I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

While Li Wu and his group were busy preparing for the auction, the entire Ironforge was already in an uproar because of the series of messages they had released.

"Have you heard? That mysterious group that rented three floors of shops in the core area is going to auction off the shop counters!"

"I've heard! Apparently, even the three major super guilds have been alerted, all wanting a piece of the pie!"

"It's not just the three super guilds! I've heard that many big NPC merchants are interested in that location! It's prime real estate in the core area!"

"Just who is this mysterious force? They're incredibly wealthy and powerful! They were the first to rent a shop here."

"Who knows? But I heard that their leader is that 'Mist-Seeing-Flowers God,' who's number one on both the level and equipment rankings!"

"Holy crap! Really?!"

"It's almost certainly him! Think about it, besides him, who else has the power and resources to cause such a commotion in Ironforge?"

Similar discussions were taking place in every corner of Ironforge.

In the trading area, merchants set up stalls while gathering information and calculating whether they would have a chance to enter the market.

In the central square, casual gamers gathered, waiting to witness this commercial extravaganza.

The name "Thousand Gold Pavilion," which Lin Hai came up with on the spur of the moment, spread throughout Ironforge overnight.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy at the headquarters of the major guilds.

……

Temporary headquarters of the 【Sword and Rose】guild.

Jianzhi Qiangwei sat at the head of the table, listening to her subordinates' reports with a frown.

"The auction counter... and it even attracted the attention of NPC merchants?" she muttered to herself. "What exactly is this 'seeing through the fog' plotting?"

"Guild Leader, according to our intelligence, this auction is extremely popular. If we don't participate, other guilds might seize the opportunity and we'll lose the best chance to establish contact with Fog of the Blossoms," the Vice Guild Leader analyzed.

"I understand." Sword Pointing at Rose nodded, then after a moment's thought, decisively said, "Pass on my orders: we must be present at the auction the day after tomorrow. And we must secure the best-located counter at all costs!"

"Our goal is not to do business, but to demonstrate our sincerity and strength to those who are still trying to understand us!"

"Yes, Chairman!"

……

Temporary headquarters of the [Iron Blood Alliance] guild.

After hearing the report, Iron Blood Banner slammed his fist on the table, his face full of frustration.

"Damn it! This whole charade is infuriating!" he cursed. "I've been racking my brains to grind up some reputation points to buy a shop, and I haven't even completed a third of my goal, while he's already rented one?"

"President, what should we do? Should we try to compete for it too?" one of the subordinates asked cautiously.

"Fight! Of course we'll fight!" Iron-Blooded Banner said, his eyes wide. "I want to see what tricks this shop of his can pull!"

"However, we don't need to fight for the best spots, so as not to go head-to-head with that woman from Sword and Rose. Let's just take a slightly worse one and see how things go first."

……

【The Storm Rises Again】Guild Temporary Headquarters.

Feng Yun Jiutian's face was extremely gloomy.

"Looking at flowers through the mist... Qianjin Pavilion..." He pronounced the two names word by word, his eyes revealing undisguised greed and murderous intent.

"A lone wolf dares to dream of establishing his own commercial power in Ironforge? How laughable!"

"President, should we send someone to cause trouble?" a trusted aide asked.

"Stirring things up?" Feng Yun Jiutian sneered. "Why would I want to stir things up? Let him do it. I want to see how much trouble he can cause."

"The more valuable things he has, the greater our gains will be when we kill him."

"Pass on my order: our people will also attend the auction the day after tomorrow. They don't need to bid, just keep an eye on things and make a list of all the forces participating in the bidding."

"I'd like to see who dares to stand with him!"

……

Meanwhile, in the darkest corner of Ironforge.

Blood Wolf Soul also received the same message.

He looked at the intelligence report from his subordinates, and a ferocious smile appeared on his face, which was twisted with jealousy.

"An auction? A thousand-gold pavilion? Heh...heh heh heh..."

"Looking at flowers through the fog, you really know how to surprise me."

"Do you think you can rest easy just by renting a shop?"

"I'll kill you back to level zero sooner or later!"

He looked up at the vice president and ordered in a hoarse voice, "We'll go to the auction too!"

"I'd like to see how they manage to put on this auction with me here!"

An unprecedented storm targeting Li Wu is quietly brewing.

Li Wu, at the center of the storm, was completely unaware of this.

He was currently leading his squad, preparing to head to their first target location—the level 25 leveling area, the Swamp of Sorrows.

This is the area with the highest demand on the materials list compiled by Lao Wang and Xiao Fang.

"Is everything ready?" Li Wu glanced at everyone.

"Ready, boss!" Steel Shield patted his chest, his dark gold Soulforger set gleaming in the sunlight, attracting envious glances from many players.

"We're ready to go anytime!" Arcane Light and Beast Friend nodded in agreement.

"Walk."

Li Wu uttered only one word before leading everyone towards the [Swamp of Sorrows].

……

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past two days, Li Wu and his four-person team have practically lived in the [Swamp of Sorrows].

With the steel shield as a mobile fortress, and Li Wu's almost bug-like output and healing abilities, they could practically roam freely in the swamp.

Various level 25 and 26 elite monsters were no match for them.

Over the course of two days, they not only acquired a large amount of materials, but all of them except Li Wu also leveled up by one.

There's no way around it; it takes a whopping 100,000 experience points to level up from level 30 to level 31!

Li Wu has been grinding monsters like crazy these past few days, and he's only just passed the halfway mark.

When they dragged their exhausted bodies back to Ironforge, it was the last hour before the auction was to begin.

The entire Ironforge was engulfed in a frenzied atmosphere.

The three-story building they rented has now been completely renovated.

A large plaque with black background and gold lettering hung directly above the main gate.

Qianjin Pavilion!

These three characters are powerful and imposing, clearly the work of a master calligrapher.

At this moment, the area in front of Qianjin Pavilion was completely surrounded by a crowd.

Countless players craned their necks to see what was going on, but were all stopped outside by a row of NPC guards in armor.

These guards were invited by Li Wu from the city lord's mansion using his prestige and privileges, in order to maintain order today.

"Boss, you're finally back!" Lin Hai waited anxiously at the door and immediately came to greet Li Wu when he saw him.

"How is the situation?" Li Wu asked.

"Everything is ready!" Lin Hai exclaimed excitedly. "We're just waiting for the main character to make his appearance!"

Li Wu nodded and led everyone into Qianjin Pavilion through the reserved side door.

The lobby on the first floor has been transformed into a small auction hall, with hundreds of seats placed under the high auction stage.

The seats were already full of people.

These people were all prominent figures in Ironforge.

There were NPC merchants dressed in fancy clothes, guild leaders of various guilds, and some lone players who were clearly top-tier experts.

At the very front row, representatives from the three major guilds, [Sword and Rose], [Iron Blood Alliance], and [Rise of the Storm], were prominently displayed.