Ye Liuyun checked into an inn outside the Chen estate. Every night he cultivated; every day he and his two clones took turns keeping watch on the Chen family, noting who came and went.

That afternoon, while gathering information in a tavern, he overheard that the Chen outer sect would host a weapon-forging exhibition. Anyone interested could attend, and several renowned smithing masters might appear.

The news caught his attention at once. He asked around carefully, then went to the outer sect to confirm: on the day of the exhibition, the gates would indeed be open to all.

It was only the outer grounds, but that was enough. He was sure he could find a chance to approach the Chen smiths.

“A great clan really is different—actually willing to display their own work for everyone to see.”

Pleased, he returned to the tavern to eat before heading back to the inn to wait for the exhibition.

He had just placed his order when a young man in the robes of a Chen inner disciple swaggered in, flanked by a crowd of rich young masters.

The moment they entered they shouted for the staff: “Find us a private room—Master Lianxin is here!”

The Chen disciple held his head high, pride written all over his face. The waiters bowed and scraped as they ushered the group upstairs to a private room.

“Master?”

Ye Liuyun smiled and shook his head. One look at the man’s arrogance told him this was no top-tier expert. Still, it might be a good chance to reach an inner disciple.

He began considering how to break the room’s shielding array. With his spatial sense he could already see that the formation wrapped every layer of the void.

He decided to turn the usual method on its head: instead of slipping through, he would ram the ninth level of the void from the outside.

He acted at once, using spatial force to press the surrounding void against the array. In moments the shield cracked.

He stopped immediately; the fissures were more than enough to slip through or eavesdrop. He sent a clone to breach the spatial wall and listen.

The clone stepped straight out of his spatial world—no need for a stealth cloak—passing through the cracks in the array to hear what was being said.

The group was pressing the Chen disciple for details about the exhibition: which weapons and treasures would appear, which masters would attend.

From their chatter Ye Liuyun learned that the final segment would be an auction: every displayed weapon would be sold on the spot.

The masters present would also agree to forge one item for a chosen bidder, but it depended on what rare resources the bidder could offer and the master’s personal preference. Simple money was useless; these smiths lacked for nothing except special materials.

Then the young man addressed as Master Lianxin spoke: “I only know that Uncle Fireyang and Senior Sister Lianyu will attend. As for what they’ll display, I can’t say. I’ll have a treasure of my own on show as well.”

“Master Fireyang!”

“Isn’t Lianyu said to be quite young?”

Interest flared in their eyes; clearly both smiths far outranked Chen Lianxin.

“What grade are their pieces?” someone pressed.

Chen Lianxin snorted. “When Uncle Fireyang and Senior Sister Lianyu act, it’s at least True Tier Nine. Anything lower wouldn’t be worth displaying.”

“Exactly! The Chen clan is full of masters; anything shown publicly must be top-grade. Master Lianxin, why not give us a hint about your piece so we can prepare our bids?” a martial cultivator flattered.

Chen Lianxin feigned reluctance, then relished the attention. “I’m bringing a Void-Sealing Banner. Only True Tier Seven, but even a Ninth Heaven cultivator can’t escape once it’s deployed.”

“Impressive!”

“Sealing the void? That’s a rare treasure!”

The rest of the group chimed in with flattery, leaving Chen Lianxin basking in smug satisfaction. They kept buttering him up, but it soon became clear he’d already spilled everything he knew—nothing more of value came out. From there the talk shifted to their own needs: they wanted Chen Lianxin to forge certain artifacts for them

The highest grade anyone requested was True Tier, Seventh Grade. Apparently that was the ceiling of what Chen Lianxin could craft

For ordinary martial cultivators, though, a True Tier Seventh Grade treasure was more than enough; many could even block a full-force strike from a Return-to-One Ninth Layer expert

The clone listened a while longer, getting a rough idea of the prices, then tried to plant a trace of divine sense on Chen Lianxin so he could track him later

But Chen Lianxin’s soul force and spatial power weren’t weak; the instant the clone slipped toward the formation, he sensed something and swept the space with his own spatial energy

The clone flashed straight back into Ye Liuyun’s pocket world before being discovered. Still, Chen Lianxin noticed a crack in the private room’s formation and showed off by telling the restaurant to improve their arrays

After the staff confirmed the flaw, the cultivators around him burst into another round of praise

Ye Liuyun had no choice but to drop the plan for now and wait for another chance. He settled the bill and returned to the inn to cultivate

He ordered both clones to load up on origin essence for the upcoming exhibition

The origin essence he’d gathered already formed small hills inside his spatial world, free for anyone to take. Each clone grabbed several thousand units, ensuring they were fully stocked

They also selected the artifacts they wanted upgraded: the first clone carried the Demon-Hunting Bow and Demon-Hunting Armor, the second took the Great Desolation Bow, while Ye Liuyun himself prepared several sets of Gilded Battle Armor

In truth, he had plenty more treasures he wanted refined, but he couldn’t reveal them all at once; these would serve as a test of the local weapon-refining master’ skill

His real goal wasn’t forging at all—it was capturing weapon-refining master.