Chapter Thirty: The Refinery's Strife

  At dawn, Ye Yang woke up from a dream, and the turbid air that had been accumulating in his chest was finally expelled. The wounds all over his body also disappeared without a trace. The soul technique of Zeng Xuan's cultivation was indeed very miraculous.

  "Bang bang..."

  There was a knock at the door and the maid outside said, "Young master, it's time to get up and wash now?"

  Ye Yang glanced over and found Zhen Xuan tightly hugging a corner of the quilt, his entire body sprawled across the edge of the bed. His plump buttocks were slightly raised at an enticing angle, fast asleep in a state of utter bliss.

  "Come on, didn't you say yesterday that Star Pupils don't need sleep?"

  Ye Yang sat up with a gloomy face, stretched out his hand to push Xie Xuan's shoulder: "Alas, Sister Xie Xuan, get up, why did you crawl to my bedside in the middle of the night?"

  "Bang!"

  Suddenly a starlight flashing long spear appeared at the edge of Ye Yang's neck, and if it deviated slightly, it would have taken his life!

  Zhu Xuan subconsciously released the Soul Devouring Gun, rubbed his eyes and sat up, but found Ye Yang staring at him with a dead face, his eyes full of a desire to die.

  "What's wrong, little guy?" Zeng Xuan smiled slightly.

  Ye Yang's gaze dropped, and he said, "Can't we first eliminate the Soul-Devouring Gun's abilities?"

  "Huh?"

  He glanced at his right hand and couldn't help but smile slightly: "This... this is a subconscious self-protective behavior, are you okay?"

  "This time there isn't..."

  Ye Yang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He said to the maid outside, "Put down the water and I'll be right out. You can go then."

  "Yes, young master!"

  The maid was very obedient, in fact she didn't dare to be disobedient, otherwise the young master could torture her in various ways, just like Yan Xiang bullying Ye Yang.

  After getting up and washing, Ye Yang came to the front hall and found that both Ye Nantian and Ye Beichi were there.

  "Zi Yu, you're here!"

  "Uh-huh."

  Ye Yang looked at Ye Beicheng's anxious expression and asked: "Second Uncle, what's wrong? Has Ye Shuang's injury improved a bit?"

  "It's much better, just... " Ye Beicheng wanted to speak but hesitated, and after a few seconds, finally said: "It's just that something happened at the Ye family smeltery!"

  "What's wrong?"

  "This morning, Peng's Refinery in Wu Feng Alley is about to open. Right across from our Ye Family Refinery, they somehow managed to get over a dozen 9th and 8th grade weapons and put them all on display inside the refinery. It seems like they're intentionally trying to compete with us!"

  Ye Beicheng's eyes were filled with helplessness: "Originally, the Ye family's refining workshop had the Rock-Cutting Knife, an eighth-grade military sword, to guard the workshop. But now that the Rock-Cutting Knife has vanished without a trace, if we completely lose momentum to our opponents, I'm afraid the Ye family's refining workshop will no longer be able to maintain its position as the number one ironware in Liangcheng."

  Ye Nantian clenched his fists and said, "The Peng family obviously doesn't want to let us Ye family off so easily. It seems that the struggle for the smelting workshop is inevitable!"

  Ye Beicheng's gaze turned to his elder brother and he said: "How should we respond?"

  Ye Nan Tian furrowed his brow and said: "If there's really no other way, then there's only one path to take!"

  "Which one?"

  "Yao Yang, Yao Yang!" Ye Nan Tian suddenly stood up and said: "Yao Yang is a third-grade divine weapon. If the Ye family is really desperate, we can only invite Yao Yang into the Ye family's furnace as a treasure to guard the furnace. No matter what, Yao Yang still belongs to the Ye family for half a year, and we can use it to hold on for half a year before thinking of a better plan!"

  Ye Beicheng was shocked: "Elder brother, this move requires careful consideration! Bringing Yao Yang into the Refining Workshop is no trivial matter. If Peng Feng uses this as an excuse to make things difficult for the Ye family, we'll be in a predicament!"

  "That's right!"

  Ye Yang stood up, took a look at Ye Beicheng's injuries and said: "Second Uncle, you rest first. Today, I'll take charge of the scene at the Ye Family Refinery!"

  At this moment, Ye Beicheng and Ye Nantian exchanged a glance and laughed together: "Zi Yu, you're willing to go, that's the best!"

  Ye Beicheng gently stroked the wound on his chest and said, "It seems that the Ye family's smelting workshop should indeed be handed over to Zi Yu. As the saying goes, 'the blue comes from the indigo plant but is superior to it.' Zi Yu's smelting skills are probably already better than mine!"

  Yeyang smiled humbly: "Where is it? I'm going to the refinery!"

  "Good!"

  ……

  In the morning, a fierce flame was surging in the Ye family's smelting workshop. In front of the main gate of the workshop, a large green flag was hung with a square character "Ye" written on it. On one side, a row of weapons were placed, all of which were not top-grade blades, but relatively sharp nonetheless.

  Across from Ye Family's Refinery was the only weapon shop in Wu Feng Alley, Peng Family's Refinery had finally opened its doors. The place was packed with people, and some muscular men were moving iron ore into the refinery. At the entrance, a beautiful young girl held a shining sword and directed the scene. It was none other than Miss Peng Yuer of the Peng family!

  In the depths of the Great Way, a young man with two long swords on his back, slender and straight, arrived at the Ye Family Refinery.

  Young Master!

  Two workshop artisans bowed respectfully.

  Ye Yang nodded slightly, his eyes scanning the opposite side, only to find that Peng Yue'er was also looking at him. Peng Yue'er's gaze was filled with disdain and provocation, it was clear that the idea of Peng family's smelting workshop knocking down Ye family's smelting workshop was now unshakeable.

  Ye Yang entered the refinery, and the person in charge of the refinery came over with a ledger, reporting one by one: "Young master, the orders for this half month are 30% less than last month. In addition, the orders from the government army around Liang City have also decreased by about 40%. The refinery's income has dropped by a full 40% compared to last month!"

  Ye Yang furrowed his brow and asked, "What's the reason for the decrease?"

  "We...," the supervisor hesitated for a moment, saying: "We can no longer meet the requirement of providing one ninth-grade military sword every month. If this continues, our forge will lose its cooperation with the government on weapon production!"

  "A sword blade of ninth grade every month?"

  "Hmm, this month, our Master Blacksmith has yet to produce a single 9th-grade sword blade. Yesterday's messenger came to urge us, the border troops are in dire need of 9th-grade sword blades!"

  Taking a deep breath, Ye Yang said calmly: "I understand. Within three days, I will give you a ninth-grade sword."

  "Ah?!" The supervisor was overjoyed: "That's great! By the way, there's one more thing, young master you also saw it, Peng family's refining workshop has opened, they transported in 13 nine-grade sword blades and 3 eight-grade sword blades, those are all divine weapons, already surpassing us in momentum, this is not a good omen!"

  Ye Yang nodded: "I know, you go busy!"

  "Good!"

  ……

  The refinery has no orders, which is a very annoying thing. Although Ye Yang can now easily refine nine-grade sword blades, it's just enough to solve the urgent need, and more importantly, it's about opening up business contacts for orders. Otherwise, the Ye family's refinery will naturally run out of oil and lamp, and eventually won't even have the funds to buy iron ore.

  The Peng family, with their overbearing and arrogant attitude, flaunted their wealth by openly setting up a refinery, clearly not wanting the Ye family to have an easy time.

  Just as they were at a loss, a servant rushed in and reported: "Young master, the owner of Qing Lei Auction House, Miss Lei Xiaodie is seeking an audience outside!"

  "Oh?"

  Ye Yang's eyes lit up, a savior had arrived: "Quickly, please come in, miss!"