With the Husband Selection event finished, the newly formed couples were led out of the hall by the Elder who had presided over the ceremony. A moment later, some servants brought a few others out of the crowd. Those others being people from the same groups that the successful husbands to be had arrived with.

Probably just arranging the future marriages.

The still single women of the Kang Clan left in their wedding dresses and a few minutes later they returned to their normal clothing. Just like the rest of the Kang Clan they wore whatever they felt like, with the exception of a large red sash around their waists. A bit more time passed, and it seemed that nothing else important was going on, so Sage climbed up out of his seat and beckoned King over from his. Contrary to what Sage might have guessed, King didn’t seem to care about the females in the crowd at all. The bird really was just obsessed with creating descendants of demonic bird bloodlines and cared nothing at all about human women.

Bringing King along, Sage found his target was occupied, so he could only wait. Being tactful, he loitered near the buffet table and sampled the food. Eventually, the conversation ended and Sage quickly brought King over with him. The two of them walked up to a petite lady and Sage greeted her with a bow, “Kang Min! Your prowess was extraordinary. My name is Ling Sheng, Leader of the Jade Horde. I was inspired by the tales of your skill at the Thunder Mountain Bridge Tournament. To that end, I couldn’t stop myself from creating a treasure to suit you. Please accept it as a gift.”

The target he wished to speak with was, of course, Kang Min. He didn’t want someone else to tie her up in conversation so he quickly interjected. While he had no romantic backing for this play, it was instead driven by the only insight he had towards a Kang Clan member he’d seen in action. Since he wanted to gain their favor, and Kang Min was an important member of the Clan, he had created this gift when they were invited and gave it over without any strings attached. He asked for no items or favors in return, merely wanting to show his goodwill.

Kang Min did not seem enthused. She received gifts from hopeful suitors and also those currying favors from her clan. So, when she heard Sage’s offer, she wasn’t particularly happy. On the other hand, as long as the gift wasn’t too expensive or valuable, she would take them. If idiots wanted to hand her their wealth for no reason, why should she refuse?

Sage brought out a long flat box and slowly opened it up, revealing the Nine Ringed Saber within. Appearance wise, it didn’t seem like anything extraordinary. In fact it looked very similar to the saber that Kang Min normally used. She actually seemed surprised at the plainness of the gift. Most people trying to win her favor would of course try to give her girlish things or Nine Ringed Sabers. As her signature weapon, of course people would try to give her more of them. Due to her status, they tried to outdo the gifts that others had given and the sabers she received ranged from the extremely gaudy to the exceedingly violent. Different suitors would research the sabers she had received in the past and try to give her a saber of a completely different style. They thought if they could just figure out the right style, it might move her heart.

“I call this saber Nine Transformations. I didn’t spend much time on the looks of the saber, or even the saber itself. I merely modeled it after your own saber. Someone got me a drawing of you wielding it and described your usage of it.”

He pointed at the saber and its features, “The purpose of the rings on a Nine Ringed Saber have been said to be many different things. Some say it is to add weight, others say they are used to trap or bind an opponent’s weapon. Others claim the ringing of the rings can ward away spirits, clang loudly to announce your presence, or intimidate foes. The most likely reason I have heard said is that the rings are a training tool. Adding or removing rings can change the balance to replicate other types of sabers. That, or the sound of the rings clacking together in certain ways can indicate the proper performance of specific techniques.”

Sage was watching Kang Min as he called out different explanations, wanting to see if she had a reaction to any of the common theories. She didn’t. He continued, “I don’t know which if any of those reasons are truly correct on the purpose of the rings, but upon hearing of your skill and your weapon I was inspired to create a new purpose for the rings.”

At this point, Sage used the Windscreen technique to isolate the sound around the two of them. He also sent out some dark smoke to explain the lack of sound as a privacy barrier before continuing, “Just like your current saber, this is a fourth rank magic weapon enchanted for strength and sharpness. Don’t worry, it’s not just an imitation. The difference is in the nine rings. They aren’t just for show. Each of them is a storage ring.”

He drew the saber and brought out a saw horse with a log shaped piece of Spirit Steel on it. Then he swung the saber downwards with a slow and lazy movement. As it swept downwards, a black boulder appeared on top of the saber and smashed it downward with far more weight and force. It acted like a hammer for the nail that was the saber, cracking the Spirit Steel from the blow. Then the black boulder disappeared again and Sage smiled at Kang Min, “Each ring isn’t just a normal Storage Ring. The name Nine Transformations refers to the alterations I made to the rings. The first ring is a standard ring, though about triple the size. The second is like a Storage Gourd, it holds liquids. The third is similar, but is made to hold gas, smoke, or mist. The fourth can hold living things, like a Beast Bag. The fifth ring powers the others, it is like a miniature Spirit Crystal and can store Qi. The sixth has a powerful cooling array, freezings things within. The seventh is the opposite, it has a heating array. The eighth ring is just like the first, except that it has no weight reduction, everything inside keeps its full weight. The last ring is the most unusual. It can store objects in motion and they retain their original momentum when brought out.”

It was quite a mouthful, so Sage had to take a break to drink from a jug of wine before continuing, “It may not sound like much, but my demonstration was only to prove a point. In actuality, items can be moved between the rings without bringing them into the outside world. When you swing you can move that chunk of Black Iron Rock directly to the eighth ring and instantly magnify the weight of the saber. Then you can move it back and have a nice light saber again. You can fill the third ring with poison gas to release at your enemies, or use it to gather poison gas used on you. Throw a sword into the ninth ring and release it in a swing to turn it into a hidden weapon. Move water from the second ring to the sixth ring to make ice, or to the seventh to make steam. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.”

Sage put the saber back into the box and handed it to Kang Min, “Please take it. It was inspired by you, so you should of course have the first one.”

He didn’t wait around for her to say anything more, dispersing the dark mist and the sound barrier. Then he gave Kang Min a bow and turned on his heels, heading back over to his seat to wait for the end of this event. He had made a few other gifts, but after his bad first impression with the Kang Clan Patriarch, he decided not to pass them out for now. He’d already been called a sycophant. Giving gifts at that point would only be reinforcing the perception instead of countering it.

As he was walking away from Kang Min, he felt an icy glare. Looking over, he saw that it was from the three men from Fierce Tiger. They were standing next to a heavily injured young man, one that Sage recognized as one of those who had challenged Kang Min.