Chapter 001: Master Artificer

“Thank you for the compliment, Cousin Karu. By the way, have you gotten married?” Du Fan asked with a smile.
“I’ve already married,” Karu replied.
“Is it a woman from your dwarf race?” Du Fan asked further.
“Dwarf? Besides the women of our dwarf race, what kind of girl could I, Karu, marry? Do you expect me to marry those orcs?” Karu exclaimed angrily—Du Fan’s question had upset him; how could one ask such a thing?
“Ah, what a shame. This time, we came with two thousand elf archers, many of whom are beautiful women,” Du Fan said regretfully.
“Is that so? When can we go to your elves’ settlement? Hehe, I haven’t seen any elf beauties in ages,” Karu said with a smile.
After saying goodbye to Karu, Basha continued to lead Du Fan and the others through the streets of Grass.
“Basha, where are you taking us?” Moses asked.
“To a bustling place—the most lively area in Grass,” Basha replied.
“But I see all your dwarf houses are made of stone. Is there really a bustling place in such a city?” Du Fan asked.
“Third brother, you underestimate our dwarf race too much. Although we don’t enjoy entertainment like you do, we have our own way of life—blacksmithing and crafting weapons. What I’m taking you to is the largest weapons trading market among our people! I hope you can find something good there!” Basha said.
“A dwarf weapons trading market is indeed worth visiting,” Du Fan said.
As natural experts in crafting weapons, dwarves made weapons far superior to those made by humans. Seven of the top ten weapon masters in the continent were dwarves!
Moreover, dwarves had much longer lifespans than humans, so many weapons created by these master craftsmen were passed down through generations. When these weapons ended up in human society, they fetched exorbitant prices.
After crossing a few streets, they heard the sound of blacksmithing in the distance—the clanging of hammers creating a lively atmosphere.

“Just one more street ahead, and we’ll reach our dwarven weapons trading venue,” Basha explained. “We won’t be able to explore the ruins of the gods for much longer, so we need to pick out as many useful items as possible from our dwarven weapons trading venue,” Basha said.
“What kind of weapons are sold here?” Du Fan asked.
“All kinds of weapons, armor—everything you can think of. Of course, there are also mage’s equipment, along with many special items crafted specifically by our dwarves,” Basha said with a smile.
“What kind of special items are those?” Du Fan asked.
“Well…” Basha suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed. “Those special items are actually a bit similar to what you call hidden weapons,” he said.
As they continued walking, they arrived at a street filled with blacksmith shops. On this street, Du Fan saw all sorts of races—humans, elves, orcs, and even goblins. All the intelligent races existing on this continent were visible here!
“Brother Basha, your place has such a diverse range of races!” Du Fan exclaimed in amazement at seeing all these different races.
Du Fan really hadn’t expected so many different races to gather in the dwarven underground city!
“They’re all here to do business with us dwarves. If nothing goes wrong, these people are likely from large local weapons workshops. In Grass, hundreds of them reside here year-round, constantly purchasing the weapons and armor crafted by us dwarves!” Basha said proudly.
That made sense—weapons made by even an ordinary dwarf blacksmith apprentice would be rare treasures in human markets!
“Over there is the largest blacksmith shop here. There are over two hundred craftsmen working there permanently. Shall we go in and pick out some good items?” Basha suggested.
Entering the blacksmith shop, they found it to be a very large stone building, divided into small sections. In each section, two or three dwarven blacksmiths were busy crafting various weapons or armor!
Inside, the fronts of each shop were lined with all kinds of weapons and armor. Entering one of them, Du Fan examined those weapons. In terms of strength, durability, and sharpness, they were far superior to the weapons made by human blacksmiths!

Watching these dwarves swing their hammering tools, Du Fan understood some of the reasons. Although dwarves were short in stature, they were born strongmen, each seemingly possessing an extraordinary divine strength! The hammers they used were two to three times larger than those used by human blacksmiths, and as they hammered, the hammers fell with remarkable consistency and speed! Such a hammering method made it easy to remove impurities from the metal! Once the pure metal was refined into weapons and armor, it was no wonder such weapons and armor were of high quality! Coupled with the dwarves’ innate sensitivity to stones and metals, they had a thorough understanding of various alloying methods. Seeing these exceptionally high-quality weapons and armor, Du Fan began to plot in his mind. “Second brother, how can we get these weapons to humans?” Du Fan asked. “We dwarves are responsible for transporting them within the Twilight Mountains. Once we leave the mountains, it’s up to you humans,” Basha said. “Can they be transported to all parts of the Twilight Mountains?” Du Fan asked. “Of course. Otherwise, how could you humans transport such large quantities of weapons and armor from a place like the Twilight Mountains? There are dwarves and magical beasts everywhere. Without the protection of our dwarven warriors, you wouldn’t be able to leave the mountains,” Basha replied. After asking about the prices of the items, Du Fan found that buying from the dwarves wasn’t expensive at all. But at human prices, those costs would be at least ten times higher! Though these items were good, they still didn’t meet the needs of Du Fan and his companions. Given their current levels of cultivation, these weapons were still insufficient. Even the weapons they currently carried were far inferior to those on display! “I’ll take you to meet our clan’s master, Master Kola. Master Kola ranks fifth among the best weapon-makers on the continent. I brought you here mainly so he can help refine those dragon scales and horns,” Basha said with a smile. Walking further in, they reached the deepest part, where there was a separate courtyard. Basha led the three of them inside through the door. “Who? Who’s coming in? Is it that bastard, daring to disturb my weapon-making!” a very angry voice shouted.

“Master Koala, it’s me, it’s Basha.” Upon hearing Koala’s angry voice, Basha immediately called out.
“There are others! Who are they? Basha, don’t you know? I don’t like strangers!” Koala’s voice softened noticeably, but still carried a hint of displeasure.
“They’re not strangers; they’re all my brothers, Master Koala!” Basha said loudly.
“If they’re your brothers, then come in all of you!” Koala said from inside.
Upon entering, above a furnace glowing red hot, a red-haired dwarf was enthusiastically forging iron. Seeing Koala’s focused expression as he worked, Du Fan thought to himself: A master truly is a master!
“Master Koala, we’ve obtained some materials and would like you to help us refine them,” Basha said.
“Go ahead. I already know you—what good materials could you possibly have?” Master Koala said dismissively.
“Don’t you know, Master Koala, that I’ve slain a dragon?” Basha exclaimed.
“You slew a dragon?” Master Koala glanced at Basha curiously. “Was it a young dragon, about your size?”
“Master Koala, how can you judge me like that?” Basha said, slightly angered.
“If it weren’t for your father, how could you become the lord of Glass? I know your strength—barely at the Saint level. Such strength can be achieved by just about any dragon, not to mention their natural defensive abilities. How could you kill a dragon? Are you just trying to trick me because I spend my days forging iron?” Koala said, rolling his eyes.
It seemed Master Koala wouldn’t give Basha any face, speaking whatever came to mind.
“Look at this!” Basha suddenly took out a pair of dragon eyes, one in each hand.
After leaving the dragon’s body, the dragon eyes had completely turned into crystals. They had now shrunk to the size of fists, but they became even more translucent, with the magical fluctuations inside growing stronger by the moment.
“They’re really dragon eyes!” Koala exclaimed excitedly, dropping his hammer and grabbing one of the dragon eyes. “See? Master Koala, I did slay a dragon, right?” After saying that, Basha produced another golden-colored scale, about ten centimeters long and nearly circular.

“Dragon scales! It’s really dragon scales! I haven’t seen dragon scales in hundreds of years. Good heavens, they’re even from a golden dragon!” Upon seeing the dragon scales, the koala grabbed them again and examined them closely in his hands. This koala was also an avid blacksmith; as soon as he saw the dragon scales, he placed them on an anvil and began hammering them vigorously, adding small amounts of metal repeatedly. Under the pounding of the hammer, the dragon scales gradually shrank and thinned. After countless strikes by the koala, they turned into a dazzling, golden disc about three centimeters in diameter. Du Fan was shocked upon seeing these refined dragon scales! Originally, after being torn off the dragon’s body, the magical fluctuations in the scales had diminished significantly. But after being forged by the koala, although the scales had become much smaller, they still emitted intense magical fluctuations, as if they were still on a living dragon. If Du Fan’s guess was correct, these scales had fully regained their extraordinary magical defense capabilities from when they were still on the dragon.