Martial Peak
chapter-5077

Zha Gu told Yang Kai that they would charge 10,000 Black Ink Coins for every artifact, which was a hefty price in the latter’s opinion; however, Zha Gu directly doubled the price in front of these Feudal Lords.

His intentions were obvious; otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried so hard to make it happen. He naturally wasn’t willing to do anything that wouldn’t bring him any benefits.

This way, for every artifact that was crafted, he only had to give Yang Kai 7,000 Black Ink Coins according to their agreement. On the other hand, he would be able to pocket 13,000 Black Ink Coins. He would earn more than Yang Kai, who was the one actually making the artifacts.

He already realised that it was a great business opportunity when Yang Kai made the artifacts for him. As a Feudal Lord, he naturally yearned for his own territory; however, that would require a lot of Black Ink Coins. Although he had taken part in countless life-and-death fights on the battlefield before, he still hadn’t accumulated enough wealth. If he could make good use of this opportunity, his dream would come true.

A Feudal Lord with his own territory was totally different from those that had no territories.

The boisterous Feudal Lords in the Grand Hall were furious at the fact that Zha Gu demanded such an unbearably high price, but an unfazed Zha Gu shuffled towards his own seat and said calmly, “Each of you is only allowed to get one artifact.”

Upon hearing that, all of them fell silent.

A Feudal Lord frowned, “What do you mean by that, Zha Gu?”

Zha Gu replied with a smile, “Just as I said.”

The Feudal Lords exchanged glances as they had no idea why Zha Gu came up with such a restriction. Every artifact would earn him 20,000 Black Ink Coins, so he should be more than happy to get more orders for making more artifacts. Why would he limit how much he could earn?

Zha Gu swept a glance over them with a solemn expression, “Do all of you think he can keep on making artifacts for you forever?”

The Feudal Lord with wings on his back thought of something as his expression changed, “You mean…” He then pointed towards the ceiling.

Zha Gu nodded gently, “More than 10 years ago, the Royal Lord suddenly summoned all the Human Artifact Refiners to the Royal City. All the Black Ink Disciples who know anything about Artifact Refining have been gathered up. I’m sure you’re aware that I used to have a Black Ink Disciple who was an Artifact Refiner, though he was not very skilful. Despite his lack of aptitude, even he was summoned. We have all heard rumours about what is going on in the Royal City, that it is a project that will secure the Black Ink Clan’s future, so not even the slightest negligence is allowed. Black Ink Disciples who know a little about Artifact Refining have all been summoned, so how could Yang Kai, who is an expert in Artifact Refining, be exempted? The reason he’s still free now is that the news hasn’t spread. Moreover, Sir Territory Lord is still recuperating. If my speculation is correct, when Sir Territory Lord is done recovering and finds out that Yang Kai is an Artifact Refiner, he will send him to the Royal City to take part in that project. When that time comes, no one will be able to help you make artifacts no matter how many Black Ink Coins you have.”

Everything he had said was reasonable and well-known, so the Feudal Lords nodded in agreement.

Upon realising the situation they were faced with, those who were not willing to pay 20,000 Black Ink Coins were caught in a dilemma.

If Yang Kai was sent to the Royal City, there would no longer be an Artifact Refiner who could make artifacts for them.

Just then, a Feudal Lord asked, “Zha Gu, how long does it take for him to make an artifact.”

“About two to three months,” Zha Gu replied and swept a glance over them, “There are more than 10 of you here; in other words, we can ensure that every one of you will get an artifact before Sir Territory Lord is done recuperating. That’s why I’ve come up with this restriction. Certainly, no one knows for sure when Sir Territory Lord will leave the Black Ink Nest. If he comes out sooner than expected, some of you might not get your artifacts.”

Upon hearing that, an impetuous Feudal Lord shouted, “I’ll pay 20,000 then! I want an artifact!”

Following that, another Feudal Lord said, “I’ll buy one as well.”

In an instant, the Feudal Lords in the Grand Hall scrambled to place an order. Zha Gu slowly dealt with them with a smile.

After everything was settled, he told these Feudal Lords to start preparing materials and Black Ink Coins; then, he personally saw them off.

He was pleased to see them leaving in a hurry.

Barely two hours later, a Feudal Lord returned and brought with him sufficient materials and 20,000 Black Ink Coins. After taking the materials and Black Ink Coins, Zha Gu headed to the cave and told Yang Kai about the Feudal Lord’s size and requests.

Yang Kai memorised them, and after Zha Gu left, he started making the artifact.

Over the following days, Yang Kai stayed in the cave and focused on refining artifacts. He didn’t have to worry about cultivation resources as Zha Gu would prepare everything for him. He just had to craft the artifacts according to the Feudal Lords’ demands.

For every artifact made, Zha Gu would give him 7,000 Black Ink Coins.

As Yang Kai refined artifacts day after day, his skills in Artifact Refining improved rapidly.

At first, it took him two months to make an Artifact Armour for Zha Gu, but two years later, it would only take him 45 days to create such an artifact, and its quality would be higher as well.

However, he had only been making huge offensive artifacts. No one ordered an Artifact Armour. It seemed that Black Ink Clansmen were fond of offensive artifacts but not interested in Artifact Armours that could potentially save their lives.

Over the past two years, Yang Kai managed to craft about 20 artifacts.

As time passed, more and more Feudal Lords found out about Yang Kai’s ability to refine artifacts through word of mouth. An increasing number of Feudal Lords came over to place an order, and the fee for refining an artifact rose to 30,000 Black Ink Coins per piece.

It wasn’t until this moment that the first batch of Feudal Lords invited to Zha Gu’s castle got over the bitter feeling. They even thought that they had picked up a bargain for their own artifact.

As for the actual fee, Yang Kai knew nothing as he focused on refining artifacts in the cave. Even if he found out about it, he wouldn’t be bothered. Everything he was doing was to better position himself to carry out his mission. Since more and more Feudal Lords asked him to create artifacts for them, it suggested that more people were becoming aware of his ability. That would allow him to have a higher chance of achieving his goal.

His skills in Artifact Refining had improved significantly compared to two years ago, and even though he was far from being a Grandmaster, he could be considered a Great Master.

Great Master, Grandmaster, and Great Grandmaster were the different Ranks of Artifact Refining. Although there wasn’t a systematic classification, such Ranks were universally acknowledged.

Only those who were able to make High-Rank artifacts could be regarded as Grandmasters.

Now, Yang Kai could only create Mid-Rank artifacts, so he was just a Great Master.

He was now just waiting for Hei Yuan to leave the Black Ink Nest. After making some calculations, he reckoned that this would probably happen in a few years.

Inside Hei Yuan’s castle, a Feudal Lord respectfully left the main hall while Gui Liao sported a solemn expression.

He summoned this Feudal Lord because he had some routine business with him, but he was surprised to learn a piece of shocking news.

The Black Ink Disciple named Yang Kai was actually an Artifact Refiner, and a skilful one at that.

Gui Liao was truly astonished. After the battle between Yang Kai and Liu Zi An, he respectively punished them. He thought that by using the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit as a threat, Yang Kai would soon make a concession; however, that guy simply went missing for the past two years.

This matter didn’t really bother Gui Liao. As the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Disciple, Yang Kai couldn’t possibly have gone far and must be hiding somewhere on the universe fragment and recuperating.

Perhaps he was waiting for the Territory Lord to come out of the Black Ink Nest to stand up for him.

That was what Gui Liao originally thought, so he never expected that Yang Kai had gone to Zha Gu’s place and started refining artifacts for the Feudal Lords. He was shocked when he learned this. The other Feudal Lords might not be aware of how valuable a Human Artifact Refiner was; however, as Hei Yuan’s confidant, Gui Liao was.

The Royal Lord was carrying out a grand plan that would affect the entire Black Ink Clan’s future, and it had something to do with Human Artifact Refiners. It could be said that every Artifact Refiner was an invaluable asset to the Royal Lord and were thus regarded quite highly.

A Human Artifact Refiner was no longer just any ordinary Black Ink Disciple.

In that case, despite Gui Liao’s noble identity, he couldn’t possibly oppress Yang Kai; otherwise, Hei Yuan would punish him when he exited the Black Ink Nest.

However, Gui Liao couldn’t apologize. As a noble Feudal Lord, he wouldn’t give in to a Black Ink Disciple no matter what.

After giving it a thought, he called out, “Liu Zi An!”

Liu Zi An stepped out from the darkness, “Master.”

“Go to Zha Gu’s place and tell him to come over.”

“Yes,” Liu Zi An replied.

Barely four hours later, Zha Gu appeared before Gui Liao and saluted him. Then, he asked respectfully, “Is there something you want me to do for you, Sir Gui Liao?”

Gui Liao stared fixedly at him, “Zha Gu, I heard that you’ve earned quite a lot of Black Ink Coins recently.”

Zha Gu was startled for a moment, but he soon pulled himself together and put on a fawning smile, “You’ve found out about it, Sir Gui Liao?”

He knew that this matter couldn’t be hidden from Gui Liao, and he had already expected it to get out at some point.

Gui Liao snorted, “Before Sir Territory Lord entered the Black Ink Nest, he told me to manage the affairs in his territory. Since such an incident has happened, how could I possibly not be aware of it? How dare you, Zha Gu! Since that Black Ink Disciple is an Artifact Refiner, why didn’t you inform me immediately and instead hid him away in your place to make artifacts for others!?”

Zha Gu slightly bent his back, “Sir Gui Liao, that Human is Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Disciple after all. Since he wants to stay in my place, I can’t possibly chase him away.”

Gui Liao sneered, “You just aren’t willing to let him go, are you? You’re charging 30,000 Black Ink Coins for an artifact. It would take you dozens, if not hundreds of years to earn that much money.”

Zha Gu forced a smile, “Please understand my situation, Sir Gui Liao.”

“How much do you give that Human?” Gui Liao asked.

After hesitating for a while, Zha Gu replied, “I told him that we’ll charge 10,000 Black Ink Coins per artifact, and I would get 30%.”

“You’re really something,” Gui Liao mocked, “He’s the one doing all the work, but he only gets 7,000 Black Ink Coins for each piece while you get 20 to 30 thousand. You’ve been treating him well, haven’t you? Aren’t you worried that when he finds out about it, he’ll file a complaint against you in front of Sir Territory Lord?”

Zha Gu turned pale, “I suppose Sir Territory Lord won’t bother dealing with such a small matter.”

Gui Liao replied calmly, “Who knows? After all, Sir Territory Lord regards him quite highly.”