Chapter Twenty-Five: Master Lu

Browsing the forum while running errands in Eastern Capital, time passed swiftly, and soon Zhang Shan was nearing his destination, the Great Zhou Workshop.

Suddenly, he noticed chaos in the team channel. What was going on? Weren’t they all grinding monsters for experience? He called out to Lone Rider to ask about the situation.

“What are you guys doing? Are you fighting someone?”

“Yeah, those trash from the Heaven and Earth Guild ambushed us while we were grinding. They’ve got more than two hundred people now. A lot of our team got sent back to town, myself included. Frustrating—I dropped back to level ten.”

“What did World’s Leader say?”

“What else could he say? They’re stomping all over us, there’s no point leveling—of course we’re fighting back. By the way, why aren’t you back yet? What are you still doing in Eastern Capital? How’s your quest going?”

“Don’t mention it—I’m still running. Can’t use teleport in Eastern Capital, and the map’s huge. I’m almost at the quest NPC now.”

“Hurry up, finish it and come back for the fight.”

“Got it, I’ll be quick.”

After ending the call, Zhang Shan was speechless. So, the fighting had begun. He’d expected it, and he was sure World’s Leader and the others had prepared themselves too. After all, old rivals gathered in one city—how could they not clash? He just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon; aside from the first day in the newbie village, this was only day two. Impatient, indeed.

But Zhang Shan wasn’t worried. Back when Storm Guild was small, they’d toppled Heaven and Earth Guild. Now, they were more than a match, though the guild hadn’t officially formed in-game yet, making it hard to recruit new members. It was simply a numbers disadvantage.

Of course, even if it was inconvenient, they could still recruit if they wanted—communication and guild benefits would just be tricky to manage. If the big shots were willing to spend, these problems vanished. If not recruiting, they could simply hire, or offer bounties against their enemies. There were plenty of ways, as long as they were willing to pay.

Lost in thought, Zhang Shan arrived at the Great Zhou Workshop. In a nondescript courtyard, he found the legendary engineering master, Master Lu, who had a question mark floating above his head, indicating he was ready for dialogue.

“Hello, Master Lu, I have a question I’d like your help with.”

“Greetings, young hunter. What do you need from me?”

Zhang Shan took out the strange tube and handed it to Master Lu.

“Master, could you check this item and tell me what it’s for?”

Master Lu took the tube and examined it carefully, his expression turning to astonishment. “Remarkable! I never expected such an artifact to survive through the ages. Truly the work of the gods. What a pity it’s so badly damaged—repairing it won’t be easy.”

Zhang Shan had no interest in Master Lu’s musings, but when he heard the tube was a divine artifact, he became excited.

How could he not be excited? Anything crafted by gods was bound to be extraordinary. They were on par with demon gods—at least, they were currently the highest tier in the New World. He had to find a way to persuade Master Lu to repair it.

This thing was a tube—could it be a gun barrel? If it turned out to be a weapon of legendary caliber...

Zhang Shan, caught up in his daydreams, hurriedly asked, “Master, you said this tube is an ancient relic, the work of the gods. What was it originally used for?”

“Oh, young man, in my excitement I forgot to explain. This tube is a divine artifact made by the ancient Titan deities. It’s a firearm, recorded in history books. It once possessed incredible power and fame, but sadly, it’s now broken.”

Zhang Shan didn’t bother questioning what the Titan deities were. Hearing it was a divine artifact—and a firearm—was enough.

“Master, can you repair it?” Zhang Shan asked, his heart pounding.

“Divine artifacts are unlike ordinary items—mortals cannot create them. However, repairing them is possible. The main components are intact, so I can attempt a restoration,” the legendary master said confidently.

Hearing there was hope, Zhang Shan was delighted. He carefully asked, “Master, if I commission you to repair this artifact, what payment do you require?”

“To repair a divine artifact is an honor in itself; I need no reward. However, there’s a difficulty—the artifact has been damaged for ages, its divine essence completely lost. To rekindle its power, I need materials imbued with divinity. Such materials are rare; I haven’t heard of any appearing for years.”

Zhang Shan’s heart sank. Materials imbued with divinity? That sounded prestigious and impossible to find. Even if someone had it, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.

Wait—wasn’t there that mysterious metallic substance he looted from the boss today? It was labeled “mysterious,” just like the tube. Could this be the material with divine essence?

It was worth asking. If not, who knew when he’d ever be able to repair the tube.

Zhang Shan pulled the mysterious metallic substance from his backpack and handed it to Master Lu, asking hopefully, “Master, do you think this will work?”

“Oh, what luck! To find such a thing—clearly the gods favor you. With this, I’m confident I can restore the artifact and bring back its ancient brilliance.”

“Please, Master, repair it for me,” Zhang Shan said, thrilled. A divine artifact—if restored, he’d be the first in the New World to own one. Just thinking about it made him excited.

“Very well, young man. I will begin preparations. Could you go to the material merchant in the west of the city and purchase some supplies? Repairing a divine artifact requires other auxiliary materials.”

With that, Master Lu handed Zhang Shan a list of materials—a jumble of dozens of items. They ranged from ordinary wood and iron ore to expensive purple and orange materials, and even a red one.

Seeing the list, Zhang Shan felt exhausted. Setting aside whether the western merchant had them, just the color grades suggested he couldn’t afford them—he only had a dozen gold coins.

Maybe he could trade blue coins for gold at the exchange? He’d sold his cloak to Wind Chime earlier for five hundred thousand blue coins, plus two hundred thousand from before. He could probably get a decent amount of gold.

Zhang Shan hesitated; he played games to make money, yet now he’d have to spend his newly earned coins. It went against his original intention.

But divine artifacts were rare opportunities—miss it once, and he might never get another chance.

Forget it—fortune comes and goes. If he can earn it now, he can earn it again later. He’d ask how much gold was needed; if seventy thousand blue coins weren’t enough, he’d just return to Anyang City and give up.

“Master, I’m new to Eastern Capital and don’t have much gold. How much will these materials cost?”

“These aren’t too rare—less than a hundred thousand gold coins in total. Go to the western merchant named Fat Liu, and tell him I sent you. He’ll give you a discount.”

“Thank you, Master. I’ll be off then.”

Zhang Shan checked the city map. The exchange was in the center, next to the teleportation hall—which meant he’d have to run back there. And the material merchant was in the west, even farther away.

The Great Zhou Workshop was in the east, the exchange in the center, and the material merchant in the west. After buying, he’d have to return. That would take three to four hours, not counting other delays. It was enough to wear out anyone’s legs. The cursed game mechanics—why did Eastern Capital not allow teleportation, and why were there level restrictions?

He sighed and set off—he’d probably miss dinner tonight. If he logged off and the quest was interrupted, Master Lu might ignore him forever. But for the sake of a divine artifact, skipping a meal was nothing.

As Zhang Shan trudged through the city, Lone Rider called out, “Why aren’t you done yet? What kind of quest is it?”

“Divine artifact restoration quest.”

...

“Restoration? Does that mean you’ll get a divine artifact when you finish? That can’t be. Isn’t red gear the highest tier? Is that what a divine artifact is?”

“I don’t know. I’ll find out when I get it. I’m still running around. Master Lu sent me to buy materials. Can’t teleport in Eastern Capital—gotta run from east to west and back. That’s at least three or four hours. Who knows if there’ll be more steps after.”

“Alright, take your time. I’m off to fight.”

“How’s your situation? Can you win?”

“Heh, we couldn’t at first, but World’s Leader put out a bounty in Anyang City—one thousand gold coins for killing a Heaven and Earth Guild core member, with video proof. Now everyone’s chasing them down. They’re afraid to leave the city after getting sent back. There are players guarding all four gates.”

“World’s Leader is awesome! You said he wasn’t bold—what could be bolder than crushing them with money?”

“Well, Heaven and Earth Guild was shameless. We were all leveling together, and they ambushed us, even managed to kill World’s Leader once. If we don’t retaliate, how can we maintain our spot as one of the top ten guilds?”

“Everyone’s ruthless.”

“Of course. World’s Leader has declared a three-day bounty, and from now on, Heaven and Earth Guild is under unlimited attack. Kill on sight until they withdraw from Anyang City. There are even players teleporting in from two other Chu cities. One thousand gold per kill is tempting. I’m just worried Heaven and Earth’s two hundred members won’t be enough to go around, ha ha.”

“Alright, you go fight. I’ve got to keep running—I’ll probably be at it till bedtime tonight.”

Zhang Shan continued his trek. First, he went to the exchange to convert blue coins to gold. Perhaps due to World’s Leader’s bounty, gold prices had risen; earlier, the exchange rate was less than five to one, now it was nearly six to one. Frustrated, Zhang Shan spent about six hundred thousand blue coins to get a hundred thousand gold. It was painful.

With the gold, he ran to the west and found Fat Liu, the material merchant. Master Lu’s reputation was indeed impressive; upon hearing Zhang Shan was sent by Master Lu, Fat Liu gave him a twenty percent discount. All the materials totaled just over seventy thousand gold, saving him nearly twenty thousand—an unexpected bonus.

By the time Zhang Shan ran back to the Great Zhou Workshop, it was nearly nine at night. He’d spent the entire day running around Eastern Capital, enough to make anyone spit blood. He could only hope Master Lu was up to the task and would restore the divine artifact with powerful stats.