Monster Paradise

The enemy of the enemy was considered a friend. After ascertaining the relationship between the Club and the Raiders, Lin Huang decided to trade the Heavenly Sword’s scabbard with the Club.

The scabbard had been completely destroyed. Yin Yin had also said that it was already of no use to her and Lin Huang was free to dispose of it at will.

For Lin Huang, this object served only two purposes—it could be traded or Xiao Hei could absorb it as material.

Considering the degree of damage to the scabbard, even if it were given to Xiao Hei to absorb, it would not make much of a difference.

Therefore, the course of action which would yield the most benefits was naturally to trade it in at the Club in exchange for other useful resources.

Early the next morning, Lin Huang put on Thousand Face and ate breakfast with his new identity, after which he took Sword301 and Sword302 and appeared in a café.

This kind of coffee shop in the God Territory was quite obviously copied from the human world.

This was a coffee shop in name, but in reality, there were all kinds of drinks, most of them sweet. There were very few who came here for the coffee; most people ordered sweet drinks.

When he heard Lin Huang ordering a cup of black coffee in addition to two cups of sweet drinks, the proprietor looked at him rather oddly. He also specifically made a point of emphasizing to Lin Huang, “Sir, there is no sugar added.”

When some of the nearby customers heard this, they could not help glancing at Lin Huang.

Lin Huang and the two Sword Servants sat under an umbrella in the open air for a while. By the time Lin Huang had finished his drink, it was already almost nine o’clock.

A figure suddenly appeared by the table where the three of them sat. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

At the voice, all three people, including Lin Huang, were stunned for a moment. None of them had sensed the other party’s approach at all.

Lin Huang immediately looked up at the newcomer. The individual in question was a young man who looked like he was about 27 or 28 years old. He was tall and thin, clad in a black suit and a fedora, and had a dark red walking stick in his right hand.

Lin Huang’s senses did not pick up any energy fluctuation emanating from within the man. It was as if this stranger were just an ordinary person.

The expressions of the two Sword Servants were also rather odd as they studied the man in the suit.

One had to be aware that the two Sword Servants had both been heavenly god-level powerhouses previously. Even though their combat strength was now restricted to the level of Virtual God rank-9, if they happened to meet another powerhouse who was also at heavenly god-level, it was not difficult for them to determine their opponent’s approximate combat strength even if the other person’s aura remained concealed. However, the person standing in front of them was no different from an ordinary person.

Even so, neither Lin Huang nor the two Sword Servants regarded the other party as just an ordinary person.

This stranger had appeared without warning at just the right time and he had requested to sit with them when there was an empty table beside theirs. This confirmed that he was the one they would be conducting this transaction with.

“Please sit down.”

After seating himself with a smile, the man in the suit glanced at the two Sword Servants. He took off his hat, revealing a head of short black hair, and smiled at Lin Huang.

“Huang Lin, right? You can call me Solid Ebony.”

This was obviously not the other party’s real name—however, he had also addressed Lin Huang by the pseudonym he had acquired just recently.

“Hello,” Lin Huang nodded and greeted him.

“May I see the condition of the goods first?” After briefly introducing himself, Solid Ebony got straight down to business without any additional small talk.

“Here?” Lin Huang raised an eyebrow and looked at the other party with an odd expression.

Solid Ebony smiled and nodded. “Relax, other people can’t see or listen in on what’s going on here.”

Only after the other party mentioned this did Lin Huang notice that he could no longer sense the aura of the two Sword Servants.

Both of them were sitting next to him at the table, so close that he could have reached out and touched them. However, they seemed to be just two illusory projections.

He sent a mental transmission to the two of them; neither responded.

“What did you do to them?” Lin Huang’s brows furrowed slightly.

“I didn’t do anything; it’s just simple space-time isolation,” Solid Ebony finished and added, “We are the ones who are isolated, they are okay. Can we carry out our transaction now, with peace of mind?”

Solid Ebony managing to do this without Lin Huang being aware of it was something completely beyond Lin Huang’s comprehension.

However, once he had ascertained how powerful the other was, Lin Huang actually felt relieved.

Without further hesitation, he brought out the scabbard.

When he saw the completely charred and broken scabbard, the expression on Solid Ebony’s face finally displayed emotions other than a smile.

Lin Huang recognized the look on the other’s face—the man was stunned and speechless.

“It’s been destroyed to this extent…” Solid Ebony sighed helplessly.

He only needed a glance to confirm the object was genuine, but the degree of damage was far beyond anything he had expected.

“I can’t do anything about that, it was already like this when I got it.” Lin Huang shrugged helplessly.

“That raptor really went all in…” Solid Ebony muttered in a low voice.

“Maybe take a closer look?” Lin Huang handed the scabbard over to Solid Ebony. He was not worried that the other would grab it and run off.

Solid Ebony hesitated for a moment, but he did finally take the two broken chunks of carbonized material.

After a careful inspection, he sighed, “It’s totally destroyed; it can only be used as material now…”

Putting the scabbard on the table, Solid Ebony looked up at Lin Huang.

“This scabbard definitely can’t be repaired, even its spirit has dissipated. Apart from absorbing it as material, I can’t think of any further uses for it. What’s your selling price?”

“What is Senior willing to pay?” Lin Huang was reluctant to give an initial offer as he had no idea of the current market rates for Goldfingers.

Solid Ebony thought about it for a moment. “You’re a newcomer and I wouldn’t feel good about taking advantage of you. I’ll bear the loss and trade it for a God Weapon.”

“A God Weapon?” Lin Huang looked puzzled.

Solid Ebony noticed Lin Huang’s uncertainty.

“A God Weapon is a type of tool which possesses the quality of being able to develop alongside its users. If one is a sword cultivator, one could visualize it as a sword. When its sword-form is fully matured and settled, it can sustain the user’s power entirely without any losses, operating as an extension of your body like a bone that has grown within you since childhood.

“In addition to this symbiotic nature, the God Weapon also has development potential. It will be affected by the energy intensity within the host’s body. When the host body’s energy intensity increases, the power of the God Weapon and its sustaining capacity will elevate as well. You can start using it now all the way up to lord-level or even longer, without changing weapons.

“Based on just value alone, a God Weapon is no less powerful than a Dao Weapon used by a Lord.”

“What about in terms of price?” Lin Huang brought the discussion back to the main point.

“Uh… It takes a certain amount of time to nurture, so in terms of price, a God Weapon will be cheaper than a Dao Weapon,” Solid Ebony froze for a moment, but he answered honestly regardless.

“Apart from ordinary weapons, what else can be visualized? Can a God Weapon be used as armor? How about as a telekinetic weapon?” Lin Huang asked again.

“Battle armor and telekinetic weapons are possible. But if you’re thinking about equipment with complex structures such as warships or palaces, then that won’t be possible.”

“Since this is the case… ten God Weapons,” Lin Huang bluntly quoted the price that he wanted.

“This is daylight robbery! You’re also a traveler—you should know that even if this scabbard is used as material, it’s also only of limited use to a Goldfinger’s advancement,” Solid Ebony rejected Lin Huang’s offer outright, “Three weapons, that’s my bottom line!”

“Eight weapons!” Lin Huang negotiated.

“Five. That’s the highest price that I’ll tolerate!” Solid Ebony amended his highest offer from earlier.

“Six weapons!” Lin Huang negotiated once more.

“Deal!” Solid Ebony slammed his hand on the table happily.

“Huh?” Lin Huang was stunned for a moment at this. “Why do I feel like I’m losing money on this?”

“If I didn’t take pity on you because you’re a newcomer, no one would barter six God Weapons in exchange for such material,” Solid Ebony said brusquely; it was uncertain whether he was happy or figuratively bleeding at the moment.