In the quiet, scorching Forging Room, deep blue flames crackled as they burned, tempering chunks of Sturdy Stone.
The Advanced Whetstone, which normally had a low success rate when crafting, came easily from Shi Feng's hands. The entire process flowed like water, drawing applause and admiration—both the crafting speed and quality were astonishing.
While the repetitive work could quickly become tedious, the thought of selling each piece for the high price of seven Silver Coins made endless motivation pour forth in a steady stream.
In just three hours, Shi Feng had already produced one hundred and eighty pieces—a speed comparable to the efficiency of three or four Blacksmiths.
Moreover, without even realizing it, Shi Feng's level had recovered from Level 14 back to Level 15, his leveling speed far more efficient than grinding on ordinary monsters.
Shi Feng took a brief rest and checked his Forging proficiency—it was now at 1,253 points.
Advancing from Intermediate Forging Apprentice to Advanced Forging Apprentice required 3,000 points of proficiency, and between his previous accumulation and his recent gains, he had already made significant progress.
With just two or three more days of effort, he would quickly advance to Advanced Apprentice.
If any ordinary Life Skill player knew of Shi Feng's rate of improvement, they would likely be stunned speechless. After all, as things stood, the entire White River City didn't have a single Intermediate Forging Apprentice, let alone someone who could become an Advanced Forging Apprentice in two or three days.
Shi Feng's Forging improvement speed was on a completely monstrous level.
"At this rate, if I push hard, I can reach Advanced Apprentice in two days at most—just in time to learn the Advanced Mana Tome before the trading day, and I can pull in another big haul from Azure Rose." Shi Feng did a rough calculation in his head and couldn't help but feel a secret thrill.
Every mutually beneficial deal with Azure Rose earned him a substantial profit. If he made another killing this time, the studio's problems would be more or less solved. The next challenge would be recruiting a large number of core players to build up the framework.
To build a grand guild with over ten thousand members, you needed hundreds of mid-level staff just to manage it all. That was why Shi Feng decided to go all in and purchase an entire floor for the studio, saving himself from having to relocate later and preventing these issues from becoming bottlenecks to the guild's growth.
Beep beep beep…
"Hmm? Bai Qingxue?" Shi Feng heard the communication alert and discovered the call was from Bai Qingxue. She wasn't looking for Ye Feng but for Hei Yan. As it happened, he had business with Bai Qingxue as well.
Shi Feng had previously considered using the ID Hei Yan to establish the Life Skill guild Skyline Alliance, but had never had the opportunity.
Now the opportunity had arrived.
He was temporarily in charge of the Star Trace Trading Company, commanding prime storefronts across eight cities. Whether it was the materials Life Skill players needed, workspaces, or sales points for goods—everything was in place. By recruiting Life Skill players through the Star Trace Trading Company, this was the perfect opportunity to establish the Skyline Alliance. With Bai Qingxue's promotional reach, building a Life Skill guild like the Skyline Alliance would be almost effortless.
If he could further develop the Skyline Alliance, it would be like owning a massive gold mine. Whether it was funding for the guild's development or all manner of supplies, everything could be sourced from this Life Skill guild.
When that time came, the competitive guild Shi Feng was building would have no worries about failing to grow.
"Hei Yan, would you be interested in making a deal?" The cool and aloof Bai Qingxue dispensed with any pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"A deal? I wonder what kind of deal Miss Bai has in mind?" Shi Feng asked with some curiosity.
"I know the Star Trace Trading Company has something to do with you, so I'd like to purchase whetstones from you—Advanced Whetstones in particular. I'll pay in Credit Points; however many you have, I'll buy them all right now," Bai Qingxue said.
"So Miss Bai wants whetstones. That's simple enough, though I'm in more need of Gold Coins right now. If Miss Bai has plenty of Gold Coins, I can sell everything to her." Shi Feng didn't deny it, nor was he surprised that Bai Qingxue had figured out his connection to the Star Trace Trading Company.