175: The stone tablet was completed.

A prompt box popped up on the mall interface, and Shen Xiaochuan looked at the text: "Switch to 'Low-Cost Alternative Recommendation' mode?"

He didn't click confirm immediately; his finger hovered in the air for two seconds before swiping lightly.

The light screen flickered, changing from deep purple to gray-blue, and a few words appeared at the top: [Practical Transition Plan · High Cost-Performance Priority].

The list expanded instantly, and the first item was the [perfect grade Forging Stele], priced at 3.28 million faith points.

The description read: "Level 5 building, can accelerate the growth rate of blacksmiths, improve weapon success rates, supports multi-person use, and is suitable for the Early Stage construction of a medium-sized divine kingdom."

Shen Xiaochuan's eyes lit up.

This thing didn't teach specific techniques, but it could help existing blacksmiths learn Advanced crafts faster and improve the quality of finished products.

Compared to waiting a year to save up for a Divine-Grade manual, this could be used right now.

He opened his balance page: 50,832,600; adding the 730,000 from last night's Thunder Crystal Ore and agricultural trades, he had a total of over 5.81 million.

He was still a little short.

But he remembered White Snow Princess saying that two items from the strategic reserves were already on the way.

Among them, the "Intermediate Experience Manual" could be copied and taught; although the cap was B-grade, combined with the stele, it was enough to support the first wave of technology dissemination.

The second payment for the Star-Patterned Vines arrived this morning as well, totaling 2.03 million.

He checked the income details and confirmed they were correct.

"That's enough," he said.

He clicked buy, and the System prompt sounded: "Deducted 3.28 million faith points, current balance: 7.8061 million."

The stele icon turned gray, displaying "Acquired."

Immediately after, a golden light fell from the sky over the Industrial Zone in Skydome City, striking the empty lot on the east side.

Dust flew up, and a three-meter-tall, blue-black stele slowly rose.

Its surface was covered in runes, and its edges shimmered with a metallic luster.

Shen Xiaochuan exited the mall and walked out of the Main Hall.

The wind blew from the west, carrying the heat from the iron furnaces, and the sound of hammers from the distant workshop was denser than usual.

He walked to the Industrial Zone.

Lolia was squatting on the ground drawing blueprints, her hair messy, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and her hands covered in charcoal marks.

"Lolia," he called out.

She looked up, stunned for a moment: "Lord Shen? Something up this late?"

"It's not late, it's early," Shen Xiaochuan looked at the sky.

"Just finished some purchasing, I'm taking you to see something."

She stood up, patted her pants, and followed him east.

On the way, she asked: "What did you buy? It's not another physics book, is it? I only just finished reading the 'Derivation of the Relationship Between Work and Energy' you gave me yesterday; my brain is about to explode."

"Something more useful than a book," he said, "Something that can make everyone stronger."

The two reached the empty lot.

The stele stood there, very quiet, with runes flashing occasionally.

Lolia's pace slowed down, her eyes widening: "This is... a Forging Stele? The Level 5 kind?"

"Yes, perfect grade," Shen Xiaochuan nodded.

"It just landed and hasn't been activated yet.

You're the first person to touch it."

She swallowed hard, stepped forward, and reached out to touch it.

As soon as her fingertips made contact, the stele vibrated with a hum, all the runes lit up, and a ripple spread out, covering the entire Industrial Zone.

The System prompt sounded: [Forging Stele bound to Chief Blacksmith Lolia] [Skill Comprehension Efficiency +40%] [Weapon Advancement Success Rate +25%] [Daily Collective Enlightenment Ceremony can be activated once (lasting two hours)]

Lolia turned around abruptly: "This effect is too strong!

We have over twenty blacksmiths; if we take turns in enlightenment, at least half of them will reach A-grade within a month!"

"Not just that," Shen Xiaochuan took a ring out from his bosom, a silver setting inlaid with a ruby.

"This is the 'Ring of Merul', for you."

She carefully took the ring, her hands trembling slightly when she saw the attributes: [Wearer's Forging Success Rate +15%] [Material Utilization Rate increased to 98%] [Can be passed down once].

Her voice trembled a little: "This is too valuable."

"You can make good use of it," Shen Xiaochuan said.

"You are the only person who understands the principles.

Others only know how to follow instructions, but you can modify designs.

With this ring and the stele, you are the core."

She bit her lip, lowered her head, and put the ring on her right index finger.

She tested it; the size was perfect.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"I will make every hammer strike worth it."

"I know," Shen Xiaochuan looked at the stele.

"Call everyone over now; I have a few things to announce."

He raised his voice: "Everyone come here, I have something important!"

After shouting, he stood in place and waited.

In less than ten minutes, all the blacksmiths arrived.

Some ran over with hammers still in hand, faces covered in coal dust.

Shen Xiaochuan stood by the stele and spoke briefly: "This month's goal is not to forge more swords, but to improve the overall technical level.

The stele will be open for two hours of collective enlightenment every day, hosted by Lolia.

During enlightenment, no slacking off, no chatting, and no pretending to take notes."

The crowd burst into laughter.

"Also, starting tomorrow, all new apprentices must undergo enlightenment once before they can start working.

Anyone who slacks off, I will deduct their performance pay."

Everyone stopped laughing and nodded seriously.

Lolia stepped forward and waved her hand: "Listen up everyone, the first enlightenment session is set for 6:00 AM tomorrow.

Remember to bring your notebooks and lists of questions.

Alright, dismissed!"

The crowd dispersed, and some had already started discussing what questions to ask.

Shen Xiaochuan didn't leave; he watched Lolia calibrate the stele's rune interface and asked in a low voice: "How long can it run stably?"

"Based on current energy levels, at least ten years," she said.

"And the more it's used, the smoother it gets, just like a machine breaking in."

He nodded, his eyes firm, and turned to leave the Industrial Zone, walking away step by step.

Next was the inspection.

First, the farmland.

The wheat was growing evenly, the irrigation canals were flowing with the sound of water, and farmers were harvesting the third batch of spiritual rice; the yield was nearly 30% higher than last month.

The person in charge said the new crop rotation System was effective, the land wasn't exhausted, and the crops weren't getting sick.

Then the livestock farm.

The animal pens were clean, the feed ratio was scientific, and the cub survival rate was 91%.

A few small horned deer were fighting over milk bottles in the warm shed, bleating.

Finally, the commercial district.

The market was already open, the stalls were neat, and trade was bustling.

Spices, fabrics, and weapon accessories all had designated areas, and even the snack stalls had switched to uniform wooden signs.

Patrol teams walked back and forth, maintaining order.

Everything was normal.

Shen Xiaochuan stood at a high point on the main street, opened the panoramic map of the divine kingdom, and looked at the distribution of surrounding forces.

On the map, Skydome City was in the center, surrounded by a dozen small divine domains.

Most were still in the Elementary stage, with tight resources.

Only Breeze City in the northeast was marked brightly, showing it as a C-grade civilization with a population of 80,000, primarily engaged in mining.

He was just about to close the interface when a mission prompt suddenly popped up: [External Commission Task - Emergency Acquisition of Star Ore] [Issuer: Breeze City] [Demand: Unlimited] [Exchange Rate: 1:1 Gold Coins] [Note: Urgent need for high-quality Star Ore for defensive formation eye upgrade].

Shen Xiaochuan narrowed his eyes, thinking: We have Star Ore; it was dug up incidentally from the Thunder Crystal caves and has been piling up in the warehouse ignored.

Now that Breeze City wants to buy it, it's an opportunity.

He brought up the inventory data.

The current stock exceeded 40,000 tons, which at market price was worth at most 8 million faith points.

But if exchanged for gold coins, it could be directly invested in infrastructure or hiring refugee troops.

The key was that they wanted "high quality."

This meant they were willing to pay more.

And Skydome City had recently upgraded its screening System, which could reduce Impurities to below 0.3%.

This deal could be done.

He didn't rush to accept the mission, nor did he consult anyone.

For this kind of thing, the fewer people who knew, the better.

But he realized one thing: the path of trade was viable.

He withdrew his gaze and took one last look at the Industrial Zone.

Under the night lights, the stele stood quietly, the runes flashing slightly.

Lolia was still there, sitting on a small stool writing records, with a cup of cold tea beside her.

Shen Xiaochuan turned and walked toward the Main Hall without stopping.

There were many things to do tomorrow.

Registering the mission, arranging transport teams, setting up quality inspection processes, building an accounting System... and negotiating the split.

But he wasn't saying anything now, nor was he giving orders.

He just shoved his hands into his pants pockets and touched the copper gear pendant.

The wind blew over, carrying the scent of rust and soil.

The sound of hammers in the east of the city was still ringing, one strike, then another.