I’ll Take That Opportunity Chapter 21 - Wang Yun

"Black Gold is an important material used for forging earth-tier spirit weapons. Its hardness is self-evident, and ordinary mortal flames can't melt it."

Gazing at the piece of Black Gold in his hand, Ye Lin fell into deep thought.

Not to mention the Black Gold he held—even the high-grade basic-tier sword in his possession couldn't be melted by common fire. If he wanted to fuse the Black Gold into his sword, he would have to seek the help of a weapon refiner.

"Riyue City is vast… let’s see if I can find a weapon refiner here."

With that thought, Ye Lin began to search throughout Riyue City.

Riyue City was an enormous city, able to accommodate a million people, with countless cultivators gathered within its walls. There was always a chance he could stumble upon someone capable and talented.

After searching for a while, Ye Lin did indeed find a place.

It was an incredibly run-down blacksmith shop. Why run-down? Because even the front door was broken, and a large hole gaped in the roof—the place looked utterly dilapidated.

If not for the wooden signboard with bold characters hanging above the door, Ye Lin might have missed it entirely.

Pushing open the door and stepping inside, all he saw was a small workshop and an old man lying on the ground, drinking liquor.

"Leave, we're closed. If you want something forged, go somewhere else."

Upon seeing Ye Lin enter, the old man casually waved him off.

But at that moment, a transparent panel suddenly appeared before Ye Lin's eyes

[Name: Zhang Si]

[Cultivation base: Foundation Establishment]

[Fate grade: white]

[Fate trait: weapon refiner (2nd rank)]

[Fate prediction: you will live out your days in a dilapidated blacksmith shop, passing away in quiet misery.]

[Upcoming opportunity: none]

[Weapon refiner: you are naturally gifted with immense strength and an innate talent for weapon refinement. On the path of forging, you will always stay ahead of ordinary people.]

Seeing the panel before him, Ye Lin was taken aback—he hadn’t expected to actually find a weapon refiner here.

In this world, both weapon refiners and pill refiners were divided into nine ranks, from the lowest 1st rank to the highest 9th rank.

"Senior, I've searched this entire city and couldn’t find a single person truly skilled in weapon refinement. You’re my last hope."

"Would you be willing to help me? I’ll make sure to repay you generously."

As he spoke, Ye Lin placed both the sword and the Black Gold before the old man. At the sight of them, a glimmer appeared in the old man's cloudy eyes.

"Black Gold, huh… good stuff. If you can gather the right materials, you could forge an earth-tier spirit weapon—and you’re willing to part with it."

Glancing between the sword and the Black Gold, Zhang Si immediately understood what this young man was after.

At his words, Ye Lin gave a bitter smile. The materials needed to forge an earth-tier spirit weapon were all extremely rare and priceless—how could he possibly gather them all?

"Senior, please…"

Seeing Ye Lin bow so sincerely, Zhang Si secretly nodded in approval. Most people were put off by the shabby state of his blacksmith shop; it had been a long time since someone this polite and genuine had stepped through his door.

"Since that’s the case… I’ll lend you a hand. But once I’m done, I’ll need a mid-grade Spirit Stone as payment."

Ye Lin was startled, but still nodded without hesitation.

A mid-grade Spirit Stone was indeed valuable, but a weapon refiner—even a 2nd rank one—was incredibly hard to come by. Getting someone to help you at all was no easy task.

"Alright, I’ll need two hours."

With that, Zhang Si put away his liquor gourd, picked up the sword and the Black Gold, and went deeper into the workshop. In the next moment, a pale blue flame ignited atop a forging table.

Zhang Si tossed the piece of Black Gold into the fire, and the refinement process began.

Two hours later, Zhang Si was drenched in sweat.

"Withdraw."

With a final shout, the blue flame vanished, leaving behind a newly forged sword radiating a cold, sharp gleam.

"Low-grade mystic-tier… not bad." Stroking his beard, Zhang Si smiled in satisfaction.

As a 2nd rank weapon refiner, handling earth-tier materials was no easy task for him—but it seemed he’d managed to pull it off.

"Thank you, Senior!"

Ye Lin was overjoyed. Without hesitation, he took out a mid-grade Spirit Stone and handed it to Zhang Si.

"Don’t mention it. You paid, I did the work."

Pocketing the Spirit Stone, Zhang Si then lay back down and promptly started snoring.

Ye Lin picked up the newly forged sword, stowing it away into his Interspatial Ring before quietly leaving the blacksmith shop.

"Now that I have this low-grade mystic-tier sword, even if I have to face Zhang Xiao head-on, I won’t lose."

Walking along the street, Ye Lin murmured to himself, a flicker of confidence in his gaze.

At present, he had plenty of cards up his sleeve—and he was no longer afraid of Zhang Xiao. If that guy dared to come looking for trouble, Ye Lin was confident he could take him down.

"Time to head back to the sect. There’s still Niu Bo’s opportunity waiting for me."

A faint smile tugged at Ye Lin’s lips as he quickened his pace toward Azure Cloud Sect.

By the time he arrived at the foot of the mountain, night had already fallen, and a bright moon hung high in the sky, casting silver light over the path ahead.

Halfway up the mountain, Ye Lin suddenly came to a halt. His expression sharpened as he scanned his surroundings.

"Who’s there?"

Deliberately putting on a wary expression, Ye Lin surged with 6th layer Qi Refinement spirit qi, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

"Good awareness. 6th layer Qi Refinement, huh? Not bad—but still not enough."

A voice echoed from the shadows, and a robed young man slowly stepped out from the darkness.

"Who are you?"

Staring at the figure before him, Ye Lin’s expression grew solemn.

[Name: Wang Yun]

[Cultivation base: 6th layer Qi Refinement]

[Fate grade: white]

[Fate trait: exceptionally intelligent]

[Fate prediction: in three months, during a devil subjugation task, you will be drained of lifeblood by a deviant devil and perish.]

[Upcoming opportunity: in half a month, you will head to She Mountain for training and accidentally discover a cave, within which you will find high-grade mystic-tier Spirit Fire.]

[Exceptionally intelligent: gifted with extraordinary intellect from a young age, you remain calm under pressure and adapt swiftly to any situation.]

Looking over Wang Yun’s life panel, Ye Lin smacked his lips in mild surprise.

Spirit Fire… it was a fire born from the heavens and earth—whether for pill refinement or weapon refinement, it was an indispensable treasure. Spirit Fire was exceedingly rare, and a high-grade mystic-tier Spirit Fire was worth no less than three high-grade Spirit Stones, and even then, one might not find a seller.

At that moment, Wang Yun spoke coldly, "Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is—don’t think that just because you’ve concealed your cultivation base, you can act fearless before Zhang Xiao. The gap between the 6th and 8th layer Qi Refinement stages is like an unbridgeable chasm."

Having delivered his warning, Wang Yun turned, intending to leave.

But in the next moment, Ye Lin suddenly moved to block his path.

"Since you already know my cultivation base… Then you must die." Ye Lin face turned icy cold, spirit qi surging as a sharp murderous intent radiated from him.

"Hmph, you think you can stop me just because you want to?"

Sneering disdainfully, Wang Yun channeled spirit qi through his body and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared into the darkness with a strange movement technique, vanishing like a phantom.

Watching the other’s figure fade into the night, Ye Lin slowly withdrew his cultivation base.

"Probing me, huh? How laughable." Ye Lin sneered and then continued up the mountain.

Though he had never crossed fists with Zhang Xiao before, he already understood the man’s character from the fate panel. Zhang Xiao was a cautious and calculating individual. The type who, before making any move, would surely send someone to investigate the situation first.

That was why, ever since Ye Lin had left the sect that morning, he had deliberately suppressed his cultivation base to the 6th layer Qi Refinement stage—all to deceive whoever came snooping around.

As for why he had let Wang Yun leave just now—it wasn’t because he couldn’t kill him, but because it wasn’t the right time. If Wang Yun died, Zhang Xiao would immediately grow wary and avoid making any reckless moves. That would only complicate things.

Letting Wang Yun go, on the other hand, ensured the events would unfold just as the panel had foretold.

"6th layer Qi Refinement, huh? So that’s what you’re relying on."

"Outwardly, you seem like you’re only at the 4th layer… but in reality, you’ve already broken through to the 6th layer Qi Refinement stage."

"To think… it’s only been half a year since you joined the sect. Rising from a mere mortal to the 6th layer Qi Refinement stage in just half a year—I wonder what kind of treasure you possess to pull that off."

"But no matter what treasure it is… it will belong to me, Zhang Xiao."

A sharp gleam flickered in Zhang Xiao’s eyes, a cold smile on his face.