Chapter 47 Inside a pavilion amidst a sea of flowers on the 47th floor.
Shagu took out a long sword of blue and white from her storage.
Shagu gazed gently, her hand stroking the sword's body. This sword was forged by her own hands with countless efforts.
Shagu turned around, holding the long sword with both hands, and presented it to Ling Feng.
"You… don't you need a secondary sword? I'm giving this sword to you."
At this moment, Shagu blushed, her eyes darting around, not daring to meet Ling Feng's gaze.
"What sword is this?"
"This is a sword I specially crafted for you."
Ling Feng was taken aback, extremely surprised.
"Crafted for me?"
Shagu nodded slightly and said softly.
"Didn't you say you've always been short of a secondary sword? This sword should be the highest quality weapon that can be forged currently, it should match your Fen Ji."
"You… when did you start practicing forging? I had no idea."
Ling Feng was very puzzled and shocked.
Shagu was almost by his side all day, yet he didn't know Shagu was practicing forging.
Hearing this, Shagu twirled her index fingers in front of her chest and replied in a low voice.
"Once, when you went to a boss strategy meeting, I secretly left the inn."
"As I was walking in an alley, I accidentally bumped into someone, and then I unexpectedly met Liz, who is a blacksmith."
"I remember half a year ago, you suddenly started using dual swords, but the attribute difference between the other sword and Fen Ji was too large, affecting you greatly."
"Back then, I thought if I couldn't help you much in combat, I could help in other ways."
"So I learned forging from Liz, wanting to craft the best sword for you."
"I wanted to give you a surprise, so I would secretly go to Liz and upgrade my forging skills whenever you were out."
"Just a few days ago, my forging skill level reached eight, and I could craft some advanced equipment."
"Then I spent all the Keer I had to buy some high-level rare ores and materials, along with some unused materials you gave me, and I specifically crafted this sword for you."
"In fact, I was very lucky. I originally just wanted to craft a pseudo-demon sword, but who knew, I triggered the lucky attribute and crafted a demon sword!"
After hearing Shagu's words, Ling Feng fell silent.
Although Shagu said it simply, forging was very difficult to level up. Reaching level eight meant Shagu had put in a lot of effort and energy.
However, Shagu actually triggered that extremely low chance of quality improvement, which Ling Feng found a bit hard to accept.
Why was he so unlucky? Let alone improvement, he would be grateful if things were just normal.
Ling Feng currently had the situation where monsters would never drop rare items, and even the drop rate of normal items was very low.
Extremely meager.
As for him using dual swords, that was a trump card. He had only revealed it to Shagu so far, as it was not the time to expose it.
However, his special sword skill was not 'Dual Wielding', but a sword skill called 'Mimicry'.
The requirement to obtain 'Mimicry' was the highest level of imaginative ability. It could be said that 'Mimicry' was tailor-made for Ling Feng.
'Mimicry' could be super powerful if used well, but like scrap iron if not.
It could create its own sword skills and learn others'. Dual wielding was created by Ling Feng, similar to Kirito's dual wielding.
The only difference was that dual wielding had no sword skills to learn, unlike dual wielding which had learnable sword skills.
As for creating sword skills, the premise was that the energy flow must be reasonable and smooth; you couldn't create anything you thought of.
And this was precisely Ling Feng's strength. As a cultivator, he was extremely familiar with his own energy flow.
Therefore, Ling Feng spent some time creating several original sword skills, which was also why he was called the Sword Saint.
Ling Feng slowly took the sword from Shagu's hand.
Since it was Shagu's heartfelt gesture, he couldn't let her down.
"Wu Feng?"
Ling Feng looked at the name displayed in the information of the long sword and was slightly stunned.
"Um… I combined our names to name it."
Hearing this, Shagu suddenly blushed and lowered her head, whispering.
"This name is very nice."
Ling Feng smiled and nodded, then tried swinging Wu Feng a few times and found it unexpectedly smooth.
Compared to Fen Ji, Wu Feng was a little lighter. Wu Feng's skill was about defense, making it a very good secondary sword.
His attack power was maxed out, but his defense was still lacking, so this perfectly compensated for it.
"Thank you, Shagu, I really like this surprise."
Ling Feng nodded with satisfaction, storing Wu Feng in his storage, as it was not yet time to reveal his dual swords.
Seeing Ling Feng satisfied, Shagu breathed a sigh of relief and was very happy. She could finally help Ling Feng.
But there was still one more thing. Shagu had thought about it for a long time, and now she finally had an answer.
Shagu bit her lower lip and called out.
"Besides this surprise… Ling Feng… I have one more thing."
Shagu's face was slightly red, her hands behind her back, swaying gently, her eyes darting, not daring to look directly at Ling Feng.
Seeing Shagu like this, Ling Feng knew something was wrong.
"Actually, I li… like…"
"Watch out!"
Before Shagu could finish speaking, something unexpected happened.
A large cleaver suddenly flew out from the sea of flowers, its blade flashing with black light, aiming straight for Shagu.
The speed was extremely fast, appearing suddenly without giving anyone time to react.
Shagu was completely defenseless at this moment. If this cleaver hit, she would be either dead or disabled.
It was clear that the thrower intended to kill Shagu.
Fortunately, Ling Feng noticed it immediately. He took a step forward, and Fen Ji was instantly unsheathed.
"Clang!"
Fen Ji intercepted the black cleaver accurately.
Ling Feng exerted a slight force, flicking the black cleaver back, and at the same time roared.
"Who!"
The repelled black cleaver was quickly and steadily caught by a person.
The person was wearing a black cloak to conceal their face, exuding a strong aura of malice and hostility, making people instinctively fear and shrink back at a glance.
From this, it could be seen that the opponent was definitely an executioner, and one who killed people.
Otherwise, their body wouldn't be stained with such heavy malice.
Ling Feng stared intently at the cloaked figure standing in the sea of flowers, especially the pattern on the back of their hand: a black coffin with a distorted smiling face carved on it.
Ling Feng's eyes turned cold, and he said word by word.
"The Murderer's Guild, Smiling Coffin."
From Ling Feng's tone, it was evident that he was already enraged.
Shagu was still recovering from the shock of the previous moment. Hearing Ling Feng's words, she was startled.
Smiling Coffin.
The infamous red-named player in SAO, also known as the Murderer's Guild due to their frequent killings.
As soon as Shagu realized that the cleaver was aimed at her life, she was terrified and immediately hid behind Ling Feng.
Only behind Ling Feng could she feel safe now.
"As expected of the Sword Saint Ling Feng, your reaction speed and alertness are truly high. Even such a close surprise attack was neutralized."
The person revealed a cruel smile and complimented.
"Looking at the thick malice on your body, you must be the leader of Smiling Coffin, Poh."
"I didn't expect the Sword Saint to have heard of me. I am truly honored."
Poh clutched his heart, feigning a shocked expression, but his disdainful gaze made one's hands itch to punch him in the face.
Ling Feng glanced at the surrounding sea of flowers and said coldly.
"Stop the nonsense, let your companions come out too. Don't hide like mice."
"Oh my. Since the Sword Saint has discovered us, then we should all come out."
As Poh's playful voice faded, more than a dozen people emerged from the sea of flowers, forming a circle around Ling Feng and Shagu.
The cursors above their heads were all red. Without exception, they were all red-named players.
Smiling Coffin had only twenty-odd members in total, and more than half of them were here.
"I assume you're not here just to chat with us."
"Of course not. Because of your existence, Sword Saint, the strategy group is progressing too fast. We plan to slow down the strategy group."
Poh smiled charmingly, his tone shifting from playful to serious.
Ling Feng's expression remained unchanged. He scanned the surroundings and said softly to Shagu behind him.
"Later, Shagu, you should use a Teleportation Crystal to leave first."
"And you?"
Shagu asked anxiously. The group surrounding them were all psychos. Wouldn't it be very dangerous for Ling Feng to stay alone?
"Me? Of course, I'm staying to round them all up."
Shagu looked worried.
"But there are so many of them, and you are only one. Will it be…"
However, before Shagu could finish, a large hand landed on her head and gently stroked it.
Ling Feng's gaze softened, and he said confidently.
"Don't forget, I'm the Sword Saint. And with the sword you crafted for me, what do you think? I'll make sure they won't return."
At almost the same level, being able to confidently and calmly face a team of over a dozen people, Ling Feng was probably the only one in SAO.
Ling Feng was not just boasting.
Over the past year, his swordsmanship had reached a very high level.
Although he was still far from comprehending the realm of Sword Intent, Ling Feng could be considered the undisputed top swordsman in SAO.
"Okay… I'll wait for you at the inn. You must come back safely."
Shagu clutched Ling Feng's clothes and urged him.
Although Shagu was still very worried about Ling Feng, she chose to trust him.
Then, she decisively took out a Teleportation Crystal and left.
After Shagu left, the smile on Ling Feng's face immediately disappeared, replaced by a cold and indifferent gaze.
Even a clay figurine would have some temper. Ling Feng, though good-tempered, once his bottom line was touched, be prepared to face the wrath of a docile person.
"Thank you all for waiting. Next, let's discuss how to settle our accounts."
Poh felt a sense of foreboding seeing Ling Feng like this. After a moment of silence, he first tempted.
"Ling Feng, since you are also a red-named player, it means you have a few lives on your hands. Players will always ostracize you."
"Why don't you join our guild?"
Poh had indeed guessed correctly; Ling Feng had quite a few lives on his hands. But unfortunately, they were not from this world.
So Poh's plan failed.
"Less nonsense. You just said you wanted to kill me, so joining you is impossible!"
"In that case, no need to hold back, attack me all at once!"
Poh raised his demon sword-class cleaver and commanded.
"Yes, boss. Heh heh, I'd like to see how strong the so-called Sword Saint is. I hope he's not just a pretty face."
"Lao Tong, leave me a leg!"
"..."
More than a dozen Smiling Coffin players revealed perverse smiles and raised their weapons to charge at Ling Feng.
Meanwhile, Poh, taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was not on him, quietly retreated, a Teleportation Crystal already in his hand.
Ling Feng looked at the red-named players surrounding him, his expression calm and composed. He gripped Fen Ji and took a step forward.
"Sonic Rush!"
"Demon Blade Frenzy!"
"Dragon Ascent!"
"Aerial Quadruple Combo!"
Although the red-named players attacked recklessly, almost playing a suicidal game.
However, under Ling Feng's fierce assault with various sword skills and moves, they were quickly at a disadvantage.
Especially since they used paralyzing potions, but Ling Feng had long anticipated that they would do something like this and easily dodged it with his status.
Before long, all the dozen-odd red-named players were on the verge of death, lying on the ground and wailing in pain.
Although the pain in the game was low, it was not non-existent. To prevent them from healing or escaping, Ling Feng had given them all a good blow.
Anyway, since their health and body parts would recover in the game, Ling Feng didn't hesitate.
After knocking everyone down, Ling Feng realized that Poh had disappeared somewhere.
There was no way. Although he had been watching Poh all along, the enemies surrounding him later blocked his vision, preventing him from locking onto Poh continuously.
"See you next time, I won't let you escape again."
In this situation, it was highly probable that Poh had fled.
After robbing the Smiling Coffin players, Ling Feng handed them over to the nearby city guards.
After finishing the matter, Ling Feng did not immediately return to find Shagu. Instead, he first sent her a message saying he was alright.
Because at this moment, Ling Feng discovered something very interesting.
In a sea of flowers, Ling Feng was furtively hiding beneath the flowers, holding a camera.
The sound of the camera shutter constantly rang out, and photos kept slipping out.
Ling Feng immediately picked them up. Holding a stack of photos, he looked at the content captured by the photos and revealed a hint of an evil smile.
(￣▼￣)
"Hehehe, (◦˙▽˙◦). If I give these photos to Asuna, I wonder if she'll get jealous."
Not far from Ling Feng, Kirito and Silica were laughing merrily. Moreover, the location was remote and sparsely populated, making the two look like a couple.
Although Asuna and Kirito were not yet together, Ling Feng already knew their relationship. They were a pair of bickering lovers, from the first floor all the way to the present.
Ling Feng and Klein were both headaches.
After taking a few photos, Ling Feng didn't linger there and quickly slipped away, fearing being caught by Kirito.
After all, Kirito's senses were already maxed out, and his alertness was not much worse than his.
Moreover, Shagu was waiting for him at the inn.