Buying a Sword and Transmigrating

"Butler Fang, how is a slave who bullies her master to be punished?" Fang Qingwei asked, her voice icy.

The butler at the side hurried forward and said respectfully, "According to the laws of Great Li, one who, as a slave, bullies her master... dies."

The maid kneeling on the ground trembled all over, kowtowing nonstop as she begged, "Miss, spare my life! Miss, spare my life!"

Fang Qingwei swept Butler Fang with a cold glance. "What are you still waiting for? Do you need me to do it myself?"

"Yes."

Butler Fang hurriedly called the servants on either side to drag the maid away. Afraid that her endless cries would anger Fang Qingwei, Butler Fang even slapped the maid across the mouth, knocking out her teeth and sending blood flowing freely.

Fang Qingwei said coldly, "A slave is a slave, and a master is a master. Remember your place."

"Yes."

With that, she flipped onto White Horse Thousand Mile Snow and left the courtyard, a crowd of servants following closely behind.

Among them, one of the horse-grooming stablemen looked at the blood splattered across the ground, his fists clenched tight, and said in a voice too faint to notice, "Father was right. Better to be a beggar than another man's slave. Sooner or later, I'll leave this place."

Fang Xuan knew nothing of what had happened in Snow Plum Courtyard, and even if he had, he would not have cared. At this moment, he walked out of the Fang Residence and arrived at the largest weapons store in Dragon Abyss Province.

"Customer, what weapon do you need? We're the largest weapons shop in Dragon Abyss Province. Swords, Spears, Halberds, Axes, Yue, Hooks, and Prongs—we have them all. If you have enough silver, we even have magic artifacts." A cleanly dressed shopboy immediately came up to greet Fang Xuan when he saw him arrive.

"Magic artifacts? Truly?" Fang Xuan asked curiously.

"Of course it's true," the shopboy said proudly. "Our shopkeeper's brother is a disciple of an immortal sect, and from time to time he sends over a few magic artifacts to be sold."

"How much do they sell for?"

"Ten thousand taels of gold."

Fang Xuan waved his hand speechlessly. "Forget it. Let's talk about something more realistic. Pick me out a sword."

The shopboy also knew that this price could indeed scare off most people, and he hurriedly led Fang Xuan toward the shelves.

Fang Xuan's gaze fell on the various treasured swords in the shop. Their styles were all different: long swords, short swords, broad swords, great swords, paired mother-and-child swords...

Some treasured swords were even hollow-carved with decorative patterns. At a glance, they were clearly meant for those scholars to dress up their appearances.

In the end, Fang Xuan chose a black longsword. The blade and body of the sword were seamlessly forged as one, all made from hundred-refined steel, and the patterns formed by the hundred refinings could still be seen along the blade.

Fang Xuan reached out and gripped the hilt, only feeling his hand sink slightly. He casually flourished the sword, and streaks of cold light spread through the shop, giving off a faint sword-hum.

"Good sword."

"Young Master truly is impressive. This Black Ice Sword was forged through a hundred hammerings by our Hundred Artifacts Pavilion's finest master using Xuan Tie. It is seamless and cuts iron like mud. Look at the cloud patterns on it—just a little more and it would have been thousand-fold steel. Many customers took a liking to this treasured sword, but because their own strength wasn't enough, they couldn't use it. I never expected Young Master to possess Divine Strength Unmatched. This sword was practically custom-made for Young Master. And the price isn't expensive either, only fifty taels of silver," the shopboy said.

"You really do know how to talk. Take it."

After saying that, he directly tossed over fifty taels of silver.

Practicing martial arts was truly a money-burning affair. Wealth, companions, methods, and land—no wonder wealth ranked first. Without money, one really couldn't move an inch.

One sword alone cost fifty taels of silver. An ordinary household might toil for several years and still not necessarily earn that much.

Add to that the saying "poor scholars, rich martial artists"—the heavenly treasures eaten every day, or at the very least meat if nothing better, not to mention those pills. Even he, as a Fang Family disciple, received only one Essence Pill each month, let alone those Rogue Cultivators of the rivers and lakes.

Fang Xuan planned to cross worlds again. Just an ordinary "himself" from a Ganges Sand World had brought him such great gains. If he wanted his cultivation to advance another step without the support of pills, he could only rely on his Golden Finger.

However, the worlds he crossed into were all unknown. Before going, he had to make ample preparations. Buying a sword was precisely for that reason.

Fang Xuan also knew sword techniques. What was taught in Myriad Phenomena Garden was not limited to Pine Crane Longevity Fist; there were also some sword techniques, saber techniques, and the like. When traveling outside, having a weapon naturally gave one greater killing power.

Inside his room, Fang Xuan made all preparations. Then he connected with the Bright Point in his sea of consciousness.

The next moment, his entire body vanished. When he appeared again, he had already arrived in another world.

Before his eyes was a stretch of woods. In the distance, he could faintly see a path not far away.

Fang Xuan did not act immediately. He stood where he was, closed his eyes, and sensed.

Every world had a "himself," and between the two existed a very special connection. This was also why, in the last world, Fang Xuan had been able to find and kill "himself" with ease. Otherwise, searching all over the world would have been difficult.

A moment later, Fang Xuan abruptly opened his eyes and said with delight, "Found him. I didn't expect him to be so close."

After saying that, he turned and strode off toward the southeast.

"Coiling Dragon City."

Fang Xuan raised his head and looked at the three huge characters on the city gate, silently reading them.

"Hey, are you going or not? If you're not, don't block the way."

Fang Xuan turned his head and glanced at the large man urging him from behind, then silently stepped aside to let him pass first.

This was an ancient society. Streams of people came and went through the city gates, with soldiers standing guard at the entrance.

"Move aside! Move aside!"

A squad of soldiers ran out from within the city and directly drove away the commoners entering and leaving through the gates. Anyone even a little slow was punched and kicked. Before long, all the commoners at the city entrance had been driven to one side.

"What's going on? Why won't they let us into the city?"

"Shh, don't talk. Judging by this commotion, it's obvious some important person is coming. Look, I've seen that man at the very front before. That's the chief steward of Ten Thousand Horses Fort."

"Hiss~ What kind of status must this person have for the chief steward to personally come out and receive them?"

"No idea. Just wait!"

As they were speaking, a convoy came toward them on the distant official road. The convoy looked exceedingly strange. At the very front was a rather splendid carriage, while behind it followed dozens of carts loaded full of goods—only the things on them were all pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and the like, along with some ingredients. It looked just like a mobile kitchen team.

Fang Xuan's gaze was instead drawn to the flag planted on the carriage. The flag streamed in the wind, and on it were written three large characters: "Gourmet God Residence."

"I was wondering who it was. So they're here to welcome Gourmet God Residence!" one of the wandering martial heroes blocked at the city gate said.

"Brother, what kind of power is this Gourmet God Residence, to make the chief steward of Ten Thousand Horses Fort come personally to greet them?"

"You don't know?"

"Please enlighten me."

"Gladly, gladly. Strictly speaking, Gourmet God Residence isn't a martial world power. It's just a place that specializes in cooking. The Goddess of Cooking Liu Yiyi of Gourmet God Residence inherited her family's culinary arts, and her skill is unmatched under heaven. It's said that with the dishes she makes, even monks would smell them and want to return to secular life. All the major powers in the martial world regard inviting the Goddess of Cooking of Gourmet God Residence to cook for them as an honor. I imagine something major must be happening at Ten Thousand Horses Fort this time," that wandering hero explained.

"So that's how it is. This little brother has only just entered the martial world and is ignorant of many things. Many thanks, Brother, for resolving my confusion. If you have some leisure, may this little brother invite you to drink a cup of wine?"

"Gladly, gladly. The fish at Drunken Cloud Pavilion is not bad. Why don't we go have a taste?"

"Please."

"Please."