Undying Vermilion Emperor

Compared to high-frequency superconductive weapons, whose immense power could easily harm innocents, weapons forged from rare metals and wielded by martial artists were a wiser choice.

Thus, the Arms Foundry Bureau came into being.

Using the excuse that Chen Wu would need weapons on the battlefield, elder sister Gu Yuyue demanded that Qi Ruyan provide Chen Wu with two weapons.

Qi Ruyan also knew she had been in the wrong, and besides, Chen Wu was someone she had watched grow up since childhood.

So she agreed to Gu Yuyue's conditions.

That was how the three of them ended up making a trip to the Arms Foundry Bureau.

From the outside, the Arms Foundry Bureau was a highly modern high-rise building.

As a newly advanced sixth-rank martial artist and a peak seventh-rank martial artist, Gu Yuyue and Qi Ruyan were extremely familiar with the place.

They led Chen Wu straight into the lobby, took the elevator directly to the third floor, and headed to the third room on the left after exiting.

The three entered a room filled with all sorts of rare ores and metals.

There were so many kinds that Chen Wu's eyes were dazzled.

Gu Yuyue had come prepared. She directly asked the ore clerk, "The most suitable mid-grade forging materials for weapons like sabers and halberds are Starsteel and Astral Iron. Do you still have these two ores in stock?"

Hearing that it was a major order, the ore clerk immediately opened his computer and rapidly searched through the internal network. He then said to Gu Yuyue, "As it happens, a batch of Starsteel and Astral Iron arrived from a secret realm yesterday. Although the military has already reserved some of it, there is still plenty left. How much do you need?"

Based on the utility and value of rare metals produced by secret realms, the government classified them into five grades, from low to high: "ungraded," "low-grade," "mid-grade," "high-grade," and "super-grade."

Weapons forged from mid-grade rare metals could ensure that a martial artist would not have to worry about replacing their weapon until they reached the ranks of high-level martial artists, from third rank to first rank.

Not to mention ores like Starsteel and Astral Iron, which adapted to all sorts of attributes and possessed excellent true qi conductivity—among the very finest mid-grade ores.

For Chen Wu, a martial artist who had yet to enter the ranks, this was extravagance beyond measure.

Hearing that the ore clerk had stock, Gu Yuyue glanced at her little brother.

Chen Wu immediately took two blueprints from his bag and spread them out across the counter before the ore clerk.

The two blueprints depicted rough sketches of a saber and a halberd respectively.

The saber had a straight, single-edged body, with a cutting edge resembling a Tang saber. Its blade was straight and slender, sharpened on one side. A white long robe hung from the hilt and scabbard, fluttering in the wind and making it appear all the more valiant and dashing. The blade bore the inscription "Windmoon Severer."

The halberd was a single-crescent, sharp-tipped Azure Dragon halberd. Its head took the form of a one-horned silver python dragon, its sharp edge rippling like waves and sprouting scale-like spikes. The shaft was covered in black scales, with black and red interwoven in a particularly eye-catching pattern. Its tail hook was like a sharp thorn. The overall design combined a silver python and a dragon. It could also be dismantled into two parts: the "Silver Spear" and the "Evil Blade," together known as the "Silver Spear Evil Blade"—a sharp blade bent like a wave and a fierce halberd shaped like a snake's spiked tail.

These two weapons were designs Chen Wu had devised based on memories from his previous life. The saber was named "Windmoon Severer," while the halberd was called "Silver Evil."

The ore clerk deftly placed the two blueprints into a scanning machine. After calculating for a while, he gave an approximate quote. "To forge these two weapons exactly according to the blueprints, you'll need roughly sixteen kilograms of Starsteel and twenty-seven kilograms of Astral Iron. The total will be around 1,400 points."

What Gu Yuyue cared about more was the forging craftsmanship. "Can they both be forged by masters from Forge Master Mountain?"

The ore clerk checked the relevant prices. "If you want masters from Forge Master Mountain to forge them, you'll need to pay an additional 300 points."

A weapon's power could be affected by both its forging materials and the skill of its forger.

As the Republic's finest weapon-forging organization, Forge Master Mountain would, for the sake of its own reputation if nothing else, certainly bring out the full potential of rare ores such as Starsteel and Astral Iron.

After hearing the official total quote, unlike the composed Gu Yuyue, Qi Ruyan—who had promised to fully fund Chen Wu's weapons—had already gone pale.

This Iron Fist Sister, who had once feared neither heaven nor earth, could already foresee herself eating dirt for the next several years after paying this enormous sum.

If I have to eat dirt, then so be it. At worst, I'll just stay in the army and never come out.

A promise she had made had to be carried through even on her knees.

With a terrible expression, Qi Ruyan pulled out a stack of bank cards—cards from the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, the whole collection. Gritting her teeth, she asked, "Can I pay in installments?"

The ore clerk maintained a polite smile. "Of course. The Arms Foundry Bureau not only offers installment plans, but also loan services for martial artists, with an annual interest rate of just two percent. Active-duty and retired military personnel can also receive preferential rates."

"Then calculate it at the military rate."

Following the principle of saving wherever she could, Qi Ruyan haggled over every penny.

Pfft—

Gu Yuyue, who had been watching this scene, finally could not hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"Where did all that confidence you had when you tricked my little Wu go? Why can't I see it now?"

As she spoke, Gu Yuyue took a card from her pocket and said to the ore clerk, "This card was issued by the Police Martial Academy. It should waive the labor fees for this purchase."

The ore clerk accepted the card, verified it on the computer, and said, "This card not only waives the labor fees for this purchase, but also gives you a forty percent discount on the ore costs. The total comes to 840 points. Would you like to use it?"

Gu Yuyue nodded. "Use it. Also, I'll cover half of the cost this time."

Upon hearing that, Qi Ruyan was so moved she nearly cried. She immediately tried to throw her arms around her good friend. "Yuyue, you're the best."

Gu Yuyue dodged away in disgust and warned her, "Take this as a lesson. If you dare do something like this again, we're done as friends."

Qi Ruyan hurriedly nodded. "I won't dare."

Very soon, after Gu Yuyue and Qi Ruyan paid the points, they were informed that they could return in a month to collect the weapons.

Chen Wu took the blueprints back. The digitized copies would be sent directly to Forge Master Mountain, and the bureau would not retain any records.

For weapons with such a strong personal style, forging masters would usually destroy the blueprints immediately after completing the weapons.

Weapons were known as "a martial artist's second life," and nothing about them could be leaked.

That was also why Gu Yuyue had sought out Forge Master Mountain to forge Chen Wu's weapons. In this regard, they were the most professional.

Once they returned to the car, Chen Wu finally could not help asking Gu Yuyue, "Sis, what was that card you took out earlier?"

Qi Ruyan, seated in the driver's seat up front, eagerly rushed to answer first. "I know, I know. It's the legendary card that top-tier universities give to the student who takes first place among each year's incoming freshmen. We call them the 'Freshman King.'"

Already used to such situations, Gu Yuyue nodded. "That's a fitting description, Ruyan. But our school calls it a Forging Card. Whoever takes first place in the freshman test receives one. It waives the cost of forging weapons three times anywhere, and grants a forty percent discount on one limited purchase of mid-grade rare metals."

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