Chapter 308: Mortal Grade, Divine Armament, Nation-Securing Divine Armament!

"Third Prince? Was that the Third Prince himself, or one of his subordinates?"

Yang Ling's mind stirred, but the other party had already entered the Great Yan Sword Sect, and he couldn't chase after them to check their status panel now.

"Fourth Prince and Third Prince clearly don't get along, yet the Mining Guild seems to have an excellent relationship with Third Prince."

"Not only that, but Bitter Awareness Temple, the Great Yan Sword Sect, the Valley of the Dead, and even this Divine Armaments Pavilion all seem to have some connection to Third Prince..."

"It looks like Old Fourth is in a really tough spot. If I can secure this Blazing Gold Mine, it should give him a hand."

Yang Ling signed the purchase contract with the Divine Armaments Pavilion supervisor and discovered the delivery time was identical to the Spirit Nurturing Pill's—both were to be delivered to the Changhe Prefectural Capital Ironclad Department within three days.

"Guest, would you like to pay a fifty percent deposit first, or..."

"Let's go with fifty percent."

Yang Ling handed over one hundred and twenty thousand taels in silver notes.

That left him with around one hundred and forty thousand taels on hand, enough to browse around here a bit more.

"Thank you, guest. We'll deliver within three days."

The supervisor carefully stowed away the contract.

This counted as his first sale of the exhibition, and it might very well be his last.

After all, in the Zhao State, clients ordering this many flying daggers were far too rare.

"Master Xu, I am Li Qing, a supervisor at the Divine Armaments Pavilion, specifically in charge of flying dagger sales here. If you ever need to order more flying daggers in the future, you can contact me."

Li Qing respectfully handed Yang Ling a nameplate bearing his name, his position at the Divine Armaments Pavilion, and his mailing address.

"This Li Qing looks to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, yet he's already a Ninth-Rank martial artist. He should be able to climb a bit higher in the Divine Armaments Pavilion in the future..."

Yang Ling took the nameplate:

"Brother Li Qing, I'll come to you for flying daggers from now on."

Li Qing's fingers trembled with excitement as he hurriedly thanked him.

"By the way, Brother Li Qing, since you're a supervisor at the Divine Armaments Pavilion, you must be well-versed in all kinds of weapons."

Yang Ling said, "I wonder if Brother Li Qing has some free time to show me around and explain the various types of weapons.

For instance, the divine armaments used by Fifth-Rank Lesser Masters?"

A flicker of brilliance lit up Li Qing's eyes. As a supervisor at the Divine Armaments Pavilion, he was absolutely an expert among experts in this field.

His tone rose with a hint of fervor:

"Master Xu is far too kind. I dare not boast about much, but when it comes to weapons, I can claim to know a thing or two!"

"Brother Li Qing, I took a walk around the exhibition just now, and the weapons here seemed... rather average?"

Yang Ling's expression was diplomatic.

Li Qing wasn't offended and chuckled in a low voice:

"Master Xu might not know this, but this exhibition sells weapons in bulk. No matter how fancy the names are, at the end of the day, they're still standard-issue arms."

"Let me give you an example. A Third-Rate sect has at least several hundred disciples. With replacements every six months, or even every three months, they need to purchase over a thousand weapons every year."

"In that case, price is the most important factor. They need weapons that are strong and powerful, but also cheap. That's where these standard-issue weapons come in."

"At this price point, they're strong enough, but their materials are actually average. Their strength is enhanced through certain metal-tempering methods."

"So their strength has limits, and their durability isn't great either."

"The advantage is that they're easy to forge and don't use too much material. At the very least, our Divine Armaments Pavilion can supply thirty percent of Yunwen Provincial Capital's annual weapon demand!"

"Your Divine Armaments Pavilion does a huge business."

Yang Ling sighed with genuine admiration.

Thirty percent of Yunwen Provincial Capital's annual weapon demand—how astronomical were the sums flowing in and out of that?

He couldn't even imagine it.

"Actually, we don't make much profit. It's just hard-earned money, because everyone needs their cut from this.

Especially with the Mining Guild constantly raising ore prices in recent years."

Li Qing chuckled sheepishly, then steered the conversation back to weapons:

"The weapons you can see at today's exhibition are, at best, good enough for an Eighth-Rank martial artist's eye. Anything above that won't appear at an exhibition."

"Weapons are just like martial artists; they're divided into nine ranks. But weapons produced in different places, even at the same rank, can vary in quality."

"The weapons a Fifth-Rank expert can use need to be at least Fifth-Rank divine armaments."

"Ninth-Rank, Eighth-Rank, and Seventh-Rank—by our Divine Armaments Pavilion's standards—are classified as mortal grade."

"Once you reach Sixth-Rank, they enter the ranks of divine armaments."

"Sixth-Rank, Fifth-Rank, and Fourth-Rank are all divine armaments."

"Above Fourth-Rank, they are nation-securing divine armaments."

"Every nation-securing divine armament is something we mere mortals look up to. My cultivation is too shallow and my experience too limited to know much more about them."

"All I know is that our Divine Armaments Pavilion's first Pavilion Master established the Pavilion's status in Yunwen Provincial Capital by forging a nation-securing divine armament."

A look of longing appeared in Li Qing's eyes.

Yang Ling listened with great interest.

This professional's introduction gave him a deep understanding of the Divine Realm's weapon classification system.

"I'm currently Lower Sixth-Rank in cultivation, with Upper Sixth-Rank combat power. I should get myself a divine armament."

Yang Ling thought of his Fire Crocodile Set. This set combined to boost Strength by 60 points and Agility by 20 points.

It also had three special effects and came with a skill, Fireball.

If classified by rank, could it be considered a divine armament?

"But attribute bonuses are only available to players, and set skills should only be activatable by players too."

"For the local natives, its rank might still be within mortal grade, not reaching the level of a divine armament..."

"Then the real divine armaments should give players an even bigger boost, far exceeding their surface stats."

"Players could totally find bargains!"

Yang Ling said in a low voice, "Brother Li Qing, if I wanted a divine armament, could I just buy one directly from the Divine Armaments Pavilion? How much would it cost?"

"Master Xu wants a divine armament? Without a Sixth-Rank cultivation..."

Li Qing was slightly startled, looking incredulously at this 'ordinary-looking,' young, big-spending customer.

Could he actually be a Sixth-Rank powerhouse!?

That would be an undisputed big shot in a prefectural capital, and even in a provincial capital, there wouldn't be that many!

"Master Xu, if you want a divine armament, you can't buy it at the exhibition. They won't sell them here."

"There's a small auction inside the Great Yan Sword Sect. Not only are there divine armaments, but also rare exotic herbs and flowers, and all kinds of top-grade pills. But the minimum requirement to participate in the auction is at least Lower Sixth-Rank..."

Li Qing said, "The Young Pavilion Master just went to welcome a major figure who's attending the auction. Once this person arrives, the auction will probably start soon."

"An exhibition outside and an auction inside? That Xu Zegang didn't even tell me. Right, in his eyes, Zhao Qing is only Seventh-Rank, so he wouldn't be qualified to attend an auction with a Lower Sixth-Rank minimum."

Yang Ling's mind was racing. He cupped his hands to Li Qing with a smile:

"I do indeed have a Lower Sixth-Rank cultivation. I just don't know how to participate in this auction. Could Brother Li Qing give me some pointers?"

[Fourth update! Keep begging for those reminders!]