Chapter 74: Reward Equipment

Applying the final layer of clay to the tiger bones, Wang Liang finally let out a sigh of relief; now, all that remained was the final processing.

At this moment, Magistrate Wu had his yamen runners drag over a large chest of copper coins. Just as Wang Liang had requested, these coins were mostly collected directly from the city tax intake at the city gates. Most of the coins were worn nearly smooth, still stained with mud, grease, and grime.

Wang Liang and his companions, however, paid no mind to the filth. Wang Liang had invited the Master of Yuanshan Temple and General Yu to assist; one used the Samadhi True Fire to melt the copper coins, while the other employed his own methods to rapidly dry the clay molds encasing the tiger bones. With their cooperation, Wang Liang’s task became much easier.

While waiting for the copper coins to melt completely, Wang Liang opened his inventory to examine the two magical treasures he had been awarded. The blue-tier treasure was granted to all participating players, while the purple-tier item was rewarded to all survivors. These treasures were scaled to the player's level, ready for immediate use. Even with Wang Liang’s top ranking in contribution points, he could not prevent the system from distributing rewards according to its rules, nor could he alter the quality dictated by the color tier. At most, the potential of his treasures might be slightly higher than those of other players.

Taking advantage of the lull, Wang Liang opened his inventory interface. The first things he saw were not the two magical treasures, but his Life-Severing Blade. After slaying the White Tiger, the blade seemed to have undergone subtle changes; a pattern of a pouncing tiger had appeared along the edge. Checking its stats, he saw that the blade had been completely transformed, its quality upgraded to purple.

[Life-Severing Blade (Mo Dao)]
[Quality: Purple]
[Attack: 67-129]
[Requirements: Strength 10, Agility 4, Constitution 10]
[Trait 1: Demon Tiger Wind Control – Infused with a portion of the demon tiger’s power, it grants control over wind; attack power increases by 60% when wind is present.]
[Trait 2: Fierce Tiger Blood Claws – 20% chance to unleash three blood claws upon striking; each claw deals 80% of normal attack damage and inflicts a continuous bleeding effect.]
[Trait 3: White Tiger Gold-Shattering – When facing an enemy with lower strength than the user, there is a chance to shatter the enemy in a single strike.]
[Description: A weapon crafted by the player’s own hands, now fully empowered after integrating the soul of a White Tiger!]

Seeing this description, a smile touched Wang Liang’s lips. Even if he were dissatisfied with the two magical treasures, this upgrade to his Life-Severing Blade was more than enough.

Turning his attention to the two new treasures, his smile deepened. The first item was a shuttle that looked as though it were carved from white jade. It was the size of a standard weaving shuttle, covered in a thick, waxy patina. Upon closer inspection, one could see faint metallic veins running through it.

[Time-Space Shuttle]
[Quality: Blue]
[Requirements: Constitution 10, Spirit 15]
[Trait 1: Shuttle – Activate with mana to instantly teleport thirty miles in a specified direction (3 uses per day).]
[Trait 2: Homing – Activate with mana to instantly return to the last city, temple, or residence visited (10 uses per day).]
[Description: Watch as this shuttle weaves back and forth, and a bolt of cloth is finished.]

Wang Liang immediately understood its purpose; it was a tool for players to escape. The first trait allowed for a thirty-mile jump to flee danger or exit a trap, while the second was for returning to safety. He had heard of such items before and even knew that those without one could pray at a Earth Temple to be instantly transported there. He simply hadn't expected the system to grant him one directly. It seemed to be a deliberate provision for players who lacked such capabilities; had he already possessed one, the game would likely have provided something else.

The second item, however, made Wang Liang’s eyes light up. It was exactly what he currently lacked. It was a combination of a silver-blue Mingguang Armor and a tiger-skin cloak. The armor consisted only of the breastplate, lacking pauldrons, bracers, or a belt. On the heart-protecting mirror of the chest were two silver-cast tiger heads: the one on the left had its mouth open, biting a bronze mirror, while the one on the right squinted, swallowing a dagger. The tiger-skin cloak was fastened between the two tiger heads, draping down to wrap around the armor.

[Demon Tiger Heaven-Swallowing Armor +1 (Breastplate)]
[Quality: Purple]
[Defense: 400]
[Requirements: Strength 10, Constitution 10]
[Trait 1: Demon Tiger Mirror Swallow – Automatically forms a defensive barrier in combat, absorbing up to 5,000 points of frontal attack damage. Once the limit is reached, the bronze mirror on the left tiger head will vibrate to alert the player.]
[Trait 2: Demon Tiger Blade Strike – Automatically launches flying blades to attack enemies in combat, dealing up to 3,000 points of cumulative damage. Once the limit is reached, the dagger on the right tiger head will vibrate to alert the player.]
[Trait 3: Demon Tiger Host – If other Demon Tiger series equipment is encountered, it will automatically absorb and combine with them; combined equipment will not occupy an equipment slot.]
[Special +1: Integrated Tiger-Skin Cloak – Grants the effect "Wind Follows the Tiger," increasing movement speed by 30%.]
[Description: Due to your outstanding achievements in the battle at Jingyang Ridge, a tiger-skin cloak has been added alongside the Demon Tiger Heaven-Swallowing Armor. Don't thank me...]

For Wang Liang, this was an excellent piece of gear. The stats were solid, and the three traits were particularly intriguing—one providing a defensive barrier and the other launching projectiles. Though he didn't yet know how to reset the limits once reached, it was clearly meant for continuous use. The "Demon Tiger Host" trait was even more valuable, as it allowed him to wear additional equipment without taking up slots. If he were to find other Demon Tiger-series pauldrons, he could fuse them into the armor, effectively gaining the benefits of two sets of pauldrons at once. Wang Liang suspected the 400-point defense was so high precisely because the system had folded the defensive value of the cloak directly into the armor.

Thinking this, Wang Liang donned the armor, and the silver-blue light shimmered over his torso. He chose to keep the armor hidden for now. At that moment, the Master of Yuanshan Temple had finished melting all the copper coins.