"The organizers are way too generous—are they really willing to sell a Famous Sword?"
"The stats on this weapon are way stronger than a regular Epic!"
"This is absolutely the most badass one-handed sword I've ever seen!"
…
As the host displayed the weapon's attributes, the crowd was completely captivated, especially the players who used one-handed swords. They were practically itching to snatch it right out of the host's hands and give it a good look over.
"They're really willing to splash out. The Divine Realm only has thirty-six Famous Swords in total—each one is a unique Epic weapon, the kind every master swordsman has dreamed of owning." In a second-floor VIP box,
Nearly everyone in the second-floor VIP boxes represented the Divine Realm's superpowers. Epic weapons, while rare for them, would inevitably become more obtainable as levels increased. But Famous Swords were a different matter entirely.
These were the ultimate objects of desire for any master swordsman. For experts who loved swords but were difficult to recruit, there was no better bait than a Famous Sword.
Among the Eight Sword Masters on the Master Rankings, three weren't guild players but free agents. If a Famous Sword were dangled as bait, it might actually work.
Ninghui—One-Handed Sword, Epic, Requires: 700 Strength, 400 Agility, Level 40–110.
Attack Power +1,340 (at Level 40) Strength +101 Agility +72 Stamina +60 Attack Speed +15
20% chance on attack to trigger Gravity Collapse, increasing Strength by 30% and Attack Speed by 20%. 20% chance on attack to trigger Ethereal, making attacks unparryable and unblockable. 30% chance on attack to trigger a double critical hit.
Passive Skill 1 — Death Devour: Within a 200-yard radius, every time a living creature dies, the wielder gains a Death Devour stack, increasing attack speed by 1% and all Sword Technique completion rate by 0.1% for 30 seconds. Stacks up to 30 times.
Passive Skill 2 — Death Phantom: The lower the wielder's HP, the greater the physical enhancement, up to a maximum of 20%.
Forged by the legendary craftsman Jax from a fragment of a mysterious relic, the Sword of Death is one of the Divine Realm's thirty-six Famous Swords, ranked thirtieth. Whoever wields this sword will be consumed by an aura of death—all attributes reduced by 20%, and upon each death, the death penalty is doubled. Evolvable. Indestructible.
After reading through the full description, everyone couldn't help but sigh and shake their heads.
There was no denying that in purely stat terms, Ninghui was a dream weapon for any master swordsman. The Sword Technique completion rate boost alone—don't let the mere 2% fool you. Going from 88% to 90% was a qualitative leap that would meaningfully boost combat power. But equipping this sword meant a flat 20% reduction in all attributes, plus doubled death penalties. That was enough to make anyone keep their distance.
Just thinking about it was enough to drive someone mad.
Only then did the crowd understand why the organizers had so generously put the Famous Sword Ninghui up for auction. The guild that owned it clearly had no one who wanted to use it, so they might as well sell it for resources.
The host noticed the crowd's waning interest and smiled. "You've all seen the weapon, and I imagine you know about Ninghui's drawback. But it's still a one-of-a-kind Epic weapon—and this sword can evolve. If you can find the method of evolution, this blade could very well become a legendary weapon, or perhaps even a fragment of a Legendary item. So the starting price is 8,000 gold, with a minimum bid increment of 200 gold!"
The moment the starting price dropped, everyone inwardly cursed the organizers for being shameless.
If this were a flawless Famous Sword, 8,000 gold would be a steal—even 18,000 would be reasonable. It was a top-tier Epic weapon usable all the way to Level 110, with the potential to evolve. But now…
"Fine, I'll add it to my collection. 8,000 gold!"
"If nothing else, having this in the guild hall would attract some people. Alright, 8,200 gold!"
"8,400 gold!"
…
The bids for Ninghui came in at a sluggish pace. After a dozen or so bidders, the final price had only climbed to 11,000 gold.
Watching the sword Ninghui displayed on the podium,