Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Fourteen: This Object is Called Demon Hunter

"Are you sure you want to accept this kind of dark magic?" The girl who asked the question wore her hair in a ponytail, a strange scarf wrapped around her neck, and bore a certain resemblance to Helian Xun.

She introduced herself as Helian Ying, the shadow of the Helian family.

According to her, after generations of battling fiends, the demon-hunting clans had naturally amassed many grim tomes of this nature. To better deal with their adversaries—and to handle matters not suited for daylight—people like her came to be.

"Yes. I want to become stronger, braver. I must never be a burden to my friends." Li Xinran gripped the hem of her shirt tightly with her right hand.

"This magic will give you courage at critical moments. However, there was once a general in the past who accepted this spell. He craved power, longed for valor, but in the end, his magnified ambitions clouded his mind. He lost everyone—betrayed and abandoned." Helian Ying finished with a warning.

"I understand. Will this magic truly give me courage when I need it most?"

Helian Ying chuckled softly at Li Xinran’s question. "When is the moment you need it most? Perhaps now you believe it’s when you must protect your friends. But in a few years? A decade? I can only say this magic does unleash its power when you need it."

Receiving Helian Ying’s reply, Li Xinran nodded and slowly walked into the magic circle.

Lu Yi watched the scene, puzzled. He was certain the dagger hadn't missed, and the old woman had neither hesitated nor shifted her aim. The dagger should have pierced his chest, yet somehow it passed beneath his arm.

With a strange smile, the old woman slowly withdrew the dagger. Lu Yi saw clearly that the blade, which had somehow bent, was once again perfectly straight.

"This is called Demonhunter. It was once a standard weapon in the great sealing battle at the Border Mountains. Its original owner was so fond of it that, after each time it was damaged, rare materials were added and it was reforged. Passed down to this day, the dagger is over two hundred years old. It has slain no less than three thousand powerful creatures of darkness, and countless fallen souls who offered themselves to the night. Most of these were infamous in their time, and their malice clings to the blade. Over the years, this has made it peerlessly sharp against monsters."

She waved the dagger before Lu Yi as she continued. "Of course, even the mightiest weapon changes hands. Over two centuries, some monsters have claimed Demonhunter. Yet each died by its edge in the end. Sometimes when people discovered their bodies, Demonhunter was already buried in their chests. Rumor has it the dagger has developed a will of its own and will kill any holder with evil in their heart."

"Well? Do you want it?" The old woman stared at Lu Yi’s left eye with a smile. "This is a dagger that can kill you utterly."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lu Yi felt a surge of powerful will awaken in his left eye. He was instantly paralyzed, and crimson threads began to crisscross his eye, darkening until his entire left eye was pitch black.

His left eyelid twitched rapidly. A glowing red hexagram appeared in the darkness, shifting as if it were the pupil itself. As the hexagram aligned with Demonhunter, invisible black ripples radiated toward the dagger. The weapon quivered in the old woman’s hand, white spheres of light spreading out to dissolve the black waves.

Unfortunately, Lu Yi—without the power of the magic eye—could see none of this. All he felt was a rush of wind buffeting his body. The wind grew stronger, until the very weapons in the room chimed and clattered. Suddenly, the old woman sheathed Demonhunter and held it out to Lu Yi. "So, do you want it?"

As the dagger was put away, Lu Yi’s left eye returned to normal and he regained control of his body.

"Yes, why wouldn’t I?" Lu Yi reached out without hesitation and grabbed the scabbard. If he hadn’t known about equipment templates, he might have hesitated over such a dangerous weapon. But now, he had no such concerns.

As the old woman released her grip, Lu Yi felt a tingling current surge up his arm from the dagger, which jerked restlessly as if trying to leap from the sheath and stab into his left eye. He quickly gripped the hilt to keep it steady.

"You’ve made your choices, haven’t you?" The old woman’s face was expressionless as she looked at Lu Yi. There was no hint of her feelings about his selection.

"Yes," Lu Yi nodded.

"Good." She led Lu Yi out and locked the door behind them. "You chose two pendants—eighteen thousand each; three vials of Purification Solution—eight thousand apiece; two rings, two sets of chainmail... Demonhunter, one hundred thousand. Pay by card."

After Lu Yi paid and left, the old woman sighed. "Xun, you can come out now."

A ripple in the air, and Helian Xun appeared at her side. "Grandmother," she greeted respectfully.

"Xun, Demonhunter was meant for you. Why let that boy have it, and at such a low price? Never mind a hundred thousand—even ten million would have bidders lining up." The old woman shook her head, sighing.

"Grandmother, no matter how fine Demonhunter is, it was made by others. I want to forge a weapon of my own, just as you did." Helian Xun produced a special stone, and the old woman’s expression shifted to mild surprise.

"Forging such a weapon is no easy feat. Even with that material, your dream remains distant. For now, there’s no harm in using Demonhunter." Clearly, she was not pleased about the sale.

"Grandmother, I remember you once told me a story about someone." Helian Xun lowered her voice.

The old woman’s expression changed at once. "That boy is nothing like him."

"How not? That man bore a death curse, escaped mortal peril, and came to our family—choosing the items best suited to his survival. What happened today is just as you described then." Helian Xun sounded genuinely puzzled.

The old woman gave a cold laugh. "That man, even with the death curse, already possessed some skill. The boy is still an ordinary mortal. Besides, that man was born of light; the boy will become a fiend. Both may have claimed Demonhunter, but one became a grandmaster, the other will only be wounded by the blade."

"But Grandmother, you tested him at the door and used Demonhunter just now. Both times, he showed no trace of evil intent. Even so, is he truly fated to become a fiend?" Helian Xun could not understand.

The old woman smiled and shook her head, but said nothing more.

"Here," Lu Yi handed a pendant, a ring, and a chainmail shirt to Li Xinran. She took them without ceremony, but when she saw the pendant’s description, her face lit up with excitement.

Lu Yi and Li Xinran then formed a temporary team, storing the Purification Solution in the team’s shared space. Lu Yi explained Demonhunter’s powers to Li Xinran and handed it to her.

Demonhunter was an excellent weapon, but it was incompatible with Lu Yi. He couldn’t unleash its full might. It would be better used by someone who could.

"So this is Demonhunter." Li Xinran drew the dagger, turning it over in her hands. Suddenly, she gasped in pain and hurled the weapon into the air. Lu Yi saw her hand trembling violently as the spinning dagger plunged straight for her.

"Watch out!" Lu Yi reached for it, but a shield of energy repelled him.

At that critical moment, a metal whip lashed out from the side, snagging the dagger’s hilt and yanking it away. Lu Yi turned and saw a well-built girl with a ponytail standing at the door, right hand clad in a metal glove gripping Demonhunter.

Just as he thought the danger had passed, Demonhunter erupted with even greater power, white lightning crackling from the blade.

"Are you kidding me?" Lu Yi raged inwardly. Since he had taken Demonhunter, two others had touched it and both were rejected by the weapon.

Helian Ying, facing this rejection directly, did not panic. She pulled down the strange scarf around her neck, revealing scars on her face that glimmered faintly. At that moment, Demonhunter stilled.

Helian Ying seized the scabbard from Lu Yi and sheathed the dagger, then looked at the two of them. "Demonhunter. You two really are at the end of your rope. Still want to keep it?"

"Thank you." Lu Yi took back Demonhunter and stored it in his equipment template.

"Ying, just now—" Li Xinran looked at Helian Ying with concern.

"That was a ward," Ying replied tersely, not caring whether they understood. She pulled up her scarf, tossed her ponytail, and strode out the door, calling over her shoulder, "Take care of yourselves."

"'Ourselves?'" Lu Yi echoed, glancing at Li Xinran.

"In any case—" Li Xinran hesitated, then gave Lu Yi a shove. "I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know when I’ve figured it out."

"All right," Lu Yi saw she didn’t want to elaborate and let it drop. "Get some rest. We have to wait for Xie Ruidai tomorrow. Really, this world is full of hidden talents." With a final sigh, he rolled over and settled down for the night.