Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 8 – Appraising The Spoils

When she arrived, the owner was outside sweeping the front of his store. He suddenly noticed her and nodded his head. 

"I'll be finished soon enough, go in and wait inside!"

After hearing his request, Ming Yue went in and decided to look at the store once again. This time, however, she decided to look for cultivation methods and sword manuals.

But nothing caught her eye. 

Most of these books didn't seem spectacular and as for cultivation, none of them could help her as the way she had cultivated seemed to be better. It didn't mean that these books were completely useless but none of them really suited her.

"I should just stick to my own way."

At this point, Ming Yue decided that she would continue cultivating the same way she did before, and she would try to improve it. In terms of sword manuals, they were all mainly focused on power but few were for speed-based attacks. But there were a couple that seemed interesting like the Falling Blade Manual and Sonic Edge Book. Finding interest in these books and she decided to skim them.

While both manuals were speed-based, Sonic Edge focused on extreme speed, to strike within a single moment. Falling Blade was more about momentum. By striking in certain ways, the attack would start out slow but it would speed up and within a second the speed from the beginning would multiply by five times using the momentum of the blade! This was perfect for surprising opponents as well as those who underestimate you, as they would not expect such a strike to suddenly speed up.

Of the two, Ming Yue decided on the Falling Blade Manual, although the strike itself seemed simple, much of the difficulty came from how you handle the sword. The way you hold it, as well as how you distribute your strength mattered greatly. Furthermore, The Parting Sun Blade is large and each swing carried a lot of momentum giving it power, If Ming Yue was to learn how to use that momentum for speed, her attacks would become much deadlier.

The owner looked at her and saw the book in her hand. He was about to approach her until someone else came into his store. It was a youngster with an arrogant look on his face, he had two guards with him as he slowly walked around.

"Look at this sad store! Why would my father want me to come here?" he thought.

Then he saw Ming Yue looking at the sword manuals and approached her.

"Such a pretty girl looking at these books, you shouldn't have to learn such things, you don't even have a sword, just a walking stick! If you need some protection, this brother here has the power to keep you safe."

Ming Yue ignored him and went to the shop owner.

"How much is this?" she asked.

This young master was surprised, he did not think that she would be so cold. But for him, no one would escape his grasp, he was the son of the Xu Family, someone with both power and money.

After Ming Yue finished her purchase, she was about to ask the owner to look at the ring before the boy came to her and introduced himself.

"My name is Xu Tian, I am the young master of the Xu Family, May I have your name?"

Ming Yue ignored him again but this time Xu Tian was being more persistent.

"Please, I have given you my name, it would be rude to not give yours."

Suddenly, Ming Yue grabbed her "walking stick" and unsheathed her sword, placing its edge against his neck. Everyone was surprised, none of them expected that the staff she used for walking was really a sword!

Xu Tian starting sweating as he tried to back away, Ming Yue stared at him with her cold eyes. Even the bodyguards felt pressure from her stare.

"Think about what you are doing. I am the young master of the Xu-"

"Thwack!"

Just when Xu Tian tried to persuade her, Ming Yue smacked his face with the scabbard. Then without any time to breathe, she kicked Xu Tian out of the store.

"Stop bothering me", she warned him and then went back into the store.

Xu Tina could do nothing and he left with an ugly face.

"Just you wait, bitch, I will come back", he thought.

Ming Yue then returned her sword back into its scabbard and went to the owner who was still a bit shocked. He managed to recover but he couldn't get his mind off of her sword. Then she proceeded to ask him about the ring.

"Oh! Where did you get this? It's a spatial ring. Although it seems like a small one, not many people have such an item."

"Spatial Ring?"

Ming Yue didn't think that she would get a spatial ring! She had heard of this item that was able to store items within it without it decaying.

The store owner continued, "This ring is quite small, it can only carry 3 cubic meters. You should know that these spatial rings could even hold their own world. Unfortunately, those were pretty much legendary and no one knew if they existed."

It might be small, but for Ming Yue, it was already a big help to her. She could carry more things now and didn't have to have a bag on her back, slowing her down.

The owner handed it back to her along with a few words.

"If you want to use it, you just inject some inner force into it. You'll feel it hum and then just throw in whatever you want to throw into the ring."

She put it on and did as he said. She sensed the space and noticed that there was some money and other bare necessities but nothing of great value.

She thanked the owner and was about to leave.

Suddenly, he stopped her once again.

"That sword…there is a shop several blocks ahead, it is owned by a friend of mine who works as a blacksmith, If you want to change anything about your sword or you just want to get it fixed, go to him. Tell him, that you just came from Old Su", he said.

She was surprised that he would say such a thing but she thanked him for the information.

"Next time you come here, just call me Owner Su."

She nodded, hearing what she said, and walked out of the store heading for the blacksmith. She felt a pair of eyes follow her and she quickened her pace. The feeling soon disappeared but now Ming Yue became wary and didn't let down her guard. Several blocks away, a man started to walk away, he had seen the whole incident between Ming Yue and Xu Tian.

He smiled and said, "Interesting."

Then he disappeared without anyone noticing.