In the modern antique street.
If you want to buy genuine bronze artifacts, let's not discuss its legitimacy.
The fact is, there are none; they're all fake.
The bronze small bell now gives Chen Mo a very fake feeling. If not for the simulator expanding his orange talent from it,
he would've quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere after a glance.
"Sir, you truly have an eye for things. This is from Nan Zhou..." The shopkeeper started babbling as he saw Chen Mo inspecting it.
"Nan Zhou? More like last week, right? What's the price?" Chen Mo said.
As for Nan Zhou, it used to be one of the thirteen small kingdoms.
Among the thirteen kingdoms, Nan Zhou was relatively powerful.
The shopkeeper raised a finger.
"One hundred taels." Chen Mo frowned and said, "That's too expensive."
He doesn't even earn a hundred taels a year including clothing, food, and other expenses.
"Sir is joking. I meant one thousand taels," the shopkeeper laughed.
"One thousand taels?" Chen Mo's eyes widened and said, "Why don't you just rob it?"
"Sir must be joking again. I am a law-abiding citizen and wouldn't do anything illegal," the shopkeeper said.
"..."
"Shopkeeper, do you know who I serve?" Chen Mo decided to use threats.
"I don't know and don't want to know, just that even Wei Gonggong from the Eastern Depot must give some face to my lord," the shopkeeper said calmly.
"Cough cough..."
"Sorry for bothering, goodbye."
Chen Mo knows who Wei Gonggong is; he's the Factory Director of the Eastern Depot, the Chief Eunuch, directly serving the Emperor.
Although he couldn't confirm if the shopkeeper was telling the truth, this matter, better to believe it than not.
Chen Mo couldn't gamble.
Nor did he have the capital to gamble.
Reporting it?
Don't be foolish.
Report in the morning and dead mysteriously by the afternoon.
"Wait, who do you take us for? We're buying it." Zhao Fujin stopped Chen Mo.
...
So, Chen Mo used the silver notes Zhao Fujin gave him to buy the bronze small bell.
On the way.
Chen Mo played with the bronze small bell but couldn't find anything special, then said to Zhao Fujin, "Your Highness, about that one thousand taels..."
"Consider it a reward," Zhao Fujin waved grandly.
"Your Highness is generous."
"Don't mention it, just remember to call me along the next time you leave the palace."
Chen Mo: "Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ"
"What, did you really think you'd get the thousand taels for free?" Zhao Fujin gave Chen Mo a look.
"Of course not."
Chen Mo smiled awkwardly, indeed there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Henceforth, he can't leave the palace casually.
"Hand over the small bell," Zhao Fujin said.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Mo was surprised, thinking Zhao Fujin wanted to take it back, but even so, he still handed the bronze small bell to Zhao Fujin.
After all, she's the master.
"Spending a thousand taels wasn't a loss; this does seem like it's genuine from Nan Zhou." A hint of green light flashed in Zhao Fujin's eyes as she raised her palm and brushed over the bronze small bell.
The True Qi surged.
The copper rust on the surface of the bell slowly faded away, revealing its original appearance.
The patterns on it depicted Nan Zhou's auspicious beast, the Xuanbird, along with Nan Zhou's script.
"Oh, this turns out to be an opened and blessed Profound Tier Upper Grade treasure. The inscription might be related to a cultivation method martial arts, though I can't read Nan Zhou's script." Zhao Fujin exclaimed, then shook her head.
Upon hearing, Chen Mo's eyes lit up.
The classification of treasures and cultivation method martial arts is alike.
However, treasures are scarcer than cultivation method martial arts, thus better valued.
A Profound Tier Upper Grade treasure can be exchanged for an Earth Tier Lower or Middle Grade martial arts.
Not to mention it's blessed.
Meaning it's been empowered.
"About the cultivation method martial arts on it..." Chen Mo put on a naive smile.
Zhao Fujin naturally knew what he meant and said, "I'll copy it down later and help you inquire at the Imperial College."
"Thank you, Your Highness Empress." Chen Mo expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Zhao Fujin, even somewhat determined that if there were a chance next time, he'd definitely take Zhao Fujin out for fun.
Then he asked, "Do I need to establish ownership?"
Zhao Fujin glared at Chen Mo and said, "I'm not going to snatch it. A mere Profound Tier Upper Grade treasure is nothing to me."
Chen Mo scratched his head, thinking she simply doesn't understand the plight of the poor.
"Blood bond," Zhao Fujin said.
Powerful treasures require the straightforward method of blood bonding for ownership.
Chen Mo used the nail of his left index finger to cut his right middle finger, dripping a drop of blood onto the bell. With Zhao Fujin muttering something, the blood immediately merged into the bronze small bell.
Chen Mo sensed a thread of connection with the bronze small bell.
"Which grade are you at?" Zhao Fujin asked.
"I just reached the ninth grade last night," Chen Mo said.
Zhao Fujin nodded, "With your ninth-grade strength, it's insufficient to activate a Profound Tier Upper Grade treasure, I'll teach you an Object Manipulation Skill later, so you can barely activate it once."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Chen Mo was so touched he wished he could embrace Zhao Fujin and kiss her but he dared not.
"Don't rush to thank me; it can only barely be activated, unable to fully harness the power of a Profound Tier Upper Grade treasure. You need to advance to the seventh grade soon, then you can use it freely." Zhao Fujin said.
"Still, I must thank Your Highness!"
"Just don't forget next time you leave the palace."
"..."
...
Divine Martial Sect.
In the square of the Inner City stood a colossal statue about three zhang tall.
The statue was majestic, gripping a longsword, pointing obliquely to the sky.
This statue is of the previous dynasty's Grand Ancestor Emperor, Qin Zheng.
Originally, the head of the statue wore a crown, which has been removed.
The reason given was that only the Emperor may wear the crown.
And the current Emperor isn't Qin Zheng.
On the stone platform beneath the statue, there's a sword mark, with Qin Zheng's handwritten characters engraved.
I desire to forge an Emperor's sword, with the Thirteen Kingdoms as the blade, mountains, and sea as the handle, shaped by the Five Elements, empowered by Yin and Yang, wielded in Spring and Summer, journeyed through Autumn and Winter, unparalleled worldwide.
Below it are annotations.
Use the Stone City Mountain of Nan Zhou for the sword tip, use Mu Mountain of Zhao Kingdom for the edge, use Chu, Qi, Yue, and Han Kingdoms for the spine...
Just reading these words, Chen Mo felt a majestic force rushing towards him.
"Do you also wish to perceive the Sword Intent within this sword mark?" Seeing Chen Mo step forward to examine, Zhao Fujin laughed, "Father said that the Sword Intent vanished long ago; perceiving it now is harder than ascending to heaven."
Yet as Zhao Fujin spoke, Chen Mo had already reached out to touch the sword mark.
He didn't want to understand any Sword Intent but wished to expand his talent.
But as his hand made contact, his body suddenly shuddered, something flashed through his mind.
"Is this... Sword Intent?"