What's Going On?

After leaving Wutan City, Xiao Yu headed west. After traveling for quite some time, he arrived at the town closest to the Monster Beast Mountain Range. If nothing unexpected happened, Xiao Yi Xian should be in this town!

However, Xiao Yu did not specifically go looking for Xiao Yi Xian. Nor did he want to make enemies before entering the Monster Beast Mountain Range. He was still unfamiliar with everything here. Though he possessed the strength of an Eight-Star Dou Practitioner, it was best to remain cautious while traveling!

Xiao Yu planned to enter Qingshan Town to replenish his supplies and rest up. Who knew how long he would spend in the Monster Beast Mountain Range? He needed to bring more rations and water. Xiao Yu, traveling alone, did not draw anyone's attention when he entered Monster Town. The streets were bustling with people, but most of them were mercenaries who lived with their lives on the line. They gathered in groups and shouted noisily, talking about nothing but women, wine, and magical beasts!

Xiao Yu first bought some food from the shops on both sides of the street, then began looking around town for a smithy. He had just signed in for the Heavenly Flame Sword Manual and happened to lack a suitable weapon.

The shops lining both sides of the town were doing brisk business, but most were herb shops and inns. Since the town was close to the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the herbs here all came from within the mountain range. Being close to the source gave them the advantage, and thus herb shops were everywhere in town!

The inns were likely prepared for travelers from afar and mercenaries heading into the Monster Beast Mountain Range. After scanning the streets all the way through without finding a smithy, Xiao Yu finally spotted a sign reading "Wan's Smithy" at the far end of town. Delight appeared on his face. "I finally found a smithy!"

Xiao Yu strode over. The moment he entered, a wave of heat hit him in the face. The temperature inside was vastly different from outside. Compared to this place, the outdoors was practically air-conditioned!

However, Xiao Yu paid no mind to it. Dou Qi slowly circulated through his body and covered him, making him feel much better. After looking around, he heard a series of clanging sounds as metal was struck. The noise came from the second floor. Seeing no one in the first-floor hall, Xiao Yu headed straight upstairs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The clashing of metal grew louder and louder. As soon as Xiao Yu went upstairs, he saw a burly man over two meters tall, his entire body packed with muscles that looked as though they had been cast from steel. The man swung a massive hammer, striking a red-hot strip of metal before him again and again as sparks flew everywhere!

"Sir, I'd like to buy a weapon!" Xiao Yu called out.

The burly man seemed not to hear him and continued hammering away. Then a creaking sound came from beside him. Xiao Yu turned and saw another man emerge from a room nearby, one who resembled the man wielding the giant hammer.

The man saw Xiao Yu as soon as he came out, and a smile appeared on his honest-looking face. "Customer, are you here to buy a weapon?"

Xiao Yu nodded. "Yes, I want a sword, but he's ignoring me!" He pointed at the man swinging the hammer.

The burly man showed a trace of apology. "He's my younger brother. His ears were injured in an accident while forging a weapon, and he can no longer hear."

Xiao Yu immediately understood and nodded. The man then asked, "Customer, you want a sword?"

"That's right. Do you have one?" Xiao Yu asked.

After thinking for a moment, the man said, "We do have a sword, but it's rather strange. Are you sure you want it?"

"Strange?" Xiao Yu frowned. "Can you take me to see it?"

"Of course!" The man led Xiao Yu toward a room at the far end of the second-floor corridor.

After pushing open the door, the man led Xiao Yu directly to a weapon rack. Only when Xiao Yu drew closer did he notice a pitch-black table beside it. A longsword lay quietly atop it. Its blades on either side gleamed with a dark luster and looked incomparably sharp, while its jet-black body resembled fish scales. A crimson Demon Core was set into its fiery-red hilt. The flashing red light formed a stark and striking contrast with the sword's black body!

Xiao Yu liked the sword at first sight. Yet he was puzzled. Both its shape and its offensive power should have placed it among the better weapons. Moreover, there was a Demon Core embedded in its hilt. By all rights, it should not have gone unsold. Yet it was sitting right before him, with no one buying it!

The burly man seemed to see the question in Xiao Yu's heart and explained, "Customer, there's only one reason this sword can't be sold. It's simply too heavy to be used as a weapon!"

"Heavy?" Xiao Yu asked strangely. "How heavy is it?"

The man fell silent for a moment before saying, "A full ten thousand jin!"

Xiao Yu's eyes widened at his words. "How many jin did you say?"

"Ten thousand jin! This sword was made from a piece of Meteorite Iron. When it was first forged, it weighed two thousand jin. Two thousand jin was nothing to a Dou Master, but the problem lies with this Demon Core!" The man pointed to the Demon Core on the hilt.

"You mean the sword only became heavier after the Demon Core was embedded?" Xiao Yu asked.

The man nodded. "That's right. We obtained this Level 1 Fire Element Demon Core by hiring the Bentu Mercenary Group to hunt a Flame Cloud Turtle. But we never expected this to happen. Many people have tried this sword now. Even lifting it requires them to maintain their Dou Qi. That is manageable for a short while, but maintaining it over a long period is simply impossible. So many people gave up. What a waste of a Level 1 Demon Core!" The man sighed as he spoke.

"Can I give it a try?" Xiao Yu looked at the sword eagerly. Its allure was simply too great!

The man still hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Xiao Yu gave a slight nod. "I'm sure!"

The man did not stop him again. Xiao Yu stepped forward, took a deep breath, and slowly gripped the hilt with both hands. Dou Qi suddenly erupted within him as a powerful force surged toward the sword. Then he lifted it sharply!

Boom!

Xiao Yu, who had expected it to be incredibly heavy, lifted it straight up. Not only that, but he nearly fell to the ground because he had used too much force!

"Why is it so light?" Xiao Yu looked at the longsword in his hand in confusion. He then released it with his left hand, held the sword in his right alone, and swung it around as though he were not holding a ten-thousand-jin longsword at all!

The burly man was utterly dumbfounded. "What is going on?" Xiao Yu was confused, and so was the man!

Unwilling to believe it, the man wanted to take it and try for himself. Xiao Yu casually handed it to him one-handed. The man reached out to catch it, and with a boom, it smashed straight into the floor!

"Is it really that heavy?" Xiao Yu asked in confusion. Then, under the man's horrified gaze, he picked up the longsword again with one hand!

The man could not help swallowing. With great difficulty, he said, "Th-this... what exactly is going on?"