Divine Weapon Pavilion.
As Shen Fan reached the entrance, the same woman from last time blocked his path, hands on her hips.
In a snide, sarcastic tone, she said, “Well, if it isn’t the poor braggart from the other day. Are you here to buy a weapon? I’d advise you to take off your shoes, wash your hands, and maybe even take a bath before coming in. Otherwise, a beggar like you, reeking of bad luck, will tarnish the good fortune of the Divine Weapon Pavilion.”
Faced with this woman who judged others by their appearance, Shen Fan fought the urge to stomp on her face and grind his heel in.
SLAP!
With a flick of his wrist, Shen Fan slapped a stack of silver notes against the woman’s face.
“Open your damn eyes and see what this is!” he bellowed.
The woman was stunned.
She hadn’t expected that with her Third Rank of Meridian Opening Cultivation, she would be unable to dodge Shen Fan’s attack.
Looking closely, she realized Shen Fan was also at the Third Rank of Meridian Opening, but his aura was sharp and fierce.
She remembered that just a month ago, Shen Fan was at the Peak of Meridian Opening Second Stage, and now he was at the Third Rank!
‘He must be a genius!’
She was profoundly shaken.
When she came to her senses, she realized she was clutching a thick stack of notes.
The smallest denomination was a one-thousand-tael silver note, and the largest was a ten-thousand-tael gold note!
She trembled, her expression changing drastically.
This was several hundred thousand taels!
Even a minor family clan would struggle to produce such a sum.
Moreover, he had broken through to the Third Rank of Meridian Opening in such a short time, proving his outstanding talent.
Wealthy and talented—a person like that was definitely no beggar.
He had to have a powerful background, one she could not afford to offend.
“Oh, it’s you, Young Master! Please, come in, come in. This servant is Xiaohong. I was just joking with you earlier! Please don’t be angry, Young Master.” Xiaohong’s attitude did a complete one-eighty.
Her previously haughty expression was replaced by a flirtatious, dazzling smile as she draped her arm over Shen Fan’s shoulder.
“Get your Shopkeeper,” Shen Fan said.
He snatched the notes back from Xiaohong’s chest, shoved her aside, and strode into the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
A woman like that was only good for slapping with money.
Just looking at her was disgusting to Shen Fan.
Xiaohong’s expression faltered for a moment, but she quickly recovered, swaying her body as she called up to the next floor, “Shopkeeper, we have a distinguished guest!”
For a saber wielder, a good blade could significantly amplify their power.
This was especially true for Shen Fan, who practiced the Fast Blade technique, which placed even higher demands on the blade’s material.
The long saber he currently used was made of ordinary material.
It couldn’t be infused with Primordial Qi, its shape wasn’t smooth, and it was incapable of unleashing the full power of his Fast Blade.
Furthermore, its hardness was average; against a true Treasure Saber or Treasure Sword, it would be shattered in a single strike.
The Outer Courtyard assessment was just over a month away, and his goal was to place in the top three.
That meant he would inevitably have to contend with people like Liu Jie.
As far as he knew, the number one disciple of the Outer Courtyard, Wang Chong, was a master of the Staff Technique.
The long staff in his hands was named Split Stone, a Treasure Staff that greatly enhanced his strength. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Shen Fan followed the Divine Weapon Pavilion’s Shopkeeper, an old man in black at the Sixth Rank of Meridian Opening, to the saber room.
A chilling aura washed over him as they entered, filling him with anticipation for the sabers within.
The black-clothed old man’s eyes were much brighter than an ordinary person’s, marking him as a shrewd individual.
Knowing Shen Fan was wealthy, he led him directly to the inner saber room.
Last time, Shen Fan didn’t have a chance to properly inspect the sabers inside.
Now, with several hundred thousand taels of Silver to his name, he was full of confidence and walked straight toward the golden saber rack in the center.
When he picked up a green long saber, about four feet in length, the old man in black explained, “The Green Cloud Saber, forged from Green Cloud Stone. When drawn, it releases a hazy mist. It was crafted by a master and is valued at five thousand taels of Gold.”
“The Stone-breaking Saber, refined from high-quality patterned steel. A single slash can cut through the hardest iron ore as if it were tofu. Valued at three thousand taels of Gold.”
“The Five Tiger Saber, refined from the hardest spinal bone of a Low-Tier Ferocious Beast, the Red-haired Tiger. It possesses a natural, fierce aura and emits a whistling sound when swung. Valued at ten thousand taels of Gold.”
…
Shen Fan picked up one saber after another, stroking them as if greeting a first love.
He was a lover of sabers and felt that every single one was a top-tier choice.
These sabers, whether light or heavy, thin or narrow, thick or wide, each had its own characteristics, but none of them suited his needs.
They were either too light, too heavy, or too wide—none would allow him to bring out the best of his Fast Blade technique.
Seeing that Shen Fan had inspected over a dozen precious Treasure Sabers without finding one to his liking, the old man in black couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Young brother, does none of these sabers suit you?”
His patience with Shen Fan was surprisingly good.
If any other person with a Third Rank of Meridian Opening Cultivation had been so picky, he would have thrown them out long ago.
Shen Fan’s eyes lit up.
He could tell there was a hidden meaning in the old man’s words.
“Are there other sabers?”
“There are, but…”
“Is there something special about them?” Shen Fan’s interest was piqued.
The old man in black gave Shen Fan a deep look before turning to lead the way.
“Follow me.”
Shen Fan followed him through a heavy iron door and into a dim room.
The shopkeeper lit a bright lamp, illuminating a black saber resting on a wide rack forged from heavy iron.
The saber was three feet long and three inches wide, with an edge as thin as a cicada’s wing.
The hilt looked like it was made of something that was neither gold nor jade.
Under the lamplight, a bloody glint seemed to pulse from within the sharp patterns on the blade’s body.
The entire saber’s aura was seamless, and it exuded an astonishingly fierce qi, like facing a High-Tier Ferocious Beast.
“Such a powerful fierce qi!” Shen Fan exclaimed, his expression turning grave.
His own long saber had slain dozens of Low-Tier Ferocious Beasts and countless wild animals, but even so, it only carried a faint smell of blood, not a visible fierce qi.
This saber, however, had a chilling aura.
It didn’t reek of gore, yet it radiated an intense fierce qi, and blood-colored patterns had even formed within the blade itself.
Just how many living beings had it slain, how much blood had it been soaked in, for a saber to condense such a powerful fierce qi that blood patterns formed on the blade?
With a flicker of his mind, Shen Fan activated his Soul Eye.
Peering through the layers of fierce qi and following the blood patterns, he scanned the blade and was shocked to discover broken, Profound Elemental Patterns woven throughout its interior.
‘How could there be Elemental Patterns inside a saber?’
‘Did a Weapon Master refine Elemental Patterns into the weapon?
Could this saber have been severely damaged?’
His heart began to race.
He felt he had just discovered an incredible saber.
In the mind of a Martial Artist, Elemental Patterns often represented mystery and power.
The thought of a saber containing Elemental Patterns was simply incredible.
“May I touch it?” Shen Fan asked, keeping his expression neutral.
He knew the old man in black was unaware of the Elemental Patterns within the saber; otherwise, he would never consider selling it to him.
Without waiting for the old man’s consent, he took a step forward and gripped the hilt with his right hand.
“Don’t!”
SIZZLE…
A wisp of smoke rose from his palm.
The friction between his skin and the fierce qi created a searing sensation.
He let out a soft cry, channeled a stream of Primordial Qi into his hand, and tightened his grip!
“Hah!”
The fierce qi intensified, trying to surge into his body like countless needles piercing his skin.
A trickle of red blood flowed out.
He hadn’t expected this reaction.
Not daring to fight it head-on, he was forced to let go.
“Primordial Qi is useless against it.
Not only Primordial Qi, this saber can’t even be imbued with Yuan Jin!” The old man in black, seeing Shen Fan suffer a setback, hurriedly advised, “A Trial Taker brought this saber back from the Sunset Mountain Range.
I saw that its material was extraordinary and spent ten thousand taels of gold to acquire it.
Who would have known that after buying it, I’d find it impossible to imbue with either Primordial Qi or Yuan Jin!”
Shen Fan frowned and thought, ‘It can’t be imbued with Primordial Qi or Yuan Jin…
Could it be that the Elemental Patterns inside the saber are damaged?’
“Furthermore, for some unknown reason, the residual fierce qi in this saber is incredibly strong. I’ve tried several methods to dispel it, but nothing has worked. I can only suppress it with my Yuan Jin. This saber has been sitting here for over three months. If I still can’t sell it, I’ll have to send it to the Imperial Palace and have the Weapon Masters there take a look at it to figure out what’s wrong.” The old man in black shook his head helplessly.
He had been in the weapons business for over a decade and had handled countless blades.
He had thought this was a Treasure Saber, but it turned out he had misjudged it.
‘Impossible.
A saber with Elemental Patterns must be incredibly powerful.
How could it be unable to be imbued with Yuan Jin and Primordial Qi?’
Shen Fan activated his Soul Eye again to observe the Elemental Patterns inside the blade.
However, the fierce qi within was too intense.
He could only make out that the patterns were broken and fragmented before he had to stop looking.
‘No matter what, a saber with Elemental Patterns can’t be an ordinary weapon.
I should just buy it now.
In the future, once I can condense Yuan Jin, I’ll suppress the fierce qi and see what’s really wrong with it.’
With this in mind, Shen Fan kept his expression calm but said aloud, “This saber’s fierce qi is powerful and very unique. I’ll offer fifteen thousand taels of Gold for it.”
“You want this saber?” the old man in black asked, incredulous.
For Martial Disciples and Martial Artists, a saber that couldn’t be imbued with Primordial Qi or Yuan Jin was worse than an ordinary chopper.
Even with his Sixth Rank of Meridian Opening strength, he couldn’t see anything special about it.
He didn’t believe that Shen Fan, at a mere Third Rank, could have discovered anything he missed.
‘Rich young masters just love these kinds of trinkets.’
The old man in black smiled, accepted the gold notes, and placed the saber into a special scabbard designed to prevent its fierce qi from leaking out.
With the transaction complete, Shen Fan left the Divine Weapon Pavilion and headed for Black Water Academy.