Chapter 74: War Preparations Part 1

Just like that, the feast was ended. When the children and relatives of the delegates returned to their elders, widespread chaos appeared as they heard the news. The second prince, only a true Archon at the ninth stage of Spirit Shaman cultivation, actually entered Spirit Road and obtained a totem and Spirit Beast. What immortal path he followed, no one knows. Just that alone shocked them as Practitioners who followed an immortal cultivation were automatically superior to other Practitioners and mages.

When the younger generations told them the news of an expedition to Hyperion led was being made, with Lu Feng personally leading it, many people fainted or fell on their ass in shock. Who was Lu Feng? He was the legendary Spirit Sage who annihilated an ancient clan full of Fiend Adepts and Fiend Immortals, the echelons of all true Archons. Even though Lu Feng claimed he was the weakest, no one had ever seen the other four Spirit Sages fight. Now Lu Feng was personally leading an expedition to Hyperion lands? Those who joined the expedition were sure to obtain fabulous treasures and get to be closer to Lu Feng!

The Matsuda Clan were more than pleased that Ken was personally invited to the expedition and already made friends with Lu Shu. His wise use of telling Lu Shu important information made his clan very pleased. Some of the elders were already worried of angering Lu Feng and suffering the same fate as the tenth ancient clan. Thanks to Ken, they could breathe easier. Li Jiro was also praised by his clan. Of all the mages of the Li Clan, only mages who are Magus, Arch Magus, and Magic Overlords were respected and welcomed back into the main branch, if they were a part of it.

Jiro, being the son of the fourth son of the patriarch, was exiled for being a mage. If he was a member of the sub branches, maybe his parents would not have been exiled and massacred. He only had nothing but contempt for the main clan, save for his uncle and cousin. As both Ken and Jiro were allowed to bring along one other person, the patriarchs of both of their clans were incessantly referring people to them.

"That's it," Lu Feng said as the three month training was nearing its end. "Let your darkness take hold. Do not fight it. All life has a shadow. Let it take you in. Become one with the darkness."

"Yes, master," Lu Shu said, addressing his ancestor as 'master' ever since they began their training. It was decided that Supaiku and Bahamut would train in the hunting grounds of the Lu Clan, hunting magical beasts and training as a magical beast should. While they were sad to be separated, all three knew it was the best decision. Wraith, and obviously Spook, remained with Lu Shu. Little Hao's participation in the expedition was unquestioned, as it was Shu's Holy Spirit Beast.

Shu had spent the last three months training his control and power over darkness and earth. During the day, he would train in sword techniques and often sparred with Lu Feng. He would obtain scarring wounds, which healed due to his true Archon body. He never fought with his Nether Tiger Sword, Lu Feng telling him his dependence of the sword would limit his potential if they were separated. Lu Shu had to train from the basics with the eight weapons all humanoids had: two fists, two feet, two knees, and two elbows. Shu also had to learn grappling techniques. Shu often felt as if he was in a mixed martial arts gym, constantly learning new styles and improving and incorporating them into his own as he practiced the Sundering Thorn Scripture.

It was the immortal spirit technique of a Sword Immortal. The martial arts emphasized in turning the body into a sword, teaching him how to turn his fingers, arms, and legs into swords. Shu would often meditate, focusing on maintaining his spirit energy in the form of swords for hours. Eventually, Shu could make an exact replica of the Nether Tiger Sword and fight with his spirit energy as a sword in itself. By the first month, Shu would spar with Lu Feng with swords made of spirit energy.

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He also practiced his control over earth, an element that was very different than water, darkness, and lightning. Water was fluid, an element meant to be guided and not controlled. He would make the water flow, suddenly increasing the pressure and temperature of the water at the opportune moment. Darkness was illusive and unrestricted. It could take the shape of anything he pleased and strike with stealth before the opponent could react. Darkness was an element of subtlety and stealth. Fighting head-on with the element is only for those who have mastered swallowing the light with darkness. Lightning was an element of speed and power. It was incredibly fast and moved as directed. In terms of speed, it lost to the light element. However, it was unrivaled in burst of power. Just one hit could blow the opponent away, or incinerate him.

The earth element was slow and sturdy. Among defenses, the earth element reined supreme. Among strategic employ on the battlefield, earth mages and Practitioners sowed the most chaos on land, altering the landscape to their advantage. It was not an element for speed but endurance, like a walking fortress that could never fall. As Shu studied the earth element the least, he had trouble grasping how to use it at first. He was taught the only demonic earth spirit technique the Great Ancestor taught his descendants: the Great Fissure technique. It was a technique that reigned supreme on battlefields. Spreading the spirit energy forward, like a waterfall falling into a river, the earth would crack and diverge. It would swallow all in its path and the fissure was as long as the spirit energy applied to the technique. It was not a technique meant for killing in one-on-one duels. It was a technique meant to destroy the land of those who wronged you.

"The sword is the ultimate weapon. It is capable of stabs, parries, lunges, strikes, blocks, slashes, hacks, parries, and flicks. It is a weapon of skill, speed, and precision. The blade is thin and sharp, losing out in range and simplicity in learning. It is worthless if used with brute strength, like a woodcutter using his axe to cut down a tree," Lu Feng said. "Did you feel a shock to your arm as you swung your sword during our spars?"

"Yes, master," Shu answered.

"A proper cut will not shock the arm. If it does, you swung the sword with all your might. You have grasped the knowledge to move without excess movement, but addicting yourself to parrying has made using all you strength behind your swings a bad habit," Lu Feng said. "You usually countered a strike so it never happened. However, if the opponent was too powerful or fast, you do not have that luxury. Had you missed, the force of your blow would carry your arm out of position and allowed your opponent to take advantage."

"What must I do?" Shu asked.

"Different than hand and leg techniques, your sword blows must be powerful enough to kill if they land. They must also be quick and light enough so you can recover and defend yourself, or strike again, if you miss or are parried," Lu Feng answered. "Another thing, when you aim your cuts at an angle, swinging the sword slightly backwards to yourself as it strikes; you will be more likely to slice through your opponent cleanly. It is also easier to transition and change the direction of your sword after every strike. The sword require finesse. Remember that."

Shu's training at the day included learning the earth element, sword techniques, bare-handed martial arts, and strategy on warfare. While Lu Feng leads the expedition, he cannot lead the military personnel as he is way above the Spirit Shaman tier. Lu Shu was one of the generals in charge of controlling the military personnel while Lu Feng was in charge of everyone else above the Spirit Shaman tier, including mages who are Elite Mages or higher. For some reason, Adept Mages are tolerated in the armies by the Heavens, even though they are as stronger as Spirit Knights from the first to third stage. That was another reason mages were highly valued by nations.

There was an old, established saying: "Practitioners are admired by the individual. They symbolize power and immortality. Mages are nobles admired by the nations. It is through them that their armies stand victorious."

At night, Shu trained in the element of darkness. Even as he slept, his body constantly absorbed spirit energy. In an underground training area, Shu trained his archery skills and his Eye of Execution skill. Now he could use Sentinel Bow with regular sized arrows but with twice the power. His aim had also improved and his accuracy improved beyond his previous range. He knew he condensed too much power into his arrows during the third trial in Spirit Road.

"Remember, poison is a part of you," Lu Feng said, as the morning of the gathering of the expedition members had arrived. "It is in your Nether Tiger Sword, your Armored Ocean Tiger God spirit had a snake tail, and even the Titan is a poisonous creature. Separate the poison from the planet's life force, the very spirit energy of the planet. You are a person who cultivates poison. You are a person who walks the path of Sword Immortals. You have found no offensive capability for your darkness. It is an element perfect for poison. Mix the poison with your darkness."

"I'm trying," Shu said as beads of sweat poured from his brow. He yelled in pain as snakes made of darkness coiled around him, its eyes glowing emerald. The darkness constantly shifted, as if it were living. Lu Feng smiled as he knew that Shu had succeeded. Now his darkness carried poison, poison made from his very sword spirit energy and the various toxins Shu's body absorbed and assimilated.

"Well done," Lu Feng said as Shu panted, the darkness dissipating and allowing light to return in the room. "Your power over darkness has reached adequate levels, now capable of being used offensively as well as a utility to cloak yourself in shadows and increase your movement. Now, it is time to talk about the expedition and our goals."

"I know I am one of the nine generals with ten thousand soldiers under my command," Shu nodded.

"The commander-in-chief of this military expedition is General Meng Ce. Yes, the same general who taught you. He is now a Spirit Shaman of the ninth stage. He is being careful to stay at the peak so as to not enter the Spirit Knight tier and stop being a military man. Your ten thousand man army is called The Tiger Army. Each of the armies is named after the spirit of the general. Your unit is comprised of Practitioners and mages of the Lu Clan due to the sub branches already knowing who you are and are easier to accept your orders. I am having an Elite Mage and an Archon Phoenix Practitioner be your advisors. You already know them both. Li Jiro will help explain the mages combat abilities as you are a Practitioner and not a mage. Matsuda Ken, being a member of the main branch of one of the nine ancient clans, will advise you on the layouts and usual strategies and abilities of the Hyperion. As they are above the Spirit Knight tier, they will not be able to fight as part of the army," Lu Feng smiled mischievously. "Don't worry. The people I lead will take care of anyone above the Spirit Shaman tier."

"Do we have a destination?" Shu asked as Lu Feng and Lu Shu entered a room with a basic layout of the land.

"We will first make our way into the Hyperion lands through Giant's Chains," Lu Feng said.

"The islands of the gigantic magical beasts? An army passing through an island chain is not easy. We have to constantly move from land to sea and sea to land," Shu said.

"The Yan Dynasty already controls the western islands. Naturally, bridges connect the islands due to many mages," Lu Feng explained. "Our main problem lies on the main lands. There are several ruined cities. Legend has it, this world used to be ruled by humans who used science to kill the magical beasts as they did not have the power to use spirit energy yet. As evolution came about, humans who could use spirit energy appeared and were able to fight the magical beasts even better than science. When magic came about, science was discarded as it was too costly and less convenient. I believe it is through the discarded technologies of ancient civilizations that the Hyperion are becoming stronger and the reason for their experimentations on themselves."

"It sounds similar to Earth. Could it be? Did some life forms reincarnate on this planet, long ago, as I did?" Shu frowned, thoughts racing in his head. "The technology might be lost but data on physical experimentation might have survived. Maybe the ancient civilization was more primitive than Earth, or more advanced that gunfire was considered obsolete and discarded. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"The Hyperion could read the texts, right master?" Shu asked.