Treasure Weapon

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Treasure Weapon (宝兵)
Alias(es)	Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapon; Iron-Cleaving Mortal Weapon 8 17
Classification	Metal weapon strengthened with metal- and lightning-attribute Dou Qi; not considered true weapon refining by its creator 17
Creator	Zhou Changqing 6 7
Occupation/Role	Combat equipment capable of cutting ordinary weapons and breaching a Dou Shi’s Dou Qi Veil 10 13
Place of Origin	Zhou Changqing’s courtyard in southern Wutan City 6
Sales Channels	Xiao Family Market and Mittel Auction House 8 15 34
First Appearance	Experimental saber blank 5; completed Ghost-Head Saber 7; advertised as a “Treasure Weapon” 8

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
First successful material strengthening	6	After repeated failures, Zhou discovers that metal Dou Qi followed by carefully controlled lightning Dou Qi makes a blade tougher and sharper.
Completed Iron-Cleaving Mortal Weapon	7	The first Ghost-Head Saber cuts through an iron block with little force after half a month of refining and nurturing.
Improved four-weapon batch	16	Greater proficiency reduces production time; the new weapons are nearly 20% better in quality than earlier examples.
New-method Treasure Weapons	27	Dou Qi is incorporated during hot forging. A weapon can breach a Nine-Star Dou Shi’s Dou Qi Veil in one slash rather than two, while monthly output rises from five weapons to ten.

Appearance and Forms

• Ghost-Head Saber: The first completed example has a bright, silvery blade with a mirror-smooth surface. Its wrapped bundle weighs at least thirty jin—heavy enough to tire an ordinary Dou Zhe during use 7 9.
• Longsword: An elegantly styled example brought to Mittel for appraisal 14.
• Broad saber: A fierce-looking weapon included in the same appraisal batch 14.
• Long-handled straight blade: Resembles a Mo Dao 14.
• Straight saber: Zhou’s personal weapon during the confrontation with Steward Liu 19.
• Horizontal Saber: Forged after Zhou develops his faster production method 27.

Abilities & Limits

Iron-Cleaving Edge

The weapons’ principal advantage is their physical sharpness, rather than Dou Qi amplification 11.

• The first Ghost-Head Saber cleanly bisects an iron block strong enough for ordinary Dou Zhe weaponry 7.
• In a public test, it cuts through Wang Zhi’s hundred-forged steel saber, which is fitted with a second-tier magic core 10.
• Wang estimates that its cutting power could double his fighting strength; this is his personal assessment, not a universal enhancement rate 11.

Breaching Dou Qi Defenses

Treasure Weapons can threaten fighters whose cultivation exceeds their wielders’ rank 13 19.

Target or Variant	Performance
Ordinary Dou Shi’s Dou Qi Veil	Offers little resistance to the original Ghost-Head Saber 13.
Nine-Star Dou Shi’s Dou Qi Veil	Can withstand one full-force strike from a Dou Shi wielding the original saber, but a second strike breaks through 13.
New-method Treasure Weapon	Breaches a Nine-Star Dou Shi’s veil with one slash 27.
Lower-grade market weapon	Can cut through the defenses of Five-Star Dou Shi and below 34.
Inferior weapons carried by the black-clad attackers	Require several full-force slashes to breach a Nine-Star Dou Shi’s veil 36.
Da Dou Shi’s Dou Qi Armor	The original Treasure Weapon is ineffective against it 13.

• A sharp edge does not eliminate differences in speed or reflexes: the wielder must still land a hit 19.
• Quality varies between examples. Broken, inferior Treasure Weapons fail to cut through Zhou’s magic-core armor membrane immediately 36.

Manufacturing

Golden Lightning Weapon Refining Method

Zhou’s original process strengthens an already-forged blade through sequential Dou Qi infusion 6 7.

• Metal infusion: Metal-attribute Dou Qi is introduced first because of its compatibility with the weapon’s material 6.
• Lightning tempering: Lightning Dou Qi stimulates the remaining metal Dou Qi, causing it to merge into and strengthen the metal 6 7.
• Purification: Heat generated during lightning tempering removes impurities 7.
• Finishing: Zhou quenches the heated blade in oil and assembles it into a usable saber 7.
• Output limit: His notes restrict Dou Qi output for ordinary iron to no more than 75% of a One-Star Dou Zhe’s maximum; excessive output cracks the blank 5 6.

Revised Hot-Forging Method

The later method incorporates refinement directly into hammering furnace-hot iron 27.

• Zhou feeds metal Dou Qi into the heated billet, then injects lightning Dou Qi with each hammer strike to encourage absorption 27.
• Switching between his two cultivation methods demands precise control; an error risks catastrophic internal injury or death 27.
• The demanding process also improves Zhou’s concentration, Dou Qi control, soul perception, and cultivation 27.
• Possessing the instructions alone is insufficient. Zhou states that someone without the necessary qualifications could not reproduce the weapons 40.

Market History

Zhou first sells a Treasure Weapon at the Xiao Family Market to test demand and fund further research. He knows that entering the weapons trade risks conflict with Che’erluo, who controls nearly all of Wutan City’s existing weapons sales channels 2 8.

Wang Zhi’s battlefield successes turn the weapons into sought-after survival equipment among mercenaries. Once multiple examples appear, local factions begin searching for their source: equipping their Dou Shi forces on a large scale could upset the city’s balance of power 13 16.

Documented Prices

Transaction or Offer	Price	Details
First Ghost-Head Saber sale	4,000 gold coins	Purchased by Wang Zhi; payment is completed through an imperial bank 9 11.
Resale offer for Wang’s saber	9,000 gold coins	Wang refuses to sell because of its value to his survival 14.
Mittel direct purchase	9,000 gold coins per weapon	Zhou sells three weapons for speed and convenience 15.
Initial auction estimate	At least 12,000 gold coins per weapon	Ya Fei’s alternative to direct purchase, minus a small fee 15.
Mittel’s first three-weapon auction	About 14,000 gold coins each	Renewed demand follows Wang’s encounter with two peak rank-two tiger beasts 16.
Later four-weapon auction	At least 60,000 gold coins total	Zhou chooses auctioning after demand increases 17.
Lower-grade Xiao Family Market stock	Less than half the earlier price of over 10,000 gold coins	More affordable examples retain enough sharpness to breach Five-Star Dou Shi defenses 34.

Xiao Clan Partnership

• Xiao Zhan initially requests ten Treasure Weapons and offers 20% above the highest auction price 34.
• Zhou instead proposes a regular supply of affordable, lower-grade weapons, with ten delivered every three days, alongside two Magic Core Armaments 34.
• The new stock draws mercenaries back to the Xiao Family Market, undermining the Jia Lie Family’s advantage from rejuvenation powder 34.
• The resulting losses help motivate the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families to join factions seeking Zhou’s manufacturing technique 40.

Notable Combat Record

Wielder	Event	Result
Wang Zhi	Clash between mercenary groups	The Three-Star Dou Shi reportedly kills four higher-ranked Dou Shi and over twenty Dou Zhe, and wounds a peak Nine-Star Dou Shi leader 13.
Wang Zhi and his group leader	Encounter with two peak rank-two tiger beasts	Wang kills one with support from other mercenaries, then lends the weapon to his leader, who kills the second 16.
Zhou Changqing	Pursuit by Steward Liu	Zhou severs Liu’s saber and repeatedly forces him to abandon close-range attacks 19.
Zhou Changqing	Final exchange with Steward Liu	After baiting Liu and countering with Gold-Crushing Elbow, Zhou cuts his throat with the straight saber 20.
Black-clad attackers	Assault on Zhou’s courtyard	Their leaders’ Treasure Weapons are repeatedly severed by Zhou’s superior magic-core Heavy Sword 36.

Associated People and Factions

• Zhou Changqing — Inventor and manufacturer. He calls the products “mortal weapons”; “treasure weapons” is a sales term intended to obtain a better price 17.
• Wang Zhi — First buyer. His combat achievements establish the Ghost-Head Saber’s reputation and stimulate demand 11 13 16.
• Ya Fei — Commercial partner who purchases, promotes, and auctions the weapons through Mittel 15 16.
• Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Clan — Partners in distributing affordable Treasure Weapons through the Xiao Family Market 34.
• Che’erluo — Rival weapons magnate who seeks control of the weapons and their manufacturing method 16 18.
• Jia Lie and Ao Ba families — Market competitors whose losses contribute to the coalition targeting Zhou 40.

Successor: Magic Core Armaments

• Treasure Weapons are strengthened metal objects without the formation-powered functions of Zhou’s later Magic Core Armaments 17.
• The first successful magic-core Heavy Sword combines a formation-engraved jade-steel core, a protective heavy-gold shell, and embedded magic cores, producing a ranged golden slash 29.
• Auctioned magic-core blades are sharper than Treasure Weapons and can release ranged attacks comparable to powerful Dou Shi strikes 33.
• Zhou keeps his best equipment for himself. His personal Heavy Sword can sever ordinary Treasure Weapons, preventing opponents from gaining parity merely by obtaining his earlier products 36.