Chapter 49

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Chapter 49: Standing Up for Justice

Seeing Lou Yun step inside, everyone couldn’t help but feel a wave of excitement. They knew someone was about to stir up trouble. All stretched their necks, eager to watch the show unfold.

Lou Yun’s action naturally made Lou Qian and the others pause for a moment. However, after listening for a long time, they also held little goodwill towards the shop assistant. Since Lou Yun was willing to step forward, they naturally offered their full support.

Lou Yun strode up to the middle-aged man and smiled slightly. "Uncle, could you let me see that sword?"

Just from Lou Yun’s clothing and bearing, the middle-aged man knew he was no ordinary person. He hastily handed over the sword. "Young Master, my son cannot condense a magical weapon, he can only cultivate with a common weapon. I figured I’d buy him a common weapon. After looking all over this shop for ages, only this one is suitable for him."

Lou Yun took the sword, smiling. "Don’t worry just yet, let me have a look!"

The shop assistant also realized Lou Yun was here to stand up for the injustice, but he didn’t care in the least. He believed that throughout the entire Tianrang City, no one dared to cross his boss. So, he crossed his arms, observing Lou Yun with a mocking look on his face.

Lou Yun guided his spiritual sense into the blade while lightly flicking it with his finger. After a moment, he looked at the shop assistant and gave a cold laugh. "Listen, business relies on honesty. This sword isn’t even made of sedimentation stone, just the most common iron steel stone. As for spiritual crystals or a beast soul? Absent! How dare you sell such a sword for one hundred and fifty gold? I tell you, it’s not worth even fifteen gold!"

After saying this, he slammed the sword forcefully onto the counter.

Lou Yun’s words made the shop assistant’s face turn extremely ugly. He hadn’t expected Lou Yun to be someone who knew his goods, instantly seeing through the sword’s true nature. But in front of so many people, he naturally couldn’t admit it. He stiffened his neck. "Hey, kid! Stop spouting nonsense and spreading false rumors here! Do you even know who forged this sword?"

Lou Yun sneered. "I don’t care who forged it. I only know that if I forged such garbage, I’d rush to destroy it – too embarrassed to have the gall to put it out for sale."

Lou Yun then turned back to the middle-aged man. "Uncle, you really shouldn’t buy this sword. It wouldn’t even be usable. And don’t look in this shop anymore. How about this, I’ll take you to other shops to look for a suitable one."

The middle-aged man was naturally effusively grateful and started to follow Lou Yun out.

Seeing the mix of surprise and scorn on the faces of the onlookers, the shop assistant felt his face burning with humiliation. He shot a meaningful glance towards another assistant in the shop. Watching that assistant hurry off, he then stepped out from behind the counter, blocking Lou Yun’s path. "Kid! You think you can just walk out like this?"

Lou Yun glanced sideways at him. "What? Aren’t leaving – are you inviting me to dinner?"

The surrounding crowd burst out laughing.

Anger made the shop assistant’s eyebrows shoot up. "You slandered the common weapon sold by our shop, damaging our reputation! You must explain yourself clearly, right here in front of everyone."

"Explain clearly? Fine! Go find another knowledgeable person. We’ll let them tell us what’s what!"

The shop assistant’s eyes darted. "Alright! You wait right here!" After speaking, he headed outside.

Everyone watched as the shop assistant went across the street to a common weapon shop and returned, pulling along a man dressed as a steward. He pointed at Lou Yun. "Kid, this is Senior Luo. Everyone knows him, right? He’s a third-grade skilled weapon maker!"

"Senior Luo, please judge this fairly. What materials were actually used to forge this sword of ours?"

Senior Luo didn’t speak. He went straight to the counter, picked up the sword, and performed the exact same examination as Lou Yun had earlier. Then he nodded. "This is a beginner two-star common weapon! Forged from top-quality sedimentation stone, with spiritual crystals and a beast soul incorporated. One hundred and fifty gold is perfectly reasonable!"

Hearing this, Lou Yun froze. Just moments ago, he could tell from the crowd’s expressions that many recognized Senior Luo. He should indeed be a third-grade skilled weapon maker. So how could a third-grade skilled weapon maker fail to see the materials used in such a shoddy sword? Moreover, how could he lie so blatantly right here? What on earth was going on? Could he, Lou Yun, really have been mistaken?

Naturally, the crowd trusted Senior Luo far more than Lou Yun. Instantly, many skeptical pairs of eyes, including those of the would-be buyer, the middle-aged man, turned doubtfully towards Lou Yun.

The shop assistant looked at Lou Yun triumphantly. "Kid! What do you have to say for yourself now?"

Lou Yun picked up the sword and examined it again, confirming he hadn’t been wrong earlier. He looked at Senior Luo. "Senior Luo, are you certain this sword was forged from sedimentation stone, with spiritual crystals and a beast soul incorporated?"

Senior Luo put on an air of lofty righteousness, nodding. "Boy, I am a third-grade skilled weapon maker. Would I lie to you?"

Just then, Xia Zhilan suddenly mustered her courage and walked up to Lou Yun’s side. "Lou, Lou Senior," she murmured in a small voice, "the owner of this shop is Tianrang City’s only fourth-grade skilled weapon maker. No one dares offend him!" Having grown up in the Ancient Weapon Academy, she naturally knew the city’s situation best.

Hearing this, Lou Yun suddenly saw the light. So, this Senior Luo was afraid of offending the shop owner! That’s why he resorted to brazen lies to back up the assistant.

With this understanding, Lou Yun started to laugh heartily. "Senior Luo, what are the characteristics of sedimentation stone?"

"Sedimentation stone," Senior Luo answered smugly, "is named for its immense weight and the refined copper sediment within it."

Lou Yun continued his questioning. "Then, during the process of forging weapons, can the refined copper within the sedimentation stone be smelted and refined away?"

Senior Luo glared. "Rubbish! We only want the refined copper within. If it had been smelted, why would we call it sedimentation stone?"

Lou Yun had been waiting for this. He smiled. "Since that’s the case, I’d like to bet with Senior Luo. Right now, I’ll snap this sword in half. If the refined copper is visible, then my judgment was wrong. I’ll pay ten times the price for this sword and apologize to the shop assistant. If no refined copper is seen, then Senior Luo, your judgment was mistaken. You must pay ten times the money to this elder. Senior Luo, do you dare to take this bet?"

When Luo heard this, his expression changed instantly. He knew the true material this sword was forged from. Taking this bet meant certain loss for him!

The crowd of onlookers didn’t care about these details and started shouting and clamoring. "Senior Luo, take the bet with him! Bet him!"

Lou Yun watched Senior Luo leisurely, whose forehead was now beaded with sweat. "Well, Senior Luo? As a third-grade skilled weapon maker, could it be you don’t dare gamble with someone nameless like me?"

Just as Senior Luo was desperately seeking a way to back down without losing face, a deep, resonant voice sounded from behind the crowd. "Who is causing trouble in my shop?"

Everyone quickly turned to look. They saw a man seemingly past sixty, his face deeply lined with wrinkles. A prominent aquiline nose made his already sunken eyes appear even more gloomy. Upon seeing him, the onlookers immediately and respectfully parted to make a way, their faces showing reverence and fear.

Lou Yun’s heart stirred. This must be the owner of the shop, the fourth-grade skilled weapon maker.

It was precisely Xu Baichuan, the only fourth-grade skilled weapon maker in Tianrang City!

Seeing this man appear, Senior Luo breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried forward and bowed respectfully. "Master Xu!"

Xu Baichuan carelessly waved his hand. He merely swept a glance over Lou Yun, then fixed his gaze on Xia Zhilan for a long moment. Finally, his eyes settled on the precious sword in Lou Yun’s hand. "Give it to me!"

Lou Yun didn’t understand Xu Baichuan’s intention, but he still handed the sword over.

Taking the sword, Xu Baichuan didn’t bother to look at it. With both hands, he applied sudden force. A crisp "Crack!" rang out as the sword broke apart into over a dozen small shards of metal. Xu Baichuan gathered the fragments into one hand, squeezed them forcefully, and when he opened his palm again, only a heap of metal dust remained in it.

Lou Yun raised an eyebrow. Xu Baichuan is clearly trying to destroy the evidence! This way, no one can tell what material the sword was actually forged from.

Xu Baichuan patted his palm. "I’m not selling this sword anymore. To prevent any further arguments!"

Then, he looked directly at Lou Yun. "You are a skilled weapon maker too?"

Though Lou Yun currently held no official rank, he did not deny the fact. "Yes."

"What rank?"

"No rank!"

"No rank!" Xu Baichuan gave a contemptuous snort. "No rank? How dare you be so insolent in my shop? Considering your youth, apologize, admit your fault, and this matter will be over!"

Lou Yun laughed coldly. "Apologize? Admit fault? What did I do wrong that requires an apology?"

"Simply because I am a fourth-grade skilled weapon maker, and you have no rank! You dared to question my work. That is where you were wrong!"

Lou Yun couldn’t help but burst into laughter. "Haha! What a fine ‘fourth-grade skilled weapon maker’! I’ve seen unreasonable people, but truly never one quite as unreasonable as you!"

Having said this, Lou Yun turned to leave. However, at that moment, Chang Xiang’s voice echoed in his mind: "Boy, provoke him into a weapon-forging contest with you!"

Lou Yun froze, doubting his ears. "Provoke him into contesting weapon forging with me? Haven’t I lost for sure?"

Chang Xiang chuckled lowly. "With me here, how could you possibly lose?"

"Then why challenge him?"

"Because… I’ve discovered he possesses a fine treasure!"

"What treasure?"

"A furnace!"

"A furnace?"

"Hmm. Just provoke him. Make him stake the furnace as a wager for a weapon-forging contest! You absolutely must win that furnace!"

Lou Yun understood. His greatest current lack in weapon forging was precisely a high-quality furnace. Chang Xiang had sensed a superior furnace on Xu Baichuan and wanted Lou Yun to find a way to obtain it.

Thinking this, Lou Yun suddenly turned back to face Xu Baichuan. "Master Xu, since you are a fourth-grade skilled weapon maker, do you dare to make a bet with me?"

"A bet? Betting on what?"

"Betting on who can forge the higher-grade common weapon!"

This declaration caused an immediate uproar among everyone present. They all thought Lou Yun must have gone mad, daring to challenge a fourth-grade skilled weapon maker to a forging contest! They believed he was courting doom!

Xu Baichuan was also taken aback. He clearly hadn’t expected Lou Yun to propose such a bet. But he didn’t believe Lou Yun was insane. Looking at the youth who stood before him, smiling faintly, utterly composed, Xu Baichuan thought internally, Could this kid have some scheme?

Lou Yun continued, "Naturally, I won’t challenge you to forge a high-grade common weapon. We’ll compete by forging primary common weapons. This elder wants to buy a common weapon for his son. Let’s each forge one, see whose comes out superior. What do you say?"

Hearing this, Xu Baichuan sneered inwardly. Ah, so this is it. What a kind-hearted child! Even at such a moment, he hasn’t forgotten his ‘good deed’. He simply wants an excuse to gift the old man a common weapon. Regardless of who forges the better weapon, the winner is that old peasant. After a slight pause, Xu Baichuan nodded. "Fine. I’ll grant you this opportunity."

Someone as shrewd as Xu Baichuan wouldn’t do something unrewarding. His agreement came from his own calculation. Though he was Tianrang City’s fourth-grade weapon maker with extremely high status, in recent years, the soaring prices of his common weapons had caused his business to decline greatly. This contest presented the perfect chance to showcase his forging prowess before the public, to rebuild his prestige.

Seeing that Xu Baichuan had taken the bait, Lou Yun quickly added, "Since it’s a bet, we should have a wager. How’s this: the winner gets to ask for one item from the loser. Fair?"

Xu Baichuan replied coldly, "Apologies, but I have no interest in any belongings you might possess."

Lou Yun flipped his hand and drew the Stone Sword. "This sword… Are you uninterested in this too?"

Xu Baichuan hadn’t earned his title as a fourth-grade weapon maker for nothing. Though lacking in character, his eye was sharp. He instantly recognized the Stone Sword was no common artifact. His interest was genuinely piqued. Besides, he also utterly disbelieved he could lose. After a brief hesitation, he agreed, "Fine. It’s settled then. If I win, you forfeit that sword to me. If I lose, you may claim any single item I possess."

"Agreed!"