"One-on-one? You must be joking! When have you ever seen a tiger cutting off its claws to duel with another? "
From within the palace walls, the voice of the victor sounded.
"Huang Chang, sell it to me for 70,000 gold taels!"
"Hmph, don't even think about it!"
"Huang Chang, this WuZi Steel sword only costs 55,000 gold taels. Even if I offer 70,000 gold taels, you can still earn 15,000 gold taels. At the very most, you can just buy another one. "
"Hehe, Zhou Zhi, since you're so capable, you can just buy one yourself. Why are you giving me the money to earn? Do you take me for a fool? It wasn't easy for the Zhang Clan to release the stock for several months, but they only managed to produce 30 WuZi Steel swords. With so many people in the Imperial Army, it's impossible for them to meet the demand. Right now, they are selling for 80,000 gold taels each, and there's no market for them! If Wang gongzi were to pay for it himself, it would be even more expensive! "
…
Upon hearing those words, Li Qingyou finally decided to stop hiding and walked into the palace.
"What were you all talking about?"
Placing his hands behind his back, Li Qingyou held onto the sword tip and walked in slowly.
"Lord Li."
On the training field, the three Imperial Army members were shocked to see Li Qingyou. They hurriedly lowered their heads. In the capital, there wasn't a single Imperial Army member who didn't recognize the Military Affairs Officer, Li Qingyou.
This was their true superior. All of the equipment, armor, stipend, and weapons of the hundred thousand Imperial Army members had to pass through Li Qingyou's hands.
Unlike them, he could enter the royal palace to meet the emperor at any time.
If they were to offend him, not even the grand marshal would be able to reason with them if they were to deduct their equipment. There were many people in the royal palace, and the trio didn't expect to meet this person.
One must know that this person rarely interacted with them.
"Lord, we were only sparring with one another. We didn't do anything."
Faced with Li Qingyou's' questioning ', the trio felt uneasy.
"That's not what I'm asking. — — Can I take a look at that sword? "
Li Qingyou pointed to the sword in the hands of one of the Imperial Army members.
"This … of course."
The Imperial Guard named Huang Chang agreed verbally, but his expression was one of extreme reluctance, as if his flesh was being cut off. He reluctantly handed over the WuZi Steel Sword.
Li Qingyou turned a blind eye to it and held the WuZi Steel Sword in his hand. He first weighed it in his hand and then touched it.
"It's very heavy! Its actual weight was several times heavier than it looked. The surface is very smooth, but it's not just smooth. There are grooves on the blade, which should be designed to increase its lethality … "
Li Qingyou thought to himself.
Once experts exchanged blows, one would know whether there was a real expert or not. Li Qing had dealt with weapons and armaments all his life. He had dealt with hundreds of thousands of weapons, so he was very familiar with the performance of weapons.
There were many weapons that didn't even need to be tested. One could almost judge the quality of the weapon just by touching it, and it could even reach an extremely fine level.
This meter-long sword was heavy and cold to the touch, as if touching a block of ice. The forging technique of this weapon was clearly different from that of ordinary weapons.
At the very least, the weapons forged by the workshops of the royal court and the few clans in the capital weren't of this nature.
"This is a WuZi Steel weapon?"
Li Qingyou weighed the sword in his hand in bewilderment.
The youngest son of the Wang Clan, Wang Chong, had forged an incomparably sharp and indestructible sword at the Bluebottle Pavilion. Be it the sabers and swords of the Abbasid Caliphate, Charax Spasinu, or the famed sabers and swords of the Central Plains, none of them were a match for the WuZi Steel weapon.
— — This legend had been spreading like wildfire in the capital four to five months ago. Naturally, Li Qingyou had heard of it as well.
However, different from others, Li Qingyou had always scoffed at such rumors. He had never believed them.
How could the birth of a new weapon be that simple?
There was a saying that there were talents in martial arts. Some people were born smarter than others, possessing superior intelligence, superior cultivation speed, and a unique constitution. However, could it be possible for one to be born with a new forging technique?
Which of the weapons that were still in existence hadn't been passed down for centuries, centuries, or even millennia? They had been perfected generation after generation.
How could a brand-new forging technique suddenly appear out of nowhere? Furthermore, it was able to slice through other famed swords as though they were tofu.
Thus, Li Qingyou had never believed it.
On top of that, the WuZi Steel weapon was extremely rare. Most people had only heard of it from legends, and only a few had seen it with their own eyes. Thus, Li Qingyou had never believed it.
However, at this moment, Li Qingyou wasn't so certain.
Klang!
Before the trio could react, Li Qingyou's sword had already swept across the broken sword in the hands of one of the Imperial Army members.
Chi!
An inaudible sound echoed and the broken sword in the hands of the Imperial Army member snapped once more. The tip of the sword fell to the ground and pierced into the tiles.
The trio was taken aback for a moment, but they soon recovered from their shock. Just based on the price of the WuZi Steel sword alone, it would be a miracle if the swords of the various clans in the capital could compare to it.
However, Li Qingyou's perception was different. He couldn't sense the existence of the Lu Clan's weapons at all. It was as though the sword had sliced through the air.
This was the first time Li Qingyou had come into contact with such a weapon, and it was also the first time he experienced the sharpness of the WuZi Steel sword. Even with Li Qingyou's long experience, he had never come across such a fearsome weapon before.
The sharpness of this weapon was unimaginable!
"Take off your armor!"
A thought flashed across Li Qingyou's mind, and he suddenly pointed to the armor on one of the Imperial Army members. The latter was perplexed.
"Yes, lord."
Even though the Imperial Army member was perplexed, he still obediently took off his armor. The Military Minister was in charge of the Imperial Army Armory, so he had plenty of such armors.
Chi la, with a wave of his hand, the heavy armor was silently sliced into two. Clang! It fell to the ground, and the cut was as smooth as a mirror.
Even though Huang Chang and the other Imperial Army members were mentally prepared, they were still shocked by Li Qingyou's actions.
However, it wasn't just the Imperial Army members who were shocked. Even Li Qingyou himself was shocked.
"Sssss! To think that it's real! "
Upon seeing the WuZi Steel, the first thing that came to Li Qingyou's mind was the Bluebottle Pavilion. It was said that this sword could cleave a metal mountain into two with a single slash.
Those like Li Qingyou who weren't present at the scene would usually laugh it off, thinking that it was just a rumor. However, seeing was believing. Looking at the Imperial Army member's armor that was sliced into two, Li Qingyou was astounded. He didn't have the slightest bit of doubt in his heart.
On the battlefield, regardless of whether it was his ally or foe, they would always use the best armor.
Some of the elite heavy-armored cavalrymen wore armor forged from Deep Sea Xuan Metal. Most of these armors were incomparably tough, and it would require three, four, or even more than ten slashes to leave a mark on it. Otherwise, it would require a powerful external force to strike it.
There was a limit to the parts that could be struck.
There were very few armors like the WuZi Steel, which could be easily sliced apart.
Li Qingyou had been in charge of the Imperial Army's weapons for more than a decade, so he was extremely sensitive to the value of weapons. Just like Zhao Fengchen, Li Qingyou immediately realized the might and value of this weapon once it was mass-produced.
"What did you say? This weapon costs 80,000 gold taels each? Isn't that a little too expensive? "
Li Qingyou stared at the trio with a deep frown on his forehead.
Even if he searched through all of the sword shops in the capital, there wasn't a single sword that was as expensive as this one.
"Hehe, Lord Li, don't think that it's too expensive. In the royal palace, there are many Imperial Army brothers who couldn't buy it even if they wanted to. Naturally, a good weapon isn't cheap. "
Upon hearing Li Qingyou's words, the Imperial Army member named Huang Chang relaxed. As long as the other party wasn't picking on them, everything else was fine.
"Besides, don't underestimate it just because it costs more than 10,000 gold taels each, it's already considered cheap. Think about it, how many people are there in the Imperial Army? There are at least a hundred thousand of them. However, there are only forty to fifty swords in total, and this is the production of four to five months. There aren't enough monks and gruel. How can it possibly be enough? "
"Furthermore, this price is the price of the Zhang Clan. It wasn't forged by Wang gongzi personally. If it was forged by Wang gongzi personally, it would be worth far more than this! Privately, it has already exceeded a hundred thousand gold taels. "
The Imperial Army member named Huang Chang spoke gleefully. Clearly, he was proud of the fact that he had bought a WuZi Steel sword.
"Are there two other sellers of this WuZi Steel sword?"
Li Qingyou asked with a frown.
"Of course not! This is forged by Wang gongzi and the capital's Zhang Clan together. Otherwise, given Wang gongzi's personality, wouldn't he only make one or two a month? Sometimes, he might not even make a single one at all. "
This time, it was another Imperial Army member who agreed with Huang Chang.
"However, even though it's from the capital's Zhang Clan, I heard that it's Wang gongzi who guards the final few stages of the forging. Thus, there shouldn't be a problem with the quality. "
The third Imperial Army member said.
Everyone in the capital knew that the production rate of WuZi Steel weapons wasn't high. If it was just Wang Chong's capability, most of the Imperial Army members wouldn't be able to get their hands on such a powerful weapon.
This was the reason why the capital's Zhang Clan existed.
No one minded the existence of the capital's Zhang Clan at all. On the contrary, they were more than happy to see it happen. They couldn't wait for more of such weapons to appear.
"However, if it's Wang gongzi who's the one, the price won't be this low."
"Two hundred thousand gold taels! That was the price a few months ago. The commander bought one and treated it as a treasure. Everyone says that Wang gongzi's weapon is priceless, and its true value probably exceeds two hundred thousand gold taels. In the Imperial Army, probably only the commander and the others are able to afford it. "
The trio couldn't conceal the envy in their eyes. Everyone knew that Wang gongzi's weapons were unique. Every single one of them had a unique design, design, and lethality.
Those weapons weren't just weapons, they were also exquisite works of art!
Following which, Li Qingyou asked many more questions. It was as though he had discovered a brand new world. For the first time, he realized that there was a small market for WuZi Steel within the Imperial Army.
For the first time, he realized that the legends of the Bluebottle Pavilion were all true.
Slowly, some ideas began to form in Li Qingyou's mind. He suddenly knew how he should report to the Holy Emperor during the inspection today.
"I'll be taking this WuZi Steel Sword with me. Come and get it from me seven days later!"
With the WuZi Steel Sword in hand, Li Qingyou hurriedly headed to the Taiji Palace where the Holy Emperor resided. Thinking of the brilliant idea in his mind, Li Qingyou couldn't help but feel his blood boiling …
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