The seller asked Yan whether he had a durability class, because restoring weapon durability was extremely risky and difficult.
Yan replied that he was a Tinkerer, an F-rank craft class.
The seller then mentioned that he also had a craft class, but that his was the D-rank Blacksmith. He knew weapons better than Yan did, and even he could not guarantee that he could restore that blade's durability.
He decided to give Yan a bit of advice, since he was a student. Once a weapon's durability dropped to zero, he said, it was destroyed. Using durability to repair it required sensing the weapon's inner structure. A repairer had to understand the magic flowing inside the weapon, and then reconstruct it from within. And if the repair failed, the durability would only drop further.
So he let Yan know that if he messed this up, he basically owed him eighteen thousand.
Kexin, as it happened, was also in the market, and she was observing all of it. She knew that the seller was not wrong, because even the B-rank professionals in her family's guild found it hard to restore a weapon's durability.
Yan, on the other hand, was not worried. In his previous life, the powerhouses he repaired gear for had wielded A-rank and even S-rank artifacts.
Most people who awakened as F-rank Tinkerers gave up on themselves and moved on. Yan was someone who had always wanted to be better than anyone else, and so he had pushed himself to the limit to train durability. Now that he had been reborn, that habit had become one of his greatest abilities. He did not even consider fixing low-level gear like this to be anything crazy.
As he started working on the demon blade, those who were watching were left in complete awe. Even Kexin finally realized that Yan had not been joking around when he assured her that he would help her fix her gear.
Moments later, Yan finished the blade and handed it over. The seller collected it with excitement, and after checking it over he commended Yan, admitting that he had really misjudged him. He told him he was the real deal, and he handed over the Azure Steel Sword, telling him it was his.
Yan gladly accepted the blade. Deep down, he knew that all he had to do was change the sword's name and make it a pseudo-artifact.
He used his skill to change the blade into the Qinggang Sword, the legendary blade. In ancient times, it had been the sword carried by a war god who broke through enemy lines with ease.
With a sword like this, Yan realized he could save the two thousand he had just earned, because paying for university tuition was no child's play. In addition, things had not been easy for his sister ever since their father died.
Even though he was aware that his sister was going to become someone amazing in the future, he was concerned that she was just a shut-in girl at the moment. That was why he planned to set aside some living expenses for her before he went off to college.
Yan was about to leave when he heard a familiar voice behind him, asking whether she could hire him.
He turned around to see that it was Kexin. She told him that she was willing to pay fifty thousand if he agreed. All she needed was for him to carry her to level 10. She was currently at level three.
Yan let her know that she was free to hire him. Kexin was glad to hear it, and Yan was simply thankful that money had landed right at his doorstep.
Just then, Kexin rushed over to the seller and told him she wanted to buy the demon blade. The seller proudly told her it was going to cost her twenty-five thousand, because it was now at full durability.
Kexin shocked him by bringing out the cash right from a storage ring. The seller almost lost his mind, because it told him she was really from a wealthy family. He wasted no time offering up the demon blade.
Yan, on the other hand, was thinking about how he could use Kexin's support power to boost himself.
Then Kexin came back and presented the sword to him, telling him it was a gift for their first meeting, and urging him not to return it.
Yan was shocked. He had never expected her to give him the sword, and it told him that the girl had good manners. He happily took the sword and thanked her for it.
Kexin had a strong feeling that Yan was going to become great, which was why she was not reluctant to help him. She believed it was going to pay off for her later on.
Yan then suggested that they head to the rookie training grounds straight away.
Moments later, they arrived at the charging beast training grounds. With the new gear, Yan cut through the monsters like butter, while Kexin provided support from behind. The two of them even set a new clear time record, and Kexin got to level up.
As if that were not enough, they set a new record for the wolves training base too, leaving everyone completely amazed.
When people realized that Yan had partnered with Kexin of the Yao family, they were even more blown away. The Duoli Merchant Guild, one of the nation's top ten trading houses, had Kexin's father as its chairman.
When Kexin finally reached level 9, she was already feeling the wave of exhaustion, and she suggested that they take a break. Yan told her to rest while they walked. With her current stats, he said, she was going to be fine.
Kexin was motivated by this, and she told Yan she would like to try, just like him, since she had an S-rank support class.
At this point in time, Yan had already reached level 13. He told her that they would be heading to the only rookie training base rated S-rank danger.
The Netherflame Boar Base.