Scabbard Materials

Upon hearing this, Ling Li felt a herd of alpacas stampede through his mind. He had only just walked in and had not even had time to settle down—how had someone already set their sights on him?!

"Senior Yan Mo, this junior sincerely came seeking your help. Please do not joke around." The White-clothed Woman ignored Ling Li beside her and spoke to Yan Mo with greater emphasis.

The Cloud Mist Sect was the greatest sect in the Gamma Empire. She disdained the act of stealing another's weapon. Although the man before her had once been one of the Gamma Empire's ten greatest experts, who did not have some title like that? He was merely a remnant of the old era. If they truly fought, it was still uncertain who would win.

"What a pity." Yan Mo glanced once more at Dark Night in Ling Li's hand. Seeing that the White-clothed Woman had no intention of taking it, he suppressed the burning desire in his heart and sighed.

"How about this? Help me snatch that saber, and I'll forge your weapon for you. What do you say?" Yan Mo continued, seemingly unwilling to give up.

"If Senior does not wish to help, then this junior shall take her leave first." The White-clothed Woman frowned, bowed to Yan Mo, and turned to leave.

Yan Mo examined the materials the White-clothed Woman had brought again, then shook his head. "Forget it, forget it. It seems this saber and I are not fated. You should know the rules here. These materials cannot forge a sword suitable for you, but I can first forge a semi-finished product. Once you gather the remaining materials, come find me again and I will complete it."

"This junior naturally understands the rules. May I ask which materials are lacking?" The White-clothed Woman stopped and asked.

"The Purple Spirit Crystal of a Sixth-Tier Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, the Illusionary Flame Pearl of a Sixth-Tier Surging Wave Dragon Beast, one fifth-tier wind-attributed magic core, and one fifth-tier fire-attributed magic core. Come collect it in three days." Yan Mo waved his hand impatiently.

The White-clothed Woman nodded and left the shop. Two fifth-tier magic cores would be easy enough to obtain, but those two sixth-tier demonic beasts would likely be difficult to deal with. Sixth-Tier Demonic Beasts possessed intelligence equal to that of humans and were truly comparable to human Dou Emperors!

After speaking, Yan Mo no longer paid any attention to the White-clothed Woman. He walked over to Ling Li, bent down, and carefully appraised Dark Night in his hand as though examining a work of art, occasionally clicking his tongue in admiration.

"Tsk, tsk. Who knows how many people this saber has killed to cultivate such bloodlust. If you had come ten or twenty years earlier, perhaps I would have snatched it from you. Boy, how about selling this saber to me?" A flash of red light passed through Yan Mo's eyes as he looked at Ling Li meaningfully.

"Not for sale." Ling Li refused curtly.

Ling Li understood the principle of not flaunting one's wealth, but how could he have a scabbard made without letting the other party see the saber? If this old man tried to seize it by force, Ling Li had no choice but to run first and then use the system to summon Dark Night back from the System Space.

"I'll take this job. However, given your age and strength, you probably have never heard of my name. You must have stumbled in here by following that girl just now, right?" Seeing Ling Li's response, Yan Mo did not press further and instead asked this question.

Ling Li nodded and flipped his hand, taking out all kinds of rare metals he had purchased from the System Space. "I heard there was a decent bladesmith here. But I don't know the rules you mentioned earlier. I have some materials here, though I don't know if they can be used."

"Boy, are you playing with me? How could materials like these possibly be worthy of that saber?" Yan Mo said coldly, as if insulted and enraged. The red light in his eyes grew increasingly intense, while his reddish-brown hair rose and fluttered like blazing flames. A vast, scorching pressure like magma spread out from him. The surrounding air seemed to congeal into liquid, becoming heavy, while the blazing heat rapidly filled the small shop. Even the walls built from gray stone appeared to have been burned red-hot.

Ling Li was startled, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. He hurriedly activated his Dou Qi to reinforce the defenses of his Dou Qi Garment. Yet even so, it was as flimsy as a sheet of paper before this pressure. In a single exchange, it was burned away completely.

Even a difference of one star meant a vast disparity in strength, let alone when this immortal old bastard before him was a Dou Wang—or perhaps even a Dou Emperor-level expert. Before someone like that, Ling Li was not even worth calling an ant. Even summoning the will to resist was difficult.

Just then, the terrifying pressure suddenly vanished without a trace. Yan Mo took several deep breaths, but offered no explanation to Ling Li. He merely muttered to himself, "Whew, good thing I held it down. Otherwise, things would have gotten troublesome."

Only after steadying his emotions did Yan Mo return to a calm tone. "A scabbard is a saber's home. Just as the poor live in slums while the rich live in mansions, this saber's scabbard must match its status. At the very least, you need to find the material used to forge this saber, a material it cannot easily cut through, or a material capable of damaging it."

"Come find me once you have the materials. But you'd better think it through. The price for having me forge a weapon is very steep. I'm afraid you may not be able to afford it then! Heh heh heh..." Yan Mo cackled sinisterly.

Ling Li nodded. He did not ask what those so-called rules were and simply walked out of the small shop somewhat dazed.

Ling Li was in a terrible mood. He had made a special trip here, yet not only had he failed to find a scabbard, he had nearly been killed as well. No one would be in a good mood after that.

That sensation of having his life threatened had made him deeply uncomfortable. Ling Li had only experienced it twice before: once when he had first arrived in this world and nearly starved to death, and the second time when he encountered that first-tier Ink Leopard.

After a brief period of dejection, Ling Li let out a deep breath and consoled himself inwardly. Only the weak retreat when faced with difficulties. Sooner or later, I'll tear this damn shop apart!

That damn Ole introduced me to such a dangerous place. If he can't give me compensation that satisfies me later, I'll make sure he learns what hell looks like!

Since transmigrating into this world, thirty percent of the reason Ling Li had survived was the devouring ability granted by his bloodline, while seventy percent was because of Dark Night.

This bizarre weapon of unknown rank had undoubtedly provided an enormous boost to Ling Li's strength, allowing him to barely fight opponents above his level. Therefore, Ling Li was exceptionally eager to forge a scabbard for Dark Night.

According to Yan Mo, he needed to find at least one material that Dark Night could not easily cut through. Yet aside from weapons reinforced and condensed with Dou Qi, which could barely withstand Dark Night's strikes, Ling Li had never seen any suitable material. Even the rare metals he had bought along the way could probably be easily cleaved apart by Dark Night, much less materials capable of damaging it. This gave Ling Li quite a headache.

Better to lack than settle for something inferior. The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge. If I can't find it now, I'll look slowly. I refuse to believe there isn't suitable material anywhere on this entire continent! Ling Li thought to himself.

As Ling Li walked down the street and was about to call Little Doctor Fairy to leave, he spotted two fly-like figures hovering around her. Already in a foul mood, Ling Li's expression darkened even further.

"Heh. I didn't trouble you before, yet now you've come looking for trouble yourselves. I was just thinking of taking a trip to the Alchemist Guild—aren't you delivering yourselves right to my door?" Ling Li sneered. As his cold laugh rang out, Dark Night was already in his hand, black mist slowly rising from its blade.