"Only this broken sword, Master Zhang?"
Qin Ya walked over to Zhang Ruochen. Her body almost stuck to him, giving off a charming fragrance.
Zhang Ruochen recovered from the thoughts of his previous life. The moment that he raised his head, he saw a large patch of white skin on Qin Ya's chest. Although she was wearing her clothes properly, it still seemed very enchanting.
He immediately closed his eyes and held his breath a bit. His heart was pounding. He pinched his fingertips at once and forced himself to look at the sword on the wall.
Pulling himself together, Zhang Ruochen pointed at a royal blue sword and asked, "Hostess, which level of Genuine Martial Arms is this sword?"
Qin Ya looked a little disappointed and said, "That's a fourth-level Genuine Martial Arm called the Flash Shining Sword. There are 14 inscriptions on it: four Inscriptions of Power, four Inscriptions of Ice, four Inscriptions of Electricity, and two Inscriptions of Light. In other words, it has three special attributes: ice series, electricity series, and light series."
Generally speaking, there would only be one inscription on a first-level Genuine Martial Arm.
Only swords with over 10 inscriptions could be considered fourth-level Genuine Martial Arms.
Whenever an inscription was added, specific powers would be added to an extent. The more interesting thing was that according to the different nature of the inscriptions, the Genuine Martial Arms would have different properties that suited individual warriors.
For example, a warrior with the Blaze Sacred Mark had a blast of flame gas in their Genuine Qi. Thus, when they used the fire series of Genuine Martial Arm, they could unleash a stronger power of the arm.
"How much?" asked Zhang Ruochen.
"30,000 silver coins," Qin Ya said.
"Alright! I'll take it," he excitedly said.
Zhang Ruochen took the Flash Shining Sword in one hand and the Abyss Ancient Sword in the other and quickly fled out of the armory.
Staying alone with that enchanting hostess was too dangerous, even for Zhang Ruochen.
After all, he had found the Abyss Ancient Sword and bought a random Genuine Martial Arm, which was all that he needed.
"What a quick getaway... Haha! But, it won't be that easy to run away from me again! The future will be interesting when we meet again." Qin Ya smiled. She became even more interested in Zhang Ruochen.
...
When Zhang Ruochen and Qin Ya had entered the weapons warehouse before, there was a man and a woman led by an old shopkeeper from Qingxuan Pavilion approaching the warehouse's doorway.
They seemed quite respected, even the old shopkeeper had to bow and smile with flattery.
The young man was Zhang Ruochen's eighth brother, the Eighth Prince of the Yunwu Commandery, Zhang Ji.
The young woman with Zhang Ji was one of the four young beauties of the Yunwu Commandery, Master of the Red Cloud Sect's daughter, Shan Xiangling.
Shan Xiangling's temperament was outstanding, as pure and fresh as a lily. She was about 16 or 17, with bright eyes and a nice figure. Wherever she went, she was the most attractive girl.
The Eighth Prince smiled and said, "My mother told me that this is your first time to Yunwu City, so I must take good care of you. Qingxuan Pavilion is one of the biggest shops in the Martial Market. My junior sister apprentice, if you take a fancy to any weapon, do let me know."
The Eighth Prince's mother, Concubine Xiao, was a student of the Red Cloud Sect. She was also the junior sister apprentice of Master of the Red Cloud Sect.
Therefore, the Eighth Prince called Shan Xiangling his junior sister apprentice as well.
Shan Xiangling gently smiled and said, "Thank you! However, the main purpose of my time in Yunwu City is to meet some geniuses, especially the top genius, the Seventh Prince. I have heard about him many times and greatly admire him, like many other girls in the Red Cloud Sect. But it's so hard to even catch a glimpse of him."
The Eighth Prince said, "If he was here, I could introduce you to him. Unfortunately, my seventh brother is not currently in Yunwu City."
Shan Xiangling looked a little disappointed and said, "If I remember correctly, the Year-end Assessment is the second biggest pageant after the Ceremony of Worship. Won't the Seventh Prince be here for the pageant?"
The Eighth Prince laughed and said, "My seventh brother already got first place in the Year-end Assessment when he was only 10 years old. It doesn't make sense for him now. However, the Year-end Assessment is a big competition, where only young men from the Royal Family and noble families who are under 20 are allowed to participate. Perhaps my seventh brother will come back. If you want to watch it, I can get you a ticket."
"Thank you again," said Shan Xiangling with a smile.
While the Eighth Prince and Shan Xiangling were talking, the old shopkeeper walked up to Han Zi and asked, "Han Zi, who is in the warehouse now? Why is the gate closed?"
Han Zi gave him a strange look and whispered, "The hostess and a young man."
Hearing this, the old shopkeeper gasped in astonishment and said to himself, "Oh, the hostess... don't make anyone die!"
The Eighth Prince and Shan Xiangling also heard what the shopkeeper said.
In an astonished voice, Shan Xiangling asked the shopkeeper, "Does the hostess here kill customers for money?"
The Eighth Prince shook his head and said, "No! There are just some rumors about the hostess. Rumor has it that the hostess is so extremely beautiful that any man seeing her will fall for her."
"There's also hearsay that the hostess is cruel and merciless. Many men have died by her hands."
"What's more, it's said that she is very licentious and had kept many men. She is also a sadist. Many men had their hands cut off and their eyes gouged out."
"Of course, these are all rumors. I've never seen her in person, so it's hard for me to say what kind of woman she is." He concluded.
After hearing this, Shan Xiangling had a bad impression of the hostess.
Everybody could assume what was happening after a woman led a man into the armory in broad daylight with the gate closed.
The hostess was definitely not a decent woman and the man with her also had to be disgusting.
"Boom!"
The gate was pushed open and Zhang Ruochen came out with two swords in his hands. He was quite surprised seeing his brother, Zhang Ji, in the distance.
The Eighth Prince was also surprised to see Zhang Ruochen, but his eyes immediately turned cold and he reprimanded him. "My ninth brother, what are you doing here? This is not a place that you should come!"
Having heard the Eighth Prince address Zhang Ruochen as his brother, Han Zi and the old shopkeeper were astonished that Master Zhang really did have a great background. Unexpectedly, he was the son of the Yunwu Commandery Prince!
At the same time, they were relieved that the hostess had not hurt him. If the Ninth Prince had gotten hurt here, Qingxuan Pavilion would most likely have been shut down the very next day.
Shan Xiangling had also heard of the Ninth Prince. It was said that he was the only prince who had not obtained his Sacred Mark.
She did not deliberately get to know Zhang Ruochen, so she had no idea that Zhang Ruochen had opened his Sacred Mark half a month ago.
"How could a loser like him walk out of the armory?" Shan Xiangling thought.
"Could it be..."
With consideration of what the Eighth Prince said, she looked at Zhang Ruochen again with contempt.
Zhang Ruochen frowned and said with displeasure, "Since you can come to Qingxuan Pavilion, why can't I?"
The Eighth Prince sneered and said, "I'm here to buy weapons. What are you doing here? Can you afford a Genuine Martial Arm? How did you get those two swords?"
Zhang Ruochen was baffled by his attitude and rudely said, "It's none of your business! Even if I picked them up on the side of the road, it's still none of your business."
The Eighth Prince shouted, "Stop! You should stay in the palace and behave yourself since you're a loser without any talent. Don't come here and shame the family or I'll break your legs for my father."
Zhang Ruochen was even more confused. He asked in a low voice, "Are you even capable of doing that?"
The Eighth Prince burst out laughing.
He put his palms together and stretched his 10 fingers. The Eighth Prince then chuckled. "I'll show you what my capability is today!"
Zhang Ruochen stood there calmly. He pressed his five fingers together and moved his Genuine Qi through his six Meridians.
He scoffed. "If there's a fight, then let's fight!"
Qin Ya stepped out. "Oh! Your Highness! What are you doing? This is Qingxuan Pavilion, it's not an appropriate place to fight. The Ninth Prince is my distinguished guest, so I must step in if you challenge him here," Qin Ya said with an enchanting smile on her face.
Upon seeing Qin Ya, the Eighth Prince was taken aback by her beauty.
He would have lost his mind if Shan Xiangling was not here. Seeing an enchanting beauty like Qin Ya, it was impossible for him to keep calm.
The Eighth Prince looked away from Qin Ya and stared at Zhang Ruochen. He yelled. "You are such a disgrace to our family!"
In the Eighth Prince's opinion, Zhang Ruochen could never afford any Genuine Martial Arms. The only way he could get them was to be the hostess's secret lover.
He was exchanging his body for resources to practice Martial Arts.
In fact, Shan Xiangling shared the same opinion with the Eighth Prince.
"What a shame! As the son of the Yunwu Commandery Prince, the Seventh Prince is a top genius while the Ninth Prince is a woman's lover! What a contrast!" Shan Xiangling stared at Zhang Ruochen as she shook her head with a sigh.
Zhang Ruochen had no idea what his brother was talking about. He decided not to pay any attention to him because he had done nothing indecent. Holding his two swords, he walked outside.
Qin Ya was a very clever woman, so she could somehow tell what the Eighth Prince and Shan Xiangling were insinuating.
She cunningly smiled and said, "Your Highness, Ninth Prince, if you come here again, I'll treat you well! If you want any other practice resources, just come by and tell me. Hehe!"