The Best Knife in the Village

After repeated trials, he had chopped apart three cardboard boxes, two foam boxes, and a mineral water jug.

Xiao Jie finally stopped trying.

Whew, using an Ultimate Skill really was exhausting!

He rubbed his sore, swollen arms and muttered to himself.

Using combat skills was not as simple as it looked. Every swing required him to gather all his physical strength, energy, and focus into that single strike, and it consumed a great deal of stamina.

Especially for someone like him, who lacked long-term exercise.

Looks like I need to find time to work out in the future.

He casually put the kitchen knife back in the kitchen. Xiao Jie thought that he needed to buy another blade. He could not keep using this thing to test skills in the future.

He would definitely learn more skills later on, so he needed to prepare the corresponding weapons as well.

He might as well start with blades.

Considering his limited funds, Xiao Jie did not plan to buy any particularly good swords or sabers. They were only for testing game skills anyway. As long as they worked, that was enough.

Xiao Jie logged onto Taojin Net. After searching for a while, he ordered a decorative Embroidered Spring Blade.

It only cost 268 and even came with a maintenance kit. Looking at the gorgeous blade in the product picture, he felt a little excited.

After placing the order, he saw that it was not dark yet and decided to wander around the game some more.

He did not plan to continue Firewood Chopping today. After mechanically chopping for six or seven hours straight, both his mind and body had been severely drained. If Xiao Jie had not worked as a professional gamer before, an ordinary person really would not have been able to endure it.

Even so, he was already sick of punching trees. What kind of game had you do nothing but beat on trees all day?

Xiao Jie planned to turn in all the firewood in his bag, then look around the village to see if there was any other work he could take.

Oh, right. He also needed to buy a blade for protection. He should have enough money to buy a weapon now, right? Although there should not be any danger in the village, being unarmed still left him feeling insecure.

After returning to the game, Xiao Jie first found Wang Da Niu and turned in the remaining dry firewood.

Wang Da Niu (Woodcutter): "Little brother, you really chopped quite a lot of dry firewood today. I have enough firewood here to last me for a while, so if you still want to do this job, you'll have to come back in a few days."

Xiao Jie said, "No problem. I can look for other work. Brother Wang, you take care too." As he spoke, Xiao Jie returned the Firewood Knife, collected his reward, and said goodbye before leaving.

This time, he earned another 80 copper coins. The morning had been more or less wasted, but in a single afternoon, he had earned a full 270 copper coins. After deducting food and repair costs, his profit was roughly 200 copper coins.

One copper coin was worth ten yuan, so 200 copper coins meant two thousand yuan. He had made two thousand yuan in one day. At this rate, earning fifty or sixty thousand a month would be easy. This was definitely a high-paying job.

However, his Enlightenment effect only lasted seven days. After those seven days, raising the proficiency of his life skills so easily probably would not be possible anymore.

He looked at the savings in his bag. There were a full 296 copper coins. He had never felt so rich before.

The first thing he did was buy ten Steamed Buns. These were daily necessities. As long as he was active in the game, his Satiety would gradually decrease. Even if he did not work, it would only drop more slowly; it would still decrease.

It seemed that he would need to keep food stocked in his bag from now on.

Then he went to the Blacksmith Shop, intending to buy himself a blade.

To his surprise, Wang Kai was not there. Instead, that bearded blacksmith had appeared again.

Zhou Tong (Blacksmith): "Young man, you're back. What, got money this time?"

"I did make a little. I want to buy a blade. Can I take a look?"

"Of course. Pick whatever you like. All the weapons in the shop are here."

The product list appeared before Xiao Jie once again. Although there were many items, Xiao Jie only paid attention to bladed weapons, so the options immediately narrowed considerably.

Firewood Knife: 12 Chop. Price: 100 copper coins. Item description: A tool for chopping firewood. Though it is not a qualified weapon, it is still better than fighting bare-handed.

Willow Leaf Saber: 14 Chop. Price: 180 copper coins. Item description: A Single Handed Blade shaped like a willow leaf. Its sharpness and chopping power are both rather average. It is a very common standard-issue saber, a typical choice for those unskilled in martial arts who merely need something for self-defense.

Ghost Head Broadsword: 19 Chop. Price: 300 copper coins. Item description: A heavy broadsword decorated with an evil ghost pattern on the hilt. Suitable for wielding with both hands, it possesses tremendous power. However, due to its considerable weight, it is somewhat lacking in speed.

There were only three in total. The Firewood Knife was definitely out of the question. It was a tool, and it was too short. It was fine for chopping branches, but using it on people was out of the question.

"Can I try them out?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, Xiao Jie first chose the Willow Leaf Saber.

It only had 14 Chop, barely more damage than the Firewood Knife. Fortunately, it was longer, giving it a much greater attack range. Most importantly, he could afford it right now.

After equipping the Willow Leaf Saber, Xiao Jie used a combat skill on the air.

One Cut Two Pieces!

His blade slashed through the air with a swish, but it felt light and powerless, as if it had no force at all.

Yet the bearded blacksmith was startled when he saw it.

"Young brother, what fine skill! That slash was truly beautiful. One look tells me you're an expert."

"Heh heh, not at all. I'm just fooling around. You're flattering me, Master Zhou. Can I try that Ghost Head Broadsword?"

"Please!"

Xiao Jie equipped the Ghost Head Broadsword, but immediately frowned. Its damage was indeed good, but it was a little too heavy. It weighed a full 12, while his Strength was only 8. With one hand, he could at most wield a weapon weighing 8.

If he held it with both hands, he could gain a 50% Strength bonus and use the blade. But in that case, he would not be able to use combat skills.

That was really a pain in the ass.

Xiao Jie swung twice at the air. It was noticeably slower than the Willow Leaf Saber, but the Willow Leaf Saber's damage was too low.

Neither blade felt particularly ideal.

Xiao Jie was somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Master Zhou, don't you have a better blade? The stuff you sell is way too poor."

"Hahaha! Young brother, you certainly have high standards. Fine, if anyone else said that, I wouldn't even bother responding. But I can see that you're skilled with a blade, so I'll broaden your horizons."

As he spoke, a new item suddenly appeared on the product list before him.

[Wild Goose Feather Saber (Limited-Time Item)]

Huh, they even sold limited-time items? He hurriedly checked the saber's attributes.

[Wild Goose Feather Saber (Single Handed Blade / Fine)

Attack Power: 21 Chop, 17 Pierce.

Weapon Effect: Wild Goose Feather Flight. The narrow blade ignores air resistance. Attack Speed +1, and attack speed is unaffected by wind-element spells.

Item Description: A long blade shaped like a wild goose feather, with a narrow body. Its blade, forged from refined steel, is exceptionally sharp. While ensuring that the weapon remains light, it possesses tremendous killing power. Its sharp tip can also be used for thrusting. It is a fine weapon with extremely demanding forging requirements.]

Good stuff!

Xiao Jie's eyes immediately heated up as he looked at the blade's attributes. Among a pile of ordinary white-grade weapons, this green-quality Single Handed Blade stood out like a crane among chickens.

Then he saw the price—3,000 copper coins.

Fuck! Wasn't this a bit of a scam? It was only a green weapon, yet it cost this much?

No, Xiao Jie immediately realized that it was not that the blade was expensive. He was just too poor.

Looking at the two hundred-odd copper coins in his bag, they suddenly did not seem so impressive anymore.

"What is it, young brother? How is this blade?" the bearded blacksmith asked smugly.

"It's a good blade, but unfortunately I can't afford it."

"Hahaha, then there's nothing I can do about that. You're the one without money, so you can't say my blades are poor now, can you?

"But don't worry. I won't easily sell this blade. Only true experts are worthy of this weapon. If you can earn enough money someday, come back and buy it. Or would you like to get a Willow Leaf Saber to use first?"

In the end, Xiao Jie did not buy the Willow Leaf Saber. He would wait until he had saved enough money and buy a good one directly.

Forget trashy ordinary weapons like the Willow Leaf Saber.

After leaving the Blacksmith Shop, Xiao Jie continued wandering around the village. He could not work as a woodcutter for the time being, so he needed to find a new job quickly.

He had not gone far when Xiao Jie suddenly let out a surprised sound. On the Stockade Wall near the gate at the Village Entrance, Wang Kai stood atop the wall, looking into the distance.

Why had this guy climbed onto the wall?

Curious, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to go take a look.

"Brother Wang, what are you looking at?"

Wang Kai jumped at the sudden shout. Only after turning around and seeing Xiao Jie did he relax.

He sighed. "It's almost dark, but that kid still hasn't come back. I have a bad feeling this is going to be trouble."