The woman in white scanned the room, her gaze quickly locking onto Lin Xuan. When she saw the black token in his hand, she hurried over. Clasping her fists respectfully, she said, "I am Bai Qian Qian, the Master of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. It is an honor to meet you, Young Master."
"Please forgive our failure to welcome you properly, Young Master."
Captain Liu's jaw dropped at the sight. The other guards were similarly stunned into silence.
What is happening?
That was their revered Master! Even when she met with the Clan Leaders of the other great families, she would offer a simple nod at most. There was never a need for such a profound gesture. Why was she being so deferential to this boy, who was merely a disciple of the Lin Family?
Captain Liu said, "Master, you must be mistaken. This kid is just a piece of trash."
Bai Qian Qian turned, and with a swift motion, she slapped Captain Liu so hard he was sent sprawling to the ground.
"You blind fool!" she snapped. "This Young Master holds a Supreme VIP Token! He is a Supreme VIP of our Ten Thousand Treasures Tower! How dare you treat him with such negligence? Do you have a death wish?"
What? A Supreme VIP? Captain Liu was completely stunned. The other guards, terrified, immediately dropped to their knees and began begging for mercy.
Nearby, Liu Ruhu was also dumbfounded.
How is this possible? Isn't he just a piece of trash? How could he be a Supreme VIP? Impossible! It's absolutely impossible! Someone so worthless could never have such a status!
Muttering to himself, Liu Ruhu charged at Lin Xuan, intending to snatch the token from his hand.
Daring to attack our Supreme VIP… he's truly courting death.
"Seize him and throw him out," Bai Qian Qian commanded coldly.
The guards, seeing a chance to redeem themselves, scrambled forward and instantly pinned Liu Ruhu to the ground. They broke both his legs before tossing him out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.
"Scram! If you dare cause trouble at our Ten Thousand Treasures Tower again, we'll break your damn legs!" the guards snarled viciously.
Liu Ruhu screamed in agony as he rolled on the ground.
Meanwhile, Captain Liu was frozen with terror. Cold sweat drenched his face as he scrambled to kneel, kowtowing repeatedly.
"Spare my life, Master! Please, spare my life!"
"Young Master, how would you like to deal with him?" Bai Qian Qian asked, turning to Lin Xuan.
It was clear that Lin Xuan's next words would decide Captain Liu's fate.
Captain Liu crawled frantically to Lin Xuan's feet, banging his head on the floor. "Young Master Lin, please spare me! I was wrong! I had eyes but failed to recognize greatness! I deserve to die!"
He continued to beg, slapping his own face in hopes that Lin Xuan would show mercy.
Lin Xuan watched this display with a cold smirk before turning to Bai Qian Qian. "He is a man of your Ten Thousand Treasures Tower. You may deal with him as you see fit."
"Rest assured, Young Master Lin, I will give you a satisfactory answer."
With that, Bai Qian Qian instructed the guards beside her, "Break his limbs and expel him from the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower."
The guards walked over.
"No, have mercy, I was wrong!" Captain Liu begged frantically.
CRACK! CRACK! The sickening sound of bones snapping echoed through the hall.
Captain Liu's limbs were broken, and he was thrown out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower as well.
"This way, Young Master," Bai Qian Qian said, gesturing invitingly.
Lin Xuan nodded and followed Bai Qian Qian to the tower's top floor.
The top floor of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower was a very spacious and lavishly furnished room. As soon as they arrived, maids brought out trays of the finest Spirit Tea.
Bai Qian Qian waved her hand. "You may all leave."
After the maids had withdrawn, she personally poured a cup of tea for Lin Xuan. With a smile, she said, "Young Master, please have a taste. This is the highest quality Spirit Tea."
Lin Xuan nodded, lifted the cup, and took a sip. He immediately felt the Spiritual Power within his body begin to boil.
Excellent tea, he thought, his eyes brightening. This tea contains such potent Spiritual Power.
"I am glad you enjoy it, Young Master. May I ask what kind of Treasure you came to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower to purchase today?"
"I need a Treasure Sword," Lin Xuan stated plainly.
Bai Qian Qian nodded. Twisting the Storage Ring on her finger, she summoned a flash of light from which ten brilliant beams shot out. The beams of light solidified into ten longswords, which hovered silently in the air. Each blade radiated a faint glow, marking them all as extraordinary Treasure Swords.
"This is the Gale Sword, forged from a wind-attribute metal. The blade is extremely light and nimble, granting the user a bonus to their speed."
"This is the Bright Moon Sword, crafted from rare Moonlight Stone."
"This is the Thunder Shock Sword, made from a type of thunder-attribute bamboo."
Bai Qian Qian introduced them one by one.
Each Treasure Sword was extremely precious. They were all top-grade Yellow-rank swords.
Like Cultivation Techniques, weapons were also graded into six ranks: Emperor, Saint, Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. In a place like Cloud Sea City, a top-grade Yellow-rank weapon was already the best one could find.
To his surprise, one of them was even a beginner Profound-rank Treasure Sword.
This made Lin Xuan's eyes light up, and he inquired about the price.
Bai Qian Qian smiled and said, "It's not expensive. Only 400,000 taels of silver."
Four hundred thousand taels, and she calls that 'not expensive'? Lin Xuan's expression remained neutral, but inwardly he was staggered. Even with my half-price discount, that's still 200,000 taels. I can't afford that. All I have right now is 20,000 taels.
Thinking of this, Lin Xuan frowned slightly.
Seeing his expression, Bai Qian Qian grew anxious. "Is the Young Master not satisfied?" she asked tentatively. "I must apologize. Although I am the Master here, my authority is limited to the branch in Cloud Sea City. These are the finest weapons I can procure." She looked genuinely apologetic, afraid she had angered him.
"Besides these, are there any other swords? Show them all to me," Lin Xuan said.
"Of course." Bai Qian Qian waved her hand, and guards soon carried in several large chests.
When the chests were opened, they revealed dozens more longswords. Lin Xuan's gaze swept across them, but their quality was clearly inferior to the first ten swords she had presented.
Lin Xuan was unimpressed, but given his lack of funds, he hesitated.
Just then, the Great Black Dog's voice echoed in his mind. "Hey, now this longsword... this one is quite something."
Lin Xuan was startled. Which one? he quickly asked in his mind.
The Great Black Dog had once followed a Great Emperor and had seen countless treasures. If it called a sword extraordinary, it had to be special.
"That black Iron Sword, the one without a scabbard."
Following the dog's direction, Lin Xuan found a plain Iron Sword in the third chest. It was unsheathed and looked completely ordinary.
Lin Xuan picked it up. It wasn't particularly heavy. He examined it closely, squinting as he turned it over. I don't see anything special about it.
"That's because this sword is sealed," the Great Black Dog chuckled. "And not just with one seal. Its power is completely locked away, so of course you can't sense it. But once you break those seals, its true power will be unleashed! This is a high-level seal, so I'd wager this sword's true rank is far higher than that beginner Profound-rank one."
Hearing this, Lin Xuan's eyes lit up. He turned to Bai Qian Qian and declared, "I'll take this one. How much is it?"
Bai Qian Qian stared, momentarily stunned. This one?
To be honest, her ten best swords were the ones she had just shown him. The rest in the chests were merely average. The one he was holding was the most common of the common—just a standard iron sword. Why would he possibly want a sword like this?
Still, he was a Supreme VIP, and she wouldn't dare question his choice. She forced a smile and said, "That's just a common black Iron Sword, sir. It's not worth much, only about 200 taels of silver."
Two hundred taels, Lin Xuan thought with a nod. As a Supreme VIP, I get a fifty percent discount. That means it'll only cost me one hundred taels.
Without hesitation, Lin Xuan produced a 100-tael silver note and handed it to Bai Qian Qian. "I'll take this sword."
Bai Qian Qian didn't take the silver note. Instead, her smile widened. "Since you like it, Young Master, please accept it as a gift. It is a mere trifle. Consider it a token of our new friendship."
In her eyes, the sword was worthless. Lin Xuan himself, however, was a connection worth making.
Lin Xuan didn't argue. He had just saved himself 100 taels and acquired a mysterious Treasure Sword for free. He was already filled with anticipation.
I wonder how powerful this sword will become once I get back and break its seals?