Surprise

Chen Hao did not immediately use the card. Instead, he began practicing the eight moves of the Basic Saber Technique on his own. Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was already noon.

Chen Hao didn't stay at the martial arts hall for lunch. He greeted Yang Wu, Tong Yun, and the others before leaving.

Instead of heading straight home, he went to a Simulation Model Shop.

"Hello, how can I help you?" As soon as Chen Hao entered the shop, the sales clerk greeted him with a standard professional smile.

"Do you have Blood Shadow Series 2 simulation blades here?"

The clerk paused. "Yes, we do. They're models, of course—the materials aren't as good as the real Blood Shadow Series, but the weight and design are identical. The materials used are special steel formulas from before the Great Nirvana. To prevent accidents, we haven't sharpened these replicas, but if they were, they'd be extremely sharp."

Chen Hao took the Blood Shadow Series 2 Simulation Blade the clerk handed him and gave it a try. It felt decent. "How much? What's the price per blade?"

"The materials used in our simulation models were good enough to produce special tooling and drill bits before the Great Nirvana. Even though prices have dropped a lot now, the Blood Shadow Series uses plenty of material. Each one costs 500 yuan." Seeing that Chen Hao was interested in buying, the clerk quickly began listing the product's advantages.

"What if I buy several?" Chen Hao looked at the clerk with a hint of amusement as he continued praising the product.

"How many would you like, sir?" The clerk was taken aback for a moment, then brightened up. It looked like this sale would be a good one.

"If the price is right, give me twelve."

"My maximum discount is 50 yuan per item. If you buy twelve, I can give you 50 yuan off each one. How does that sound?"

"That works. Pack them up for me—I'll take them with me." Eager to test his idea, Chen Hao didn't waste time haggling and paid up quickly.

"Sir, would you like us to deliver them to your home?" The clerk looked at the large bundle weighing several hundred jin and asked.

"I'll carry them myself." Chen Hao reached down, lifted the several-hundred-jin bundle off the floor, and walked out.

"Oh my god, is he a martial artist? Even if not, he must be at least a Quasi-Warrior." The clerk watched Chen Hao effortlessly lift the heavy load, eyes wide with shock, muttering guesses about Chen Hao's identity under his breath.

Leaving the model shop, Chen Hao didn't linger outside. Carrying the twelve blades, he quickly returned home.

Once inside, he closed the door, pulled up his panel, and opened the Fusion Interface. He placed three simulation blades into the synthesis slots. Then, silently in his mind, he intoned: Synthesize.

The newly synthesized blade looked the same on the outside, but Chen Hao could still sense a difference.

With a thought, he took out the new blade. It still had the Blood Shadow Series 2 design, no different from the one he'd practiced with that morning. But unlike the unsharpened simulation blades, this new blade's edge reflected a faint blue gleam.

He immediately appraised the new blade: Ordinary weapon, synthesized through a special method, capable of breaching the defenses of an Apprentice Level 1 Monster.

Sure enough, the new blade was no different from the real thing. If he matched it against the martial arts hall's grading, this should be an A1 Level blade.

A look of delight flashed in Chen Hao's eyes. With his current mental strength, performing this kind of fusion was well within his ability. This synthesis hadn't consumed much mental energy—he could keep going.

He directly activated the Nine-Grid Synthesis. Looking at the nine slots now filled, he silently intoned: Synthesize.

The Synthesis Button didn't budge. What was going on? He tried a Three-Grid Synthesis again, and this time it succeeded.

Nine-Grid Synthesis could turn ordinary trash ginseng into something with the effects of a Spirit of Grass and Wood, so it would definitely produce a qualitative change. The reason it failed was probably related to his mental strength and power level.

It seemed he'd have to give up on Nine-Grid Synthesis for the blades for now and stick with Three-Grid Synthesis. After two rounds, looking at the four identical Blood Shadow blades, Chen Hao couldn't help but chuckle.

But he wasn't done yet. The important part was next. He placed three newly synthesized blades onto the Fusion Panel and silently intoned: Synthesize.

The fusion button began to turn. The three blades vanished, and in the center appeared a new red long blade.

The design hadn't changed, but the difference in material was obvious. He didn't know the blade's grade, but that didn't matter—the panel handled it: Ordinary weapon, synthesized through a special method, capable of breaching the defenses of an Apprentice Level 4 Monster.

If he remembered correctly, this was definitely an A4 Level blade. In the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's grading system, an A5 Level blade from Extreme Home cost over 6 million, so an A4 Level one wouldn't be less than a million.

That meant in just this short time, his assets had broken a million. Unfortunately, this item couldn't see the light of day unless he became a martial artist. With his current strength and status, selling this blade would be a gamble—fortune or disaster, hard to tell.

Sure enough, in the Swallowed World, you had to become a martial artist. Without that status, even getting rich meant being careful and sneaky.

Though he couldn't cash in the blade, he could still use it for practice. With a thought, the blade came to his hand. Chen Hao frowned: He hadn't expected the weight difference between A1 and A4 Level blades to be so large.

An A1 Level blade weighed at most 100 jin, but the A4 Level one felt like 500 or 600 jin. If he practiced with it, it probably wouldn't be as smooth as the A1.

For now, he'd have to make do with the A1 Level for practice.

Maybe because his strength had increased a lot, these few syntheses—except for the failed Nine-Grid one—hadn't left him feeling tired at all.

He then took out the He Shou Wu he'd bought earlier. Since ginseng could be Nine-Grid Synthesized, He Shou Wu should work too. Looking at the placed He Shou Wu, he silently intoned: Synthesize.

A He Shou Wu several times larger appeared in the center of the panel, vaguely taking on a humanoid shape.

And the Nine-Grid Synthesis that had left him feeling blissfully drained a week ago now didn't put much strain on his mind. He only felt a bit tired, similar to how he felt after intense morning exercise.

He appraised it: Hundred-Year-Old He Shou Wu, herbaceous plant, contains a small amount of Cosmic Energy, can enhance the physical constitution of lifeforms below Apprentice Peak, gentle medicinal effect, can be taken directly.

The synthesized He Shou Wu was very clean. He cut off a piece of root, tossed it into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed. A surge of heat immediately rose from his stomach and spread rapidly throughout his body.

Chen Hao didn't waste time. He grabbed the A1 blade and went up to the rooftop. Then he pulled up his panel, looked at the Basic Saber Technique Skill Card, and silently intoned: Use.

The Skill Card turned into a beam of white light, rushing into his mind. Then came the memories and experience of Yang Wu practicing the Basic Saber Technique.

As the memories flowed in, Chen Hao began to practice. Starting awkward and unfamiliar, he gradually grew more skilled, until soon the air around him was filled with sharp, cold flashes of light.

As he practiced, from smooth execution to combining moves between the eight techniques, his proficiency increased. Then, abruptly, the memories and experience in his mind stopped.

"What a pity," Chen Hao muttered, checking the time—less than ten minutes had passed. "Brother Yang's Basic Saber Technique was never honed through real combat. He just trained hard until he reached proficiency. If I want to reach true mastery, I'll probably have to go out into the wild for actual combat and killing."

Though he felt a bit regretful, even this level of saber technique was enough to compensate for his lack of power output.

The He Shou Wu he'd eaten seemed to have finished taking effect. Not only had it replenished the energy spent during practice, but it seemed to have improved his physical condition a bit more.