Early the next morning, Shen Haoran, dusty from his journey, arrived at the town Elder Yan had told him about. He was there to purchase the items needed for the second stage of his cultivation.
"Yunluo Town!" Looking at the plaque hanging high above, Shen Haoran stepped into the town.
The moment he stepped onto the street, a wave of clamor assaulted Shen Haoran, making his ears ring. He had been living in the jungle for over a month, with only the chirping of insects and birds for company, so the sudden uproar was a bit of a shock.
"Sigh, it seems humans really are meant to live in groups!" Shen Haoran remarked. This was the first time in over a month he had been around other people. He'd nearly gone mad from the isolation, dealing with nothing but beasts and Spirit Beasts.
"In martial cultivation, if you want to become strong, you must pay a price! Loneliness and solitude are unavoidable," Elder Yan added.
Hearing Elder Yan gearing up for another lecture, Shen Haoran quickly shut his mouth and headed for a shop. He was penniless and needed to sell some materials before he could buy anything. Fortunately, his haul from the past month had been decent. He had collected the hides and claws of many beasts and Spirit Beasts, which should fetch a good amount of silver taels.
Shen Haoran glanced at the shops on either side of the street and chose one named "Fair Price," then walked inside.
As soon as Shen Haoran entered, an assistant accosted him. "Shoo, shoo! Where did this beggar come from? Go beg somewhere else! Don't dirty our storefront!"
The assistant's words stunned Shen Haoran. 'When did I become a beggar?' He looked down and saw that his clothes were in tatters from a month of constant fighting. To make matters worse, Elder Yan had thrown him out of the sky yesterday, and he'd gotten snagged on a tree. His robes were beyond shredded. With his disheveled hair and grimy face, he had to admit he did look the part.
Shen Haoran quickly explained, "Sir, I'm not a beggar. I'm here to sell some materials."
"Hmph. That's what the last beggar said, too. Men, drag him away!"
"Hey, wait, wait! I really am here to sell materials!" Shen Haoran yelled as several burly men closed in on him. But it was no use. Left with no other choice, he threw the large sack off his back and onto the floor. CLATTER! A huge pile of materials from beasts and Spirit Beasts tumbled out.
Seeing the mountain of materials, the assistant's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stared at Shen Haoran in disbelief.
"So, may I come in now?" Shen Haoran said.
"Oh, yes, of course! Esteemed customer, right this way!" The assistant's expression immediately turned fawning as he ushered Shen Haoran inside.
"Please wait a moment, esteemed customer. I'll go get our manager." After saying this, the assistant vanished. This was a huge sale, far too big for a mere assistant to handle.
After the assistant left, Shen Haoran idly wandered around the shop, admiring the various beast and Spirit Beast pelts hanging on the display shelves.
"Shen the kid, Shen the kid! Look at the sword hanging in the northeast corner!" Just as Shen Haoran was wandering aimlessly, Elder Yan's voice echoed in his mind.
'The northeast corner?' Puzzled, Shen Haoran turned to look. A Broken Sword hung casually on the wall there. It seemed to have been untouched for years, its blade covered in rust and dust, looking utterly unremarkable.
"What's the big deal? It's just a broken sword," Shen Haoran said, his initial excitement deflating. "And here I thought it was some amazing treasure!"
"Hmph, what do you know?" Elder Yan said excitedly. "I can feel an incredibly powerful aura coming from that sword. I'm certain it once housed a Sword Spirit!"
'It housed a Sword Spirit!' Hearing Elder Yan's words, Shen Haoran's eyes lit up.
On the Starfall Continent, the most fundamental way to increase one's strength was through cultivation and constantly breaking through one's own limits. However, external aids were also a huge help. These included things like Elixirs and weapons!
Elixirs and weapons were also graded. Elixirs were divided into nine grades, while weapons were divided into three tiers: Spiritual Artifacts, Sacred Artifacts, and Divine Artifacts! A weapon that had birthed an Artifact Spirit was at the very least a Sacred Artifact! That was why both Shen Haoran and Elder Yan were so thrilled to learn this sword had once housed a Sword Spirit.
"Elder Yan, are you sure?" Shen Haoran asked, his voice trembling. If it was true, the value of this sword was immeasurable. Even as a Broken Sword, it was still the remains of a Sacred Artifact. Its sharpness alone would far surpass that of any ordinary Spiritual Artifact.
"Yes, I'm sure," Elder Yan replied with certainty. "I can definitely feel a powerful aura. It's not like a human's Spiritual Thought, but it possesses Spiritual Wisdom. It has to be a Sword Spirit! No matter what," he added, "you must get your hands on this sword!"
'You think I need you to tell me that?' Shen Haoran thought. 'When you come across a treasure like this, you have to get it, even if it means stealing it!'
Just as Shen Haoran was plotting how to get his hands on the sword, a voice sounded from behind him. "Young brother, you're the one looking to sell materials, are you not?"
Hearing the voice, Shen Haoran turned to see a portly, middle-aged man standing there. The man's beady eyes darted about, sizing him up and exuding the unmistakable air of a shrewd merchant. 'This must be the manager,' Shen Haoran thought.
Seeing the manager approach, Shen Haoran quickly suppressed his excitement. "Yes, that's me," he said, gesturing to the materials he had dumped on the ground.
The fat shopkeeper was startled by the sight of the pile. "The gall bladder of a Tier One Spirit Beast, a Red Flame Snake... the claws of a Tier One Wind Shadow Wolf... and the pelt of a Tier Two Spirit Beast, a Three-tailed Fox! Heavens, young brother, did you hunt all of these yourself?"
"That's right. Is there a problem?" Shen Haoran replied nonchalantly.
Seeing Shen Haoran's composure, the fat shopkeeper's mind raced. His little shop usually dealt in materials from ordinary beasts, rarely from Spirit Beasts. After all, even the lowest-tier Spirit Beast was comparable in strength to a human Spiritualist, and since they possessed rudimentary Spiritual Wisdom, they were incredibly difficult to kill.
But the sheer quantity of Spirit Beast materials in Shen Haoran's sack stunned the fat shopkeeper. As a Martial Artist himself, he could sense Shen Haoran's cultivation—Spirit Tempering Tier Eight. 'A boy at Spirit Tempering Tier Eight has killed this many Spirit Beasts, creatures that even Spiritualists can't easily defeat?' The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed. 'This boy's background must be extraordinary.' He was also a keen observer; he'd noticed Shen Haoran's sack appear out of thin air, which meant the boy had a Storage Ring.
Putting it all together, a young man whose true strength far surpassed his apparent cultivation level and who possessed a Storage Ring... he had to be a genius disciple from a major family or a Major Sect, out gaining experience! The fat shopkeeper quickly settled on this conclusion about Shen Haoran's identity.
"Hey, are you going to make an offer or not? If not, I'm leaving," Shen Haoran said, snapping the dazed shopkeeper out of his thoughts.
"Yes, yes, of course we are! Don't you worry, young brother, I'll be sure to give you a price you're happy with!" the fat shopkeeper said fawningly, having settled on his theory about Shen Haoran's identity. 'If I can win this young man's favor, my future will be unimaginable,' the shopkeeper daydreamed.
However, he was doomed to be disappointed. Shen Haoran wasn't a genius disciple from some great family or Major Sect; he was just a broke, penniless loser...
The shopkeeper immediately began inventorying the materials with his assistant. Seizing the opportunity, Shen Haoran asked nonchalantly, "Boss, are you a collector?"
"Hm? No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"
"I saw that Broken Sword hanging on the wall and figured it must be part of your collection," Shen Haoran said with a smile.
"Oh, that piece of junk?" the fat shopkeeper said without looking up. "I dug that thing up while building a latrine out back. Thought it was a treasure at first, but it's just a surprisingly sharp broken sword. I had nowhere to put it, so I just hung it on the wall. Why? You interested in it, young man?"
"It's nothing special. I just happen to use shortswords, and I gave it a feel just now. It has a good balance. Why don't you sell it to me, boss?" Shen Haoran suggested.
"Nonsense, why talk of selling?" the fat shopkeeper said. "If it suits you, young brother, then please, take it. Consider it a gift to mark the start of our friendship! Besides, it's just taking up space here."
'He's giving it to me?' Shen Haoran was stunned. He had been prepared to pay a hefty price but never imagined he would get it so easily!
"Then thank you, Boss!" Shen Haoran said, overjoyed. 'It seems this shopkeeper really doesn't know the sword's secret.'
"Don't mention it. Here, we've finished the tally. The total comes to five hundred and twenty-one silver taels. Please take a look, young brother," the fat shopkeeper said, handing an itemized list to Shen Haoran.
Shen Haoran merely glanced at it before signing his name. The five hundred-some silver taels meant nothing to him now. The greatest treasure he'd gained today was the Sacred Artifact remains in his hand!
"Well then, I'll be on my way. Thank you for the gift, Brother!" Shen Haoran said, cupping his fists after tucking away the silver taels.
"Haha, take care, young brother! And remember to bring your next haul to my humble shop! I'll buy as much as you've got!" the fat shopkeeper said with a wide, beaming smile.
"I certainly will!" Shen Haoran replied politely before turning to leave.
After Shen Haoran had gone, the assistant whispered to the fat shopkeeper, "Boss, I don't think his materials were actually worth five hundred silver taels."
The fat shopkeeper glanced at the assistant and said flatly, "You don't understand..." With that, he turned and went back inside, leaving the assistant standing by the door in confusion.