Chapter 4 - A Cursed Sword

"Can a Practitioner only use one Practitioner weapon?" Shu asked as they continued their search.

"Yes. However, the Heavens are kind. Just as mages can choose to keep using their staff or switch to a new weapon, Practitioners can change theirs as well. It’s different for us, though," the general said quietly.

"How is it different?" Shu asked.

"We can combine Practitioner weapons into one another. The true form remains the same, but there is one crucial thing to note," the general said, pausing to meet the prince's gaze. "Your Practitioner weapon can develop a unique ability. The more Practitioner weapons you absorb into the one you own, the higher the chance it will evolve and gain a special ability. It’s another reason Practitioners kill each other. They do so not just for the items in the spatial ring or storage bag but for the chance to evolve their weapon. The world of Practitioners is one of training and death. Absorbing any Practitioner weapon is worthless unless it belonged to someone you killed personally."

"That's cruel," Shu remarked, his face pale.

"That is life. If the ability to cultivate spirit energy is a gift from the divine beings of the Realms, then the ability to evolve the Practitioner weapon is a gift from Death," the general agreed. "No one knows how Practitioner weapons are made. They just randomly appear on the planet from rips in space. People say they are weapons forged and dropped into the Mortal Realm. We are meant to pick them up and kill each other for the amusement of the weapons' makers in the Realms beyond the Mortal Realm. Whether it’s true or not, no one knows."

"Does it end after your weapon gains an ability?" Shu asked.

"No. Practitioner weapons are insatiable. No matter how many you absorb into it, it will still hunger for more. It is said that fragments of the souls you killed remain inside the Practitioner weapon as it absorbs them. What is known for sure is that a Practitioner weapon develops two types of auras after a while," the general said.

"An aura? How does that happen?" Shu asked.

"It depends on whether the weapon was owned by someone before. If it was and an aura had formed, it will remain, but it will not have the abilities it had with its former owner. This does not include any special characteristics the weapon has when wielded. There are two auras: one is a celestial white aura, and the other is a baleful black aura. The celestial white aura forms after healing over ten thousand people. The baleful black aura forms after killing ten thousand people, innocent or otherwise. Essentially, good is celestial and evil is baleful. People call weapons with celestial auras holy artifacts, while those with black auras are considered cursed artifacts. There is a reason for this," the general said.

"Holy and cursed weapons? How interesting. What's the real reason? Does something happen when one wields them?" Shu asked.

"Holy weapons emit a feeling of hope to people within a certain range, while cursed weapons emit a feeling of fear. If you choose a Practitioner weapon with an aura, you will see fragments of scenes from when the weapon was used. Nothing too significant, really," the general shrugged. "However, if you do find one here, chances are no one will recognize it. No one knows when the Great Ancestor returned to the Mortal Realm and created the vault. There’s no problem if you pick a cursed Practitioner weapon. Keep looking; you might get lucky. However, I was told by my mother, a distant descendant of the Great Ancestor, that some areas are blocked off. Inside are very powerful but dangerous magical items."

"Oooh! Forbidden. Sounds fun," Shu grinned. "I might have no choice if I want a water spirit technique. Let’s find one! Maybe I'll see a very powerful weapon there."

"I wonder if it’s a child’s curiosity and innocence or reckless stupidity," the general thought as he followed the eager prince. "At least we don't have to dig through those mountains of gold. I can’t believe I’m getting sick of seeing so much gold."

After passing four hills of gold, they saw a door with chains on it, featuring a large circle at the center of the two doors with a rune in the middle. Shu was about to approach it, but the general stopped him, saying that the rune meant fire. Disappointed, Shu kept searching. They found similar doors, but none were meant for water. Shu skipped the doors of darkness and lightning as they were not his goal. Finally, they found a door marked simply: Blades. Shu was excited, as whatever chamber was inside had to do with Practitioner weapons.

"Beware, my descendant, who wishes to claim the treasures beyond this door. Inside are Practitioner weapons I stole from the bodies of my enemies in the Immortal Realm. The only reason they are sealed inside is simple: each of them was wielded by someone I recognized as strong," the general recited from a pillar next to the door. "I also obtained scrolls containing their techniques as I scoured their souls before killing them. Some even have items used by their owners. Should you choose to take a weapon from within, know that there is a minimal but possible chance that someone will recognize it. Heed my words—Golden Earth Fiend. Note: You are not worthy of knowing my name. You’ll know it when you ascend."

"Oh. So these weapons were wielded by individuals recognized by our Great Ancestor? There’s also a skill. Sweet! Two birds with one stone," Shu smiled and placed his hand on the rune. The chains fell, and the doors opened.

"Uh, that was easy," Shu muttered.

"These are just simple enchantments meant to look fanciful. Besides, the Great Ancestor said that the Practitioner weapons were merely ones someone might recognize. There was no need to seal them. He just separated them from ones we might find later on," Meng Ce said. "Go on in and choose. Once you leave, the doors will close, and the chains will be repaired as they were. What weapon are you aiming to use?"

"A sword," Shu said, as fragments of his past life showed a blurry child waving a wooden sword.

"A sword, huh? Okay. Good choice. While you choose a weapon, I’ll look for a dark spirit technique. This will shorten the time we spend here. Honestly, I’m getting sick of searching through hills of gold. Creating hills of corpses is more appealing. At least they don’t look the same all the time," the general said, and left Shu at the doorway.

Shu walked in and saw a completely white hallway stretching as far as he could see. Along the walls were shelves with two rows each. On the top row were the actual weapons with brief descriptions of their previous owners. Below each weapon, a single scroll contained one of the spirit techniques used by the weapon’s previous owner. However, most of the techniques did not use the weapon itself. Only a few of the second-row shelves had additional items with descriptions of how they were used.

Shu paled with respect and fear. Seeing so many weapons, his ancestor must have killed countless experts. If Practitioner weapons could be absorbed, these weapons must have been deemed worthless to his ancestor. Who knew how powerful his ancestor's Practitioner weapon was? Shu regained his composure after a while and continued browsing the shelves. He finally stopped in front of a long sword with a black and cerulean blade. It was cool to the touch and had a simple cross-guard and hilt. The cross-guard was silver, adorned with swirling lines from the center to the ends on both sides. The hilt was completely black.

"This sword is called Rain Slayer. It was found in the belly of a thousand-meter Rain Dragon Ape. Its scales match the blade’s color. Perhaps whoever made the Practitioner weapon fashioned it from the body of a Rain Dragon Ape? Anyway, the last wielder of this sword was a fool who bought all the tea from a place I liked. Discovering I had to wait a whole year for their new stock as it was their most expensive product, I tracked down the fool and beheaded him after scouring his soul for a technique. Let it be known that I, a Golden Earth Fiend, was wise enough to steal a technique instead of killing the fool on the spot," a silver plate described below the sword. "He had an interesting lightning technique and a bizarre trinket. I destroyed his body but left his head on the ground. I consider it an act of gratitude for buying all the tea. He must have belonged to some powerful family, as even I was not allowed to buy it all. Rain Slayer has a baleful aura. Should you bind yourself to it, you will catch glimpses of the lightning technique. It should help in mastering it."

Shu stared silently at the sword before reading the silver plate next to the scroll below. It stated, "Hello, junior. If you’re reading this, then you have decided to bind Rain Slayer and make it your Practitioner weapon. Not bad. I would have liked to learn the technique, but I have an earth affinity. Note that lightning and wind are conflicting elements with earth. Pity a descendant of mine doesn’t have earth. This technique is called Black Cloud Desolation. It had a dumb name, so I renamed it. This is a better name, junior. The technique begins by creating a small black cloud next to you. It then expands, with other black clouds appearing and connecting to each other. You literally become lightning as you enter the cloud and can appear from any part of it. You

can also throw lightning at your foes. The cloud increases the power of your lightning. The only way to defeat this technique is to destroy all traces of the cloud to force you out of hiding. This is just the first stage. Like any technique, you can develop it and make it your own or choose to learn it all. Choosing to learn the entire technique will narrow your vision but allow you to attain higher levels faster. Choosing to alter it and make it your own will let you develop it further into a one-of-a-kind technique. I suggest you choose the latter. Why be traditional when you can revolutionize and stand out? Choose wisely, junior. It’s your life."

"I should follow the Great Ancestor’s advice. Spirit energy-generated lightning. Cool. Now let’s look at the trinket. Hope it’s good," Shu sighed with awe and looked at the plate underneath a black and cerulean bracelet.

"This bracelet is simply called: Dragon Monkey Bracelet. It is a magical artifact that everyone should possess: an item that converts your spirit energy into an element. If you don’t know how to convert your spirit energy into an element, this bracelet will do it for you as you pour your spirit energy into it. If you already know how to convert spirit energy into elements, the bracelet magnifies its power. This bracelet is not uncommon; most low to high noble families have one with similar effects," the plate below said. "The bracelet has a special feature I added. I made the Dragon Monkey Bracelet, as someone above a Spirit Master can easily create such magical treasures, out of the scales and a piece of the skull of a Rain Dragon Monkey. Activate the special feature if you feel your life is in danger. Your arm, up to the shoulder, will transform into a limb of a Rain Dragon Monkey. If you don’t know what a Dragon Ape looks like, imagine a giant monkey a hundred and fifty feet tall with dragon scales and teeth. Its tail is also covered in scales but has no wings. Its ears resemble a dragon’s, but its pupils are not slit like a dragon’s. Thank me, junior. HAHAHAHA!"

"Amazing. What a cool bracelet. It is ordinary, save for the feature, so I don’t have to hide it from others as even low nobles could get one," Shu chuckled as he stopped reading to admire the bracelet.

"I honestly think you should find a different weapon. Junior, there are better weapons with superior techniques and trinkets in the hall. If you’re satisfied with this one, then take it. Just know that while the trinket can be bound by blood and a technique can be learned or not, Practitioner weapons are for life. Don’t be tempted by the descriptions and browse around more before making your final choice," the slate warned as Shu finished reading the rest.

"There are others better than this?" Shu cried, shocked upon reading the words. "That’s insane. However, I now understand how my ancestor could collect so many weapons. With such an arrogant attitude and more than enough power to back it up, it’s no wonder he could so nonchalantly kill someone. I really picked the right corpse to inhabit. The former Lu Shu, wherever you are, thank you. I will live the life you should have lived. Just watch me! Forget about not being a mage; I’m a Practitioner."

Lu Shu grabbed the sword and was stunned as he saw fragments of memories belonging to past wielders. He witnessed them slaying men and beasts. He also saw a black cloud surrounding the last wielder of the sword. The last owner was a noble from some country, launching spears of blue lightning from the expanding black cloud as new ones formed. After a moment, the memories stopped. Lu Shu smiled, feeling he had made the right decision. So what if there were better swords? He found what he needed and was satisfied. He opened the scroll, and it burst into flames as the writing became light and engraved itself into his mind, just as the Eclipse Indestructible Body technique had done.

He dripped blood on both the sword and the bracelet, then put the bracelet on while carrying the sword in his hand. He admired the wisps of black energy emerging from the sword as he held it. Leaving the hallway, satisfied, he saw the general smiling at him and recounted what had happened. The general would have advised the prince to pick a different Practitioner weapon, but Rain Slayer was already bound to Prince Shu. They quickly searched for a sheath and sword strap, and Shu slid Rain Slayer into its new sheath on his back. Shu could barely feel the Dragon Monkey Bracelet on his left hand. He and the general drank a cup of lion wine to celebrate.

"Take this," the general said with a smile, handing Shu a black scroll. "This is a movement technique known as the Phantasmal Sky technique. It allows you to wrap yourself in dark spirit energy and leaves a trail of shadows as you move at extreme speeds. At higher levels of mastery, you can even fly, which is only possible at the Spirit Master stage and beyond. If you find yourself in trouble, you can easily escape using this technique. Most importantly, you can still perform basic martial arts techniques and sword strikes with it, as it uses almost no spirit energy. Most movement skills are like that, but few are as useful as this one. You don’t need a movement skill that consumes more spirit energy than this one."

"Thanks," Shu said, opening the scroll and absorbing the information into his mind. "By the way, why do all the scrolls burst into flames after reading them?"

"Ah, that’s to prevent misuse. The more people who know or use the technique, the less formidable it becomes," the general explained as Shu put the wine barrel away. "That’s why martial arts sects and powerful families rank their skills and only allow their disciples to learn up to a certain rank based on their position in the sect. Just imagine the catastrophe a child your age could cause if he attempted to perform a skill meant for someone at the Spirit Master or Spirit Sage level. Even mages have restrictions because they exemplify why rankings are necessary in the first place. Many empires and nations have vanished from the map due to the negligence of a young mage trying to use a spell beyond his capability."

"I understand," Shu nodded. "Let’s find that forbidden skill. I can’t wait to learn it and begin my training, master."

"Heh, you brat. You finally said something great," the general laughed, ruffling the prince’s hair. "Let’s go, my young disciple. I’m also eager to see how much you will grow. You chose a cursed sword and have a demonic Spirit Pulse. Your future will definitely be anything but normal for a Practitioner."