Buying a Weapon

As he listened to the villagers' endless chatter, the little mountain village slowly receded from the group's sight.

During this time, Lin Fan had also learned that besides the martial Lineage known as the Su Family, the town had two martial factions called the Black Tiger Gang and the White Ram Gang. The three martial forces jointly occupied this town of several hundred thousand people.

As for the imperial authorities, so long as these martial forces did not cause any major disturbances or involve ordinary civilians, they would mostly turn a blind eye. In terms of martial experts alone, the authorities in town were still a cut above the rest. But if two or all three factions joined forces, the authorities would be unable to bear the strain.

Moreover, the martial forces in these towns all had connections as tangled as silk threads behind them. They had open or hidden ties with major sects, larger gangs, and even influential noble families in the capital.

They were not forces the authorities could simply wipe out at will.

Furthermore, the Great Zhao was not currently peaceful and stable. Wars frequently broke out along the borders, and sometimes large-scale clashes erupted with neighboring countries.

At such times, the court needed these martial Lineages and martial factions to contribute martial experts to help fend off enemies. After all, if there were no martial experts to hold back the martial experts of other nations, the battlefield would very likely become a one-sided slaughter of ordinary soldiers.

After another two days of travel, the town gates came into view.

After paying the entrance fee of fifty copper coins per person, they had spent a little over half a tael of silver in total. Within the Zhao Kingdom, one tael of silver was roughly equivalent to a thousand copper coins.

A town of a hundred thousand people was quite bustling. Stallholders, peddlers selling candied hawthorns and other strange trinkets, and countless pedestrians thronged the streets, brimming with the lively worldly air and smoke-and-fire warmth of mortal life.

With the New Year approaching, there were even more people than last time.

When they arrived at the Su Family shop, the maid receiving customers saw Lin Fan. "Please wait a moment, Young Master. I'll go notify our young lady."

She turned and ran upstairs.

Uncle Wang and the others carried the medicinal herbs, herb baskets, and prey into the shop. Lin Fan stood still, surveying the furnishings within.

This Su Family shop was a multi-story pavilion-like building constructed at the edge of the Su Family estate. The first-floor hall spanned several hundred square meters, and once the many prey carcasses and baskets of medicinal herbs were brought in, they occupied nearly half the hall.

Behind the shop lay the Su Family estate, pressed close against it.

Before long, Su Qingwei came downstairs. Lin Fan raised his eyes to look at her. The young woman wore a brilliant crimson gown that made her shine dazzlingly. Her features were delicate and lovely, her eyes bright, and her snow-white skin set off the intoxicating curves of her graceful figure.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and cupped his hands. "Miss Su, I have another batch of medicinal herbs to sell."

After more than ten days of cultivation under the thousandfold accelerated cultivation effect, Lin Fan had already advanced from the early Muscle Refinement Realm to the middle Muscle Refinement Realm. His aura was restrained and contained, yet it could not conceal its sharp edge.

"Greetings, Young Master Lin."

Feeling the far more powerful aura around Lin Fan, Su Qingwei could not help but grow curious.

"Young Master Lin, did you only recently arrive in this town? This little woman seems never to have seen you before."

Hearing Su Qingwei's curiosity, Lin Fan replied,

"Yes. My family encountered some misfortune, and not long ago, my younger sister and I came to a mountain village nearby."

"With your formidable martial cultivation, Young Master, your family must surely be a powerful martial Lineage as well."

After Su Qingwei finished checking the medicinal herbs, the shop's back door opened, and several servants came in from the Su Family courtyard behind it.

"Young Lady."

Su Qingwei pointed with her slender hand.

"Carry those prey carcasses and medicinal herbs into the courtyard. Hand them over to the people responsible for handling medicinal herbs and prey at home. Then bring this young master twelve hundred taels of silver."

"Yes."

The servants moved swiftly, carrying the prey and medicinal herbs through the back door of the shop hall and into the courtyard behind the store.

Before long, two servants returned to the shop hall with twelve hundred taels of silver.

"Young Master Lin, please check the silver." Su Qingwei emerged from behind the shop counter.

Lin Fan gave it a brief glance and reached out to accept it.

"Thank you, Miss Su. Does the Su Family shop sell weapons?"

Indeed, Lin Fan intended to buy a weapon that suited his hand. Whenever he had hunted wild boars before, he had used nothing but a wooden pole as a spear. It had been enough for wild boars, but against stronger enemies or demonic beasts, it would be somewhat inadequate.

The weapons used by martial artists in this world differed from those of ordinary people. Ordinary weapons were forged from steel and other metals, but martial artists' weapons were forged from a special mineral crystal.

The most wondrous aspect of this mineral crystal was that after each round of forging, its density gradually increased. Starting from density and toughness roughly equal to steel, it could gradually be raised to ten times, a hundred times, or even greater than that of steel.

This mineral crystal had therefore become the exclusive material for martial artists' weapons.

"Of course we do, Young Master." Su Qingwei smiled radiantly. "May I ask what type of weapon you want, and what forging level you require?"

Forging level was also a specialized term for martial artists' weapons in this world. A forging level of ten meant its density had increased tenfold from its original state. Since this special mineral crystal initially had a density close to steel, a forging level of ten was approximately equivalent to ten times the density of steel.

With the same volume, both its weight and sturdiness would be ten times that of steel. This allowed martial artists possessing several hundred or even a thousand jin of strength to exert more of their power. Otherwise, if a martial artist suddenly exerted force and the weapon could not withstand it, bending or even snapping, they would truly make a laughingstock of themselves in battle.

Lin Fan had now reached the middle Muscle Refinement Realm. Compared with the thousand jin of strength he had possessed when he first entered the Muscle Refinement Realm, he estimated that he now had roughly twelve hundred jin of strength, around ten times that of an ordinary person.

Normally, a martial artist with this level of strength would be best suited to a weapon with a forging level of ten. But Lin Fan possessed a panel that doubled his cultivation effect by consuming silver, and he had just obtained a great deal of money. He was confident that he could enter the Bone Tempering Realm within a month. Once his strength broke through to three thousand jin, a weapon with a forging level of ten would no longer be suitable.

Moreover, Lin Fan was having this weapon made mainly for hunting demonic beasts in the mountains after entering the Bone Tempering Realm. It was not meant for fighting people or hunting right now.

Three thousand jin of strength was roughly twenty to thirty times that of an ordinary person.

"I'll take a spear, with a forging level of twenty-five."

When hunting in the mountains and forests, Lin Fan was accustomed to using a spear. He also hoped to hunt a demonic beast after entering the Bone Tempering Realm, and a spear would be more convenient to wield. Back on Blue Star in his previous life, Lin Fan had often heard the saying that the spear was king of all weapons.

Su Qingwei seemed somewhat stunned. Her small mouth parted slightly, and her lovely long eyelashes trembled twice.

"Young Master, a forging level of twenty-five is a weapon only Bone Tempering Realm experts need. May I ask if you could tell me your martial realm?"

Lin Fan nodded, his expression unchanged.

"I am certain that I want a forging level of twenty-five. Sorry to trouble you, Miss Su. Please calculate how much silver it will cost."

"Oh, please wait a moment, Young Master." Su Qingwei searched through the counter for a while, then said, "Young Master, here is a catalog of prices for spears of different lengths and forging levels. Please have a look. Also, since you possess a VIP card, you may enjoy a ten percent discount."

Lin Fan accepted the illustrated price list and nodded slightly.

In the end, he chose a spear of medium length, though less than two meters long, with a forging level of twenty-five. Its listed price was seven hundred and fifty taels of silver. After the ten percent discount, he paid six hundred and seventy-five taels.

Its medium length allowed it to be used even in relatively cramped spaces. It could also unleash greater power when facing groups of enemies, making it a fairly cost-effective choice.

"Young Master, please wait a few days. We will forge the weapon you require within ten days. Please come here to collect it after ten days. Or, if you leave an address, we can deliver it to your door free of charge." Having just completed a sale, Su Qingwei blinked her bright, clear eyes twice and looked at Lin Fan with three parts curiosity and three parts delight.

Lin Fan could afford to wait ten days. It would take roughly a month for him to break through to the Bone Tempering Realm anyway, so there was no rush.

"Very well. Then I'll collect it when I next come to sell goods. There is no need to trouble your shop with delivering it."