Chapter 30: A Speedy Victory

Clinks and clanks sounded from the rear. The smithing noise made Zhonglizi nervous, as if he was waiting for his wife to give birth to his son. He wondered what his flying sword would become?

Zhonglizi walked around the blacksmith. Since he dared not disturb Zhang Zhi, he asked Han Ling’er softly, “Hey girl, how is Owner Zhang going to restore my broken flying sword?”

“Will the power be affected after restoration? How long would it take?”

Zhonglizi was like a curious baby with a ton of questions in his mind.

Han Ling’er was patient enough to answer all the questions softly because he was her senior.

Zhonglizi did not take Han Ling’er’s explanation seriously because she claimed that the restoration was perfect but he knew that a restored flying sword would surely be lackluster compared to its former form.

On top of that, his sword had broken into two and he even lost the other part.

He did not wish for perfection, all he wanted was to restore the sword’s original power.

In order to ease the nervousness, Zhonglizi asked, “Oh right. Girl, how much is Owner Zhang paying you to work here?”

“Five mid-tier spirit stones,” Han Ling’er said.

“Yeah, it’s a little bit low but if you can… What? Five mid-tier spirit stones?!” Zhonglizi was stunned when he realized what he heard.

He cursed in his heart. Even as a Golden Core cultivator, he only received the same amount as monthly salary from the sect.

“Is the blacksmith still hiring? I might be older but I can work quickly!” Zhonglizi licked his lips, looking all hopeful.

A while later, the smithing stopped. Zhang Zhi said, “It’s done.”

Zhonglizi was shaking when he heard that but he dared not turn around.

Zhang Zhi brought the sword to the counter and saw Zhonglizi showing his back. Curious, he asked, “Senior, what are you doing?”

Zhonglizi gulped nervously and turned around stiffly. He felt uneasy, he was afraid that the sword that he had been using for years would lose its original look and that its power or even its tier would plummet.

When he looked at the sword in Zhang Zhi’s hand, he skipped a breath—the flying sword looked perfect, there were almost no signs of a restoration, or more precisely, it did not look like it was broken before!

He shakingly took his high-tier flying sword and savoured the feeling. Be it the weight, the length or the feeling, everything felt the same. Nothing was changed, the restoration was perfect.

A thought popped in his mind and Zhonglizi activated his spiritual power. Even though the sword looked perfect, it could only be considered a perfect restoration if the power was not affected.

He did not believe that his flying sword could maintain its original power and he had expected that. He would be grateful if the flying sword did not lose more than 10% of its original power.

However, when his spiritual power was infused into the sword, the aura of a high-tier flying sword gushed out and it shocked him. It felt even more powerful than before, not only did it maintain its original power, it was 10% stronger than before.

Could this be the so-called perfect restoration? It was beyond Zhonglizi’s comprehension.

He stared at Zhang Zhi and stammered, “Owner Zhang, I…I… This…”

He was at a loss of words.

Zhang Zhi smiled. “Other than the fee, our shop will never let the customers down.”

Zhonglizi realized he had been rude before this and was embarrassed with his own act. He stroked the sword that had accompanied him for years and looked at Zhang Zhi. “Owner Zhang, your craftsmanship is definitely worth the price. Those who said that it’s expensive don’t know how to appreciate your value.”

Zhonglizi was extremely satisfied with Zhang Zhi’s craftsmanship. He bowed happily at Zhang Zhi to express his gratitude.

A while later, Zhonglizi thought of leaving, he wanted to test his newly restored flying sword. Before he left, he asked Han Ling’er, “Girl, the sect will be proud of you working here.”

He was talking nonsense actually. When he first arrived and saw Han Ling’er working here, he called her an embarrassment and now when he wanted to leave, he called her the pride of the sect.

Han Ling’er did not argue with him either, she simply nodded with a smile. Being recognized by others was a good feeling regardless.

“Oh one question Owner Zhang. What happens if I refine my high-tier flying sword?” Zhonglizi tapped his forehead when he remembered Elder Wu’s mid-tier artifact turned into a high-tier artifact after refinement.

Given the previous example, would a high-tier artifact turn into a spirit artifact after refinement?

The thought of it made Zhonglizi excited.

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Zhang Zhi did not provide a clear answer.

Zhonglizi smiled bitterly. 10 high-tier spirit stones was considered a large sum even for a Golden Core expert, he was not that rich. “When I have the money, I’ll definitely come back.”

He actually had a hunch that it might not turn into a spirit artifact. A high-tier artifact could only gain more power through refinement and a spirit artifact, like its name suggested, has a spirit inside it.

Normal artifacts and spirit artifacts were two different things, the gap in between was not something a few hammer strikes could compensate.

Zhonglizi thanked Zhang Zhi again before he left.

Zhang Zhi saw Zhonglizi off, he did not even try to hold the man back. He only wanted to do business with people who trusted his skills, so Zhang Zhi would never tell others that refining a high-tier artifact would turn it into an epic-tier artifact.

Of course, he had his own reasons to not reveal the epic-tier artifacts this early.

Today was off to a good start by completing two deals and earning 20 high-tier spirit stones from it. Zhang Zhi believed that more and more Golden Core experts would come to the blacksmith, seeking for his service.

Han Ling’er gave the pouch of money to Zhang Zhi.

The moment he got the pouch, the system took 90% of it as commission before he could do anything. Fortunately, since he was charging high-tier spirit stones now, even if he was left with 10% of what he earned, he was earning a lot more than before.

Zhang Zhi happily took 5 mid-tier spirit stones out for Han Ling’er. “Your salary for the month.”

Han Ling’er covered his mouth in shock. “I’ve just started work for five days, I think it’s fine…”

Even though it was already the end of the month, she had only started working for five days.

“I’m giving you a monthly salary, I don’t care how many days you’ve worked now.” Zhang Zhi stuffed the 5 mid-tier spirit stones into her hand.

“Please continue to work hard next month.”

Han Ling’er felt embarrassed for taking the salary but the weight of the spirit stones made her happy and flush. She hesitated for a moment before he said, “Thank you boss!”

In the afternoon, since no customers were visiting, Zhang Zhi told Han Ling’er to leave early but she did not.

She looked like she had something to say.

“What’s wrong? It’s not working hours anymore, we are friends now. Just speak your mind,” Zhang Zhi said.

“I…” Han Ling’er took a deep breath and mustered her courage.

“Tomorrow is the start of the inner sect ranking battle, and I might need to take a few days off…”

Han Ling’er felt embarrassed at the request. She had been only working for five days and was asking for days off at the start of next month.

“Oh, it’s totally okay. Do your best in the ranking battle.” Zhang Zhi recruited an employee just to complete the mission and since there were a lot less customers, it was fine for her to take a few days off.

“Thank you!” At that very moment, Han Ling’er believed that Zhang Zhi was the best man that she had ever met other than her father.

“Oh, if you can still rank in the top 10 this time, I’ll give you a present.” Since Han Ling’er was already part of the blacksmith, Zhang Zhi thought it was appropriate to reward her.

Han Lign’er was over the moon from the encouragement and incentive. She was still blurry and shy when she returned to the sect.

Zhang Zhi’s status in her heart had gone up a little more.

After Zhang Zhi closed shop early, he told the system to show him his current stats.

“Status report.”

“The host’s current stats are as followed:

Name: Zhang Zhi

Cultivation Level: Early Foundation Building

Forging Level: 3

Forging Skills: Flying Sword Mastery (Artifact)

Experience: 60/1,000.”

Ever since he got the Big Flying Sword Forging Pack, all the different forging skills were combined into a Flying Sword Mastery. It looked so much cleaner.

However, he had only acquired 60 experience points until now. It seemed like he still had a long way to go to reach the next forging level.

Zhang Zhi asked, “System, why aren’t there any missions lately?”

Clearing missions was one of the quickest ways to level up. It has been a while since Zhang Zhi level up and he was looking forward to it.

“My host, the current level missions are all completed. Please level up first,” answered the system.

“Why don’t you give me some sub-missions?” Zhang Zhi did not want to give up since he got a bonus when he decided to close for a day.

“Sub-missions will only be activated when the host runs into a certain event. There are no activation conditions right now. The host can also spend 1 high-tier spirit stone to purchase a sub-mission, once per month.”

“There’s such an option?” Zhang Zhi was intrigued. He might only have 2 high-tier spirit stones for now but he believed it was worth a try. Plus it was the last day of the month, he would waste it if he did not buy it anyway.

“Okay, then I’ll buy one sub-mission,” Zhang Zhi said.

“Ding dong. Acquired sub-mission—Slay one dragon. Reward: 1 cultivation level.”

Zhang Zhi was stunned. Aside from the fact that there might not be anymore dragons in the cultivation world, even if there was, Zhang Zhi alone was not even enough to fill its stomach, how could he take it down?

Zhang Zhi angrily said, “System, can you give me a sub-mission that I can complete right now?”

“The sub-missions are all random.”

“System, I have questions about your mother, I don’t know whether I should tell you or not.”

Zhang Zhi basically lost a high-tier spirit stone, it was heart-wrenching for him.

In the end, Zhang Zhi decided to slowly earn his experience without relying on the stupid system.

The second day arrived in the blink of an eye.

Lingtai Sect’s training ground had a dozen rings prepared for the ranking battle. A few thousand inner disciples had to draw lots to fight each other.

Those who lost would be disqualified and those who won could advance into the next round. It would continue until the top 10 inner disciples were chosen.

Han Wushuang said to his own disciple, Dugu Ce, “Whosoever can get top 3 this time, be it you or Ling’er, I will teach one of you the last technique of Peerless Sword.”

Dugu Ce showed a fervent gaze. He had been in closed-door training for days now and it was to improve himself for the inner ranking battle. He cupped his fists and said, “I will not let you down.”

Ever since he lost his wife, Han Wushuang was rarely this energetic.

Han Ling’er heard it too. She was determined to get top 3 to make her father happy. She said, “Father, I will do my best as well.”

“Mhmm.” Han Wushuang nodded.

He then said, “Ling’er, I heard many of the inner disciples have gotten their hands on mid-tier artifacts, why don’t you give your Flying Swan to your senior brother, otherwise he will be in a disadvantageous position.”

Han Ling’er looked a little disappointed. Her father treated Dugu Ce like his own blood and compared to him, his own daughter felt like an outside. Even though she had an extra mid-tier artifact that she could use, she used Flying Swan the best and if she could not use it in the ranking battle, she would be the one facing a disadvantage.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to?” Han Wushuang looked rather unhappy and frowned.

“No, father.” Han Ling’er dared not oppose her father, she gave Flying Swan to Dugu Ce as old.

Dugu Ce said excitedly, “Junior sister, you don’t have to worry. With Flying Swan, I’ll definitely get into top 3!”

“Mhmm. I wish you a speedy victory…” Han Ling’er went along but her smile looked a little bleak.