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"Is this thing the purple Curio?"
Guinaifen propped the long staff to the side, feeling the faint, mysterious power seeping from the scroll in her hand. She swallowed dryly in excitement.
This is a purple Curio… If my luck holds even a little, maybe I can gain strength on par with the General's disciple!
For someone like me, just a tiny street performer… I never even dared dream of this before!
"Shopkeeper Sylvester, what are these two items?"
Sylvester chuckled softly and explained the Curio's origins. "In a certain world, there exist powerful beings known as immortals. The strongest among them can destroy stars with a lift of their hand, and even reset the entire universe back to zero. These two Curios come from that world."
"Oh, that's amazing."
Guinaifen praised it aloud, though she didn't actually feel that moved inside.
She rarely fought, and unlike Jing Yuan or Feixiao, she didn't have access to detailed data about the entire Xianzhou.
Thus, she wasn't very sensitive to power classifications.
But her best friend was different.
"Reset the universe? There's a force that powerful in the universe?!"
Li Sushang felt her scalp go numb from Sylvester's casual statement.
Although she got sleepy whenever she tried reading, her family discipline had been extremely strict; her mother stuffed countless books into her head since childhood.
Most of it probably entered through one ear and left through the other, but her skull wasn't empty—she still had a fresh brain, and could remember some things.
Among the lingering bits of knowledge, the major forces of the universe were the clearest.
Destroy a star system? Reset the universe?
The former—top-ranking Emanators might be able to do it. But the latter? Even an AEON couldn't, right?
And a force this powerful hadn't been discovered by the Xianzhou?
I've just learned something absolutely outrageous… Li Sushang realized.
"There may not be such a force in our universe, but who can say there are no other universes?" Sylvester passed over the topic lightly, then pointed at the long staff. "In that world, there were those who fought fiercely against tyrannical power. They were called Heavenly Mandate Bearers. And this staff was one of their weapons."
"After adapting to our universe, it has two effects. First, it increases the damage of charged staff techniques by twenty percent. Second, when you hit someone, it makes them feel double the pain."
Guinaifen grabbed the [Izumo Staff] and spun it single-handedly a few times; the rotating rod drew a circular blur like a propeller.
"Oh! It really is a strong weapon."
After trying it out, she found it fit her grip smoothly, and she nodded in satisfaction.
Though its amplification was far inferior to a Curio infused with conceptual power, it was already very good for a blue Curio.
And she just happened to use staff techniques. Under normal circumstances, achieving a twenty-percent improvement would take years of solid training, but now she could get it just by reaching out her hand. One million Credits well spent!
And it could make her hits hurt more, too. Maybe with that, she could make opponents misjudge her strength and win unexpectedly.
"Then what about this scroll? It should be even stronger, right?"
She grew even more eager to see what the scroll could do.
"Of course."
Sylvester nodded. "Once you open the scroll, you automatically learn an immortal art called the [Binding Art]. To cast it, you simply point with your finger and recite the mantra in your heart—then you can lock the enemy in place, preventing them from moving. As for the duration, that depends on how big the power gap between you and your opponent is. In theory, if your strengths are equal, it should last a few seconds."
He explained casually, but Guinaifen's heart had already exploded.
"It can immobilize for a few whole seconds?!"
She didn't know much about the classification of power, but she had no shortage of real combat experience.
For enemies of the same level, victory and defeat were often decided in an instant. A duration that long was enough to take an opponent out several times over!
I'm straight-up undefeated among equals now!
Unless she ran into one of the top-tier entities among the Denizens of Abundance's monstrosities, but even then, it would be enough to reverse the tide and seize the advantage!
If one of the Xianzhou's Generals obtained this thing, who knew what devastating effect it could unleash?
I can't even imagine it.
And now this tier of Curio was in her hands!
If she decided to sell it, the scroll would no doubt skyrocket to an astronomical price.
But she wouldn't sell it for money. Improving her strength was far more important.
"No wonder it's a purple Curio."
Guinaifen clutched the scroll, her hands trembling slightly.
"Little Gui, you're about to make it big."
Seeing her best friend obtain such a powerful Curio, Li Sushang was half happy for her and half filled with renewed confidence.
She had heard rumors of the terribly low drop rates here—most people walked away defeated with only green Curios.
But looking at Guinaifen's results, it didn't seem that scary after all.
"Hehe, Sushang, if you open something, your luck might be even better than mine."
Holding her own prizes, she patted her friend on the shoulder. "I've already gotten so much. Now it's your turn."
"Just watch me!" Li Sushang thumped her chest, full of confidence.
She slapped her phone onto the counter with heroic momentum. "Shopkeeper Sylvester, give me five buckets, straight away!"
...
Central Starskiff Haven.
March 7th threw punches at the wooden training post, her fists cutting through the air with whoosh-whoosh force, full of vigor.
Before long, beads of fragrant sweat formed on her forehead. She stopped, moved into the shade, twisted open a bottle of soda, took a sip, and let out a satisfied breath.
Beside her, the Trailblazer hugged a bucket of popcorn, eating as they commented, "March, you're really hitting it every time. It doesn't even dare hit back."
March 7th countered, "Hey! I'm always serious whenever I fight, okay?"
"And besides, Master Yanqing said the lollipop is already in the making."
She pumped her small fists. Just imagining herself raising one hand for a Massacre Ruler, then another for an Avalon—dual offense and defense, sweeping the battlefield—made her heart race with excitement.
"As long as I eat the super lollipop, everything will be fine!"
"Miss March!"
A young voice called from afar.
Stelle and March 7th shaded their eyes with their hands, looking toward the source. They saw Yanqing, Yunli, and an unfamiliar woman approaching together.
The five gathered.
Yunli held a wooden box in her arms and said with bright delight, "Little March, the Super Lollipop is done. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready too!" March 7th planted her hands on her hips, equally excited. "Today I'm going to unleash the full power of [Unlimited Blade Works]!"