"Ah! It's Xingchen!" From a distance, Long Xin cried out, "It's that kid Xingchen." As expected of a Mage, that eyesight is truly unmatched.

"Hahaha!" Long Zhan was even more dramatic, rushing toward me at top speed, looking like a massive truck accelerating head-on, which instinctively made me sidestep to avoid him.

"You rascal, took you long enough to show up!" Long Zhan missed his tackle but immediately swept me into a full embrace.

"Wuwu, let go quickly!" I scrambled free from Long Zhan’s arms. By this time, Long Xin, Long Qi, and Dongguan Jinhong had also gathered around. The group immediately enveloped me in a tight hug.

"Hehe, Boss! You truly are amazing; how did you recognize me at a glance?" I irritably snatched the skull helmet off my head. "I deliberately changed my disguise."

"Little squirt, with your build, I'd recognize you no matter what you wore." Long Xin, equally excited, quickly snatched off her Daoist helmet. If there hadn't been people from other guilds around, she probably would have grabbed me and spun me around a few more times.

"I figured with this kid's progress, he should be emerging from seclusion around this time," Long Qi remarked sagely from the side.

"Hehe." Dongguan appeared from nowhere right in front of me, grabbing my waist and pinching my side. "Hmm, your build has certainly gotten stronger, hehe, but you're still not as tall as me."

This guy hasn't changed a bit, always hitting my sore spot the moment we meet.

"Hah! Dongguan, you little brat." I snatched him up in return. "It doesn't matter if I'm not as tall as you, as long as I'm stronger." With that, I began spinning the slightly-shorter-than-me Dongguan around like a windmill.

"Ah! Put me down!" Dongguan's expression changed drastically, yet he dared not struggle, afraid that if I let go, I'd send him flying. He could only scream desperately, "I'm dizzy, put me down now!"

"Alright, stop fooling around." That was Jinhong’s voice. I quickly set Dongguan down, only to see the kid spinning around, unsteady and on the verge of collapse, like someone who'd drunk strong liquor. It seemed that quick spin had really done a number on him.

"Look at you two, starting to bicker the moment you reunite," Jinhong said, slightly exasperated.

"Hehe!" I sheepishly scratched the back of my head.

"That's enough for today's training. Since Xingchen is back, let's have a proper celebration!" Long Xin announced.

"En!" Long Zhan and Long Qi nodded excitedly, while Jinhong grabbed the staggering Dongguan, saying happily, "Then let's head back to the inn for a good meal."

"Great idea."

Amidst cheers, the few of us sprinted toward the exit.

"Innkeeper, bring out whatever delicious food you have!" In the Tu City Inn, Long Zhan’s booming voice nearly shook the establishment apart.

"Enough, keep it down!" The green-clothed Innkeeper scolded him. "My inn has been operating for over two thousand years; if I lose it because of your shout, can you afford to compensate me?"

"Hehe, well about that…" Long Zhan habitually touched his completely bald head, which shone like the Phoenix Pearl, and grinned sheepishly.

"And bring a few more jars of Lionheart Fury," Long Qi added.

"Mm, start me off with some sweet wine and dates," Jinhong chimed in as soon as she sat down, busily ordering her favorites.

"And me! A plate of peanuts!" Dongguan supplemented.

"Hey! Xingchen kid, you really have some clout!" The green-clothed Innkeeper teased while taking notes. "This girl Long Xin rarely orders more than a few good dishes all year, but the moment you show up, she orders everything all at once."

"Hehe, well, of course!"

"It's been a year and a half since we last met, after all!"

Soon, the table was laden with the inn's signature dishes.

"To celebrate Xingchen finally advancing successfully, let's drink!" Long Zhan lifted a massive bowl overflowing with Lionheart Fury.

Long Xin and Long Qi also filled their cups, while Dongguan and Jinhong, unable to handle strong liquor, made do with the sweet wine in their bowls.

In the private room, we drank and chatted.

I finally understood why they had left the Centipede Cave and returned to Tu City.

It turned out the whole thing was sparked by the fierce battle between the Mad Dragon Gang and the Grand Alliance. The conflict between the two major guilds directly affected smaller guilds like Long Xin's group; many who didn't want to be dragged into it had abandoned the Centipede Cave. On the other hand, they had also reached the corresponding levels while in the Centipede Cave and could now freely enter and exit the Pig Cave, so it wasn't too inconvenient.

At first, they had risked infiltrating the Dark Zone to look for me. When they couldn't find me, they plunged into dangerous areas crawling with evil insects like the Terror Space and the Realm of Life and Death. Not only did they fail to locate me, but they nearly lost their lives several times. Coupled with the ongoing guild war, the situation was extremely chaotic, and they suffered many unwarranted disasters. Having no choice, Long Xin led them out of the Centipede Cave.

Later, while continuing their training in the Pig Cave, they would occasionally return, writing down their training location in a letter and giving it to the Innkeeper so I would know where to find them upon my return.

Hearing their account deeply moved me. These friends had nearly died in the Terror Space for my sake and navigated perilous situations amidst the chaos of the two guilds' war.

"Tell us about yourself!" Long Xin and the others bombarded me with questions, finally getting the full story of what happened after we separated. Naturally, they were intensely curious about my experiences in the Centipede Cave.

"My side was much more exciting," I replied, vividly recounting everything that had transpired since we parted ways, leaving them wide-eyed and gasping in amazement.

"Heavens, you aren't exaggerating, are you! You actually killed the Scarlet Jiao!" Dongguan and Jinhong exclaimed in horror.

"That's right!" I stated proudly.

"You’ve stirred up huge trouble this time!" Long Qi’s expression was complicated.

"It's a good thing they didn't recognize you," Long Xin said thankfully. "No wonder you felt the need to disguise yourself."

"Hehe! According to what you’re saying, you must have several sets of Zuma equipment in your space pouch, right?" Long Zhan didn't care about whom I killed; what mattered more to him was the Zuma gear I had picked up.

"You wish," I retorted, annoyed. "If I don't take it out, you won't believe a word I say, will you?"

"Exactly," Long Zhan grinned slyly, staring at me. This guy had a shrewd plan; if I produced the equipment, it would land straight in his inventory. However, I had already intended to give each of them a set of gear, so I readily complied. I immediately rummaged through my space pouch and dumped out the equipment I had collected. ..................... Long Xin and the others stared in stunned silence at the stacks of Zuma sets piled on the floor.

"Goodness, there's so much!" Long Qi could hardly believe his eyes.

"We've struck gold! Struck gold!" As expected of the greedy leader Long Xin, her first reaction was...

"Roar! This set is mine." Long Zhan pounced immediately, claiming a large heap of Zuma accessories.

"I'm taking this set!" Dongguan, not to be outdone, reacted quickly! He immediately hugged a set of Zuma gear meant for a Mage.

Sigh. These guys truly didn't know the meaning of politeness! Only Jinhong managed to maintain some semblance of calm, though her gaze was firmly fixed on a set of Daoist Zuma equipment.

Thus, in the blink of an eye, these friends had divided the spoils completely. Afterward, each began admiring their haul with immense satisfaction.

"Heh, I’ve been saving up for years just to afford some decent gear!" Long Xin sighed profoundly. "I never thought Xingchen would save us all this money in one go."

"Hehe, so does that mean we can spend this money now?" Long Zhan's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Is that even a question? Go eat it all up," Long Xin declared grandly.

"It's a pity our current strength isn't enough to wear them yet!" Long Qi deflated. "We're only at the high tier for our respective classes; we're still a long way from advancing to the Red Moon level."

"I don't care about that; just looking at them is satisfying enough," Long Xin dismissed the concern.

"Me too!" Dongguan looked content. "I just advanced to Intermediate Mage; I'm not even a High Mage yet." Speaking of this, Dongguan seemed to get a headache. "But if anyone finds out I'm carrying Zuma gear, it'll be extremely dangerous!" The guy started worrying about potential loss and gain.

"Tell me about it," Jinhong muttered, unable to stop caressing the Dragon-Patterned Sword in her hand. I hadn't even advanced to High Daoist yet, let alone the Red Moon level.

"It seems we can’t wear this equipment for now!" Long Qi said, instinctively glancing at Long Xin.

"Since we can't wear them, and keeping them on us isn't safe, let's temporarily store them in the inn's warehouse!" Long Xin frowned. "But doing that means we have to rent a storage space, which is another significant expense."

Sweat. Seeing the pain on her face, I realized she had completely forgotten who was just talking about eating all that money.

Watching their fluctuating expressions of gain and loss, I couldn't help but laugh. Obtaining top-tier gear prematurely turned out to be a hassle.

Thinking of this, I remembered I still had several space pouches I hadn't sorted through, and perhaps they contained gear suitable for them to use right now. So, I quickly pulled out several smaller space pouches.

"I haven't even inventoried the contents of these until now; you all look through them and see if there’s anything you can use immediately."

Consequently, the private room descended into another round of chaos. The items spilled from the space pouches almost covered every corner of the room.

To my surprise, these space pouches contained all sorts of miscellaneous things; there were over a dozen weapons alone. There were also other mid-to-high-grade accessories, hoes, and even a few pieces of ore. And other things like torches, ropes, Gold-Cure Powder, Healing Potions, and even several dozen bags of precious Daoist Poison Powder, which Jinhong and Long Qi immediately claimed.

After carefully sifting through, we managed to put together appropriate equipment for each of them. For instance, Long Zhan now sported a standard set of High Warrior gear: Skull Helmet, Ghost Necklace, Reaper's Gloves, Dragon Ring, Bronze Belt, and Deer Hide Boots.

Everyone was overjoyed and incredibly excited.

After all, good equipment could boost a Ranger’s strength significantly. It was fair to say that Long Xin and the others' combat effectiveness had now more than doubled compared to before. This meant their training progress would also double, which was enough to make them ecstatic.

After much commotion, everyone finally calmed down.

"Alright, the first thing we do is rent a storage space and place this temporarily unusable equipment there for safekeeping!" Long Xin said seriously.

Everyone nodded involuntarily.

"And there’s one more thing you haven't forgotten, right?" Long Xin said, giving me a strange look.

"What is it?" I asked subconsciously, but quickly remembered the matter concerning the Divine Craftsman Lu Tong.

"It couldn't be Lu Tong, could it?" I said, feeling a headache coming on.

"Exactly," Dongguan confirmed. "He’s inquired several times. We told him you might be caught up in the conflict between the Grand Alliance and the Mad Dragon Gang and couldn't get away temporarily, which made him back off." Dongguan continued, "But now that you're back, shouldn't you go see him?"

Long Qi and Long Zhan also looked at me with concern. Everyone knew well that Lu Tong was a very obsessive person; if handled improperly, the consequences could be disastrous. However, I had already prepared my excuses. Besides, one could only hide for so long; this matter had to be resolved sooner or later. Moreover, Lu Tong had forged two excellent weapons for me; one must be decent in treating people well. Since I had accepted his favor, I naturally had to offer a return gift.

Seeing me agree so readily, Long Xin and the others were slightly taken aback.

"You look like you have a good grasp on this!" Long Qi chuckled lightly. "That puts my mind at ease."

"Mm! If it truly doesn't work out, just tell him the truth!" Dongguan advised. "Uncle Lu, while stubborn, is not unreasonable."

"Let's hope so."

The next morning, everyone rose early. After breakfast, they accompanied me to Divine Craftsman Lu Tong’s residence. Of course, beforehand, Long Xin had already stored the equipment in the inn's warehouse. In fact, many inns across the continent provided storage facilities. Usually, many Rangers would deposit valuables at inns to prevent loss.

Although these storage facilities were located within the inns, the actual safekeeping was managed by personnel dispatched by the state to oversee these precious items. When an item was stored in an inn's warehouse, it was equivalent to opening a private vault maintained by the government. It was somewhat similar to a modern safety deposit box. Stored goods were placed into an alternate dimension similar to a space pouch, and the inn's warehouse merely served as a kind of service outlet. Only by using a special password could the depositor freely retrieve items from the warehouse. Therefore, there was no fear of loss or theft. This was a measure created during the zenith of space magic development, providing immense convenience, speed, and security to countless Rangers over thousands of years.

The Craftsmen's Gate was one of the oldest organizations on the continent; by today, its scale had transcended national and continental boundaries. Wherever there were people, there were members of the Craftsmen's Gate. Nearly seventy percent of all blacksmiths, tailors, and other handicraft workers on the continent had some connection to the Craftsmen's Gate. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Craftsmen's Gate was the most influential industrial body on the continent. Lu Tong was not just a blacksmith shop owner under the current Gate Master; successive Masters of the Craftsmen's Gate were invariably the wealthiest people in the world. Even the fiscal revenue of various continental nations could not compare.

In the martial-arts-dominant Marfa Continent, all artisan professions revered blacksmiths, especially those who forged weapons. Consequently, the successive Masters of the Craftsmen's Gate were invariably drawn from the ranks of blacksmiths, and only the blacksmith with the highest forging skills could assume the position. Lu Tong had inherited excellent forging techniques from his grandfather and was widely recognized as the continent's finest blacksmith today, naturally becoming the current Gate Master.

The headquarters of the Craftsmen's Gate was located in Dan City, directly north of Tu City, but they operated several large blacksmith shops in Tu City. This was why Lu Tong often appeared in Tu City. Just like when Long Xin and Jinhong returned to Tu City previously, Lu Tong happened to be there on business, which is how he coincidentally forged two weapons for me.

However, according to Dongguan, this time we were heading to the Craftsmen's Gate headquarters in Dan City—Divine Craftsman Lu Tong's true home. It was still a long journey from Tu City, so we set off early.

We traveled swiftly on horseback and finally reached Dan City, hailed as the sacred land of the Craftsmen's Gate, just before sunset.

Compared to Tu City, Dan City was much smaller, only slightly larger than Fandi. However, the volume of foot traffic here was astonishingly high, and most of the people coming and going were martial artists dressed as Rangers. This greatly surprised me. The streets were lined almost exclusively with blacksmith shops, armor workshops, and jewelry stores, selling items intrinsically linked to Rangers.

Through Dongguan's explanations, I finally understood the situation. Dan City had long been famous for producing highly skilled blacksmiths. There was a saying in the Ranger world: only blacksmiths who graduated from Dan City were true blacksmiths. Furthermore, weapons forged by Dan City blacksmiths had always been renowned for their quality. Over time, Dan City became one of the cities that most attracted Rangers, as every Ranger wished to have a fine weapon forged and would travel great distances here. The influx of Rangers greatly stimulated related industries; almost anything a Ranger needed could be bought here. While these items were available elsewhere on the continent, neither the quality nor the price could compare to Dan City's offerings. Prices in Dan City were far cheaper than in other cities, but the quality was absolutely guaranteed. Thus, Rangers affectionately called Dan City the City of Rangers. Besides artisans, only Rangers populated this place.

The town layout was similar to Fandi, with imposing guards at the gate. However, incoming and outgoing carriages and horses underwent no basic inspection, which made me instinctively wonder if these guards were merely decorative props.

The streets were bustling with traffic, yet they lacked the characteristic clamor and noise of other cities, as well as the cries of street vendors and the laughter of children heard on every corner. Everyone here seemed to have a specific goal.

It seems no one here is idle; what a truly peculiar city.