"Equipment Damage: 70%"
"Repair Materials Required: Grade One Refined Iron."
"..."
The information suddenly appearing in his mind startled Lin Feng so badly he nearly dropped the short sword in his hand. He stood frozen in place.
"This is… this is…"
After a few stunned seconds, Lin Feng finally reacted. His eyes widened, filled with utter amazement.
"The 'Equipment Repair Art'?! It's the 'Equipment Repair Art'!!"
Lin Feng even suspected he was hallucinating. He repeatedly confirmed the information in his mind, finding it utterly real.
"This… the skill I learned in the game… I brought it to this world too?!"
Once he regained his senses, an overwhelming surge of ecstasy filled Lin Feng's heart!!
He remained agitated for quite some time before barely calming down. His eyes flashed brilliantly as his mind raced with thoughts.
"If I can really use this 'Equipment Repair Art' like I did in the game… that would be incredible!! This skill has limitless potential! There are so many broken magical artifacts in the cultivation world that others can't use anymore... if I could get them and repair them…"
Thinking of the immense benefits the Equipment Repair Art could bring him, Lin Feng couldn't help but feel another wave of excitement.
Moreover, forget those long-term prospects—the most crucial thing was that the emergence of this skill offered immense help with his current predicament!
The low-grade magical weapon in his hand was already 70% damaged. While it could still be considered 'sharp enough to cut through iron,' that was only against ordinary weapons. Against another low-grade magical artifact, it would probably shatter after a few clashes. If he could repair it, it would naturally be far more useful!
Furthermore, Lin Feng realized he could find other, better, and more useful damaged artifacts and repair them for reuse!
—Lin Feng 'worked' precisely in a small magical artifact shop. He had seen countless artifacts, particularly damaged ones—essentially every day. Though they were all low-level artifacts at the Magical Artifact grade, they were still precious among low-level cultivators.
The shop was the most suitable and convenient place to find useful artifacts.
Thinking this, Lin Feng's heart grew eager. He wanted to head to the shop immediately to take a look.
But before that, he needed to run an 'experiment'…
Lin Feng glanced at the short sword in his hand and set it aside. Repairing it required 'Grade One Refined Iron,' which he didn't have at home. But he could experiment with other items.
Walking into the kitchen, Lin Feng scanned the room. His gaze landed on the cleaver lodged in the chopping block. He immediately walked over and picked it up.
"Equipment Damage: 20%"
"Repair Materials Required: Ordinary Iron."
With a slight thought, two pieces of information appeared in his mind. A flicker of joy lit Lin Feng's eyes. He searched around and found a rusty iron scrap in the corner—a fragment from a previous broken pot.
Using the repair art on the scrap yielded no information. Lin Feng thought for a moment, then held the scrap close to the cleaver in his hand and mentally intoned 'Repair'.
—Back in the game, materials were deducted directly from the inventory. But this wasn't the game; there was no interface panel. He could only guess how to use the skill now.
The next moment, a scene that delighted Lin Feng unfolded: he felt the meager amount of true energy within his body deplete slightly. Then, a ball of red light suddenly appeared, wrapping around the knife and iron scrap like flames. Vaguely, it seemed the scrap rapidly disintegrated and merged into the cleaver…
In the blink of an eye, the red light vanished, and so did the scrap. In Lin Feng's hand, the cleaver gleamed brightly, looking as if it had just been forged.
"Repair Successful."
"Equipment Damage: 0."
"No Repair Needed."
Immediately, this string of information appeared in Lin Feng's mind.
"Success! It really works!! Haha!!"
Lin Feng's eyes shone, and he laughed heartily.
Now utterly convinced about the Equipment Repair Art, Lin Feng gathered his thoughts. He first returned to the bedroom, took out all seven low-grade spirit stones, tidied his appearance, changed into clean clothes, and then left his residence, heading for the shop.
Now, he wasn't in a hurry to cultivate with the spirit stones anymore. He planned to use them to buy a couple of damaged Magical Artifacts and some materials. He intended to check the shop first. If nothing suitable was there, he also planned to visit the free market in the east of the city to see if he could find any good deals.
"Without a status panel, I don't know the exact details of this skill... In the game, this skill had levels. If it's the same here, then I might only be able to repair artifacts at the Magical Artifact grade right now... If that's the case, I'll probably need to 'level it up'..."
Mulling this over, Lin Feng quickened his pace towards the shop...
......
...
Zhen Qi Pavilion.
This was Lin Feng's place of 'work,' located on a relatively bustling street in the southern district. Covering several hundred square meters, it had a bit of a reputation in the southern area.
The Zhen Qi Pavilion primarily dealt in the sale of magical artifacts, targeting the lowest-level Qi Refining cultivators. The artifacts in the shop were basically all at the Magical Artifact grade, mostly low-grade and mid-grade. Superior-grade and peak-grade Magical Artifacts were scarce. As for artifacts above the Magical Artifact grade... there were also two low-grade Treasure Artifacts serving as the 'store treasures.'
(In the cultivation world, artifact grades are divided into: Magical Artifact, Treasure Artifact, Spirit Artifact, Dao Artifact, and Immortal Artifact. Each grade is further subdivided into low, mid, superior, and peak grades. The most common, naturally, are the lowest Magical Artifacts and Treasure Artifacts, hence the general term 'magical artifacts' for cultivators' weapons. Spirit Artifacts are rare treasures even among low-level cultivators, usually only possessed by powerful cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above. Higher Dao Artifacts are even rarer; even Nascent Soul stage experts might not necessarily possess one. Immortal Artifacts basically belong to the realm of 'legendary' artifacts; there aren't many across the entire Mooncloud Continent. Every time one appears, it sparks a bloody struggle.)
Besides selling, the Zhen Qi Pavilion also purchased artifacts—a business sometimes even better than the sales. Cultivators often sold artifacts they didn't need or that were heavily damaged. If they were still somewhat usable, they were displayed for sale to other cultivators. If completely unusable, they were sold to mortal 'collectors' for a decent price.
Additionally, the Zhen Qi Pavilion simultaneously purchased various natural treasures, demon beast materials, and other 'sundries,' mostly raw materials for artifact forging and alchemy—of course, the Zhen Qi Pavilion couldn't utilize these materials itself. Instead, it collected them to sell on to the city's largest artifact shop, the Treasure Pavilion, and its largest alchemy shop, the Fragrant Dan Workshop.
And Lin Feng was one of the Zhen Qi Pavilion's 'sales assistants,' specifically responsible for purchasing and selling second-hand artifacts.
...
Lin Feng was deep in thought, but his pace was quick. It didn't take long before he arrived at the Zhen Qi Pavilion. He saw the shop door was already open for business and immediately walked inside.
"Welcome, Esteemed Senior. What would you like to… Eh? Lin Feng? You're finally here! You're actually late? That's not like you at all…"
As he entered, a polite, crisp voice came from the right, but it quickly turned into surprise. Lin Feng turned to see a pretty girl in her late teens looking at him with astonishment.
This girl was one of his 'colleagues,' named Liu Cui, responsible for selling new artifacts. She was fairly nice.
Lin Feng offered an awkward smile and said, "Yeah, overslept this morning and lost track of time. Has the manager arrived?"
Liu Cui covered her mouth with a light laugh. "You just got last month's wages yesterday. I bet you were cultivating and forgot the time, right? You're lucky. The manager hasn't come today either, but Steward Li was looking for you earlier. You'll probably get scolded later…"
The manager of the Zhen Qi Pavilion was a middle-aged man in his thirties, already at the peak of Qi Refining, currently preparing for Foundation Establishment, so he rarely came to the shop. Shop affairs were handled by Steward Li.
"Sigh, scolding is fine, as long as he doesn't dock my pay… Alright, I'll get to work too…"
Lin Feng shrugged, smiled at Liu Cui, then turned around—only to see someone else staring at him in surprise from the left.
"Brother Cao? What's wrong?"
Lin Feng paused slightly, then greeted him with a smile.
This man had a somewhat skinny frame, with a sharp chin and thin lips. He was another 'colleague,' named Cao Yang, mainly responsible for purchasing various materials. He was a bit stingy, and his relationship with Lin Feng was neither good nor bad.
Cao Yang seemed momentarily dazed. Hearing Lin Feng's question, he snapped out of it, offering an unnatural smile as he waved his hand. "Oh… it's nothing. Just found it strange that Brother Lin, always the most punctual, was late today. Truly unexpected… haha! Anyway, since you're here, hurry and get to work. Earlier, a guest came to sell a damaged Magical Artifact—I took care of it for you!"
Lin Feng smiled. "Oh? Then thank you, Brother Cao…"
"No problem, no problem, just a small favor… I'll say no more, I need to get back to work too…" Cao Yang waved his hand again, then turned and walked towards his own counter.
Lin Feng said nothing more and also turned towards his counter on the left. But no one saw the flash of cold light that flickered in his eyes after he turned…
"So it was you after all…"
...
A glass display case about five feet tall, six feet wide, and over thirty feet long constituted Lin Feng's 'workstation.' It was similar to the counters in jewelry stores back on Earth, also made of transparent 'glass.'
Inside the case, dozens of various artifacts were neatly arranged: short swords, gauntlets, bracers, armor… and more. They all shared one common characteristic: every artifact looked somewhat worn, some even bearing varying degrees of damage.
—These were the Zhen Qi Pavilion's recycled and resold 'second-hand' artifacts.
Although these artifacts weren't his, Lin Feng saw them so often he'd become accustomed to them. But today, seeing these second-hand artifacts, he felt an unprecedented surge of excitement and anticipation.
Standing behind the counter, Lin Feng pretended to inspect the items. He picked up a black gauntlet.
"Equipment Damage: 60%"
"Repair Materials Required: Grade One Centipede Black Silkworm Silk."
"Huh? It's damaged over halfway? Looking at the exterior, I thought it was only 20-30%..." Lin Feng's eyes flashed with surprise. He pondered silently, "The repair material is 'Centipede Black Silkworm Silk'… so this artifact was originally made from that material?"
Putting down the gauntlet, he picked up another artifact – a golden bracer.
"Equipment Damage: 40%"
"Repair Materials Required: Grade Two Metal-Attribute Refined Ore."
This was a mid-grade Magical Artifact, a grade higher than the gauntlet, and the materials required were correspondingly more demanding.
...
"Equipment Damage: 30%"
"Repair Materials Required: Grade One Rock Python Hide."
...
"Equipment Damage: 55%"
"Repair Materials Required: Grade Two Ironwood."
...
"Equipment Damage: 75%"
"Repair Materials Required: Grade Two Iron-Eater Beast Carapace."
...
Lin Feng felt like a child with a new toy. He picked up artifact after artifact in the case to inspect, thoroughly enjoying himself.
He discovered that the damage level of some artifacts didn't match their outward appearance. Some that looked relatively intact were actually over halfway damaged. Others that looked tattered were only 20-30% damaged. Additionally, using the repair art revealed the materials each artifact was made of—a useful little bonus feature.
While 'inspecting' the artifacts, Lin Feng also carefully considered which one would be most useful to him in his current situation.
"Huh? What artifact is this…"
Suddenly, Lin Feng noticed an unfamiliar artifact placed at the far right end of the case. He paused momentarily before realizing, "Oh, this must be the damaged artifact Brother Cao mentioned he just procured for me?"
Finding the artifact somewhat unique, Lin Feng reached in and took it out. Underneath it was a slip of paper detailing its features.