Chapter 37: Monkey Tail Sword

The weapon counter of the Shang family's shop was located on the third floor. Boss Shang led Ding Hao upstairs, and a woman in a dress approached. Boss Shang introduced her, "This is the manager of our ordinary-grade weapon counter, Shang Yun."

The weapons in the Shang family's shop were divided into two types: one for Immortal Masters and the other for Innate Strength experts. Shang Yun was responsible for the ordinary-grade weapons used by Innate Strength experts, and this counter was under her management.

Shang Yun smiled, "Then I'll take care of this. I'll definitely give you an internal price."

This counter was not managed by Boss Shang, so he smiled slightly, "Young Master Mi, I'll go downstairs." To help hide Ding Hao's identity, he did not call him by his real name.

Ding Hao nodded at him, indicating that it was fine.

As soon as Boss Shang left, Shang Yun smiled, "Young Master Mi, you are at the third stage of Innate Strength. Generally, using mid-grade ordinary weapons would be sufficient. However, since you have come to the Native City, it means you are not satisfied with mid-grade ordinary weapons. Therefore, high-grade ordinary weapons are what you are looking for."

This woman was indeed smart, able to guess Ding Hao's thoughts right away.

However, Ding Hao said, "High-grade ordinary weapons are fine, but what I really want is an ordinary treasure."

"An ordinary treasure?" Shang Yun was immediately surprised.

In her view, Ding Hao was a yellow-faced man who looked like a farmer, and his attire was not very luxurious, making him look like someone who wasn't wealthy. Moreover, being at the third stage of Innate Strength, his purchasing power would be for high-grade ordinary weapons.

She couldn't help but smile, "We do have many ordinary treasures here, but the price..."

Ding Hao remained calm and said, "I can't afford the spirit-grade weapons used by Immortal Masters, but I can afford the ordinary-grade weapons for Innate Strength experts."

Since he said that, Shang Yun was quite straightforward and giggled, "My apologies, Young Master. I underestimated you. Please come this way."

After entering, there were numerous weapons of various kinds displayed.

Compared to the weapons in the border village, the weapons here were like trash.

For example, both were mid-grade Xiu Chun knives, but the knives here were sharper, made of purer iron, and even the patterns looked much better! In contrast, the mid-grade Xiu Chun knives sold in the border village were clearly low-end, with uneven edges!

Of course, the prices were also vastly different.

Ding Hao nodded to himself, feeling that he had come to the right place! If two people of equal strength were to fight, one using a Xiu Chun knife from here and the other using one from the border village, the latter would definitely lose!

As the saying goes, to do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools.

Walking through the array of weapons, they arrived at a refined room at the back. Shang Yun invited Ding Hao to sit down and had a maid serve him a cup of tea before saying, "May I ask how much you know about ordinary treasures?"

Ding Hao's face showed a slight embarrassment. To be honest, he had only heard about them and had never seen an ordinary treasure. He was not pleased and said, "Manager Shang, what do you mean? Do you have to test me before I can buy something?"

"I dare not," Shang Yun smiled, making it hard to be angry with her. She continued, "Young Master, you may not know, but everyone knows that the pinnacle of ordinary-grade weapons is the ordinary treasure. High-grade is a weapon, and supreme-grade is a treasure! When an item reaches the supreme level, it becomes a treasure! However, they don't know that ordinary treasures are not for everyone to use!"

Ding Hao nodded, "Yes, I've heard that high-grade is a weapon, and supreme-grade is a treasure! But I haven't heard that ordinary treasures have requirements for the user."

Shang Yun explained, "Young Master, the biggest difference between ordinary treasures and ordinary-grade weapons is that ordinary weapons do not consume spiritual energy, while ordinary treasures require a large amount of spiritual energy! Therefore, ordinary weapons can be used by anyone, but ordinary treasures must be used within one's limits."

"I see," Ding Hao nodded in understanding.

Shang Yun was worried that he might not have enough spiritual energy! Considering he was only at the third stage of Innate Strength, using the Nine-Fold Fire Palm already required spiritual energy. If he were to use an ordinary treasure that consumed spiritual energy, how much spiritual energy would he have left? In a fight, he might run out of spiritual energy after a few punches.

Understanding this, Ding Hao said, "Manager Shang, I appreciate your concern. I have already considered this, so there's no need to worry."

The issue of high spiritual energy consumption was a significant concern for others, but for him, it was not a problem. His original core was much larger than others, and he had a large amount of spirit rice, which could instantly boost his level!

Shang Yun, seeing that he was not worried, was very curious. A third-stage Innate Strength expert wanting to use an ordinary treasure and not worrying about his spiritual energy supply could only mean one thing: this yellow-faced man was a genius! However, a genius in his thirties or forties, only reaching the third stage of Innate Strength?

Although she was puzzled, Ding Hao was still a customer, and she couldn't ask, so she said, "We have many ordinary treasures here. Could you please specify the type of weapon you want or the cultivation method and immortal root you have, so I can help you choose?"

"Alright..." Ding Hao frowned. He had thought he could casually browse and choose, but now he realized that ordinary treasures were very valuable, and only three could be shown at a time. If he took too long to choose, they might become impatient.

He was reluctant to reveal his immortal root and cultivation method, so he said, "I have both fire and beast elements and practice a fist-based cultivation method. Just bring me the best."

People are generally unwilling to reveal their secrets, and Shang Yun had seen this many times. She smiled, "Young Master, don't worry. These are customer secrets, and we will keep them confidential." She then said, "Please wait a moment."

With that, she walked into the back room.

Ding Hao waited for a while, and Shang Yun came out, followed by six burly men. Three of them carried red-clothed sandalwood trays, and the other three were responsible for guarding. They walked out in a line.

The six men then stood in a row, all at the seventh stage of Innate Strength. However, they were well-trained and did not show any disrespect when they saw Ding Hao at the third stage of Innate Strength.

"Please come over, Young Master Mi."

Shang Yun smiled and beckoned him over, then lifted the red cloth on one of the trays.

Ding Hao looked up and saw a very peculiar small sword on the red cloth.

It was a small sword about half a foot long, but the hilt of the small sword had a tail, a red rope-like strap, and at the end of the tail, there was a round handle.

"This is..." Ding Hao reached out to touch it but was stopped by Shang Yun.

"Young Master, this item is precious and can only be looked at, not touched."

Ding Hao asked, "How is this item used?"

Shang Yun gestured to one of her subordinates, "Demonstrate it."

The burly man standing next to the tray picked up the small sword and moved to a distance.

There was an array formation in the distance, like a stage, where one could use spiritual energy.

The man held the round handle and channeled spiritual energy. Soon, the small sword floated up and began to dance and slash in the sky, similar to the flying sword used by Liu Yunkun.

"This is almost 80% similar to an Immortal Master's flying sword!"

Ding Hao's eyes lit up. Although he couldn't use a flying sword yet, if he could use this quasi-flying sword, it would be quite good!

Shang Yun was also proud of the treasures in her shop and said, "Top-grade ordinary treasure, the Monkey Tail Sword! A masterpiece by the great alchemist Li Wushuang from a thousand years ago, passed down for eighteen generations. If it weren't for the rumor that Li Wushuang joined the alchemy devil path in the Immortal Alchemy World, causing the Li family to decline, this item would not have been passed down to the world!"

Ding Hao asked, "What is the price of this item?"

"Five spirit stones!"

"Five spirit stones..." Ding Hao shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Manager Shang, this price is too high. I can't afford it. If all ordinary treasures are this expensive, I really can't afford them."

Shang Yun giggled, "This is our shop's treasure and a famous heirloom, so it is naturally very expensive. Ordinary treasures are much cheaper."

Ding Hao thought to himself, she really thinks highly of me, bringing out the shop's treasure. This thing is indeed good, but the key is that I can't afford it!

"Even if you had the money, I wouldn't recommend you buy this," Shang Yun continued. "The higher the grade of the ordinary treasure, the more spiritual energy it consumes. My subordinate, at the seventh stage of Innate Strength, can only use the Monkey Tail Sword for a short time..."

As she spoke, the burly man demonstrating the sword said, "Manager, I can't hold on any longer." The flying sword then fell to the ground.

Shang Yun gestured for him to return and said, "Even if I were at the ninth stage of Innate Strength, I could only use it for fifteen minutes."

"Even at the ninth stage of Innate Strength, only fifteen minutes," Ding Hao was shocked.

He thought to himself, it seems this item is not suitable for me for now. Even with his large original core, he was only at the third stage of Innate Strength, and using the Monkey Tail Sword might not even last three minutes.

"Then let's look at other ordinary treasures," Ding Hao said.

Although the first ordinary treasure was not suitable, Ding Hao had already felt the power of ordinary treasures! One ordinary treasure could instantly increase a person's combat strength several times! No wonder everyone wanted ordinary treasures; they were indeed powerful.

"Then the second treasure..."

Ding Hao was filled with curiosity and anticipation for ordinary treasures. This time, he was not disappointed. Shang Yun lifted the cover, and it turned out to be a pair of fiery red iron fingers.

Shang Yun picked one up and handed it to Ding Hao, smiling, "The previous one was our shop's treasure, so it couldn't be touched. This one is cheaper. Take a look; I call it the Spirit-Filled Finger Guard."

The Spirit-Filled Finger Guard was like a half-glove, with four fingers that could be inserted, and a ring to secure it on the thumb. When clenched, four protruding pieces of hard metal could be seen at the front of the fist.

Shang Yun introduced, "Young Master Mi has a fire attribute immortal root and practices fist and palm techniques. So I chose this ordinary treasure for you. When worn, it can be infused with spiritual energy, and the power of a set of Tiger Charge punches will increase three to five times! These four protrusions are refined Immortal Alchemy meteoric iron. One punch can break a large tree and deform an iron plate!"

Ding Hao felt his heart race; this item was perfect for him!