The Wind Rises and Clouds Swirl

"So tired..."

I collapsed onto the bed, rubbing my aching toes. Rui Feng and I had sparred until dinner time before parting ways. His physical abilities were terrifying; I was panting for breath while he seemed completely unfazed. Although I had the upper hand at first, the initiative eventually shifted to him. I became increasingly passive because my Supernatural Ability seemed to be the type that consumed a lot of Spiritual Energy. Once a fight dragged on too long, my Spiritual Energy absorption couldn't keep up with my usage... It looks like I need to work on that aspect from now on.

After washing off the sweat, I stepped out of the bathroom to find Si Nan Ying waiting for me. I immediately tensed up. Last time it was the humiliation of a sexy lingerie play; what would it be this time? Bondage? Public indecency? Si Nan Ying looked a bit fidgety, could it be some super advanced game?

"Xiao Ye..." she began.

"...What is it?" I adopted a defensive stance.

"Actually..." she paused, "we're leaving for Winter Mountains tomorrow."

"I won't let you get your way—Huh? You said Winter临 Mountains?" I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. "That's it? Rui Feng already told me this morning."

She blinked her big eyes in surprise. "You... you already knew?"

"Aren't you guys heading back after this mission? Actually, I wanted to go with you. How about it? Can you take me to Winter临 Mountains tomorrow?" Ever since I learned that practical combat was the fastest way to improve my strength, I'd been looking for an opportunity to gain experience. After all, strength is essential to establish oneself in this world. Moreover, if I were with them, my chances of survival would be much higher if I fell into mortal danger. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! However...

"No! It's too dangerous!" To my surprise, she flatly refused.

"Actually, I guessed you'd ask to join, which is why I came to find you! The outer areas of Winter Mountains are manageable, but the central region is full of dangerous Demonic Beasts, some of which are very good at hiding. Even our Si Nan Family can't detect them 100%!"

"But... didn't you decisively tell me to fight Rui Feng when we first arrived?"

"Because that wasn't life-threatening!"

Not life-threatening... True, Rui Feng probably wouldn't kill me, but breaking a few arms or legs was still a distinct possibility.

"Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing. To be honest, my purpose for accompanying you is to train myself and improve my strength. It's a team expedition anyway, so one more person means one more source of strength. Plus, if I encounter a crisis, I'll receive support quickly."

"But..."

After half an hour of back-and-forth, Si Nan Ying finally relented. "But I have conditions. You need to come with me to the warehouse right now to pick out some equipment. No arguments!"

Like in many novels, there are all sorts of weapons and equipment on the Spirit Stars. They vary in grade and type. Equipment is engraved with Spiritual Energy arrays and loaded with various micro-components. Users activate them by injecting Spiritual Energy (ability users directly inject Spiritual Energy, while non-ability users use energy sources like Spirit Stones) to make them function. Ordinary equipment has limited arrays and components, offering basic enhancements like weight reduction. For example, a sword is just a regular blade when no Spiritual Energy is injected, but becomes much sharper and easier to wield after injection. Advanced equipment not only has basic abilities but also various special effects, such as added attributes or illusion creation.

Equipment has a strict grading system: ordinary goods with no added Spiritual Energy arrays or components are Mortal Artifacts; equipment with Spiritual Energy arrays and various devices are Spirit Artifacts; far more powerful than Spirit Artifacts, crafted by various masters, symbolizing status and power, are Treasure Artifacts; even higher than Treasure Artifacts, legendary peerless treasures are Saint Artifacts; and Divine Artifacts, which only exist in legends and theoretically. Among them, Spirit Artifacts are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. Most lower-grade Spirit Artifacts with simple craftsmanship have achieved factory mass production and are not much more valuable than Mortal Artifacts. A small portion of middle-grade Spirit Artifacts are also produced on assembly lines, while equipment equal to or higher than upper-grade Spirit Artifacts must be handcrafted by highly skilled artisans. The vast majority of Saint Artifacts are born from heaven and earth through various fortuitous encounters; nature itself is their creator. Only a very few artisans can create lower-grade Saint Artifacts through human effort, and they are all figures who have left their mark in history. As for Divine Artifacts... their sole purpose seems to be to add color to various fairy tales.

Si Nan Ying took me to the weapon storage beneath the inn... an underground weapon storage, this inn is practically a fortress.

The Spirit Stone lamps in the dark space were lit, revealing a vast space before me. Rows upon rows of shelves filled with equipment dazzled my eyes. "There's a lot of stuff, but almost all of these are lower-grade Spirit Artifacts. The most powerful are a few middle-grade Spirit Artifacts, and I don't even know where they're specifically placed... Well, we'll have to make do for now."

Although Si Nan Ying seemed indifferent to this equipment, I was already eagerly diving into the pile of metal. Swords, spears, staffs, sabers, firearms, heavy armor, chainmail, leather armor, capes, helmets... Amazing! This is the romance of men! Back in my chuunibyou days, I always wanted these things, and I never thought I'd get to use the real deal in this lifetime! Following the typical tropes of transmigration novels, dark weapon rooms, old libraries, and street stalls are all places where one can easily obtain cheat items. Let me search for something that will let me ascend to heaven in one step~~

After getting covered in dust, I finally gave up on my fantasies. It seems that finding a cheat item by chance is ultimately just a beautiful illusion. Helpless, I had no choice but to honestly pick a weapon that suited me. Wandering aimlessly among the shelves, I realized I hadn't even decided what type of weapon I wanted to use. How could I choose?

"Huh? What's this?"

I pulled a rather strange-looking knife from the bottom shelf. It was entirely black, with a perfectly straight blade, not curved at all. Its length was similar to a katana, and its width was comparable to an ancient Chinese sword. Overall, it looked like a straightened goose-quill saber. Interestingly, where the blade met the hilt, there wasn't a guard, but a peculiar structure reminiscent of a machine gun, with a metal box attached. Although it was quite short, I recognized it as a magazine, and there was a trigger on the grip. Along with the knife was a leather pouch filled with bullets.

This, could this be a gunblade from Final Fantasy? I stumbled upon such an awesome artifact? Heaven has not failed me!

"Hey, you have good luck. You picked one of the few middle-grade Spirit Artifacts in this warehouse on your first try," Si Nan Ying's voice came from behind me.

"This is called a Charging Blade, and its function is..."

"It can shoot bullets, right!"

"How is that possible!" Si Nan Ying rolled her eyes. "The bullets are for charging. Put bullets infused with Spiritual Energy into the magazine, and then—" She took a bullet, loaded it into the magazine, and pointed the knife at a lower-grade Spirit Artifact before slashing down fiercely! "—pull the trigger!"

The Charging Blade let out a booming sound, emitting a brilliant glow as it accelerated towards the Spirit Artifact, cutting it in half! Simultaneously, a clack sounded, and an empty shell ejected.

Si Nan Ying turned around, flicking the slightly smoking blade. "See, it's like this. The destructive power is immense, but you have to master the timing of pulling the trigger, and it's limited by the number of bullets, so it's not easy to handle..."

"No need to say more, I'll take it!" I happily took the knife. As a former chuunibyou, this knife completely hit my sweet spot. Look at the craftsmanship, far beyond those models from Earth!

Si Nan Ying pouted, her cute cheeks puffed out, seemingly displeased that I wasn't listening to her. "Since the weapon is chosen, let's look at the armor. We can't just focus on offense and neglect defense."

I chose my armor quickly, only taking a set of leather armor. It was completely invisible under my trench coat. Unfortunately, due to my chest size, there wasn't a suitable size, and it felt uncomfortably tight when I wore it. Si Nan Ying watched from the side, a mix of admiration and envy on her face.

"Xiao Ye, you still have to wear the trench coat and hood... What a waste!"

"What can I do? It's too conspicuous if I show my face, and it's inconvenient for business."

"I say, Xiao Ye, what do you eat to grow so big? I'm so envious..."

"Uh, it's nothing special... I eat the same things as everyone else."

"But I drink so much milk every day and I'm still like this..."

"Actually, you're not small either." Si Nan Ying's chest wasn't small, it was a standard medium size, fitting perfectly in one hand, with a beautiful shape that made me want to touch it...

"Actually, being big isn't all that great. It sways a lot during combat, and it's inconvenient in daily life..." I comforted her, which was also my genuine thought.

"...Xiao Ye, you big meanie!!!! May you keep growing and be crushed to death by your own chest, baka!!!!" Si Nan Ying burst into tears and ran off.