“Bao Bing Zhai?”

Henry Clark remembered that this major merchant specializing in weaponry was quite famous in later generations. It almost monopolized nearly twenty percent of the arms trade in the Cloud Realm, and even expanded into other worlds, including those spiritual realms.

It was renowned for its high prices and excellent quality; for all high-level martial artists seeking weapons, this Bao Bing Zhai was the first choice.

Coincidentally, at this moment, he was also intent on searching for some suitable self-defense weapons for himself at this Guling Market. After only a brief hesitation, he strode right in.

The shopkeeper here was about thirty years old. Just as Henry Clark remembered, the managers of Bao Bing Zhai branches everywhere always wore a broad smile, appeared gentle and courteous, steady and honest, yet carried a certain shrewdness unique to businessmen. With just one glance, he could tell the two were dressed in extraordinary attire, not from an ordinary wealthy family, so he personally came forward to greet them.

Henry Clark, however, paid no mind and first gave a rough glance around. All the weapons here were masterpieces forged through countless hammerings, relatively high-end, and out of reach for ordinary martial artists.

Then his gaze turned to the corner where various projectile weapons were displayed. After scanning around, he secretly shook his head. As expected, in this era, those talismanic spirit weapons had not yet become widespread.

He was not disappointed, though, and turned to the shopkeeper beside him to ask, “Can weapons be custom-made here?”

The middle-aged shopkeeper smiled at these words: “As long as the requirements aren’t too high, no matter what kind of weapon, any branch of our Bao Bing Zhai can custom-make it! Does young master have a weapon blueprint? Or you can simply describe it—”

Henry Clark didn’t reply, but walked straight to the counter. He took out two sheets of yellow paper and began to draw.

In no time, a willow-leaf throwing knife and a long needle were drawn on the paper. Their shapes were ordinary, nothing particularly special. Only, there were some lines of unclear meaning engraved on them, making them quite aesthetically pleasing.

Beside him, Ethan had been watching curiously, but couldn’t make much sense of it. In the end, she said, “Young master, your drawing is really good, much better than before. Does the Linhai Academy also teach art?”

Henry Clark smiled at her words, put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand, and his expression turned cold and serious: “The knife should be two inches long, as thin as a cicada’s wing. Forged from refined steel, mixed with three grams of blood copper. I want three hundred of these knives! The needles should use the same material. Four sizes: two inches, one inch three-tenths, one inch, and half an inch, one hundred of each. How long will it take to make these?”

The shopkeeper’s forehead was already furrowed with deep lines. After pondering for a while, he gave a bitter smile and said, “Though these items young master drew are small, they are extremely delicate, especially these patterns, which I suppose are for talismanic weapons? Our branch can make them, but we are short-handed. To ensure not a single rune is off, it would take at least ten days.”

Henry Clark had already expected this; only ten days was actually far beyond his expectations. But right now, he didn’t have that much time to wait.

“Ordinary blacksmiths naturally can’t do it. But as far as I know, every Bao Bing Zhai branch has a resident spirit-forging master, right? I want these items in half an hour!”

The shopkeeper immediately looked at Henry Clark in surprise, then nodded slightly: “Indeed, we have three spirit-forging masters in our shop. But having them forge these weapons won’t be cheap. Three hundred willow-leaf talisman knives, four hundred refined steel talisman needles, materials and labor would only cost seven thousand taels of silver. But if made by a talisman master, it would cost at least one hundred and fifty thousand taels—”

Henry Clark sneered coldly and turned to look at Ethan. After all, he didn’t have a penny on him and could only turn to his maid for help.

Since he could afford a Cloud-Turning Carriage and sixteen Cloud-Stepping Colts, this amount of silver should be easy to produce.

She did not disappoint him, casually taking out a silk pouch. Inside, over three hundred variously colored crystals jingled pleasantly. She then took out just two fiery red crystals and placed them on the counter.

The shopkeeper’s eyes immediately lit up: “Tier-three Fire Tiger beast crystals, each worth a hundred thousand taels of silver. Please wait a moment, young master. Three hundred talisman knives and four hundred talisman needles will be ready in just half a cup of tea’s time.”

With that, he turned and left. Henry Clark was momentarily stunned; he himself had some of these crystals, all tier-two or three beast crystals, stored in his pouch.

But a single tier-three Fire Tiger beast crystal was worth a hundred thousand taels of silver? What a joke!

A moment later, he seemed to understand. At this time, spiritual energy was scarce, so such beast crystals were probably extremely rare. Rarity makes things precious, so it was only natural they were more valuable than in later generations.

‘His’ family background was probably not only extremely wealthy, but also quite powerful.

With the throwing knives and needles ordered, he still lacked a sword at his side. The refined steel sword he carried was sharp, but still a bit lacking.

But there was no need to custom-make a sword; this Bao Bing Zhai had several talisman swords, treated as the shop’s treasures and displayed at the very front, all meticulously forged.

Standing before the weapon rack, Henry Clark hesitated for a long time before finally picking up a gleaming Pine-Pattern Wind Sword.

Among the few talisman swords, this one was not outstanding. But wind could increase speed and provide defense. It was extremely light, so it wouldn’t consume much of his stamina—just what he needed.

He gave it a few experimental swings; it was barely satisfactory.

Beside him, Ethan had already furrowed her willow brows and hesitantly said, “Young master, these talisman swords are hard to use without true qi or spiritual sense. It might be better to use an ordinary weapon—”