When they reached the second floor, there were far fewer items here than on the first, but everything was of much higher quality.
You could tell just by the faint magical aura coming from the items.
Bai Ling glanced around casually, and by chance, caught sight of a lavishly decorated display: a jade tray as the base, a bright red silk cloth as the cushion, and on top of that, a rack holding a sword.
The sword was surrounded by a greenish-blue magical energy, its hilt made from fine wood, and a complex magic array was carved into the blade.
Bai Ling walked over and examined the sword carefully.
Not bad, this would make a perfect gift for that girl.
The shop assistant noticed Bai Ling staring at the A-rank Qinglian Sword and walked over with a sheepish grin.
“You’ve got a good eye, sir.
This Qinglian Sword is an A-rank weapon, inscribed with a magic array by an A-rank Inscriptionist.
It’s perfect for wood-element mages—not only does it boost spellcasting speed, but it also increases the power of magic arrays.”
Weapons were also ranked, and their rank depended on the level of the magic array inscribed by the Inscriptionist.
The higher the array’s rank, the more powerful and better the weapon.
Of course, there were also different grades: lower, middle, and upper.
“How much is this?” Bai Ling asked the assistant.
“One thousand gold coins!” The assistant smiled and held up a finger.
Lin Qiufeng, standing nearby, almost jumped in shock.
“So expensive?” Lin Qiufeng was stunned.
Noticing the looks from people around, she realized she’d lost her composure and gave an awkward smile.
She muttered under her breath, “It’s just a sword, how could it possibly be worth a thousand gold coins? This is daylight robbery!” Bai Ling heard her, and so did the assistant, who was standing closest.
Bai Ling just smiled, and the assistant replied with a laugh, “Heh, you might not know, but this sword is inscribed with an A-rank magic array.
An A-rank Inscriptionist is extremely rare—they have to be high-level mages, and that’s not even mentioning the strict requirements for advancing as a mage.
Plus, inscribing arrays requires a deep understanding of magic arrays.
If you don’t meet both conditions, there’s no way you could make a high-level A-rank Qinglian Sword like this.”
“Oh, I see!” Lin Qiufeng only half-understood, and already feeling awkward, she didn’t dare say anything else.
She just stood there twisting her fingers like a little girl waiting to be scolded, head down and silent.
“Alright, I’ll take the sword.
Here’s a thousand gold coins, please count it.” Bai Ling smiled—not at Lin Qiufeng’s ignorance, but at her current state.
Usually, the girl acted all brash and tomboyish, but who would’ve thought she had this shy side to her.
“Great!” The assistant happily took the pouch of coins from Bai Ling, weighed it in his hand a few times, and then said confidently, “Sir, this Qinglian Sword now belongs to—” Before he could finish, a female voice interrupted him.
“Wait a minute!” A group of girls walked over from the side.
Judging by their uniforms, they were also students from Yulin Academy, but these girls looked aggressive, clearly here to cause trouble.
“???” Bai Ling and the others turned to look at the source of the voice.
“What do you want?” Lin Qiufeng was annoyed, ready to vent her earlier embarrassment.
“Please wait, I’m willing to pay eleven hundred gold coins for that sword!” The lead girl spoke, her tone commanding.
Her name was Shui Lan.
She had long, water-blue hair, beautiful phoenix eyes, a high nose, and bright red lips.
One look at her face and you could tell she wasn’t easy to deal with.
She ignored Lin Qiufeng completely and repeated her offer to the assistant, not even sparing Lin Qiufeng a glance.
Arrogant and domineering, through and through.
“We already bought the sword, it’s ours.
We’ve paid for it.” Lin Qiufeng was indignant.
How could someone be so unreasonable? Just barging in and acting all high and mighty.
“But you haven’t taken it yet.
The money can still be refunded, can’t it?” The lead girl still didn’t look at Lin Qiufeng, her words firm and unyielding.
“Heh, we got here first.
Don’t you even understand the concept of first come, first served? Besides, we’ve already paid.
Why would we just give it up because you said so? Who do you think you are?” Lin Qiufeng was annoyed that the girl wouldn’t even look at her, and didn’t bother to be polite.
“I understand the rules, but good things go to the highest bidder.
I’m offering more money, so naturally it should be mine.
As for who I am, that’s not important.
What matters is that I want that sword.” Shui Lan was just as forceful, completely unfazed by Lin Qiufeng’s words.
“Hmph, shameless.
I can’t believe you’d say something like that.
I wonder how your mother raised you.” Lin Qiufeng never held back with strangers, and shot back with a sharp tongue.
“Say that again?” Shui Lan bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Everyone has their limits, and Shui Lan was no exception.
Her bottom line was her family, and Lin Qiufeng had just crossed it, making her furious.
Lin Qiufeng didn’t care if Shui Lan was angry.
In fact, she was happy to see it.
She couldn’t stand arrogant people like this, especially those who acted like the world revolved around them.
“What? You can say whatever you want, but I can’t? With an attitude like yours, I really wonder how your mother raised you.
If you’re like this, I bet your mom isn’t much better.
I’d love to meet her, see what kind of woman could raise someone like you.
What’s that saying? Like mother, like daughter, right?” Lin Qiufeng’s words dripped with sarcasm.
If Shui Lan wanted to be arrogant, she could be even more so.
Shui Lan couldn’t hold back her anger anymore.
A faint magical energy began to surge around her, unstable and ready to explode at any moment.
Lin Qiufeng didn’t care what state Shui Lan was in.
She had no mercy for people who meant her no good.
“What? Did I hit a nerve? Can’t control your temper? Want to kill me to shut me up? Go ahead, I’m waiting.” Lin Qiufeng had a cocky look on her face, just begging for a fight.
The assistant, seeing things were about to get out of hand, quickly spoke up.
“Ladies, our shop has rules—no fighting allowed.
If you want to settle things over an item, you can go to the dueling arena.
Whoever wins gets the right to buy.
But if you try to start something here, you’ll be banned from the Magic Mall forever.” As he spoke, the assistant released a wave of B-rank magical pressure.
Oh? Bai Ling watched the assistant with interest.
Who would’ve thought even a shop assistant here would be B-rank? This shop was clearly no ordinary place.
When the assistant released his magical pressure, both Lin Qiufeng and Shui Lan felt it—this guy was not to be messed with.
They were both B-rank mages, but Shui Lan was a second-year student.
She knew she couldn’t beat this unassuming assistant, though she could definitely run if she had to.
But “run” wasn’t in her vocabulary.
Lin Qiufeng’s expression changed slightly.
She’d only just awakened her powers and didn’t know much—she was still a total newbie, and now she was a bit nervous.
The assistant withdrew his pressure after a moment, put his professional smile back on, and asked, “So, do you two want to continue? Would you like to go to the dueling arena?”
“Hmph, do you dare?” Shui Lan, after being cowed by the assistant, had calmed down and now looked at Lin Qiufeng with utter disdain.
