Chapter 57: The Three-Thousand-Year-Old Broken Sword

After Chu Tianchen left, Wang Teng was so furious that he almost passed out. For a fraction of a second, he was even on the verge of attacking Chu Tianchen.

"Brother Wang Teng, calm down," Zhao Tengfei said hurriedly.

"Let me tell you both, once we enter the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, no one is to walk too closely with him," Wang Teng warned them. "And don't even dream of helping him. That Lin Shengbin is not someone to be trifled with. Leaving aside the Gloomy Bamboo Ancient City behind him, do you know who his sister is? She is the fiancee of the Grand Void Young Master, and the Grand Void Young Master comes from the Greater World. If you offend him, even the Wang Gate won't be able to protect you."

"Are we just going to stand by and do nothing while Brother Tianchen is in danger?" Mo Xiaolang asked with a sigh. "No matter what, we are roommates, and we can be considered friends."

"Friends? With the things he just said, did he ever treat us as friends?" Wang Teng retorted. "He is old enough, but his brain certainly isn't. If he insists on marching to his death, we can't stop him. I'll give you both a warning: if you want to go and die with him, I won't stop you."

Hearing this, the two fell silent.

"What else did he say just now? That he wants to establish the tenth gate of Cloud Sea Academy? Anyone with even a shred of intelligence wouldn't utter such utter nonsense," Wang Teng muttered in lingering anger before finally heading off to rest.

***

Having said everything he needed to say, Chu Tianchen left directly and headed toward Cloud Sea City.

First, he returned to the Coming Prosperity Inn and prepared another tub of spiritual liquid for Tang Thirteen. Tang Thirteen had already regained consciousness, and his meridians were slowly healing. Judging by the current situation, two more treatments would fully restore his meridians. As for his Dantian, that would still require some time.

"Ling Ying, I am going to the Fierce Beast Mountain Range for training. Go find two more wooden tubs so I can prepare all the spiritual liquid at once. As for his Dantian, once I return, I will hand you back a lively and energetic young master," Chu Tianchen said with a smile.

After finishing these preparations, Chu Tianchen set out to purchase a sword.

Cloud Sea City had a total of four divine weapon shops, alongside two custom-making workshops. It was already too late to place a custom order. Moreover, Chu Tianchen had previously inquired and learned that this place could only craft up to third-rank divine weapons. For higher-tier weapons, one had to travel to the Imperial Capital or other major cities.

For instance, the sword wielded by Ye Qingyao was crafted by a sixth-rank weapon refiner and infused with the primordial blood of her martial arts grandmaster father, making it far more terrifying than ordinary sixth-rank divine weapons. Powerful weapon refiners could even fuse the bones, primordial blood, and soul power of martial arts grandmasters, Myriad Manifestation Realm experts, venerable realm experts, or even Terrestrial Immortal realm experts into divine weapons to forge supreme divine weapons.

There were also legendary divine weapons forged from the imperial bones of emperor-realm powerables who had suppressed an entire era; these were known as Ultimate Emperor Weapons.

Weapons of that tier possessed heaven-defying might, and it was said that even venerable realm experts could not shake them in the slightest. Naturally, such legendary divine weapons had not been heard of for several millennia. After all, divine weapons of that caliber required a master to recognize them—not just anyone was qualified to wield them.

Chu Tianchen arrived at the largest divine weapon shop in Cloud Sea City: the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

The pavilion stood four stories tall.

He swept his gaze across the first floor. It contained only first-rank divine weapons, almost all of which were of inferior quality, yet many people were still buying them. After all, these items were cheap, and most Meridian-Opening Realm martial cultivators did not possess an abundance of primordial stones.

The price of a first-rank divine weapon was sometimes even higher than that of a first-grade medicinal pill. They generally hovered around two thousand low-grade primordial stones. To put it into perspective, take the outer court disciples of Cloud Sea Academy: the resources they could earn in a month amounted to roughly two thousand low-grade primordial stones. Those with better luck who managed to hunt beast cores or gather precious medicinal herbs could earn a bit more.

Meanwhile, second-rank divine weapons ranged in value from five thousand to ten thousand primordial stones. Special second-rank divine weapons—such as those custom-made with unique materials—depended entirely on the value of those materials.

Third-rank divine weapons started at a minimum of fifty thousand low-grade primordial stones. Consequently, third-rank divine weapons were rarely sold here in Cloud Sea City because the patrons were mostly young disciples whose earned resources were fundamentally consumed by cultivation. Very few people could afford to spend over fifty thousand primordial stones on a single divine weapon.

However, Chu Tianchen was different. Although he consumed a greater amount of resources for his cultivation, he was, after all, an alchemist. For him, resources were merely a matter of time.

He then ascended to the second and third floors. These two floors housed quite a few second-rank divine weapons, but sword-type divine weapons were scarce. Because the sword path reigned supreme among martial arts, sword cultivators faced a steeper learning curve than other martial cultivators. Thus, fewer practitioners chose the path of the sword.

Upon stepping onto the fourth floor, Chu Tianchen began to browse.

The fourth floor, roughly the size of half a soccer field, held only a dozen or so figures. In fact, there were more stall owners selling divine weapons than there were customers.

Chu Tianchen walked from stall to stall. Most of the items here were also second-rank divine weapons, though their craftsmanship was indeed much more refined than those on the lower floors. Yet, after visiting several vendors, he still hadn't found anything to his liking.

Just as Chu Tianchen was considering casually buying a third-rank sword divine weapon to make do for the time being, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a broken sword resting on a nearby stall.

This broken sword was about a meter long. The hilt was intact and covered in rust, yet it still failed to conceal the intricate runes carved upon it.

He released a trace of soul power, letting it sink into the sword.

Immediately, an ancient aura rushed toward him. This sword was at least three thousand years old. Furthermore, when it was still intact, it must have been a divine weapon of at least the sixth rank. Unfortunately, it was now useless; due to the passage of time and the fracture, it could no longer be repaired.

"My friend, have you taken a fancy to this broken sword?"

"This broken sword arrived just the day before yesterday. It should be an eighth-rank divine weapon, holding considerable research value for sword cultivators."

"If you genuinely want it, I can let you have it for a cheaper price."

The middle-aged stall owner said with a smile.

"I am somewhat interested. How much is it?" Chu Tianchen asked.

"One hundred thousand low-grade primordial stones." The middle-aged stall owner smiled slightly as he named his price.

Chu Tianchen furrowed his brow instantly. He had always considered himself someone who asked for exorbitant prices and possessed thick skin, but it seemed this vendor was even more audacious.

Hearing this, Chu Tianchen put the sword down and instead picked up a third-rank sword divine weapon.

"How many primordial stones for this sword?" Chu Tianchen asked.

"Little brother has a good eye. This sword is called Fire Cloud, crafted by a fourth-rank weapon refiner."

"I'll let you have it for eighty thousand low-grade primordial stones," the stall owner stated.

"Fifty thousand," Chu Tianchen countered.

The stall owner's brow immediately furrowed. "Fifty thousand? When I acquired this Fire Cloud Sword, it cost me sixty-five thousand," the middle-aged vendor said with a darkened expression.

"Would someone well-versed in divine weapons spend sixty-five thousand on a broken sword?" Chu Tianchen retorted. "Besides, every single divine weapon on your stall is flawed..."

Before Chu Tianchen could finish, the stall owner hurriedly grabbed his arm.

"F-fifty thousand, it's yours," the middle-aged vendor blurted out anxiously.

"I said the Fire Cloud Sword and this broken sword—both together for fifty thousand," Chu Tianchen said with a cheeky grin.

The person who could make a massive profit off him had not yet been born.