Zhou Chen walked into the Commune of Spiritual Tattooists as usual.
Zhou Chen was a student of Mist College, who reached the Human-gang Realm last year and earned his name in the college.
Many teachers and his classmates believed that Zhou Chen was totally qualified to participate in the Province Test this September.
Zhou Chen also wanted to have a try. But since he reached the Human-gang Realm, he hadn’t found a suitable spiritual weapon.
As was known to all, spiritual weapons of Human-rank were divided into four grades: low, middle, high and top grade.
Top grade Human-rank spiritual weapons were too rare and too expensive to be expected by Zhou Chen.
However, the power of the low-grade spiritual weapon of Human-rank was limited, and those strong practitioners of Human-gang Realm could not give full play to their power with them.
So Zhou Chen targeted on middle and high-grade spiritual weapons.
Generally speaking, most strong practitioners of Human-gang Realm would choose middle-grade spiritual weapons. Firstly, they were relatively not expensive. Secondly, the practitioners could give full play to their power with them.
But for a young talent like Zhou Chen who became famous at an early age, he wouldn’t think a middle-grade weapon was a good option.
A high-grade spiritual weapon was powerful but a little bit too expensive and Zhou Chen wasn’t sure whether a spiritual weapon of this level was appropriate for him.
The reason was simple. When it came to the selection of a spiritual weapon, it was not always the case that the higher grade, the better. It depended on whether it was matched the practitioner or not and whether the practitioner could give his power full play with it.
A higher-grade spiritual weapon for the practitioner might be powerful, but would consume too much spiritual power, and sometimes too hard to control, which might not be good in a fight.
The more Zhou Chen analyzed, the more irresolute he felt. Now he had no idea whether to choose a middle-grade one or a high-grade one.
So recently whenever he had time, he would go to the Commune to try to select an appropriate spiritual weapon.
Pity that he still hadn’t seen a well-matched one.
Although there was still half a year to go before the Test in September, Zhou Chen felt somehow anxious. Nowadays, all practitioners who wanted to participate in the Province Test were all making great efforts to improve their strength.
The Province Test, completely different from the State Test and the County Test, would not only test the aptitude and savvy of the practitioners, but also assess the practitioners’ fighting capacity!
Aptitude and savvy were nothing. The key point was the fighting capacity.
However great aptitude and savvy a practitioner had, he wouldn’t pass the Province Test if he had poor fighting capacity.
What was the test of fighting capacity?
The most fundamental element was absolutely one’s cultivation. Besides, other factors, like fighting manuals and skills, fighting experience, weapons and equipment, were all very important in fighting.
Zhou Chen had great fighting manuals, experience and skills now. What he lacked now was a suitable weapon!
A powerful weapon could even play an important role in reversing the situation and turning defeat into victory!
So at this point, Zhou Chen dared not be careless.
After entering the Commune of Spiritual Tattooists, before a waiter came to serve him, Zhou Chen walked to the mission area directly. A few days ago, he published a weapon refining task here, hoping someone could refine a customized spiritual weapon for him.
“Chile Zhou, here you are,” a maid in charge of reception in the mission area saw Zhou Chen and said hello to him.
Zhou Chen almost came here every day recently, so the maid got familiar with him.
“How is it?”
Zhou Chen asked with an expectant tone.
The maid shook her head, “Sorry, I’m afraid you made a trip in vain again. There are only nine spiritual tattooists in the commune, but the number of tasks from practitioners has suddenly increased in these days, which makes these spiritual tattooists too busy to take on more tasks.”
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Although Zhou Chen already anticipated the result, he still felt quite disappointed.
He knew that the number of refining tasks had increased because the Province Test would begin in half a year. Many practitioners who wanted to take part in it had to make preparations in advance.
After all, refining a spiritual weapon was not a simple thing. It took a long time and the risk of frequent failure existed. Even if the spiritual weapon was successfully refined, it took some time for the practitioner to adapt to the new spiritual weapon.
In such cases, it was not early to start preparing for it six months earlier.
“So how long do you think I'll have to wait for my task to be taken on?” Zhou Chen asked.
“It’s hard to say,” the maid dared not promise the exact time to Zhou Chen. Most of the tasks issued at the mission area were related to the spiritual tattooists. The status of the spiritual tattooists was extremely noble. Whether they accepted the task or not was not something a maid like her could decide.
“Why don't you go to the spiritual treasure area? Maybe you can pick out a suitable weapon,” the maid suggested.
“No, thanks,” Zhou Chen shook his head. He had already seen all kinds of spiritual tools in spiritual treasure area. There was no one suitable for him at all.
But just as Zhou Chen was about to leave, a sudden noise came from the distance.
“Don't argue any more. This Snowfall Saber is going to be mine!”
“Humph! How can you say that? Since it is for an auction, it belongs to the one placing the highest bid.”
“Come on! Keep bidding then! You think I’m afraid of you?”
Zhou Chen found these noises came from the spiritual treasure area. Those people seemed to be competing for a treasure?
Zhou Chen walked towards there out of curiosity. One of the counters in the spacious spiritual treasure area was packed with practitioners.
All eyes of men and women were fixed on a saber on that counter.
Zhou Chen elbowed his way through the crowd, and saw it was a Snowfall Saber. It seemed a common middle-grade spiritual tool of Human-rank on the market. There was nothing special about it.
But when he saw the introduction beside the saber, Zhou Chen felt a sudden shock in his heart. It was 20% more powerful than an ordinary one!
How could this be possible?
Zhou Chen found it a bit incredible, but when he saw the name written behind the introduction, Zhou Chen believed its power immediately. The identification of this spiritual weapon was from Chu Feng, director of the Commune of Spiritual Tattooists!
Chu Feng was a top spiritual tattooist in Mist City and head of the Commune of Spiritual Tattooists. The spiritual weapons identified by him couldn’t be false!
Zhou Chen finally understood why there were so many practitioners competing for this unique Snowfall Saber.
It was an incredibly pioneering case that a middle-grade spiritual tool of Human-rank could achieve 20% more power than usual.
“That's the weapon I need!”
Zhou Chen's eyes were shining.
“I'll pay 700 imperial silver coins!”
“Humph! 800 imperial silver coins!”
“Idiot, this saber should be mine. 900 silver coins!”
Bidding was still going on, which made Zhou Chen hesitate somehow.
Generally speaking, the price of middle-grade spiritual weapons of Human-rank on the market was between 200 and 400 silver coins, and there were some high-quality ones sold at about 500.
But this Snowfall Saber was already bid up to 900 silver coins! It was rare.
Finally, Zhou Chen gritted his teeth and followed the offer, “1,000 silver coins!” Suddenly, practitioners were in an uproar.
The bidding became white-hot. However, 1,000 silver coins was the maximum price people estimated. Who ever thought that the price surged to 1,000 silver coins all of sudden!
“It’s Zhou Chen, a well-known student of Mist College.”
“Right, he is Zhou Chen. I heard that he has been looking for a spiritual weapon recently. No wonder he takes a fancy to this saber, too.”
Many practitioners were surprised to recognize Zhou Chen.
As soon as Zhou Chen placed his bid, his price deterred other practitioners from competing again.
1,000 silver coins were high enough to buy a high-grade spiritual weapon of Human-rank!
In the end, Zhou Chen got the Snowfall Saber. And it cost him1,000 silver coins. In his view, the saber was worthy of its price!
Especially when he held the saber in hands, he felt he was quite lucky this time. The magical effect of the saber was far beyond the ordinary Snowfall Saber.
“With this saber, I’m sure I can pass the Province Test easily!”
Zhou Chen walked out of the Commune of Spiritual Tattooist, laughing.
Not long after Zhou Chen left, those unresigned practitioners failing in the bidding for the saber tried to get more information,
“Which spiritual tattooist refined this saber?”
“Yeah, I saw a spiritual sign ‘Xun’ on it. Is it a new spiritual tattooist here?”
“Does he have more Snowfall Sabers?”
Facing these inquiries, Jia Zhen, who had just begun to be in charge of spiritual treasure area, had to explain it in person, “To tell you the truth, this saber was indeed made by a new spiritual tattooist in the commune...”
Before Jia Zhen finished, someone interrupted, “Cut the crap! Just tell me the name of this spiritual tattooist. I’d like to issue a weapon-refining task and pay the same price for a same Snowfall Saber!”
Jia Zhen looked embarrassed, “I'm sorry, this Master Xun just arrived today. I'm not sure if he will take on any new task.”
Master Xun!
On hearing the word “master”, many practitioners became quite excited. A master? Was he a spiritual tattooist master?
Some practitioners couldn’t wait for one more minute. They all ran to the mission area. Whoever the Master Xun was, the urgent thing to do now was to issue a task!
This was a chance once in a blue moon. How could a spiritual tattooist who was able to make a unique Snowfall Saber be an ordinary person?
Seeing this chaotic scene, Jia Zhen was totally dumbfounded, with Lin Xun’s figure appearing in his mind.
No wonder Chu Feng asked him to keep a secret for Lin Xun’s identity. If these practitioners knew that Master Xun was only a teenager, how would they feel?
On this day, the popularity of the mission area of the Commune of Spiritual Tattooists increased dramatically. In just one hour, there were hundreds more tasks, each of which was designated to be accepted by the “Master Xun”.
At the same time, the news that the “Master Xun” in the Commune of Spiritual Tattooists had refined a unique Snowfall Saber spread quickly in Mist City, causing a great stir.
Even Zhou Chen, who purchased the saber, became a prominent figure in the event.
Click to read next chapter - Beyond Expectation on Flying Lines.