Loong Family Manor.
Within a spacious and luxurious room.
"What?! That Lin Feng said... he can even repair Spiritual Artifacts?!"
Loong Family Patriarch, Loong Xingtian, lowered the scroll in his hand, staring incredulously at Long Chengkong standing before him, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Long Chengkong nodded. "Yes. It's practically common knowledge throughout the city now. The news just came from the South City Free Bazaar. It shouldn't be wrong. They say Lin Feng announced it himself. Though he specified only Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, and that the client must provide the materials list."
"Even if only Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, that is something only a Fifth-Grade Artifact Master can accomplish!" Loong Xingtian exclaimed in awe. "That 'master' of Lin Feng's... we originally thought he was merely a Fourth-Grade Artifact Master. To think he is actually a Fifth-Grade Artifact Master! In that case, he must undoubtedly be a Golden Core cultivator! Unthinkable that such a formidable artifact master would suddenly appear in a place like ours..."
He pondered for a moment, then said to Long Chengkong, "This might be an unparalleled opportunity for our Loong Family to grow stronger! Chengkong, you must maintain good relations with that Lin Feng. If we can secure the help of his 'master', it would be an immense boon for our family! Didn't you say he agreed to attend the auction five days from now? You must host him properly, ensure there are no mistakes..."
Long Chengkong nodded. "Rest assured, Father. I find Lin Feng to be a decent person. I don't think we need to deliberately 'fawn over' or 'win him over'. Sincerely 'befriending' him should suffice."
Loong Xingtian looked satisfied. "Hmm, if you can truly become 'friends' with him, that would naturally be best..."
...
Li Family Manor.
Li Family Patriarch, Li Ziyao, was also listening to a subordinate's report at this very moment. However, unlike Loong Xingtian, his mood was utterly foul.
"A Fifth-Grade Artifact Master... There's actually a Fifth-Grade Artifact Master behind Lin Feng?!"
Li Ziyao's face was even slightly pale. A sense of helplessness involuntarily welled up within him. He didn't even know how to deal with Lin Feng anymore.
"False... It must be false!!"
Li Renyao, standing nearby, gnashed his teeth and spat out, "Lin Feng must be spouting nonsense, bluffing! Maybe he's afraid of our Li Family's retaliation, so he deliberately said this to make us think he truly has a Fifth-Grade Artifact Master backing him, deterring us from taking action... Yes, that must be it! Didn't the people we sent to watch him report? They saw no trace of this so-called 'master'! He was in his room the entire night last night, never left, and no one entered... This 'master' of his simply doesn't exist!"
"Doesn't exist? If he doesn't exist, then how do you explain how the over one hundred artifacts he accepted yesterday were all repaired? Do you think he did it alone?! Just because the watchers didn't see him... doesn't mean he isn't there!"
Li Ziyao glared at Li Renyao, his expression dark. He was fundamentally convinced that Lin Feng did indeed have a mysterious 'master'. The watchers outside not seeing him didn't prove his absence – they hadn't witnessed the inside of Lin Feng's room. If this 'master' were truly a Golden Core Grandmaster, entering and leaving Lin Feng's quarters undetected by surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators would be child's play.
Moreover, only this could explain how Lin Feng produced over a hundred repaired artifacts overnight. Li Ziyao, or anyone else for that matter, would not and could not believe that Lin Feng accomplished this feat alone.
"Is it really a Golden Core Grandmaster? Damn it..." Hatred churned within Li Ziyao. He muttered, "Is my Li Family's chance for ascendance going to be snatched away like this? No!! No matter what... I must find a way to reclaim those Spiritual Artifact fragments!"
...
Treasure Pavilion.
Sun Ronghan and Qi Minghe exchanged stunned glances after listening to a shop attendant's report, shock evident in their eyes.
"He can even repair Spiritual Artifacts... So, that means Lin Feng's 'master' isn't merely a Fourth-Grade Artifact Master, but a Fifth-Grade Artifact Master?"
Sun Ronghan finally spoke after a long silence, his voice laced with disbelief.
Qi Minghe also gasped in astonishment. "Since Lin Feng has made such a claim, it's unlikely to be false... A Fifth-Grade Artifact Master! It seems we underestimated his 'master' far too much..."
Sun Ronghan gave a bitter smile. "In truth, we should have guessed earlier... Although they didn't mention repairing Spiritual Artifacts before, when accepting commissions, they never even asked for repair materials for Top-Grade Spirit Treasures! That indicates he completely analyzes the artifact's composition himself. That's difficult even for a Fourth-Grade Artifact Master to do consistently. Furthermore, I suspect he is very likely an artifact master who possesses a strange fire..."
"Strange fire? What strange fire?!"
Just as Sun Ronghan uttered his thoughts, a voice abruptly sounded beside them, startling both men. They turned to see a white-haired old man with a youthful face and vigorous spirit standing beside them, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere.
Recognizing the man, Sun Ronghan and Qi Minghe were immediately taken aback, then quickly bowed respectfully. "Senior Lian..."
"Hmm." The old man surnamed Lian nodded slightly, then asked, "What were you discussing just now? Who possesses a strange fire?"
"This..."
Sun Ronghan and Qi Minghe exchanged a hesitant look. Then Sun Ronghan answered, "Reporting to Senior Lian, the matter is like this..."
...
...
Afternoon, South City, Lai Yue Inn.
Lin Feng sat cross-legged alone on his bed, meticulously sorting through the artifacts within several spatial rings.
His 'business' that morning had been several times more explosive than the day before, far exceeding his initial expectations. The volume of 'orders' he received this time also left him extremely satisfied.
Although the news of his ability to repair Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts had spread, he hadn't actually received any Spiritual Artifact commissions yet. However, compared to yesterday, the number of commissioned artifacts had more than doubled, and the number of high-grade artifacts was remarkably high.
After carefully counting every artifact and recording the materials needed for their repair, Lin Feng arrived at the final tally: this time, he had received commissions for three hundred and ninety-five artifacts. Among these were an astonishing twenty-two Top-Grade Spirit Treasures, seventy-five High-Grade Spirit Treasures, one hundred and three Mid-Grade Spirit Treasures, eighty Low-Grade Spirit Treasures, and one hundred and fifteen Magical Artifacts.
Running a rough estimate on such a vast quantity, Lin Feng calculated that the repair fees alone would amount to six or seven hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones!!
And that was just the repair costs. The intrinsic value of these artifacts combined was likely at least two or three million low-grade spirit stones!
—For a fleeting moment, the thought of absconding with this entire batch of artifacts crossed Lin Feng's mind...
...
After finishing the inventory, Lin Feng organized the list of required repair materials he had recorded. He crossed off some materials he already possessed and compiled a new list, intending to give it to Zhang Fangzhou for purchasing at the Treasure Pavilion.
Faced with such a massive influx of 'orders', Lin Feng was brimming with motivation. Having no intention of idling away the afternoon, he decided to immediately begin repairs using the materials he had on hand...
The better part of the afternoon passed in this manner. When Lin Feng had exhausted his true essence once and finished meditating to restore it, he realized dusk was approaching.
He decided not to continue repairing and rose from the bed, intending to call Zhang Fangzhou and the others to go out for dinner.
"Huh? Boss, you're out?!"
Lin Feng had just reached the top of the stairs after leaving his room when he unexpectedly encountered Zhang Fangzhou coming up. Seeing him, Zhang Fangzhou's face lit up with relief, and he quickly hurried over.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Lin Feng asked, noticing Zhang Fangzhou's slightly odd expression.
"Big Brother, someone is here to see you..." Zhang Fangzhou whispered, his voice tense. "Actually, quite a few people came looking for you this afternoon. I followed your instructions and told them you were busy and couldn't receive guests, so I sent them away. But... just now, someone arrived demanding to see you. I... I didn't dare refuse..."
As he spoke, Zhang Fangzhou nervously glanced back down the stairs, a flicker of genuine fear in his eyes.
"Oh?" Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
Zhang Fangzhou swallowed hard, his voice dropping even lower. "Because... the visitor seems to be a Golden Core cultivator!!"