Chapter 284 - 192: Sword Master

Chapter 284: Chapter 192: Sword Master

Jin Country. The Capital City.

As the capital of one of the Five Northern Dominions, the city bustled with immense foot traffic and a constant stream of traveling merchants.

On the bustling Jinwang Street.

A newly acquired shop quietly opened for business.

A plaque hung above the shop, bearing the name "Swordsmanship House."

A Swordsman with a long sword on his back stepped into the "Swordsmanship House."

Inside, he found a sign placed in the center of the shop.

The sign simply bore two lines of text.

"Swordsmanship House Trading Rules"

"Any valid Swordsmanship can be exchanged for silver taels, Exotic Beast Meat, or Pills."

The Swordsman scratched his head and looked toward the refined middle-aged man behind the counter. "Shopkeeper, what do you mean by ’valid Swordsmanship’?"

This refined middle-aged man was, of course, the transformed Lu Changfeng.

Lu Changfeng looked at his first customer.

He opened his interface. This was a Swordsman who possessed Low-Grade Sword Dao Talent.

Among ordinary people, a decent Root Bone was somewhat common, but possessing Martial Arts Talent was a one-in-ten-thousand rarity.

This young Swordsman naturally wore an air of arrogance, but judging by his worn-out clothes, his family was not well-off. He was clearly troubled by poverty.

’Looks like he has a Sword Manual I could use.’

Lu Changfeng looked at the familiar interface, and a thought struck him. He could now use his Spiritual Sense to perceive a Martial Artist’s Realm, so he wondered if he could get the interface to display it.

He made a silent request in his mind.

The interface responded quickly, displaying a new panel altogether.

Name: ??? (Shop Customer)

Realm: Blood Forging Realm, Second Layer

Root Bone: B Class+

Talent: Low-Grade Sword Technique Talent

Bloodline Talent: None

’Not bad,’ he thought. ’The interface can add attributes based on my own perceptions.’

Lu Changfeng replied to the young Blood Forging Realm Swordsman, "Well, it’s simple. ’Valid Swordsmanship’ is any Swordsmanship I deem to be valid."

Lu Changfeng was being deliberately obtuse.

"What do you mean? Do I have to perform the Swordsmanship for you?" the young Swordsman asked, confused.

Lu Changfeng nodded. "That’s right. You’ll need to let me take a look. But don’t worry, I only need to see the first page of the Swordsmanship manual to know if it’s valid. The only condition is that your copy must be complete."

’Just the first page?’ The request wasn’t unreasonable. The young Swordsman nodded. "So you need to see the Swordsmanship before setting a price?"

Lu Changfeng replied, "Are you looking to exchange it for silver taels?"

The young Swordsman hesitated for a moment before saying, "Partly for silver taels, and partly for Exotic Beast Meat."

"No problem. Let me see the Swordsmanship," Lu Changfeng said, holding out his hand.

The young Swordsman pulled a worn-out book from his robes, still warm from his body heat.

Lu Changfeng took it and, true to his word, only looked at the first page.

He then named his price. "A Swordsmanship that allows cultivation up to the Tendon Transformation Realm. Not bad. Five hundred taels of silver, or thirty catties of Middle-Level quality Exotic Beast Meat."

Lu Changfeng had plenty of silver and Exotic Beast Meat in storage. After plundering the Wu Country Royal Treasury, he had reaped a huge haul. It was just sitting in a pile in his Dragon’s Space, so he might as well use it to trade for Swordsmanship.

The price Lu Changfeng offered was more than fair. After a moment of thought, the young Swordsman nodded. "I’ll take half in silver taels, and half in Exotic Beast Meat."

Lu Changfeng nodded. Pretending to rummage under the counter, he averted the young Swordsman’s gaze and retrieved the correct amounts of Exotic Beast Meat and silver taels, handing them over.

Lu Changfeng then shoved the Swordsmanship manual into a cabinet, though in reality, he placed it neatly in the designated pile within his Dragon’s Space.

That "Swordsmanship Mountain" represented tens of thousands of years of Lifespan that Lu Changfeng had already accumulated.

"Thank you."

The young Swordsman collected the silver and Exotic Beast Meat, then turned and left the shop.

This silver and Exotic Beast Meat would be enough for him to cultivate to the Third Layer of the Blood Forging Realm.

At that point, he would have a preliminary level of strength among Blood Forging Martial Artists. He could serve as a porter in an Escort Agency or guard a private residence for a higher monthly salary. His career as a Martial Artist would become much smoother.

As for Lu Changfeng, feeding this Tendon Transformation Realm Swordsmanship to his Longevity Sword Dao for Devouring would increase his Lifespan by at least five months.

For Lu Changfeng, this transaction was a win-win.

’Well, this is how a friendly shop ought to be.’

’I plan to keep this shop open for countless eons, after all... as long as I’m still alive.’

Lu Changfeng murmured to himself.

Of course, Lu Changfeng couldn’t just stay in the Jincheng Capital City. He had to open a branch in each of the nineteen countries of the Northern Domain.

The best method would have been to use his Dragon Scale Clones. That way, regardless of where Lu Changfeng was, he could have the Clones collect and practice the Swordsmanship, then periodically absorb their memories to obtain it.

However, there was a limit to the number of Dragon Scale Clones he could have.

Furthermore, using too many Dragon Scale Clones would affect the strength of his Demon Fiend Bloodline.

The Northern Domain was vast, containing nineteen different countries.

Therefore, Lu Changfeng had no choice but to hire people. Then, he would only need to create a single Dragon Scale Clone to oversee the collection of Swordsmanship throughout the entire Northern Domain.

Lu Changfeng took out a sheet of white paper, wrote the two words "Help Wanted" in large script, and posted it outside the shop.

Unexpectedly, quite a few people came looking for the job.

He had only just posted it when a youth of about fifteen or sixteen came to apply.

He opened his interface. The boy was just an ordinary person.

E Class Root Bone, and zero Talent.

’Since the job is to collect Swordsmanship, he needs to have some Sword Dao Talent at the very least,’ he mused. ’Otherwise, it’d be a problem if someone swindled him.’

Lu Changfeng’s money didn’t grow on trees. He was fine with a fair trade, but he wouldn’t tolerate being defrauded.

"You’re not a good fit." Before the boy could even speak, Lu Changfeng bluntly turned him away.

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately just turned and left the shop.