Ye Liuyun did a quick headcount; it looked like quite a few inner-court elders and smiths had come out from the Chen clan this time—at least ten people in total.

They didn’t have to wait long. Soon an inner-court elder of the Chen clan appeared, flanked by several smiths, Chen Lianxin among them.

After the elder took his seat, the four chairs beside him remained conspicuously empty.

“Those who came out just now must be ordinary smiths. Those four chairs are reserved for the true masters,” Ye Liuyun guessed inwardly.

Sure enough, the elder opened with some polite pleasantries, stressed that they had forged a Void-grade weapon this time, and introduced the smiths beside him.

The items these smiths had produced were on display—true-grade sixth- to eighth-tier artifacts.

Ninth Prince, Elder Heming, and Elder Yaofeng greeted the smiths courteously, showing no trace of disdain.

Ye Liuyun didn’t look down on them either; the smiths under his own command couldn’t even craft true-grade items. He simply felt these people weren’t worth the risk of abducting.

Then the smiths stepped down into the crowd to answer questions—an interlude many smiths loved. One after another, attendees crowded forward to ask about forging techniques and learn from them.

Martial cultivators from other powers also approached, introducing themselves and inquiring about artifacts that interested them.

Ye Liuyun and his avatars blended into the throng, quietly planting divine-sense marks on every smith while the chaos lasted. He might not act against them, but if an opportunity arose he certainly wouldn’t let it slip. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

For exhibits whose makers hadn’t come, people could only rely on the written placards.

Once everyone had examined the items, the smiths returned to their seats and the Chen elder announced the start of bidding, beginning with the lowest-tier pieces.

Quite a few cultivators joined in; even a true-grade sixth-tier treasure drew eager bids.

From the chatter around him Ye Liuyun learned that some had come specifically to pick up bargains. With no reserve prices, anyone could bid low; if competition stayed light and the price didn’t rise much, they could flip the item later for profit.

Even Chen Lianxin’s void-sealing array flags sold for fifty units of primal essence, leaving him clearly pleased.

Overall, Ye Liuyun felt the prices were far lower than at auction—buying here was almost guaranteed profit. His first avatar snagged a seventh-tier pill cauldron for the same fifty units.

Ninth Prince, Heming, and Yaofeng meanwhile chatted idly with the Chen elder, paying no attention to the bidding.

When the eighth-tier puppet came up, his second avatar bid eighty units of primal essence and met no competition. Puppets were popular, but this one’s flaw—its flimsy body—was glaring. Many felt that adding a high-tier suit of armor would make it a poor bargain.

Most regarded puppets as cannon fodder, so a fragile frame was a serious drawback. At eighty units, even bargain hunters couldn’t be sure of profit, so the second avatar claimed it easily.

Ye Liuyun drifted over and had the thief-cat hand the avatar a true-grade eighth-tier set of armor. The Blue Whale’s hoard held more than ten suits, ranging from seventh to ninth tier.

Ninth-tier armor he reserved for his own people; this puppet would have to make do with eighth-tier, which was still ample for survival.

The second avatar promptly infused the puppet with a unit of primal essence, dressed it in the armor, and armed it with a freshly looted ninth-tier longsword.

He then pitted it against an eighth-level Heaven’s Gate cultivator. The puppet struck first, stacking layers of void around itself; its sword flashed out and arrived instantaneously, locking the opponent’s void in passing. One slash—dead.

“Haha, what a steal.”

The avatar gave the puppet a Interspatial Ring stocked with primal essence for fuel and weapons, dubbing it the Spatial Puppet.

As the last true-grade eighth-tier exhibits neared the end, four master smiths finally arrived.

The first was a wild-haired red-bearded elder—Chen Huoyang, ninth-level Heaven’s Gate, radiating flame essence, dressed in careless disarray yet clearly advanced in years.

Beside him walked a young woman in plain robes, bright-eyed and fair-skinned, her bearing ethereal. This was none other than the acclaimed Master Lianyu—Chen Lianyu. Ye Liuyun hadn’t expected the famed Lianyu to be so young and beautiful, though her cultivation was only seventh-level Heaven’s Gate.

Next came a stern-faced man in his forties, sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, brimming with masculine vigor—Chen Xing, eighth-level Heaven’s Gate.

Finally, a thirty-something man of another surname: Liu Yuanyang, seventh-level Heaven’s Gate, also a renowned smith fostered by the Chen clan.

The moment these people appeared, even the Ninth Prince, Elder Heming, and Madam Yao Feng rose to greet them, not daring to show the slightest neglect.

Ye Liuyun figured it made sense—after all, these were the Fireseal Empire’s top-tier artifact-refining masters, and they deserved every bit of respect.

Their soul power and internal flame strength were formidable; the lure of more fire-attribute power probably meant little to them. Their physiques weren’t exceptional either, so they likely didn’t care much about that aspect.

Chen Huoyang was the clearest example: strongest in both soul and flame, yet his life force was noticeably weak—refining artifacts had clearly taken its toll.

“I hope the Vital Waters catches his interest.”

Ye Liuyun planned to use the Vital Waters as bait to persuade Chen Huoyang to forge something for him.

Chen Lianyu, on the other hand, had mediocre true-essence quality. While her soul and flame couldn’t match Chen Huoyang’s, they still surpassed everyone else’s.

Ye Liuyun reasoned that for someone so young to become a master refiner, her bloodline had to be extraordinary. So he decided to offer her the Essence-Condensing Art as incentive, asking her to craft a set of gilded armor—and if necessary, he’d even gift her enough gilt for an entire suit.

If that still wasn’t enough, he’d throw in a Blood Spirit Fiend. If Chen Lianyu’s bloodline truly was potent, she’d understand how priceless bloodline resources were.

As for Chen Xing and Liu Yuanyang, their cultivation was balanced across the board; he’d have to improvise when the time came. Right now, he wasn’t even confident he could reel in Chen Huoyang and Chen Lianyu, let alone all four of these master refiners with the limited resources he had.