Buy a Saber

Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School, Formal Disciple District.

In a secluded courtyard.

"Hah!"

"Ha!"

A tall, agile youth clad in a blue training uniform sweated beneath the blazing sun, practicing his saber without pause.

Yet the saber he practiced with was a makeshift weapon made of wood.

Still, every swing and chop of the wooden saber produced a crisp whistle through the air. Its momentum flowed without break, its blade shadows unending.

Though the wooden saber held little intimidation, he wielded it with the force of a tiger and the wind, Sha Qi pressing down on all around him.

But wood was still wood.

No matter what, it lacked the solid reality of a true, heavy saber.

Yet there was nothing to be done. Most training equipment at Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School was made of wood. It provided Formal Disciples with martial knowledge, medicinal meals, and medicinal baths.

But it did not provide metal weapons such as sabers and swords. Anyone who needed them had to pay for them personally.

That was understandable, though. Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School had never excelled in saber techniques; it was better known for martial arts centered on fists and kicks.

If one wanted to learn any truly formidable saber technique, one had to become the school master's Personal Disciple.

Moreover, ironware had always been expensive. Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School had several hundred disciples; if each of them were issued a saber, the cost would be unimaginable.

Shen Xiu had heard of the smithies outside and learned that even the most ordinary saber cost several taels of silver. Before this, he had yet to receive his first month's allowance, so where could he have found the spare money to buy a saber for training?

But for now, this wooden saber was only a temporary measure.

Shen Xiu continued practicing in the side courtyard, dancing with the saber for another incense stick's worth of time.

By now, he was drenched in sweat. His bulging muscles brimmed with explosive power, while fine beads of sweat seeped from the surface of his skin.

Suddenly, Shen Xiu felt something stir within him.

An incomparably seamless whistle tore through the air. The force behind the saber in his hand abruptly changed, and as the blade descended with its momentum, it suddenly accelerated, slashing directly toward the stone table before him.

With a bang.

A rebounding force surged into his wrist, and the stone table cracked apart, splitting directly into two halves.

"The second level is complete."

The exertion left Shen Xiu parched and dry-mouthed, but at the sight, hidden delight still rose in his eyes.

Ignoring the shattered stone table, he opened the attribute panel's light screen to inspect it.

[Blood Battle Saber Technique: Second Level, Initial Glimpse of the Doorway 0.1%]

The Blood Battle Saber Technique in the martial arts section had now risen in proficiency from the first level to the second, reaching the stage of Initial Glimpse of the Doorway.

It could be considered an entry into the craft.

His month of effort had not been wasted—not after drinking all five portions of potent Qi Cultivation Soup and devoting most of his time to the Blood Battle Saber Technique.

If he encountered any unexpected danger now, he should at least possess some ability to protect himself.

Looking at the scene in the courtyard, Shen Xiu could not help thinking this.

Still, he needed to get himself a genuine saber, no matter what.

With that thought in mind, Shen Xiu remained in the courtyard for a while, resting and drinking a few mouthfuls of water. Then he made a trip to the External Affairs Hall and collected the two taels of silver that belonged to a Formal Disciple as monthly pay.

Using two taels of silver to buy a saber sounded rather shabby, but Shen Xiu still intended to visit a smithy and take a look.

However, things had been far too idealistic. Shen Xiu arrived at the nearest forge, Hundred Refinements Hall.

Only then did he discover that even the most ordinary saber cost around five taels of silver.

The purchasing power of five taels of silver was enough to cover a month's expenses for an ordinary Taixi City household, yet that was merely the price of a common saber.

As for better Ten-Refined Sabers and Hundred-Refined Sabers, the silver they cost was even more astronomical, enough to leave onlookers staring wide-eyed.

Only then did Shen Xiu understand why so many people generally practiced fists and kicks. There was probably another serious reason: they could not afford to buy sabers.

Walking down a secluded street with the intention of checking other shops, Shen Xiu went on for a while before spotting a store at the very end, its sign reading Yang Family Blacksmith Shop.

Whether in its storefront decoration or its interior size, this blacksmith shop could not compare with Hundred Refinements Hall. It was rather shabby; there was practically no comparison to be made.

When Shen Xiu entered, he found that most of the shop was filled with iron tools such as hoes and shovels.

As for weapons of the sort he sought, there were only a few scattered pieces sitting in the corner.

Their quality was not particularly good, either. They looked as though they had been left there for a long time, covered in a thick layer of dust.

But Shen Xiu's purse was light now, so he was in no position to be picky.

"Master, how much is this saber?"

Shen Xiu picked up a three-foot saber and found its workmanship truly mediocre, quite rough, though its weight was acceptable.

Seeing a customer arrive, the burly man in the smithy, who had been forging a hoe, immediately ran over with an excited expression.

"Buying a saber, brother? This saber may not look like much, but it's absolutely useful. One price only: five taels of silver."

Shen Xiu's mouth twitched, and dark lines seemed to drift across his forehead.

The sabers at Hundred Refinements Hall had only cost five taels, yet this thing dared to ask for five as well. He truly dared to name the price, and dared to sell at it.

Upon hearing the price, Shen Xiu put down the saber and turned to leave.

"D-Don't go, brother! The price is negotiable. If you like it, how about taking it for three taels?"

Seeing Shen Xiu about to leave without the slightest interest, Blacksmith Yang immediately grew anxious.

He had originally made his living forging farm tools, but in his younger days, he too had been high-spirited, dreaming of becoming a saber shop like Hundred Refinements Hall, with branches spread throughout Great Jing.

So he had cobbled together saber-forging techniques from goodness knew where, then decisively set to work, forging several weapons with great enthusiasm and wasting no small amount of material.

Who could have known that he was only a half-baked craftsman? His saber-forging technique was inevitably crude, with the result that ordinary people had no use for the weapons, while martial artists looked down on them.

Those few weapons had now sat ignored on the counter in his shop for several years.

Whenever his wife saw those weapons, she would grab him by the ear and scold him fiercely. Whenever he thought of it, Blacksmith Yang felt nothing but bitterness and misery.

Now that he had finally found a customer, how could he possibly let him go?

Naturally, Shen Xiu had not truly intended to leave. He had only put on this act to drive down the price. Hearing the blacksmith call after him, he stopped in stride.

"One tael of silver." Shen Xiu calmly named his price.

The blacksmith nearly coughed up blood, his face twisting as though he had drunk eighty-two-year-old aged vinegar.

"Are you trying to take my life? Even if I melted that saber down and sold the materials, it would be worth more than that!"

"Then Master should preserve his life. I'm a kind person—I don't want to kill." With that, Shen Xiu turned again as if to leave.

Blacksmith Yang's face reddened. Watching Shen Xiu's retreating steps, he stomped his foot and gritted his teeth. "Damn it, one tael it is! I must have committed some sin in my last life to get possessed by the idea of forging sabers."

Shen Xiu stopped, flashing a mouthful of white teeth in a smile. "Can it be any cheaper?"

Blacksmith Yang's face turned crimson, veins bulging from his forehead. He grabbed the hoe at hand, ready to chase Shen Xiu out.

It was clear that he was furious.

Seeing that this was probably the lowest price possible, Shen Xiu smiled, took out one tael of silver, picked up the saber, and left.