Yanqing closed the door and trotted back.
"Master, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Fu Zhu toyed with the Ōdachi in his hand and turned to ask Yanqing, "Yanqing, are Mara-Struck outbreaks common on the Luofu?"
Yanqing asked back, puzzled, "Master, why do you ask? Hmm… A while ago, the rate of Mara-Struck outbreaks did indeed increase significantly, but according to the Ten-Lords Commission's investigation, it was because of what Dan Shu and her group were up to. Now that all the hidden Disciples of the Medicine King on the Luofu have been wiped out, I expect the outbreak rate will return to normal levels soon."
"I see…"
Fu Zhu sighed in disappointment. Then, pointing to the Ōdachi in his hand, he began to explain to the three of them why he had suddenly asked about the Mara-Struck outbreak rate.
"If I want to upgrade this sword further, I need to meet certain conditions, like its kill count."
The moment he crafted the Ōdachi, he had used the JEI item management mod to check its crafting recipes. He was surprised to discover that the Demon Blade "Hiruko", an item from a SlashBlade addon mod, actually existed!
He didn't need to purchase any additional SlashBlade addon mods at all; the system had directly integrated the addon mod with the main SlashBlade mod into a single package.
However, another SlashBlade addon mod, [The Last Smith], hadn't been integrated by the system and would require a separate purchase.
But on second thought, it made sense. [The Last Smith] mod alters the original SlashBlade crafting recipes, so there was some logic in not integrating them.
And when he saw the recipe for the Demon Blade "Hiruko", he was instantly tempted. To upgrade the Ōdachi into the Demon Blade "Hiruko", it required 1000 points of Glory Value.
In the SlashBlade mod, there are many conditions for upgrading a blade. The most common ones are kill count, Glory Value, and specific enchantments.
Although "Glory Value" might sound a bit hard to understand, it's actually not that different from kill count. The user just needs to defeat an enemy unit with a high combo rating to obtain Glory Value.
The first thing Fu Zhu thought of was the Luofu's "specialty product": the resurrecting Mara-Struck. Their health was generally higher than unmodded hostile mobs in MC, and they could revive, making them the ideal targets for farming Glory Value.
Unfortunately, Yanqing had said that Mara-Struck outbreaks weren't very common on the Luofu. Besides, when he had tried to farm materials from that Mara-Struck he had encountered by chance, Yanqing had stopped him.
Clearly, although the Mara-Struck were abhorred on the Luofu, their former selves were still the family and friends of the Luofu's citizens. Desecrating their bodies would provoke their disgust.
Fu Zhu hadn't sunk so low as to desecrate someone's corpse just to farm Glory Value.
But, without convenient hostile mobs like the Mara-Struck to farm Glory Value, where was he supposed to find creatures that had high health, could resurrect, or came in large numbers?
Iron Golems?
It would be a bit of a waste of iron. Even if he could use an iron farm to get free Iron Golems, Fu Zhu had no idea where to find villagers.
He couldn't possibly run to the Nether and farm Glory Value off Phantylia, could he? Setting aside the hidden risks, the time required just to travel there made Fu Zhu dismiss the idea immediately.
Hearing Fu Zhu's explanation, the three people beside him couldn't help but show surprise. Yanqing, in particular, stared worriedly at the Ōdachi in Fu Zhu's hand and asked back.
"Master, this method of upgrading your blade… why does it feel like a demon blade from a storybook? Needing bloodshed and killing to grow stronger…"
Fu Zhu tilted his head and explained, "That's right. What I'm making is a demon blade. Its name is Demon Blade 'Hiruko'."
Hearing this, Yanqing grew even more worried.
"Master, aren't you afraid of the demon blade controlling your mind?"
"A weapon I made, how could it possibly control me? Yanqing, you must remember this: a sword is a tool. What it's used for is decided by its wielder. Even if its name is 'Demon Blade,' a person can still use it to protect others. Understand?"
"I have been taught…"
After schooling Yanqing, Fu Zhu suddenly thought of another good way to farm Glory Value.
Since ordinary Mara-Struck might have been other people's family and friends, what about the heinous criminals in the Luofu's Shackling Prison?
Fu Zhu refused to believe that the Shackling Prison didn't contain some scum despised by all citizens of the Luofu. And if there really weren't any…
…then he would just have to make Blade suffer a little. He remembered that Blade had already been locked up in the Shackling Prison. Plus, Blade was immortal and had pretty high health!
He was simply the perfect target for farming Glory Value and kill count!
At this thought, Fu Zhu couldn't sit still. He immediately took out his phone and called Jing Yuan.
"Yo, is Jing Yuan at the Seat of Divine Foresight? I have a favor to ask!"
"Oh? Little friend Fu Zhu, feel free to tell me what's on your mind. If it's inconvenient to explain over the phone, just come to the Seat of Divine Foresight."
Fu Zhu turned to March 7th, Xing, and Yanqing and said, "I'm going to the Seat of Divine Foresight to see Jing Yuan. What about you guys?"
Yanqing immediately took out the Proud Soul Fragment and shook his head. "Master, I won't be going. I'll stay here at the training grounds and continue my practice."
Fu Zhu nodded and turned to look at the remaining two, Xing and March 7th.
March 7th hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll pass too. I want to go see if I can buy you two some new clothes on the Luofu. Aren't you tired of wearing the same outfits all the time?"
Fu Zhu glanced down at the clothes he had been wearing since the day he transmigrated. Because of the 'Steve' characteristic, this outfit was treated as a default skin. It wouldn't get damaged or dirty. It was quite convenient, so he never bothered to change.
Xing also shook her head with an indifferent look. "Nope, I think my outfit is pretty cool! I want to go with old bro, maybe there's some new fun to be had!"
"No!"
March 7th immediately vetoed Xing's plan. She grabbed her, pulled her to her side, and scolded her with her hands on her hips.
"Why are you sticking to your brother every day? Today, you're coming with me to buy clothes! This lady here absolutely must buy you guys some suitable outfits today. If I don't have a model, how am I supposed to shop?"
Xing, feeling wronged, pointed in Fu Zhu's direction and asked, "What about old bro? If you're buying clothes for him, he has to be there, right?"
March 7th turned her head to look, but Fu Zhu's figure was already gone.
"He… already ran away."
"What?!"
Xing turned her head with a stunned expression, only to see that the spot where Fu Zhu had been standing was now completely empty.
"That darn old bro! When did he sneak away?!"
Outside the training grounds, the moment Fu Zhu heard Xing say she wanted to follow him, he had a bad premonition. To prevent getting caught and lectured by March 7th as well, he had simply decided to make a run for it.
Luckily, the two girls' attention was focused on each other. The only other person who noticed he was about to slip away was Yanqing, his good disciple, who would never expose his master's tracks.
Thus, Fu Zhu slipped away smoothly.
After getting away, Fu Zhu didn't linger at the entrance. He seized the moment, and before Xing could chase after him, he hurried towards the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Before long, Fu Zhu arrived at the Seat of Divine Foresight and saw Jing Yuan. He also saw Dan Heng, who was waiting for the Ten-Lords Commission to complete the procedures for lifting his exile order.
"Fu Zhu? Why are you back alone?"
Dan Heng glanced behind Fu Zhu, didn't see March 7th and Xing, and asked.
"Those two went shopping for clothes. I'm here to see Jing Yuan about something."
Jing Yuan, who was sitting behind his desk handling documents, put down the papers in his hand and looked up at Fu Zhu with a smile.
"I never thought there would be something that would make little friend Fu Zhu come ask a favor of me. Is it something even more serious than Phantylia?"
Jing Yuan said this, but inwardly he wasn't concerned at all. After all, if it were something truly serious, Fu Zhu definitely wouldn't have spoken to him in such a relaxed tone on the phone, nor would he have let March 7th and the others go shopping at ease.
Fu Zhu walked over to an empty seat nearby, sat down, and then took out the Ōdachi.
"Jing Yuan, I need to upgrade this newly forged weapon of mine, but it needs to go through battle to meet the upgrade conditions. I wanted to ask if there are any criminals in the Shackling Prison who can revive and regenerate, and are also powerful?"
Fu Zhu had altered his wording slightly. Otherwise, if he said he needed to kill people to upgrade his weapon, anyone would get the wrong idea.
When Jing Yuan heard Fu Zhu's request, he felt a headache coming on. He had originally thought it was no big deal, at most a request for some rare materials.
If it were that, he would have approved without blinking an eye. But now Fu Zhu was asking to fight a criminal who met these requirements…
Not to mention his worry that the criminal might escape in the process, if Fu Zhu got injured in the Shackling Prison, he would be hard-pressed to escape responsibility.
"Little friend Fu Zhu, you've really given me a difficult problem… What if you get hurt in there? How would I explain myself to Mr. Welt?"
Jing Yuan tried to dissuade Fu Zhu, but Fu Zhu's attitude was very firm.
"Don't worry, Jing Yuan, I'll be fine. Worst case, I can write you a liability waiver."
Dan Heng, who was sitting nearby, couldn't stay quiet either and quickly spoke up to persuade him.
"Fu Zhu, calm down. The criminals in the Shackling Prison are all vicious and wicked individuals. It's very dangerous!"
Seeing that even Dan Heng was trying to talk him out of it, Fu Zhu pointed at the Ōdachi in his hand in frustration.
"I have no choice! This is the only way I can upgrade my weapon. Besides, the Astral Express can't stay on the Luofu forever. What if we encounter another Phantylia on our next Trailblaze journey? We can't just seal them in the Nether again, can we? Dan Heng, Jing Yuan, I need the ability to contend with an Emanator. Having a sword and not using it is one thing, but not having a sword at all is another matter entirely."
Since Fu Zhu had put it that way, Dan Heng opened his mouth, but couldn't find any words to refute him.
Jing Yuan also sighed helplessly. Thinking of all the contributions Fu Zhu had made for the Luofu, he considered it carefully and finally thought of a being in the Shackling Prison who met Fu Zhu's requirements.
"In that case, I have thought of a fellow who meets your criteria. Its name is Hulei."