Yang Wudi was displeased with Tang San's immediate accusations.
"Young man, don't think that just because your Silent Sleeve Arrow resembles a spirit tool, every similar weapon across the continent must have been plagiarized from you. The continent has tens of thousands of years of history. Even if much of the spirit tool craft has been lost, it has absolutely nothing to do with your Silent Sleeve Arrow."
"If you truly want such a spirit tool, then for the old ape's sake, we're still willing to give you a set for study. But with an attitude like yours, Tang San, you are utterly detestable."
At this, Titan noticed Yang Wudi's face growing more and more furious and quickly tried to explain:
"This child simply doesn't understand spirit tools well, which is why he said something so untimely. Old goat, I have personally witnessed the power of his Godly Zhuge Crossbow and Silent Sleeve Arrow. Even against a Spirit Ancestor, those hidden weapons can deal tremendous damage."
Yang Wudi turned his attention to the Godly Zhuge Crossbow Titan handed him. After only a glance, he dismissively returned it.
"This crossbow is nowhere near as practical as the third-grade spirit ray Ignaz developed. To those unfamiliar with spirit tools, it may seem clever, but to us, it's just awkward and clumsy."
The Godly Zhuge Crossbow relied on intricate mechanisms and precisely fitted parts to fire. But the spirit tools crafted by his clan's leader required nothing more than infusing spirit power, instantly ready to fire. Yang Wudi simply found the crossbow unusable.
Tang San, unaware of Yang Wudi's inner thoughts, grew more unsettled. In his eyes, this crossbow was his proudest creation since arriving in this world. Clan Leader Ning had admired it greatly. Yet in Yang Wudi's eyes, it was worthless scrap. Worse still, Yang's attitude toward Ignaz was as respectful as a clan member to their sect master.
Titan, too, felt dissatisfied. How could a small spirit tool surpass the crossbow forged by his young master? He firmly believed that under his old master's guidance, the weapons his young lord created would surely prove stronger.
"Old goat, we could argue endlessly about spirit tools versus hidden weapons. Why not let the two boys test them and see whose weapon is stronger?"
"What do you think, Ignaz?"
Ignaz answered with interest, "Agreed. Let's test them."
He, too, was curious to see which was stronger: his improved third-grade spirit ray, or the Godly Zhuge Crossbow.
Soon after, Ignaz and Tang San stood side by side at the edge of the training ground. Both aimed ahead. Almost simultaneously, two vastly different sounds rang out.
Fifty meters away, a granite slab fifty centimeters thick bore the marks of their test.
One side showed sixteen puncture holes from the crossbow bolts. The other revealed a single hole nearly ten centimeters in diameter, blasting clean through the slab—and the force didn't stop there. Two more identical slabs thirty meters behind it had also been pierced straight through.
Both Titan and Tang San were shaken.
"A spirit tool so small… how can it unleash such destructive power? Its effective range is about 130 meters!"
Tang San, still unwilling to believe, rushed forward to examine the slabs. After careful inspection, even he couldn't help marveling at the third-grade spirit ray—compact, precise, and with a folding mechanism reminiscent of his Silent Sleeve Arrow.
"With the power of this spirit ray, even a frontal assault on a Spirit Ancestor of the assault type would pose no problem. But my Godly Zhuge Crossbow would find that nearly impossible."
Still, he quickly recovered, comforting himself:
"My Godly Zhuge Crossbow is a hidden weapon—designed for stealth. Even if its power is a bit weaker, combined with Tang Sect techniques, it could achieve the same effect against a Spirit Ancestor."
Titan, being a master craftsman, grew increasingly fascinated by this new weapon. After seeing the devastating force of Ignaz's creation, his desire for the third-grade spirit ray only deepened.
"Old goat, does your Breaking Clan have more of these finished third-grade spirit rays? I want to buy a hundred or two hundred sets to arm my Strength Clan."
"Old ape, this weapon is the Breaking Clan's most vital secret. Even with the bond between our clans, we cannot sell them in bulk. And besides, the decision isn't mine alone—it lies with Ignaz. If he agrees, then I won't object."
Yang Wudi didn't find the idea unreasonable, but he knew the risks. The third-grade spirit ray was their trump card against Spirit Hall. If sold in large numbers, someone might discover its weaknesses, erasing their advantage completely.
Titan, understanding Yang's concerns, turned to Ignaz.
"Boy, will you sell it?"
Ignaz hesitated for a moment, then finally said:
"Sell."
"How much per set?"
"Ten thousand gold spirit coins."
Titan was stunned. "What? Ten thousand gold spirit coins? Even with the materials and labor from this batch I delivered, the cost is only a little over ten thousand in total!"
"And you dare ask ten thousand gold spirit coins for a single set? That's daylight robbery!"
Out of respect for Yang Wudi, Titan forced down his anger. Otherwise, he would have demanded answers—if Ignaz wanted to sell and he wanted to buy, why inflate the price so outrageously?
Ignaz, calm as ever, explained methodically:
"On the continent today, there may exist powerful spirit tools, but their technology has long been lost. The third-grade spirit ray concerns the very survival of the Breaking Clan. If I sell it, that is the price."
In truth, he never intended to sell them. He was only willing to part with some out of respect for Yang Wudi. Setting a high price was perfectly reasonable.
Tang San, meanwhile, was both astonished and scornful. He now defined Ignaz with a single word—greedy.
Even his own Godly Zhuge Crossbows sold to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan fetched only one thousand gold spirit coins per set. But Ignaz demanded ten thousand. Clearly, he was money-mad.
On the surface, Ignaz appeared willing to sell. But in reality, he deliberately set the price high enough to drive buyers away. To Tang San, that made him nothing more than a hypocrite. If Ignaz had lived in the Tang Sect's time, Tang San thought bitterly, he would have long since eliminated this fraud.