Chapter 338 - Strong Weapon
Chapter 338: Strong Weapon
A live sword? A tier 3 superalloy weapon? A weapon that could be raised?
The huge amount of information drove Tang Ling dizzy. He was a poor kid, a bumpkin from some rural safety sector. His journey to this point of life had been nothing less than difficult. He never thought that such a precious treasure would fall into his hands.
Who knew that a strange dagger that he had simply grabbed from the Agnes family’s storeroom would turn out to be such an amazing item?
“Dumb*ss.” Boss Huang shook his head. Tang Feng had reigned for many years and acquired tons of excellent stuff throughout his adventures, so why had he not saved anything for the dumb kid?
On second thought, Boss Huang was a little puzzled. Tang Feng’s death was a mystery. Otherwise, he would not have done this to his son.
Of course, Tang Ling was a lucky kid, so lucky that he had gotten his hands on a Level 8 Purple Demon plant fruit. That was considered something great even in Boss Huang’s eyes.
“Boss, why is it a live sword?” Tang Ling was already over the moon.
He could never forget the first time he had seen Anthony, the rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior-to-be, up close back in Safety Sector No. 17. That Night Lightning that he wielded was probably the coolest thing he had ever seen back then, but he heard that the superalloy that forged the Night Lightning was only a tier 1 superalloy.
Mine’s a tier 3! Hahaha, tier 3!! Tang Ling felt like he just became wealthy overnight.
“It’s because it’s originally alive. It’s the fruit of a Level 8 Purple Demon plant! Just think about how strong the vitality of a Level 8 Purple Demon plant is! However, in order for such a strong genetic to bear ripe fruit, a tremendous amount of resources and life essence are needed.
“Like in the old civilization, in order for a human baby to make it out alive, the mother would need to consume a large amount of nutrients.” Boss Huang originally did not want to talk much, but when he saw the boy’s gaze longing for more knowledge, he could not help but add some explanation.
“So, does that mean that once the next generation is born, it will also be powerful? The fruit has vigorous vitality, so it’s not dead and is still alive?” Boss Huang’s explanation did not go to waste as Tang Ling immediately understood why it was called a live sword!
“Mm-hmm.”
As he explained, Ding Dong came back with the item that Boss Huang had requested for in a silver container. She looked quiet and obedient like she was the most devoted child in the house.
“Pour it into the water. Be careful to not get it on you. This is something that not even you can handle and you might get hurt,” Boss Huang reminded almost kindly.
Obediently, Ding Dong carefully poured the liquid in the silver container into the bucket of water. The liquid itself was transparent, but there were sparkles of silver in it, and when it touched the water in the bucket, a sizzling cold air that somewhat tasted spicy rose from the bucket. As high as the temperature in the smithing room was, after the special liquid was added to the bucket, standing beside it somewhat felt chilly.
Boss Huang tossed the second piece of stone that he had hammered out into the hearth before he put the Volcano Magma Core, which seemed like it had a layer of grayish oil on top of it, into the bucket of liquid.
The moment the Volcano Magma Core was put into the bucket, an even louder sizzling noise was heard. When it was taken out, the Volcano Magma Core had become opaque black. It looked like obsidian.
Boss Huang checked it and nodded in satisfaction. Then, he continued hammering it.
During the process, Tang Ling seized the chance to ask, “Boss, you mentioned something about the perfect weapon form and something about raising it?”
“Since it’s both the fruit and the seed of a Level 8 vicious plant, if it can grow up smoothly, it will eventually become a new Level 8 vicious plant. Even though its final form resembles a sword that humans usually wield, it cannot be wielded by a human because it’s a Level 8 vicious plant.
“Therefore, after the powerful ones collect the seeds, the first thing they will do is to alter its plant brain using the spirit, remove its hostility and raise it manually. When it grows ripe and becomes a sword, that will be its perfect weapon form.”
“Did you get the point, kid?” Boss Huang looked asquint at Tang Ling, boldly passing the remaining cigarette to Tang Ling.
Of course, Tang Ling understood what the boss said, so he was a little overwhelmed. He took the half-smoked cigarette, killed it and tossed it into the trash can at the corner.
There was only a single thought in his mind throughout that process of throwing the cigarette butt. ‘If this sword grows into shape, will it be a sword that can think?’
Boss Huang probably saw through Tang Ling’s thoughts, so he chuckled and said, “The human brain is a gift from the heavens. Do you really think the evolution of the Purple Moon era gives plants the ability to evolve a brain that is equivalent to the human brain? Not even close! Like the chimpanzees of the old civilization, even though their genetics are very close to humans’, their intellect was similar to a five-year-old human child.
“However, even in the Purple Moon era, look at all those mutated apes. Do they have an intellect that rivals or surpasses humans? No, they are still very far away. So, you can view it as the sword having consciousness, but it doesn’t mean it can think .”
That’s it?! Fine, that might be it…
Tang Ling’s breath sped up, Boss Huang’s explanation meant that the weapon might be able to perfectly sync with its wielder!
With every technique and skill performed using the live sword, it was no longer a simple swing of the weapon. Both man and weapon would be one with the link created and the benefits were self-explanatory.
“Unfortunately, this seed of yours is somehow damaged to a certain extent.”
The second piece of stone inside the hearth was in a half-melted state. Boss Huang picked it up with the tongs and placed it on the anvil.
He took the dagger closer to Tang Ling’s eyes and pointed at the fracture on the blade. “Look here. This is the damage caused by a tremendously destructive force, and it has damaged its plant brain to a certain level. So, it cannot create a perfect link with its wielder like the other natural vicious plant weapons.”
“Oh…” Tang Ling was slightly depressed and felt it was a pity.
“But it’s not entirely bad news either. The good news is that it was previously raised well, so with enough resources, it can quickly recover to its previous form.” As he explained, Boss Huang simply swung the dagger around.
Two strong gales were whipped up in the smithing room and they left two shallow marks on the wall of tools.
“Did you see the power?” Boss Huang put the dagger aside and raised a curious brow at Tang Ling.
Of course, Tang Ling saw it! There were two marks on the special wall in the smithing room as a result of the gales whipped up by this shabby-looking dagger!
Boss Huang’s own strength had not done that. Superalloy applied elements were no longer a secret like how Anthony’s Night Lighting was able to release the power of lightning.
“Its previous master raised it with a metal attribute superalloy.” Boss Huang knew a lot more, hence he had a lot more insight about the sword. The applied element of the two gales was the sharpness of the metal element!
“But is the Volcano Magma Core a metallic element? And is superalloy needed to raise it?” Tang Ling’s voice grew sharper with excitement.
“Don’t underestimate the vicious plant weapon! It’s stronger than superalloy not just because it can have consciousness, but the key point is that it can fuse at least two to four element attributes! And since this is on Level 8, single talent isn’t likely anymore. It should be at least double talents!
“The more talent it has, the more elements it can fuse with. The Blood Blade Bulrush just so happens to have three attributes: metal, fire, and earth. Otherwise, why did you think the dagger stuck itself to the Volcano Magma Core? It instinctively wanted to recover.”
It was then that Boss Huang grasped his chest tightly.
Tang Ling was frightened as he sized Boss Huang up in suspicion. “Boss, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just feel heartache.” Boss Huang then looked at the idle Ding Dong who was sitting on the floor of the smithing room. He said, “Go to drawer No.72 on the first rack of the storeroom. Take what’s inside out. Hmm, just a fist-size will be enough…No, get half a fist-size. That should do it.”
Tang Ling seemed to have noticed what Boss Huang was trying to do. Suddenly, he felt terrified. If the boss was doing what he thought he was doing, he might not be able to bear the consequences. The old fox would never make a losing deal!
However many advantages he took from Boss Huang, the boss would probably take back twice as much!
Ding Dong responded like it was nothing. She sprinted away, and in less than 20 seconds, she came back with something as big as her fist.
It was a chuck of clod. As plain as it might look, a closer look at it revealed that the color was not a simple muddy color but yellow with lines of golden glimmer.
“You little ball! Why are you helping this little bastard so much? You just had to take a big chunk, didn’t you?!” Boss Huang grasped his chest tighter and yelled with immense heartache.
“Geez, Boss, Little Tang Tang is one of us now. Why are you being so stingy with one of our own?” Ding Dong answered with an innocent look.
“What the hell do you mean by ‘one of our own’?! Argh, whatever!” Boss Huang’s anguish almost suffocated him. He was heavily invested in Tang Ling, his life savings and materials. If he could not earn back double the value, he would surely skin Tang Ling alive!
Tang Ling was so frightened that his face turned pale. Stop it! Boss Huang being so generous was scary! The materials that he brought out must have surpassed the value of his bets!
With that in mind, Tang Ling swiftly switched the topic and said flatteringly, “Boss, can the live sword recover with the Volcano Magma Core and your superalloy? Can it reach the perfect weapon form?”
“Stop daydreaming, idiot! Its previous owner didn’t even raise it to the perfect weapon form! With these two superalloys, all it can recover is 50% of its previous glory! Do you really think it’s that easy to raise a vicious plant weapon?
“You’ll need at least three more chunks of superalloy to recover it to its prime and 10 more superalloys to achieve the perfect form! If you want to raise it to surpass its perfect form, you’ll need at least 100 chunks to recover to its glory of being the seed of a Level 8 Blood Blade Bulrush! And all the superalloys used must match its attributes! However, its plant brain has been damaged, so it’s not worth raising it anymore.”
Then, Boss Huang understood the situation and with a heavy heart, he grabbed Tang Ling by the collar.
“My Golden Wind Stone must be placed in a special valley, a valley that no man or beast can tread in easily. The stone must be blown by the valley wind for many many years in order to become the Golden Wind Stone, yet you swallowed it just like that, you little bastard?!”