Chapter 28: A Deal—Thirty Thousand Gold Coins!
At first, Nalan Shu thought that Ye Ling's forging was merely superficial. But once Ye Ling began, he quickly realized that wasn't the case.
Nalan Shu had interacted with many blacksmiths and had seen them forge weapons firsthand. Ye Ling's techniques were not inferior to those craftsmen—in fact, they were even more exquisite.
Just three strikes were enough to completely refine a rare metal, purifying it of all impurities. Even with Nalan Shu's discerning eye, he couldn't detect a single flaw.
"Ye Ling must've studied forging for a long time. I didn't expect that he secretly learned forging behind our backs and, in such a short time, achieved such results," Nalan Shu said, surprised.
To forge alloys, one usually needed at least three to five years of study. But Ye Ling, blessed with spiritual power and natural talent, had clearly progressed much faster.
"No, Uncle Nalan," Li Xin looked at Nalan Shu and said calmly, "My brother hasn't studied for years—only a little over a month."
"And this isn't even his limit."
"Watch closely. What he's about to show you will break your understanding."
Hearing this, Nalan Shu was stunned but didn't say much more. He simply continued to watch silently.
Ye Ling's forging was swift. His aura erupted, and a torrent of golden energy faintly shimmered around him. Golden scales began to surface on his body, surging toward the sky.
Even Nalan Shu was momentarily overwhelmed.
Soon, within half an hour, the glow of a One-Star Thousand-Refinement weapon appeared, followed immediately by the shaping process.
Another half hour passed.
A dazzling greatsword emerged on the forging platform—fully forged by Ye Ling.
"Uncle Nalan, come here," Ye Ling called out.
Nalan Shu walked over, unsure of what to expect.
But to his shock, the next moment, Ye Ling suddenly grabbed the sword and, without warning, seized Nalan Shu's hand and stabbed it with the blade. Blood gushed instantly, leaving Nalan Shu dumbfounded.
Why did he suddenly stab me with a sword?! What the hell is this?!
However, Nalan Shu didn't get angry, because as a drop of his blood entered the blade, he immediately felt a connection form between him and the weapon—an emotional and spiritual resonance.
After Ye Ling made the final adjustments, he handed the sword to Nalan Shu and asked, "Uncle Nalan, what do you think?"
Holding the sword, sensing the peak Spirit Demon-tier aura within and the perfectly inscribed runes, Nalan Shu's eyes flickered with astonishment. He was at a loss for words.
He just stood there blankly for several minutes before finally recovering, looking at Ye Ling with wonder. "Excellent. Truly excellent. Ye Ling, you've surprised me again and again!"
"Forget magic-tier—this is Spirit Demon-tier! If word of this got out, I bet the main hall of the Knights' Temple would rush over in just a few days to recruit you. They'd send you directly into their ranks, and even their top-tier talents wouldn't receive such treatment!"
Yang Wenzhao sighed in awe. This was a Spirit Demon-tier weapon—a top-grade one at that. And Ye Ling was only twelve years old. If, in the future, he could forge Radiant-tier or even Legendary-tier weapons, then…
While most Radiant-tier weapons were passed down from the Radiant Era and imbued with residual brilliance—no longer forgeable today—if Ye Ling's craftsmanship reached that level, then his work could still be called Radiant-tier.
And as for Legendary-tier equipment, that was on another level entirely.
He might even stand a chance of forging Epic-tier gear one day.
If Ye Ling truly managed that in the future, then regardless of his cultivation, his status would surpass that of most ninth-rank powerhouses. And if he himself also reached the ninth rank, then his standing and treatment might rival even that of a Temple Master.
Which was why Nalan Shu was now even more determined to keep him.
"Uncle Nalan, don't let this leak out. The time isn't right yet," Ye Ling said to Nalan Shu, reminding him.
Nalan Shu nodded. "Of course. Before the Demon Hunting Squad makes its move, I won't let much news about you spread. For now, you can stay in the Moonlight Sub-Hall."
Then he turned his gaze to the side and added, "But staying in the Moonlight Sub-Hall is one thing. These swords you forged—how do you plan to sell them?"
"At market price?" Ye Ling asked.
Nalan Shu responded, "The base price for a magic-tier weapon is 100 gold coins. Yours are excellent magic-tier—at least 300 gold each. For spirit demon-tier, the starting price is 1,000. These four are excellent ones, so they start at 2,000 each. And there are two top-tier spirit demon weapons—those are worth at least 3,000 apiece."
Soon, Ye Ling and Nalan Shu finished calculating the total.
Three thousand gold coins for the magic-tier weapons.
Twelve thousand for the spirit demon-tier ones—it should've been fifteen thousand, but since one of those swords was gifted to Nalan Shu, the value was deducted.
So altogether, the value was fifteen thousand gold coins.
Previously, Nalan Shu had lent Ye Ling five thousand gold coins on behalf of the Moonlight Sub-Hall, which meant Ye Ling would now receive ten thousand gold coins in hand.
"Ten thousand gold coins. I'll go tally them up and transfer them straight to your Magic Crystal Card," Nalan Shu said to Ye Ling before taking the swords and leaving.
Whew, that felt good!
Honestly, while the market price was fair, Ye Ling could have easily asked for more. With so many weapons of this quality, raising the price by 20% would've been nothing. But Ye Ling sold them at market price to the Moonlight Sub-Hall, treating it as his own family.
Naturally, he wouldn't take advantage.
In fact, Ye Ling initially thought about lowering the price a bit, but Nalan Shu firmly refused and insisted on paying the full market value.
"Seeing how happy Uncle Nalan looked, I bet the Moonlight Sub-Hall was in desperate need of weapons. You just helped him out big time!" Li Xin said with a smile.
"Not bad. Sister Xin, you took two thousand gold coins' worth of gear from me too. With that haul, your family business might just outdo Lin Jialu's entirely." Ye Ling gave her a sideways glance, speechless. Unlike Nalan Shu's purchase under the sub-hall's name, Li Xin bought everything in her own name.
And she got nearly a 30% discount!
Don't ask why—just blame coercion and temptation.
"Can't help it. My little brother is just that capable!" Li Xin laughed and patted Ye Ling on the shoulder.
"You win," Ye Ling chuckled.
Then he continued, "Sister Xin, you don't need to give me the money. Just help me collect some rare metals— the rarer, the better. And also some heavenly treasures that boost external spiritual power."
Ye Ling had run out of rare metals, with only finished products left.
The heavenly treasures, meanwhile, were for unlocking the Golden Dragon King seals.
In the original story, for Tang Wulin, unlocking the Golden Dragon King's seals was both a massive opportunity and a dangerous ordeal.
But that was due to his martial soul—Blue Silver Grass. Even when it evolved into the Blue Silver Emperor, it still couldn't suppress the Golden Dragon King's bloodline—not even slightly.
But for Ye Ling, as long as he didn't act recklessly, the Golden Dragon King's bloodline would be a steady blessing.
After all, he possessed both the Seraphim and Time-Space Dragon martial souls—each no weaker than the Golden Dragon King.
Just how terrifying was that?
The results would speak for themselves.
"Alright, I'll start gathering now. Should be done in about three days," Li Xin said.
Then she left. While she often joked around, when it came to serious matters—especially those concerning Ye Ling—she naturally gave it her all. No more playing around.
Watching her leave, Ye Ling put away his forging platform.
Well, that area was about to collapse anyway.
But Ye Ling didn't bother with it. That cleanup could be left to Nalan Shu later.
He headed straight for the testing hall. With two Golden Dragon King seals already unlocked, it was time to see just how much external spiritual power he now had.
(End of Chapter)
Hey readers! If you're eager to dive into advanced chapters, consider joining our Patreon. By joining, you'll get access to 20 chapters ahead and enjoy 8 new chapters per week. Plus, we have 8 more exciting fics with the same chapter release rate, giving you a total of 64 chapters per week! Join now and keep the adventure going!
Patreon: https://patreon.com/anish_44