115: Confident Blacksmith Wang

After seeing the information displayed above the mysterious person's head, Ye Xiao's mood was incredibly excited.

Just as he had guessed outside earlier, this mysterious person was indeed an NPC from Linhai Village who had survived.

However, after a brief period of excitement, a calm Ye Xiao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Different from what Ye Xiao had hoped for, the mysterious person's identity was not the Village Chief of Linhai Village he had imagined, but rather someone Ye Xiao had never expected: Wang the Blacksmith of Linhai Village.

Some ancient documents had recorded introductions to some functional NPCs at the beginning of Eternal World.

Small fishing villages like Linhai Village, located in theNewbie Area (newbie zone), typically had a basic setup of a Village Chief of Linhai Village, a blacksmith, an alchemist, and a general store merchant.

Ye Xiao had originally thought that if the mysterious person was indeed an NPC from Linhai Village, there would be at least a one-in-four chance of it being the Village Chief of Linhai Village.

In fact, in Ye Xiao's mind, this probability could even reach one-in-two.

After all, from some documents, Ye Xiao understood that the Village Chief of Linhai Village of each village was generally the strongest among all the NPCs.

Thus, it was natural that the Village Chief of Linhai Village would have a higher survival rate.

Unfortunately, things did not go as Ye Xiao had expected.

Looking at Wang the Blacksmith in front of him, Ye Xiao showed some disappointment, but he still forced himself to cheer up.

He was still a little curious as to why Wang the Blacksmith was here.

According to Vivi's diary, Wang the Blacksmith had been hiding in Linhai Village for at least several decades.

And during this time, he had continuously gathered a large number of Professionals through Qi Fei.

And coincidentally, in front of Ye Xiao was an altar-like structure.

This strong sense of familiarity reminded Ye Xiao of Remi.

Remi had also secretly conducted similar transactions with the Zhao Family and the Qin Family.

Could it be that Wang the Blacksmith was also forging exquisite gems?

Or was all of this related to the attribute fruit mentioned by Vivi?

Of course, more importantly, Wang the Blacksmith exposing his identity so brazenly in front of him was clearly not a simple matter.

At this moment, after Wang the Blacksmith lifted his black robe and saw that Ye Xiao didn't seem too surprised, he was rather taken aback.

He couldn't help but ask, "Tsk tsk! It seems you are much calmer than I imagined."

Ye Xiao ignored him and retorted, "You deliberately opened two large doors to let me in; you shouldn't be looking for me to chat, right?"

Wang the Blacksmith laughed heartily, "I like talking to smart people. That's right, your strength is much greater than Qi Fei and those others. Although I don't understand why there would be someone like you in the newbie zone, since you are also stuck on the third-turn advancement quest, why not cooperate with me? Perhaps I have a way to help you."

Ye Xiao's expression shifted, and he asked, "You can help me advance?"

"What's so difficult about that?"

Ye Xiao wasn't surprised that Wang the Blacksmith knew he was stuck on the third-turn advancement quest.

After all, the other party had been entrenched in Linhai Village for decades, and Ye Xiao hadn't deliberately concealed anything.

However, Ye Xiao wouldn't easily trust the other party.

After all, his advancement quest clearly stated that he must find the Village Chief of Linhai Village of Linhai Village, not a blacksmith.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, so he narrowed his eyes and tentatively asked, "You should know that this quest is impossible to complete unless the Village Chief of Linhai Village is resurrected."

Wang the Blacksmith smiled and said, "You don't need to test me. I naturally have my reasons for saying this. As long as you cooperate with me, I will naturally be able to help you complete the advancement at that time."

Ye Xiao sneered inwardly and said, "Do you think I'll believe you?"

Wang the Blacksmith wasn't surprised by Ye Xiao's reaction and grinned, "Now I am your only chance. Are you sure you don't want to seize it?"

He paused, then Wang the Blacksmith continued, "And cooperating with me isn't without benefits. As long as you provide me with a large number of Professionals, I can give you attribute fruits that enhance your attributes."

With that, Wang the Blacksmith directly pulled out a round fruit filled with black energy and threw it to Ye Xiao.

"This is my sincerity."

Ye Xiao took the fruit Wang the Blacksmith threw and looked down.

---

【attribute fruit: After consumption, randomly increases any one of the four-dimensional attributes by 10 points.】

---

Looking at the fruit in his hand, a hint of surprise also appeared in Ye Xiao's eyes.

This should be the attribute fruit mentioned in Vivi's diary.

The reason why Qi Fei and the others could possess superhuman combat power at level 90 was precisely because they had consumed a large number of attribute fruits.

It was false to say he wasn't tempted, but Ye Xiao did not choose to consume it.

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Such a precious item, Wang the Blacksmith gave it away without even batting an eye.

There might be something fishy about it, and Ye Xiao definitely wouldn't eat it before thoroughly investigating it.

Even if he took ten thousand steps back, Ye Xiao had the effect of his Divinity Speed Talent, and he also had other ways to infinitely stack intelligence and health.

At the same time, the Purification Spring he obtained after collecting the water element essence earlier could also provide him with equipment attribute point amplification.

Therefore, he didn't value attribute points as much as Qi Fei and the others did.

Seeing that Ye Xiao hadn't consumed it, Wang the Blacksmith's expression couldn't help but turn cold.

"What? You don't want to increase your strength? Don't want to complete the third-turn advancement?"

Ye Xiao casually put the attribute fruit into his backpack and said with a smile, "If you want me to cooperate, that's fine. Help me advance first."

Wang the Blacksmith snorted coldly, "Do you think I'll believe you?"

Ye Xiao retorted, "Then how will you make me believe you?"

Seeing Ye Xiao so unyielding, Wang the Blacksmith's face completely turned cold.

"Are you refusing me?"

Wang the Blacksmith had originally thought that by throwing out two irresistible conditions for job seekers, attracting Ye Xiao would be almost effortless, but he hadn't expected such a result.

Facing Wang the Blacksmith's cold interrogation, which contained a hint of threat, Ye Xiao remained unmoved.

"Still the same thing, if you want to cooperate, fine, help me advance first."

Wang the Blacksmith sneered.

"Originally, I intended to negotiate amicably with you, but now it seems I overestimated you. Do you think I would have let you in so easily if I wasn't confident in dealing with you?"

Ye Xiao frowned tightly, then saw Wang the Blacksmith raise his left hand, revealing a peculiar black ring on his left thumb.

"Do you know why I appeared before you and said so much?"

He paused, then Wang the Blacksmith continued, "I can sense the aura on you. You must have obtained all the black water raw stones from Qi Fei's group, right? Unfortunately, you were too greedy and absorbed all the black water raw stones."

"What do you mean?"

As Ye Xiao asked, he quickly checked his body but found no abnormalities.

On the other side, Wang the Blacksmith said triumphantly, "No need to look. These black water raw stones were originally given to that human woman. It's just a pity that her strength was too weak to bear the energy of all the black water raw stones. In the end, I had no choice but to step in and have her transfer some of the black water raw stone's energy to several other people."

Hearing Wang the Blacksmith's words, Ye Xiao's heart stirred, and he instantly understood.

The 'black water raw stones' Wang the Blacksmith spoke of should refer to the water element essence.

It turned out that the black beads Vivi had picked up back then were the water element essence. It was just that he didn't quite understand why this water element essence became 'black water raw stones' in Wang the Blacksmith's mouth.

Furthermore, the energy of the water element essence was extremely gentle; logically, anyone could collect it, and there would be no situation where it couldn't be borne.

Not to mention the claim that Qi Fei and others would turn into monsters because they absorbed water essence shards.

If that were the case, Ye Xiao, who possessed the essence of fire, wind, water, and darkness simultaneously, would have long become a terrifying monster, wouldn't he?

Wang the Blacksmith didn't know Ye Xiao's thoughts.

"I did admit just now that I'm not your match outside, but you shouldn't have come in. You can only blame your excessive curiosity."

"Since that's the case, then you shall replace Qi Fei and the others and continue to serve me."

As he finished speaking, the ring in Wang the Blacksmith's hand suddenly emitted a faint green light.

The light shot directly towards Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao's heart skipped a beat. Although he didn't know what effect the light had, he dared not be careless.

Divinity Speed activated, and he instantly dodged.

At the same time, he raised his hand and unleashed a volley of fireballs, smashing them towards Wang the Blacksmith.

However, as soon as the fireballs entered the air above the altar, it was as if an invisible force violently pulled hundreds of fireballs down.

The fireballs instantly smashed several meters in front of Wang the Blacksmith, causing a thunderous, earth-shattering explosion.

Seeing this scene, Ye Xiao's surprise was imaginable.

However, at this moment, the look of shock on Wang the Blacksmith's face was no less than Ye Xiao's, perhaps even more so.

"How is this possible?! Why isn't the black water raw stone on you reacting? Did you not absorb it?" Wang the Blacksmith asked in a lost voice.

But in the next instant, he immediately rejected his own idea.

"No! You have an extremely strong black water raw stone aura on you; the black water raw stone must be on you..."

Suddenly, as if Wang the Blacksmith had thought of something, he exclaimed in surprise, "You actually stripped the water element essence from the black water raw stone? How is that possible? This is my masterpiece, which took decades to create; it's impossible for anyone to strip it away."

Listening to Wang the Blacksmith muttering to himself in a flustered manner, Ye Xiao finally understood.

It turned out that it wasn't that Wang the Blacksmith didn't recognize the water element essence, but rather that the other party had obtained the water element essence from somewhere unknown and, through decades of research, had crafted it into a 'black water raw stone' that could turn people into monsters.

Furthermore, judging from Wang the Blacksmith's previous actions, those who had fused with the 'black water raw stone' would not only turn into monsters but also be controlled by Wang the Blacksmith.

After understanding the key, Ye Xiao couldn't help but feel a wave of relief.

At this point, he roughly guessed that the reason he fused with the water element essence was either due to the characteristics of a Fusion Mage or because of the crimson moon token.

But no matter which one it was, he was thus able to avoid the fate of becoming a monster.

At the same time, after losing control over Ye Xiao, Wang the Blacksmith immediately fell into a furious rage.

"Damn it! You actually ruined my masterpiece! That was a divine artifact I painstakingly crafted over countless years! You damned human!!!"

With Wang the Blacksmith's roar, the ground behind Ye Xiao suddenly shook violently.

Ye Xiao looked back to see a heavy stone door directly falling, completely sealing off the entrance he had come through.