Once I got the kid to the pavilion a couple of older disciples came to carry him, they noticed the injuries and assured me with the following words "We'll take care of him, Shen Bao, Elder Yun requests your presence."
"I'll go check with him, please take good care of Meng Hao."
"We will," replied the disciple and left with Meng Hao for treatment.
As I walked up the stairs of the Pavilion uninterrupted by elder Zhang, who I became a regular and daily guest of his. I saw Elder Yun waiting at the veranda where we played Go every day.
"Junior Greets Elder Yun, I heard that you need me."
"Yes, now that you've reached the peak of the middle stage of Qi condensation, you've earned the right to pick a weapon from the armory of the pavilion."
"Thank you, but I'd rather wait for that. I have some concerns."
"I know, that's why I asked for you, go pick the weapon. You'll need it."
"Why? What's going on?" I asked.
The old man sighed and replied, "You've made Han lose face, and with our daily encounters and talks I come to understand that the world of cultivation is still too fresh for you. So you don't know the consequences of your actions."
"I truly didn't, because if someone had a beef with me, why not settle it against me, only cowards would hurt weaker people and those around me."
The elder smiled and said, "I know, but remember, where have you been spending most of your time lately?"
"Well, with you of course."
"Exactly, and who am I?"
After a moment I finally understood what the elder meant, "You're an elder, and even an inner disciple wouldn't dare cross you. So that's why he couldn't take revenge directly against me because I visit you every day and chose to attack someone who is unrelated to you."
"Good, now this should teach you, that in a world of cultivation, you're not only responsible for yourself. Your actions could lead to the demise of the people around you. That is why, most cultivators would choose to lead a solitary life, filled with solitude and loneliness so that no one could harm them. Friendships, families, children are all weaknesses for a cultivator, and most rid themselves from them to seek the great Dao."
"Thank you for your lesson, senior. I'll keep it in mind."
"Right, if you can't help but make friends, then make strong ones, who will not drag you down." Elder Yun said.
"Or, be strong and domineering enough that when someone tries to harm your friends, they'll think twice about it."
"Ah, that's a great way to think about it, but that path is ruthless. It could easily drive the people around you away if you wish to take it."
"In this case. I don't dare ask an elder for help, you offered enough already. I'll deal with it myself."
"I will not stop you, it is not in the nature of our Sect to stop the disciples from forging their own paths, although, Disciple Han is far stronger than you, he is a Core Forming Cultivator, an entire realm above yours."
"I know, but I've dealt with worse," I said as I grinned and went down to the reception hall.
"I have a token from Elder Yun, I need to pick up a weapon," I said to the receptionist.
The disciple in question asked me to show the token and once I did he gestured for another disciple to take his place as he led me to a door at the back of the reception hall.
Behind the door was a wide range armory of different weapons. There were war bows, swords, eastern swords, sabers, Zweihanders, clubs, shields, and many other types of weapons.
"These are all grade nine weapons, pick one. If you choose a bow you'll get a quiver of arrows, but any subsequent arrows you wish to procure you'll have to buy using your merit points or in exchange with pills." The disciple stated.
"Right, I'll have a look," I said as I looked at the weapons in the armory. There were so many that one would feel lost. But I had to keep my head about me here. First things first, Great swords are out of the question, so are bows. Simply because they are too damn heavy.
For the sword part, the greatswords are pretty heavy and it's obvious why they have a lot of metal in them, duh.
The bows, on the other hand, one should know that a simple war bow needs at least a hundred-pound worth of pulling force just to drag it fully, and that's a mortal bow, a cultivator bow would definitely need much more. Also, accuracy and experience are great factors. So I'd rather not use any.
Daggers, daggers are good, because they can be dipped in poison and can deal fatal blows from cover, but let's be realistic, I'm no assassin, and a dagger needs a lot of experience, like a lot, and it's one of the most difficult weapons to master. Simply put, because it has so many disadvantages in a fight to properly use one effectively one must be god tier in dagger mastery.
That leaves me with swords. Swords are simple, I know that many would find this statement atrociously wrong, but just stab them with the pointy end. Yet the sword I must choose must be perfect for me. It can't be too heavy, and too long, a long sword has greater reach, but is easily parried against a professional, a short sword, on the other hand, is easy to wield, and easy to poke people with.
As I was thinking about all of this, my eyes landed on a strange-looking sword, if I didn't look closely, I'd mistake it for an arrow.
Its tip was shaped like an arrow's head, a triangle, while its edge was so small and so thin one would think it was a rapier.
I got my eyes closer to the weapon's edge and noticed that it was not a needle-like weapon, but rather a fine blade, and it could cut.
Its arm guard was simple, like a katana's. a big circular guard that felt like it could barely protect one's arm. And the handle was hamstrung with leather. The pommel of the sword was a pointed blade.
I grabbed the sword and it felt like I was carrying a feather. It was too light; one would think that it would snap in two if a strong breeze was to blow on it.
"Ah, The Impaler," the disciple said.
"Oh, it has such a nice name, it must be a legendary weapon," I said.
"Yeah right, that's probably a prototype of sorts. Its only real use is to stab, but a proper sword can stab as easily as that one, and will sustain a clash against another sword of the same category. And from the look of it, that thing would snap in half if it were to challenge another sword."
"Who made this?"
"We don't know, one of the disciples found it while journeying, he thought it was a treasure, but once an Artificer appraised it, he deemed it to be below the ninth level of weapon classification. Though he said that the metalwork was splendid, it didn't have any real hope of fairing well against other swords. So no one picked it."
"I'll take it." I replied.
"Man, whatever, I'm not gonna stop you, you're just wasting your token. So don't come crying to me when that weapon of yours snaps."
"Nah I won't." I grinned as I took the sword.
This weapon, amongst all of those in that room, it was not the best, and probably the worst one in the bunch, that is of course if one didn't have the Poison God's Heritage.
Earlier at the moment, I noticed the weapon, the book inside my chest sent me a message.
***
Creeping Demise
A stoic and polymorphous weapon, capable of extending by the will of the user and can change form to a whip. A Xiantian weapon, wielded by saints. It can be categorized as a top fifth tier weapon almost at fourth.
It can only show its real power in the hands of an Ascendant Cultivator, but for now, no weapon under the Fifth Tier can break it or contend with it.
Memories of the Poison God
I happened to have used a similar weapon earlier in my cultivation days, and they were amazing, especially since you can dip the tip of the Creeping Demise in poison, and with only one slash, you can end someone's life. Especially since this weapon has a viper-esque nature that could bypass all defenses when used right.
*** 'So, its real name is Creeping Demise. Well, I'm better off using it as a standard sword. Perhaps like a rapier for now. Until I fully unlock its potential. Man having an all-knowing book sure does help knowing treasures from trash.'
I took the weapon and the sheath and placed it behind my back, tucked within my robes so no one could see it. It was about two feet long and could hide in there comfortably. Also with all the tumorous bulges on me, no one would notice the hidden weapon.
Time to pay inner disciple Han a visit.