Dust-Off Sword: Forged with Wind Erosion Gang Iron as the main material, Twelve Array Glyphs, light and swift. Produced by Taotie City, three hundred Sword Coins.
Mountain-Break Sword: Forged with Earth Steel Powder as the main material, Fourteen Array Inscriptions, heavy and resilient. Produced by Swordsmith Xuan Chengzi, five hundred Sword Coins.
Profound Yin Sword: Forged with Thousand-Year Cold Iron as the main material, Thirty-Six Array Inscriptions, cold and sharp. Producer unknown, eight hundred Sword Coins.
...
As if an autumn wind has swept up fallen leaves, making one feel cold in the heart.
Chu Liang was standing in front of the counter at Chuan Jian Hall, drifting into a daze.
He had never been to Chuan Jian Hall before, it was indeed after seeing Fang Ting's Shocking Thunder Sword that he was inclined to buy one himself.
At first, he thought he had come into some small fortune, but compared to the prices of these treasure swords, it was so insignificant. After seeing these prices, why suddenly he felt...
The standard Flying Sword Bracelet of Shu Mountain is quite useful.
Enough for many years.
Generally speaking, a Divine Consciousness Realm disciple who frequently goes on missions can hardly earn one hundred Sword Coins a month, let alone the expenses for other Magic Artifacts, Elixirs, Talismans, and Divine Skills...
How long would it take to afford a sword?
Just as he was about to leave, the deacon disciple at the counter noticed him and enthusiastically greeted him.
This was a tall female disciple who, with a smile on her face, stopped Chu Liang, "Junior brother, are you looking to buy a Flying Sword that's uniquely yours?"
"Yes," Chu Liang nodded.
"Which one have you taken a liking to?" The deacon disciple asked.
"I'm just browsing, I can't afford it," Chu Liang didn't feel embarrassed and answered candidly.
"That's not necessarily true. Tell me your budget, senior sister can help you plan," the deacon disciple laughed.
"I only have fifty Sword Coins," Chu Liang replied, "But from what I see, the cheapest one is already three hundred Sword Coins..."
"Um..." The deacon disciple's face showed a brief difficulty, but quickly relaxed, "It's okay, haha. You're in luck, our Chuan Jian Hall just launched a new instalment payment plan."
"Instalment payment?" Chu Liang blinked.
What an idea.
Does Shu Mountain have such a thing now?
"You can make a down payment of fifty Sword Coins, and then pay ten Sword Coins every month, finishing the payments in fifty months. What do you think, isn't it especially considerate?" The deacon disciple explained.
A down payment of fifty, two hundred and fifty Sword Coins still needed. Ten Sword Coins per month, five hundred Sword Coins needed in fifty months... Chu Liang quickly figured it out in his mind.
In other words, this was a four-year loan that doubled the interest...
It seemed quite crafty.
"It sounds quite tempting, but I think I'll pass," Chu Liang smiled, "I'll take another look next time."
Forget it, he'd better go back and kill some more monsters, maybe a Flying Sword would drop sometime.
"Oh, don't be put off by the price. This is your first exclusive Flying Sword in life, it's significant, what does a little extra cost matter!" The deacon disciple still tried to hold him back.
But Chu Liang had already turned around.
His intention was obvious.
Just as he was about to step out of the door, he suddenly encountered a petite figure who was about to walk into him.
"Oh!", a beautiful girl in a light green gown nearly collided with him, "Senior Brother Chu?"
"Junior Sister Xu?"
Chu Liang was somewhat surprised to see her. It was none other than Xu Ziqing, the younger junior sister from Jade Sword Peak he recently completed a mission with.
"What a coincidence running into you here," Xu Ziqing laughed, eyes gleaming bright.
"Yeah, are you here to buy a Flying Sword too?" Chu Liang asked warmly.
"Yes! I succeeded on my first mission, so my brother said he'd reward me with a Flying Sword and told me to pick one myself," Xu Ziqing replied cheerfully.
Hearing this, Chu Liang thought to himself - even the rewards from the White Pagoda require working by killing monsters, but rewards from big brothers are much more direct and simple.
"That's really great," he said sincerely.
"Hey, which sword did Senior Brother Chu buy?" Xu Ziqing asked again.
"I haven't bought one yet. The flying swords here are too expensive, and I don't have enough sword coins," Chu Liang answered truthfully.
"Huh?" The little girl tilted her head and suddenly said, "Which one do you like? I'll just give it to you."
"How can that be?" Chu Liang waved his hands to refuse right away. "Flying swords are so expensive, I can't possibly accept them."
What a girl.
She's quite generous.
A sage with surname Lu once said in Shu Mountain, a woman would only slow down my sword-drawing speed... but a rich woman can give me a better sword.
The ancients never lied.
"What does it matter? We're good friends!" said the little rich girl whilst pulling him.
"No, I can't accept rewards for nothing," Chu Liang shook his head resolutely.
Something small like a Spirit Gathering Pill, sure, he could take it. But he could never accept such an expensive flying sword for nothing.
"Alright..." Xu Ziqing pouted, seemingly a bit unhappy.
"Then Junior Sister Ziqing, you take your time picking out a sword. I'll be going first," said Chu Liang as he took his leave.
"You still call me Junior Sister Ziqing. You said we're friends, so just call me Ziqing like everyone else does," the little girl said again.
"Okay, Junior Sister Ziqing," Chu Liang simply agreed.
While they were conversing, someone walked down from upstairs. He smelled Xu Ziqing, and immediately greeted, "Junior Sister Ziqing!"
Turing to look, it was a slender young disciple with high cheekbones, narrow eyes, and a certain scholarly aura about him who didn't look very scholarly at all.
Two similarly dressed brothers followed behind him, looking like his henchmen.
Seeing this person, Xu Ziqing frowned immediately, but reluctantly responded, "Senior Brother Shang."
Even though she was cold, she couldn't resist his enthusiasm.
Senior Brother Shang took a few steps to stand in front of Xu Ziqing and laughed, "What a coincidence running into you here."
"Yeah, are you here to buy a flying sword?" Xu Ziqing responded distractedly.
"Hey!" Senior Brother Shang puffed up his chest, "I led a team to eliminate the Hualai River Water Monster the other day. My dad said he would reward me with a new flying sword and let me pick it myself."
"Not bad..." Xu Ziqing nodded expressionlessly, then seemed ready to leave.
Senior Brother Shang quickly stopped her, smilingly asked, "Junior Sister Ziqing, which sword did you buy?"
"I haven't bought anything, just browsing," Xu Ziqing replied.
"Eh?" Senior Brother Shang clapped his hands together, "Which one do you like? I'll give it to you."
"How could I?" Xu Ziqing frowned deeply, shaking her head and saying, "Flying swords are so precious, I couldn't possibly trouble Senior Brother Shang."
"What's the big deal? We're... good friends, right?" Senior Brother Shang chuckled crookedly.
"No way! I can't accept rewards for nothing." Xu Ziqing looked like she was really not impressed.
"Alright..." Senior Brother Shang also had to give up.
"Well, Senior Brother Shang, if you'll excuse us, we're leaving!" Xu Ziqing, not waiting to buy a sword anymore, pulled Chu Liang and turned to leave.
Senior Brother Shang, from behind, persisted, "You still call me Senior Brother Shang, so formal. We're good friends, just call me Big Brother Ziliang."
"Noted, Senior Brother Shang!" Xu Ziqing left this remark, and before long had walked quite a distance away with Chu Liang...
"Ah..." Shang Ziliang sighed heavily, "Do you guys think it's reasonable? I'm such a handsome, charismatic, and talented young man, and yet Junior Sister Ziqing always gives me the cold shoulder. Is this fair?"
"Unreasonable!" "Absolutely unreasonable!"
The two henchmen immediately answered.
"So why is that?" Shang Ziliang lifted his head to look at the sky.
"Boss, do you think it's possible... that Junior Sister Ziqing already has someone in her heart? That would explain why she's cold towards you," Henchman A suggested.
"Hm?" Shang Ziliang frowned, "Is that so?"
"That guy standing next to her looks highly suspicious to me," Henchman B said, "the way she was looking at him just now was definitely not right."
"It's not just about her look, I even smelled something strange from the two of them..." Henchman A stuttered, too afraid to elaborate.
"Humph..." Shang Ziliang pondered for a moment, then issued the order, "Go find out about that kid, what's his name, which peak does he come from? I have to see who would dare compete with me for Junior Sister Ziqing..."