"Kecier, what kind of sword would you like?"
Stepping out of the Li Family estate, Duan Lingtian asked the young girl beside him with a smile.
The main purpose of coming out this time was to buy a sword for her.
The girl cultivated the *Proficient Frost Divine Sword Manual*, which was a sword cultivation technique.
Although that *Proficient Frost Divine Sword Manual* only matched with sword techniques once one reached the Condensing Pill Realm, Duan Lingtian still intended to let her get in touch with swords and become familiar with them as early as possible.
The sword was the ancestor of all weapons; only a qualified sword cultivator who truly understood swords could unleash their maximum might.
"I'm not really sure either. Why don't you help me choose, Young Master?"
The young girl shook her head gently.
Duan Lingtian nodded.
Amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the crowd in the Li Family market, he held the young girl's delicate little hand and walked into the Li Family Weapon Shop.
"Young Master Tian!"
As soon as they entered the Li Family Weapon Shop, a young man stepped forward to welcome Duan Lingtian and the young girl inside, his tone mixed with a trace of deference.
"You know me?"
Duan Lingtian was somewhat surprised.
"Young Master Tian, I am a collateral member of the Li Family. I took half a day off this morning specifically to go back to the family estate and watch the duel between you and Li Jie. Young Master Tian is truly formidable; even Li Jie was no match for you."
The young man smiled.
"Just a fluke."
Duan Lingtian shook his head with a smile.
"I want to buy a good sword. Do you have any recommendations?"
Duan Lingtian stated his purpose.
"Young Master Tian, are you buying it for yourself?"
The young man asked with a smile.
"No, I'm buying this sword for my Kecier."
Duan Lingtian shook his head.
Hearing Duan Lingtian say she belonged to his family, the young girl's willow eyebrows twitched slightly, her autumn-like eyes blinked, and a delicate flush spread across her pretty face, translucent and tender enough to break at the touch.
"This way, Young Master Tian."
The young man only glanced at the young girl before quickly retracting his gaze, afraid of displeasing the young man beside her.
Then, he led this pair of youths resembling a jade-carved boy and girl toward a weapon rack at the side.
The weapon rack was filled with all sorts of swords.
Duan Lingtian, who had integrated the memories of the Samsara Martial Emperor, could tell the quality of these swords at a single glance.
Finally, his gaze landed on a sword forged from a purple material.
This was an exquisite little short sword. The reason he took a fancy to it was not because of its gorgeous appearance, but because of its material...
Purple Meteorite Iron!
Once refined by an armament master, Purple Meteorite Iron could yield an extremely rare crafting material known as Purple Meteorite.
A single tael of Purple Meteorite was worth a thousand gold, and this short sword could yield at least seven or eight taels of Purple Meteorite.
Duan Lingtian's heartbeat quickened slightly.
"Young Master Tian, this is a sword forged from purple ore. It's extremely tough, second only to a Refined Steel Sword."
The young man introduced.
Second only to a Refined Steel Sword?
Duan Lingtian chuckled inwardly, never expecting that the Li Family Weapon Shop would mistake Purple Meteorite Iron for ordinary purple ore.
However, the appearance of Purple Meteorite Iron was indeed similar to purple ore, yet the difference in their value was like heaven and earth.
Moreover, if Origin Force were channeled into this short sword forged from Purple Meteorite Iron, it could snap hundreds of Refined Steel Swords without suffering the slightest damage.
What a pearl cast in darkness!
Very soon, Duan Lingtian eased his mind.
Any armament master with some common sense might be able to recognize the Purple Meteorite extracted from Purple Meteorite Iron.
Yet this Purple Meteorite Iron was extremely difficult to recognize for even graded armament masters whose discernment was slightly lacking, let alone the blacksmiths of the Li Family Weapon Shop.
"How much is this sword?"
Duan Lingtian suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked with feigned composure.
"Two hundred silver taels," the young man said, and then added:
"Young Master Tian, you're not an outsider, so I'll be frank with you. Aside from its good looks, this sword simply cannot compare to a Refined Steel Sword. A Refined Steel Sword is the standard three-foot green blade that cuts through iron like mud, and it's twice as long as this sword to boot, yet it only costs one hundred and eighty silver taels."
"Kecier, do you like it?"
Duan Lingtian asked the young girl beside him.
"Young Master, it's too expensive."
The young girl's gaze had long been captivated by this gorgeous and exquisite purple short sword, and upon hearing the young man's quote, she was also taken aback.
Duan Lingtian chuckled inwardly; if this little girl knew the value of the Purple Meteorite that could be extracted from the Purple Meteorite Iron, she certainly wouldn't think this way.
"I'll take this short sword, but I only brought one hundred taels out with me... How about this, bring another Refined Steel Sword back to the family estate to find me this afternoon, and I'll pay you the remaining two hundred and eighty silver taels all at once then. How does that sound?"
Duan Lingtian looked at the young man.
"Of course, no problem."
The young man nodded repeatedly.
Since Duan Lingtian was the son of the Ninth Elder of the Li Family, he wasn't afraid that Duan Lingtian would renege on the debt.
"Kecier, this is your first sword, you must take good care of it... As a sword cultivator, the most important thing is to treasure your sword as your own life. As for those absurd theories that while the sword lives, the person lives, and while the sword dies, the person dies, you don't need to pay them any mind."
Taking the purple short sword from the young man's hand, Duan Lingtian casually handed it to the young girl.
"Yes, Young Master."
The young girl took the short sword from Duan Lingtian's hand, unable to put it down.
Her beautiful face was filled with a happy smile.
After leaving the Li Family Weapon Shop, Duan Lingtian took the young girl for a stroll around the market.
After buying her some small accessories, they headed back toward the Li Family estate.
When he reached the entrance of the Li Family estate, he came to a halt and turned to glance behind him.
In the distance, a figure moving like a thief turned tail and ran.
"Young Master, what is it?"
The young girl asked.
"It's nothing, let's go in."
Duan Lingtian shook his head.
He had spotted this person long ago; ever since they were near the Fang family market, the person had been tailing him from afar all the way here.
As he held the young girl's hand and walked into the Li Family estate, a faint smile appeared on Duan Lingtian's face.
At this hour, Mother should be attending the family meeting...
Inside the spacious Li Family grand hall.
Below the Family Head Li Nanfeng and Great Elder Li Huo, all the elders of the Li Family were gathered together.
Even the Seventh Elder Li Kun, whose son had been crippled, had come.
Li Kun's vicious gaze never left a beautiful young woman—none other than the Ninth Elder, Li Rou.
"Elders, calling this emergency meeting today is precisely because of Duan Lingtian crippling Li Jie this morning. Regarding this matter, what are your views?"
Family Head Li Nanfeng asked straight to the point.
The gazes of all the elders fell upon Great Elder Li Huo.
Since the Great Elder had not spoken yet, they did not dare to overstep their bounds.
"I believe we should punish that little fellow Duan Lingtian. At such a young age, his methods are already so ruthless; if we don't guide him properly, there's no telling what kind of disaster he might cause in the future."
Li Huo spoke up.
"The Great Elder is truly impartial and selfless!"
The Sixth Elder Li Ping hurriedly buttered up the Great Elder, not forgetting to cast a smug look at the Fifth Elder Li Ting.
"This morning, after crippling Li Jie's arm, Duan Lingtian not only refused to stop, but went even further by shattering Li Jie's spine, turning Li Jie into a complete cripple... Li Jie is a talented martial artist whom our Li Family focused on nurturing. Duan Lingtian's actions have also caused our Li Family to suffer a huge loss. I also feel that he ought to be severely punished!"
Li Ping added further.
"Sixth Elder, what I said this morning couldn't be clearer: Duan Lingtian is only at the Third Level of the Body Tempering Realm, while Li Jie is at the Fourth Level of the Body Tempering Realm. Li Jie, who refused to admit defeat even after having an arm crippled, posed an immense threat to Duan Lingtian just as well. Therefore, I feel that what Duan Lingtian did at the time was entirely correct and did not violate the family rules!"
The Fifth Elder Li Ting said in a deep voice, arguing on Duan Lingtian's behalf.
"Fifth Elder, according to what you're saying, does that mean that in duels between family members, as long as one doesn't kill the other party, one can trample them at will and even cripple them, leaving them worse off than dead?"
Seventh Elder Li Kun finally spoke up, a look of grief and indignation on his face.
For a martial artist, having their spine shattered meant they were reduced to an absolute cripple, with no future prospects to speak of whatsoever.
Just when everyone thought that Duan Lingtian's mother, Ninth Elder Li Rou, was going to take over the conversation, Li Rou remained completely calm, acting like an outsider.
Li Ting frowned, thinking that the Ninth Elder had already given up on defending Duan Lingtian.
"Do the other elders have any opinions?"
Li Nanfeng asked the rest of the elders.
"I think the Seventh Elder makes sense. Duan Lingtian's methods are far too cruel, and he even destroyed a pillar of the family's future. He should be severely punished!"
Some elders expressed their agreement.
They did not have particularly close ties with either Li Rou or Li Kun, and stated their stance from a neutral position.
Of course, to say they had completely no selfish motives would naturally be impossible.
In their view, no matter how strong the talent Duan Lingtian displayed, and no matter how much stronger he was than Li Jie, he was still an outsider with a different surname, not a member of the Li Family.
"Very well, now, everyone will cast a vote..."
After Family Head Li Nanfeng spoke, the Fifth Elder Li Ting shook his head and sighed.
The current situation was extremely unfavorable for Duan Lingtian.
"Family Head!"
Who would have thought that at this very moment, Li Rou, who had remained silent all along, would interrupt Li Nanfeng's words.
Causing everyone's gazes to converge upon her.
"Ninth Elder, do you have something to say?"
Li Nanfeng frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.
"The changes in my son over the past month must be obvious to the Family Head and all the elders... Quite a few elders also feel that my son must have obtained some fortuitous encounter, and indeed, that is the case."
Li Rou said calmly.
Hearing Li Rou's words, even the Sixth Elder Li Ping and the Seventh Elder Li Kun quieted down.
They were just as curious.