Chapter 239: Star-rank Weapons

After teleporting back to Crescent Bay's Heracles' Treasure Trove, Yu Xian didn't let Eternal Purity's departure dampen his mood. He continued shopping with everyone else.

He maintained his fused state with Nora. As Nora's strength had increased too quickly, especially her mental energy, she had entered a very unusual state, somewhat like a fetus, as though she were undergoing enlightenment. Yu Xian believed that once she awakened from this deep slumber, she would be able to perfectly control the tremendous power that had suddenly surged within her.

Soon, everyone arrived at the third floor. They were immediately greeted by densely packed shops, each selling weapons and equipment.

The first and second floors were mostly filled with all kinds of restaurants and service-oriented shops, but from the third floor onward, the atmosphere changed completely. Everything sold here was serious hardware, and for many customers, these weapons and armaments were necessities.

The higher one went in Heracles' Treasure Trove, the more specialized the shops became. Only by arranging things this way could they entice customers to keep moving upward. If the order were reversed, customers would simply remain on the first floor, which would reduce the appeal of the shops at the top and, consequently, the number of visitors to them.

Zhang Shou noticed that many shops sold swords and was surprised. "Aliens use swords too?"

Many of the swords for sale were obviously not meant for humans. Some were nearly five meters long, far too large for a human-sized body to wield properly, while others were so tiny that to a human, they looked more like toothpicks.

Shui Yuetian smiled. "The simpler a weapon is, the more effective it tends to be. Any intelligent lifeform capable of gripping things can easily use weapons like swords, sabers, and spears, so naturally, they develop their own systems of swordsmanship and saber techniques. Only certain more unusual races use weapons with particularly distinctive designs."

The group entered a shop filled with all kinds of weapons. There were even quite a few things like crosses and rakes. In Crescent Bay, a cross was a type of weapon, and the swastika seal was likewise used as a weapon.

Many unusual races favored weapons shaped like these. Vampires and werewolves, for example, were especially fond of crosses, while the swastika seal was a popular weapon among many of those proficient in telekinesis.

Bluebird took a liking to a glassy, translucent saber, but the moment she saw the price, she was stunned. "One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand... That's so expensive! A single saber costs over fifty thousand!"

After spending money throughout the day, she had gained at least some sense of Crescent Bay's cost of living. For example, at the snack shop, they had eaten quite a lot. Especially, Little Nora was a bottomless pit who had absolutely no idea what restraint meant and had eaten to his heart's content. Yet when it came time to pay, Shui Yuetian had spent only a little over a hundred Star Coins. If they had eaten that much on the Blue Planet, it probably would have cost at least thirty thousand yuan.

Shui Yuetian explained, "The worst weapons sold here in Heracles' Treasure Trove are already Heaven-rank weapons, so naturally they're expensive. Earth-rank weapons are much cheaper. You can buy one for around ten Star Coins."

Bluebird was surprised. "Weapons in Crescent Bay are graded too?"

Supernatural equipment on the Blue Planet was divided into ranks as well. For example, the clothes Gong Qian normally wore were Dragon-rank supernatural equipment, capable of withstanding her tremendous strength without tearing. Yu Xian did not have clothing like that, which was why he now wore clothes and equipment woven from his abilities. Even if it was damaged, he could repair it almost instantly.

Shui Yuetian nodded. "Of course. Wherever there is order, there will always be differences in quality, and once there are differences in quality, there will naturally be grades. Weapons are generally divided into Earth rank and Heaven rank. Above those are Star-rank weapons, which are essentially weapons forged to match Star-rank powerhouses, the equivalent of Star Divine Artifacts."

Zhang Shou looked at her. "Someone can actually forge Star-rank equipment comparable to Star Divine Artifacts?"

"Of course. Crescent Bay's first major free-for-all broke out because Master Fang Nan, a grandmaster artificer from Listening Rain Studio, forged a Star-rank weapon. It triggered a bloodbath, and at least several hundred thousand people died fighting over it."

A Star Divine Artifact could only display its full power in the hands of a Star-rank powerhouse, but anyone could use a Star-rank weapon. Even if the user could not bring out its maximum power, the weapon's material and unique properties alone were enough to make someone virtually unbeatable below Star rank. With a successful sneak attack, there was even a very small chance of killing a Star-rank powerhouse. Who wouldn't be tempted by a weapon like that?

Little Nora got curious. "So, who ended up getting it?"

Shui Yuetian shook her head. "No one knows. They kept fighting and fighting, and somehow the weapon vanished without a trace."

Everyone was somewhat speechless. A whole crowd had practically beaten each other's brains out, only for the weapon they were fighting over to disappear. The people who had died for it had really died for nothing.

Zhang Shou thought about it. "I bet a Star-rank powerhouse secretly made a move. Otherwise, there's no way the weapon could have been stolen without anyone noticing."

Yu Xian asked, "What kind of weapon was it?"

Shui Yuetian shook her head. "No one knows. There are too many versions of the story now. Some say it was a sword, some say it was a bow, and others say it was a spear. What it actually was, though, probably only the person who stole it knows."

Everyone clicked their tongues in amazement. Yu Xian, meanwhile, speculated, "After that incident, did Crescent Bay gain any newly advanced Star-rank powerhouses? Or did any existing Star-rank powerhouse suddenly acquire an additional Star Divine Artifact?"

Shui Yuetian asked, "Fish God, you think whoever took it reforged the Star-rank weapon into a Star Divine Artifact?"

He nodded. "Not only would that save a lot of trouble, but it would also keep other people from fighting over it, wouldn't it?"

Yu Xian also suspected that reforging a Star-rank weapon into a Star Divine Artifact would both save trouble and increase the Star Divine Artifact's power. After all, the strength of a Star-rank weapon and that of a Star Divine Artifact came from entirely different sources; the two did not conflict with each other.

Technically, a Star Divine Artifact was a type of energy-storage artifact. Whether it was used for offense or defense, its most important function was storing energy. Star-rank weapons, on the other hand, could take all kinds of forms.

The moment Shui Yuetian mentioned Star-rank weapons, Yu Xian had already used his Star Ring to search the internet for information about them. Star-rank weapons were generally forged using large quantities of top-tier materials and top-tier forging techniques. Their specific abilities depended entirely on the skill of the artificer who created them. So far, only ten pieces of Star-rank equipment had appeared in Crescent Bay, and the current owner of every single one was a Star-rank powerhouse.

After chatting for a while longer, everyone went back to looking at the weapons that interested them. Yu Xian wandered through the shop alone, still thinking about the forging methods of Star-rank weapons and Star Divine Artifacts, wondering whether there was any way to combine the two.

Yu Xian suddenly grew curious about how Eternal Purity forged high-level equipment. "Auntie, your forging..."

He stopped abruptly the moment his words left his mouth. Coming to a halt in front of a saber, he realized that Eternal Purity was already gone. Then, in silence, he continued walking forward. People always had to keep moving forward.