The blacksmith shop, usually bright and spacious with neatly arranged weapons and equipment, was today a scene of utter disarray, looking much like a battlefield after a fierce struggle between humans and demons.

Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed unwaveringly on Lucas’s hand as he opened the wooden box. Rumors had long circulated about a devastatingly sharp weapon hidden within the Lucas Blacksmith Shop, but hardly anyone had actually seen it. Today was finally the day to witness what it truly was.

A war sword! Lucas gripped the hilt tightly, pulling the longsword free with force. The sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard rose and fell in a continuous wave. The long-unused sword, just freed from its sheath, caught the sunlight and reflected a chilling gleam that made one’s scalp tingle!

“This!” Lucas raised the sword high, looking down upon Qian Jin with arrogance: “It is a Dou Bing! Frostbite!”

A Dou Bing? Several adventurers stared in shock at the weapon in Lucas’s hand. A Dou Bing! To see one here! The onlookers, unaware of the weapon’s true significance, felt an instinctive sense that this sword was extraordinary upon hearing its name.

Those few in the crowd who understood what a Dou Bing was immediately cast looks of sympathy toward Qian Jin. No matter the origin of that cleaver, facing a Dou Bing head-on meant…

“A Dou Bing?” Qian Jin raised an eyebrow slightly, then suddenly pushed off the ground with his right foot, lunging forward like a fierce tiger. The kitchen cleaver in his hand swung down, just as it had against other weapons, striking brutally against the Frostbite sword.

Clang! The sword body and the cleaver rang out simultaneously with a resonant hum, dazzling sparks erupting and scattering around them like fireworks! Lucas hadn't anticipated the sheer brutality of Qian Jin's grip strength; a sharp pain shot through his palm, blood immediately seeping from the tear in his skin. He could no longer hold onto Frostbite as the sword spun wildly in the air.

With one cleaver strike, Qian Jin sent the Frostbite sword flying, his knee and ankle twisting in coordination as he sprang forward to follow up, hacking down again onto the falling sword.

Clang! Before the sound of the second metallic collision had faded, Qian Jin’s third, fourth, and fifth strikes followed in rapid succession!

Lucas stared in utter disbelief at the cleaver in Qian Jin’s hand. This cleaver! It too was a Dou Bing! Otherwise, it would be impossible for it to withstand multiple collisions with the Dou Bing Frostbite sword without breaking! Heavens! Who was this lunatic? To fashion a Dou Bing into the shape of a common kitchen cleaver? Did he not know? A Dou Bing shaped like a cleaver could never unleash its full potential in a real fight!

This… this was such a waste! Lucas mentally condemned the weapon's creator even as his pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints! After the ninth clash of metal between the two Dou Bing weapons… the Frostbite sword… snapped! It was literally chopped in half by the cleaver!

Everyone froze, Flanlin completely dumbstruck… No one’s mind could process what they had just witnessed. They roared and shouted, unable to believe that the Dou Bing Frostbite sword—had broken? That cleaver—it was too terrifyingly fierce! Was this some kind of dream?

Qian Jin hefted the cleaver, deliberately planting his foot on the broken halves of the Frostbite sword, and sneered coldly: “You call this a Dou Bing? A piece of junk! Everything I said was true; everything you sell here is junk! Including this Frostbite sword!”

“Impossible? That’s impossible… this absolutely cannot be…” Lucas stared at the severed Frostbite sword, shaking his head repeatedly, unable to accept reality. This Dou Bing was not forged by some ordinary smith! He was the apprentice of the great Master Alubas, forged personally by Blacksmith Lierchacan!

Thud… Lucas sank limply onto the ground, staring blankly at the cleaver in Qian Jin’s hand. How could this be? A Dou Bing crafted by Blacksmith Lierchacan should be able to cleave through other Dou Bing weapons, let alone ordinary arms! How could it be defeated by a mere kitchen cleaver?

“Junk!” Qian Jin lightly flicked the cleaver in his hand, turned to the crowd, and declared: “Did you all see? I did not use any Dou Jin to assist my weapon just now!”

“This…” Lucas still shook his head: “This is absolutely impossible…”

“Nothing is impossible,” Qian Jin said softly, looking down at the Frostbite sword fragments: “You can call this weapon a Dou Bing—it possesses decent Dou Jin conductivity. But you can also say it is not a Dou Bing; its material is not entirely Dou Bing composition, and its forging technique is crude. Any discerning eye can see this sword has three structural weak points prone to breaking. It’s fortunate you didn't sell it to a true warrior. Otherwise, if a Demon-Slaying Warrior took this weapon onto the Human-Demon battlefield, the likely result would be becoming mere merit points for a Demon Warrior.”

“Everyone,” Qian Jin looked toward the others again, “Weapons and equipment are the second life of a warrior. I ask you all to help spread the word. The goods at Lucas Blacksmith Shop are substandard. Warriors need your protection, and surely you don't want them dying on the battlefield because their gear shattered in the hands of a Demon Warrior, right?”

“Oh, yes! And you few.” Qian Jin turned back to the adventurers: “Every time you venture out, you face danger. You must take responsibility for your own lives. Please, do not buy substandard goods. Dying at the hands of beasts, demonic beasts, Demon Warriors, or Barbarian Champions because of broken equipment is too humiliating a way to go. Even as undead, you wouldn't be able to close your eyes in peace.”

Flanlin stumbled out of the crowd, following Qian Jin in a daze, and asked hesitantly: “Qian Jin, what just happened, was it real?”

“Of course,” Qian Jin glanced back at the Lucas Blacksmith Shop, now crammed with people, gripping his cleaver slightly. If nothing unexpected occurred, Lucas wouldn't be able to sit still tonight! That would be the perfect time for the counter-attack!

Never allow anything that clearly threatens your life to continue existing! Strike! Strike preemptively! Kill him! Eliminate him! —The Warrior’s Code

As a warrior, and one who consistently ranked in the top three in the written exams at the Auckland Academy of Magic and Warfare, Qian Jin would never forget a single maxim from The Warrior’s Code.

Since Lucas had already attempted an assassination once, Lucas was an enemy! An enemy threatening his life! Eliminating him was the guiding principle of The Warrior’s Code.

“Qian Jin…” Flanlin looked at Qian Jin somewhat apologetically: “This… I know my request is rather excessive…”

Qian Jin met Flanlin’s gaze, smiled, and offered the cleaver: “You want this thing? Against a true combat-oriented Dou Bing, this thing falls considerably short.”

“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter…” Flanlin snatched the cleaver almost desperately from Qian Jin’s hand: “I don’t want to sell it. Every blacksmith shop has its prized possession. I used to use a Rank Four weapon, but this time…”

Qian Jin smiled watching Flanlin’s demeanor: “If you like it, I’ll find time another day to forge you a real Dou Bing that can truly be used as a weapon.”