Forge of the Kalpagni Lantern

The Xianzhou Zhuming had floated in the starry seas for over eight millennia after setting sail from the Primeval Imperium. If one were able to view a chronological snapshot of how the starship's form had changed, it would be a very romantic experience — The colossal ship swallowed a deep-blue star, peeled off the worn hull layer by layer, swelled as a brimming bud, and finally bloomed into a lotus.

From space, the entire Xianzhou Zhuming appears as a lotus lantern of filigree gold. The giant glowing "lotus leaves" gradually spread out around the "light poles" and are bathed in a soft blue glow, being indeed worthy of poems that declare it "A ship whose hull deceives the eyes, a lotus whose petals like candles glow." The "lampstand" section at the center of the ship is a spherical cage, its size on the magnitude of a celestial object. It tightly wraps around the azure sun, the "lantern wick," and eternally spins. This mega structure is the most important location for the Xianzhou Zhuming's manufacturing industry — the Flamewheel Forge.

In the past, the Zhuming Grand Artisan Yang Di had received a weapon mold from the anonymous sovereign of the Primeval Imperium as a gift when the fleet set off on their voyage. Thousands of years later, though the fleet has now changed beyond recognition with their immortality and the return voyage will never occur, the tradition of the Grand Artisan never died. In the Xianzhou Zhuming, artisanship is the supreme school of learning. All its generals also held the title of the Artisanship Commission's Furnace Master. When they leave the ship, they command thousands of troops. When they return to the ship, they would swing their hammer and forge wondrous items, and receive the people's supreme respect. More than half of the weapons used in the Xianzhou's hunts throughout the fleet's history were forged in the Xianzhou Zhuming. Therefore, the Flamewheel Forge came to be regarded as the holy pilgrimage site for such technologies in the entire Cosmos.

Metalsmithing is a measure of the advance of civilizations, while flames mark the beginning of civilizations. Many civilizations, while in their infancy, are most troubled with the problem of energy sources. The people would spare no effort in discovering energy sources that can support their civilization to new heights. The Xianzhou Zhuming have stepped over this limitation — By imprisoning the progenitor of heliobi, the Flint Emperor, the artisans have obtained a literally inexhaustible power source. The Flamewheel Forge has intricate branch-like track systems that cover the star as much as possible, and the delicate boughs and leaves are choked with receptors and transmitters that guide the Primordial Flame "Flint Emperor" to provide energy for all technological developments.

Countless artisans regard the Zhuming Artisanship Commission, which had swallowed up a Pseudo Sun, as the hallowed hall of the craft, with apprentices who aspire to forge divine tools swarming the institution. With enough force, anything can be crafted, and the Flamewheel Forge has prepared everything the artisans could possibly need —

Apprentices from different worlds come together before the Forge and become fellow students, then compete and share their skills. Outworlders who come in search of marvelous tools would also pay a hefty sum to commission artisans to craft otherworldly items — However, the countless apprentices over the millennia have rarely been favored by General Huaiyan, the "Artisan of Artisans." Whenever he tutors students himself and personally passes on his skills both as a craftsman and a soldier, these students would either become grandmasters who leave a mark in the annals as Furnace Masters or become Cloud Knights with names that thunder through the Alliance such as the Flamewheel Octet.

"Forges wrought a million stars bright, irons craft heroes' soaring flight. Miniscule lights into martial might made, only with sharp blades are peace and plenty saved." From the day a Zhuming artisan receives their tools, they must always remember — What they will spend their days and nights making are no simple weapons, but the arrows carrying the creed of The Hunt.