Chapter 349: A Cursed Blade
Xia Fei had three blades: Celestial Moon, Bloodthirsty Screech, and the dagger that the Adjudicator Union would give to its special forces.
Xia Fei could not be sure about the levels of Celestial Moon and Bloodthirsty Screech. From their abilities, he estimated both to be around the Legendary rank. As for the dagger given by the Adjudicator Union, it had no level. Xia Fei normally used it to peel apples, for he used to have the even higher level Lifeseeker Tri-dagger.
However, Xia Fei had traded the Lifeseeker Tri-dagger for the meteor ball, so he no longer had a dagger ready-at-hand. From this Flying Snow’s crystalline appearance, he knew that it was no ordinary dagger. It was already at the Eternal rank, making it a perfect subst.i.tute for his Lifeseeker Tri-dagger.
A warrior could not just make do with a single weapon. They required a complete set of offensive and defensive gear.
In Xia Fei’s current loadout, Celestial Moon was his primary weapon. It had many abilities and a power that could not be underestimated. Moreover, when Xia Fei used his psychokinesis, Celestial Moon’s unique magnetic metal properties made it easier to control and the best candidate to be manipulated with psychokinesis.
Bloodthirsty Screech was just as savage and violent as its name made it out to be. It was 1.5 meters long and weighed several hundred kilograms. This sort of giant weapon naturally could not be used frequently, only in special battles. For example, its use could be seen when one needed to crush an enemy utterly.
On the defensive end, he had the Legendary rank combat suit Bloodthirsty Ice G.o.d, and a pair of Zephyr combat boots specifically meant to be used by Eternal rank speed ability users. These provided significant boosts to his defense or speed. Moreover, Xia Fei also had the Immortal ranked concealed weapon that originated from the ancient civilization, the b.u.t.terfly Serpent. Be it in terms of level or abilities, Xia Fei’s loadout was complete.
If there was one shortcoming, it would be the need for a dagger. There was no questioning the quality of the daggers the Adjudicator Union provided to its special forces, but when it came to a warrior’s equipment, good quality was not enough. Weapons also needed defining characteristics. As the saying went, an artisan needed the best tools to do a good job. Any warrior with a little savings would try to get the best equipment possible. The slightest disparity could be a fatal factor which could tip the scales.
The dagger, Flying Snow, had been placed in its own display case by the trade fair organizers, and a pair of burly guards was even standing beside it—two obvious indicators of the rarity and uniqueness of this weapon.
Several dozen fighters from various organizations had gathered around it, and all of them were sighing, with even some showing signs of drooling. Alas, this weapon had an extremely skyhigh price that not everyone could afford.
“So this is Flying Snow!” exclaimed a goateed elder in surprise, his eyes glowing. He clearly loved the dagger.
“Legends have it that Flying Snow kills without leaving a mark, and that’s because of its unique cold attribute, causing any wound created by the dagger to be sealed by the rime inherent to the weapon, freezing even the blood so that not even a drop would be spilled.”
“That’s right. I’ve also heard that someone once used this dagger to a.s.sa.s.sinate a tyc.o.o.n, stabbing right in the kidney, yet the person being killed didn’t even feel any pain. It was only several hours later, after the a.s.sa.s.sin had disappeared, that the target died from kidney failure.”
“That’s because Flying Snow’s coldness froze that person’s nervous system, causing them to lose sensation. It’s only when the cold disperses that the body will realize what’s going on, the brain finally registering the damage. That’s why Flying Snow is known as a silent eliminator.”
Hearing the crowd’s enthusiastic conversation, Xia Fei grew tempted. Was a mythical effect like this not exactly what he needed?
Xia Fei could use his Crafty Approach to stop external bleeding, but the one being stabbed would still feel it, and the bleeding would not be stymied for long.
If he combined Flying Snow’s silent elimination ability with his Crafty Approach, he would indubitably be able to accomplish great things in the field of a.s.sa.s.sination. After all, a.s.sa.s.sination was all about silently killing a target. A dagger that could strike an enemy without them feeling anything or even bleeding? Such a divine weapon seemed almost built for his Crafty Approach!
He looked at the item requested for trade. “One Purple Heart of Spirit weighing fewer than two hundred grams with a pure and transparent l.u.s.ter!”
He stroked his spatial ring. He had enough Purple Hearts of Spirit to trade for a hundred Flying Snows. Xia Fei immediately felt the urge to trade for this Eternal rank dagger.
However, on second thought, Xia Fei found this rather strange. No matter how valuable Purple Hearts of Spirit were, two hundred grams should not have been enough to trade for an Eternal rank dagger. Today was the second day that the high-cla.s.s trade fair had been open, so why had no one taken this divine weapon yet?
It had to be understood that trading two hundred grams of Purple Heart of Spirit for the Eternal rank Flying Snow was not expensive at all.
As expected, there were other people besides Xia Fei who were tempted. At this moment, a tall and thin man with sungla.s.ses sighed. “A pity! Truly a pity.”
The others did not know what was going on and asked.
The thin man shook his head and helplessly said, “While Flying Snow is good, it’s also an infamous cursed blade, and there have been legends about it murdering its master. Those who use this weapon often end up dying in a foreign land, the a.s.sa.s.sin none other than this seemingly beautiful Flying Snow.”
Many people did not believe this thin man’s words, yet he merely laughed bizarrely before walking away.
“If you don’t believe me, just get on the interplanetary internet and look it up yourself. This is the internet era, and it’s easy to get hold of all kinds of information. An Eternal rank dagger worth only two hundred grams of Purple Heart of Spirit? If it were really this cheap, would you people have the opportunity to get your hands on it?”
Several dozen screens turned on as people skeptically began to search the interplanetary internet for information on Flying Snow.
Once they were done reading, they shook their heads and reluctantly walked away.
“It’s really a cursed blade?” Phantom said in alarm.
Xia Fei also found it a great pity. Such a divine weapon was actually a cursed blade with a reputation of killing its master!
There were actually legends about cursed blades on Earth. It was said that all the members of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s clan were ended by the katana Muramasa. Those who got off easy were injured, while those who got off badly died the most miserable deaths. Thus, Tokugawa Ieyasu called the Muramasa a cursed blade and banned its use.
However, Xia Fei noticed that the tall and thin man had not left after saying his spiel about Flying Snow. Instead, he continued to stroll around the hall, his eyes occasionally glancing over as if he had some other intention.
Xia Fei suddenly recalled a technique used by those of the underworld: poison tongue.
Poison Tongues were extremely eloquent people who, for various reasons, had fallen down to the level of the common people and made it their business to spread lies and slander. They specialized in attacking and slandering other people, and at times, when their employer tended to favor a certain item, and the item in question was very valuable and was certain to be hotly contested, a few poison tongues would be hired to spread unfavorable rumors and scare away potential buyers.
Once everyone had lost interest in the item, their employer would swagger onto stage then buy it at a low price and resell it at a high price, generating a large profit.
Xia Fei was an orphan and grew up on the streets, so he naturally knew about a variety of crooked tricks. His unwillingness to trust in others was also founded on his experiences as a youth and the stubbornness in his bones.
Without batting an eyelid, Xia Fei opened the interplanetary internet and searched for Flying Snow, cursed blade, legends, killing its master… He placed all kinds of key terms into an advanced AI search while filtering out rumors, only searching for reliable information.
The power of the interplanetary internet was not solely in connectivity, allowing all people to enjoy the online world; it also had a variety of dazzling capabilities, and through his relations.h.i.+p with Avril, Xia Fei could use all the high-end functions of the interplanetary internet for free. It was naturally within his capabilities to order a customized search.
The search combined with AI a.n.a.lyses and filtering took some time; during which, Xia Fei remained around Flying Snow.
Several dozen more fighters gathered around it, all of them praising the dagger, but soon after, a fatty came over and mentioned that Flying Snow was a cursed blade which killed its master, causing all of them to give up on the idea of purchasing it.
Two hundred grams of Purple Heart of Spirit were no plaything, and not everyone could risk so much money.
After a moment’s thought, Xia Fei took out the item catalog Mosquito gave him yesterday and turned to the set-price trade section.
Just yesterday, this Flying Snow had been priced at three hundred grams of Purple Heart of Spirit, but it was now down to two hundred.
His suspicions deepened. Xia Fei slowly moved as if he wanted to take the item tag, at the same time checking how the thin man and fat man would react from his peripheral view.
Just as he expected, the two froze in place, their faces tightening.
His lips curved into a smile, and he plucked off the item tag without hesitation. Weighing it in his hand, he looked playfully at the paling faces of the two poison tongues with a smug smile.
The item tag had a microchip that would create a signal as soon as it came into contact with his admission ticket, and the trade center would immediately know who had purchased the item. The employees would immediately remove said item from the display and put a new one on its place, thus completing the transaction. As for the fee, the account simply needed to be settled within three days. It was all very convenient.
As expected, a small screen popped up next to the display case saying ‘sold’, and several employees quickly moved Flying Snow away and replaced it with a three-pointed, double-edged blade.
“Flying Snow is a cursed blade. What if it really is unlucky? This isn’t a problem of money. A cursed blade that kills its owner will truly bring suffering on its owner’s head,” Phantom grumbled. “I know you don’t believe in such things, but you should at least wait for your interplanetary internet search to finish first.”
Xia Fei smiled. “No need; I think it’s fine.”
He went up to the next floor as the thin and fat poison tongues dejectedly departed. At this time, his microcomputer vibrated to indicate that the interplanetary internet search was done.
The second floor was the face-to-face trading area. Partic.i.p.ants with their items could haggle over the price and make deals on the spot.
Xia Fei was in no rush to look around. He went to the rest area and sat on the sofa, helping himself with a cup of tea as he looked through the search results.
Phantom nervously watched from the side. After all, no one wanted a cursed blade that would kill its owner.
“It seems that this dagger shouldn’t be called Flying Snow, but October Flying Snow.” Xia Fei smiled as he looked through the information.