Settling Old Grudges

The fierce gust of wind made Fatty Zhou's face pale with shock. Just as he tried to react, he felt a chill at his neck.

"Skin-Peeler Zhou, long time no see."

With those words, a figure emerged—it was Lu Ming. He had calculated the timing and infiltrated this place beforehand, never expecting to stumble upon such a spectacle by sheer coincidence.

"Ghk... ghk..."

His throat had been slit with a single stroke. Though Fatty Zhou's vision was already darkening, he still recognized the newcomer. "It's actually you... How is that possible..."

He had clearly recognized Lu Ming. One hand clutched his throat, his face full of disbelief.

Then he collapsed weakly, just like the beggar in the courtyard.

"The blade was still a little too short. Otherwise, at such close range, with my speed, he never could have noticed in advance."

Having succeeded with one slash, Lu Ming did not rush over. Instead, he wiped the blood from his blade while reviewing his previous action.

What he had just used was the Gale Style.

Only, rather than stabbing the man himself, he had stabbed at the air before the man's neck, letting the blade sweep sideways past it to slit his throat in one stroke.

Only after seeing that the man was thoroughly dead did Lu Ming step forward and take the secret manual and one hundred taels' worth of silver notes from his body. He had watched everything clearly while hiding inside, so naturally he would not let them go.

He then searched the room for a while and found another dozen or so taels of loose silver.

He knew this was the limit, because the man had used all his savings to buy this courtyard.

Without lingering any longer, Lu Ming prepared to leave. As he passed through the courtyard, he saw the beggar lying on the ground with his throat caved in and shook his head.

This beggar and Li San were precisely the two acquaintances he had met when entering the city that day. They had often robbed the original owner of his things in the past.

He had originally intended to teach them both a lesson this time, but now that they were already dead, there was no need for him to act.

"The grudges are settled."

Lu Ming sighed and left directly.

What he had witnessed just now gave him a more direct sense of this world's cruelty. Big fish ate little fish, and human lives were as cheap as grass; one careless step, and they would vanish.

And living within it, the only thing he could do was grow stronger without cease.

Now, he was going to exchange his weapon for a suitable blade, one that would allow him to unleash all his strength.

Inside a rather large blacksmith shop in the city, even though night had already fallen, the place was still blazing with activity.

Those hammering iron, tending the fires, and buying weapons were all crowded inside, making it somewhat cramped.

"Iron Shopkeeper, I've already paid the deposit. You must forge the sword according to my requirements as quickly as possible."

Only after a handsome young master dressed in lavish clothes left with a group of attendants did the blacksmith shop become more spacious.

"Young Master Yang, take care. This humble shop will certainly forge the longsword as quickly as possible and deliver it to your residence."

An old man with a thin mustache respectfully saw him out of the shop before returning inside.

At once, a burly shop hand hurried over. "Shopkeeper, was that the Yang Family's young master? He had so many guards following him even when going out. What grand pomp."

"As the young master of one of Shuofeng City's three great Lineages, how could his pomp possibly be small?"

The shopkeeper stroked his mustache.

The shop hand's face was full of envy, and he began chattering away. "I heard that an Inner Sect Elder from the Seventh-grade sect Nine Heavens Sect happened to pass through here and is staying with the Yang Family."

"And apparently, he took a liking to Young Master Yang and wants to accept him as a disciple."

"An Inner Sect Elder of a Seventh-grade sect—that's a Gangqi Realm expert. And at the very least, they're in the Mid Gangqi Realm, stronger even than our city lord."

"You brat, you're quite well-informed."

"Then we can't delay. Hurry and set up a furnace with greater firepower. That piece of ore Young Master Yang provided is no ordinary material. It won't be easy to smelt, and it'll take extra time."

"You must forge the treasured sword before Young Master Yang leaves, then deliver it to him."

"Understood."

The shop hand hurried away.

Lu Ming had already been there for a while, listening to their conversation with great interest.

Through the books Old Man Zhao had left behind, his knowledge had greatly expanded, and he knew what a Seventh-grade sect like the Nine Heavens Sect represented.

In this world, all major powers were ranked from first grade to ninth grade according to their strength.

First grade was the highest, while ninth grade was the lowest.

The disparity between an unranked power and one that had entered the ranks was enormous. Even the lowest Ninth-Rank Power was vastly stronger than one that was unranked.

For example, there was not a single ranked power within Shuofeng City.

Even the Zhao Kingdom's royal family could only be considered a Ninth-Rank Power.

From this, one could see what a colossal existence the Nine Heavens Sect, a Seventh-grade Power, truly was.

And for that Young Master Yang to become the disciple of one of its Inner Sect Elders, it was clear what immense fortune he had encountered.

"Little brother, are you here to buy a weapon?"

Perhaps because Lu Ming had stood there for too long, the shopkeeper noticed him and came over to ask.

"Yes, I want to buy a saber. The blade should be around half a finger wide, and as for the length..." He gestured at his own height. "Around my waist and abdomen will do."

"That would be around thirty inches long."

The shopkeeper had a sharp eye and calculated the length at once, then asked, "What price range are you looking for?"

Lu Ming asked in return, "What price ranges do you have?"

"There are quite a few. Good materials cost several thousand or even tens of thousands of taels. Poorer materials cost only tens or hundreds. Unusual designs require custom orders. As for the slender saber you want, we happen to have one ready-made. What price range do you want?"

As the shopkeeper introduced the options, he sized up Lu Ming's clothes. Although Lu Ming wore coarse linen garments, he showed not the slightest trace of disdain.

Merchants valued harmony as the path to wealth. Perhaps the other party had no money today and could not afford anything expensive, but who knew whether he might strike it rich tomorrow or the day after?

Therefore, it was always good to leave behind a favorable connection.

Lu Ming did not concern himself with so much. After considering the state of his purse, he said, "Then one in the tens will do."

"Come with me."

The shopkeeper was not particularly surprised by his choice. He led Lu Ming to the counter, then took out a long-handled slender saber in a black scabbard and handed it to him.

"See whether this one suits you."

Lu Ming took it and first tested its weight, finding it just right. Then he drew the long saber from its sheath.

The blade was white as snow, with a neat row of serrated markings along it.

"This was forged from Bin Iron and other materials. Rest assured, even the cheapest saber in our shop has been hammered a full hundred times, so the blade is exceptionally tough."

The shopkeeper introduced it proudly from the side.

Lu Ming nodded, listening while carefully examining the blade. He found that this saber looked particularly similar to the Miao Dao he had seen in his previous life.

Its hilt was likewise very long, perfectly suited for him to grip with both hands.

"May I test it?"

Lu Ming asked.

"Come with me."

The shopkeeper did not refuse. He brought Lu Ming before a wooden post as thick as the mouth of a bowl and let him test the saber.

Lu Ming did not waste any time. Gripping the saber with both hands, he raised it high, then swung with all his strength. In an instant, the wooden post was cleaved in two with a single stroke, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

"Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect someone so young to swing a saber with such clean, decisive precision. Your fundamentals are clearly solid."

The shopkeeper was also a Martial Artist, and his realm was not low, so his eye was sharp. He could tell that Lu Ming had not circulated any inner qi in that slash.

He had relied entirely on the strength of his physical body.

Yet judging by his lean frame, the physical strength he possessed should never have been enough to sever in one stroke the wooden post his shop specifically used for testing sabers.

Yet he had cut it apart. This showed that Lu Ming could use technique to bring out far greater power from his physical strength.

Without a period of diligent, bitter training, it would have been absolutely impossible to achieve such a level.

That was why he offered such praise.

"I merely relied on the saber's sharpness."

Lu Ming humbly brushed it off, then asked, "This saber is quite good. May I ask its price?"