Chapter 320: Meeting Divine Doctor Shen Again

The meal did not end until deep into the night.

The three blacksmith masters were already starving, but they were extremely satisfied.

Throughout the banquet, Wangchuan repeatedly raised his cup in toast, treating the three masters with great respect and heartfelt gratitude.

The successful entry into the 《Hundred Ingenious Thousand-Forging Technique》 meant that he could once again gain attributes from the blacksmith life profession. For someone like him—about to advance to Third-Rank yet lacking any channel to obtain Fourth-Rank martial arts manuals—this was truly like delivering charcoal in the middle of a snowstorm.

The three blacksmith masters were straightforward men. During casual conversation, they also spoke extensively about the affairs of the Weapon Room.

Each year, the Weapon Room produced a large number of ordinary weapons, Hundredfold Steel weapons, and Thousand-Forged Steel weapons personally crafted by the three of them.

Among these, arrows and ordinary weapons occupied fifty percent of the market within the territory of Sanhe Commandery, bringing enormous annual profit.

Including Hundredfold Steel weapons and Thousand-Forged Steel weapons, the yearly revenue reached around eight thousand taels of gold.

But that was not the key point.

The key point was that in the past two years, demand in the weapons market seemed to increase year by year, pushing annual revenue up to nine thousand taels of gold.

Wangchuan’s heart stirred.

He quickly deduced that this was likely connected to the arrival of players into Spirit Realm, which had expanded the demand for weapons.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Inspired by the three blacksmith masters, he quickly realized something:

As Spirit Realm gradually spread worldwide in the coming period, the potential of the weapons market would become enormous.

A massive number of players would continuously improve their strength, and every year they would consume vast quantities of weapons.

Yet the number of blacksmiths had barely increased.

As supply failed to meet demand, weapons would inevitably become more expensive.

The Weapon Room’s yearly income would likely grow at a geometric rate, producing an explosive surge of wealth.

…

Wangchuan felt a surge of excitement.

The shipping business of Caobang might not experience much growth.

But the Weapon Room’s business could very well become the greatest gold mine of the Sanhe Commandery hall. Its income might even exceed the combined profits of the four branch helms—or even surpass the total revenue of the Four Helms, Three Islands, and Seven Mines.

“Hall Master.”

“Let me toast you.”

“Do not worry. With the three old fellows here watching over the Weapon Room, we will certainly manage everything in perfect order. The accounts will be clear, and the shares handed over to Hall Master Lin and to you will only increase, never decrease!”

The three blacksmith masters were flushed from drinking, thumping their chests as they promised Wangchuan.

Wangchuan quickly clinked cups with them.

“The three masters have been in the Sanhe Commandery hall far longer than I have. You have earned the trust of several Hall Masters and remained in charge of the Weapon Room for so long. I would never dare question your character or loyalty… Come! Let us drink!”

Wangchuan raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.

Now that he realized the Weapon Room might produce enormous profits in the coming years, he found the three masters increasingly endearing.

In the future, these three would be nothing less than living Money Gods.

Wangchuan could not help but drink several more cups.

The alcohol began to take effect.

After the feast ended, he ordered Chen Ergou and Cui Mingjue to escort the three masters back to rest. Only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief.

When Chen Ergou and Zhao Heiniu returned, he said to them,

“You two worked hard today. But tonight we will still rotate the watch—one group guards the first half of the night, the other the second half.”

Zhao Heiniu volunteered.

“I will take the night watch. I am used to it back in Blackstone Village. During the day, Ergou can help Hall Master with more work.”

Zhao Heiniu was indeed better suited for night guard duty.

Chen Ergou, meanwhile, was more meticulous when handling the affairs of the hall.

Wangchuan agreed.

He then entered the room left behind by Hall Master Zhao Jinshan.

Inside the courtyard, four men stood guard through the night.

Outside the courtyard, Zhao Heiniu led a squad of men.

Beyond them were the hall’s own forces—over a hundred men on guard duty under Gao Quan’s command.

Wangchuan logged out to rest.

At the same time, he contacted Hong Kaibao to ask about the situation at the Sanjiang Branch Helm.

Hong Kaibao gave a brief report.

The branch helm’s shipping affairs were handled by Wang Yuehui, and everything was running normally.

Li Qing was watching over the dock plaza with his men.

As for Feizai, things remained the same as usual—he sent in around twenty to thirty taels of gold in profits each day, and the earnings had recently begun to recover steadily.

Wangchuan said to Hong Kaibao,

“I have now taken the position of Deputy Hall Master. For the foreseeable future, most of my energy will be focused on Sanhe Commandery. Ergou and Captain Zhao will also follow me here. For now, the Sanjiang Branch Helm will be managed by you and Wang Yuehui. If anything happens, have Chen Hong log out and call me immediately.”

“Yes! Senior Brother, do not worry. With Old Wang and me watching over things here, there will be no problem.”

Hong Kaibao was already a Second-Rank Martial Artist now.

Wangchuan nodded and said half-jokingly,

“Now that I control the Armory Manual Vault, I will request rewards for you later. Each of you will receive a Third-Rank martial art.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother!”

Hong Kaibao was instantly excited.

As a Deputy Branch Master, he did not have the authority to freely access Third-Rank martial arts manuals. So until now, he had only mastered three Third-Rank martial arts: Dragon Elephant Body Protection, Qingcheng Sword Technique, and Wudang Freehand Technique. Acquiring them had already cost him nearly all the money he had saved.

Now that Wangchuan controlled the Armory Manual Vault, it was tremendous news for him.

Seeing how eager he was, Wangchuan asked a few more questions and learned that Hong Kaibao had already reached bottlenecks in both Qingcheng Sword Technique and Wudang Freehand Technique, unable to gain further experience.

So Wangchuan said,

“In that case, come to the Prefectural Armory Manual Vault tomorrow morning. I will take you inside. Memorize every martial art inside and go back to analyze them. Determine how many obscure martial arts there are.”

“Yes!”

Hong Kaibao was overjoyed.

“Your subordinate will definitely arrive early tomorrow morning.”

Even without Third-Rank martial arts, cultivating obscure techniques would still be worthwhile. They could also stack attributes and help him break through to Third-Rank.

Wangchuan’s real intention was to have Hong Kaibao categorize all the martial arts manuals in the Armory Manual Vault for him.

Two birds with one stone.

Early the next morning, he inspected the Armory Manual Vault.

The vault had its own regulations that could not be changed.

However, as Deputy Hall Master, Wangchuan indeed had the authority to remain inside the vault for extended periods. Arranging for someone to examine the manuals was not something anyone would dare question.

After Hong Kaibao arrived,

Wangchuan gave instructions to the vault guards, then left to find Old Seven.

Old Seven happened to be receiving treatment from Divine Doctor Shen.

Beside them stood another old man—

the physician from Caobang’s medical hall who specialized in using poison to counter poison. His narrow eyes seemed capable of seeing through people’s hearts as he carefully observed Divine Doctor Shen’s medicine and techniques.

Divine Doctor Shen remained calm and composed, completely unaffected.

Seeing this, Wangchuan stood quietly to the side, waiting for Divine Doctor Shen to finish the consultation.

After quite a while, Divine Doctor Shen used golden needles to stimulate acupuncture points, treating Old Seven. He drew out a basin of poisoned blood and then fed him a medicinal pill before beginning to pack up his case.

“Old Seven’s poison has already been partially released. The Detoxification Pill can temporarily suppress the further spread of the poison. However… as this old man said before, this method treats the symptoms but not the root cause. It would be best to find someone who cultivates the Poison Sand Palm as soon as possible to extract the poison from Old Seven.”

After speaking, he cupped his fists.

“This old man will take his leave.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Divine Doctor Shen…” Old Seven said weakly. “Wangchuan, see the doctor off.”

“Yes.”

Wangchuan gestured respectfully.

“Senior Shen, this way, please.”