"I guess that old man was wrong." Li Jun muttered to himself as he was about to walk away. "His swords are probably terrible anyway."
"Wait!" The man yelled. "Who's swords are terrible?"
Li Jun turned to see the muscular man had stopped working and was now eying Li Jun as if he had just kicked his dog. It looked like he wanted to smash his head into pieces with his gigantic hammer, but he glanced at the guards nearby and gave up on that idea.
"Oh, it's nothing. I will just find a better blacksmith. Have a nice day." Li Jun began to walk away once more, but his words challenged the man's ego.
"Stop right there!" He demanded, but Li Jun kept walking.
"Fine! I will sell you a damn sword! Come back!"
Li Jun stopped and turned with a grin.
"What makes you think your swords are good enough? I will just buy one from somewhere else; there's no need to trouble yourself," Li Jun smiled.
"I will give you a discount! Ten percent off whatever you buy."
Li Jun smiled. He didn't know that he would get such a reaction from the man. He only wanted a little revenge for being shooed away due to his age.
"Well, if you insist, I can at least take a look." Li Jun said reluctantly, as though he was being forced to look at the man's products. But a ten percent discount on a good sword was something that he couldn't turn down.
The man led him down through a cellar door at the side of the house into what looked like a storage room where dozens of swords, spears, and long bows were displayed neatly on each wall. Like an archive of sorts.
Although none of them stood out as anything special, Li Jun could tell from a glance that they were made for combat rather than swords like his cousin Li Chen had that were made to look expensive.
"What do you think? This is everything I have crafted in the past four months. Do you see anything you like?" The man asked eagerly as he hoped that Li Jun would appreciate his work and not go somewhere else.
"Do you think any of your swords could kill a mutated beast?" Li Jun asked.
"It depends on the beast." The man said with a smile. He didn't think that Li Jun had any intention of fighting a mutated beast; they were known to be especially strong and violent. It would take dozens of grown men to take down a particularly strong beast. As he looked at Li Jun, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Can I test them?" Li Jun asked as he saw three bamboo shoots in the middle of the room, each thicker than one of his legs. He knew the best way to test a swords ability to cut was to slice bamboo with it and figured that is what they were there for.
"Sure, let me get a thinner bamboo shoot." The man said as Li Jun grabbed a sword from its display. It looked ordinary apart from its dark-colored blade.
Before the man could move, Li Jun lifted the sword above his head as though it was an axe and slammed it down on top of the bamboo. The thick bamboo shoot split all the way down to the bottom as the sword sliced through it like butter. He flicked his wrist as the bamboo was about to fall to the floor and sliced it into perfect thirds. The six identical pieces crashed against the floor, leaving the blacksmith with a pale face.
"H—how did you." He stuttered.
Li Jun hadn't used a technique; he was simply twice as strong and twice as fast as a regular person, so to the untrained eye, his movements looked impressive. Although in his opinion he still had a lot to learn.
"How much is this?" He asked as he ran his hand across the blade. The weight felt perfect in his hand, and it was certainly sharp enough to slice through just about anything he intended to use it against.
"Seven gold coins. But I suppose I promised you a discount so six gold and thirty silvers." He said still shocked about what he had seen.
'Its way too expensive.' Li Jun thought as he looked at the sword again and began to have second thoughts. He would only have two gold and seventy silver coins left. He had seen the prices of swords at the market and they were much cheaper. But he wasn't sure if any of them even came close to the craftsmanship of the black bladed sword in his hands.
"I'll take it." He said reluctantly. He hadn't planned to spend so much money, but a good sword would go a long way, and he knew he could earn it back if he hunted enough mutant beasts.
The man was surprised again. He hadn't judged Li Jun as someone who had so much money. His clothes were simple, and he didn't have the same air as the noble children who often came to harass him. He was decisive and skilled with a blade, too; he felt as if the sword he had made was going to achieve great things if it was by Li Jun's side.
The blacksmith reached behind the wooden counter at the far side of the basement and pulled out a black scabbard that had red engravings running down it and handed it to Li Jun after accepting the gold.
"Make sure you bring her back if she gets damaged or needs sharpening." The man said as he counted the change and handed it back.
"Her?" Li Jun was surprised. He had never heard of someone refer to a sword as if it were a woman.
"Yes, I would say such beauty could only be found in a woman." The man grinned as he looked at the sword once more.
Li Jun sighed at what he said and put the sword into his universe bag. It vanished from his hands, leaving the blacksmith stunned again. A sudden realization came to his mind once more as he looked at the strange bag on Li Jun's hip.
"You're a martial artist?!" He almost shouted at the sudden realization.
"Thank you for the sword. I'll be back if I need anything else." Li Jun said as he sauntered away. He had a bear to hunt.
"Father, I think he intentionally tricked you for a discount." The young woman stated as they watched Li Jun walk away.
But instead of heading back to the forest immediately, Li Jun wanted to test something, so he stopped by his house. He pulled out one of the spirit stones from his ring and began to cultivate. He held the stone in the palm of his hand and felt a cool breeze flood out from its crystalline structure.