully.
As soon as he picked up the dagger, a middle-aged appraiser looked like he wanted to say something, but the elderly appraiser raised a hand to stop him.
Hearing this, Ling Yi and the others nodded in understanding, following the third appraiser towards a door at the far end of the appraisal room.
The experienced appraiser and the middle-aged appraiser followed closely behind, as Xiao Tie turned around and walked out of the appraisal room.
Ling Yi and his group pushed the door open and entered. What met their eyes was a spacious room, approximately one hundred square meters in size. The walls were completely covered with steel plates, and in a corner near the entrance, various tools were stacked.
"Dear guests~" the third appraiser introduced to Ling Yi, "This is the weapon laboratory of our auction house, a place specifically for testing the power of weapons and the defense of armors~"
As he spoke, three figures entered from the doorway behind.
These three varied in height and size; their ages ranged significantly. The eldest appeared to be in his late twenties, while the youngest looked about seventeen or eighteen. Xiao Tie stood on the right. In the middle was a tall, burly young man with a dark face, and on the left was a slender, short-haired boy.
Following this, the third appraiser placed the metal inner armor onto a humanoid wooden stake. Xiao Tie and the other two took turns releasing their martial souls, each attacking the wooden stake clad in metal armor with their soul skills.
The short-haired boy, named Xu Yixiu, had a martial soul called the "White Quill Porcupine." A circle of white soul rings swirled at his feet as he unleashed a volley of needle-shaped spikes. Under his control, most of the attacks hit the metal armor, but unfortunately, they merely bounced off, leaving no marks.
However, by observing the deep-rooted spikes on the brown wooden stake, and a couple of embedded spikes on its back that didn't fall off, it was evident that even though this soul skill's attack power didn't reach a hundred years, it was undoubtedly among the best of those below the hundred-year level!
The short-haired youth, Xu Yixiu, returned without success. Following him was Xiao Tie, wielding a four-foot-long straight-backed saber. His demeanor, once innocuous, had now turned sharp and intense.
With a "clang," the second yellow soul ring beneath his feet flared brightly. Xiao Tie instantly covered a distance of three meters, gripping his saber with both hands, slashing it diagonally down onto the metallic inner armor on the wooden stake.
Unfortunately, aside from the stake tilting back by thirty degrees, he still couldn’t leave any mark on the metal armor.
Just as the black-faced youth, Wu Jinyuan, was about to step forward, summoning his "spiked hammer" martial spirit with one white and two yellow rings rhythmically pulsing around him, Jiang Yuan—who had been quietly observing—made his move.
Extending his right hand, his martial spirit "Iron Forged Gauntlet" materialized, surrounded by five rings of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black.
"Don’t waste your time," Jiang Yuan spoke flatly, cutting to the chase, "This inner armor can withstand the continuous assault of a fourth soul skill from a strong attack system soul master more than five times!"
As he spoke, the fourth purple ring from inside to outside lit up, and a crimson beam shot from Jiang Yuan’s hand, striking directly at the wooden stake and metallic inner armor positioned seven to eight meters away near the wall.
"Clang—! Hiss! Clang—!"
A sharp, metallic clang echoed through the air as the wooden stake's base was slammed against the steel-plated wall with immense force.
Finally, the overstrained metal inner armor collided with the steel, producing a crisp, ringing sound.
“……”
After his strike, Jiang Yuan withdrew his martial soul, saying nothing further. The laboratory fell into a momentary silence.
(End of Chapter)
