54: Buy a knife

"Hello, I would like to buy a sword."

He paused for a moment.

Xiao Weiqing added, "Teacher Zhao Jia referred me here."

The beautiful receptionist's smile deepened. "Oh, so you were referred by Teacher Zhao. Please wait a moment while I go find our manager."

"Okay."

Less than two minutes later, a middle-aged man walked down the stairs from the second floor with a faint smile on his Face.

For some reason, Xiao Weiqing felt at first glance that this person was very shrewd.

"I am the manager of this shop, Wang Hai. May I ask how to address you?"

"Xiao Weiqing."

"If I may be so bold, what is your relationship with Teacher Zhao Jia?"

"Teacher Zhao is my instructor."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hai's smile reached his eyes. "So you are a Genius from the Upper Academy. Please, come upstairs."

"But I came to buy a sword."

Wang Hai laughed, "Of course. The ones downstairs are all ordinary goods. Spiritual Qi weapons are on the second floor."

Xiao Weiqing nodded and followed behind him.

The two arrived on the second floor.

It had the same floor area but seemed more spacious, with weapons of all kinds hanging all around.

"Since you want to buy a sword, do you have any requirements?"

"Hmm, a Tang-style sword would be fine. Also, it needs to be able to withstand high temperatures."

"Oh? It seems your Extraordinary Talent is 'Technique'."

Xiao Weiqing nodded slightly.

"This way."

Arriving at the very back, five swords were displayed on a wooden rack, all in the Tang-style sword pattern.

Wang Hai made a gesture of invitation.

Xiao Weiqing picked up the third sword; it felt quite heavy in his hand, estimated to be 30 kilograms.

He unsheathed the blade.

"Clang!"

The sharp edge was revealed.

"Good sword!"

"Manager Wang, may I infuse it with Spiritual Qi to test it?"

"Of course."

Spiritual Qi overflowed from Xiao Weiqing's hands.

He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "If I break it during the test…"

"Haha… these Spiritual Qi Tang-style swords are all made from top-quality Materials." Manager Wang was very confident in the quality of his shop's weapons.

Xiao Weiqing remained unmoved. "I won't have to pay for it if I break it, right?"

Wang Hai's smile faded, and he let out a soft harrumph. *What an ignorant brat.*

"Rest assured, you won't have to pay if you break it."

Xiao Weiqing nodded. "That's good."

He no longer restrained himself; Spiritual Qi erupted from his hands, mixed with 50 strands of Qi Fire.

Boom!

The Tang-style sword ignited instantly, flames surging, and the surrounding temperature rose significantly.

Seeing this, Wang Hai's pupils constricted. "This kid, such pure Spiritual Qi, such dense flames."

"He said Zhao Jia is his instructor, so he must be a new Trainee. That means he hasn't had his Awakening for long, yet he already has such strength. He is a potential customer." Manager Wang immediately made his judgment.

"How is it? Our shop's weapons…"

"How… could this happen?"

Wang Hai exclaimed in disbelief.

As the flames on the blade dissipated, the body of this Spiritual Qi weapon had actually bent. Although it was only a slight curve, Wang Hai could tell that the sword had deformed.

"You said I wouldn't have to pay for it," Xiao Weiqing said with a guilty conscience.

Wang Hai took the Tang-style sword. "It really deformed."

Then.

Wang Hai drew the topmost Tang-style sword. "Try this one. I don't believe it. Did the blacksmith cut corners?"

Xiao Weiqing took the sword and looked at Manager Wang. "Manager Wang, if…"

"Try it with confidence. If this one has any issues, I'll eat this sword right here on the spot!"

"…"

Xiao Weiqing followed the same procedure, infusing Spiritual Qi.

Sure enough.

This time it was different. It went smoothly; he slowly infused 50 strands of Qi Fire, and the Tang-style sword showed no abnormalities.

Wang Hai nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "It seems that last sword was just an accident."

However.

When Xiao Weiqing infused it with 100 strands of Qi Fire.

"Crack!"

A soft sound.

Both of them heard it.

Xiao Weiqing quickly withdrew his Spiritual Qi.

The exposed blade actually had a hairline crack.

"Impossible!"

"This is a Level 2 Spiritual Qi weapon worth 520 points. Even someone with the strength of the Second Realm would find it hard to damage it."

Wang Hai couldn't understand it. It wasn't like they hadn't encountered fire-type users coming to buy weapons before. For someone like Xiao Weiqing, who had just undergone his Awakening not long ago, this sword should have been more than enough.

Now that it was damaged just by infusing Spiritual Qi, what kind of fire did this kid have?

"You wait!"

Wang Hai's temper flared up.

From an exquisite cabinet, he took out a 1.5-meter-long wooden box, carefully placed it on the table, and opened the lid, revealing a crimson straight sword.

"Try this one."

"This sword is named Red Dragon. It is 3 feet 9 inches long in total, with a blade length of 3 feet, a width of 1.1 inches, and weighs 48 kilograms."

Xiao Weiqing looked at it, his eyes lighting up; he was taken with it at first sight.

He picked it up impatiently.

Clang!~

A soft sound, like the roar of a Dragon.

The blade was straight and entirely blood-red, without any adornments, and there was a Dragon head at the end of the handle.

"Good sword!"

He infused it with Spiritual Qi.

In an instant.

Flames shot out in all directions. When Xiao Weiqing infused it with Qi Fire, there were no abnormalities; it felt like an extension of his own arm.

50 strands… 100 strands… 200 strands.

Boom!

The length of the flames on the blade surged again, reaching two meters.

"Whew…"

Xiao Weiqing dispersed the Spiritual Qi, feeling very satisfied.

"How is it? Satisfied, right?"

"Very satisfied. Manager Wang, I want this sword."

Wang Hai smiled. Having lost two swords, if he couldn't close this deal, he would suffer a huge loss.

"It will be 1099 points, please."

Xiao Weiqing's hand froze, and he turned his head stiffly. "Manager Wang, how much… did you just say?"

"1099 points. We treat everyone fairly, and prices are non-negotiable."

Xiao Weiqing sighed slightly, sheathed the sword, and placed it back in the box. There was a trace of reluctance in his eyes; he couldn't possibly spend 1099 points to buy a sword right now.

Actually, the previous one was okay too, it had just deformed. As long as he infused Spiritual Qi normally and used less Qi Fire, it wasn't unusable.

"Manager Wang, it's too expensive. I can't afford it."

"It's okay. You can pay 60% upfront and pay the rest in installments. Since you were referred by Teacher Zhao, I won't charge you interest."

"…"

Xiao Weiqing was speechless. This Wang Hai really knew how to do business.

"Manager Wang, forget it. After all, I am a Technique Cultivator, and this sword is a bit too luxurious for me at the moment."

Hearing this.

Wang Hai narrowed his eyes. *This kid is interesting. He wants to haggle with me, but he's a bit too green.*

"Xiao Weiqing, our weapon shop has always had clearly marked prices, and everything is absolutely worth the value. How about this? I'll take charge, and out of respect for Teacher Zhao's Face, I'll give you a discount."

Xiao Weiqing turned around, somewhat tempted. "A discount?"

"That's right, a discount."

"How much of a discount?"

Wang Hai said, "How about I knock off the last digit for you?"

Xiao Weiqing's eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed. *I've met a good person!*

"Manager Wang, are you sure about knocking off the last digit?"

Seeing this, Wang Hai felt smug, thinking to himself, *Trying to pull this on me?*

"That's right, knocking off the last digit."

"Okay, it's a deal. 199 points, I'll take it."

Wang Hai: "?"

"What did you say? 199 points?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded with an expectant look. "Yeah, Manager Wang, didn't you say you'd knock off the last digit?"

"Heh… hehe…"

Wang Hai was so angry he laughed. *I've been doing business in the academy for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen someone 'knock off the last digit' like that.*

"Trainee Xiao Weiqing, do you think that's possible? At 199 points, I wouldn't even be able to cover the labor costs."

Xiao Weiqing smacked his lips. "Fine. How many points was the first sword I tested? Get me a new one."

"68 points."

"How about 60?"

"Not good."

"Fine, I'll take one."

10 minutes later.

Xiao Weiqing walked out of the weapon shop with a sword now at his waist.

"It cost 68 points, which would be tens of thousands outside, and they didn't even give me a box."

"Bad review!"

Wang Hai stood on the second floor watching Xiao Weiqing's receding figure, as if he had remembered something.

He hurried downstairs and walked toward the backyard.