That evening.

Zhou Huai's phone screen lit up, a slight vibration coming from it.

It was a text message from Ye Xi.

"Brother Zhou Huai, I... I heard... that person named Yasuo, is he..."

Between the lines, there was cautious probing and unease.

Zhou Huai tapped his finger and replied, "Yes, he's dead."

The moment the message was sent, Ye Xi's call came through directly, her voice clearly choked with tears and self-reproach.

"I'm sorry, Brother Zhou Huai! It's all my fault! If it wasn't for me, he... he wouldn't have provoked Lu Qi, and he wouldn't have..."

"It's not your business," Zhou Huai's voice was gentle and calm, carrying a reassuring power.

"This was my choice, it has nothing to do with you."

"You don't need to think about anything, and you don't need to do anything."

On the other end of the phone, Ye Xi sobbed, and it took her a while to compose herself.

"But..."

"No buts," Zhou Huai interrupted her. "Xi'er, listen. This matter ends here. In front of anyone, don't ever mention the name 'Yasuo' again."

"The messages you sent me, and our call records, remember to delete them all."

"Mm... Mm! I remember!" Ye Xi nodded heavily, her voice still thick with a nasal tone.

She paused for a moment, then whispered, "Brother Zhou Huai, I... I might not be able to visit you recently."

"My dad said the National Joint Exam is coming up soon, and he found me a special coaching team. He wants me to go into seclusion and push hard."

Zhou Huai chuckled, "That's good. The exam is important, work hard."

"When you get a good score, I'll prepare a big surprise for you."

"Really?" A hint of excitement finally appeared in the girl's voice.

"Of course."

After hanging up, Zhou Huai deleted all related records.

He leaned back in his wheelchair, gazing out at the night, his eyes calm.

...

At the same time, inside the Forging Guild in Tianhai City.

Manager Shen Qiu's office was brightly lit.

He held a ring in both hands, his palms trembling slightly uncontrollably, his expression a complex mixture of shock, ecstasy, and disbelief.

"This... this was really... forged by him today?" Shen Qiu's voice was a bit distorted.

Lin Wei, standing opposite him, nodded vigorously, her pretty face also beaming with excitement.

"Absolutely true! Manager!"

"Great Master Ouyezi, these past few days, besides resting, has been solely focused on forging rings!"

"Just now, he handed this ring to me!"

Shen Qiu took a deep breath, feeling as if his heart was about to leap out of his throat.

Epic-Rank equipment!

Although it was only a Rank 10 ring. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Its symbolic meaning was extraordinary!

This meant that their Forging Guild in Tianhai City had finally produced another Great Master capable of forging Epic-Rank equipment!

One must know that the forging world of Donghai City had always been suppressed by the forgers nurtured by the various Adventurer Guilds and influential Families.

Although the Guild was an official organization, it appeared strong on the outside but weak on the inside because it couldn't retain top talents.

Most of the talented forgers were poached by those large Families with huge sums of money, becoming their exclusive craftsmen.

This also led to the Forging Guild's lack of high-end equipment output, and its influence in the circle became weaker and weaker.

Now, everything was different!

Ouyezi!

He was still so young!

His future was limitless!

"Quick! Come with me to see the President!" Shen Qiu could no longer hold back, carefully put away the ring, and pulled Lin Wei, rushing towards the President's office.

President Gu Yan soon arrived upon hearing the news.

When he took the ring, which emitted a faint purple glow, from Shen Qiu's hand, a terrifying gleam burst forth from his sharp, weather-beaten eyes.

"Good! Good!"

Gu Yan caressed the ring, saying "good" twice, his voice full of vigor.

"I've been holding this breath for too long, old man!"

He held the ring high, towards the light, as if admiring a peerless work of art.

"Shen Qiu!"

"Yes! President!"

"Arrange it immediately! Send this ring to the auction house under our Guild!" Gu Yan's eyes sparkled with shrewdness.

"We will publicly auction it! Make the momentum as big as possible!"

"I want everyone in Donghai City to know that our Forging Guild is not without capable people!"

"We are back!"

...

Zhou Huai was unaware of the Guild's high-level decision.

At this moment, he was controlling Ouyezi, carefully selecting new equipment blueprints in the blueprint library on the second floor of the Guild.

Yasuo would resurrect in twenty-four hours, and Gandalf had also been generated.

It was time to prepare new equipment for them.

His gaze quickly fixed on a set of Rank 15 purple rare set blueprints.

【wild set (Rare)】

This set of equipment was simply tailor-made for Yasuo.

The set effect not only increased Agility by 50% but also had an active skill.

【Wild Surge】: After activation, increases Attack Speed by 100% and Movement Speed by 100%, Critical Hit Rate increases by 30%, lasting ten seconds. The cost is consuming 100 Mana while losing 100 Health per second during the duration.

An extremely powerful burst skill.

As for the negative effect of losing Health, Zhou Huai didn't care.

As long as a few attack lifesteal attributes were refined onto the equipment using the 【Touch of Spiritual Refinement】, this problem would be easily solved.

Having dealt with Yasuo's equipment, next was Gandalf.

As an SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage, Zhou Huai didn't even consider ordinary sets.

He flipped through for a long time, his gaze finally settling on an Epic-Rank blueprint with a faint purple glow.

【star moon set (Hat)】

【Required Rank: LV15】

【Set Effect (Inactive):】

【2/5: Increases Magic Recovery Speed by 50%.】

【3/5: Reduces Skill Cooldown Time by 30%.】

【5/5: Activates the active skill 【Arcane Dual Manifestation】.】

【Arcane Dual Manifestation】: Consumes 500 Mana, ignores cooldown, and instantly casts the same skill twice.

Zhou Huai's breathing hitched slightly.

This set effect was simply Heaven-Defying!

Especially 【Arcane Dual Manifestation】, if combined with Gandalf's Forbidden Spell - Meteor Shower...

The scene was simply unimaginable.

However, this star moon set was divided into five pieces: hat, gauntlets, pants, robe, and boots.

And in the blueprint library before him, there was only a blueprint for the hat.

Zhou Huai immediately called Assistant Lin Wei over.

"Great Master Ouyezi," Lin Wei stood respectfully to the side.

Ouyezi pointed at the star moon blueprint and asked in his usual concise style, "Only this one?"

Lin Wei immediately understood what he meant, a hint of apology on her face.

"Yes, Great Master. Currently, our Guild has indeed only collected this one blueprint for the hat."

She paused, explaining, "Because the blueprints for this 【star moon set】 only drop in one place."

"Shadow Swamp Demon Cave."

"Moreover, it must be the [N O V E L I G H T] final BOSS of Disaster difficulty, which has an extremely low chance of dropping it."

"Our Guild has organized several explorations, expending enormous manpower and resources, and only by luck obtained this one."

Shadow Swamp Demon Cave, huh...

Zhou Huai understood in his heart.

It seemed his next leveling spot was already decided.

"Understood," Ouyezi nodded, handing the 【wild set】 blueprint to Lin Wei.

"Prepare the Materials."

"I want to forge this set."

Lin Wei took the blueprint, carefully glanced at the list of Materials, and her face showed difficulty.

"Great Master, most of the Materials on this list are available in the Guild warehouse."

"However... the 【Storm Gryphon Feathers】 and 【Raging Giant Lizard's Inverse Scales】 are both quite rare Rank 15 elite Materials."

"The Guild currently has no stock and will need some time to acquire them from the market."

"It might take some time."

"You can go back and rest first. As soon as the Materials are all here, I will notify you immediately."

Ouyezi nodded calmly.

Zhou Huai then controlled him, leaving the Guild and returning to the Advanced apartment.

With everything arranged, Zhou Huai's consciousness finally withdrew from the Clone's body and returned to his main body.

He needed a good rest to conserve his energy for the upcoming actions.