Having witnessed the dishonesty of Cyan Sheep, an Advanced Rune Master, Bai Pu deeply felt that his cautious attitude toward the Awakened was justified.

He couldn't help but miss Qin from the Flesh and Blood Plague World, Dongbo Cheng from the Heart Demon World, and Daoist Xiuqing from the Three Kingdoms World...

The natives were still worth trusting; as long as you completed their tasks and accumulated goodwill, they would provide reasonable feedback.

Bai Pu affirmed his thoughts. Until he encountered someone he could completely trust, he did not plan to choose the Awakened as his Spirit Realm exploration partners, to entrust his life and death.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Chi Li, an Advanced Awakened and Level 9 Blacksmith, appeared punctually.

Chi Li was a lean and muscular middle-aged man with a few strands of white hair at his temples. He stood tall with sharp and spirited eyes.

Based on the example of the Cyan Sheep, Bai Pu didn't have high hopes for this meeting either.

If not for the official backing, Bai Pu would have hesitated to take out the damaged crown. What if Chi Li also got greedy at the sight of the treasure and wanted to buy it forcibly?

There was no way Bai Pu would sell it, and he would end up forming another grudge with an Advanced Awakened.

Bai Pu took out the crown, intentionally concealing the dark gold glow.

Chi Li, upon seeing the damaged crown, exclaimed softly, "Is this Dark Gold Equipment? You're quite lucky; it seems you found a good group of teammates."

"Hmm?" Bai Pu was a bit confused.

Yuan Yue quietly explained, "In the Advanced Spirit Realm, the Lords have terrifyingly long blood bars. It's impossible to kill them based on individual power alone; usually, they need a team of Advanced Awakened to eliminate."

Bai Pu suddenly understood; Chi Li was indeed a master among the Advanced Awakened, seemingly having also teamed up to defeat a Lord.

After getting closer, Chi Li carefully observed the crown and said, "To repair this crown, we need to approach it from two aspects. Firstly, the main metal structure of the crown, which is forged with Refined Gold, requires about 20 grams of Refined Gold for repair; otherwise, it will affect the base material quality of the equipment."

"Refined Gold!" Bai Pu had heard of this material before; it's a kind of Magic Metal where just a small amount can turn equipment into top-grade.

Chi Li looked at Bai Pu, curiously said, "Although Refined Gold is precious, the Plane World where you obtained this equipment should have it. Since you all managed to besiege a Lord in that world, you must have been operating there for a long time, so acquiring some Refined Gold shouldn't be difficult."

Normally, being able to besiege a Lord in a world indicates that the Awakened team has established deep-rooted operations in that world.

Because Lords rarely act alone, they usually have a large number of subordinates. The team must first deal with these subordinates to ensure they don't interfere with the Lord battle.

By the way, Lords who are lone wolves are even more terrifying. The Spirit Realm Will would balance the difficulty of killing a Lord by stacking the difficulty of what should be the many subordinates onto the Lord themselves!

Chi Li's speculation was correct, and Bai Pu indeed had heard about Refined Gold in the world of the Flesh and Blood Plague. His territory, Scania, had an extremely rare chance of obtaining Refined Gold as tax.

However, Chi Li was mistaken about one thing; Bai Pu had not been operating there for a long time, having spent just over a month in the Flesh and Blood Plague World so far...

If Bai Pu had been managing the territory for over two years, he might indeed have some Refined Gold stock. But as of now, he truly had none.

Upon hearing Bai Pu's answer, Chi Li hesitated a while and said, "I have some Refined Gold here that I can sell to you at a fair price... For 20 grams, I'll charge you 50,000 Spiritual Points."

Bai Pu instinctively felt suspicious, not because the price was high, but because it was cheap.

"After all, repairing Dark Gold Equipment is a valuable opportunity for me, as well."

Noticing Bai Pu's surprise, Chi Li explained, then continued, "However, I still suggest you be cautious with the repair. Using Refined Gold can only repair the main part of the crown; you'll also need three top-grade gems for inlay to fully restore this Dark Gold Equipment."

Bai Pu understood Chi Li's point: spending 50,000 Spiritual Points might not yield immediate benefits.

"Are there any nuances with the inlay process? Can I do it myself, or do I need to find a professional?" Bai Pu asked.

"You can do it yourself. I'll leave three slots in place when repairing," Chi Li answered.

"Regarding the repair cost, other than the material fee of 50,000, how is the labor cost calculated?" Bai Pu inquired.

"Repairing Peak Golden Equipment typically costs about 10,000 Spiritual Points. For incomplete Dark Gold Equipment... there's no charge."

Chi Li smiled and said, "As I mentioned, repairing Dark Gold Equipment is also a rare opportunity for me."

"I am willing to proceed with the repair. Would you mind signing a Spirit Realm Will notarized contract, Senior? I'll cover the necessary Spiritual Points," Bai Pu proposed.

"A notarized contract? No problem," Chi Li readily agreed.

After the two signed the notarized contract, Chi Li took the damaged crown. He exclaimed with some sentiment, "If only Anvil were here."

Yuan Yue, who had been sending messages with his watch, was surprised to hear Chi Li's sentiment: "Anvil? They're on a mission, but they're on the way back."

Bai Pu was somewhat intrigued: "Isn't Anvil a Level 3 Blacksmith? Can he be of help?"

"He's my forging assistant. After all, there aren't many Awakened who deliberately learn a sub-profession and strive in that field."

Chi Li exhibited a "make do" attitude, sighed, and said, "Not that Anvil can do much, but the process of repairing Dark Gold Equipment is itself a treasure for him.

"Anvil is about to advance to a Level 4 Blacksmith, about to forge his first piece of Golden Equipment. The experience of repairing high-quality equipment could offer him great inspiration."

"So, should we wait for their return, then proceed with the repairs?"

Since Anvil and the others were returning, Bai Pu didn't mind waiting a little longer.

So far, Bai Pu had a good impression of Senior Chi Li; he was much better than that Cyan Sheep from the Seven-Colored Rainbow Guild.

...

When Yuan Hall, Anvil, You Bai, and the others returned and heard about the matter, they were all interested.

However, Yuan Hall had to go write a materials summary and left with a sigh.

Anvil, eager to start, enthusiastically helped Chi Li tidy up the workshop, organize the forge, and prepare materials for the initial preparations.

You Bai skillfully found a spot to hide like a chameleon in the shadows.

Having signed the notarized contract, Bai Pu felt relaxed. Having just finished a round of Meditation training, his energy was exhausted, so he headed to the Special Service Group Six Office's training ground for combat skill training.

By the time Bai Pu had expended his Fighting Qi to about thirty to forty percent remaining, two hours had passed. He received a notification from Yuan Yue, stating that the main part of the damaged crown had been repaired.

The repair was quite successful, having restored part of the Dark Gold Equipment's attributes.

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