Thanks, Brother, for the Sword

Ten minutes later.

Xu Feng waved at Liu Yu, who was standing at the doorway in her work uniform. "I'll leave it to you, then."

"No problem. See you tonight. Say goodbye to Daddy."

Liu Yu waved with a smile, then lowered her head to speak to Xiao Dan.

Xiao Dan gave a faint smile and winked at Xu Feng. "Goodbye, Daddy."

Xu Feng ignored her antics and strode away.

Back home, he armed himself to the teeth, grabbing all his throwing knives and strapping on his combat saber, then stashed all his valuables in the cellar.

Only then did he stride toward the wilderness.

As the shanties around him grew sparse and the environment became increasingly unfamiliar, Xu Feng's heart rate gradually accelerated, and he slowed his pace.

Although he was annoyed by his own cowardice, Xu Feng had no intention of playing the hero.

Even though the wilderness area around the base was frequently cleared by teams of students from Sky Moon Martial University.

Even so, mutated creatures still appeared occasionally.

Therefore, he preferred staying alive over showing off.

Just like that, following the map's guidance, Xu Feng explored forward under the evening sunset.

After walking about three kilometers.

He finally saw the landmark hill marked on the map.

"This map is quite accurate. It's a pity there's no GPS, or it would be even more convenient."

Having encountered no danger along the way, Xu Feng relaxed his vigilance slightly.

It was no wonder that martial servants often formed groups to go out for fun or hunting during their time off; he had heard that accidents were rare.

"Following this mountain northeast for about two hundred kilometers leads to the D22 District base of Qingbei Martial University.

It's said that place is three or four times larger than the Sky Moon Martial University base, with more powerhouses and a much livelier atmosphere."

Having roughly confirmed the direction, Xu Feng turned around to head back.

However, just as he turned.

A sound suddenly erupted from the woods nearby.

Xu Feng raised his hand and fired a throwing knife in a purely instinctive reaction.

"Caw—"

The next moment.

The clump of bushes shook violently, then fell silent.

"What the hell?" Xu Feng had actually been startled.

But seeing that it was still early, he drew the combat saber from his waist and walked toward the roadside.

After five steps, Xu Feng stopped and peered into the bushes from a distance.

Only then did he realize that the creature he had killed in one strike was a bird with bronze-colored wings.

The bird was only the size of a foot, and its feathers looked as if they had been cast from bronze, appearing quite beautiful.

"What is this??"

Xu Feng, who had no research into mutated creatures, was somewhat bewildered.

This bird was clearly not normal, but he had no idea if it was dangerous.

Xu Feng had no intention of investigating and immediately turned to leave.

But suddenly, something caught his peripheral vision.

He saw a person half-sitting in a deeper part of the thicket.

The person was sitting with their head lowered against a tree trunk, motionless.

Xu Feng's pupils constricted instantly, and he retreated.

But a moment later, upon a second look, Xu Feng saw a bloody hole in the person's neck.

Dead?

Xu Feng glanced at the bronze-colored bird lying on the ground.

He immediately understood what had happened.

This person must have been attacked by the bird and died from excessive blood loss.

And this bird had been unlucky enough to be killed by his knife before they had even met.

Xu Feng swallowed hard; his first reaction wasn't pride in his throwing knife skills, but shock at how lethal the bird had been.

In that case, his throwing knife skills could now be considered to have achieved a basic level of lethality.

After all, even a true martial artist was still made of flesh and blood.

If a blade were to slit their throat or strike a vulnerable spot like the eyes, they would still be injured, bleed, and die.

Gripping a throwing knife in one hand and his combat blade in the other, Xu Feng stepped forward and whispered to the man, "Hey, brother, are you still alive?"

However, the man offered no response.

The clothes he wore were not combat gear, but the standard uniform of a martial servant.

He looked like a member of the cleaning staff from Sky Moon Martial University.

Judging by the bow and arrow and the bag of game left at his side, the man had likely gone out hunting alone to get some meat.

He just hadn't expected to be killed by that bronze-colored bird.

Xu Feng sighed slightly; not wanting to get involved in this mess, he turned to leave.

But then, with a clatter, a short sword glinting with a cold light suddenly fell from the man's lower back onto the ground.

Xu Feng looked closely and realized the man had a scabbard tucked into his waistband, and the combat sword had just slid out of it.

"A weapon?"

After a moment of hesitation, Xu Feng stepped into the woods, snatched up the sword, and without daring to take another look, turned and strode away.

After two steps, Xu Feng simply broke into a run.

He didn't stop until he reached the edge of the shantytown, where he looked back at the forest, swallowed hard, and finally calmed his nerves.

Damn, I'm such a coward. Why am I running? It's just a dead guy.

Xu Feng thought to himself, feeling ashamed.

But soon, he convinced himself: "I still need to pick up Xiao Dan, better hurry."

With that, Xu Feng quickly passed through the shantytown and arrived at a second-hand weapon shop in the trading district.

As soon as he entered, he placed the sword on the counter with practiced ease: "Boss, how much for this sword? And this blade too?"

He acted as if he had done this many times before.

The boss glanced at Xu Feng, then looked down and picked up the combat sword that Xu Feng hadn't even examined closely: "Usually, second-hand C-grade weapons don't fetch much, but this Star Moon Sword is in decent condition. Ten thousand at most."

Ten thousand?

Xu Feng's pupils constricted. This combat sword was actually a C-grade alloy weapon?

"What about this blade then?" Xu Feng asked.

The boss took a casual look and curled his lip: "This? It's a low-tier standard-issue weapon, an old model from many years ago. It's worthless. Two thousand, consider it scrap metal."

Damn, the difference is that big?

Xu Feng's heart skipped a beat; he knew he had struck gold.

No wonder Fatty had seemed so indifferent when he gave him the blade; Xu Feng had guessed it wasn't worth much.

Still, two thousand was money, too.

Xu Feng paused and smiled slightly: "C-grade Star Moon Sword. Look at the condition and the wear; I've always maintained it well. Ten thousand is too low, add a bit more."

The boss leaned back into his recliner, looking at Xu Feng with indifference: "Eleven thousand. One thousand more is the absolute limit. You have to understand, it's a second-hand weapon. A brand-new C-grade Star Moon Sword only costs twenty-eight thousand; everyone wants a new one."

"Heh, it's not my first time selling weapons," Xu Feng bluffed, "I want to let you make a profit, boss. Throw in my blade, and make it twenty thousand total."

"Twenty thousand is impossible. Thirteen thousand at most."

"We're doing business today, and there will be plenty of chances to work together in the future. Add a bit more, just a bit more."

In the end, after haggling for quite a while, Xu Feng pushed the price up to eighteen thousand.

Immediately, Xu Feng gestured to the row of C-grade combat blades hanging on the wall and smiled: "I was actually looking to upgrade my blade. How about you sell me that C-grade Flowing Wind Blade for eighteen thousand?"

The boss was speechless.

"Heh, I've been in this business for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen someone haggle like you. Truly a sight to behold."

"Hey, I'm a bit tight on cash lately. Boss, I really want to be friends with you, so meet me halfway."

"Twenty thousand—no, forget it. Nineteen thousand, let's just end the haggling here, alright?"

The boss rubbed his forehead.

Xu Feng grinned: "Deal, but you have to throw in a bottle of sword oil."

"Fine, fine, I'll give you a bottle." The boss sighed, turned around, and took the combat blade off the wall.

The boss handed the blade to Xu Feng: "Take a look. If you're sure, I'll pack it up for you."

"If you have any issues after leaving the counter, feel free to come find me. We are an official 'Tian Yue' store, so let's have more cooperation in the future."

"You got it." Xu Feng paid the thousand without hesitation this time, took the blade in his hand to examine it closely, and then headed out of the shop while carrying a two-hundred-milliliter bottle of sword oil.

This trip out had truly been a massive gain.

Xu Feng thought of that corpse once again.

"Many thanks for the sword, brother. I will make sure to see more of the world for you."