Chapter 444: Chapter 442: The Craftsman in the Training Grounds

After returning, Vivian once again resumed her assigned punishment at the lift service, embarking on a continuous month of duty.

Yi Chen, meanwhile, returned to his rented accommodation on the Second Floor, quietly awaiting news from Mr. Bone.

As for Mr. Bone’s character, Vivian had also taken the time to speak with Yi Chen separately. Though the man wasn’t particularly likeable, as long as the money was right and the trade fair, Mr. Bone would never go back on his word; it was precisely because of his integrity that he was able to conduct such a vast ‘Ear Business’ between the Original Tombs.

…

At the inn of the Black Funeral House, on the Second Floor.

Yi Chen was in the bathroom, washing his body,

while Thirteen stood outside the door, propping up the teacher’s clothes with one hand, utilizing the white candle above her head to disperse the remaining Death Aura clinging to the surface of the clothes, making the entire scene resemble a garment steamer.

Suddenly,

Thirteen felt a discomfort in her ears. As she reached with her free hand to rub them, she found that the more she rubbed, the less she could hear; noises even began to mix in, blurring her thoughts.

At that moment, a skull rolled silently into the room.

The skull, with a pair of ear structures, could use its ears to adhere and stabilize itself while rolling, listening to the vibrations of the ground to detect the activity characteristics of all nearby living creatures.

Just as the skull was about to quietly roll into the bathroom to catch a glimpse of the scene Yi Chen longed for day and night, a voice came from inside the bathroom:

“One should at least announce themselves before entering my room, don’t you think, Mr. Bone? Or is it that all the deceased sneak in as silently as you do?”

The skull stopped rolling and instead took on a human form right outside the bathroom door, shrouded in a cloak with bone hands crossed in front of it.

“Mr. William, have you placed multiple forbidden seals in your room? I thought I evaded the seal on the door, and yet you still detected me despite having blocked off the room’s [Hearing], quite extraordinary indeed.”

“No… I only placed a seal on the door, and I detected you because of Thirteen’s irregular behavior.

She is not just my Candle Puppet, but also my student.”

“I see, so there is a deeper layer of Binding? The ability of the Madman… I knew it, it is because of your special brain that such beautiful ears have grown. How about letting me in now? If you’re in the bathroom and undressed, I just need to touch for an hour.”

“No, come out first.”

The gentleman’s clothes resting on Thirteen’s arm immediately sprang to life and squeezed through the crack of the door into the bathroom,

and the next second, Yi Chen, now dressed, stepped out of the room.

Stephen Bone watched Yi Chen’s ears from such a close distance, his bone hands rubbing together swiftly in front of him like flies, saliva secreted in multiples and continuously swallowed.

“Mr. Bone, have you found a blacksmith?”

“If I hadn’t, would I have the time to come find you~? As soon as you pay the ‘trade chip’, I’ll take you straight there…”

“How about leading me there first? The handling of the Wedge-shaped Stone and the forging of the weapon will take quite a bit of time, so it makes sense to come back and conduct our private trade afterward, saving some time, don’t you think?”

“Fine, follow me… I had to call in an important favor to find that blacksmith.”

“Who is it, and where do they live?”

“The sixth layer, the army craftsman of the Death Plague Knights – Mr. Alpaki.

You might not comprehend the status of an army craftsman. It represents not only the strength of a Knight able to follow the legion and slay enemies on all sides but also the ability to set up camp at any moment, light up the forge, and repair and forge equipment for the Knights.

Such individuals hold high positions within the Knight Order, second only to the commanders.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bone.”

“No need to thank me, it’s just a trade… If you truly wish to express gratitude, perhaps you could let me touch a little longer.”

“We’ll see.”

The two left the room, with Thirteen immediately following behind.

Taking the lift to the sixth layer of the Original Tomb, which is closest to the First Dead Man, the area was known as the training grounds of the Death Plague Knights.

Though it is called a training ground,

when Yi Chen arrived at this layer, he didn’t hear any sound of weapons clashing, nor did he see any knights training,

this layer even seemed more desolate than the others, with only a few unmarked ownerless coffins scattered around it.

However, each coffin was emanating a dense aura of death.

At that moment, Stephen, who laid on the mule, gave a simple introduction:

“You might be wondering, why is there no activity in the grand knight order’s training ground… In fact, practical sparring doesn’t take place here but on the layer above.

The so-called training here is more about self-cultivation.

Because it is only one floor away from the boss’s resting chambers, burying oneself underground and then absorbing the Death Plague from the special coffins, the knights lying between the coffins can quickly enter a state of death meditation.

Don’t underestimate these coffins, the material costs are exorbitant, and there are only thirty-six coffins buried here in total, only knights who have made contributions have the qualifications to be buried in them.”

“Wait, there’s something I don’t understand… Even if there are not many coffins, isn’t there still so much empty space? Why not utilize it all and bring the entire knight order here for training, the closer to the First Dead Man, the better the effect of death training, right?”

“No, no, no, your understanding is incorrect.

Although we all appeared alongside the First Dead Man, too close an affinity might result in getting lost in death… Besides, even the First Dead Man wishes for us to develop our own unique death essence on the basis of mastering the Death Plague.

Therefore, a moderate and appropriate contact is best, getting too close to the First Dead Man might backfire.

You have also been to the deepest layer several times, right? Some of those countless skulls that make up the resting chambers were not sacrificed willingly, but are poor souls who accidentally got lost in death.

Of course, since we were born with the Death Plague, developing our death is almost an impossible task. Throughout history, only the original leader achieved it.”

“William, the Death Aura in you is also a kind of non-Death Plague death, it’s a pity you don’t want to stay here, otherwise, you could definitely reap a lot of benefits.”

“Everyone has their own choices, don’t they?”

“Ah, what a shame, it would have been so nice if you stayed!”

Stephen’s mule eventually led the two of them to the edge of this layer, where a shop embedded in the wall appeared before them, with no heat or even light, nothing like a Blacksmith Shop.

They could only see various oddly shaped stones and limbs hanging inside.

As the two were about to approach, a giant who looked like a stitched-together creature bent down and walked out, towering over four meters tall, wearing only a black leather apron, exposing flesh that was pale and covered in suture lines.

“Stephen, is this the guest you mentioned?”

“Right, he may look young, but the boss is really fond of him… Just for the sake of the old times when I helped you source materials, make a weapon for him.”

“Come in.”

Mr. Alpaki led the two into the Blacksmith Shop, more accurately a ‘Stone and Biological Craftsmanship Room’.

Here they only work on processing and creating with stones and biological flesh, unrelated to traditional metals; naturally, there are no heating appliances like furnaces, and the forging process is often done at room temperature or even cold temperatures.

When Yi Chen took out “Dead Spine Lake” and “Dead Person Wedge Stone”,

Alpaki, who initially had a lightless gaze, suddenly lit up and even took out a magnifying glass made from a corpse’s eye membrane to closely observe the pristine and flawless Wedge-shaped Stone.

“Such high purity of the Wedge-shaped Stone, what death essence dropped it?”

Stephen answered, “It’s from an independent death essence that had fully formed consciousness, oh, we almost had a major setback! It was all thanks to William here, the newcomer, who broke the deadlock… Don’t let his Open Source deceive you, he’s pretty powerful.

Otherwise, Black Wolf Bernard and Death Word Vivian wouldn’t let him have such a good thing.”

“Open Source, independent death essence? Okay then, I’ll take on this job…”

Yi Chen was also pleased and immediately asked, “Do I need to stay and assist with the crafting?”

“No need, you just have to completely cut off your preferred hand, and I will certainly create the most suitable spine weapon for you.”

With that, Mr. Alpaki particularly gestured at the shoulder joint,

Whoosh! Blood splattered… Yi Chen didn’t hesitate, he left a hand behind and then left the Blacksmith Shop, quietly waiting for the notification to collect his item.