Dark Moon Era

Indeed, Grade A alloy did not equate to Grade A equipment.

There were many details that determined the final outcome, including the handling of materials, the density of the structure, and the effect and usage after forging.

The theory was simple. Back in the old civilization, a swordsmith and a common ironsmith would forge different swords out of the same iron bar.

There were many aspects that must be considered. One could not blindly follow a certain standard. Therefore, in the Purple Moon era, a special occupation was born—the equipment appraiser.

The grade of equipment must be appraised by them. Only then would the world acknowledge the value of said equipment.

While Boss Huang was pouring more knowledge into Tang Ling’s mind, he picked up Tang Ling’s Grade A alloy longsword and said, “Your longsword isn’t appraised, but it’s not worth spending the money to do so. It’s just a toy, and in my opinion, this ‘stick’ is, at most, in between Grade B or C. The mineral used isn’t pure enough, the hammering isn’t done enough, and the skills are shoddy, but don’t worry. You can always recycle your equipment and reforge them into something new. Don’t waste it. Efficiency counts in this era. Products from a pipe-line operation are the mainstream now.”

No matter what Boss Huang said, all the knowledge buried a seed in Tang Ling’s heart and increased his love for smithing even more. It was scary though, to think of a smithing maniac increasing his love for smithing.

On top of that, Tang Ling had decided to forge his own weapon starting from Grade A alloy!

With the excitement from the cool greatsword earlier and the existence of his Precise Instinct, settling down on one single weapon was not suitable for Tang Ling.

Since Grade A alloy did not equate to a Grade A weapon, could he forge himself a Grade A weapon?

I guess I should start slow.

Tang Ling could not hold back his excitement and told Boss Huang about his desire to forge his own weapon. In turn, Boss Huang mildly encouraged him. The boss might not look concerned, but deep in his heart, he was over the moon.

The two of them ended the topic of forging on a high note. After Tang Ling’s excitement gradually cooled down, he picked up a glove that he ripped off the black-robed clergies and said to Boss Huang, “Boss, can you make me a tactical movement disk?”

Tang Ling casually brought up the new topic. It was not that he wanted to take advantage of the boss, but he believed with Boss Huang’s craftsmanship, making a tactical movement disk should be easy for him.

“Of course. If you can get me a core chip of the disk, I’ll make one for you anytime.” Boss Huang did not elaborate, but his gaze mocked Tang Ling.

“You don’t have one?” Tang Ling was rather surprised. He did not ask what a core chip was though. Back in the safety sector when he had been introduced to the tactical movement disk, he had heard of the core chip before.

However, how could the boss not have one when even the Hope Barrier could get their hands on it?

“Of course, I don’t have it! Core chips are distributed exclusively by this world’s supreme council, and they are usually distributed to sizable factions. What do you think Dvesha Moha is? Why would I have such things?” Boss Huang argued.

“Then, I guess I’ll have to get it in the black market.” Tang Ling’s mind was as clear and positive as usual.

“You can, but it’s expensive. Controlled goods are usually very expensive. Rather than spending the money, you might as well get a ready-made one. That’s what everyone else is doing,” Boss Huang said.

“I don’t want to. I want to have my own tactical movement disk.” Tang Ling rejected the suggestion of a ready-made disk. He believed that even tactical movement disks had differences in quality, and since this particular equipment was so important to him, he must get it customized just for himself.

Boss Huang did not say anything, but in his opinion, Tang Ling’s decision was the right way to go. A tactical movement disk was an important piece of equipment. Rather than simply buying a ready-made one, Tang Ling should be spending a fortune to make himself an exclusive one.

However, the reality was always harsh. With resources always lacking, how many people out there had what it took to support their great ambition?

After chatting for so long, the two of them finally got to the main point when Boss Huang questioned, “What are you going to do with the rest of the materials?”

“How should I use the crystals?” Tang Ling decided to ask for the boss’s opinion before he decided what to do with them.

“My suggestion is to refine and extract the superalloy inside. If the attribute matches, you can feed it to your sword. Don’t forget that your Blood Bulrush Sword is still just a crippled knife. If it doesn’t match, Dvesha Moha can buy them from you or you can keep them for future use.” Boss Huang’s suggestion was reasonable.

Tang Ling nodded. He looked at the materials and said, “Boss, can you make me an inner armor? Use the best materials among the pile, but keep the skin. As for the rest, just sell them. For the feeS, you can take whatever you seem fit.”

The boss nodded. He checked the pile of materials and started calculating.

Tang Ling was a fierce character. He had ripped off whatever he could from the red-robed bishop to the point there was nothing left. The crusts would be more than enough to make him an inner armor.

“If you are okay with it, Dvesha Moha will buy the rest from you. I’ll pay 750 Black Sea coins for them. Of course, you can get a better price outside, but it’s all up to you.” Boss Huang was honest as he should because it was the right way to do business.

“I’ll just sell them to Dvesha Moha then,” Tang Ling responded calmly but deep in his heart, he was overjoyed.

750 Black Sea coins?! That’s a fortune! Am I getting rich?

Tang Ling was that ambitious and he was not exactly rich because he did not want to use all of the materials for himself. He needed to sell them for money to get the materials he needed to draw the body array. Thankfully, he had gotten the most important material from the Mysterious Store—the Level 9 vicious beast blood.

However, other than the blood, he needed a lot of other materials that would cost him a fortune since the materials were for a body array he had obtained from the Mysterious Store.

On top of that, Tang Ling wanted to test out the training room of Darkness Port.

The strength of nine bulls and two tigers seemed to be the highest point one could reach before breaking through to become a Purple Moon Warrior. Unless one decided to unlock the genetic lock, he could not get any further.

However, it was not exactly true. Those with better insights knew that even though the energy could no longer be absorbed or converted, they could still be stored in the dantian or lower abdomen.

It was considered beneficial during a breakthrough. As for the exact benefits, there were only two confirmed points.

One, the richer the energy used to unlock the genetic lock was, the better.

Two, having broken through, the brand new body would require a large amount of energy. It was at this point that one could try to reach the ceiling. Some even managed to reach the highest point of a Rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior immediately after breaking through.

The two beneficial points applied to everyone at the pre-Purple Moon Warrior stage. As for Tang Ling, he had one extra benefit which was his newly acquired Iron Body. It also required an intense energy wash during the breakthrough.

In short, the richer the accumulation of energy was, the better.

Why were the geniuses regarded so highly? It was because they were qualified to break through to becoming a Purple Moon Warrior a long time ago, thus they had extra time to accumulate their strength and energy before breaking through the ceiling.

Non-geniuses could barely meet the requirements to break through into a Purple Moon Warrior at around 27 or 28 years old. They dared not accumulate or reach for the ceiling anymore because the highest age for one to break through into a Purple Moon Warrior was 30 years old. It would also mean that their improvement space was limited since they would be long past the golden era of their bodies.

Unless one could reach Rank 3 by that age, only then could the golden period be prolonged.

Being in the circle of geniuses would confuse one to think that becoming a Purple Moon Warrior was something natural and simple. Then, they would not pay attention to it anymore and would only seek a better accumulation to reach the ceiling after breaking through.

The reality was always harsh. Back in Safety Sector No. 17, Clyne Agnes, the leader of the Agnes family who had died by Tang Ling’s hand, had only been a Rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior despite his age.

The last point, which was also the most heart-wrenching point, would be the difference between a Purple Moon Warrior without accumulation of energy and a Purple Moon Warrior with an accumulation of energy. After breaking through, the strongest Rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior would not be on the same level as the common Purple Moon Warrior.

The strongest could even fight beyond their ranks! It was because they reached for the ceiling after breaking through with the best form possible. On top of that, they had sufficient accumulation and could skyrocket to mid-tier or beyond once they broke through.

Due to that many reasons, Tang Ling needed a massive amount of accumulation. According to his calculation, in order to thoroughly reach the strength of nine bulls and two tigers, he would need at least another half a month.

He ought to spend the remaining time to accumulate his energy. It sounded like he had a lot of time on his hand, but it was actually limited. Many of the geniuses who competed in the Hell Ledge Challenges with Tang Ling had reached the strength of nine bulls and two tigers a while ago and had been accumulating ever since.

Tang Long, for one, must have an astonishing amount of accumulation.

Tang Ling and Tang Long’s fight should happen at the pre-Purple Moon Warrior stage. If both of them broke through to become Purple Moon Warriors, Tang Ling would never be Tang Long’s match due to the differences in accumulation.

Some even gave up on reaching the strength of nine bulls and two tigers and concentrated on accumulation. Having the perfect form was ideal but not necessary.

Those who had outstanding talents should be concentrating on their talents in the future, thus the requirements of their body were not that harsh.

It was similar to Han Xing who had devoted his time to mastering the sword. To him, reaching new heights in swordsmanship was more important than reaching the perfect form. Of course, Han Xing had yet to give up on that because he already saw hints of the strength of two tigers.

Besides, the path of the sword was a special one. It might not even have a high demand for strength. Its concentration was always about the intent of the sword.

It was fair to say that Han Xing was one of the rare and strange geniuses among all.

Tang Ling had less time to accumulate his energy, but he could not help it since he started off later than everyone else. The only way to shorten the gap would be to spend a fortune on resources. He hoped he could reach an average level among the geniuses with his hard work.

Boss Huang was clueless about Tang Ling’s decision. Even if he knew, he would not offer any help. If a genius grew up in an environment without many difficulties and relied too much on others, it was not a good thing.

Boss Huang was actually happy that Tang Ling was willing to sell Dvesha Moha the leftover materials. The price he offered was by no means high. It was even lower than the market price and he did not expect Tang Ling to agree without a second thought.

To repay the kid’s forthright manner, the boss ought to pour in more effort forging the inner armor.

It had been decided!